Name: Aenyarin Age: 167 Gender: Female Race: Altmer Appearance: Aenyarin's appearance is what one would typically expect of the Altmer, having been culturally bred over ages to resemble the Aldmer as closely as possible, and has almost all of the features one would typically associate with her Aldmeri heritage. Aenyarin's skin tone is the pale gold that springs to mind when one typically imagines the appearance of a typical High Elf, of fair complexion, and remarkably blemish-free, sans a single scar near the corner of her left eye. High cheekbones and angular features adorn her face and present a very naturally serious look that her expressions often do little to mask. Aenyarin's eyes are light hazel, less vibrant but more rich than her skin tone, and serve to accentuate the golden look she possesses rather than stand out like the eyes of many of the other races. Aenyarin's hair completes her overall theme, a shade in between burnished bronze and gold, and reaches just below her sternum at full length tied in a ponytail, and she has bangs that frame the sides of her face of a slightly lighter golden colour. Aenyarin's build is fairly typical of the Altmer, being lithe and toned, but not sturdy enough to give off the impression of a great deal of capability regarding physical activity. Aenyarin stands at a rather tall 6'2" compared to many of the other races, and especially females, though her weight is comparable to the average of many other races due to her heritage, and her silhouette is also largely typical of true Altmeri heritage. Overall, Aenyarin is no great beauty, but selective breeding has given her the closest approximation to the Aldmer that her forebears could muster, and that gives her a certain respect among her own kind, if nothing else. Personality: Aenyarin's primary attribute is her tremendous intellect, which her race and culture are often wont to possess, and it is clear from even the first impression of her that she has devoted much of her life and time towards cultivating a natural aptitude of learning. Knowledge is power, the creed of many mages and perhaps also of many Altmer, is perhaps the most fundamental aspect of her personality that drives her forward, but it - like all inherent principles - blossoms into various traits dependent on the environment in which it is cultured, and the values by which it is fed. As a proud member of the Altmer, this gave Aenyarin's natural aptitude a haughty and insular edge. Aenyarin knows that she is significantly better at the magical arts than most hope to achieve in their lifetimes, and that fact is a constant facet of her personality - she is a superior being in many regards, as Altmer believe that they are, and she wears that fact proudly and openly (often to the chagrin of those that do not share her love for her race and culture). Even through such arrogance and pride she is not unpalatable, however, as her passion and wisdom also shine through to somewhat dull the sharp edge of her more brusque qualities. Aenyarin finds value in many things, in currency, in information, in culture, and appreciates finery in all of its forms - though she often thinks herself inscrutable to the lesser minds of the less cultured and less magically adept races, brilliance is something she is undeniably attracted to and fascinated by, and she can overlook most things in order to see the true value of exceptionalism - a trait many of her brethen do not possess. Politicking is something that Aenyarin adores. Her battles are won with wit and charm, with force of will and strength of mind, and as an Altmer she expects no less of herself or her fellows. The other races are easier to forgive for these shortcomings as they are not expected to be on the level of a superior being like Aenyarin, and just as she appreciates and holds great respect for brilliance, she holds the utmost scorn for failures and dullards. Her level of contempt for those that do not at the very least aspire to be the greatest that they can be is exceptionally difficult for her to hide, and often she will simply project the brunt of her derision at them with little care for the consequences such outbursts can have. Morality is, in particular, a concept that Aenyarin grapples with often. She does not necessarily consider herself to be immoral, but she considers everything other than the Altmer to have less value than she and her people do, and will not hesitate to sacrifice them for things she considers to be of greater value. For as long as anything, except her people, are less valuable than something else she will consider them to be expendable. On the other hand, she is well aware of the value of long-standing friendships and of the many skills that she needs, and will not dispose of them lightly. The Altmer have long lives, and Aenyarin sees the bigger picture for many things, including the value of her allies and friends. History: Aenyarin's early life was typical