Post by Emma on Oct 5, 2010 21:19:25 GMT -5
Name:
General Myaja Kolbjorn
Age:
612
Race:
Elf
Occupation:
Army General
Allegiance:
Dellanir Dröttning
Physical Description:
Myaja’s general appearance and the one she is most well-known for is a walking fortress. Her choice armour being a steel-plated set in Dellanir’s blue and ivory colours, it was a gift to Myaja when she was promoted to general. Myaja’s face, as well, is almost always hidden by the matching helmet, which is embellished with a pale blue feather to signify her rank. The helmet is closed, leaving only her eyes visible. When formal occasions call for more elegant clothing, Myaja wears a ceremonial uniform that consists of shiny black boots, blue high-waisted riding britches with gold braid down the outside seam, a square-shouldered, tight-waisted jacket, the same dark blue as the britches and studded with golden buttons and stripes, and a navy cape, lined with gold. Myaja won’t go near other types of clothing unless the situation desperately calls for it, in which case she usually wears gowns that show very little other than her hands and neck, as Myaja refuses to show off her body. Very few are even treated to the sight of her face, as she covers herself out of a desire for protection and because she simply believes that no one has the right to view her.
Myaja walks with an air of pride and elegance as all elves do, though hers is considerably more forceful and intimidating due to her station, and she is clearly well-versed in physical fighting. House Kolbjorn, though one of Du Weldenvarden’s oldest and most respected families, has one genetic fault- its members are notoriously unskilled in magic. This has forced Myaja to work twice as hard for half the respect in battle, and six hundred years of hard training has made her very skilled with her heirloom katana. She is also adept in the use of siege engines the likes of ballistae and catapults, and is deeply involved with researching military technology.
Myaja’s heart-shaped face has very prominent bone structure, the signature of all elves- she has long, high cheekbones, a small chin, round jaw, full lips, a blunt nose, large, round eyes, and a tall forehead. Though not tall at all especially among her fellow elves, standing at a mere 5’5”, she has a curvaceous figure made up of large breasts and wide hips, and is also lean and notably more muscular than most elven woman due to her combat training. Myaja also has the notable colouring of House Kolbjorn- very pale ivory skin, straight ice-blonde hair that reaches her mid-back, and piercing blue eyes framed by long lashes. If she hadn’t been raised a soldier, Myaja might have cultivated into a very beautiful woman- though certainly physically attractive by most standards, her icy persona is very off-putting, and men serving with her often balk at the idea of considering her for a mate.
Personality:
General Myaja Kolbjorn is a severe woman, even by elvish standards. With a fearsome and commanding presence, she is harsh with her subordinates and peers and coldly merciless to her enemies. Sharp-tongued and highly combative, she is no stranger to furious chastisements and bursts of fiery violence, especially toward those who fail to live up to her high standards. As such, Myaja has no tolerance at all for weakness or lack of willpower and fosters great distaste for the Grand Game, which she views as a cowardly play promoting easy handouts and unnecessary compromises. This sang-froid that Myaja is so well-known for was built off of the need to hide her pain- she has great difficulty in dealing with loss, resulting in often reverting to an emotionless soldier’s nature when deeply hurt or grieving.
That being said, Myaja is extremely perceptive and adaptive, able to coolly judge which courses of action will lead to the most beneficial results and capable of thinking and acting on the fly in response to unpredictable or mutable circumstances. She is highly skilled at reading people and careful to keep conscious of even her own limitations- her lack of social skills, having never been in a position to practice them; her pride in House Kolbjorn, which can lead to bursts of blinding anger if it is insulted; and little to no charisma- Myaja relies strictly on brute force and her own intelligence to get what she wants, not a silver tongue or female wiles- feminine charm never even occurs to her simply because she was never raised to utilize it. And though she commands the fear and respect of many, very few can say they actually like her. Myaja is also a woman of utter confidence, however, and this bothers her little.
However, this shouldn’t suggest that Myaja is a ‘lone wolf’. She understands that she requires the support of her subordinates and peers in order to succeed and, though she understands that sacrifice is often a necessary part of the life she has chosen, Myaja never forgets the weight and impact that each person has on the world. As such, she takes her command role very seriously and has earned the undying loyalty of her men with her hands-on approach to leadership on and off the field of battle. While she could never be said to have a “soft spot” for anyone in particular, Myaja’s possibly least-known and most surprising fact is that she is a deceptively caring and selfless individual, prone to taking enormous risks in order to protect the lives and well-being of those who have placed their trust in her, making her a mother bear of sorts. She has refused to let the horrors of her past break her, and instead fuels them into her fierce devotion to morals and integrity.
