[center][h1][u]S j a r a[/u][/h1]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/vN0J1ud.png?1[/img]

[b]“It would be nice if you would stop asking about Valenwood. I’m from [i]Skyrim[/i]. I know it's hard to believe.”[/b][/center]

    [color=B75135][sub][u]N A M E[/u][/sub][/color] 

[list]Sjara, “Elf-Daughter”[/list]
    [color=B75135][sub][u]A G E[/u][/sub][/color]    

[list]27[/list]
    [color=B75135][sub][u]G E N D E R[/u][/sub][/color]    

[list]Female[/list]
    [color=B75135][sub][u]R A C E[/u][/sub][/color]    

[list]Bosmer[/list]
    [color=B75135][sub][u]A P P E A R A N C E[/u][/sub][/color]    

[list]Sjara is a young Bosmer woman with reddish-brown hair and a paler variation of the atypical complexion of her race due to her fosterage in the wooded hills of Skyrim over the warmer more exotic lands her parents hail from. She stands at 4’8”, which is an approximate standard for someone of her gender and ethnic background. Due to a life guided by her mentor in the wooded hills of Falkreath Sjara is spry and athletic as such is reflected in her physical form; she may not be able to bench a Nord but she can certainly hold her own in a brawl. 

As a woman who identifies as a denizen of Skyrim above all else, no hesitations or conceits of being an “elf” are present in her attire – if she’s [i]killed[/i] it she’s probably [i]worn[/i] it. In this she has been jokily deferred to as a “nord-elf” by others and whilst she doesn’t mind the term, she’s fashions herself to be more concerned with being protected and warm than bothered by words of expectations. She tends to prefer leather armor with hide cloaks over bulky heavy armor sets and likes to keep her rucksack set to organize most situations one would fine in the frozen hills of Skyrim. Sjara is not a woman who you will ever hear the complaint of it being cold.[/list]
    [color=B75135][sub][u]P E R S O N A L I T Y[/u][/sub][/color]    

[list]Sjara’s heard all of the jokes and honestly by this point in her life she’s in-between being exhausted by them and simply not caring for them. Names like “elf-daughter” have been part of her identity with no consent on her part for the last twenty-seven years and it doesn’t seem that Skyrim-born Nords are changing their impressions of her no matter what she does. Due to this she’s developed a sort of scornful sense of humor that is prone to quips and passive-aggressive retorts; her vocal tone is flat and blade-edged. Sjara’s mentor, Skor, believes this to be a mental shield, to protect her inner self like a shield against a rampaging troll; but ultimately futile. 

Scorn and wit aside, Sjara is a complicated individual who really doesn’t know what she [i]wants[/i] out of life. In her own mind she likes to fashion herself as a survivalist who is content to be left alone as a scavenger and trader, but the idle curiosities of adventure still fill her head at night; as if the will of her parents follows her like a relentless shadow. It is clear that her reservations and contentment is canceled out by the desire for something greater and instinct of hating the sight of unfairness and bigotry (idle or active). She has no want of fortune or fame, but she wants more than the routine and perhaps at her core desires to connect with her parents in the only way she can. It’s part of what’s brought her to the path she now finds herself on. 

A path she refuses to reject. Whether this is diligence or wanderlust, Sjara is trying to move forward and not letting the world deter her; which for those that know Sjara isn’t all that surprising considering the fact she’s always been bullheaded and stubborn; always firm and unbudging when she’s set her mind to a task or decision. This conviction can be difficult and challenging to deal with, but it also confirms that Sjara’s morals and ethics won’t be bent so easily by a pretty face or a few septims on the table. And assuming her conviction is to the group or a friend, it may turn into authentic trust. Though that speculation is entirely based that Sjara has the ability to connect with others on an emotional level.[/list]
    [color=B75135][sub][u]H I S T O R Y[/u][/sub][/color]    

[list]A Bosmer that’s [i]native[/i] to Skyrim? It isn’t as absurd as one might think.