of the Altmer - a lifetime's worth of education in culture, in history, in religion, and - of course - in magic. These things were taught to be of the greatest value, of fundamental and paramount importance to Aenyarin's life and to her ability to contribute to Altmeri society, and follow these instructions she did. Aenyarin excelled in these areas, and for a great deal of her childhood and adolescence was mired within the deep politicking and learning of culture that so often takes place on Summerset. A large part of Aenyarin's life was tied up on Summerset, but she had aspirations that existed outside of the island she called her home, and those ambitions did not go unnoticed by an agent of the Thalmor called Marne, who inducted the promising Altmer. Aenyarin was recruited as a diplomat and mediator, as she possessed the pride of the Altmer necessary to sympathise with the Thalmor and the natural affinity for politicking that came with being a diplomat. Aenyarin's presence was first noted in Cyrodiil around the time of the Great War, where she did not directly fight but aided in talks with the Empire. In her natural state of wanting to advance, Aenyarin took up more and more lucrative missions for the Thalmor, learning what skills she needed to survive in the practical world as she went by, and eventually her skills were found to be worthy of use in the Thalmor's less savoury internment camps. Aenyarin continued her work with the Thalmor for several years, learning the ways of torture and interrogation, and occasionally branching out as a field agent for combat-light missions. As time went on, she began to tire of her status not increasing, and sought to further herself within the ranks. She took on strenuous mission after strenuous mission, even in things she was not necessarily particularly exceptional at, and earned a name for herself within the Thalmor quickly. After a time of pushing herself far too hard, she was noticed and considered for promotion by her superiors, and sent on a delicate mission to cement her place. Deception is the game of those in the Thalmor, however, and Aenyarin's mission was sabotaged by a jealous rival, who attacked her (and left the distinctive scar on her left eye) and took the glory of the mission's success for himself. Aenyarin was too useful for the Thalmor to dismiss, but her failure to anticipate such an attack from her fellows was a sign of weakness in their eyes - she was permitted to stay in high esteem, but she would not receive a promotion. For one who strived always to brilliance, this was an insult of the highest regard. When one has joined a group such as the Thalmor, however, it is impossible to ever truly be rid of them. Aenyarin took less and less missions, applying the skills and knowledge she had garnered to adventuring to make her trade, until such a point where she requested to be removed from active duty and sent back to Summerset. The Thalmor agreed, for a time, and she spent time in her homeland examining where she went from there on out. Over time, Aenyarin reaffirmed her love for her people and homeland but decided to return to mainland Tamriel in order to continue to improve like she had in the Thalmor's service, but grew wary of their ways and how they treated those that they no longer considered particularly useful. She grew to feel that the Thalmor had the correct intentions but incorrect execution for the destiny of her people, and elected not to fully return to their service on the mainland, but to adventure for herself first and foremost. Her skill in illusion magic and in diplomacy allowed her to negotiate a deal with her masters, affording her use of the Thalmor's vast networks of information, spies, and occasionally resources in exchange for her reporting upon the state of things in the other provinces of Tamriel and occasionally her keen talent for interrogation. After following a lucrative lead to Cheydinhal, Aenyarin found herself amongst a group of adventurers who promised a lead to an undisturbed Nordic tomb that could prove particularly lucrative - and having nothing to hold her back, Aenyarin agreed. [b]First Impressions:[/b] -Hector Sibassius: Aenyarin sees Hector as the quintessential mercenary with a heart of gold that seems to draw packs of adventurers together, and is appreciative of the fact that he is part of the group for this if nothing else. Aenyarin is wary of one who does not strive to be the best they can be, but appreciates the level of discipline he has already achieved, though she will push for him to train more extensively from time to time if he does not. Aenyarin expects later tension to develop between the two, given her Thalmor nature and Hector's ex-Imperial nature, but that tension will be a point of interest more than a bother, she suspects. -Hraf Raven-Eye: Aenyarin is wary of Hraf, having experience with manipulative silver-tongued criminals from her more lucrative assignments