Name: Moira Valmer
Alias: Viper
Age: 27
Gender: Female
Appearance:
Personality: Moira’s life is one of duty and servitude to her king, and her god. There is little she wouldn't do in the name of loyalty, despite her own straight moral compass. It is not vengeance that drives her but the hope of moving forward, she prefers to worry about avoidable future struggles than the certainty of the past. More than she would like to admit, it is Moira’s nature to be kind. Old habits die hard though and she still has a tendency to manipulate those more trusting than herself, for information and favours to better the order rather than personal gain; but even that gives her little solace.
Skills:Inconspicuous; Moira knows the manners required for each level of society. She can blend in with gossiping noble women, or farmer’s wives bartering in the market. While she can’t become invisible, it would be difficult to pick her out of a crowd.
Well Versed; Moira can speak, sing, write and understand numerous languages, a handful she can even understand from reading lips.
Alchemy; Moira has acquired a great deal of knowledge about herbal mixtures. From the most venomous poisons she learned during her short time as a spy, to miraculous remedies gathered from her religious studies.
Trained; while not talented in combat, Moira can hold her own in a fight against a poorly skilled enough opponent. Her weapon of choice is a thin wooden staff matching her height, lightweight but inflexible and prone to snapping.
Bio: Westbell was not always ruled with so just and open a hand as the most recently deceased King Stargale. There were times of war and strife, with rulers cruel and insane. King Darien, whom reined nearly two centuries prior, was said to have been paranoid enough to have his servants poison guests he thought where conspiring against him. These servants not only assassinated his enemies, but gathered information, reading their letters and revealing secrets with wit and tongue. Of course, such fanciful tales drifted to legend after only a generation.
By the time Moira was born, under the gentle rule of the most recent king, there was little need for assassination, but fair rulers have just and many enemies as the bad. Moira’s father was a simple stable-hand, it was her mother that taught her the arts of deception and manipulation. Her education flourished, and by 9 Moira could read and speak more languages then most noblewomen. She was shown to make poisons, but told no servant had ever been asked to poison a guest for the past three rulers. How much the royal family knew of their own spies was a mystery to Moira, her mother was the only one she dared speak of it to.
At the age of 15 Moira was given as a gift to a noble house in the far eastern kingdom of Elis. The Westbell armies had attempted to conquer the mountainous islands no less than four times in five generations, only to be repelled by the cursed waters and rocky cliffs each time. There was at the best of times an uneasy peace, something which King Stargale wanted to make more secure; through marriage of his son to the Duchess of the isles.
In her years of service there Moira quickly became a favourite of Dutchess Seyl, gaining a place as one of her four personal handmaids, and eventual confidant. The only contact Moira had with Westbell was when reading the letters that where brought, all of which she went through and carefully resealed. There was little information to send home and on the rare occasion there was reason to, response was received or expected. For this it wasn't until the revolution was over that Moira heard what had happened. She quickly left Elis to return to Westbell, arriving four months after the revolution and when Dragonmaw already had a firm grip on the city.
There was nothing left for her at home. Those whom she had dedicated her life to serving where dead, and her own family nowhere to be found. There were only rumors of the hidden prince. If he was hidden well enough that no had been able to find him, even with such a large bounty, there was a chance Moira’s mother could be involved. But that was a small hope, and meant nothing in a city that had nothing to offer. The Fireblades of course had already closed the gates by then.
Moira found solitude in The Holy Order of Sev. In the early years of the rebellion’s aftermath the order resigned itself to help those suffering the most, no matter the resentment held over the change in rulers. But as more of the order’s sanctuaries where shut down on charges of harboring criminals, and even the servant’s of Sev being arrested for selling stolen goods, or poisoning the poor, it became clear they could not continue passive resistance. It was in one of the city’s few remaining sanctuaries that Moira learned her martial training. By that time all weapons that hadn't been hidden well where seized by the Fireblades, leaving nothing to train with but wooden staffs.
Weapons: A staff ranging from 5’-5’6”, usually by fashioned herself from rosewood, it is the only type weapon she uses, to pacify rather than kill an enemy. While it cannot hold up for long against a decent blade, it alows for a more acrobatic fighting style. A large knife nearly the length of her fore-arm is the only ‘weapon’ always on her person, though with no real knowledge of blade combat it is more a tool to her.
Other: I am one of them.
