Riva Harel (Charlotte's 1st Alt)

[Riva Harel]

Name: High Officer Riva Harel of the most holy Etrurian Army

Class: Paladin
Hair Color: Red
Eye Color: Green
Age: 38

Born in: Aquleia, Etruria

Appearance: Riva's red hair stops just below her shoulders and is kept either tucked in the back of her shirt under her armor or tied back out of her face. Her slender figure is strong, toned and muscled from years of battle, but scarred to remind her of her tumultuous past. She is naturally fair-skinned, but a lot of time in the sun has brought some color to her skin. She's a bit taller than the average woman, coming in at around 5'9", but the majority of the men in the battalion are taller than her. Still, Riva holds herself in a way that makes people recognize that she is someone important, making the height difference unnoticable.

Clothes: Riva is rarely found outside of her military uniform, the Etrurian black white and gold which she holds dear to her. She keeps her uniform clean and crisp, always ready for a surprise inspection. Her armor is white and gold, and she almost never wears a helmet. She never wears dresses. Ever.

Story: Riva knew from a young age that she would devote her life to St. Elimine, but in what capacity, she didn’t know yet. Her father, Remi Harel, had been an Etrurian General in the height of his career, and her mother was one of the most active members of the Church in Aquleia, so Riva was no stranger to devotees of St. Elimine. The family of seven took frequent trips to the Tower of the Saint to give their devotions to her, and their mother, Sara, always took her children to daily mass, prayed over meals, and had family prayer before bed.

The only thing that was as prominent in the life of the Harels was the stable that the family owned, which Remi had inherited from his father when he passed. It was one of the largest stables in Aquelia, and all five of the Harel children were expected to help out and work in the stables between their studies with their mother and their devotions to St. Elimine. Riva’s brothers didn’t take to the stables as much as Riva and her sister, Hosha, who would spend the majority of their days with the horses, grooming them and getting to know the smart animals. When they were lucky, their father even let them take their favorite horses for rides.

Riva’s work in the stables not only exposed her to horses and riding, but the military as well. While their father was a former general, Remi did his best to keep his daughters away from that part of his life. Of course, the Harels encouraged all of their sons and daughters to devote their lives to St. Elimine, but Remi hoped his daughters would chose a cloistered nunship over other vocations. But he was not always in the stables when the soldiers came by to pick up horses for their troops, so when Riva first met these soldiers of Elimine, strong warriors of their faith, she was in love. She was quite familiar with the origin of their country and their church, and Riva knew she wanted to show her love for St. Elimine just as the saint had done Elibe.

So at 16 Riva signed up for recruitment to the Etrurian army. While her faith was strong, Riva’s body still needed to develop the strength of a soldier, so she spent two years solely training, learning how to properly wield a lance and strengthen her body. During this time, too, Riva worked in the military stables, her experience well known amongst the ranks. Once Riva turned 18, she was able to officially enlist in the army, where she was picked up as a cavalier. Her parents - her father especially - weren’t exactly thrilled, but Riva felt she had found her calling in life. So former general her father was, he called in a few favors and had Riva placed as an Assistant Officer.

The young woman was assigned to a company under a Region Officer, Uri Bohn. The two don’t connect at first, but Riva and Uri quickly found that competition ran deep in the both of them. Each officer training session held devolved into both of them trying to outdo the other in combat, much to the chagrin of the other officers. Regardless, the two bonded, and they quickly became inseparable in both personal time and battle. Riva learned of her and Uri’s shared love of horses, and the both of them shared in their devotions to St. Elimine. Uri quickly became known for his prowess in military strategy, while Riva’s finesse lay in building morale and instilling valor in the troops and squad leaders.

It didn’t take long for Riva and Uri’s friendship to grow into something much less innocuous, though neither would admit these feelings until much later in their lives. Relationships among the ranks were not permitted, especially those between someone and their superior. Being loyal to the army and their country’s ways, neither Riva nor Uri wanted to be dishonorably discharged from the military, so they both kept their feelings for one another secret.

The two fought in a handful of battles together, and they worked together extremely well, though they did their best to limit their personal time together. While they remained professional in front of others, it was growing increasingly hard to work with one another alone. Both had finally admitted their true feelings for one another, but they still agreed they needed to be careful, still worried for their rank even with their familiar connections.

