[hider=Mari, Ninth Daughter of Rán][justify][center][h2][i][color=turquoise]The Ninth Daughter of Rán[/color][/i][/h2][/center] [table][row][/row][row] [cell][color=turquoise][i][b]Name[/b][/i][/color] [indent][sup][i]Mari (Full name Marisaya, family name unknown)[/i][/sup][/indent][color=turquoise][i][b]Age[/b][/i][/color] [indent][sup][i]20[/i][/sup][/indent][color=turquoise][i][b]Race[/b][/i][/color] [indent][sup][i]Half-Elf[/i][/sup][/indent][color=turquoise][i][b]Gender[/b][/i][/color] [indent][sup][i]Female[/i][/sup][/indent][color=turquoise][i][b]Appearance[/b][/i][/color] [indent][sup][i]Mari's a slim girl, undoubtedly still a little small for a fighter, but she presents a striking image all the same. She looks far more human than elf, though she has the blood of both, and the lasting youthfulness and perhaps beauty of her elven mother's side. Her auburn red hair is cut shoulder-length and often partially braided, side-parted and framing bright eyes of a sea blue-green. Her skin is, of course, quite pale, but despite that Mari gives off the look of a young woman still full of life and energy.[/i][/sup][/indent][/cell] [cell][center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/b5c2d62e-7757-4170-83e8-d8410df127a6.jpg[/img][/center][/cell][/row][row][/row][/table] [center][i][color=turquoise][h2]Witch of the Waves[/h2][/color][/i][/center] [table][row][/row][row] [cell][center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/66323585-d314-45e6-a043-52b47c9a0669.jpg[/img][/center][/cell] [cell][center][color=turquoise][i][b]Skill Set[/b][/i][/color][/center][sup][i]The soon-to-be Ninth Daughter of Rán has a great many skills tucked under her belt, but she's a master of none of them. Mari is resourceful and cunning, skilled at sneaking and theft and lockpicking from her years growing up alone. Since joining her new sisters Mari has begun to hone herself into a proper warrior, but this is a work in progress. She has some skill with blades, shields, daggers, and bows, and doesn't lack for courage, but she's not yet the most formidable opponent with any of these.[/i][/sup] [center][color=turquoise][i][b]Equipment[/b][/i][/color][/center][sup][i]Heavy armor is a death sentence in the sea, so Mari wears only a little metal. Lots of leather and cloth make up her outfit, offering her only meager protection in a fight. From her necklace and belts hang symbols of Rán, identifying Mari as one of her Nine Daughters. Typically Mari carries sword, shield, bow, arrows, and several daggers, but of these, all but her daggers were lost in the fight aboard The Grey Maiden.[/i][/sup] [center][color=turquoise][i][b]Personality[/b][/i][/color][/center][sup][i]Mari is fierce, bold, and passionate, and a genuinely good woman at heart. She feels she has a great deal to make up for from her youth, and believes fully that the Daughters of Rán are her way to redemption. When working Mari is serious, focused, and efficient, and though at times self-doubt can slow her down, she has enough courage to forge ahead even when she suspects she might fail. Recently she has found meaning and purpose in helping others, and will gladly take up a worthy cause even at risk to her own safety or fortune. In quieter moments, Mari is fully capable of relaxing, unwinding, and sharing a drink and stories. She's not secretive about her past or her feelings, and finds that she connects with and empathizes easily with others.[/i][/sup] [/cell][/row][row][/row][/table] [center][color=turquoise][i][b]Background[/b][/i][/color][/center][i]Mari remembers little of her time before the Free Isles. She remembers fleeing along the coast with her parents as refugees when she was eight, and the constant terror. She remembers the ship she came to Umalla on. Somehow Mari made it through, but her parents were left behind. She knows not what became of them. The half-elf girl grew up in the care and service of one Lukas Rawls, a crime lord more commonly known as Smoke for his most persistent habit. He was not kind to Mari, but he did give her a roof to sleep under and a feeling of safety at night she had never known, and for that she stole for him, spied for him, eavesdropped, whatever she could to earn her place. As she grew older she graduated to other work: extortion, intimidation, other