Post by Valerie Aschdenne on Mar 15, 2013 4:48:36 GMT -6
“There are no codes of honour out there fer me to follow. No ideal or image of right and wrong. I make my own ideal and follow my own truth. What’s right and what’s wrong, that’s for me to decide.”
Name: Valerie Aschdenne
Class: Pirate -> Berserker
Hair Color: Pink
Eye Color: Blue
Age: 24
Appearance: Valerie’s figure is a strong but feminine one. She stands at 5’9, fair skin that has been a bit darkened and even reddened from time out in the sun. She is well muscled and toned from her lifestyle and training. Her dark pink hair goes down to her mid back, bangs occasionally kept out of her face with a bandanna. Valerie’s body has a few scars on it, but none as deep as the one she suffered across her face. Whether or not it detracts from her beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Valerie is most seen wearing an old red frock coat, always buttoned up. Underneath the coat she wears a a simple white shirt for ease and comfort. Valerie wears tan slacks for leg-wear and brown leather boots for footwear. Strapped to a brown belt along her waist is a loop-like holster for her axe with another loop on the opposite side.
Born in: Etruria
Personality: Valerie is a pirate, and has been for some time, but what she considers to be a pirate isn't exactly the same as the general view of the masses. Not even the same as she used to see the term herself. It's much closer to being a sailor than one would admit: a job at sea for monetary gain and profit. While Valerie is smart enough to not go carelessly raiding she wouldn't be against it if she were hired to do so. Valerie as a pirate is closer to being a mercenary, but she prefers to work at sea, with a crew beneath her.
As a commander or a person Valerie is known for her presence. Bold and forward, yet calculating and intelligent. Her voice carries far and the enthusiasm with which she speaks could be considered charismatic. Yet there is never a lack of professionalism from her. She may embrace what she is completely, but she also takes it and herself rather seriously. Valerie respects her own image and wants it to advance alongside herself. She may lie to another, but she cannot betray herself or her image. It is within those grounds, those circumstances, that she trusts herself. As such one is far more likely to meet Valerie's persona of a "pirate" or "mercenary" or "captain" before really getting to the heart of the woman beneath those titles, and yet those titles are very much a part of her.
That said she's still perfectly able enjoy herself when she can, in fact it's important for her. Though not one to stress Valerie does like to have things taken care of efficiently. Once they are she indulges in drink and socializing. Taverns and acquaintances on land, her mates and crew out at sea. Though she has a fairly firm rule of keeping relationships between her crew either professional or friendly at most, she has yet to be the type to settle down for one interest yet.
Story: Valerie was born to Faust and Yuria in Etruria. While not necessarily of noble status the Aschdenne family was high up enough to serve as higher ups in the military. Faust himself was an admiral, captain of his own ship, and served for years before Valerie was conceived. When she was a young child Faust would come home and tell great stories of how he and his crew would take a ship of pirates down. Even though Valerie saw more of her mother, her father’s enthusiasm and stories of valor always touched her heart. She felt that she too had a connection with the sea, but more importantly she wanted to see a purpose for herself out there.
When Valerie was 12 her father's career was forcefully ended. Whether they were simply hired mercenaries or true pirates was unknown, but Faust and his crew were ambushed all the same. Faust did win the battle but it was far from clean. Most of his men were either fatally wounded or would be left unable to serve for the rest of their lives. As such he also failed to apprehend any of his opponents, only staving them off or killing them. Worst of all Faust lost the vast majority of his ship's cargo: much of which belonged to Etruria rather than Faust Aschdenne himself.
This failure resulted in Faust’s discharge, and Valerie was shocked when her depressed father came home to share this news. For a month the Aschdenne’s lived meagerly to make sure their money lasted while Faust searched for work, the pampered Yuria growing more impatient as time went on. By the end of the month Yuria demanded Faust find a job or she threatened to leave with Valerie.
Faust went and sold their home so that he could buy a ship and immediately gathered what was left of his crew. Most of them had also been discharged with no career skills save combat and naval experience just like him. Though Faust wasn’t proud of it, he figured his best bet was to take to the pirate lifestyle, living off of the loot they kept from merchant and military ships they raided. Yuria was disgusted by Faust’s rash decision and decided to leave with Valerie. The young girl was confused throughout the argument but when Yuria tried to take her Valerie refused, preferring to live on Faust’s new ship “The Santa-Aquila”. It was a tough decision for Valerie, leaving her mother and her home, and for weeks of sailing and even through the first raids the crew committed Valerie stayed in her room, silent.
One day, however, Faust came into his daughter’s room and told her to come up on deck. Though reluctant Valerie was eventually persuaded and her mood brightened. Happy from a good raid, the men and women of the Santa-Aquila sang while maintaining the ship. The sun was shining gloriously, and all that could be seen in the horizon was the blue of the sky meeting the blue of the sea. It was enough to pull Valerie out of her funk, and she soon became acquainted with her father’s mates. Though she still held unresolved feelings of pain, sorrow, and hate towards her mother, Valerie became known amongst the crew for her good sense of humor and comedic innocence. The humor lasted but her innocence faded soon enough. It wasn’t long before Valerie was dubbed an “unofficial mate” of the Santa-Aquila.
To Valerie, it was like having a whole family again.
Faust knew this yet was still surprised when Valerie asked to be trained. Not just in combat, but in manning the deck and handling the ship. Valerie wanted to become a true member. Her father was proficient with blades and axes, so he gave her the choice of which to choose from, and young Valerie picked the latter. When asked by her father why she chose axes, Valerie stated “you could never be stabbed in the back by one".
Over the years Valerie became a good mate, participating in her first battle at the age of 17. She suffered an arrow wound to the shoulder, but otherwise came out unharmed and victorious, so the entire crew of the Santa-Aquila celebrated their victory in a tavern out on the Western Isles. Valerie, having only drank a bit before, was a light-weight and wound up spending the later parts of the night with a charming warrior she met that night. Faust was uneasy with it all; Valerie fighting, drinking, cussing, and spending nights on land with men, but he felt an odd sense of pride too. His daughter knew how to live at sea and, while it wasn’t quite what he wanted for her, he was happy to see that she had taken to it quite well.
Of course all good things come to an end. When Valerie was 20 a naval ship on the hunt for the Santa-Aquila attacked one day. The battle was a fierce one indeed, but what really caused problems was that a second ship was present to provide reinforcements. The Santa-Aquila fought bravely, but many were killed in battle.
Including Faust, her own father, who fell into the ocean after suffering a stab wound in the chest. Valerie not only missed a chance to say a final good-bye to her father, but she hadn't even noticed until the battle was won. She was a lucky survivor, with only eight of her mates in as good a condition as she was. The Santa-Aquila was ravaged from the battle and their captain was dead. The remaining crew members looked to the grieving Valerie to see if she wanted to take her father's place.
After thinking hard on it Valerie decided that she wouldn't. She fixed the ship best she could, divided their spoils amongst the crew members, and sold the Santa-Aquila in Badon. It was hard, but she had been split from family before. There was no sense in holding onto the past just for the past's sake. Her goal now was focused on the future: to start fresh and build her own legacy. Undoubtedly she would return to the sea, but only when she had the gold and infamy to become a pirate worthy of a captain’s title. It would take time and work, but Valerie knew it was possible.
And so the shark wanders the mainland, looking for work, with dreams of leading her own ship and crew.
