[hider=Ash]
[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/dxtMx9H.png[/img][img]http://i.imgur.com/ipZlADu.jpg[/img][/center]
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[indent][b]| NAME |[/b]
[indent][color=778899]Ashley "Ash" Keller[/color] [/indent]
[b]| DEPARTMENT |[/b]
[indent][color=778899]Hunting and Sporting Goods[/color][/indent]
[b]| AGE |[/b]
[indent][color=778899]Twenty-Seven[/color][/indent]

[b]| TRAITS |[/b]
• [color=778899][b]"The arrow flies—"[/b][/color]
[indent]The first, of many, important lessons for a young Rover is how to use the bow. Since Ash was of age she's been practicing almost religiously. At this point in her life, she's among the top archers, though she's not nearly considered one of the best, and without her bow she loses a lot of her primary usefulness.[/indent]
• [color=778899][b]"to silence breath—"[/b][/color]
[indent]As expected, within the trade of being a good archer is also being apt at stealth and patience. Among the Roving Clans, a battle can be decided in the space of a few seconds and a handful of well placed arrows. This means catching your enemy off guard, unaware, and having the best position and vantage point. This also means knowing when to stalk quietly, and when to remain still. Her clan called this teaching [i]"Shadow Walking"[/i].[/indent]
• [color=778899][b]"to swiftly move—"[/b][/color]
[indent]Perhaps the most important lesson, second only to the bow itself: How to move. To the Roving Clans, moving doesn't mean walking from point A, to point B. Moving means traversing; running, jumping, climbing. Gaining the best vantage point means nothing if you can't reach it. Equipped with gear for the more difficult climbs, and paired with high stamina, there are few places Ash considers unreachable.[/indent]
• [color=778899][b]"the raven comes-"[/b][/color]
[indent]Much like a Raven has talons, so too does Ash. She carries a pair of hunting knifes, which have their own story: One that has been told to her many times, one she will will add her own story to before passing the knives on. Knife fighting, however, is quite a secondary attribute and is considered a worst case scenario set of skills. A good archer, or so it's taught, should never put themselves in a position to need to resort to their knives. The skill is taught, and Ash is good with them, but she's resigned herself to the fact that she'll never be like one of the legends told to her as a child.   
[/indent]
• [color=778899][b]"wise in death."[/b][/color]
[Indent]The last of Ash's skills is something that it both taught, and not. Being wise is something a person is, especially with time. She's got a decent brain attuned to her craft. She's got a strategic mindset, especially for positioning and rigging a fight in her favor. Being crafty [i]is[/i] something that can be taught. Ash knows how to craft, and set a good many traps. She's also pretty handy at creating them on the fly.[/indent][/indent]

[b]| EQUIPMENT |[/b]
[indent]•[url=http://imgur.com/ikLUA4N]Dark Fatigues[/url] - An ensemble common among [i]Clan Black[/i], or garb that is similar.

•[url=http://imgur.com/sisQHRi]Skull Mask[/url] and Balaclava - Accessories among the Clan are head-wraps or coverings, and masks or other face gear. This particular item came from a raid in a Holiday Department.

•[url=http://imgur.com/VKecaU4]Silbador[/url] - For obvious reasons, Ash's path is that of the archer, and this is the name of her recurve bow. It translates into [i]"Whistler"[/i]

•[url=http://imgur.com/4f4JXnF]Black Backpack[/url] - An essential item that holds within a lot of her miscellaneous stuff and survival items; climbing gear, camping equipment, some rough navigation devices, and some small tools to assist in crafting, mending, and trap setting. Also holds a very basic set of medical supplies; meaning some wraps, band-aids, and some antibacterial ointment that hopefully hasn't expired. It also contains a duffel bag folded up within, for loot and treasure.

•[url=http://imgur.com/NO2SOT5]Abonar & Cosechar[/url] - Her two knives, handed down to her from her mentor. The names mean [i]"To Cull"[/i] and [i]"To Reap"[/i], respectively. 
[/indent]
[b]| BIOGRAPHY |[/b]
[indent]Within the realm of the Hunting and Sporting Goods department exist various roaming clans, the primary and most notable of these are the established, and traditional clans; Green Clan, Orange Clan, and the newer Red Clan. Typically, unless attempting to trick or beguile others, these clans wear their respective colors to symbolize their patriotism and loyalty. There are many lesser, minor clans with much less prestige.

