Name: Oriana Lark of Maloren
Sex: Female
Age: 19
Occupation: For most of her life, Oriana has worked on the deck of a ship with her family, cleaning the deck or cooking or some task necessary to travel. After the ship that destroyed her family's ship however, she has been working as a serving maid in one of the cleaner inns in Maloren (the
Three Moons) to earn money for her family to eat and stay alive.
Status & Rank: Truthfully, Oriana could be considered a legitimate heir to House Taran, though she has never claimed such. She has always been (
and always will be, so said her grandmother) a common girl from the scum of ships in Maloren's ports. She can hardly read, much less run a country.
Roots & Origin: Oriana had the misfortune to be born in the dark, mistrusting city of Maloren in a union most frowned upon. It was a bit of a romantic story, some would say. Carina Amie of Royal House Taran, (yes, the niece of High King Belenus, by his sister) was just a swooning lady-child of seventeen when she first laid eyes on Saxen Sully of Maloren, at the time himself only eighteen. He was but a strapping young lad with hair as dark as the black sea beyond Maloren and eyes so emerald that they seemed to glow. How could the fair, fire-haired Carina not find him beautiful as he hauled in one of the ships from the sea? His emeralds caught her glassy eyes as she passed for a moment, and there was never love at first sight like this. But they were both beautiful people, from completely different (not so beautiful worlds).
Their courtship was not of words or speaking, rather a passing touch on the hand or a flower left on the Lady's door step. Sometimes Saxen Sully of Maloren would wake to a cheerful dove's song, with a rose on his windowsill. But it was by these notions that the other knew their hearts were won. Ah, there was nothing so sweet as first, true love.
Marry me, run away with me, begged the poor young sailor, desperate to find something to offer his lady-love. After all, what had he to give? His family was hardly a family at all - a few scruffy old men, his two brothers, his aging mother, and a ship weathered by years at sea and occasional serpent strikes. What had he to offer the niece of the King? And the poor girl wasn't sure what to do - her mind was in one place, negotiating with the two rivaling peoples of Maloren; and her heart was in quite another, longing only so much to run away with her newfound love.
But a day came when the leaders of the city only slammed down their goblets, telling her she was just a foolish, little girl, not doing the city or herself any good. Her heart was just as fiery as her hair just then, and crochety judicial married her to the sailor-boy when she commanded it, no questions asked. The arrangement may have not been beautiful, but their happiness was overwhelming. Saxen carried his bride to his ship, and though they did not know it then, she was with her first and only child the next day. The disappearance of the King's niece did not go unnoticed, however, and it was not long before the Kingsguard found the happily, married lady-child and her husband. The captain of her guard swore that he would see Saxen hang. The only reason he had not killed him then was for the grace of his Lady's eyes and her pleading for him not to. It was a tearful departure, but both knew it had to be so.
Carina was returned to her own estates, for once it was discovered that she was, in fact, carrying the child of a filthy commoner for Maloren, it would not be fitting for her to be seen at court. The warrants for Saxen Sully of Maloren's arrest were postponed while all waited for the child's birth - if the child actually lived, it wouldn't be so easy to hush up. Thankfully Carina's loving mother (the King's sister) refused to hear any such talk, and made sure only her most trusted and loyal servants attended her daughter to keep both Carina and her unborn child safe. (Meanwhile, however, the "crochety judicial" was not so safe, having been hung a mere few days after the procession of the King's niece left the city. How dare his filthy hands sign the papers to marry of the King's niece? Well, there were prices to pay.)
Meanwhile, the Ghayth House was at work, having already destroyed all hope of fertility within the older generations of the King's House (the Tarans), but as Carina had not yet come of age (or so they had thought), it had seemed unnecessary to destroy her chance of motherhood yet. Could this child ruin their plots? Would the Taran House revive?
Carina begged her mother to let her go to Maloren, to find her love and explain things to him, to tell him that he was going to be a father, but the King's sister knew that it was a foolish request. The child was born in Carina's estates, wailing as her mother died for her efforts. Even then, Carina's mother couldn't stand the sight of her - her daughter had died for this squailing newborn? If not for some motherly compassion left in her, she would have let her daughter's former guard captain kill the pitiful thing or leave it in the rain to die, but instead, she did what her daughter would have wished. She sent it back to where it came from, to Maloren.
Saxen was overcome with grief at the loss of his love and overwhelmed by this new responsibilty. He could not handle a child - gods and goddesses, no! His old mother, Neith, shook him firmly on the shoulders, telling him that he would bear this weight. Putting the infant girl in his arms, she made him look upon his daughter. Saxen watched her open her eyes, emeralds like his own, and yawn, taking her first look at her new home just before dawn when they would leave port.
Oriana Lark, he named her, becoming proud just then.
Of Taran? questioned his mother. He shook his head.
