[hider=Wilhelm]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/b3eHumD.jpg[/img][/center]
[hider=visual for his horns][img]https://i.imgur.com/x7StXWr.jpg?1[/img][/hider]
[h3]Wilhelm the Black Blade[/h3]


Race: Drakken
Age: 249
Element(s): Air, Earth
Height: 6’7”

Bio: Long ago, there lived a great Drakken warrior famed for his skill, cunning, and cruelty, even by the standards of his race. His birth name has been lost to annals of time; he is simply known as “The First Black Blade.” His was a legacy to rival Drakken royalty, and for his long service to the crown he was granted lands to call his own. In time his descendants would inherit his land, his infamy, and his title, each of his heirs being trained in his ways and training their own heir in return. Today, the lands of Castle Nachtstone belong to Wilhelm. 

A Drakken every bit worthy of his ancestor, Wilhelm is a lethal swordsman and a devilish man, both in battle and out of it. He is a cruel, vindictive man, but as all of his line before him he follows a strict code of morality that he refers to as “the Old Ways.” These ways may seem no different from any other Drakken ethics to an outsider, but to Wilhelm the difference is as night and day. He looks with disdain on what he perceives as senseless antics of those more youthful than he, and while they in turn may think him behind the times or foolish, few dare say such to his face; aside from his vindictiveness, Wilhelm is a feared combatant and his dueling record speaks for itself. 

However, he pays them little mind. Some Drakken, particularly those of greater years, have earned his respect by word or by sword, but most others he barely acknowledges. The change for his people that brews in the winds are of far greater concern, and Wilhelm must ensure that he is prepared to face it.

Despite his intimidating pedigree, little is known of Wilhelm's household. Only his servants and brides are permitted entry to the castle proper, and each of the former seems unable to speak save for a few specific words. Some speculate that there is some grand secret he hides within its walls; Wilhelm rebukes such supposings as drivel, and while some have either been brave or foolish enough to try to sneak in, none of them have ever emerged again from Nachtstone's walls...

[color=9e0b0f][b]“You draw your breath against me freely, yet will not draw your weapon in kind? Pathetic. Before you speak ill of me, look upon yourself and question just when it will be that all you have ever been is forgotten.”[/b][/color] 
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[hider=Zeldria]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/tqNC5eV.png[/img][/center]
[h3]Zeldria Miphras[/h3]
Race: Gem
Age: 19
Element(s): Fire
Height: 5'11"

Bio: Not every Gem lives in a major town or city. For some of them, a more rural lifestyle is what calls to them. Such Gems, on occasion, find themselves coming together to form a small settlement where they coexist and work to help one another. In the plains of northeast Gemmenia, one such settlement formed nestled amid the hills. They never decided on a name; theirs was but a small cluster of a few homes, ranches, and farms, almost too small to be marked on a map. And, for a while, it seemed their size was small enough that the Reaping was largely kept away from them. They still had to pay their dues, as it were, but their small size and relative insignificance meant it was many years at a time between visits.

Zeldria was born into such a life. Growing up in such a setting was far from glamorous, often involving hard work, but like all the girls of the settlement she grew into it. People often remarked that she was one of the best they had, both because of her looks and her mind. She was sharp, learned fast, adapted quickly, and was taught from her first walking days to be kind and compassionate towards others. Her parents always taught her that if there was something she could do to spare someone else trouble, she should do it without hesitation; a lesson she took to heart.

One day she was forced to prove she’d learned that lesson in the most terrible way imaginable. Drakken reapers came to the settlement, unscheduled and all but unannounced. The leaders of the small community reacted immediately and defensively; they knew for certain that they were not scheduled for a Reaping, and they demanded to know why the Drakken were there. To hear them tell it, the town that had been scheduled for a reaping to the north had somehow given them almost no brides at all. That would not please their masters, they said, so they had stopped at the settlement to fill their cart more. When the community leaders understandably protested, the Drakken moved toward violence. Conjuring fire from his hand, one of them moved to set the entire settlement alight. “You’re just a small outpost that doesn’t even show up on every map, do you really think the Council will contest us over you?!” they yelled. Before anybody could consider calling their bluff, Zeldria stepped forward and volunteered to go with them. She fully knew the risks, or so she thought, but if she didn’t the settlement might be destroyed and all their lives ruined; as the only girl of age there, this was something she could do to spare all of them trouble, and so she did it.

She only hopes she made the right decision and that things turn out well enough.

[b][color=9e0039]"This is naught compared to what it averts. I do not flinch before the lightning flash; I will not flinch here."[/color][/b]
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Adult Content Preference: Fades to black, neither comfortable nor confident writing them out.