@Letter Bee
Alright, hopefully that should cover it. If not, hit me up and I'll be happy to change it. As is, I took out the medic targeting and revised her father to sympathizing with the Separatists.
Alright, hopefully that should cover it. If not, hit me up and I'll be happy to change it. As is, I took out the medic targeting and revised her father to sympathizing with the Separatists.
Clarimonde Sauerstein was born to her mother and father in Steinholme, high atop the Grimrock mountains. The position in nobility had its privileges, but her parents always made sure to remind her that first and foremost, Sauersteins were strong. She attended every execution in Steinholme, was taught tactics, the basics of High magic for self-defense, and how to tell when loyalty to orders was more important than personal initiative. In particular, she took to medical studies with vigor, fascinated by the paradox of how hard it was to kill and how easy it was to die.
That is not to say that her childhood was joyless; far from it. She and her brother were inseparable, and her father showed a side of himself that few had seen in the presence of his family. He told them stories, his grim countenance relaxing into an expressive face full of wonder as he related tales of heroes and villains, legends and love. Her mother taught her court manners, but also how to sneak out the back when politics grew too dull. At nights, she would take her children to watch the skies together, pointing out constellations and shooting stars as they savored sweets stolen from the kitchen. Commonborn, Wilde told them of how to read weather and the beauty of simple joys. It was a good time in Clarimonde’s life, but it was not to last.
Eventually, the war came. Her father a major commander in the emperor’s army, he and his loyal forces stood with Du Reich des Goldenen Grahles staunchly… at first. As it progressed, he was summoned to meet with Emperor Maximilian XV for war counsel time and time again, emerging from his chambers less convicted every time. It came as a shock to the nation when his forces raised a new flag overnight, joining with the Rebellion as Rayner found himself swayed. Clarimonde herself was surprised, but her father remained silent on the matter. He always just stood there, jaw locked, and said that he couldn’t support his liege anymore, that he refused to see reason.
As time went on, the war went poorly. Clarimonde, seeing her twin brother enlist himself at the bottom rung of the military, as was custom for their family, saw fit to do the same. Though her father would not allow her to fight in the infantry, she enlisted as a field medic, an arguably more dangerous job. Medics were not allowed to carry weapons, in exchange for clemency from enemy forces. All the same, magic wasn’t innately offensive. Though she never killed, her wards and constructs saved more than a few from magic.
More time passed, Clarimonde bringing more soldiers back from the brink than she could remember, losing countless more. Her parents would not have wished it, but this experience more than any other taught her what it was to be a Sauerstein.
While she was away, the Reich reached Steinholme. Her mother led what defenses there were, but it was not enough. Wilde fell in defense of their home. Amwolf perished on the front lines, his body desecrated and his bones stolen. Her father was captured along with the rest of the leaders of the Rebellion.
The war was lost.
The Iron Decree came.
Clarimonde was to be auctioned off to the highest bidder as a slave. This was not to be allowed. To herself, bound and prevented from using her magic, the newfound heir to House Sauerstein composed herself. She would not show her captors any anguish. She would give those of her blood who fell a proper burial. She would find and save her father from his prison beneath Castle Goldenreche, and do what she could to spite the Empire any way she found.
She may be a slave for now, but Clarimonde Sauerstein is not a woman to be trifled with.
That is not to say that her childhood was joyless; far from it. She and her brother were inseparable, and her father showed a side of himself that few had seen in the presence of his family. He told them stories, his grim countenance relaxing into an expressive face full of wonder as he related tales of heroes and villains, legends and love. Her mother taught her court manners, but also how to sneak out the back when politics grew too dull. At nights, she would take her children to watch the skies together, pointing out constellations and shooting stars as they savored sweets stolen from the kitchen. Commonborn, Wilde told them of how to read weather and the beauty of simple joys. It was a good time in Clarimonde’s life, but it was not to last.
Eventually, the war came. Her father a major commander in the emperor’s army, he and his loyal forces stood with Du Reich des Goldenen Grahles staunchly… at first. As it progressed, he was summoned to meet with Emperor Maximilian XV for war counsel time and time again, emerging from his chambers less convicted every time. It came as a shock to the nation when his forces raised a new flag overnight, joining with the Rebellion as Rayner found himself swayed. Clarimonde herself was surprised, but her father remained silent on the matter. He always just stood there, jaw locked, and said that he couldn’t support his liege anymore, that he refused to see reason.
As time went on, the war went poorly. Clarimonde, seeing her twin brother enlist himself at the bottom rung of the military, as was custom for their family, saw fit to do the same. Though her father would not allow her to fight in the infantry, she enlisted as a field medic, an arguably more dangerous job. Medics were not allowed to carry weapons, in exchange for clemency from enemy forces. All the same, magic wasn’t innately offensive. Though she never killed, her wards and constructs saved more than a few from magic.
More time passed, Clarimonde bringing more soldiers back from the brink than she could remember, losing countless more. Her parents would not have wished it, but this experience more than any other taught her what it was to be a Sauerstein.
While she was away, the Reich reached Steinholme. Her mother led what defenses there were, but it was not enough. Wilde fell in defense of their home. Amwolf perished on the front lines, his body desecrated and his bones stolen. Her father was captured along with the rest of the leaders of the Rebellion.
The war was lost.
The Iron Decree came.
Clarimonde was to be auctioned off to the highest bidder as a slave. This was not to be allowed. To herself, bound and prevented from using her magic, the newfound heir to House Sauerstein composed herself. She would not show her captors any anguish. She would give those of her blood who fell a proper burial. She would find and save her father from his prison beneath Castle Goldenreche, and do what she could to spite the Empire any way she found.
She may be a slave for now, but Clarimonde Sauerstein is not a woman to be trifled with.
