Princess Gwendolen Flamehart of Tasec
Gwendolen Modith Gedia Flamehart
Female, Human, 22 years
Female, Human, 22 years
Name Meaning: Gwendolen was the name of an ancient queen. She loved her husband dearly but for the sake of her kingdom, she turned against him and conquered him in battle. She remained in mourning for the rest of her life but united her people and lead them into an era of prosperity. Modith was her mother's name. It means “dark maiden” and Gwen is named in her late mother's honor. Gedia means “to prosper.” And, of course, Flamehart is the house name of the kings of Tasec whose line has been unbroken for over a thousand years.
Alias: Called Gwen by her father and a few close friends. Red Hind or The Red Hind by soldiers who had served under her.
Place of Birth: Valeria, capital of Tasec.
Current Residence: Valeria, the capitol of Tasec.
Occupation: Crown Princess to the throne of Tasec and adviser to her father the king.
Family: Father is king of Tasec, mother was princess from a neighboring country. The wedding of their parents was political but the pair cared quite a bit for one another. Her father was rather devastated when Modith passed away while giving birth to Gwen.
Height: 5' 7"
Hair: Dark brown, like her mother's. Usually braided intricately for court. When attending more serious matters of state away from home where her handmaidens do not follow, she lets it down besides a braid at each temple. The braids are pulled back and bound together at the back of her head with a token ribbon from her father with her family crest woven into it.
Eyes: Blue, like her father's.
General Appearance: Gwen takes heavily after her mother to the point of frightening a few of her more superstitious relatives. But her steely blue eyes and the way her face appears almost vexed when she is at ease or deep in thought are certainly her father's. Gwen normally dresses to her station when at home but dawns her armor when away. Gwen does not fear her people but she knows well enough that as the only living heir of her family and with such bitterness among the nobles, she can take no chances. Because of this, most who see her remember her as rather a giant for being decked in bulking armor, a billowing red cloak, a great wolf skin about her shoulders, all while mounted on a shiny black Friesian does tend to cut a rather intimidating figure. However, when dismounted and dressed as a lady, her powerful figure is revealed to be actually rather willowy.
Strengths: Gwen is a dangerous combination of brutally strong and quick minded. While she has enough power in her blows and skill under her belt to fell most opponents on the field, she does not rely completely on it and is always ready to use her surroundings and the weaknesses of others to her brutal advantage. She is trained in spear, long sword, and hand to hand combat; though she favors heavily the long sword. She is ambidextrous in battle thanks to an injury to her right arm when she was early in her training.
Weaknesses: While she, like her father, has always advocated for the poorest of her people, she has never lived or suffered as a commoner and at times can lack empathy. While Gwen does not relish violence, she has been to war several times and can often turn a blind eye to blood and death and cruelty. While she can speak reasonably before her father's court and council, she is not what one would call silver tongued and often runs short of patience. While she is trained in hand to hand, she tends to be much more of a brawler and so while she is quite excellent at utilizing terane and weaknesses in war, with her long sword, and astride her horse; if she encounters a stronger opponent while on foot and must face them without her sword, she's most certainly at a disadvantage.
Enemies: Prince Roland Flamehart (Uncle Roland) and all those who side with him.
Current Goal: Learn all she can to succeed her father and rule the kingdom fairly.
Aspirations: Unite lesser houses and nations under her banner so that her kingdom might grow and that smaller lands will be safe from targets from other larger kingdoms. Minimize deadly poverty among the lower classes.
Hobbies: Hunting, tanning, weaving, singing, and dancing.
Talents: Hunting, leather and pelt work, swimming, war strategy, war, and riding.
Inabilities: Embroidery, holding her tongue when she knows full well she should, heights, being around rodents, see clearly more than 100' away, walking in dressed when she's angry.
Fears: Losing her father, losing her throne, becoming like a few of the mad kings not so far down the family line, having her horse fall in battle.
General Personality: Gwen can be rather unpredictable. She has been trained to exude the royal air when she is being observed in the capital and has a natural baring when she takes up the position of general. But when left alone or pushed to the end of her rope, she can be stubborn, high strung, brutish, and did anyone mention stubborn?
Inner Personality: She was born in the shadow of her mother's death and that sorrow has carried with her all her life. She knows she has the capacity for great cruelty and viciousness and is always afraid that one day in old age, she will turn to look at her life and find only madness and evil in her wake. She is lonely and feels perpetually heart broken for reasons she refuses to examine as the ghosts of felled enemies haunt her in her darker hours of solitude.
Special Items: The large amber cloak clasp Gwen inherited from her mother. She wears it into battle religiously.
Weapons: Long sword and three other back up blades; one boot dagger in each boot, and a modified short sword tucked into her armor near her belly.
Magics: Absolutely none.
General History: Gwen's mother died giving birth to her but despite this, her father has done his best to raise her kindly. She traveled widely with her father for peace talks when she was a child but when skirmishes at border struck up, Gwen was old enough to be sent out with an army to handle the conflicts on her own. She has lost a few battles but always and without fail rallied to utterly destroy the victors. While there are surely events in her life that will be recorded for the history books, little eventful has happened in her personal affairs.
Present Life: With the borders again secure, Gwen has returned to Valeria to study diplomacy. Her father also hopes to teach her how to walk the tightrope of doing what is right by the lands while avoiding the bit of waiting noble daggers and coups and rebellions that lay below, eager to see her fall.