Post by Reily Leigh Arlen on Mar 1, 2008 6:47:03 GMT -5
Reily came to Avaren after The Fall, after the city of Aesir had lost its place amid the clouds and Avaren itself had been reduced to little more than a ruin. She was young still, just one month in from her seventeenth birthday - barely of age, in fact - and had never before set eyes on its majesty, let alone stepped foot beyond the grand entrance. There were stories, though, many stories. Growing up in a far off hamlet, the daughter of farmers, she had only known of this walled kingdom as a setting for fairy tales and rumors of war. Being here... it was as if she had stepped into a fantasy.
The journey from her home to this point had been long and arduous, though relatively without incident. She had not seen people in numbers since her family had bid her farewell at the farmstead. A lone ranger, perhaps, would point the way with as few words as possible. A thief would have to chased off of her belongings. But nothing more than this. As she traveled closer to Avaren proper, however, she had noticed a marked increase in tradesmen along the main roads, still, not as many as one might have expected.
This troubled her. The tale of the war and of Aesir's fall was fresh in her mind. The people of Avaren had won, but at what cost? Had the population been decimated? Were the magicians who had sought refuge in the new kingdom working wicked spells on wives and mothers so that there were no new children, and therefore, in turn, no people? Wild and unfounded ideas such as these swirled though her mind, though where they came from she could not tell. Still, she pressed on.
She had come here to train. Her parents, before her birth, had pledged their eldest child to the cause of Avaren - for what reason Reily did not know - and, three days before her seventeenth birthday, had sent her off to seek her fortune, as it were. They had probably hoped for Reily to become a lady in waiting or some such thing, but their daughter had other ideas, it seemed, even from an early age. She had always been boyish, and becoming a knight had always appealed far more to her than any other role she might play. Still, she was slight in figure and lacked the strength to heft a broadsword for any length of time - perhaps the people at the barracks would not accept her. As she approached the great gates of Avaren this thought weighed ever more heavily upon her and despite the ever growing hustle and bustle she felt alone.
A small girl in a big city. She was small, too, less than five and a half foot and slender despite the battered armor jerkin and large, travel-stained cloak about her shoulders. Her hair was red and wavy, shorn in boy-fashion about her shoulders and her eyes were grey. She lacked the ready smile that would have made her pretty, instead preferring a grave, thoughtful expression that suited her monochrome irises. At the moment, though, she looked little more than lost. A striding man brushed past her, nearly knocking her off her feet and she gasped as he carried on without a backward glance. Was everyone in Avaren so uncaring?
The journey from her home to this point had been long and arduous, though relatively without incident. She had not seen people in numbers since her family had bid her farewell at the farmstead. A lone ranger, perhaps, would point the way with as few words as possible. A thief would have to chased off of her belongings. But nothing more than this. As she traveled closer to Avaren proper, however, she had noticed a marked increase in tradesmen along the main roads, still, not as many as one might have expected.
This troubled her. The tale of the war and of Aesir's fall was fresh in her mind. The people of Avaren had won, but at what cost? Had the population been decimated? Were the magicians who had sought refuge in the new kingdom working wicked spells on wives and mothers so that there were no new children, and therefore, in turn, no people? Wild and unfounded ideas such as these swirled though her mind, though where they came from she could not tell. Still, she pressed on.
She had come here to train. Her parents, before her birth, had pledged their eldest child to the cause of Avaren - for what reason Reily did not know - and, three days before her seventeenth birthday, had sent her off to seek her fortune, as it were. They had probably hoped for Reily to become a lady in waiting or some such thing, but their daughter had other ideas, it seemed, even from an early age. She had always been boyish, and becoming a knight had always appealed far more to her than any other role she might play. Still, she was slight in figure and lacked the strength to heft a broadsword for any length of time - perhaps the people at the barracks would not accept her. As she approached the great gates of Avaren this thought weighed ever more heavily upon her and despite the ever growing hustle and bustle she felt alone.
A small girl in a big city. She was small, too, less than five and a half foot and slender despite the battered armor jerkin and large, travel-stained cloak about her shoulders. Her hair was red and wavy, shorn in boy-fashion about her shoulders and her eyes were grey. She lacked the ready smile that would have made her pretty, instead preferring a grave, thoughtful expression that suited her monochrome irises. At the moment, though, she looked little more than lost. A striding man brushed past her, nearly knocking her off her feet and she gasped as he carried on without a backward glance. Was everyone in Avaren so uncaring?
