Here's the character. She's more of a faraway city-dweller, but hopefully she'll fit well enough. Let me know if there's anything I should change. [hider=Faint] [hr][hr][h1][b][i][color=876051][center]Faint[/center][/color][/i][/b][/h1] [center][img] https://i.pinimg.com/474x/fb/13/4f/fb134f0c6702bfe26fb8f437840b15a0.jpg[/img][/center] [hr][hr][h3][b][i][color=876051][center]ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕔π•₯𝕖𝕣 π•Šπ•¦π•žπ•žπ•’π•£π•ͺ[/center][/color][/i][/b][/h3] [b][color=876051]β„•π•’π•žπ•–:[/color][/b] Beryl Shev (She has not used the name in a decade) [b][color=876051]π”Έπ•π•šπ•’π•€π•–π•€:[/color][/b] Faint [b][color=876051]π”Έπ•˜π•–:[/color][/b] 22 [b][color=876051]π•Šπ•‘π•–π•”π•šπ•–π•€:[/color][/b] Human [b][color=876051]π”Ύπ•–π•Ÿπ••π•–π•£:[/color][/b] Female [b][color=876051]𝕆𝕔𝕔𝕦𝕑𝕒π•₯π•šπ• π•Ÿ:[/color][/b] Former professional thief (with training more in-line to that of an assassin) [b][color=876051]π”Έπ•π•šπ•˜π•Ÿπ•žπ•–π•Ÿπ•₯:[/color][/b] Neutral Good [hr][hr][h3][b][i][color=876051][center]π”Έπ•‘π•‘π•–π•’π•£π•’π•Ÿπ•”π•–[/center][/color][/i][/b][/h3] [b][color=876051]β„π•–π•šπ•˜π•™π•₯:[/color][/b] 5’7” [b][color=876051]π”Ήπ•¦π•šπ•π••:[/color][/b] Lithe and athletic [b][color=876051]𝔼π•ͺ𝕖𝕀:[/color][/b] Jade [b][color=876051]β„π•’π•šπ•£:[/color][/b] Long, auburn. Usually tied in a ponytail for convenience. [b][color=876051]π•Šπ•œπ•šπ•Ÿ π•‹π• π•Ÿπ•–:[/color][/b] Very light, almost pale. [b][color=876051]𝕋𝕒π•₯π•₯𝕠𝕠𝕀/π•Šπ•”π•’π•£π•€/β„™π•šπ•–π•£π•”π•šπ•Ÿπ•˜π•€:[/color][/b] Faint has a few scars, mostly old cuts, strewn haphazardly over her body. She usually hides them under her clothing, except for the few on her hands. [b][color=876051]β„™π•–π•£π•€π• π•Ÿπ•’π• π•Šπ•₯π•ͺ𝕝𝕖:[/color][/b] Faint’s preferred clothing is utilitarian, though perhaps a touch masculine. She often wears a brown, pocketed leather vest over a loose burgundy tunic, form-fitting brown pants held in place by a sturdy black belt, and black boots reaching just under her knees. Occasionally a gray travelling cloak falling down to her knees completes her attire. It is rare to see her show skin aside of her face and hands. [hr][center][/center][hr][h3][b][i][color=876051][center]β„™π•–π•£π•€π• π•Ÿπ•’π•π•šπ•₯π•ͺ:[/center][/color][/i][/b][/h3] [i][color=876051][center]Sensible * Diligent * Supportive * Melancholic * Wry * Cautious[/center][/color][/i] [b][color=876051]ℝ𝕖𝕝𝕒π•₯π•šπ• π•Ÿπ•€π•™π•šπ•‘ π•Šπ•₯𝕒π•₯𝕦𝕀:[/color][/b] Single [b][color=876051]β„šπ•¦π•–π•€π•₯π•šπ• π•Ÿπ•Ÿπ•’π•šπ•£π•–:[/color][/b] Faint was lead to a simple room with a table and two chairs. Her interviewer was waiting inside, and after making swift introductions, they were seated. Though she was somewhat daunted at the prospect of speaking about herself, Faint felt at ease. As far as she could tell, there was no reason to expect danger, and even if there was, they had not searched her before leading her in. [b][color=876051]What first impression do you make?[/color][/b] She rose her eyebrows at her interviewer’s first question. β€œI would think you would be better equipped to answer that.” When the quip failed to garner a response, however, she lowered her eyes, hiding some embarrassment. β€œAh. I have been told people think I’m gloomy. Some people tell me I act older than I actually am, too.” [b][color=876051]What are you like in a high stress situation?[/color][/b] She shrugged. β€œWe make do with what we have. I’m used to dealing with problems as they come along, and losing my calm has never helped with that.” [b][color=876051]What are your best and worst qualities?[/color][/b] β€œI think I’m a diligent person. I don’t know what would have been of myself if I hadn’t been able to apply myself fully to a task. As for a worst quality…” For a moment, her thoughts turned to the strange land she was now in. Alone. All her life she had spent in the company of someone else, and the sudden change was not easy for her. However, just as she was about to say she worried about her ability to be independent, she reconsidered. β€œLike I said, people say I’m rather gloomy. I myself don’t think I have the most charismatic of personalities.” [b][color=876051]What is something about yourself that you would never admit to anyone?[/color][/b] Scenes from her previous life flashed through her mind as the interviewer finished the question. Faint blinked, then replied, β€œI’m sorry, but for obvious reasons I’d rather refrain from answering.” [b][color=876051]What are your dreams?[/color][/b] Faint frowned. It was obvious that the question made her uncomfortable. β€œI have no dreams to speak of. Until recently I didn’t even think about it.” [b][color=876051]How do you want to be seen by others?[/color][/b] β€œOften times I’d rather not be seen at all,” she muttered, before catching herself, β€œthough I guess that’s not the point of the question. To speak plainly, I’d rather be seen as useful, and inoffensive. Valuable.” [b][color=876051]How do you see [i]yourself?