Name: Ashenne
Age: 47
Gender: Female
Race: Redguard
Birthsign: The Serpent

Appearance:
Having spent most of her life at sea, Ashenne's appearance is variegated by her travels along the coasts and inlets of Tamriel. Well, her clothing, at least - various loose-fitting vestements obtained along between the Imperial City, Soulrest, Anvil and Helgathe. Her skin is marred with light, puckered scars and studded calluses which stand out against her deep, brown-red skin. Slender and tall with arched feet, her frame seems naturally built for seafaring - limber and swift among a mess of moving parts. Her bones protrude quite visibly from her long limbs, and she is missing half of her left ring finger.

Ashenne's face is made up of angles, with arched, expressive eyebrows, prominent cheekbones and an angular jaw. Her dark hair is cut short so that the ends barely clear the bottom of her skull, and this only serves to emphasize the hard angles of her face. Her eyes are a dark amber, picking up some of the red undertones of her skin, and her lips are perpetually chapped. She has wrinkles at the edges of her mouth, laugh lines, and there are slight creases under her eyes.

Biography:
Ashenne was born in Port Hunding on Stros M'kai, a small island off the coast of Hammerfell. Postitioned between the Summerset Isles, Hammerfell, and Cyrodiil, it served as a small port until its incorporation into the Empire, after which it became a strategic base for the Colovian West Navy. In the following centuries, Stros M'kai persisted as an important hub of scholarship and mercantilism in addition to exerting pressure on the Summerset Isles - and by extension - the Aldmeri Dominion. Ashenne was born to a small mercantile family that historically maintained an apothecary in Port Hunding. As Redguard strong valued familial ties, Ashenne spent much of her youth a child beloved by a large throng of aunts and uncles. One uncle, who ran the apothecary, showed her the different plants that were endemic only to Stros M'kai, whose existence sustained the viability of alchemical trade. Another would try to watch over her and a group of cousins as they played hide-and-seek in the central bazaar. Her father was a sailor, and would needle her mother into allowing Ashenne to come along on a trip to Hegathe. And so Ashenne lived a relatively peaceful childhood.

In 4E 171, the Aldmeri Dominion makes its move and the Great War begins amidst civil war in Hammerfell. Ashenne's father is conscripted into the Colovian West Navy, ally to what unorganized forces Hammerfell has. Much of the family flee to Anvil, as there is a mass exodus of Redguard as the Aldmeri take much of the southern coastline of Hammerfell. Over the next few years, a few relatives dare to return to Stros M'kai, which is now under Aldmeri control. Ashenne, her mother, and a few relatives attempt to live off of money earned before the Great War, and find some small amount of work. Aldmeri forces suss out a victory at the northern city of Skaven, but have much more limited resources after the journey through the Alik'r Desert. Their prescence is still strong in Stros M'kai, which now holds the shell of an Imperial Navy base, now just a somewhat defunct port city. It is again ruined by the prescence of the Aldmeri.

As a young teenager, Ashenne finds work as a ship hand on small trade vessels in Anvil. The journeys are not incredibly arduous in any sense, and circumvent the trappings of war - trade is always necessary. Claiming much more experience based on cursory knowledge of the sail, Ashenne learns a great deal about sailing and trading, as well as some combat skills. She finds that she is extremely nimble and can easily make her way in tight quarters. Another ship hand, seeing that she quivers while carrying around her knife, has her carry a dagger with her at all times - while eating, climbing, conversing, and sleeping. She becomes comfortable wielding a blade and does so in small skirmishes with pirates - many Redguard. Though the White-Gold Concordat brings temporary peace between the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion, it spells a more direct war between the Redguard of Hammerfell and the Dominion, and new tension with the Empire. Stros M'kai feels like a bittersweet memory, lost on an ocean breeze. Some of Ashenne's relatives return to Hammerfell to fight against the Aldmeri, unwilling to cede the new Redguard homeland to the Dominion. Upon becoming of age, Ashenne ignores the opportunity to join the Redguard forces at the apex of the war. Some of her relatives die in their efforts off of the southern coast. Unable to continue working as a shiphand out of guilt, she throws herself into learning alchemy - and by extension, some Restoration magic - through the local guild, supported in part by her aunt who remained in Anvil.

Two years later, the Second Treaty of Stros M'kai is signed, and the Aldmeri withdraw from Hammerfell. Ashenne remains in Anvil and continues to work for a year or so with her aunt, who now owns a tiny apothecary in the city. Amidst the chaos of the Aldmeri-Redguard conflict, members of Ashenne's family lose contact, and the shop in Stros M'kai is seized. Ashenne returns to work as a shiphand, and over the course of her early twenties becomes a boatswain. Eventually, she is entrusted to captain a trading vessel that connects Anvil with some of the ports in High Rock. And then she takes another contract that brings her to inner Cyrodil. Much of her life, at this point, has been spent under the Empire. The scattered knowledge gained when she'd thrown herself into learning alchemy and the like becomes slightly useful aboard her vessel, which skirts along the coast of Valenwood and Elsweyr, into the waterways of central Cyrodiil. She forms an abundance of connections with the Imperials that work alongside her and is seen as trustworthy.

