Aileas Hyland Dominic

18 _{Born on the 9th day of the Red Wolf Moon, 1477}

Kingdom of Faerghus

Noble _{of House Dominic}

Crest of Dominic
_{Aileas’ Crest allows her to strike fear into the hearts of her enemies, occasionally sending them fleeing instead of engaging in combat.}

Soldier

Lance

Lance, Flying

Faith, Reason

Aileas is ambitious to say the least, but her ambition is measured more with her eyes than her actual spirit. This mostly stems from the stress she tacks on with her ambition. She loads her schedule or metaphorical plate with multiple responsibilities that work in tandem on paper, but in practice takes a lot out of her to complete with high marks. She’s always operated like this, fearing that if she were to stop loading her plate she would lose herself to madness with nothing to do. The stress does help her strive for a higher level of success that other people would just be happy with the average. Between the stress of becoming the next Duke and also being the best lancer she can be there is one thing that remedies her mind, battle. When she picks up the familiarity of a lance, a sword, or reigns of a horse she immediately flushes any harrowing emotion and is crystal focused ready to be used as an instrument of war. She’s more or less always had a knack for lance play and someday hopes to have a legendary relic associated with her just as Dominic did all those centuries ago.

If you’re looking for a fanciful story of a noble turned champion, this is that one. Instead we have the incredibly average story of a young girl who would one day become the incarnation of the elite that partnered up with Seiros all those years ago. Except, the road to getting there is still long and winding. It all began in Fhirdad, the capital city ruled under the watchful eye of House Blaiddyd. Her parents did as all major houses did and procreated in hopes of fathering children with the crest of those before them as to continue the bloodline and history from said crest. Fortunately or unfortunately, who’s to say, the two gave birth to only one child, a girl with eyes as vibrant as the precious emerald. Luckily their emerald also came with the crest of their founder.

All of the hopes and dreams pinned on Aileas were lost early on when the two couldn’t understand why nothing stuck with the girl. It’s not that she couldn’t learn, but rather she would learn at her own pace in her own way. They cycled through books, teachers, tutors, magic, bows, etc.. and each outcome was the same. A mentor at their wits end, bag in hand, and an apology followed up by a prayer before they were out the front door and gone with the wind. The two would discuss having another child or two if it meant they could recoup their loses with Aileas. That was before they heard giggling in the backyard and ran to find Aileas twirling a stick, much too long and heavy for her size, as if it were a twig she snapped off a sapling amidst the pine trees.

While Dominic was known for using a hammer, they originally wanted Aileas to choose a more refined weapon suited for a noble woman. They did not think to show her the way of the sword nor the lance, instead it found her. With a new sunny disposition the two showered her with mentors from across the country skilled in both lance and sword. She excelled far more with a lance than she did a sword, it was as if she could accurately account for the distance and momentum she needed to swing the lance and where her domain therein lie. Although there was still the issue of Aileas needing to grow into her weapon size wise. To remedy that problem until she hit puberty and an age to enter an academy, they tethered her to a miniature horse. The two skills homogenized to create a match made in heaven, for a start at least.

Her parents realized once you detached her from what she was magnetized too, she quickly molted her carapace for a much softer exterior. Regardless, she was well loved and her parents knew what their daughter needed to excel and how to deal with her otherwise. She grew up being enabled to pursue both walks of life until she was finally ready, in their minds, for a much greater challenge and instruction at Garreg Mach.

Aileas was budding at the opportunity to attend, she had little in the way of friends and had never been in a setting with other kids her age, equally skilled if not better. Aileas just wanted to make friends and live up to her parents hopes for her being the next incarnation of their beloved Dominic.

Albrecht von Varley

17 _{Born the 5th of Blue Sea Moon}

Adrestian Empire

Noble of House Varley

Crest of Lamine
_{Albrecht's crest bestows him with supernaturally good fortune, significantly increasing the likelihood of positive outcomes in tasks he undertakes while reducing the severity of negative outcomes.}

Soldier

Sword

Swords, Faith

Bows, Reason

Albrecht strives to be the very definition of what a young nobleman is meant to be; for much of his life, he has lived a blessed existence, something he attributes to the Goddess' favor, and he attempts to repay this favor by conducting himself in a way which honors her benevolence. He is kind to both his betters and his lessers, patient with all those he counsels, diligent in his studies both academic and martial, humble almost to the point of fault and steadfast in his piety. To call him 'saintly' would not be misplacing one's words, although he would assuredly refute such as a compliment he did not deserve.

