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Kingdom Guild: Golden City
Full Name: Ashling "Ash" Linwood
Alias: Wonderland
Age: Twenty-four
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Homeland: Oxford, England
Appearance: Looking at Ash could be like looking a a gray-scale painting, her skin an unsettling porcelain and her hair a stark black in comparison. The only bright part of her appearance is her eyes, they are a startlingly clear blue, framed with drooping eyelids; sleepy eyes. Her figure is slim, and she is somewhat short for her age (much to her distress), and seems to rely more on speed and momentum than strength in a fight due to this. Her arms and legs are covered in bruises from many accidents in the work place and from her "adventures" outsides. She has dainty hands, the knuckles and joints forever darker then the rest of her skin, and her nails are stubby and grimy from gardening. Ash's face is small and round, framed with dark brown hair, her cheeks and nose faintly pink, with doll lips, and what seem to be forever tired eyes. She always seems to have a tired or bored look on her face.
Languages: English and some broken French which she learned at a young age.
Height/Weight: 5'1,124 lbs
Outfit/Armor: Ash owns various dresses of various styles, but on a job she fancies a navy blue dress with short, puffy sleeves, and a fanned-out skirt that is cut to about mid-leg. A simple white apron is worn over the dress, black-and-white stockings underneath, and black knee-high boots which are secured with a silver buckle. The dress is snug around her waist and surprisingly easy to maneuver in.
Hunting Gear:
Vorpal Blade: A weapon given to her by Merlin, it's a rather ornate short sword adorned with a floral pattern along the blade. Apparently, it was used to slay a horrible beast long, long ago. Ash is very protective of it. Pack of Cards: Weak little things, used mostly for long range attacks. They are actually quite heavy, mostly due to them hiding very sharp razors underneath. When thrown correctly, the cards will whip back around and return to the sender. Ash is still trying to get the hang of them. Sweet Smelling Pouches: Filled with flowers and herbs; apparently used for Alchemy. One particular item is a rather large, colorful mushroom with many little nibbles and pinches taken out of it.Likes/Dislikes:
+ Tea: Her love for tea was brought on by her mother, who would serve tea every single day at a set time. Ash could easily be bought is tea is mentioned even once in the deal, much to her own dismay.
+ Gardening: Flowers always calmed Ash down when she was in a panic, and seeing as she worked as a gardener she has a knack for it.
+ Sleeping: Or more specifically, dreaming. It doesn't take much to have Ash dream, in fact, it sometimes happens when she's awake. Her dreams are wild, colorful, some good and bad, and she can't get enough of them. Some have found her whispering to flowers or bugs, eyes closed, walking with a stagger. Sleepwalking.
- Reading: Books without pictures were never a favorite of Ash's, in fact, she absolutely hates them.
- People: Apart from them calling her crazy, inept, and other rather rude (and perhaps true) names, Ash always feels as though they have their own goals in mind whenever they're doing something, and that makes her very, very nervous around them. Besides, rabbits and flowers are much better conversational partners!
- Sleeping: While some dreams can be good and well, others are gruesome and trigger-inducing. Ash's dream world could go from colorful, bright, and whimsical to infested with darkness, miasma, and blood. Sleepwalking with nightmares can be dangerous to those around Ash at the time, and some might get a fright if they wake up to find the poor girl strangling herself, smashing her head against a wall, or something else equally crazy.
Occupation: She was a caretaker for a rather large estate. It had the most magical garden she could have ever imagined.
Skill Set: Ashling is surprisingly good at fast-paced combat, especially with shorter weapons. She is quick, clever, and tries her best to be precise with each slice or hit. What she lacks in strength and power she makes up in speed and mind. Knows basic hand to hand combat, but finds it hard to use seeing how weak she is. Also, she has a knack for alchemy, and is known around the small community of chemists and alchemists for trying coming up with a shrinking potion and growing cake (And even now, she's still trying to work it out. They always seem to end up badly, though). Other then fighting, she is rather good at many mundane tasks, like cooking, cleaning, and gardening. Ash also has a very vivid imagination, and due to that she is a master story teller.
Magic Abilities: Ash's magical ability is more for defense then offense. If, for some reason, she falls a long way down, a flurry of wind and butterflies slows her down to a gentle float. Seeing her use magic is pretty rare, though, for it quickly burns up her energy and leaves her in a rather weak state if used too much.
Pets/Companions: A rather old, unnaturally colored, grinning cat named Vapor. The two have known each other for very long, and if Ash isn't asking herself for advice, she's asking Vapor. Apparently, Vapor talks in riddles and disappears often, but always seems to return with some new or rare sort of herb or ingredient for Ash to use.