[/i][/color][/b] β€œβ€™A victim of extenuating circumstances’” she quoted, a wry smile touching her lips. β€œIt sounds like an excuse, but it’s difficult for me to re-examine my life without one.” [b][color=876051]Do you tend to make snap judgements, or stop and think about things?[/color][/b] β€œIt depends,” she said seriously. β€œIf it were up to me, I’d like to think things through where possible, but life doesn’t always wait on you. A sharp instinct will serve you well in those times.” [b][color=876051]What haunts you?[/color][/b] Faint smiled sadly, but refused to answer. [b][color=876051]What is your philosophy on life?[/color][/b] β€œI don’t have a philosophy per se. I spent a lot of my life trying to keep other people happy, so, as long as they were, and we were all still alive, it was enough for me. Though,” she added with a troubled frown, β€œsometimes I wonder if by the end it hadn’t been something I just did out of habit.” [b][color=876051]β„π•’π•“π•šπ•₯𝕀:[/color][/b] [list][*]Putting her needs second to those of others [/list] [b][color=876051]β„π• π•“π•“π•šπ•–π•€:[/color][/b] [list][*]Reading [*]Wood-carving [/list] [b][color=876051]𝔽𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕀:[/color][/b] [list][*]Disappointing others [/list] [b][color=876051]π•ƒπ•šπ•œπ•–π•€:[/color][/b] [list][*]Books [*]Honest folk [*]Feeling useful or being depended on[/list] [b][color=876051]π”»π•šπ•€π•π•šπ•œπ•–π•€:[/color][/b] [list][*]Comments about her appearance [*]Feeling like a burden [*]Herself [/list] [hr][hr][h3][b][i][color=876051][center]π•€π•Ÿπ•—π• π•£π•žπ•’π•₯π•šπ• π•Ÿ:[/center][/color][/i][/b][/h3] [b][color=876051]π”Ύπ•–π•Ÿπ•–π•£π•’π• π•Šπ•œπ•šπ•π•π•€:[/color][/b] [list] [*][b]Athletic skill:[/b] Faint has a finely-trained body, with great stamina and strength for her size. Her flexibility and balance leave little to be desired. [*][b]Nursing:[/b] A holdover from a previous life. Faint is used to taking care of ill or injured people. This is aided by some practical knowledge of medicinal plants, though, suspiciously, most pain killing herbs she is familiar with can just as easily be used to make poison. [/list] [b][color=876051]π•„π•’π•˜π•šπ•”π•’π•/π•Šπ•‘π•–π•”π•šπ•’π•π•₯π•ͺ π•Šπ•œπ•šπ•π•π•€:[/color][/b] [list] [*][b]Presence Concealment:[/b] The skill that earned Faint her name was her eerie ability to conceal her presence even in plain sight, becoming bland and uninteresting to the eye to such a degree that people may not realize she is in the room. The effectiveness of this ability is reminiscentβ€”and might even be an instinctive useβ€”of magic. Even lacking this skill, Faint’s training has made her adept at moving lithely and silently, avoiding notice. [*] [b]Lockpicking:[/b] Faint is a skilled lockpick, always equipped to break her way into places she shouldn’t. [*] [b]Knife Nut:[/b] Faint is frighteningly effective with her chosen weapons. She wields her long knives with a deadly grace almost reminiscent of a martial dance. Even should she find herself without these, she is rarely without several spare throwing knives and short daggers. [*] [b]Unarmed combatant:[/b] While not as deadly as with her knives, her mentor would not allow for her to be defenseless while unarmed. Faint is a flexible and able combatant, trained in techniques to incapacitate opponents as practically and quickly as possible. These typically revolve around striking the body’s weak points, such as solar plexus, crotch or throat, or holds that don’t require her to leverage a lot of weight. [*] [b]Inner Focus:[/b] Aided by breathing and meditative techniques, Faint can sharpen her senses of hearing and smell, and even control her body’s temperature to a degree. This latter ability was gained in training meant to aid survival in harsh environments, but she has found it useful to avoid security measures that detect a person’s body heat. [/list] [b][color=876051]π•€π•Ÿπ•§π•–π•Ÿπ•₯𝕠𝕣π•ͺ:[/color][/b] [list] [*] [b]Satchel:[/b] Usually tied to her waist. Contains her coin purse and her lockpicking tools. [*] [b]Lockpicking tools:[/b] As expected, tools used to open locked doors and containers. [*] [b]Long knives:[/b] A set of thin, curved knives almost long enough to be sabres. She often carries these sheathed at her hips when traveling or otherwise expecting trouble. [*] [b]Spare/Throwing knives:[/b] A number of knives hidden on her person. If one pays close enough attention, they may see a handle peeking from under her boot, or subtle bumps under loose sleeves. [/list] [hr][center][img][/img][/center][hr][h3][b][i][color=876051][center]β„π•šπ•€π•₯𝕠𝕣π•ͺ:[/center][/color][/i][/b][/h3] [hider=Long version] Faintβ€”though she did not go by that name at the timeβ€”was born in a port town, the third child of a skilled carpenter and his wife. Unfortunately, tragedy struck early in her life, and a virulent plague streaked from overseas. Her father fell victim to the disease, as did her oldest sibling. Her mother also contracted the plague, and though she survived, it left her crippled and bedridden. Faint does not remember any of this, aside from small tidbits recounted by her mother and her older