Elly, Rookie Squire of Ilia!
Nov 7, 2011 2:17:45 GMT -6
Post by Elly on Nov 7, 2011 2:17:45 GMT -6
Name: Elly.
Class: Squire. (Pegasus).
Hair Color: A strong, vibrant pink; she takes great pride in her hair, and tries to keep it styled and well cared for. Ever since becoming a squire, however, she has found it an increasingly difficult task, especially during mounted practice, and now wears it tied into a short braid.
Eye Color: Azure. She tends to be somewhat excitable and loose-lipped, and her eyes are just as expressive as her tongue; it's easy to read her mood at a glance.
Age: Sixteen.
Appearance: Elly is a young Ilian girl, still caught between childhood and adulthood. She greatly admires the beauty and grace of her country's pegasus knights, and wishes to emulate the perfect ideal she holds in her mind as closely as possible. Her actions, however, speak differently. Most of the time, when she's not making a conscious effort, her usual habits rise to the front.
She tends to slouch somewhat when sitting, earning her no small amount of reprimands from the drill sergeant when mounted. Her voice has a slight accent, picked up from her time at her father's pub, and she tends to gesticulate extensively while speaking, to the point of sometimes annoying less excitable companions. She takes great pride in her hair, however, and makes sure not to reach up to play with it or chew on loose strands for fear of damaging it. When bored, she's likely to play with small objects, such as coins, turning them around in her hands, or lean against a nearby surface to rest.
Elly is somewhat short, though that is to be expected for her age; still, she finds it infuriating when other trainees tease her for taking so long to get up on her own pegasus. She isn't particularly strong, and has some trouble handling even the lightest lances, struggling with their length and weight. It does prove to be an advantage in grounded spars, however, where her small size and slim frame present a smaller target.
Clothes: While not yet allowed to wear the outfit of a true pegasus knight, she wears a lighter version designed for trainees. As she must remain light enough to not overburden her pegasus in flight, her only metal pieces of armor consist on her breastplate and spaulders, providing token protection to vital areas.
She also wears leather riding boots; simple, but practical and durable. While a pair of leather gauntlets were issued to her, they were too large for her small hands, and so, she makes do as best she can without them. Her clothing lacks the usual adornment of a full knight, without embroidery or decoration of any sort save on the collar. Since it's white, it's bound to get dirtied by training, but she tries to keep it as spotless as possible, washing it often.
Born in: Carrhae, in Ilia.
Story:
Elly was born during a particularly harsh winter in a small town in Carrhae. Her family was not particularly wealthy, but neither did they live in poverty; they ate well, and had two bedrooms, as well as a constantly lit fireplace and abundance of wood. Her mother was a mercenary of some local fame; not exceptional, but she had completed a few well-paid jobs throughout her career, and being still alive was already an achievement in her profession. Her father cared for the house, cleaning, bringing wood home and occasionally hunting small game that happened to wander nearby.
Elly grew up reasonably sheltered, listening to stories on her Papa's lap near the fireplace at night, sometimes with her mother at her side, when she wasn't away on a mission. Most were of the heroic deeds of the Ilians and tales of the brave Barigan the Faithful; however, the ones that captivated her the most were the stories of the pegasus knights, the graceful warriors that flew high up in the sky protecting Ilia. She eagerly devoured the stories of the Wings, and dreamed of joining them one day, becoming a beautiful knight herself.
Her peaceful life was not to last. Just past her fifth birthday, a messenger from the mercenary guild arrived at their doorstep with terrible news. Her mother had failed to return from a mission, and was presumed dead. Torn by grief, her father withdrew into himself, pushing even Elly away in a misguided attempt to deal with his pain, leaving the young girl to try to understand why her mother was not coming home anymore. The year that followed was terrible for the two of them, as they tried to make ends meet; a fair bit of the money Elly's mother had earned in life had been saved away, yet even those reserves dwindled as they realized they no longer had a source of income. Elly, who had grown used to eating three warm meals a day, threw tantrums when they were forced to ration their food during the winter, which often ended with her father grounding her.
It wasn't until spring that her father managed to overcome his loss, yet he emerged a changed man. Gone were his easygoing nature and goofy smiles; a frown rarely left his face, and though he remained affectionate towards his daughter, he was colder, more distant than he had been before. He sold the house and most of their possessions, and started a small pub in an abandoned building near the edge of town; they did not see much business, and travelers were rare, but it provided enough money for them to survive.
