[hider=Clarissa von Edmund | Major Crest of the Beast]

[center][img]https://i.pinimg.com/236x/70/25/59/7025598ca10a7ae9851fc27547fafff6.jpg[/img]
[sub]Height: 5'4" || Eye Color: Green[/sub][/center]

[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/210324/dbe0bc0721edcec6f442140ab3598857.png[/img]
[Sub][i][color=FF650E]We don't have all day![/color][/i][/sub][/center]

[color=FF650E][u]Name[/u][/color]
[indent]Clarissa von Edmund[/indent]
[color=FF650E][u]Age[/u][/color]
[indent]18 [sub][i]Born the 21st day of the Great Tree Moon, 1477[/i][/sub] [/indent]
[color=FF650E][u]Country of Origin[/u][/color]
[indent]Leicester Alliance[/indent]
[color=FF650E][u]Social Standing[/u][/color]
[indent]Noble: House Edmund[/indent]
[color=FF650E][u]Crest[/u][/color]
[indent]Crest of Maurice (Crest of the Beast)
[sub]Unbeknownst to her, Clarissa's Crest passively compels honesty from both those she speaks with and herself.[/sub][/indent]
[color=FF650E][u]Starting Class[/u][/color]
[indent]Monk[/indent]
[color=FF650E][u]Weapon of Choice[/u][/color]
[indent]White Magic (Sword secondary)[/indent]
[color=FF650E][u]Strengths[/u][/color]
[indent]Faith and Authority[/indent]
[color=FF650E][u]Weaknesses[/u][/color]
[indent]Lance and Axe[/indent]
[color=FF650E][u]Starting Spells[/u][/color]
[Indent]Heal
Nosferatu[/indent]
[color=FF650E][u]Personality[/u][/color]
[indent]Bold and impulsive, Clarissa Edmund is an aggressively outspoken proponent of her beliefs. The first to disregard the pretense of deliberation, Clarissa refuses empty flattery and circular arguing in favor of constructive criticism advancing her agenda. Her stance on issues is rarely unknown and she operates without the veneer of secrecy her political peers are so well known for. It’s her opinion that transparency is the fundamental value of trust and that only those with ill intention gain anything from secrecy. As such, she throws herself entirely into whatever she considers worthwhile, sure in her steps and steadfast in her convictions, and rarely double guesses her decisions. 

Unlike her mother who draws on the serenity of Seiros, Clarissa’s faith only fans the flames of her passion. She speaks glowingly of the establishment anytime the subject comes up, fully committed to the Church’s message of peace, forgiveness, and charity, and is quick to turn against those who speak ill of it. The Alliance’s neutrality with the Church has always bothered her—after all, Fodlan only stayed together thanks to the guidance of Archbishop Rhea—and she fully plans to support an expansion of the Church's influence in the Alliance.[/indent]
[color=FF650E][u]History[/u][/color]
[indent]The first born daughter of Beaufort and Odette Edmund, Clarissa Edmund seemed destined to be cut from the same cloth as her father: energetic, loud, and brash even as a baby. She spent her life proving everyone right. She spent her early years at her father’s knee, adopting his love for horseback riding, sailing, and swordplay during their outings and picking up the nuances of Edmund oration in the process. Each evening after lessons, the pair would slip away to Clarissa’s favorite spot in the family estate that overlooked the harbor and would talk about her studies and the world at large over a pot of mint tea. 

Her mother however, maintained an incredibly strict lifestyle for Clarissa when she wasn’t with her father. Born with a minor Crest of the Beast, Odette wept when she learned Clarissa inherited a Major Crest. Marianne Edmund’s adoption tainted the family line with the cursed Crest and her influence still shaped how the family handled the Crest three hundred years later. Odette limited her interaction with anyone outside of the core staff and immediate family and immersed Clarissa in Church activity. She believed that only faith and piety could combat the Crest’s malignant effects. She kept the truth of the Crest away from Clarissa as long as she could and it worked for a while.

However, the birth of her younger brother afforded her an opportunity to escape her mother’s limitations. With Beaufort as her ally, Clarissa won independent outings to the Church for a weekly social gathering of children her age with the condition that a trusted family friend, Bishop Jehan, would act as her chaperone. The man had the patience of Saint Cethleann herself and handled her million questions with ease. Her social group consisted mostly of the children of wealthy merchants and she quickly established her reputation as a leader, taking responsibility for the group and their activities. She molded the group in the image of Odette’s charity work and focused primarily on assisting those without money by fixing garments and blankets for free. While she didn’t particularly care for the work, it was something she hadn’t been allowed to do before and she quite liked having friends. 

She was content with her life and limited interactions until her 11th year, after the disastrous mock battle between House Gloucester and House Ordelia. Her father explained why the House had lost their seat: The House was on its last legs and survived solely on the support from others in the Alliance. As unfortunate as it was, a House needed to be powerful in its own right to sit at the table. The unease at the decision still festered inside her and unable to find the words to express why, she lashed out at her family, at her father for a horrible decision and at her mother for her absurd restrictions. 