No. Of Maloren.Appearance: Lelahiah, the goddess of birth, certainly graced Oriana with beauty, but it is not the soft beauty that her mother possessed, nor the grace and elegance that her mother walked with. While Carina was gently beautiful, with quiet steps and gliding motions, Oriana is strikingly so, from her emerald eyes to her red hair. At first glance, it would seem that the girl was nothing special, not even worth a second glance, but at another look, it is seen that her features are sharp and piercing. Oriana is not particularly tall, having inherited her mother's height and not her father's. Aside from the bit of muscle that she has put on working on the ships, Oriana is slender enough for a girl her age, but that is not to say that she is not strong. Over the years, Oriana has built up some strength because after all, Maloren is not a safe city and sailing is not easy work.
Her facial features are enough to catch (and hold) just about anyone's attention. She was gifted with beautiful cheeks, red cherry lips, and fair, lovely skin. Waves of long, red hair cascade down her back, though on sailing days she usually finds a way to pull it back out of her face. Her grandmother has taught her well to keep her hair in good order, giving it one hundred strokes every night and morning when she sleeps and rises, so her locks are healthy looking. Just as fiery as her mother's, sometimes her father looks at it and sighs in remembrance of his short-lived love. But her most appealing feature she did not get from her mother, that being her eyes of emerald. Of a beautiful green color, her eyes are flecked and designed in all the right places, clearly conveying emotions as strong as the color of her hair. Her father, and much of his family, also possesses these eyes. If Oriana had just her eyes, with the face and body of a hag, she might still have been considered beautiful, just from the appearance of her eyes.
However, as will later be read in Oriana's history, the girl has not much for caution, and in Maloren, no caution means injury. Oriana has scars on her knees from skinning them as a child, though they are not so apparent anymore. On her right arm, there is a red mark where she once was burned from her grandmother in the kitchen (when she tried to snitch a cookie too soon). Most severe however would be the marks on her back from a lashing recieved when she talked back to the captain of a nearby ship. Saxen barely got her out of that one, and he recieved a few marks from it himself, and even with Neith's poultices, they did not heal fully smooth.
As far as attire goes, as much as Saxen would have loved to buy his daughter the best and most expensive, Oriana has never worn anything more than cotton dresses (and even sometimes pants). She has no jewelry, save a heart amulet that her father begged the guard captain for when he brought Oriana to him, and Neith has told her (though not her father) that she doubts it was of any value at all. Nevertheless, Oriana knows that her father treasures it, so she wears it close to her own heart always.
Strengths:
- Oriana has always had a taste for dancing - she both loves it, and her feet move quick enough that she has a fair hand at it. When she was a girl-child, her father would spend countless hours on deck on the ships dancing with her, spinning her round and round. It was merely a past time, but Oriana has always loved it.
- Due to her years on the sea, Oriana has always had a good sense of direction, navigation, and geography.
- A very obvious strength of Oriana is her beauty (though she hardly sees it as such). Often times, however, Oriana does not take advantadge of this strength like she could.
- An unnoticed strength (or rather advantadge) of Oriana is her inexpensiveness. She has never asked for nice apparel or possessions, and she doesn't eat all that much. Though this certainly might change, if she is ever exposed to the higher luxuries of the world.
Weaknesses:
- Growing up in Maloren, amongst a bunch of low ranking sailors, Oriana can barely read and the only thing she can write is her name. Her education of "important" things (such as math, language, etc.) has not been good, simply because of her background. That is not to say that Oriana is dumb - she just has not had a formal education.
- Oriana is desperately afraid of storms, after the storm that wreaked her ship. She knows that it is a stupid fear, for after all, she made it out alive, but it was a traumatic experience and her grandmother died during it.
- Oriana is not very cautious, and it has often gotten her into trouble. This is as far as her actions and her words. Her fiery attitude often leads her into trouble.
- The only weapon that Oriana can use (aside from her fists and feet) is a knife, but that's used mostly for tasks aboard a ship, so she doesn't have a fair hand with it. While possessing street smarts to get by in Maloren, in a slam, Oriana could be in trouble.
- Oriana has never been one for drinking. The slightest bit of alchohol gives her a horrendous headache, which she usually does not recover from until at least a day afterward.
- Oriana has never ridden a horse in her life, so she's hardly a good rider. It's likely she'll fall off if she's ever required to ride a horse.
Magic: Like her origin, for the most part, Oriana thinks that magic is some kind of joke, having never come into contact with a magical item or a Slayer.
Personality: Like her appearance, Oriana has quite a striking personality. She likes to speak her mind. Her humor is sarcastic and witty versus light-hearted and joking, though she loves a good laugh as much as any other person. Her temper has always been easy to spark, though her anger cools off quickly. She doesn't might a good verbal fight, and physical ones aren't awful either, though she doesn't always come out on the top of those. (Shouting is easier for Oriana than brawling.) Oriana has always been a hard-working and intelligent enough to learn (despite her lack of schooling).
A downside to Oriana's strong personality is that she's not always the most understanding. She has difficultly seeing things from another person's point of view, even if she does try. This isn't to say that she doesn't love other people - it's just that it's hard for her to see through a different perspective.