things that she is not proud of. Her life changed at 18, when she was caught stealing from a woman named Asherah, First of the Daughters of Rán, a small but respected and even feared group of women sellswords. Often known by other names such as Sisters of the Sea or Witches of the Waves or simply the Sirens, the Daughters belonged to the sea-goddess Rán, a clever and cunning natural goddess that had yet to succumb to corruption. The gifts she granted her Nine Daughters were not extraordinary, but it was believed that the presence of a Daughter aboard a ship could well be the difference between a smooth voyage and a death at the hands of a passing leviathan or vicious storm. Asherah held Mari's life in her hands, but for reasons unknown took a liking to the young woman, and after some time offered her a new path: Rán always had Nine Daughters, and currently there were but Eight. It would not be an easy life, but there were no easy lives anymore, and this way Mari could serve the people and better herself. Knowing she would make enemies by betraying Smoke, Mari accepted all the same. With the protection of the well-respected Daughters he dared not go after her, and for the moment Mari was free to train in peace. Asherah and Mari's new sisters began the process of forging her into a warrior. She learned slowly and with many mistakes, but learned all the same. Two years later, Mari reached the point in her training that Asherah found acceptable, and after a small test of her skill and professionalism, she was set to make her vows to the sea goddess, and become a full-fledged Daughter of Rán. Her test was to guard a trade ship, The Grey Maiden, and follow Asherah's lead. Upon returning to the Free Isles, she would become the Ninth Daughter. But the voyage was doomed. No sea beasts attacked, but pirates, an overwhelming force. Mari fought well, but suffered a blow from a mace to her side, and toppled overboard, where she quite nearly drowned. She has no knowledge of what became of the ship or of Asherah, though her leader was alive and well last Mari saw. Injured, alone, and without most of her weapons, Mari's goal is to find a way back to the Free Isles, and pray to the goddess that her mentor survived the battle.[/i][/justify][/hider] [hider=Mari, Blackwood version][justify][center][h2][i][color=turquoise]Mari[/color][/i][/h2][/center] [center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/c7a1093b-90ef-450b-aa38-ecc50a2c3808.jpg[/img] [h3][i][color=turquoise]Marisaya Njalsdottir || 20 || Female[/color][/i][/h3][/center] [color=turquoise][i][b]Race[/b][/i][/color] [indent]Half-Elf (Silvari and Norgardian)[/indent] [color=turquoise][i][b]Appearance[/b][/i][/color] [indent]Mari's undoubtedly a little small for a fighter, but moves with the grace and poise of someone who has had thorough training, if not a great deal of experience. She can easily pass for human even if her auburn red hair isn't covering her lightly pointed ears. Her eyes are a bright sea blue-green, and she typically gives off the look of someone still full of life and energy. She wears light armor, mostly embossed and studded leather that's probably more decorative than it is protective, with a minimum of cobbled-together plate. It's in Mari's interest to stay lightly geared, considering how often she finds herself on open water.[/indent] [color=turquoise][i][b]Personality[/b][/i][/color] [indent]Mari is fierce, bold, and passionate, and a genuinely good woman at heart. She feels she has a great deal to make up for from her youth, and believes fully that the Daughters of Rán are her way to redemption. When working Mari is serious, focused, and efficient, and though at times self-doubt can slow her down, she has enough courage to forge ahead even when she suspects she might fail. Recently she has found meaning and purpose in helping others, and will gladly take up a worthy cause even at risk to her own safety or fortune. In quieter moments, Mari is fully capable of relaxing, unwinding, and sharing a drink and stories. She's not secretive about her past or her feelings, and finds that she connects with and empathizes easily with others.