brother, who, like her, had recovered from the affliction. Her earliest, most tender memories of her life are those of being held in her mother’s frail arms. Soon, however, she took it upon herself to tend to her mother’s every need, however a small girl barely half a decade old could. At first, by taking the coin proffered by her bedridden mother to buy kindling for the hearth. Later, as the coin began to dry, by gathering dung from stables near the city’s edge. Later still, when the charity from friends pitying the poor widow and her children turned to annoyance, she begged or took food off stalls to bring it home. She would occasionally change her clothes and clean her bed sores. She helped support the woman’s meager weight once they lost the rights to their home and had to move to a hovel in the slums. Most of all, she avoided her brother as best she could. Her brother did not take their misfortune in stride the same way Faint had. He remembered the time before their father had passed, and missed them deeply. The sight of his weakened mother terrified and angered him, to the point where he avoided her as much as he could. He fell into a kind of resigned indolence, idling his days away until he found his way to questionable circles. Soon, he began to resent his little sister’s earnest efforts to sustain the nightmare he lived with. It started as an accident. He may have even regretted it, at first, but it did not take long for beatings to become the norm. Faint did not understand why the change had happened, but she knew from then on that the house had become dangerous. She moved quietly at all times. Eyes cast down, a presence once lively turned mute and silent. She learned to go unnoticed. Her mother noticed the welts and bruises, and worried, but Faint had no words to explain her situation, and her mother, though she suspected, did not have the strength to pursue the cause. Faint still had not reached her tenth birthday before that strength failed. One day, she woke to find her mother had passed. Panicked, she set out to find her brother herself for the first time in years, hoping for him to tell her what to do. He had nothing to tell her. The next day, he took his mother’s remains and buried them. The beatings stopped, not to resume. Faint continued to go out to the streets to find what the family might need to survive, but without her patient, she found herself with time left over to grieve. There was a hope there, however, that now that her mother had gone things might be different between her and her brother. This hope died one night, when she overheard her brother speaking with some friends of his. One of the topics was the fact that the siblings’ parents had left them nothing to live off of after they passed. A frightful suggestion was passed along by one of the men speaking. Slavery as it were was not a lawful practice within the kingdom, but the port was frequented by people of many different cultures and walks of life, some of which might even avoid the eyes of the port authorities. A young, healthy girl might fetch a fine price to the right person. The words extinguished the young Faint’s last ember of hope, and that she quitted their home that day, taking residence in the city’s streets. Only a few days later, however, her life took another turn. One day, with the little food and coin she had kept for herself completely exhausted, she set her sights on a passerby’s coin pouch. She did not misjudge her mark and took the purse without difficulty. However, immediately after snatching her prize, a man rushed out and grabbed her by the wrist. Not the passerby, not a guard, but rather a stranger, an old, bear of a man that had seen the robbery take place and she had carelessly ignored. Still too close to her victim, a stolen purse on hand and afraid to make a real commotion lest the man was replaced by a real guard, she only dared struggling and ineffectually kicking at the man’s shins. Before she could gather her wits and reevaluate the danger she was truly in, she was dragged into an empty alley and knocked unconscious. She awoke in an unfamiliar bedroom and was greeted by the one who had carried her away. Though as far as she could tell nothing had been done to her while she slept, her first thought came back to that night before she abandoned her home, and the talk of oversea slavers. Despite the kidnapping, the man denied that accusation, though only in part. Rather, he had simply chosen someone to pass on his skillset, and added that she would simply vanish if she proved uncooperative, at which point he would go back to looking for candidates. In that regard, she could think of herself as a slave. That said, he would not be unkind. She would be provided with food and a room of her own while she remained under his care, though, of course, she would not be allowed to leave until he was convinced that she would not try to flee. The pleased turn to the man’s expression told her that her interest was writ plain on her face. A place to sleep sheltered from the weather and