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Esse originates from the bronzed skin nomads, but her skin is quite pale in comparison. Her hair is a dark brown with only a slight hint of grey. It’s long yet thin tresses are usually pulled back into a half ponytail. She has a ruddy complexion, with a straight edged nose, and cheekbones to match. Her well worn eyes are a light yellow-hazel; a dead giveaway as to her ethnicity.

Generally, Esse wears a myriad of different things when it comes to her day to day. But during her travels and other more specific jobs, she wears airy and loose cotton wraps around her body, legs and arms. This gives her total freedom with mobility, but doesn’t do much to protect her from fists, let alone blades. On top of that, she wears some light armor on her arms and legs that still give her the flexibility she needs, while adding some protection; albeit not much. Her armor is adorned with the same gold lining that covers her pendant and sword hilts. Ornamented all over her are small pieces of gold or silver that hold the wraps and armor in place. Around her waist they connect to form two gold and silver hoops on either each of her hips. Esse connects any small bags she has and her blades to these hoops to keep everything accessible in a moments notice. The ornaments flow up her slender, yet athletic body, and culminate in a tight fitting headdress that splits slivers around her neck, behind the ears, up her forehead, and through her hair. The headdress itself more so resembles the hair of one of the goddesses, than it does a solid piece.

A dancer with two blades; flexible, with finesse on the battlefield. Being quite the practical woman, Esse specializes in the art of warfare and hand to hand combat. She was known for being an excellent swordswoman, with skill in both archery and dagger wielding. While she has been out of any real combat for the better part of a decade, she spends her time maintaining fidelity in her skills.

Her notoriety as a blades master is only matched by her swiftness. Her choice of lighter armour in favor of agility, has also allowed her to be generally fairly quick in combat situations as well. This however, reduces her strength significantly.

Outside the battlefield, Esse is a well versed in the art of political warfare and pushing agenda. Raised in and about the Hall of Guardians, Esse quickly picked up on her father’s responsibilities and dealings throughout the council.

Esse is also a notable musician, since her days of real adventuring, she’s spent a lot of time honing in her musicianship on her harp and her voice. While not the greatest of harpists, her voice is smooth and silvery.

The line of Edonui is long and vast. They held the throne for centuries before the line of Isran took it’s place.

They originated from the far east, as wandering nomads, their “barbaric” ways, uncivilized to the people of Dara. Overtime, they integrated with the populace and grew into a large voice of the city. Fear spread throughout the city over the influence of the nomads, and the those who held power at the time decided to enslave as many of them as they could.

The mass enslavement of their people caused uproar amongst the nomads, but it was decades before they finally launched a rebellion, overthrew the powers that be, and took their place.

Esse’s father, Saeed Edonui, was a guardian, just as her grandfather was. Saeed achieved the title at a fairly early age while Esse was but a child, when his father Enoch lost his life to disease.

Saeed reluctantly took his father’s place as a guardian; more out of respect and honor, than for his own personal gain. Over time, he learned where and how he fit into the system, and grew into a well versed, and knowledgeable guardian. This didn’t go unnoticed however, and many believed Saeed only kept his position because of his heritage; which was partly true.

Esse was born to Saeed and Alinya Edonui, prominent members of the Edonui line. With a deep rooted history in the heritage of Dara, Esse was raised to be part of a very integrated system. She was taught all of the dos and don’ts of the household, and was instructed to be presentable whenever in the presence of dignitaries and other such visitors; to exchange her pleasantries with them, and to remain silent unless spoken to.

It wasn’t long before Esse was exposed to the inner workings of politics in her family’s holdings. She quickly learned that there was a status quo that was not to be trifled with; she was only to play with her brothers, of which there were two, and other children of nobility, of which there were few.

Esse was the youngest of three children. Her oldest brother, Adun, was a model son, exactly like his father. He followed Saeed to all important meetings, and sat at his right hand while he addressed matters of the court and council. Enoch, named after their grandfather, was much the opposite. He spent his days galavanting in the countryside, courting a different girl almost every week, and just generally giving the family a bad name.

Esse herself aspired to be more like Adun, though that in itself was hard enough, when Enoch looked like he was having the time of his life. When she wasn’t busy training or appeasing her family, she spent her free time either practicing her music, or immersing herself in the vast library of books that her family curated. Most books on magic and aligning had been lost to legend in the years before her birth, but the Edonuis kept a small depository of the texts written by their far ancestors.