Oriana makes friends easily enough, she supposes, but she only has a few close friends that she really trusts. Oriana's trust also breaks easily - she may not stay mad for long, but it takes some time for the bonds of her friendships to heal once they've been broken. She's grown up in an atmosphere where if people aren't dependable, ships sink, so it's important to her that those close to her are responsible. Also growing up in the sailing, Maloren atmosphere, Oriana has learned a few curses in her days, and lieing is just a part of the lifestyle (though she doesn't lie very often - her grandmother always frowned upon it, unless it was for a good reason). She's never really been a good liar though, since she usually says what she means. Oriana has never really taken care to hide her emotions either - if she's upset she shows it.
As far as the opposite sex goes, Oriana has always gotten on well with them, considering all the men in her family. She doesn't go out of her way to be with them, and she's not a flitty lady swooning over every man she sees, even if she does enjoy their company every once and awhile. She's just followed the advice of her father and grandmother - she'll know when something important comes along.
History: (
Continues from Oriana's roots and origin above.)
Thus was how Oriana Lark of Maloren came to be in her father's arms, raised in the murky city of Maloren, which was hardly any place for a child. Thieves, drinking, and fighting... Past that all, however, Oriana had a very close knit family. Her dear granny, Neith, was her major care-giver in her young years, considering her father's youth. He was not yet twenty when Oriana had her first nameday, after all. Neith, like her grand-daughter would later become, was not a soft woman at all, and for that reason, Oriana recieved good discipline as a child. She was never spoiled or coddled (except perhaps by her father), and even by the age of four, Oriana had learned most of the dirty sailors' curses, which certainly would have been enough to make her royal mother faint. Of course, Oriana did not know about her royal mother until she was older. Neith didn't want her to become arrogant as a child, so she all but forbade Saxen to tell her who her mother was. Instead, Oriana lived with the simple belief that her mother had been taken by Valleran, and she did not ask questions more than that. Neith had sternly said that she was all the mother that the girl would ever need, and had added a spanking to seal the deal.
Oriana's paternal family was not large. At the head of the household was obviously Neith, ruling over her three sons. Jerome was her eldest son, older than Saxen by a good eight years, with Evan soon following, six years older than Saxen and two years younger than Jerome. Evan was a kind, laughing father-figure that Oriana's own father didn't know how to be, but Jerome looked upon her distastefully, perhaps upset that Oriana did not bring her mother's wealth to the family. Whatever the case, Oriana never understood - she just knew it was important to stay away from her uncle's glare. Friends were not easy to come by in Maloren, so Oriana's sociality pretty much stuck to her cousins and their families, as well as few other shipmates.
The money (nor the time) was not there for Oriana to attend schooling, and often times, her family was crewing their ship, the
Gold Wind, which they hauled things to different ports on. Oriana learned to sign her name, but that was about it. There wasn't much need for an education besides geography and navigation, though even that wasn't necessary. Every good sailor knew that more than ten miles out from shore was almost certain death. The serpents were restless beyond that area. In fact, Jerome often times told her that he hoped a serpent would eat her. As a child it had scared her, until Neith told her that he was just a bitter old sailor with salt for brains. Of course, she still had nightmares about serpents every once and awhile, but she didn't cry about them like she used to. Along with there being no money for schooling, there was not much money for entertainment (aside from the men's drinking) or toys, so Oriana and the other children put their time and energy into working on the boats and making up their own games.
Oriana was a good child overall, if a bit roudy and rash, but she grew into a ravishing young woman as the years went on. Her fiery attitude only blossomed as well, getting her into a few rough scraps in her early teen years, as can be told by the scars on her back (and some on Saxen's too). She attracted several young men during these years, though a few were put off by her sharp tongue (and many more by her grandmother's). In any case, there wasn't ever anything serious, just passing flirtations and maybe a few stolen kisses. As could be seen by the rest of Oriana's family, it was hard to find someone to settle with a sailor (aside from another sailor) because life with the sea was never peaceful.
Through out her childhood and teen years, Oriana was always close to her father, though he was never the guardian that he should have been. He had been too young going into parenthood, and he had never learned how to act. Thankfully, Oriana had Neith and Evan to watch over her for that. Neverthless, her father loved her very much, and would do anything for her.
Over all, Oriana's life was not eventful or destructive. Nothing of great importance happened until Oriana turned eighteen. Their ship was blown furhter out to sea in a great storm (which hence forth triggered Oriana's fear of storms), and completely destroyed their ship. It was wonder that most of them survived the wreak and got back to land without any trouble from serpents. To the family's great destruction, however, Neith was lost in the storm. As she was the head of the family, Oriana's family has never gotten along since. Jerome and his family scorn the others for their own reasons, and Saxen has just been trying to hold them together like Neith did, though Evan thinks Jerome is just being foolish.
It was at this point that Saxen decided that she was old enough to know who her real mother was. When Saxen told her her mother was related to the king, she actually
laughed at him, not believing him. She still hardly does believe it, thinking that it is some kind of cruel joke or something of the sort, though with their family's business and relations going down the drain, she wonders if those connections might serve in handy for some lended money. Though currently in Maloren, Oriana is making plans to leave the city to perhaps seek out her relatives with a plea of help to help her family buy a new ship.
But who knows what adventures (and dangers) await her?