The Luminescent Blade | The Lichbane Heiress
"I will light our path!"
Full NamePenelope Lichbane; 'Penny' for short
The Paladin
Whilst employing armor and weaponry that is lass traditional than most Paladins, Penelope fits the role by being a melee oriented fighter who empowers their strikes with Holy Magic. Less of a full on offense than others, Penelope makes up for it by casting protective auras on the party as well as providing minor healing abilities.
Penelope is proud, well spoken and compassionate. She is a stalwart upholder of the Lichbane name and is self assured in her ideals. She possesses a naivety towards the truths of our world, no doubt a result of her young age and her cloistered spoon fed life as a noble daughter. In her mind everything is either black or white with no shades of gray, leading her to possess morals that judge others harshly despite their circumstances. Though she is not without empathy, to her there is no excuse for misconduct or defying the law.
Indeed, Penelope is one who thrives on structure; an unfortunate byproduct of her overbearing parents. Everything she does must be well planned, organised and perfect. She suffers from extreme anxiety in situations where the outcome is not certain to her. In particular she has a hard time accepting her own weakness, often shouldering more blame than necessary in any situation that goes awry. Penelope refuses to accept that some things are beyond her control. In her eyes every aspect of her reality can be impacted if she performs perfectly.
Despite her pride as a Lichbane, Penelope harbors a deep resentment against her parents and the life they have set out for her. She is eager to make a name for herself outside of her family. Penelope can be incredibly stubborn when it comes to accepting help from her others. She insists that she is capable of succeeding without the help of her family or others. That being said, she is an admirer of those with exceptional martial ability; particularly where it pertains to swordplay.
✠ Adept Duelist | Penelope is proficient with wielding her Rapier, using her grace and elegance in combat rather than brute strength. She can strike her opponents with a series of lunges and flourishes of her blade whilst also keeping her distance with excellent footwork and keen senses. In particular, Penelope is quite skilled at parrying and disarming opponents with weapons that are larger than her own.
✠ En Lux | Penelope bathes her weapon with Holy Light, reinforcing the usually frail Rapier to be able to withstand a greater amount of force. While empowered with En Lux, Penelope's blade casts light in a fifteen foot radius around it. In addition to these benefits, the Holy Blade will sear the flesh of Undead and Demons as well as allows Penelope to strike Undead who cannot otherwise be affected by physical strikes (Ghosts, Wraiths etc).
✠ Réfraction | Grants a shield of Light to Penelope and one ally. The Shield completely blocks one physical attack before erupting into a flash of bright, scalding light that burns those nearby. The flash of light will also temporarily stun Undead and Demons.
✠ Noble Etiquette | Penelope is accustomed to the mannerisms of Nobles and is able to win their affections much more effectively than others. Inversely, she has a harder time communicating with the common folk.
✠ Appraisal | Penelope has a keen eye for detail and is a connoisseur of finer craftsmanship; in particular when it comes to jewelry and weaponry. She is able to discern the value of certain goods with decent accuracy.
✠ Noble Reputation | Belonging to a prestigious house of nobility within the human kingdom, the Lichbane name is well known and garners a positive reputation by most humans. While travelling through major towns in human kingdoms, Penelope is able to use her reputation to gain discounts at inns, certain stores and travel. However not all those in the Human kingdom are fond of House Lichbane. In particular, those who delve in the dark arts such as Witches, Necromancers and even some Sorcerers are quite spiteful towards the Dark Slaying Lichbane.
✠ Well Read | Having the privilege of growing up to a noble house has allowed Penelope to pursue an education far greater than those who were less fortunate than she. Because of this she possesses adequate knowledge on a variety of subjects including numeracy, literacy, history and she can even speak a little Elvish.
✠ Rapier | A lightweight thrusting sword with good reach and speed. Requires a great deal of skill and dexterity to wield effectively.
✠ Medium Weight Armor | Appearance as shown in picture. Provides decent defenses against physical attacks while only slightly decreasing mobility.
✠ Noble Crest | A pendant inscribed with the crest of House Lichbane; proof of Penelope's lineage to the noble house.
The House of Lichbane is a prestigious family that has its roots within the Southern Human Kingdom. Their lineage traces back generations to long before the Great War. The Lichbane Paladins were noble, just Knights who fought on the front lines against the Darkness. Though time has passed, their children have continued to uphold their righteous message. The Lichbane are renowned for their ruthless and methodical purging of the Undead in the Southern Human kingdom. Those who delve in darkness live to fear the day the Lichbane come for them.
Darius Lichbane, the Lord of House Lichbane, possessed two children. Nathanael Lichbane, his eldest son and heir to the family, and his beautiful, radiant daughter Penelope. Growing up without their mother due to her passing from illness meant that the two children were often left in the care of their numerous servants. Nathanael, ambitious and reckless, would often boast his desires to follow in the footsteps of their valiant father. Penelope was content in her simple, cloistered life, but was also expected to train and study with the same level of vigor as her brother.
While Nathanael flourished, Penelope was subject to years of emotional and sometimes physical abuse at the hands of her father. Her shortcomings were always emphasized, every failure painfully branded into her flesh with searing insults. In time she began to retreat into her shell, focussing only on pleasing her father out of fear. The one time she reached out was to her brother, but he was so infatuated with the heroic image of his father that he refused to see her plea as anything but the whining of a spoiled brat.
Years later, their family shattered by the abrupt loss of Nathanael, Penelope had been shaped into the meticulous and skilled paladin that could uphold the Lichbane name when her brother no longer could. Though after the events that took her brothers life, she felt as though her purpose lie elsewhere. Seeking to forge a life outside of her family, Penelope departed her noble lifestyle in the hopes of seeing the world as an adventurer. Her father disapproved, but is mockingly confident that she will return to him soon.
Penelope has a pet Wolfhound named Rogue; though the two were unfortunately separated whilst on their travels.
