[HIDER=Character Sheet][b]Username:[/b] Grif of Hearts [b]Name:[/b] Daphne Elsa Darlon (née Ames). [b]Gender:[/b] Female. [b]Race:[/b] Human [b]Age:[/b] 37 [b]Archtype:[/b] The Necromantic Bladeswoman. [b]Weapons:[/b] Daphne is skilled with several types of melee weaponry but her personal favourite, and that which she is most proficient with, are the larger swords designed to be used with two hands. She possesses moderate skill in handling polearms, particularly the glaive, but Daphne will usually lean towards swords if she is given the choice. [b]Abilities:[/b] Unfazed by the warnings of the clergy or the superstitions of those she once thought close to her heart, Daphne explores the darker realms of magic without fear or regret. She possesses a moderate grasp on the magical school of necromancy, able to twist even death to her command to the same extent as a novice necromancer. While far from the strength of an experienced, dedicated spellcaster, Daphne still shows potential and can animate the dead for short periods of time or even communicate with spirits. While the healing applications of necromancy are slim they still exist, capable of repairing dying flesh, dulling pain, or allowing others to survive crippling wounds by making previously vital organs entirely redundant until proper healing can take place. [b]Personality:[/b] Despite carrying the look of a bruiser or a drunk, a woman who has spent a few too many nights at the tavern and spent every single one of them looking to pick a fight, Daphne is a strikingly intelligent woman with a remarkable grasp of magic and history. She is often underestimated as a muscle-bound brute, likely because of her preference for sluggish equipment and her tendency to speak with her actions rather than words. This can easily be the last mistake that any person makes, underestimating her quick wit and keen sense of perception. The first impressions of her are not entirely inaccurate as Daphne can be just as rash and brutal as most think she would be when the situation demands it. Usually though she is more tempered and reserved, preferring to approach challenges slowly and tactfully rather than head on. Although Daphne rarely shows it she is quick to trust, easily able to accept newcomers into her social circles as long as they treat her and others with enough respect. This is usually masked with a stoic silence and the occasional snarky or gruff comment, giving the impression that she cares little for her comrades, but Daphne does not mean any genuine ill will. Still, as a mercenary sometimes it proves useful to appear more threatening than she is, and Daphne has no problem taking advantage of this. [b]Appearance:[/b] Roughed up by the elements and years of battle, what was once a well maintained and scholarly looking woman in her youth has been left battered and bruised. Standing at just above six foot and with a vaguely pear shaped figure, Daphne is muscular and well-toned from her life as a fighter. Her skin, once pale, has been given a soft tan by the sun and her body is marked with scratches, cuts, bruises, and an assortment of gruesome scars which do not seem to have been healed naturally or through traditional medical magic, most notably along her arms and stomach. Daphne’s eyes are a pale blue-green, contrasting the rest of her features particularly well. Suffering from amblyopia in her left eye, Daphne struggles to focus on objects a long distance away and suffers from poor depth perception. Her short auburn hair is lazily tied back behind her head in a small, loose braid to keep it out of her eyes and to make it easier to manage. [b]Clothing:[/b] While beige cloth tunics and brown trousers, held together with buttons and leather belts, are her clothes of choice when not fulfilling a contract, Daphne wades into battle in clothing more suited for the situation. A gambeson made of quilted cloth and light chainmail is worn for comfort and protection, layered over her tunic, and atop that is a decorative steel half-plate which covers her torso, upper arms, and upper legs, adorned with symmetrical ivy patterns along the chest and shoulders. Leather gauntlets with metal plates cover her hands and forearms, and leather boots are worn on her feet, reaching up to just underneath her knees. A dark grey hooded cloak is worn over everything else, old and ragged but loved by Daphne all the same. [b]Equipment:[/b] Daphne’s weapon of choice is a straight sword that is held in either one or two hands, usually the latter, with a blade about forty five inches in length. The double-edged sword is thin and sharp, designed more for accurate thrusts to puncture armour than for great swings, but it is still weighty enough to carry a large amount of momentum in a slice. A smaller knife, the blade about nine inches in length and with a wide guard, is strapped to her belt. It serves a more practical purpose than her sword despite being designed for combat, used to help prepare food or produce sparks for a fire, but it can still be used offensively in a pinch. Typically Daphne carries all the components that she needs for her magic, the most obvious example being a small silver pendant and chain which she uses as a foci for her necromantic enchantments. It is usually wrapped around her left hand, meaning Daphne avoids the need to fumble around with her things and pull it out from her pocket or rucksack in the midst of battle. A few vials of different oddities also rest in her rucksack, such as bonemeal or animal furs, serving as supplements for her magic. When traveling long distances as is sometimes necessary for a mercenary, Daphne carries an assortment of items necessary for travel. She carries trail rations, mostly nuts and salted meat that keep for long periods of time, and a canteen of cheap wine for the same reason, along with a fur blanket to keep warm and comfortable during the night. A few items to maintain her equipment, such as whetstones, cleaning cloth, and small metal plates for emergency repairs, can