Name: [Lady] Forina Vindramael
Age: 27
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Appearance: Nobility and grace bleed through Forina's well-kept appearance. Only the gruesome nature of the battlefield seems capable of changing such images for her. Standing at a notable five feet and nine inches, Forina is fairly tall for a lady, and it adds to her already dominating and demanding visage. Despite the propensity for a lady-like grace, underneath Forina's rarely-unworn armor is a toned physique lending to her quest for power and respect.
Personality:Prideful, harsh, strict.
Any
mere nobility could produce an individual that conducts themselves properly whenever they so desired, but only a true aristocrat understood the importance of behaving at
all times. In this Order of knights, Forina sees children and their chaos, unfit to hold a sword no matter how skilled they professed themselves to be. In times of war, those units which exerted the greatest discretion and self-control were the ones who truly struck fear into their enemies. Those which strode across the battlefield clad in faceless helms, and killed with a controlled violence.
This is who Forina strives to be, and what she is certain she embodies better than most in the order. To the noblewoman, a freedom to be eccentric and unconventional is what plagues the Iron Rose Knights most. Forina knows that she cannot simply dismiss such characters, but looks down upon them with no less disappointment. And yet, despite all of her favoring cohesiveness and structure, Forina takes towards a bold and independent nature on the battlefield, trusting most in herself than the help others can offer. If it weren't the case that she could handle things on her own, then her sense of superiority would surely be a lie, wouldn't it?
Even as she characterizes herself as a selfish and arrogant noble, Forina is extraordinarily fond of her immediate family, and seems poised to ensure they attain all and as much glory as she can achieve in her life. More than the Roses, more than her country, more than her life, Forina is driven by the quest to enhance the status and power of House Vindramael.
Brief Backstory:"The very fact that you hold a blade, even alongside me, is proof enough that the aloof nature of our Order has lost sight. There are no signs of things ever changing for us, or for the world, and I shall see to it that we are not caught off guard by the inevitability of war. One day... you may not be alongside me as you are."The Vindramael family is one of the most powerful in all of Thaln, having lived through the century through patience, cunning, and the artful manipulations of a long-deceased member honored as the "Lord of Betrothals". Due to a genetic predisposition, the men of House Vindramael are oft to produce female heirs, normally a curse to the future prospects of retaining power. However, early on in the then-middling noble house, a man existed who had guided them upwards through sheer planning and intelligence. The Lord of Betrothals, as he was so called, had managed countless beneficial marriages between the aristocracy, all to careful shift the balance under the radar of other houses. Even as he set to heightening the status of House Vindramael, his apparent knowledge had prompted other lords to ask for his consultation. Though he would bring them success, he would always do so with the hidden pretense of ensuring it would always come back to House Vindramael.
And so, the powerful family had risen through the ranks through the power of marriage. From then on, this inherent connection between so many other important houses allowed Vindramael to retain its power whilst it turned to other mediums to continue accruing strength. Today it yet remains at the very top of Thaln society, its hand dipped into the businesses of everything that lives and breaths within its borders. But such wasn't enough for a young Forina, heir to the Vindramael head seat. She saw an opportunity for more, and devoted herself to the cause.
Eldest sister of six other red-haired female siblings, Forina abdicated from her position as next in line, granting it to her immediate junior, Marianne Vindramael, a lady who would surely have the penchant for statecraft that Forina had sometimes struggled with. Instead, Forina enlisted in the Order of the Iron Roses, seeking opportunity both as a knight and a prospective military leader. Her family name behind her and with ambition and clear skill, Forina pushed into the Order's ranks with ease.
During the War of the Red Flag, House Vindramael of course sided with the Monarchy, and Forina struck fiercely into the rebellion as the captain of a small banneret. They were, however, never cruel. Comprised entirely of individuals from the Vindramael family, they carried out a very focused campaign to simultaneously fend off those of the rebellion whilst maintaining good relations with the local populace. They never once sacked a city or town, and strictly followed a code of honor. Victories were followed immediately by building rapport with liberated locales, as well as by heavily promoting the already established Mayonite religion.
Though allied with many other houses under the sitting king of Thaln, House Vindramael continuously and purposefully used Forina's banneret, by word or sword, to undermine the image of other fighting groups as violent and brutish, especially in House Larette.
After the war, Forina dissolved the banneret and sought to join the Iron Rose Order. The time is ripe to use her status and position to make change, though one may question if her allegiances lie not in the Order's thriving, but in something more personal...
Equipment:Modestly armored, but not totally vulnerable, Forina is the spitting image of an appearance-centric noble family. One would, however, be foolish to assume such an expensive woman was not also layered in the most expensive enchantments money could buy. Multiple protective wards extend defensive ability not only to the metallic surfaces of her plate, but even to the leather and cloth portions.
Her longsword, named
Tress Vindrmir, was passed down through generations since the very first knight who had formed the Vindramael family itself. Over the century-plus of its lifetime, it has been modified and blessed by its wielders and the fortune of the family supporting them. Its mere appearance seems to instill a kind of courage and fervor in those allies who look upon its risen form. The exact nature of it is unknown even to Forina.
Skills:An insight early on in her age had started Forina training very young. The single-minded determination she exhibited lent to childhood and young adult years spent honing the swordsman craft she now so expertly demonstrates. Though very restricted in her martial diversity, Forina's skill with the sword is unbridled and exceptional. The single weapon, devoid of a protective shield in her other hand, is the style which her eldest ancestor had brought to the family forevermore.
She is herself incapable of any magical feats, but enjoys the support of her wide family, which can supply her with all manner of enchanted objects to enhance her fighting prowess.