Name: Iarei
Age: 25
Race: human
Height: 5'6
Weight: 134 lbs
Physical Description
Due to her musical leanings and self-held beliefs, Iarei does not carry weapons of any sort. Nor does she invest much in armor; her choice of clothing is simple. First is the footwear. If one intends to travel a great distance, then the footwear is where it all begins -- especially if a person is without a horse. Her boots are well-worn leather that have had their soles replaced. Yet, she is a creature of habit, and she would not sell well-worn boots for something new and uncomfortable. Her pants vary, but they are often of finely woven linen. Rarely will she wear leather unless she's in for some hard travels. Next is the shirt, a simple, loose affair of an undyed, neutral hue. She does not affect many ornamentations, the only jewelry being in a single piercing within her right ear. Over her garb is her cloak, which is a well made affair of heavy linen. It is dyed a deep crimson.
Her hair is very, very long. She keeps it braided, and it falls down her back to bump against her buttocks. It is black, its darkness rivaled by her brown eyes. Her skin, exposed to the sun for long, will maintain a rich honey brown tone. Out of the sun, the tan will fade to reveal paleness.
She is not beautiful by the general standards of humanity. She is of average height, average weight, and average looks. She easily blends into a crowd of mixed races.
The only thing that might set her apart is her voice, and she has been trained extensively in its use.
Possessions
Lute: Taught since the age of eight to bard, the woman has quite nimble fingers over the strings of this instrument. It is not necessarily a very fine instrument, but its sound is mellowed with age. She keeps it slung in its case across her back.
A scribe's supplies: Doubly trained as bard and scribe, she is fluent in writing and language. She is well read, and well written. She has a basic grasp of arithmatic, and a more than basic grasp on how to run a household. She also could be considered a merchant.
A few changes of clothes: Useful in tight situations, no doubt.
A large leather bag: Slung from right shoulder to left hip, it carries her worldly possessions.
Secreted coin purses: Well, she's pretty wary of thieves. She has a number of hidey holes upon her person that keeps her from being robbed too thoroughly. She's not a wealthy individual, but neither is she beggared. She lives comfortably enough, and typically has coin to spare to hire on a bodyguard or whatever else is available.
The Boy: He is not a slave, but neither is he exactly 'free'. The exact nature of his relationship with Iarei is never quite explained by the woman herself; to outsiders she merely calls him her 'apprentice'. His age is unknown, but he is a youngling (think 8-10) with hair so blond it's nearly white and bright, inquisitive blue eyes. Really, he's her messenger, and a junior smuggler and crime lord in training. She's quite proud of him. He has no name, she found him in the gutters a year or so back when he tried to steal from her. She took him on instead of leaving him to a grimmer fate.
Powers or Strengths
She is a very skilled bard, but that is second to her ability to barter. She has a smooth tongue and a diminutive appearance -- she has no need for arts in the martial field. If she needs a bodyguard, she hires one. Simple as that.
She is, one could say, well versed in the ability to sway people to her cause.
As well, she has an extensive knowledge of herblore, though she is quite unfamiliar with how to gather or rendor such herbs herself. Partnered with a trained apothecary, she would be quite formidable indeed.
She gains a steady income of coin through her barding, and also through her less legal talents.
Secret Powers - Not really a power, but it'll be revealed through rp anyways. She's a smuggler, a con-artist, and in general a shady person. She uses her considerable charm through spoken words to get her way, and might be able to sway NPC types a bit more than the next person. She also collects information (and sells it, where necessary), but this would be very much hidden from normal people.
Weaknesses
She can't fight. She really can't fight. She could, I suppose, hold a knife and make the proper stabby motions, but up against a trained assailant she'd be quite dead. What's more, she has absolutely no intention of learning. It spoils her merchant appearance, and makes smuggling through a legitimate front more difficult. She has no combat abilities. (Well, unless you count fleeing. She's quite skilled at running and hiding somewhere inconspicuous. Does that count?
It's her only defense against armed knaves (besides flinging coin at them), so it's quite well developed.)She spends far too much coin on hired guards and the like.
She's a sucker for a pretty man. She'd pay coin for a good roll.
She's too willing to take risks. It lands her in bad situations.
Once she finds someone she trusts, she trusts much too easily.
She doesn't trust magic at all. She'll go out of her way to avoid it if possible; this loses her money on occasion.
History:
Born to poor farmers in Shim, she was a middle child. She learned to work early on, as most farm children oft do, and assisted in the various easy and menial chores such a child is capable of. This lasted until the age of eight. At this time, she was sold in servitude to a Player's Troupe that happened through the area. She was taken in as a bard's apprentice. She would learn much, much more.
The training started innocuously enough, as fate would have it. She learned to love the lute, and to learn her voice. She was started off in voice modulation, in the guise of singing and the telling of grand tales. All very moderate things. Gradually, she aquired other talents such as mathematics and writing. From the myriad members of the troupe, she learned a smattering of skills. She could dance passably in the ways of the different courts of several countries. She learned how to light a fire and seat a horse. She learned philosophy and the myriad uses of hundreds of different herbs ( though how to process and render these herbs was regretably forbidden after she nearly burned down a wagon in 'practice'). She learned how to secret money about her person, and she learned to charm money from a crowd.
At the age of 13, she learned how to con.
She took to it quite well. She, a mischievous child, was particularly well suited to the task. She was partnered with one of the troupe's children: a saucy lass by the name of Sindre. The two got along fabulously, and together they learned the finer arts of smuggling from the troupe leader. By the age of 16 she could speak glibly enough to part coin from nearly any careless onlooker. Sindre and Iarei looked to get by quite well, and their act sparked rumors amidst the troupe that they would find a Patron, opening doors to easier, richer smuggling routes. Connections sprang up across Europa. The world was in the palm of her hand. At 20, a Patron had been found. He was a wealthy lordling. Sindre became smitten with him, but Iarei never knew. There is an element to the female development that Iarei never counted upon in her secure little world: envy. Jealousy.
Lust.
Sindre grew jealous of Iarei. The spiral began. Words were passed, deals were made. Iarei was never aware of them, not even when Sindre snuggled up with the then-current troupe leader to turn a blind eye to the proceedings. Only Iarei's old bardic master did not waver, but he too watched with sad eyes as the trap was set and him unable to do anything. Betrayal was the name of the game in all the ways that mattered, and Iarei unwittingly went like a lamb to the slaughter. None could save her, but none were inclined to; though useful she did not carry Sindre's sparking flashiness. Sindre had taken the lead, and through it the troupe stood to benefit. Iarei was the sacrifice.
In her 23rd year, Night occurred. Iarei did not speak of that night, but she always would refer to it as 'That Night' in later years. Of the details, she never would tell. What is known, however, is that the Patron in question was tipped off by someone to illicit activities that Iarei was conducting under his fair name. She was immediately branded a traitor, a spy, a lowlife. She was run out of the area, and word spread in the local areas of Iarei's betrayal. Sindre cast her out without a backwards glance. Iarei was devastated, and fled the area to avoid persecution.
She wandered, heartbroken and ruined, through the lands. It was dangerous, but she learned how to survive. In strange towns she made money with her bardic abilities. Many nights were spent cold and hungry. She survived. It took two years for her to find her purpose, but when she did she arrived at the logical conclusion with a hard and tough resolution:
Gain power, no matter the costs. And when her reach grew long enough, she would find Sindre. She would crush Sindre. Until then, she will live. She will survive.
And so she stumbled into Marn, yet another place with people who eyed her askance and called her stranger. She remains undaunted.
She has all the time in the world.