also be found in her bag. Additionally a sheet of canvas she carries can be used as a waterproof covering in the rain to keep her dry. Among Daphne’s other equipment list an oddly long number of trinkets, including a polished steel mirror and a paper journal along with ink and quill. [b]Background:[/b] Many consider the art of necromancy to be a great taboo, its frequent attempts to cheat death and desecrate the memories of the dead often unnerving, if not terrifying the average individual. Even the most dedicated of mages who dedicate their lives to progress and innovation, if exposed to one of the various necromancy-hating cultures of the world, refuse to explore the school of necromancy, considering it too much of an abomination to be worth researching. In Loung these taboos are all too well enforced, and the people are unwilling to explore the darker side of magic no matter what good it could bring. Daphne was born into a family with a long history with magic, the Ames family, many of whom fought against the status quo and had a particular interest in necromancy even if it was in secret. Her mother was a necromancer, albeit an inexperienced one, and her father an alchemist. As the first of four children in a particularly busy family, having two younger sisters and one younger brother, Daphne had to grow up quickly to help raise and care for them. She was trained from a young age in her mother’s art as she was expected to carry on the family’s tradition of magical proficiency, learning the basics of necromancy long before she reached her teenage years, and she was also the only one of her siblings to receive a formal education from a paid tutor. It gave her a keener eye than most and a deep interest in history and academics which remains to this day. Many of the family’s hopes rode on Daphne’s success, acting as the heiress to the Ames legacy, and she might have lived up to these expectations if her fate had not been changed so suddenly. At the age of seventeen Daphne’s father’s business collapsed, leaving the Ames family’s income greatly diminished. Daphne offered herself to find work to help support the family. Although Daphne’s education meant that she could easily become an apprentice in a skilled profession in the end she settled on work for a paid militia unit currently acting as the city guard. It was here that Daphne first learned the vital skills she would use as a member of the Silver Leaves, learning to wield a sword and spear, and later how to blend it seamlessly with her magical skills. A sense of comradery was quickly forged between Daphne and her other militia members. It was a bond that, in many ways, Daphne felt was stronger than her ties to her family. These ties were to be tested when a group of her closest friends within the militia, including one luni man five years her senior by the name of Stahl Darlon with whom she had grown particularly close, announced their plans to leave home and seek new employment as mercenaries in the capital. Daphne decided that her place was in the midst of battle, not cooped up in her mother’s study, and joined the fresh-faced band of mercenaries on their journey to seek glory and riches. She bid her goodbyes to her disappointed family and left her hometown by the end of the week. Daphne, Stahl, and her other friends quickly found themselves in the capital of Loung, only a few days travel from their home, and quickly settled themselves in with a small and relatively unknown band of mercenaries and sellswords. It was here that Daphne could finally put her training to work, honing her skills with a blade and developing her necromantic abilities even further. Over the years battle had toughened them all up, turning the once innocent and inexperienced Daphne into a strong and hardened individual. While certainly exciting, Daphne’s new life quickly proved to her that mortality can be fickle and delicate, as can relationships, and through arguments, conflict of interest, or untimely death, the band of comrades was reduced to only Daphne and Stahl. One even left when Daphne announced her proficient use of necromancy which she had kept hidden until that time, and refused to work with her. Daphne and Stahl grew closer with only each other to rely on, their bond becoming deeper than that of just friends. They become lovers and eventually they married. Daphne took on Stahl’s family name, Darlon, and together they gained even further renown as fighters and sellswords in the capital of Loung. In Daphne’s mid-thirties she was presented with even more proof of the fragility of relationships, and even her close bond with Stahl began to waver after a particularly gruesome contract had taken place. While Stahl had accepted Daphne’s necromancy as a necessary evil her growing fascination with the subject left him uneasy and her frequent use of it to numb pain or heal her wounds left him worried she was sinking deeper and deeper into the madness it was rumoured to cause. Stahl was frustrated with Daphne’s reluctance to change her ways and was suspicious of her growing magical power. Meanwhile, Daphne was frustrated with Stahl’s reluctance to accept her as she was but was also suspicious of his growing support for the cultural standards of Loung which Daphne so often ignored. The relationship tore at the seams soon after, one issue twisting into a dozen until they both mutually decided it was time for them to part ways. For the first time in a long while, Daphne found herself without a guiding influence in her life. She contemplated visiting her family and rekindling her past ties with them but quickly decided against it for fear of being ostracised again. Her travels eventually brought her to Egrelia, a small nation but one with a prestigious reputation for hiring mercenaries and sellswords. Daphne decided to continue her craft, offering her skills in combat for money, and she found that this was easiest dun under the employ of the Silver Leaves. [b]Note:[/b] [b]Country of Origin:[/b] Loung. [/HIDER]