[CENTER][h1][COLOR=#FC4900]Axan Sturke[/COLOR][/h1][/CENTER][hr][table][row][/row][row][cell][img]https://i.imgur.com/zxEg40q.jpeg[/img]
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[b][color=#FC4900]Axan Endryss Sturke[/color]
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[color=GRAY] Female [/COLOR] | [color=GRAY] 36 [/COLOR] | [color=GRAY] Rodion
Scion of[/COLOR] [color=ed1c24][b]Fire[/b][/color][/CENTER][CENTER][SUP]_______________________________________________[/SUP]
[color=GRAY][i]"She's definitely frustrated with her accession, but she won't let it get in the way of being kind."[/i][/color]
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[center][h3][i][color=GRAY]"Freedom and happiness above all else."[/color][/i][/h3][/center]
[b][color=gray]Holy Sigil Location[/color][/b]
[indent]Her holy sigil is placed on her chest, directly above her heart.[/indent]
[b][color=GRAY]Appearance[/color][/b]
[color=FFFFFF][indent]Axan is fairly tall for a woman, standing at a coniderable 5'9" with a mature, curvacous build. She is exceedingly proud of her hair, a long mane of deep auburn, and cares a great deal for it, keeping it as smooth and clean as she can. She typically ties it up. Her eyes are a sharp deep red, almost the same color as her hair, and their corners are just starting to pinch up in the first hints of wrinkles, set above a mouth that always seems ready to smile. She carries herself with a casual air, not much one for standing on ceremony. Her taste in clothing, similarly, edges quite casual. She's not much one for formalwear, though she does enjoy throwing on a fancy gown or a suit now and then if the occassion calls for it. She has an open, friendly face, and a habit of brushing her hair out of her forehead when she's nervous or distracted.[/indent][/color]
[b][color=gray]Personality[/color][/b]
[indent]Some are a bit surprised when they first meet Axan; 'disowned Rodion noble formerly in the military and then working as a mercenary' carries a certain implication for the kind of person someone is. In spite of that, Axan is one of the sweetest, most genuine women you will ever meet. Quite emotional and with the propensity to wear it on her sleeve, you can usually tell how Axan is feeling simply by looking at her face. She's intensely caring and is fairly good at reading other peoples' emotions, figuring out the root cause and doing her best to help them address it. That feeds into her protective nature as well; especially for people significantly younger than she is, Axan can be counted on pretty reliably to throw herself in front of a problem for someone, whether it's physical or emotional.

That said, Axan is not a perfect person. While fairly well balanced, that same reason she left the military is still there. Her distate for strict rules and order can certainly put her into conflict with others from time to time because of her somewhat chaotic nature. She can also be prone to arrogance and self-righteousness now and then, holding the firm belief that what [i]she[/i] believes is right. It's not a particularly egregious case, but it's certainly noticeable if you spend an extensive amount of time with her.

Finally is the core of her personality: [i]freedom.[/i] Axan values freedom more highly than anything else. And not just her own; she feels equally strongly about that of others, and will go out of her way to try and remove barriers that might be in their way, blocking them from that all-important freedom.[/indent]
[b][color=gray]Biography[/color][/b]
[indent]The Sturke noble family has a long history of contributing to the Rodion military. Their children are trained from an exceedingly young age in the way of Rodion, and Axan was no different. But that training didn't seem to take hold, at least not for quite a while; as a child she was figured quite incompetent, seeingly unable to fully wrap her head around combat as a whole, least of all in service to a military power. Indeed, enough time passed for her family to start pushing her into other skills. Dancing; entertaining; keeping a household; in the Sturke family, skills left to a noblewoman unable to fight. A few uncomfortable years passed thus, frantically training to be competent in swordsmanship, sharpshooting, and tactics while it was taken for granted that she would never serve. Her constand dogged persistence did, however, pay off in the end, and at nineteen years of age she began her military service.

...Her [i]brief[/i] service, because as it turned out, Axan kind of [i]hated[/i] the military. The preoccupation witih discipline, the strict heirarchy, the need to comport oneself with dignity and honor. Axan, as she found out, was not a big rule follower.

There were bright spots, of course. It wasn't all bad. But after the brief honeymoon phase of making her parents proud, it chafed like nothing else and she started counting the days until she could resign. The greatest palliative she had was a noble child of Rodion like her but fifteen years younger, hair an even brighter red than her own, who came by sometimes. She wasn't sure why, but she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. She loved kids, and it made life a lot more tolerable. The second she passed that threshold in her 26th year, though, she immediately dropped from the military without hesitation, disinherited herself before her family could disown her--which, it should be noted, they [i]did[/i]--and disappeared to start a career as a mercenary. 

And as a mercenary was where Axan truly shone. Untethered from the strictures that had bound her since her birth and free to fight for her own reasons, she found herself genuinely enjoying combat. While she preferred jobs that involved killing monsters, she would naturally fight people as well. She needed to eat, after all. It was during this time, comprising the space between 26 and 34 years of age, that she would also come into her own ideologically. Her job was dangerous, difficult, and often disturbing, and so she resolved to grab hold of happiness and freedom wherever she could find it, and never let it go.

She wonders sometimes if perhaps the Goddess has a sense of humor.

She'd taken a job that she thought would've been a bit easier, she was quite skilled in combat, after all.  Just a standard example of corrupted wildlife. But there's no accounting for simple bad luck. She tripped on a rock, and left herself wonderfully exposed. She was probably about to die.

And then her whole body [i]immolated,[/i] igniting in a blaze of white-hot fire that burned the monster to unrecognizable ash, and the mark of the Goddess burned itself into her. 

Now, two years into Scionship, she finds herself chafing again, the urge to freedom not yet pounded out of her and itching at her feet. But it's not like she can resign from being a Scion. So all she can do, she reasons, is roll with the punches and make the best of it.[/indent]
[b][color=GRAY]Weapon of Choice[/color][/b]
[indent]Axan's chosen weapon for a long time has been a standard-issue hand-and-a-half sword from the Rodion military. It's been cared for with obvious love, and she hopes it'll last her another ten years on top. The handle was carefully rebound with fine red leather when she was in the military. Alongside it she owns a high-caliber handgun. She's not nearly as fond of it as her sword, but she carries it for a good reason and she's a damn good shot. She keeps her sword with her at nearly all times, but her gun is often left behind.[/indent]
[b][color=GRAY]Misc.[/color][/b]
[list]
[*]Axan is a very skilled dancer and incorporates it into her swordplay.
[*]She's been a Scion for two years as of now.[/list]
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