Love can only be held at bay for so long, though, and the two eventually had toed the line one too many times. Riva became pregnant, and the two were left wondering what in St. Elimine’s name they would do. Riva and Uri took a few days leave when they were stationed near Aquelia for a few weeks, speaking with Riva’s father and mother and trying to determine what they could do to ensure they wouldn’t lose their positions. During this time, too, the both of them were secretly married, so they would not continue “living in sin,” as Riva’s mother had put it, any longer.

Six months after discovering she was pregnant, Riva and Uri enacted their plan. Riva requested leave to be with her family, having fallen ill. While Riva had begun to show, she and Uri had done their best to hide the effects from their fellow officers and the soldiers of the company. Riva stayed with her family for two months after to “heal” from her sickness, and in month eight (one month earlier than expected), twenty-year-old Riva gave birth to twins - a boy, Ezer, and a girl, Eve. Riva stayed with her parents for one month longer taking care of her infants before going back to the military, leaving her children to be raised by their grandparents.

Years passed, with Riva and Uri using whatever time they could to visit their Ezer and Eve. When Riva was thirty both she and Uri were offered positions as High and Low Officers, respectively, that had just opened up. The pay was increased, which meant they would be able to send more back home to their children and Riva’s parents, but it came with an increased time commitment, meaning less time to take leave and go back home to visit. While Uri was ready to turn the position down to be with his children, Riva refused, insistent that turning down the offer would be insulting those who had recommended them.

Uri and Riva accepted their promotions and worked hard in their positions, continuing to grow as leaders. Uri became renowned in the Etrurian military for his strategic genius, while Riva continued working closely with their troops, being one of the most well known Low Officers in the army. Whenever they were in battle, Riva did her best to fight with their troops, even when Uri couldn’t been there. Even when she had an opportunity for leave, Riva generally denied it, saying her troops needed her.

This didn’t sit well with Uri, who had noticed all too well how he was making more and more trips alone to visit his children without his wife. But whenever Uri tried to bring this up with his wife, the two would fight, Riva insisting she owed it to the troops to stay with them, and Uri trying to convince her she really owed it to her own flesh and blood who needed their mother.

But Riva was a woman obsessed. Her marriage with Uri was going on fourteen years, but it seemed with each passing year their romantic love continued to fade away. Uri’s love was for his work and his children, while Riva’s was for their company, country, and St. Elimine. They still worked together professionally and performed exceptionally at their roles, but anyone could tell they weren’t working as a unit like they used to. In fact, they seemed like they were barely communicating, which was not good considering The Prophet was getting ready to put Lycia in its place.

Uri and Riva’s battalion was chosen to lead the foot assault in the demonstration on Ostia, and in an unusual turn of events Uri decided to march with the troops and with Riva. While Riva was more than experienced in battle upon her steed, Uri had only fought in a few battles personally since becoming a High Officer. Despite Riva’s pleadings Uri insisted on fighting alongside her. “Because if I cannot be close to my wife,” he explained, “I will be close to my Low Officer.”

The battle of Ostia was chaotic, fierce, and fast. The Etrurian forces virtually leveled Ostia, though even their great force wasn’t without losses. While Riva did her best to keep her husband safe, she had other squads to monitor as well. The two split for an hour, but when Riva came back she couldn’t find Uri. She searched up and down the streets, only to find her husband bleeding out in an alley, a clean wound cut straight through his stomach. Her vulneraries having been used on others in their company, Riva could only watch in horror as the man she once loved with all her being died in her arms.

The battle was won, but Riva’s Battalion were left without their High Officer. Uri was given a proper officer’s funeral, but Riva was nowhere to be found among her family and children, despite Riva going out of her way to attend as many military funerals from their battalion as possible. When Riva was offered the position of High Officer, she accepted, burying herself deeper in her devotion to her country and to The Prophet’s will for Etruria. She has not seen her children since before The Battle of Ostia, and while she yearns for a familial connection, Riva cannot bear being near the remaining pieces of Uri in the world. Even though Riva is a broken woman, she has turned the heartache in her life into fuel for her fanatical love for her faith and focus on the men and women in her battalion.

[Deleted]

Once again, very nice profile. Accepted.