Personality: Ashling is a sharp woman, one who is not very fond of people and places. She is not afraid to speak her mind and will more times then not fight for what she believes is right before truly thinking into it. Very curious towards things that seem strange and loves to go out and adventure whenever she gets a chance. Typically cynical of most people, she is overly polite and quiet around strangers, and at times even friends, unless they are doing something outright wrong or immoral in her eyes. If that is the case, then she will not hold back on insults or reprimands until she feels it is right to stop. Plagued by visions of a better (or worse) place, Ash finds normal life to be rather mundane and gray, which leads to her daydreaming when she should be working or paying attention to something. Absolutely loves riddles and poems, but hates reading for long periods of time (if there aren't pictures, she'll surely give up half away through). Easily stressed out, Ash has trouble keeping calm at times, and may run head-long into trouble without thinking if pushed to the limit. Although often showing a brave face during times of danger, and quick to debunk bullying and harsh words from others, Ash is constantly haunted by the visions of her dream land, both good and bad versions, and as such is actually a bit unstable. She's been called "crazy" by her peers for many reasons, which include sleepwalking, laughing at nothing, talking to herself, and many other nonsensical things. Due to these seemingly insane ticks of hers, she isn't the best at making and keeping friends. However, her insanity does not define her. Underneath the scared and scarred Ash is a very clever, very kind girl who will stop at nothing to help someone in need.
Background: The Linwood household was a middle class family of three, Charles Linwood, Mary Linwood, and of course little Ashling Linwood. They were your average family, Charles worked as a hunter and sold the meats and pelts in town while Mary stayed at home and home-schooled Ashling for her body was too weak to work in the town. They lived in a comfortable cottage on the outskirts of Oxford. It was a good life. Now, Ash's... Imagination truly didn't begin to show until she was about six, when her mother and her decided to go have tea time in the garden. The garden was Ash's favorite place, it was large, filled with plenty of flowers and easy-to-tend-to crops, and thinned out towards the end of the lawn where a tiny forest sat. The two sat at a little white table, tea cups and a small plate of biscuits in front of them, and they began to tell stories and riddles.
"Oh, have I told you the Sphinx's riddle?"
"Yes, mummy. Plenty of times! Can I hear the one about..."
Ash slowly stoops to a silence, eyes locked on a shape in the rose bush behind her mother. Something white and furry peeked out from behind, and then quickly vanished. The next hours were a blur, all Ash could recall from her memory was getting up and scurrying under the bush, ripping her dress and dirtying her legs, and bounding after the white shape.
I've never seen such a white rabbit before! That was her prominent thought, and it was so prominent that it blocked out her mother's confused cries to come back. Her tiny legs carried her into the woods, down somewhere dark that became light, and then she woke up in her bed with a bandage wrapped tightly around her head. No one spoke of the incident. This is when Ash began to see her dream land, night after night, and when her insane sleepwalking began.
When she turned twelve, Charles brought home a small, white kitten, which Ash immediately latched onto. It was named Vapor, and had a rather chilling face, for it always appeared to be grinning. They soon grew inseparable. On her thirteenth birthday, her father offered to give her lessons on defending herself. Everyday afterwards they would practice sword fighting and some easy survival skills, like known what berries to eat and how to climb trees. One day, while climbing a bit to high into a tree, Ash looses her balance and toppled from a very high branch. Much to the surprise of her father and her, though, she didn't plummet, instead, she floated down gently. Carried by a whirlwind of leaves and wings. After a few moments of hysteria, Charles revealed to his daughter that magic wasn't an uncommon trait in their family, and they both quickly accepted it. At the age of fifteen, Ashling became increasingly interested in Alchemy. This was bought on by both her dreams and her mother's growing sickness, and while she hates such boring tasks that require reading, she felt as though she could try and help her mother in some way. Her mind and body trained every day, working on potions, medicines, anything. While working, she failed to notice Vapor had begun to change, turning different colors as he grew, and sometimes after a long while of studying she would turn to find strange and unfamiliar plants behind her, left by the strange cat. They were put to use in her studies. She memorized the periodic table, the available herbs and ingredients, but she was, of course, a bit too late. After two years of research, trying to save her mother, it was all for naught. Mary Linwood passed away peacefully in her sleep.
A year later, Ash still seems a bit stressed about the incident, but no longer lets it get in the way of her research or her battle training. She spent her days tending to the garden, trying her best not to get bored while studying, and job hunting. By the age of nineteen, Ash felt that she was troubling her father by staying at home, so she got up one day and decided that she was going to find her own place and job. She left Oxford with only her alchemy kit, a few books, some money, and a dream ("How cliche!"). She found work at a large estate in a neighboring town, and was allowed to stay in the servants house as a maid and gardener. She worked there until another job appeared before her, in a Guild in America. Fighting to help other people... And perhaps she can put her odd skills to use. She signed up almost instantly.
(TL;DR: Hit her head as a kid, mum died, magic happened, and signed up for the guild instantly)
Unique Abilities: Her knowledge of alchemy is rather helpful, seeing as she can create both basic healing elixirs and her own concoctions to aid in a fight. Perhaps her dream world could be considered an ability too, as many of her ideas come from her dreams, and it seems that she has the ability to talk to plants and animals.
Other: "I'm not crazy!"
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