Sjara is the sole survivor of a group of Valenwood adventurers that settled in Skyrim some ten-to-twenty years before the young sharpshooter was even a twinkle in her mother’s eye. As with the nature of Skyrim, Sjara’s parents found themselves involved throughout the region in situations and adventures that often endangered their lives and the lives of their comrades. Whether it was stamping out bandit activity, investigating an abandoned structure, or being in the service to the influence of Riften’s most dissolute and desperate, her parents found a lifestyle that was always thrilling and dangerous; oftentimes by dragging their most loyal of friends into their schemes and exploits. A fact that Sjara’s mentor and guardian, [u]Skor of Riften[/u], reflected upon to Sjara in her youth. A youth that was felt without her parents, [u]Eloradan[/u] and [u]Elpriel[/u].

For reasons unknown to Sjara her parents had met untimely demises within the months leading up to her birth; her father had died on a venture alongside Skor in a dwemer ruin and complications in the birthing process led Elpriel dying several minutes after her child was born, crying as she laid in Skor’s trembling hands. The old Nord named her the name she now bears and the reason she holds a Nordic name instead of one that originated in Valenwood as he took to the promise he made to Eloradan shortly before his closest friend’s death in the ruin they had been tasked to explore, to watch over and raise his daughter as if she was Skor’s own. For the next fourteen years of Sjara’s life, Skor would keep that promise.

Sjara’s childhood began on the outskirts of Falkreath, taking lead from Skor as he taught her the various skills and knowledges that were necessary to know such as archery, knowing how to survive in the wilds, the dangers of Skyrim, the huntsman trade, and various other niches; if Skor knew it, Sjara was to know it in due time. These lessons were not easy ones to be learned, especially considering the turbulent times that Sjara experienced throughout her childhood that begun a spiral of events to turn Skyrim into a dangerous and unwelcome place. Skor oftentimes kept Sjara focused, telling her to ignore the stories about the [i]Forsworn[/i] and that the tensions between Nords and non-Nords would eventually come to pass; describing it as a temporary distraction caused from the strife of war between the Dominion and the incompetency of the Imperium. Sjara took her mentor’s advice as truths, though she did often wondered if these truths would be seen in the immediate future.

Eventually, Sjara found herself growing into adulthood and knew what this would soon mean. In celebration of this Skor prepared several trials of blood, sweat, and tears for her to complete to prove herself as a daughter of Skyrim and to show him that she was no longer a child. Skor did not go easy on her and Sjara did not expect him to; he was her guardian and mentor, but he was also a meeting point, a challenge to beat, and a measure to defeat. Upon completing these trials and earning the respect of Skor, Sjara knew that this achievement was only the beginning of her life. Fourteen years after her birth and she was finally ready to leave Skor and Falkreath.

For the next decade or so, Sjara traveled throughout Skyrim and Northern Cyrodiil using the skills she had achieved as a hunter, tracker, and archer to the benefit of those that needed it and for those that could pay her the septims for her service. It wasn’t the most adventurous life and it certainly wasn’t as exciting as she imagined the quests her parents had gone through, but it was better than just sitting in Falkreath for the rest of her life trading pelts and meats for the rest of her days being content in her mundanity. Great quests and exciting ventures aside, the life she chose wasn’t exactly without its own merits and dangers; Sjara had found herself dealing with bandits, Forsworn raiders, and cavern-dwelling creatures more time than she could count and that wasn’t including the destabilization gained in her homeland from the ongoing civil war incited by the Stormcloak Rebellion; a rebellion she found herself involved in on occasion.

Involvement in the Skyrim Civil War was unofficial at best as by this point in her life Sjara was very much aware what people thought of her because of her race and not her nationality; disregarding her as another elf and doubting the sincerity of her efforts on the backroads in southernmost Skyrim for the cause merely because much like the Thalmor she too had pointy ears. Sjara discarded the bigotry and decided to focus on helping those effected by the ongoing rebellion and personally involved herself when she discovered Thalmor prisoner caravans – being a skilled sharpshooter and hunter it only made sense that she could at the very least free the men and women who found themselves in chains because a vicious group of invaders thought them inferior. It was ironic in a way.

