Ariane Vaâura

[kayla]

Name:
Ariane Vaâura

Gender:
Female

Age:
178

Race:
Elf

Occupation:
Solider - Common

Allegiance:
Du Weldenvarden


Physical Description:

Ariane is a woman who embodies the Vaâura line in it's entirety. Her hair is the color of midnight, usually falling down in waves past her shoulders. If to put it in better words, it seems to be a waving sea of darkness. Held on her face are warm brown eyes, which characteristically bounce light well. During the day it always makes her eyes seem youthful, alert, and watchful. Then as night falls her eyes appear more mysteriously, the glint of mystery lies within them. Though by elven standards, it isn't exactly the most unique. There are elves running around with violet and silver eyes, and all she has is her light brown coloring. Her skin also is a bit paler then the elven norm, no matter how long that she spends out in the sun. She would have been considered a beauty overall, nothing unexpected from elven kind, yet she has lacked any mates for a simple reason. She is a Vaâura, and the bloodline comes with a price. One thing that she always has on her person is an arrowhead tied to an un-beaded necklace. Blood has clearly stained the arrowhead, yet does not take away from the clean design of it. This very arrowhead was the point which had started Du Fyrn Skulblaka. The arrow which had killed the first sighted dragon by the elves.

When it comes to her attire, you can usually find her in woven tunics, woven until fine yet firm. Dresses only seem to appear on her whenever required by formality. In addition to her general and peasant-esque clothing, she has both her own and a standard set of armor. The standard steel plated armor is one which all elven soliders are equipped with for battle. It is light and form fitting, and nothing too elegant. It retains the usual grace of elven craftsmanship, and is mere child's-play in design compared to the nobel's armor. She wore this armor in combat against the soliders of Brodding during the Blue Divide. She remembers each and every time she had to clean all of that blood off the armor. Some of the red liquid stained small patches, which gives it a look of wear to it. The second piece of armor is one that has been crafted by her father for her own use. It too has fewer embellishments outside of the natural elegance of elven armor. The crest of House Vaâura, a falcon eclipsing a sun, is pressed across the breast plate and the shield. The design was hand carved, without the use of magic to do so, and the craftsmanship is shown. The armor is quite light-weight, which is magically induced, and firmer then her other armor. Though she rarely wears it, due to the shunning family Vaâura receives.

Coming to combat, the simplest description of how she fights would be "malignant grace." She fights using either a combination of two shortswords, or a longsword and a shield. She never really worked well when it came to spears or axes, they just never fit her style well enough. In archery, she does quite well enough by eleven standards. She finds that in some ways, they are more useful in combat. Carrying a bow also seems to work better in diplomacy. Yet, she is always at her best when it comes to single combat with blades, as she puts a heavy focus on offence. Her moves seem to be "seemingly unconnected staccato sequences" that are bold and powerful. It's strength is the fact that it seems to be so unpredictable to the untrained eye. Most elves however, can see the slight connection from each move, even if they don't see everything. That it all leads to the overall destruction of the opponent. The weakness comes in when someone can see the connected dots or she becomes simply overwhelmed with enemies. She can be quite a deadly force because of that, so it's best to take her on in a group rather then in a one on one match.

Personality:

Ariane is a rarity among elves...at least personality wise. It really shows when it comes to her attitude. She tends to have a slight smirk on her face, the right side of her lips just a bit upturned. She appears to know some sort of joke that you missed. She is well known for her wit in conversation. Nothing is out of her range of jokes, she likes to lighten the mood. Some elves give her evil glares when she inserts her comments at serious moments, others attempt hold back chuckles for fear of reprimand. Love it or hate it, she will always try her bit of dark comedy. This is something that really was cultivated mostly by the fact of her sorry situation. Being Vaâura, she is considered to be part of a foolish, brash, and lowly line. Vaâuras have been considered to be the lowest family ever since that fatal moment when the arrowhead that she now wears killed the first dragon. Joking about things is what she tries to do in order to distract people from her families past. Yet it lingers in the mind of elves she meets, it always seems to linger.

Even so, she still possesses some of her ancestor Talos within her. She is a very passionate person, which can be seen as a sort of fire in her eyes. Her stance reflexes it, especially when her fingers fidget just a bit before she leaps into action. When she puts her mind to doing something, it's very hard to change her path. If anything can really be said, she will always stand behind her own actions. She views people who do not own up to their actions as cowards, and one of the most dishonorable acts a being can commit. She actually is usually quite callous on most insults, being called a female dog, or any number of other things really has no phase on her. It also results as bravery in the face of danger, rather then get nervous, she gets a bit jittery. She revels in the energy put into a fight. It's her own personal art, which she much prefers then singing and dancing. Although during the blood oath celebration she has little choice in that matter.