History:
Myaja was born to Eleivar and Rainesfere Kolbjorn in Ília Fëon over six hundred years ago. House Kolbjorn was at the time among Du Weldenvarden’s most influential families, and one of its oldest. Her father Eleivar was the General of Du Weldenvarden’s armies at the time, and he was fiercely pious to Nyx and highly devoted to morals. Myaja’s mother Rainesfere was a baroness, a very introspective woman who was much happier lovingly tending her gardens than participating in the Game. Myaja inherited her looks and personality, and was a timid creature for much of her childhood. She was particularly fond of her father, and Eleivar spent much of his days and free time teaching Myaja of Nyx, morality, and sword-fighting, in the interest of having her join the military when she was older. He visited Myaja often when she was sent to Ilirea at the age of 25, a memory she does not look upon with much fondness- the Riders thought of her as mostly useless due to her low magical abilities. Even today, she struggles with something as mediocre as lighting a candle.
At the age of thirty-five, Myaja was permitted to leave Ilirea for a month’s time to visit her family, a routine yearly trip. However, on this particular trip, Eleivar happened to anger the Hive, which he thought was a stain on Du Weldenvarden’s illustrious name. Assassins traced him back to his home, and one night, Eleivar simply picked up Myaja and locked her in a closet before stepping out to face the assassins. The Hive had sent their finest, and Eleivar was getting on in years- he was eventually beaten, and Rainesfere was also stabbed until she collapsed due to loss of blood. A distraught Myaja managed to break out of the closet and attack the assassins, but she was easily restrained and thrown against the wall. The last Myaja saw of her father was his being brutally tortured to death by the vengeful Hive.
Myaja awoke in Ilirea to find that House Kolbjorn had been decimated, the Grand Game offering its aid to the Hive and picking apart its shattered carcass. With her beloved father dead and her mother comatose, Myaja became bleak, nihilistic, and angry. She intensely bullied other children and was foul-mouthed with her instructors, up to the point where she was often punished severely for her constant violence. She barely finished her schooling at age eighty, having been kept five extra years while Riders attempted to heal her emotional trauma, and went back home to Du Weldenvarden, where she finally achieved her one express desire- to join the military. However, it was entirely out of vengeance and a vent for her constant fury, not to become the paragon of morality her father had so hoped for her to grow up as.
Myaja spent much of her early military career as the bully she’d been in childhood, and as such was assigned to where her callous nature would be useful- the penitentiary in Osilon. It was there that she met an elf named Anastasio D’artagnan, imprisoned for attempting to murder his own mother. Their interactions were initially nothing other than Anastasio attempting to instigate conversation followed by Myaja shouting at him to shut up, but he was intrigued by her for whatever reason, and persistent. When his sentence was up and he continued to pay her visits, Myaja finally defrosted and picked up a friendship with Anastasio, but refused to let him touch her. Eventually, however, she realized what the flaming emotions she felt were whenever she was near him, and they began a long-standing romance.
Anastasio was a highly manipulative individual, which Myaja realized- but at the time, did not care about. She was lonely, and he was the only one who stood by her. Myaja’s mother Rainesfere had never recovered from the Hive’s attack that night, and had become utterly devoid of all emotion. However, she had one secret- when her mate had died; she had been pregnant with a second child, one that she had ‘frozen’ in her womb while grieving over Eleivar. One night, she had a vision from Nyx, and ‘unfroze’ the child, allowing it to form normally. A few years later, Myaja’s brother Kieran was born, and she was tasked with her mother to care for him. Caring for the tiny baby and Anastasio’s calm encouragement eventually healed Myaja, and she gradually grew less angry and spiteful. She matured, and at one point, even decided she was happy. Her younger brother was healthy; she had a loving mate, and she had achieved the rank of Major in the army- only a few short days before the beginning of the Blue Divide.
Myaja was first deployed to Osilon to stave off the invading Broddring forces, but when it became clear that they were evenly matched, she and her company were relocated to the Plains. During that time, Myaja fought alongside Anastasio. While not in the military, his brand of magic was particularly useful against the humans- and led to the annihilation of every living person in the Silent Plains, earning them their nickname. Myaja began to fear that Anastasio was more twisted than she’d thought, and her suspicions proved true near the end of the war. After achieving the rank of Colonel, Myaja discovered she was pregnant with his child. When she told him, Anastasio was initially elated. That night, he came to visit her barracks, and rather than celebrate, slew her soldiers as they slept and beat her to within an inch of her life, killing their child in the process.
Myaja spent the end of the Blue Divide bedridden, recovering from her physical injuries. Anastasio was arrested and imprisoned in Osilon for killing his superiors. During that time, she heard the news of Eragon and Palancar’s deaths, as well as the old General’s- but most horrific of all, that her brother Kieran had joined the Hive she so despised. However, Myaja paid no mind to these occurrences, instead focussing inwards. She had seen what lack of morality had done to Anastasio, her mother, and herself- and she felt that she had failed herself, and her father, who had so desperately believed in integrity. She decided that she was not going to let the death of her child break her, but let that grief and sorrow fuel her until she reached her father’s standards once more- and then, she would avenge her son. Once Myaja had physically recovered, she was promoted to General by Dellanir for her unshakeable fearlessness during the war and in her current circumstances, and has served as General since.