Following the war, she decided to return to Falkreath for a time. It is one of the reasons she finds herself in a new albeit exciting situation.[/list]
    [color=B75135][sub][u]S K I L L S[/u][/sub][/color]    

[list]
[hider=Major Skills (2)][b][u]Acrobatics[/u][/b]: A valid skill when being chased by a crazed bear or inching into a strategically viable perch, Sjara is a skilled in the art of acrobatics to the point she can move around a crowded forest whilst avoiding the busy well-trodden pathways. This can apply to certain caves and urban environments as well, though it takes a good eye to use her maneuverability in an environment that isn’t the backwoods of Falkreath.

[b][u]Archery[/u][/b]: A skilled marksman in the manners of the bow and arrow, Sjara has been trained since she was old enough to walk in the manners of conventional marksmanship. This is not the makings of some racial advantage but rather time-tested skill and diligent instruction as a child from her mentor whom has no elven blood running in his veins. Sjara isn’t even sure she could still beat Skor in a contest of archery even now as an adult with experience and refinement of skill behind her.
[/hider]
[hider=Minor Skills (3)][b][u]Alchemy[/u][/b]: A hunter needs to know what herbs in the forest and caves of Skyrim are favorable to one’s health and which ones will kill you if ingested. By this measure Sjara isn’t really an [i]alchemist[/i] though she knows how to make a decent salve or poultice to her advantage, but she’s not a toxicologist or healer either so most of what she knows is rudimentary knowledge meant for survivals sake.

[b][u]One-Handed Weapons[/u][/b]: You need to be skilled with a knife to skin a deer. You need to be even more skilled to fell a group of bandits that thought ambushing a hunter’s camp was a good idea. Trained in the art of sword and knife by the same man who taught her to shoot things with point sticks, Sjara is not untested in the art of one-handed bladed weapons. That said, she has not made it her life goal to be an exceptional swordsman or duelist.

[b][u]Sneak:[/u][/b] Sjara is quiet, perhaps not as unnoticeable as a Riften thief or Brotherhood assassin, but she is skilled in stealth to an extent. As a hunter and adventurer, getting the “drop” on your targets is a valuable skillset to have and Sjara has basically been hunting all her life. But hunting animals and sneaking up on people are two different things entirely. Anyone with a good pair of ears might notice her attempts.
[/hider]

[/list]
    [color=B75135][sub][u]E Q U I P M E N T[/u][/sub][/color]  

[list]Sjara is [i]ready[/i] for adventure. Paired with a normal quiver fitted with steel arrows, [u][b]Sjara’s bow[/b][/u] was once held by her mother before her passing and is one of two sentimental items in her inventory. This bow is unenchanted and otherwise seemingly mundane outside of the fact it is a skillfully made shortbow of elven make and design.

In terms of protection, as stated previously, Sjara fancies herself insulated [u][b]leather armor[/b][/u] and [u][b]hide cloaks[/b][/u] to protect her from the elements and dangers of Skyrim. It keeps her warm and doesn’t weigh her down. A good hunter knows that they need to be nimble and unfrozen to survive. She does not tend to use shields nor is she taken to helmets as they obscure her vision. Beyond her armor, cloak, bow, and supplies all she has for defense of her person is a [u][b]Nordic short blade[/b][/u] made of steel and while she knows how to use it the weapon tends to remain sheathed in most of her encounters. There’s also a simple [u][b]skinning knife[/b][/u], but she hasn’t had to use it in combat in quite the amount of time and thus thinks of it more for its initial purpose.

Her rucksack tends to carry her miscellaneous items needed for scavenging and survival – torches, basic herbs in a cloth pouch, a coinpurse, a flask, and the usual accompaniment of supplies.[/list]
    [color=B75135][sub][u]B I R T H S I G N[/u][/sub][/color]  

[list]The Lord[/list]
    [color=B75135][sub][u]M I S C E L L A N E O U S[/u][/sub][/color]  

[list]Marne[/list]