While lacking her own ship, Ashenne makes somewhat of a name for herself among those more familiar with the dangerous waters at the mouth of the Topal Sea. She is successful in a wide variety of skirmishes with pirates, and is known among prominent traders along the inner Cyrodiilian waterways. In her mid-thirties, she is encouraged by a contact to join the Imperial Navy, the complement of the Legion. The Civil War in Skyrim has become much more concerning to the Empire, and there are fears that impending intervention and the draining of Imperial resources will create a window for the Aldmeri. Given that the Aldmeri were so successful in the Great War at penetrating the Cyrodiilian heartland by sea, and at battles at Bravil and the Imperial City itself, this need becomes increasingly pertinent. After some consideration aboard familiar trade vessels, Ashenne joins and steadily climbs the ranks as General Tullius is sent to end the Civil War, and Cyrodiil becomes vulnerable. In many ways, the experience is very much similar to work on a trade vessel, except that it is much more consistent, and skirmishes are much more hostile. There are more rules, but formalities are generally eschewed with time and experience. The pay is very nice, and consistent, which is the major draw. There is increased pirate activity at the mouth of the Topal Sea, more border patrol, so to say. It is generally a nice change of pace. The war drags on. Direct conflict with the Aldmeri never comes, though there is increased tension with the Altmer as well as the Nords. Ashenne, feeling unfulfilled, takes leave a year after the war finally concludes, and goes to Anvil.

.. Except she cannot find passage by ship back to Anvil from Bravil, finding that all companies she speaks to now refuse to traverse Valenwood's southern coast. In the meantime, she takes short jobs along the inner coast of Cyrodiil, putting off the land-journey to Anvil that may never come. There are whisperings in the taverns she frequents to drink sun-warmed rum, and tales so specific, so outlandish that it's not clear whether they're fact or fable. A Khajit from Lenchal murmurs something about a daedra setting fire to a caravel, a Breton mentions something about a fabled tower, an Argonian whispers about a blood-filled river. She stays in Bravil some time longer and tries to learn more, feeling almost personally offended that she cannot find safe passage, even on a neutral trade vessel. There are a few Imperial contacts, and many more people that she had met during her time in the service of the Imperial Navy and as a ship captain, that she could contact. Hector Sibassius is one of them, a person she'd met several times through her travels without really meaning to. He contacts her first.

Personality:
Having developed a thick skin in the metaphorical and literal sense, Ashenne notably has a good sense of humor - a sailor's humor, perhaps. Sarcastic and sometimes crude, she is rarely malicious and is genuine in her dealings with people, leading others to view her somewhat amicably. She carries a sense of weariness about her, but - especially after her service in the Imperial Navy - this has abated somewhat in recent years.

Ignoring the call to arms amidst the war between the Aldmeri and Hammerfell following the White-Gold Concordat, Ashenne carries guilt over her lack of real allegiance to Hammerfell. While she had some sustained interest in alchemy and a very slight interest in Restoration magic, it was fear and cowardice that led her to study these after becoming of age. After taking to sailing in youth, she had always felt that she would be an adept swordsman, like her father, and finding work as a sailor as a teenager only strengthened this resolve. But the danger of war felt all to real, and so she chose to ignore it; study was more of an excuse to herself, as remaining a sailor would have forced her to confront the feelings of desertion. When she had returned, to eventually become a boatswain, she felt guiltier still, to be surrounded by Imperials and actively seek out their companionship. She should hate or distrust them, as a Redguard, but found that doing this would force her to tacitly confirm her identity. And what an awful Redguard she was, having escaped much hardship following the Redguard exodus. With little regard for her family - so much for ancestor worship. Much of her family was dead, her father having died somewhere between the Empire acting as a Hammerfell ally and then a betrayer. Though such feelings have quieted over 30 years, Ashenne finds herself drawn to conflict and is much less willing to simply ignore reality. As a result, she can be quite bitter, and at times comes off as glib.

That said, she is only critical of the willfully ignorant and possesses a good-heartedness that comes across to those that require her help. However, like many that grew up amidst the Great War, she is extremely distrustful of (if not outright hostile towards) the Altmer, and generally distrusts the Bosmer and Dunmer as well.

Skills:
Ashenne is very nimble, almost feline in her ability to easily scale the masts of ships to reach the topmsails and topmasts. More important, is her sense of ease in maneuvering and contorting her body as the environment around her shifts - deftness learned from years on a ship, utility. She is steadfast in her decisions and is a naturally solution-oriented, able to break down problems and find solutions among limited available resources. Quick on her feet, so to say, even if lacking the type of grace more expected upon the higher ranks of the Imperial Navy.

She has very real survival skills developed from her life aboard, having been subject to chance and misfortune a handful of times at sea. Skilled with her hands, Ashenne is capable of fashioning a variety of knots and rudimentary tools, catching and preparing food. Similarly, she is proficient with one-handed weapons like daggers and shortswords, but not much else. Her fighting style depends on her nimbleness as she is unfamiliar with shields and the like - a dance. She is not too well-read, and her writing often contains errors though it is generally illegible. Her knowledge of alchemy has worn away over the years, and she can't manage anything terribly complex without extremely detailed instruction. She only knows one Restoration spell by heart, and it is the only spell that is really necessary, she thinks.

Equipment: Though she forgoes deep attachment with most physical items, Ashenne has kept a few items with her through various posts. Close to her hip she carries her father's original sailing knife, which - while quite worn and with a new blade - still has its original Redguard engravings. Her shortsword was nothing too special - double-edged with a slightly ovoid pommel. Her other arm was a slightly shorter steel dagger, usually stored in a shealth she'd pieced together out of Horker skin.

In a leather, drawstring pouch, she carries a map of Tamriel printed on vellum that has notes scribbled into the empty spaces, folded
into a tight rectangle. A small, rather beat-up guide to Tamriel's star patterns contains various names and notes jotted in the margins, seeming to serve as a makeshift journal of sorts. Additionally, there is a small roll of linen, a glass jar filled with rum, another jar filled with rum, a roll of wire, and a bar of soap. At the bottom of the bag is a handful of septims, a pencil, and some scrawled notes scattered randomly.