Her one achilles' heel with callous-ness, is when it comes to her family. She literally can not stand being put down by people because of it. What does it matter that her ancestor made one mistake. He died for it, and still his family is shunned to the day. It just gets her so worked up. She always seems to have to work twice as hard when it comes to achieving anything in society. Forget the fact she is barely skilled in magic outside of keeping others out of her head. She has been kept down in the army since she entered, and she thinks constantly of fleeing the forest. Yet the horrible relations between humans and elves have kept her trapped in her home.

History:

Talos Vaâura was a young man of reasonable stature within the elven community. He was a fantastic hunter and warrior, such it always seemed to be with the Vaâura family long before they had arrived in Aalegasia. Hunting was a passion of his, and he was well known for trying to find the biggest game possible to feed the village. Even with his rash and quick temper, he was liked for those contributions. He could not be satisfied more with the settlement that he had helped with in Alagaësia. The forest they lived in was ripe with beauty in possibilities, not to mention the rumors they had seen of fantastic beasts just waiting to be bested in the hunt. He was frequently out traveling to find new hunting grounds for his people. Of course it left his mate alone, but she didn't truly mind the fact, being proud of what her mate was doing.

One day, while he went out hunting, he saw a magnificent creature fly over head. At first he was started by the fact, eyes wide in surprise. He was amazed by the supposed beast and followed it till it landed in an open clearing. A smirk slowly worked it's way onto his face. I'll kill it, he thought. I will be hailed as the best hunter of all the village. He pulled an arrow from his quiver and knocked it to his bow. He stared down the large reptilian creature from the shadows, and gazed along it's body, looking for any sort of weakness. He found an area on a neck, where a long arching scar had yet to fully heal. It was the one chink that he could see, so he had to take advantage of it. He pulled back the bow string, gazing down the shaft at the target. When he released the string from his grasp, the arrow flew forward at blinding speed....In that instant, he had changed the path of both his race, the dragon's, and his own family. The arrow drove straight though it's neck, piercing straight through and peeking out on the other side. The dragon roared it's very last roar and died a very painful death. He then came out from his hidden shelter. He pulled the arrow from the neck of the creature. He broke off the bloodstained arrowhead and tied it to a good strong string. He would leave it to his children, so they would remember him. After that he ran back to the village and told them of this "great" kill, many of them disbelieved his claim until he took some of them to the site of the beast. They then went back to the village to get more hands to carry it back....but when they returned.....It was gone....For a time of three days, he was hailed as he believed, a great hunter, his mate proud of him. All good things must come to an end, and for the elves...things would end horribly.

Talos was ambushed when he went on his next hunting trip. He didn't even have a chance to fight back. When his body was finally found, it was torn to shreds and burned black. Whether the elves had known it that moment or not, it was a message. This action would not go unpunished.

Du Fyrn Skulblaka was a war of terrible losses that lasted for five years with no chance of stopping had the Dragon Riders not been formed. As the war began going into full spring resentment was quickly built up. This was not a war that they wanted, nor was it one that was caused by the entire race. It was the action of one male who was hunting. So with the man to blame dead, it rested on his entire family and their offspring. It was an unspoken rule, even after the war had ended, to leave the Family Vaâura alone. They would be forever pariahs, cast down in the social latter from the act of Talos. The line from then on struggled to continue to produce more children after peace had come back. Who would want to have a child descended from the man which caused so much bloodshed. Since this unsaid rule came into effect all Vaâuras have been unfairly put down in rank from anywhere from the military to political positions. It is unknown however if they were ever offered the chance to become Dragon Riders, no Vaâura in history so far has become one...

-----------------------

Ariane herself was born to Decca Uriel and Feliana Vaâura, she was one of the few remaining Vaâuras. Thankfully, Feliana's sister had a few children with a mate who she had found, so their line may still yet prosper once more. Decca was a respected warrior before he had decided to become Feliana's mate, and from that point forward he fell from favor with his comrades. The unspoken distaste for the Vaâuras was still very much alive, there was no doubt in that. From the point where they had conceived a child, was the point where he just seemed to stop raising in rank. Another Vaâura spawn? These were the whispers in the shadows, the Vaâura line is nothing but trouble...Feliana had been dealing with such whispers her whole life, and knew that they could never truly disappear. However Decca had never felt the full force till now, he was just as much a Vaâura by the fact of his mate. He wondered if he just gave into pressure, and left Feliana...would it bring honor back to his name? Yet it was too much a burden to bare on his heart, he truly loved this woman, and he'd be damned if he left her because of silly rumors. Plus, it was part of his duty to take care of his child, Vaâura or no.

Ariane herself grew up with a bright mind and a kinder heart then most society. When she was truly young, passion ruled her more then logic, something that was discouraged by society. Rumors followed her more often because of it as well, talking of how she was like Talos...not really thinking about his actions. It appeared that history had not remembered they had celebrated the fantastic feat, until it was inconvenient. As time continued she found that she had a severe lack of magical ability of any kind. The best that she could do was to block out others from breaking into her mind. Such a skill was mundane compared to other elven children. Combining this disadvantage, with that of her bloodline, she had a rather sad existence. Few wanted association with her, so she tried to be more expressive of her feelings, a joker. It got her some laughs, and a fun time during the blood-oath celebration. Yet nothing ever lasted. What made her the most angry was when people blatantly put down her family infront of her. Could her family not ever be good enough for them?