As Elly grew up, she helped as best she could; she cleaned tables, washed dishes, and did her best to stay out of her father's way, especially during those rare moods when he grew depressed and angry. Her heart, however, wasn't in it; she hated the pub, and the customers that visited were sometimes mean and foul-mouthed, especially when they drank the tankards her Papa gave them. She withdrew into herself, trying to ignore her reality and replacing it with her own world in her imagination. Her daydreams inevitably turned to her dreams of being a pegasus knight, and she often imagined herself as one, knowing no pegasus knight would ever have to work in a tavern.
It was just before her fourteenth birthday that her luck finally seemed to return, and it came back in force. A group of recruiters arrived at the town, looking to draft villagers into the Ilian army; while most children hid away, either of their own volition or their parents' resolve to keep them safe, she saw the arrival of the recruiters as a chance to finally fulfill her dream. Naively, however, she ran first to her father, telling him excitedly of the news. The argument that rocked the pub was unlike any other that had ever sprung in the locale, made all the fiercer by the shrill voice of Elly's screams as she protested her father's refutal with more passion than she had shown in years. Furious beyond measure, she slipped away at night, her eyes burning with tears, and joined behind her father's back. That was the last time she ever saw him; her father, too torn and hurt, did not see her off before she left for the capital.
Her first year at the headquarters was nothing like she expected; the new recruits were asked to do menial chores for knights, sent to clean floors, and help prepare meals, kept completely away from both pegasus and training. For the first time in her life, Elly doubted her dream, thinking it might be best to return home if she would only be a servant, yet she stayed even as some of the others left.
Right after winter solstice, the ruse was revealed for what it was; a test for those who wished to join the ranks of the Ilian knights. Those that left were brought back and drafted as soldiers, given little more training than a brutal two weeks of experience before being sent out into the fields. She, however, and the others that had endured, were taken in as trainees for their respective applications. Elly's heart pounded in her chest furiously as she received the news; her head felt light, and she couldn't keep the tears away as she happily realized that she had finally gotten a step closer to her dream.
The giddiness vanished a few days later, after she started her training; it was harsher than anything she had ever experienced. She learned the way to hold a spear properly, but weapon training was not a priority; from her very first day, she was introduced to her mount, and told she would be in charge of taking care of her. She slept next to her mount; to her eyes, she was perfect, the most beautiful pegasus she had ever seen, and the day she met her was one of the most happy in her life. Even though she had been strictly forbidden from climbing on top of her without supervision, she still enjoyed the time she spent at her side, brushing her mane, feeding her, or sleeping next to her at night. She named her Heather, after one of her favourite heroines from the stories she loved.
Just before her fifteenth birthday, she was assigned an odd training task. She and Heather were to spend a month traveling together, away from headquarters. As was explained to her, pegasus knights might have to act as scouts, and so they ought to learn to be self-sufficient as well. Obediently, she followed her orders, her face serious, yet her heart was giddy with excitement at being left to travel alone with Heather for an entire month. Unsupervised, too!
Personality:
Elly is quite rebellious and stubborn, even if she tries to hide it; the teenager is perfectly capable of happily nodding in agreement to something and proceeding to do the exact opposite as soon as the other person's back is turned. Even so, she isn't mean spirited; she does not rebel out of spite, but rather, out of a belief that she is, of course, always right, and probably knows a better way to do it, too. She is blunt and outspoken; she tends to react impulsively to situations, and often opens her mouth before thinking. However, she is also honest to a fault; she's a terrible liar, and finds it hard to engage in complex games of deceit and conversations on politics.
She is very loyal to the people she appreciates; at the moment her journey started, she only holds this level of regard for the pegasus knights she has trained under, and her father. She loves her pegasus deeply, and would hate to see her harmed as well. While she has flown a few times before with a knight's help, she longs for the day when she can fly with Heather by herself.
She has a very strong desire to emulate the pegasus knights from the stories she listened to as a little girl; brave, beautiful and graceful. As such, she'll try to act as she perceives a knight should at times, though her mask slips easily enough, showing her real personality to anyone that spends more than a few moments with her. Her desire to follow her dream is sincere, though, and when training, she quickly grows serious. She hopes to become an heroine for Ilia one day, too, just like the ones in the stories, and become a Wing commander. Elly is somewhat vain, and cares about her appearance a fair bit.
Elly's relationship with her father is rocky at the moment; she still loves him, but can't bring herself to see him after having run away, and believes that he hates her. Bringing up the topic is a sure way to get the usually talkative teenager to grow silent and moody. She was never properly educated, and is illiterate, though her Wing commander is hoping to rectify that last point eventually with extra lessons. While not particularly excited by the concept of reading, her commander told her it was an essential skill for a pegasus knight, and so she has resigned herself to learning. Um, eventually. Her knowledge on history is shaky at best, too, relying mostly on rumors and stories.