While he is a fundamentally gentle, nurturing soul, it would be a mistake to underestimate his resolve—although he has a deep appreciation for the mercy preached in Seiros' teachings, he possesses an equally strong sense of justice, and will not hesitate to intervene on behalf of the downtrodden or victimized. He thinks himself chivalrous, and cannot help but respect those who conduct themselves with courage and honesty, qualities he considers fleeting in the veritable den of vipers that is the upper echelons of the Empire. It is therefore needless to say that one of the few things he can truly be said to dislike is politicking, and the idea of inheriting his father's Duchy weighs heavier on him than any self-imposed code of conduct.

Fairy tale romances were far and few between in the lands of Fódlan, but every so often the Goddess gives her favor to a lucky couple. The tale of Siegfried von Varley and the lady Odette Galatea is one such tale. Having met at Garreg Mach in their youth, the pair were practically inseparable during their year of tutelage. Their whirlwind romance was such that when the year came to a draw and they were forced to go their separate ways, Siegfried could not bear the loss, and rode to Faerghus in order to ask Odette's father for her hand. He was, of course, flatly rejected, but even the disapproval of their families could not keep the couple apart⁠—they eloped later that very month. By the time House Galatea discovered the young lovers, they had already consummated the match. To save face, both families gave the two their blessing, and Siegfried brought Odette back to the Adrestian Empire as his wife, where he would eventually succeed his own father as the Duke of Varley.

Their hard fought victory was well rewarded. The Goddess blessed them with four healthy children, two of whom bore Crests; their eldest son, Ulrich, and their youngest, Albrecht. Raised on tales of chivalry and romance, it was perhaps a foregone conclusion that young Albrecht would grow to become a wide-eyed idealist. His worldview was colored early by these stories, of heroic knights and a benevolent Goddess, one which favored him personally—his Crest's abilities made themselves known early on, ensuring any endeavor he undertook seemed to go his way, regardless of circumstance or importance. He came to attribute much of the success in his young life to Sothis and her blessing, and intended to spend it serving in her honor; with his elder brother also in possession of such a blessing, and several siblings between them, he was unnecessary to the line of succession. Albrecht had every intention of swearing fealty to the Knights of Seiros when he came of age, a choice inspired by the knightly orders of his mother's homeland, and something that would undoubtedly reflect well on his father's position as Minister of Religion.

But the Goddess had other plans for him. The Black Death swept across Fódlan for much of Albrecht's life, but it did not reach Castle Varley until he was a boy of fifteen. It took his sister, Astrid, first. Then Wolfram followed her two weeks later, having caught it when he forced his way into her room to see his ailing sister. Despite the best efforts of the garrison, Ulrich too caught the malady, and perished by the end of the month along with his fiancée.

Even Albrecht felt the looming specter of death over him, but was spare the fate of his siblings by miracle or chance—his fever broke on the dawn of the eighth day, and the plague was gone the following moon, having taken half the staff with it as it burned its way through the castle. His parents had, mercifully, survived the ordeal, but were made lesser for it. His father became stoic and stony, retreating into himself to cope with the loss, and his mother, once the fiery dame of many a song, found the spark in her eyes fading as they buried three of her beloved children.

The plague left Albrecht not only with a crisis of faith, but of changed circumstance. He had been free to pursue his own desires before, to train as a squire and eventually pledge his life to the Church when the time came. But now, he was his father's heir, and only remaining child. The future of the House rested on his shoulders, and it would be up to him to do as his sire had and find a bride to carry on the family legacy. When the plague subsided some years later, Albrecht was given the chance to attend the renown institute both his parents had in their youth. A mercy as much as a means to prepare him for the harsh realities of rulership, for he could at least experience a few precious months at the Monastery before returning home, a man grown, to do his duty and take a wife.

So began his days at Garreg Mach.