consistent meals would be enticing for anyone in her circumstances, but most of all, she realized that she would not be found by her brother or his friends while she was under this man’s keeping. It was the kind of offer she might accept even if she was not being forced. It was too good to be true, in fact, and a part of her dreaded what the old man might choose to make her do. It was in timid tones that she finally asked what would be required of her. As it turned out, the man identified himself as a professional thief and racketeer, and true to his word, he set out to teach her everything he knew. A large breadth of disciplines was covered, from reading and writing, to rhetoric and arithmetic, down to physical, survival, infiltration and weapons training. The latter training was hellish for a young girl of her disposition, stretching her body and mind to its limits, and her teacher was always quick to remind her that, if she could not do what he expected of her, he would find another. It was due to this, rather than because of any kind of overt mistreatment, that she ever entertained the notion of escaping, but the idea that she might be once again thrust defenseless into the streets was always quick to cure her from rebellious thoughts. Fortunately, her progress seemed to satisfy her mentor, who never did good on his threats to do away with her. Another might have questioned the nature of the skills being imparted as excessive, but, as the matter stood, the young girl could only be amazed by the skills of a professional criminal, as opposed to a street rat like her. Only later, as her training progressed, and her mentor pushed her to put her skills into practice with his contacts among the city’s underbellyβ€”among which she earned her nameβ€”did she begin to realize that her teacher was showing her things outside of the norm for their apparent profession. When asked, her mentor’s only explanation for this incongruity was that he had once been a soldier in the army, and that training had served him well after he had left it. This time she doubted the skills she had been taught could have come from the kingdom’s army, but chose against pressing further. It had already been many years since she had begun her training, after all, so the distinction made little difference in the practical sense. One day, her mentor caught wind of caravan bringing goods for a powerful noble of their city. He gathered some of his connections, adamantly claiming that the goods being brought into the city included priceless artifacts and riches that could set some of them for life, and began to draft a plan to take over the caravan before it reached the walls. The plan succeeded, but Faint soon learned that the noble had ties to the city’s Assassin’s guild, which usually served as royal spies and killers, and that part of the shipment was, in fact, meant for the shadowy cabal’s head. It was quickly made apparent that she was not the only one to learn about this detail. One day, while returning to her lodgings, she caught wind that their house had been visited by a complement of guards, and that her mentor had been seized by the authorities. Within the house, in one of her mentor’s hidden compartments, she found a letter folded around a single boat ticket. It seemed her mentor had anticipated such a thing, and had begun preparations to leave the city. Unfortunately, he had counted with having more time before someone sought him out. Later, she learned that one of his contacts, fearing a cull of the city’s criminal elements by the assassins, had revealed the location of the plan’s mastermind. Her mentor was sent to a cell to await trial, but by the next sunrise, news arrived telling of a prisoner that had ended his own life within the prison holding cells. All involved in the debacle caught a glimpse of the strings moving to silence the man. Only at this point did Faint finally decide to leave behind the city where she was raised. [/hider] [b][color=876051]π•Šπ•¦π•žπ•žπ•’π•£π•ͺ:[/color][/b] Faint was born into an impoverished family and lived with her mother and brother. Her mother was crippled by illness and her brother was abusive. Soon after her mother passed away, Faint fled to the streets, where she was picked up and kidnapped by a mysterious man. This man claimed to be a professional thief looking for a successor. Under him, Faint underwent training that was more fitting for a highly skilled assassin than any kind of thief, though she was never employed in that specific capacity. Over a decade later her mentor was caught and executed after a suspicious job. Finding a letter and a ticket for a boat at her mentor’s house, Faint finally abandoned the city where she was raised, likely for good. [hr][center][img][/img][/center][hr][h3][b][i][color=876051][center]𝔼𝕩π•₯𝕣𝕒𝕀[/center][/color][/i][/b][/h3] [b][color=876051]ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕔π•₯𝕖𝕣 β„šπ•¦π• π•₯𝕖:[/color][/b] β€œPeople say you don’t choose your lot in life. Sometimes I wonder what I’d do if I had the chance.” [/hider]