**I did not draw this image. Credit to the real artist.**
After living with older Gemminite women for approximately a year in preparation for the next reaping, Arden transformed into the beautiful woman she always was. Her dark hair grew out, her lips were darkened a rich and succulent red, and her dark grey eyes could pierce another from across the room. Arden had always been tall and she had always been lean, as a man she could be described as “scrawny” but as a woman, she is described as “graceful.” The older Gemminite woman often spoke of her as a hidden beauty
Arden Gaothaire
Race:
Gemminite
Age:
19
Element(s):
Air
Height:
5’9"
Bio:
Liberty. Freedom. Autonomy. These were all but a few things that Air Gemminites living in Makani believed in. Makani was but one of many small towns scattered just outside of Prìseil Aldentine. Gemminites living in the towns that walled their capital enjoyed a life that was predictable, simple, and tailored to what they needed day by day. It was easy to access the capital when you wished for a busier day and easy to sit back and relax in the less robust atmosphere of your home when you needed to escape. As the towns were close to the capital, the families living there were used to offering their daughters to the Drakkan to maintain peace; this was simply just the way it was and was often never questioned. The Air Gemminites in Makani, however, were growing tired of watching their families be ripped apart. Some of them even began to believe that their goddess, Auram, would not stand for such an act against their own freedoms; the people were becoming restless.
The Gaothaire family were not strangers to the radical thinking that was beginning to shape. With each breeze of wind, their resolve was strengthening. Free Wind. It was the meaning of their bloodline’s name. It was a meaning that the Gaothaire family would fight for on the day of the birth of their baby girl. The Gaothaire’s were not going to let their child be ripped away from them in 18 years time when the day of the Reaping came; they would not stand for her to be offered to a Drakkan for everyone else’s freedom. The Gaothaire’s made a difficult but necessary choice; they would raise their child as a boy in order to protect her. She would be given a boy’s name, she would wear boy’s clothing, her chest would be wrapped, her hair kept short, and she would be taught what it was to be a man.
Arden. Arden will be your name and you are now our son.
Arden was raised with the beliefs, morals, and values of the ever growing thoughts of Liberty amongst the Air Gemminites in Makani. It drove her radical thinking and her dedication to living as something she was not. Being a man was not only for her sake, but for her people’s sake, it was a way to stand up against something that was wrong. It was but one small step toward a changing future. Arden knew the importance of keeping her true identity hidden, she understood all too well the implications of anyone discovering that she was female but most of all, she understood what it meant for all Gemminite women everywhere. Arden was strong, outspoken, but carried a diplomatic and kind voice. In all senses, she wanted to fight for the rights her sisters had been denied for generations.
It was on a night when the moon was at its highest that Arden’s true identity was discovered. The young woman was standing at the edge of the lake, her clothes lying at her feet. The wind blew against her soft skin and for a moment, she lost herself in a dream of a future where Gemminite women would no longer fear their 18th birthday; in a world where her sisters could live freely. Arden’s dream was shattered when a voice sounded behind her..
A woman!? You’re a woman!?
The court of the Gemminites came for the young woman at day break. The Gaothaire family surrendered peacefully, knowing that resisting would only bring turmoil to their home, however; the other Air Gemminites of Makani quietly protested. Arden was apprehended and would be taken into the care of older Gemminite women to learn what it meant to be a woman amongst their kind and to prepare her to be the bride of a Drakkan. It would be nearly a year before the Reaping, a year for Arden to become a woman, a year for her beauty to be realized, a year for the wind to grow within her silently.
Remember Arden, a small breeze has begun the winds of change. You are that breeze that will grow into a raging storm.
Other: Arden often can be heard singing, a pleasure she hid from the world when she was disguised as a boy. Her voice was once described as heavenly, a beautiful sound that is carried by the wind.
Adult Content Preference: Doesn't matter to me :)