A screaming match with her mother revealed the true nature of her Crest. Clarissa fled after that, running to the only place she considered safe anymore and broke down in tears in front of Jehan. It took several long, awkward, and emotional conversations with the Bishop but eventually she found what had been unsettling her about the issue. The curse her family supposedly bore was a punishment for those who had no hand, no voice, in the decision their ancestor made, just like Duke Ordiela’s family had no choice in his decision to murder a fellow Lord. Her questions bordered on heretical, demanding why the Goddess would punish innocents for the acts of others. The bishop came up with an elegant solution: a Major Crest manifesting in her must mean the Goddess has given her the chance to redeem her bloodline. Clarissa clung desperately to that and shortly before her 13th birthday, she stepped out of her turmoil a new person. 

Gone was the girl who would quietly accept her fate. Instead, Clarissa Edmund walked out as the heiress apparent of the Margravate of Edmund and she made sure it was known. It caused friction with her mother but Clarissa swept past that with her new found confidence. She reclaimed her social group that had been abandoned at the revelation of her curse, grew it, and began doubling down on her lessons. She accompanied her father to the Roundtable and took notes and developed questions for them to discuss later at their nightly meetings. She even attended a recent Roundtable on her own when he fell ill; she established her reputation quickly when one of them tried to exploit her age and she flew into an impassioned speech on the importance of change and progress and warned against letting hard fought wisdom turn to stagnation. After that she knew her next course of action clearly: Leading the Leicester Alliance. Her father supported her aspirations and enrolled her in Garrag Mach’s Officers Academy with the goal to strengthen the support she’d need to make the claim.[/indent]
[color=FF650E][u]Trivia[/u][/color]
[indent][hider=House Info]Since it’s invitation to join the Roundtable of the Alliance after House Daphnel’s tragic inner conflict depriving them of their historic strength, House Edmund capitalized on and expanded its fair and equal trade policies that cemented the region’s economic success and bolstered the House’s influential voice. The growth of these policies demanded a rigorous focus on industrial growth and the development of skilled artisans and as such, House Edmund’s armed forces are significantly smaller than most of the other Houses of the alliances. Their contributions to the Alliance revolve heavily around the House’s financial resources, including funding the maintenance and improvement of Fodlan’s Locket, and levying the economic well being of the maritime routes connecting the Alliance to the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. Their economic strength and stability are the result of an aggressive continuation of the fair trade policies they adapted early on in the Alliance’s days.Their policies focus on growing the means of production; ranging from incentivizing apprenticeships to both increase the labor pool and reduce poverty to subsidizing the cost to gather raw product. 

Stemming from their economic progressivism (not to mention their lack of military might), the Margrave Edmund is always known as a skilled orator and the current one is no exception. Beaufort Edmund is a passionate voice at the Roundtables, often the first to push for the expansion of their own trade policies into other parts of the Alliance, and emphasizes the importance that the other Houses follow in House Edmund’s footsteps to expand the Alliance’s economic influence in the Empire. His passion for the well being of the citizens of the Alliance is apparent every time he brings a new social issue to the table, from the stagnation of the lower class to the archaic view that nobles are somehow purer or better than those who support them, and he is quick to rise against House Gloucester’s self absorbed, entitled, and snobbish beliefs. 

His wife, Odette Edmund, is almost the complete opposite of her husband. She holds herself well and often comes off as aloof and cool but in reality is just introverted and quiet. Odette is a devoted member of the Eastern Church of Seiros, regularly using Edmund resources to promote its teachings through charity and community enhancement. The Church was an important ally to the House Edmund ever since the adoption of Marianne Edmund but Odette has greatly improved their relationship and the House is a regular contributor to the Eastern Church. The Margrave dotes on her whenever they are together and it isn’t uncommon to see them laughing quietly together as they walk the grounds of their home. 
[/hider]

[hider=House Relations]
[list]
[*][u]House Riegan:[/u] With shared trade routes and a monopoly on the northern coast of the Alliance, House Riegan and House Edmund have been close allies for centuries. What benefits one usual benefits both so the Dukes of both Houses have strived to remain on good terms through the years. Beaufort counts Rodolph among his closest friends.
[*][u]House Goneril:[/u] House Edmund has historically supported the Gonerills because of their involvement in defending the borders of the Alliance against Almyrian invasion. However, the recent Duke Gonerill has lost some of their faith as he takes and tosses wives aside like trinkets. They stopped accepting his wedding invitations four wives ago. House Edmund is currently evaluating which side House has a suitable successor and will plan to support their claim if the current Duke fails to produce a suitable heir.
[*][u]House Daphnel:[/u] As the newest member of the Roundtable, House Edmund certainly has an interest in House Daphnel’s business. Their desire to change the status quo certainly makes them an attractive investment opportunity and Beaufort is reaching out to see how House Edmund can… help.
[*][u]House Gloucester:[/u] House Edmund acknowledges that the current Archduke has managed to stabilize the Alliance and those efforts are commendable. However, they have serious doubts that he’s able to take the Alliance further than what it was and are afraid that if the Gloucesters are permitted to maintain power much longer, the Alliance will see a reverse in social and economic progress.
[/list]
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Favorite Food: Two-fish Sauté

Clarissa's Crest power doesn't force people to tell her things. It only keeps them, and her, from lying in a conversation. If a character doesn't want to talk about something, they don't have to or they can tell her that they don't want to talk about it if it does come up.[/indent][/hider]