while she worked for the Thalmor, but fundamentally agrees with him on many levels - their primary motives are gold and they see eye to eye on the usefulness of people extending to what they can do over their personality. Aenyarin will likely always remain wary, always looking for weakness, and will be quick to act should he think that the small team is too big for both of them to stay. -Merci du Mersot: Aenyarin likes that Merci is thoroughly infatuated with magic, and that she strives for excellence within the magical arts. She knows that Merci will never achieve what she herself can achieve as she is an Altmer, and is happy with Merci's place in the magical hierarchy of the group: below her. If asked, Aenyarin would be willing to assist Merci with magical endeavours out of respect for her initiative and never wanting to pass up a chance to express that she is the superior mage. -Elayne Ashing: Aenyarin's opinion of Elayne is similar to her opinion of Merci, though she has more respect for the traditional tutelage of magic due to its complex nature, even if she does not believe that truly effective magical tutelage is possible outside of the Summerset Isles or the Psijic Order. Elayne seems to be the kind of mage that Aenyarin has respect for, and her personality seems to be fairly standard insofar as adventurers go, so she does not foresee any real tension in the future that she cannot dissolve. -Balen Oril: Balen is the kind of character that Aenyarin detests - magically talented, but essentially a waste of skin when it comes to the arcane arts. She can respect a hunger for knowledge, but his blatant disregard for the proper use of magic and his set-solid belief that his is the true path is, perhaps hypocritically, a source of endless frustration for the haughty Altmer. -Baladas Venym: Aenyarin considers this particular Dunmer to be borderline psychotic, magically talented (though less so than herself), and completely and utterly dangerous. The Telvanni have always held a particular charm for their talent at mastering the magical arts, but unless Baladas raises himself to his ancestors' standards, Aenyarin will never truly be able to hold back her contempt. She respects his magic, but expects him to live up to the name and will accept nothing less. -Ungimros: Aenyarin's contempt for Bosmeri culture is obvious at even her first glance towards a Bosmer, and that very same prejudice rules her opinion of Ungimros. She has little to say about him, rare for an Altmer, and would prefer to pay him no mind unless he can somehow prove himself undeniably useful. -Azriel Telvayn: Azriel is just another Dunmer to Aenyarin, and she knows better than to ask about their pasts - he does not strive to any kind of brilliance, nor is he a mage, and for this Aenyarin will simply let him alone or chide him occasionally like she does to all non-Altmer. Skills: Aenyarin’s primary skill is magic, and in it she considers herself exceptionally skilled. Though this is somewhat true, her skills are not as impressive as she perhaps believes them to be. Aenyarin's primary focus is on Illusion magic, which she is well into the Expert-level of, and is skilled in magic that aims to win people over, pacify people, or induce fury. Of particular note is that her Illusion magic has often been turned to torture and interrogation, creating illusory scenarios designed to break willpower and inflict imaginary pain. Also of note are her Adept-level skills in Destruction magic, something that proved to be necessary as a field agent, and in Restoration magic (which has saved her life on several occasions). Aenyarin's particular affinity in Destruction magic is Ice-based, and she has little focus on the other two elements that comprise the school, but is not necessarily unskilled in them. Aenyarin's Restoration magic consists primarily of healing, but after a particularly nasty incident involving Draugr, she is also somewhat turning and repelling the undead. Aenyarin’s primary non-magical talent is that of Speechcraft, supplemented by her talents in Illusion magic, and she is a very accomplished diplomat and negotiator, able to get her party’s demands met in the way that benefits that party the most – often at the expense of those she is against. Aenyarin also has a strong knowledge of cookery, a moderate knowledge of enchanting, and a penchant for being generally abrasive to lesser races, in particular the Bosmer. Equipment: Aenyarin carries little equipment with her, electing to travel light enough to flee if caught in a position she cannot magic her way out of. She carries with her several books for reading, a journal and writing tools, and a simple steel dagger that she cannot effectively use. Her equipment consists of two sets, one being her Thalmor uniform, and another being a set of Expert-level robes (complete with boots and a hood). Birthsign: The Apprentice Miscellaneous: Her favourite food is poached salmon.