Ash hails from Green Clan, who are not so dissimilar from Orange Clan, but a bitter rivalry exists between them that has escalated in a sort of cold war. However, they do differ in their traditions and rituals, and those reasons are likely why the two clans will never really see eye-to-eye. The clans as a whole are commonly referred to as the Roving Clans, as they never really settle.

Being set in the Hunting and Sporting goods department, there exists ample means for the clans to stay on the move. Venturing out of their department to loot, raid, or scavenge other areas of interest, and return again. Even those who are left behind, the civil service folk, the children, and the elderly move on to a new location every so often. To do otherwise would to invite chaos and devastation from the other clans.

Ash spent much of her life learning the traditions of her people; Use of the bow, shadow walking, and the art of movement. Training in these traditional lessons comes at a young age, but only when she's able to draw the children's bow fully without aid. Once a child manages that, they may begin their ascension into adulthood. Which sounds high and mighty, but really it's a lot of learning, reciting, and practicing.

Ever the eager youngster, Ash took part in her first raid when she was sixteen, though she was paired with a mentor who kept her relatively safe. For the first year she was only to watch, to learn, and to visualize. Alec Thurgood, her mentor, taught her all that he could in the time that they were together—A span of five years. Eventually, he was the one to deem her fit for Rangerhood, and sanctioned the ceremony that would conclude the completion of her training. He was also the one to pass down her blades, [i]Abonar & Cosechar[/i], and tell her the story behind them as his mentor did, and the mentor before him, and so forth.

At the ripe age of Twenty-One, she was allowed to perform the duties she'd spent most of her life learning and anticipating. She was a fully-fledged ranger, and she was good at what she did. As her mentors told her, "One never truly experiences all things, nor do they ever master skills, nor do they know all—Life is a lesson in itself, one that is ever teaching and passing along wisdom in all forms. If you learn something in a day, then it has been a good day indeed."

Unfortunately for Ash, life also teaches lessons in cruelty and misfortune. Whether it be through happenstance, carelessness, or just plain back luck: The bloodthirsty Red Clan set upon Ash's clansmen whilst a majority of the rangers were out on a large raid they had been planning when Ash was twenty-five. Ash has yet to truly learn how it came about, though most speculate that Red Clan figured out Green Clan's signs. Travel signs are subtle markings so that those who are out raiding can find the others once more. When the raiding Rangers finally arrived to their newly settled home, there was nothing let but smoke and ruin. 

A deep wound was left on Ash's heart, so too on many of her kinsmen. Some took their own lives and offered their souls to the gods. Others came down with "The Longing": A sense of purposelessness, a state of searching but never knowing what you're looking for, a heartbreak so deep a person may never get over it. Ash took the last route, as did many others—Joining Clan Black.

The final of the major known clans, Clan Black is many things and accepts most everyone. Those who have lost their clan; the exiles, degenerates, or unfortunate. Those who are mourning and have vowed vengeance for wrongdoings. Clan Black encompasses many, or none at all. Some wander together as brothers in arms, others trudge on alone though each member finds solace and acceptance within each other—They are all family. For some, that's the only family they have left.

Some members of Clan Black become things of legend, boogeymen to scare misbehaved children, legends of sorrow or misery, or mythical specters of death. Ash doesn't aspire to become something fabled, or feared. She mourns, and has sworn vengeance upon Red Clan, and any others that may have betrayed her. However, to gain the information she needs, she must have time. To challenge the raid captain that led the attack that took away her life, her friends, and her family she needs prestige. Red Clan do not accept duels with those who have garnered no honor, and to take them all on would be foolhardy. Fortunately, Ash is no fool.

Much like a spirit can't pass into the next life without settling affairs in this world, so to will Ash wear black until her vow is complete. Even if she completes her task, and removes the black, there may come a time when she must don it again should unfinished business come to light.[/indent]
[center]"As is the night eternal, so is the black."[/center][/hider]