[/indent] [center][i][color=turquoise][h2]The Ninth Daughter of Rán[/h2][/color][/i][/center][hr][color=turquoise][i][b]Background[/b][/i][/color][indent]~Aspiring Mercenary Priestess ~Lower Class, Criminal Background ~Daughter of a runaway Silvari noblewoman and a Norgardian smuggler[/indent] [color=turquoise][i][b]History[/b][/i][/color][indent]Mari is the result of a love story that ended in tragedy, the child of a young High Elven woman forced to flee from a political power struggle and a common smuggler that long since left the north behind. She grew up in the Sea of Swords, and her parents were both killed when her mother's family rivals caught up with her. Her father's debts were passed down, and Mari found herself in the indentured servitude of a criminal and pirate lord, an Izyrian named Ihsan. She worked for him and his crews, hopping islands and pickpocketing, thieving, spying, eavesdropping, anything to earn her place and keep a roof over her head. As she grew, she graduated to more direct assistance, and took some part in piracy and raids. Her life changed at 18, when she was caught stealing from a woman named Asherah, First of the Daughters of Rán, a small but respected and even feared group of women sellswords. Often known by other names such as Sisters of the Sea or Witches of the Waves or simply the Sirens, the Daughters belonged to the clever and cunning sea-goddess Rán. The gifts she granted her Nine Daughters were not always extraordinary, but it was believed that the presence of a Daughter aboard a ship could well be the difference between a smooth voyage and a death at the hands of a passing leviathan or vicious storm. When Asherah unexpectedly took a liking to Mari, she felt the Goddess had guided them together. Rán's Daughters always numbered Nine, but recently one had passed, opening a place for Mari if she wanted it. Even knowing she'd make an enemy of Ihsan by betraying him, Mari accepted, and began two years of hard training with her new sisters, who protected her while she prepared to join their ranks. She learned slowly and with many mistakes, but learned all the same. Now at the end of her training, Mari faces a rite of passage: venture into the Blackwood, alone, and make her way into the forgotten places with Rán's guidance, to find her hidden temple, a place supposedly only accessible to the Nine Daughters. There she will pray and accept the gifts the Goddess offers, seizing the power she feels she needs to fully make amends for her past.[/indent] [color=turquoise][i][b]Motivation[/b][/i][/color][indent]Mari must find the Hidden Temple of Rán, hidden somewhere in the Blackwood, and complete her initiation into the Daughters of Rán. After that, she can follow where the waters take her, and sell her sword and skills to those she feels need it most.[/indent] [center][i][color=turquoise][h2]Witch of the Waves[/h2][/color][/i][/center] [table][row][/row][row] [cell][color=turquoise][i][b]Skills[/b][/i][/color][indent]Mari is a former thief attempting to remake herself as a proper warrior. Her abilities are spread thin between combat, knowledge, and underhanded skills.[/indent] [color=turquoise][i][b]Combat [1/1][/b][/i][/color][indent]~Sword and Shield [1] ~Daggers [1][/indent] [color=turquoise][i][b]Intelligence [1/1][/b][/i][/color][indent]~Literacy [1] ~Religion [1] ~Geography [1][/indent] [color=turquoise][i][b]Charisma [1/1][/b][/i][/color][indent]~Diplomacy [1][/indent] [color=turquoise][i][b]Health [1/1][/b][/i][/color][indent]~Cold Resistance [1][/indent] [color=turquoise][i][b]Faculties [1/1][/b][/i][/color][indent]~Resolve [1][/indent] [color=turquoise][i][b]Agility [1/1][/b][/i][/color][indent]~Pick Pocket [1] ~Lockpick [1] ~Balance [1] ~Swimming [2][/indent] [color=turquoise][i][b]Mysticism [0/3][/b][/i][/color] [hr] [color=turquoise][i][b]Equipment[/b][/i][/color][indent]~One handed sword ~Wooden round shield ~Two small daggers ~Leather and partial plate armor ~Stitched hide and linen clothes ~Prayer bead necklaces with symbols of Rán[/indent] [color=turquoise][i][b]Money[/b][/i][/color][indent]~1 Royal ~20 Lordlings ~40 Commons[/indent] [color=turquoise][i][b]Languages[/b][/i][/color][indent]~Northern Tongue ~Grim Northern ~Bits and pieces of many other tongues[/indent] [/cell] [cell][center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/66323585-d314-45e6-a043-52b47c9a0669.jpg[/img][/center][/cell][/row][row][/row][/table] [/justify][/hider]