When the time came, she signed on to be in the elven army. With her social disadvantages, she had to work twice is hard to be considered well at anything. She practiced sword work in the night, well past when she should have been sleeping. It did make her smile when she found that her father had crafted her personal armor for her own use. She unfortunately was required to ware the standard issue armor for the majority of the time. The armor usually find it's place in a locked case inside her home in Ellesmera. She gave up on any chance of finding a mate after trying for several times to win hearts. Plus, those attempts were half hearted at the best of times. She just had no interest in pursuing relationships outside of friendship. Ariane saw her first action when the humans attempted to attack the elves in the Blue Divide.

Combat was brutal, and she remembers every single time that she saw the face of a being that she killed. The single moment where the life leaves their eyes....It just feels wrong to her, but became a necessity as it was her duty to the race as a whole. She still has the occasional dreams at night, when she sees the faces of the people she has killed. She tries her best to forget those days, yet it never truly works. What she remembers most significantly though, is the loss of her mother and father in that war. On the assault of Osilon, her father lost his life in duty, and her mother became a civilian causality, as she had moved to the city to stay with him. The news had shaken Ariane to her core. Both of her parents had been part of the rock in her life that helped her resisting the hate against her family. Now they were gone to some place which she knew did not exist. After the war was over, she ended up taking possession of their house in Osilon. She still makes visits there occasionally, to keep it clean in memory of them.

Now things are very different from when it seemed the whole world was at war. Things are eerily quiet, and a shaky peace had supposedly been established. But if Ariane could bet her life on it, this may only be a begging. A shadow war was being fought, unseen, and unheard. Whether the mysterious Hive she has heard of is the cause...she is uncertain. If ever given the chance, she hopes to do something...something fantastic to bring the honor back to her family. She doesn't want her parents to be remembered as numbers, she wants their sacrifice to be worth something. Before her time is done, family Vaâura shall rise again.

Roleplaying Sample:

The battle had been long and hard, Tara had done what she could to aid the Resistance while keeping her cover, it was no easy feat for her. She had to aim every single shot perfectly as to not kill a single soul. Thankfully, her aim was true, she saw no kills that resulted directly from her shots. She had knocked a number of people out by hitting their helmets in the temple area with her arrows. She saved the trick mentally in her head for later. It would most definitely be useful. But, for every rebel that she "accidentally" maimed while she seemed to fire at the resistance, there were two more to take their place. For all the defenses that were put up, it wasn't enough. The camp had fallen to enemy control, Olympus was next. Why couldn't it be enough? She had done the calculations in her head, the Resistance had the numbers, they had the opportunity. Yet they had fallen hard. It pained her to think of the thought, though she believed little in praying to anything for help, she sent up a silent prayer to Olympus. It was a request for guidance, a sign of anything that could help in the weeks and years to come. She had to gather her thoughts to think, she had to plan, if there was any time for something like that, it'd be now. She ran off into the forest, not bothering to disguise her own figure. The camp was owned by the rebels now, nothing to do about that. They won the battle, what lines could there be left now.

She retreated into her mind, detaching herself from her mundane surroundings. Her body would react to whatever monster danger that she could happen upon. She still had her bow in her hand, a quiver still half-full with arrows, and she still wore her bloodstained armor that was rebel issued. She wished that she could clear this all away now, but she had to disappear for a time, among the chaos of the vicious win. As she nocked and fired an arrow at an incoming hellhound on her right side, she considered first all she gathered of the rebels and their leader. The man himself did not seem to have any conscious inside his head, no morals. The prison was evidence enough of that, she'd seen the results first hand. It agonized her mentally that she could not lift a finger without blowing her cover. Spying was nasty work, but at least she helped in this final battle, whatever she could. The arrow she launched hit smack-dab between it's eyes, and it vanished into dust.

She continued on, realizing she was heading toward the creek, but not caring. She continued on her thought path. The rebels were obviously not wise enough to notice her nor several other spies within their ranks. It could be a deciding factor in the future, and she planned to exploit it. There was one thing that she just couldn't put her finger on at the moment...One last puzzle piece yet to fall into her brain, she needed to think more. Then she remembered she was on her way to the creek. Creeks were peaceful, thought provoking, a good place to start. Yet, as she came closer, she found blood drifting down the water. Knitting her eyebrows together, she followed upstream to find the source. She found a girl, cleared of most of the blood, and a black pegasus. She looked closer to recognize Heaven Lee Wise, Ares Cabin Leader, who she'd seen at the cabin leader meetings before the Rebel Conflict. She walked near the girl, standing just on the other side of the creek. She hated having to deal with people, much more complicated, and she tended to be rude apparently. She couldn't see it. "Hello.", was all she said, waiting for some sort of reaction.

[Emma]

Lovely profile. =D Accepted!