Name: Penny Draconis
Age: 16
Appearance:
While not using her Epithet Penny actually tends to dress down, favoring long skirts and overly comfy looking sweaters. This non-ostentatious manner, however, is seemingly incompatible with her Epithet and her outfit is replaced whenever she draws her sword.
Personality: A scholarly sort at heart, Penny prefers snuggling up with a good book over basically any form of human interaction. This behavior has convinced her parents that she is a "smart kid," and as they have pushed her more and more to succeed her intelligence has sharpened from her constant efforts to get whatever club, after school activity, or contest they enter her in done quickly as possible (one way or the other) so she can go back to doing things she was actually interested in. This has led to her being very goal oriented, but left her with a distinct lack of respect for authority, the spirit of the rules, or any form of pageantry.
Despite her constant sour expression there is a good heart buried in there that's most apparent when she's managed to grasp a quiet moment in her claws. As could be expected she takes real issue with people that try to control or interfere in other peoples lives and she has a soft spot for people that have been obviously screwed over or are trying against impossible odds.
Background: Penny was a regular girl. At least, she tried to be in between all the classes and training she was pushed into. Her father and mother had always sensed something special in her, but even they weren't prepared for how exactly that would manifest.
One miserable raining day while Penny was waiting for the bus to cram school a hand slowly rose up from the depths of a nearby puddle. Clutched in its grip was a magnificent sword, with a shining blade and a hilt of gold beset with jewels. Penny stared at it, transfixed by its beauty. She had had a niggling little suspicion that there was something more to her for a while but this was basically confirmation. She put her foot on the crossguard and slowly pushed it back into the puddle.
The next day at breakfast the hand and its sword rose again out of her cereal. She took her spoon and shoved it back down before her mother and father could see.
Later that night the hand insistently shoved the sword up while she was in the bath. She screamed, grabbed the sword, and started beating at the hand with it. While she only succeeded in destroying the tub her parents were thrilled to discover something their little girl had been hiding from them; she obviously was one of the lucky people born with an Epithet, and after some soul searching and experimentation it seemed to be a pretty good one. This only intensified their already high expectations, which was exactly what Penny had wanted to avoid.
Motivation: Penny has convinced her parents to send her to Otterholt Point to take part in the annual sand-castle contest under the logic that it would help refine her Kingly skills, but in reality she just wants to enjoy three days of peace and leisure.
Assets:
- Sword Training: It turns out that hitting thing with a real ass god damn sword is super cathartic when you have a lot of pent up emotions, so her bi-weekly training sessions with Sensei Quixote are actually some of the only extracurriculars she reliably attends.
- Mythology Buff: By far her greatest area of interest. If there's an only myth, fairy tail, ghost story, or urban legend Penny is likely to have heard it before.
- Determination: Penny believes that you can solve any problem by applying enough thought or bodies to it. If you don't succeed one way, you come at it from another direction. You never just give up.
Flaws:
- Just A Kid: No matter how much she's studied Penny is still a child. She's not as smart as she thinks she is, and she doesn't have much worldly experience.
- Abrasive: Penny hasn't had much of a social life, and hasn't mastered social cues. This is compounded by her grumpy disposition.
- Four-eyes: Penny wears glasses. She needs them to see.
Epithet: Royal
- Excalibur, the Holy Sword of the Promised King: Penny can draw a magic sword from any body of liquid. This sword is sized for her, very light, beautifully crafted, and deadly sharp. It acts as a conduit through which all her powers flow, transforming her from a simple girl into a King. When she isn't holding the sword, all her other abilities deactivate. If broken it must be returned to the water so as to be repaired. No basis for a system of government
- Peasant Serf: The backbone of any monarchy, Penny can summon forth Peasant Serfs. Peasant Serfs are diminutive, gnomes like creatures about a fourth of Penny's size, either covered in or made of mud, and armed with various farmers tools. Though their combat prowess is negligible at best they are nonetheless hard and fast workers when assigned manual labor tasks such as digging ditches, sowing fields, building and fortifying shelter, and other such things provided they have sufficient materials. Their awareness and vocabulary are extremely limited, and Penny can only manage to summon a team of five at one time.
- Knights of the Kitchen Table: Where would any King be without her loyal cavalcade of knights? Though only slightly larger and more intelligent than the Peasant Serfs, these are far more sturdy and ready to throw themselves into battle to protect the King. Though they can fight alone their combat prowess is heightened should Penny fight alongside them. Knights take more stamina to manifest than Peasant Serfs. As such she can only manage two at any one time.
