Garnet Elusien (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
prizedpossession) wrote2018-11-17 06:51 pm
prizedpossession) wrote2018-11-17 06:51 pm
app: duplicity
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Name: Garnet Elusien Door: Door pass: Dominant Canon: Original Canon Point: Six years into her training in the Brotherhood Age: 21 Appearance: Garnet is a very pretty young woman, with auburn curls framing her face, clear blue eyes, and a scattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks. She has a smile that promises the world for anyone who dares to reach for it, and curves in what are generally referred to as all the right places - although they're nowhere near as impressive as they were before she began training to become a Sister. Even for her world she's not tall, standing perhaps 5'4, and between her size and her smile she doesn't look like much of a threat at all - at least not until you notice the way she moves. Lithe, supple and carefully controlled, Garnet's movements are definitely those of a warrior. Garnet usually wears a white shirt and green, blue or brown breeches. Her hair is usually in a ponytail, with curls escaping here and there. History: If you're born in Arreya, every drop of noble blood in your veins is an invitation for someone to murder you. Just being alive is a hazard all by itself - with bloodlines closely intermingled and the royal crown frequently up for grabs, the general view is that the fewer heirs that are around, the better. Of course, no one thinks their own heirs should be wiped out - and that's why the Brotherhood exists. Dedicated, totally incorruptible, peerless warriors and bodyguards, the Brothers and Sisters train for years to become worthy of being hired to protect a ward. Once chosen, they spend a lifetime - often their own - guarding the person they have sworn to look after. The bond is not broken except by the death of the ward or the Brother/Sister, or in the case of some terrible falling-out that cannot be rectified and concludes with their ward ending their service. The only acceptable death for their ward is that of old age or unpreventable disease. A Brother or Sister will die or kill without hesitation for their ward, putting him or her above all others. Born as the first - and, as it turned out, the only - heir to the Elusien dynasty after many years of waiting and hoping, Garnet has been cosseted and protected from well before she was born. The moment she emerged from her mother's womb, it was into the care of one of the Brothers, a man named Brennan. Nursemaid, tutor, playmate and bodyguard combined, Brennan had trained for the sole purpose of raising a noble child and guarding their life until they were an adult. Garnet loved him immediately, and like everyone else in her life, Brennan swiftly found himself wrapped around her little finger and unable to deny her anything she asked for. Through her childhood Brennan was always there, protecting her from danger and telling her stories to keep the energetic, impulsive child entertained. The stories she loved most were those of the Brotherhood, of the brave men and women who dedicated their lives to someone else, and the wonderful adventures they had with their wards (once they were grown up; this he had to emphasize often). And when she was fifteen, followed by the ever-faithful but somewhat concerned Brother, Garnet announced to her parents that what she wanted - the only thing she had ever wanted - was to become one of the Sisters. Since this was not the first thing Garnet had declared she'd ever wanted, and each previous aspiration had lasted weeks at most, her parents sighed and agreed to let her go - provided, of course, that Brennan went with her. Perhaps this would have been just another of Garnet's flirtations with destiny if not for the master of the Brotherhood's trainees, a woman named Dillan Tierney. Passionate, devoted, loyal beyond all measure, and dedicated to her duty, Dillan was the first person Garnet ever fell in love with. She was completely unattainable, and all the more desirable for that. For the first time in her life, Garnet found herself willing to struggle in order to achieve something - Dillan's praise. Dillan took an interest in the teenager, and under her care Garnet thrived. In Dillan she found a challenge: someone stronger than her, faster, more dangerous. Someone who didn't hold back in a spar, and someone who did not hesitate to punish her if she did something wrong. Someone she could not either defeat on the training grounds or, inexplicably to Garnet, lure into the bedroom. Not that that stopped Garnet trying - and being turned down again and again. Dillan became an obsession, someone she had to impress no matter what the cost. Needing to finally beat Dillan got her through year after year of training - the first thing she'd ever been able to focus on for more than a few weeks. Garnet practised day and night, threw herself into her lessons, took on stronger and more dangerous opponents whenever the opportunity presented itself. Her startled Brother found himself being asked for sparring sessions, for tips on how to use a sword, what things had been like when he was training. The girl who had been weak, easily distracted, and just another useless noble was becoming someone who might one day become one of the Sisters. And sometimes, after a sparring session, Dillan would nod at her and tell her she'd done well. For Garnet that was enough to make it worthwhile. Personality: From her earliest childhood, what Garnet has wanted more than anything else is to be noticed. She'll do almost anything in order to attract someone's attention, no matter how reckless or dangerous it might be. As a child, she learned that the best way to get attention was to become what someone wanted to see - to her parents, she was a delightfully sunny and sweet-natured girl; to her Brother Brennan, an intelligent child who took well to her schoolwork, even if she got distracted and wasn't much good at finishing it; meanwhile, the children of the nobles who visited her parents found a mischievous and impulsive playmate who knew where to catch frogs and climb trees. And if Brennan scolded her when she appeared in a torn and dirty dress - well, Garnet knew how to be utterly charming, and was always full of guilt and contrition. It usually worked to keep justified penances away from her...at least until the next time she did something naughty without thinking about it. As she grew, Garnet learned quickly that the most she could expect from the life her parents had planned for her was a kind of peaceful obscurity. Their dreams were small: marry their daughter to someone suitable, gain grandchildren in time, and keep their lineage (and their child) alive. It was not a life that would be remembered; she would never be more than a footnote on the pages of history, unless somehow she became one of the few who snatched the crown for themselves. She wanted to be something more, something better - even better than a queen, who could hope for only a short and glorious reign before being assassinated. What exactly that something was changed from day to day, because Garnet's attention span has always been very short. Garnet's biggest downfall is perhaps her impulsive nature. Thinking things through is more than a little difficult for her, since she much prefers to simply leap in and begin the wonderful plan she's come up with. And if halfway through she thinks of an even more exciting plan, the first is abandoned cheerfully and without a second thought - for until she signed up to train for the Brotherhood, there were never any consequences for forgetting about her responsibilities and her promises. With no one to hold her accountable, it was simple enough to just move on to whatever she wanted next. Garnet is inherently easygoing, and Sisters are taught to be calm and collected despite almost any provocation. But despite her best efforts, she is not entirely immune to minor irritants; having to sit still and study is very definitely not one of her strengths, and the more ladylike skills such as embroidery and flower arranging bore her to tears. While she has mostly learned to tolerate stillness and quiet, given a choice, Garnet would much prefer to be around other people and enjoying herself. She is not stupid - but book learning will always lose out to social skills, which Garnet has learned are far more effective at getting her what she wants. Very little can really get under her skin, but there is one thing that invariably drives Garnet to rage and tears: when someone she looks up to is disappointed in her. At such times she will lash out, furious, heedless of the fact that that doesn't exactly help the situation. It's very hard for Garnet to accept that she might have failed in something she was sincerely trying to do - even if failing in something when she wasn't trying provokes nothing more than a shrug and a sweet smile. Garnet needs attention, needs people to know she exists and to remember her name. Not much is important enough to her to hold her attention and determination for the time it takes to see it through - but her desire to be noticed, to be loved and remembered, drove her to train as one of the Sisters, and perhaps to become a legend who would never be forgotten. Once there, her formative teenage years were shaped by a woman who was exactly what Garnet wanted to be: well-known, respected, and very memorable. She knew just how to challenge Garnet, pushing the girl to succeed, and Garnet worked harder than she ever had before in order to keep her mentor's attention and affection. Mimicking Dillan, Garnet learned how to be dedicated, how to be brave, and how to persevere. Steadfastness and calmness Dillan tried to teach her, but there she was running up against Garnet's impulsive nature and innate willfulness. Even without her mentor's constant supervision and vigilance, what Garnet wants most is to make Dillan proud - although she has plenty of years yet to go before she will become the perfect Sister, and a good deal of perseverance required to get there. It remains to be seen whether she will be able to control herself long enough to reach her one true dream. Powers and Abilities: Garnet has no superhuman skills, and all her abilities are well within the bounds of human normal. Six years of intense training in the art of combat have left her with excellent skills in martial arts, which is her preferred style of combat, and she can also fight with any of the available weapons for her time - the spear, mace, hammer, bow, axe, and quarterstaff. She is fast and agile, excelling at acrobatic moves that get her out of the way of an opponent's blows. She is, however, only human; while Brothers and Sisters are the best fighters in their world, they can be hurt or killed by a sufficiently skilled and determined opponent - and Garnet, still in training, is definitely vulnerable. Inventory: Her sword, and a pair of knives. Samples: one, two. |