When Esse came of age, her father decided to give her training in self defence, living under a guardian’s roof was not exactly the safest place for a child, especially a girl of Esse’s qualities. It didn’t take long after she began training, that she took a liking to it. Her ability and flexibility with her swords proved to be one of her hidden talents; she was a natural.

This steered her into a more adventurous lifestyle. She disappeared for days at times, exploring not just the different districts of Dara, but the surrounding land as well. As her confidence grew, so did her ambition. She wanted more from life than to just be a daughter blindly following her father’s footsteps. She started spending time doing small escort jobs, and eventually started providing the safe passage for many smugglers, and even illegal slavers.

As the years went by, Esse became overcome with guilt and her own morality. She confessed her crimes to her father, who not wanting to put his own daughter to death, compromised by covering up her crimes, but also stripping her of the family name and any inheritance she was entitled to.

Devastated by the turn of events, Esse spent some years outside the city, moving from village to village. When she finally built up the courage to go back to Dara and join a group of adventurers, she did so under a different alias, Sunder.

After a few months of traveling and working with the group, they encountered Pykas and Cyrabassis. The battle left her traumatized and scarred. With reluctance, she returned to Dara, but what surprised her on arrival, was her father’s change of heart. The years apart had softened Saeed’s heart. Esse learned that her brothers had perished during an attempt on her father’s life. They had died trying to protect him.

Being the only heir to the family’s name and power, she took it upon herself to finally fill her eldest brother’s shoes and actually follow in her father’s footsteps. Though she was welcomed back into the family, Esse’s titles and holdings weren't restored until her father’s mysterious death many years later.

Esse is a to the point, blunt, and ofttimes harsh warrior. She’s generally seen as stubborn and arrogant. Being brought up in a family of nobility, Esse was taught the proper etiquette in political conduct. She had always thought it stupid and pointless; in her head, all the red tape only served to slow the decision making process down.

She’s been stubborn and hardhearted most of her life, having to fend for herself to get by. But she’s often plagued by visions of Pykas and Cyrabassis, both during the day and at night. Oftentimes they’re powerful enough to stop her in her tracks. What she saw that day goes against everything she was brought up to believe. She didn’t even believe in gods, how was any of this possible?

She often takes on the name “Sunder”. Esse can’t remember where the name came from, maybe it had something to do with her attitude back in the day. Being a prominent figure in the politics of Dara, it wouldn’t be wise to paint a target on her back wherever she went. Alas, she took the name on board. Those days are gone, but the name still sticks.

While in council, Esse carries a gold laced ledger and a topaz pendant that have both been handed down through her family for generations. The old book’s pages are tattered, and there are large sections that have been removed and replaced; probably countless times. In it, every Edonui guardian records their dealings and other miscellaneous notes. Esse is often amazing at just how much writing is contained in it. The pendant, is lined with gold, much like the ledger, and was handed down to Esse by her mother.

Sunder, on the other hand, carries two broad bladed rapiers. They are both identical in design, with gold lined hilts and scabbards, and slender blades that draw blood with a touch. The blades themselves are ornamented with polished engraving; one line for each blade. Though Sunder cannot read all of the writing inscribed on the blades, she has compared a few of the characters to some of the older entries in her ledger.

While the Edonuis don’t hold much physical property anymore, they boast a large monetary worth, and have a large holding on the business and economy of Dara. Since the Nomads make up such a large portion of the city’s populace, making decisions in favor of them has been easy and beneficial for the family through mutual interest. The family itself has provided many services to the city since their rule, the largest of which, is the regulation of indenture emancipation. Their biggest concern when it comes to this is keeping competition up amongst the large figures who buy and sell goods. If one has a few too many workers, he might gain too much of a lead on his competitors. The Edonuis help regulate it by essentially controlling how much labor is available.

Esse herself lives in the large estate owned by her family. It consists of three larger multi-story wings, with a couple smaller buildings surrounding it, and a courtyard in the center of it all. The three main wings serve as the main living quarters and guest entertainment areas. The central courtyard houses a large bath that’s used mainly for cleaning, but sometimes recreational use as well. The estate has lived with the Edonuis for centuries, with old buildings being torn down, and built back up every few decades.

While Esse stays in the main building, she refuses to use her old room, or any of the other furnished rooms for that matter. She instead takes residence in a tiny room meant for servant’s lodgings. It has a small wooden bed that sits a little more than a foot above the ground, a bedside table to match with only a candle to sit on it, and a small window that only sees the sun for a couple hours a day.

TBD

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