[hider=Lady Nesrine of Harad] [img]http://i.imgur.com/eYKBhrN.png[/img] [u][b]Name: [/b][/u] Lady Nesrine [u][b]Age: [/b][/u] 39 [u][b]Description: [/b][/u] Lady Nesrine is no stranger to the international stage. She is trained as a soldier, but shines brightest on the political battlefield, where she takes great joy in the metaphorical bloodshed and violence of renegotiated trade routes and an opponent's diplomatic humiliation. Though Nesrine reigns as Master of Erdir, the northernmost Haradrim kingdom, you can tell just from looking at her that she has set her eyes on a prize somewhere far above everyone else’s shoulders. Her ambition is a force like fire and brimstone, and she has great plans for the future of the Fourth Age. Even during peacetime, she was always a bit of a thorn in the side of Gondor, which gave her no small popularity among the various Harad nations. It was under her rule that Erdir gained a reputation for frequent (and sometimes successful) political pushes for reestablishing Harad influence in both the great port city Umbar and in Gondorian Harondor. She is most infamous for the brazen and daring construction of Sur Saraf ten years ago, now a prosperous port town on the mouth of the Harnen River, almost directly on top of the border between Near Harad and Southern Gondor. Though never proven, suspicion runs high in the West that Lady Nesrine and Erdir have indirectly sponsored the more aggressive Haradrim tribes in their military clashes with southern Gondor in the past. However, rumors aside, she has allowed free trade and travel by Gondorians in Sur Saraf and the rest of Erdir, even in the current contentious climate of the South. She prefers Gondorians humiliated to killed, and is privately perturbed by some of the recent unrest in the region that has come trickling in from distant Khand. When news reached her of the fall of Minas Ithil, Nesrine dispatched her spies and rangers to the east and north, and decided to personally attend the coming council as representative of Erdir. Harad would not sit on the sidelines while others decided the future of Middle Earth, and there was no one she trusted more than herself to oversee this changing of the tides. Tall and imposing, Nesrine stands at 6’4”, with a grim black gaze offset by long, slightly smiling lips. Her cunning mouth and scarred jawline are often the only parts of her face visible, as the traditional crown of Erdir covers up its owner’s eyes with a long visor. She has the slow and careful walk of someone who is used to sudden and violent fights. Gold rings glitter at her fingers. Nesrine wears a long red cloak over immaculate Haradrim scale-armor the color of brass and sunblasted rock. Her kingly overcoat drags a little on the ground behind her, and is marked with intricate gold patterns across the sleeves and back. At her hip is the ceremonial king-sword of Erdir, a pale and beautiful thing carved from mumakil ivory, along with a long and much more pragmatically made sword of yellow iron. Lady Nesrine is a great believer in knowledge as power, and has invested considerable resources into the research of the past, especially into the smithing arts taught to the southron people by Sauron in the Second Age. Thought traditionally rule of Erdir fell primarily in the hands of the Erdira Council, Nesrine has fashioned herself with through years of posturing and politicking into a role more fitting a Queen. [/hider] [hider=Nira Bassar] [u][b]Name: [/b][/u] Nira Bassar [u][b]Age: [/b][/u] 26 [u][b]Description: [/b][/u] Nira is not a great fan of the limelight. Not to be rude or anything, honest, but if you could go talk to someone else that’d be great, thanks. Easily flustered, generally shy, Nira is a natural fit for the silence of the wilds, where he is often dispatched as Lady Nesrine’s personal spy and reconnaissance officer. A slight, unimpressive build, a slight, unimpressive face, soft sad eyes and dark hair cropped close to the head—Nira is the kind of unremarkable-looking person who is perfectly suited for passing from place to place without being noticed. Nira has scouted the lands of southern Gondor and western Khand since he was first apprenticed to the rangers at 12. Soon, he was spending more time abroad than he was at home. Though deeply loyal to Nesrine (and perhaps harboring a precocious kind of crush on the reigning Master of Erdir), Nira has grown to love the wooded lands of Harondor and central Gondor. He is someone with a deep and quiet appreciation for the natural world, and often acts as a bit of a conscience towards Lady Nesrine, whose tendencies towards industry and technology might occasionally threaten the land around them. As a ranger, Nira wears a browner variant of the crimson, ankle-length cloak the warriors of Erdir are equipped with, along with a dark hood and lightweight clothing. His arms and legs are armored with Haradrim chainmail, masterly made, while a variety of weapons are kept on hand for multipurpose use. As a woodsman and hunter, Nira carries with him a hand-axe, a bow, and a vicious Harad-made dagger. An expert at identifying plants and herbs for cooking and healing, Nira is at home with the many tools offered to him by the wild, and is skilled at preparing all manner of shelter, medicine, and food. Nira is easily flattered, and enjoys feeling useful to others. [/hider] [hider=Basima Khan] [u][b]Name: [/b][/u] Basima Khan [u][b]Age: [/b][/u] 32 [u][b]Description: [/b][/u] Basima is a rather peaceful person, despite her status as Erdir’s Captain of the Guard. Slow and careful, and generally more laid back than you’d expect, Basima is the kind of woman who listens more often than talks, one of those people you associate with rainy days and hot cups of tea. In appearance, however, she more than fits the profile of Lady Nesrine’s armored right hand: a tall and stocky woman in the red cloak and proud armor of Near Harad, with a square jaw and narrow, hawkish eyes, and dark hair pulled back into a series of carefully ordered braids. She has a broad-shouldered build, and stands at nearly six feet, with a habit of folding her arms while listening. Basima herself likes to get to the point quickly and efficiently while talking, but privately enjoys hearing the arguments and quipping of others. As Captain of the Guard, Basima wears a strange helmet of leather and yellow iron, whose mask-like visor covers up her head with the angry face of a bearded and kingly man. It’s fairly common to see her without it, however, as Basima’s secondary duty requires unobstructed sight. Basima is a soldier first, but as the sister of the eminent Haradrim blacksmith Diwa Khan, she has learned more than a thing or two on architecture, blacksmithing, and the construction and maintenance of armor and weapons. She has a creative spirit and a fondness for the arts that she rarely makes public outside quick and efficient smithing and repairs, but has noncommittally encouraged Lady Nesrine once or twice to open up trade talks with the dwarves of Khazad-Dum, who she admires. Though not always visible due to her armor and helmet, Basima is much darker than most Haradrim, and her family traces its roots down to the distant countries on the edge of Far Harad. As outsiders in both the west and the south, she and her sister are appreciative of the faith Nesrine has put in them, and take enormous pride in the high positions they have both achieved in Erdir. In combat, Basima wields a shield and scimitar, both of which are often seen strapped to her back, and she is especially proficient at bringing the shield to battle as its own unusual blunt force weapon. [/hider]