Name: Ayende d'Ailen
Age: 19
Race: Human (From the Rider Tribes, also known as the Plainsmen of Marr)
Class: barbarian/adept
Physical Appearance:
Ayende is average height for a human (5'7") though considered a hair short among her people. Her hair is a honey colored cropped rather short a little past the base of her neck. A leather braided cord holds her bangs back from her face with small braids and beads woven into her hair in the typical fashion of the Plains Riders. Her skin in darker due to years of working under the hot sun. She was born with the trademark golden eyes of the Plains Riders.
Ayende is not what you would call beautiful; she is exotic only because she clearly stands out in the crowd as a barbarian from the eastern tribes. She does have a cougar like grace to her, and a presence that suggests this cat is always on the defensive. Wearing trousers rather than a dress and a thin bladed sword at her hip she has been at first mistaken as young boy. The finely wrought pieces of jewelry such as a necklace she always wears and a few copper engraved bracelets warn others of this mistake. The necklace is made of copper as well with thin interlocking circles pounded carefully into a careful pattern. There are a few unpolished stones of topaz and amethyst set into it. Her gear is ornamented with simple beading and designs pounded into the leather. Equipment
Sword: Thin blade sword: There is no ornamentation to the weapon at all, but there is symbolism in this. Plains Riders are a society of independent war tribes, so a sword is a very important of the riders identity almost like a sacred relic although it cannot be wielded on horseback. The sword is a weapon meant to spill blood. It should never be treated as simply a costume accessory. It is an instrument of war and death, not something to be celebrated so ostentatiously as most nobles do.
Composite bow: Ayende travels with a bow should she need to fight from horseback or at a long distance.
Horse (Kirin): Kirin is a breed known as a Golden re'em, native only to the plains. Re'ems are known for their striking elegant appearances golden coats and pale manes, but more importantly for their stamina and power. Their metalwork only provides a piddling income for the tribes so in order to trade for the goods their incomes comes from the horses they breed. The Rider Tribes are very protective of their herds, and the secrets of their breeding. Only male horses are sold to outsiders so that nobles cannot create their own herds from their own private breeding pairs. The Rider Tribes know that the horse trade is essential to there survival so they have to regulate this business. They have a tendency to be one sided in negotiations. There is a saying among peddlers that arguing with a "Savage" is like arguing with a stone except that the stone is more interesting to talk to.
Personality:
A stone, would actually be a good description of Ayende. She can be moody, brooding, and stubborn as a mule. She is also very naive since life on the plains was all that she knew. She has trouble with communicating with those she once considered the outlander. Now she is the outsider, and her frustration has continually began growing. Ayende has difficulty expressing her frustrations to others, preferring action to words. She is also quite a hot-head. Patience is not one of her virtues, and her temper is her leading vice. In combat she tends to get a little sloppy in her art when miffed. She has always been short tempered ever since she was a child, but it wouldn't always lead to impulsive outbursts. Her anger always sought an outlet whether it was training, working with the horses, or just picking fights with her older siblings. Pushing herself always made the anger and pain burn itself out leaving her feeling empty inside. This emptiness was problematic in itself slowly building up over time till she eventually broke down. But her nature was to be resilient. Life on the plains meant to survive, so she would pull herself together again and begin the cycle anew.
Special Abilities:
Ayende never had enough shamanic abilities to become a mystic within her tribe, but the power is there in her family. Her grandmother was a her tribes seated mystic and her sister is well on her way to following in those footsteps. This power only manifested in Ayende as the small ability to create and manipulate fire. She received enough training to control the ability, but not enough to gain true mastery over it. There have been a few incidents in the past where she has failed to reign in her temper and accidents have happened.
Combat:
Strengths: Her muscles are well toned, and she is in fairly good shape. She can be quick and nimble in a fight. She has received formal training from her elders in the skills of warfare and is confident in her abilities to be skilled enough to earn a place in the war band should the need ever arrive. She is far from the best, but on her way to being a adept fighter.
Weaknesses: When she was ten she had a bad fall from a horse. Ayende broke her collar bone from the fall and since then her left arm has been the weaker. She does not have as much mobility in her shoulder as her other good arm and on colder rainy days it sometimes pains her. Her left side is vulnerable to attack in combat.
Likes: There are no taverns back home and the only alcoholic beverages her people have was made from fermenting barley at harvest time. One of the first things she was introduced too in the outside world was a good old pint of ale which lead to her first tavern brawl in the outside world. Sweet wines are her favorite drinks though.
Dislikes: Narrow city streets and money. Ayende hates going into cities because they are so confining. There are so many people crowded into the streets, so many events all happening at once, confusing scents, and loud noises, all of this tends to be overwhelming She prefers open roads with the stars above her. She dislikes money because she has no concept of it. Her people work on the barter system and equivalent trade. She doesn't understand why these little metal coins that to her are worthless carry the same value as food and skins needed to survive. The fact that marks from different countries also have different weight and value to them doesn't make sense. It is al the same metal why would a coin from city be worth more than another from elsewhere. This makes shopping a painful ordeal.
Biography:
Ayende is the daughter of the War Chief of the Rider tribes. Her father, formerly a clan leader, succeeded the previous leader five years before she was born. Ayende is the youngest of seven children, her mother was the War Chief's second wife. The closest sibling to her age is her sister Rena who is a year and a half older and is her only full sibling.
All the children were raised together, so she had a rather large family growing up. She matured into quite the little tom boy and with four older brothers it was a matter of survival. Being the youngest she was always trying to prove herself to be accepted by her older siblings. It was always a matter of catching up to them, but she never could. They humored her by teaching her what they could and playing wither her. Her childhood was not unhappy just full of people passing in and out of her life. She loved her siblings, but often resented the fact that she would always be overshadowed by them. Nothing she ever did was very special because someone else had already done it before. She felt like she was always trying to find her place in her clan and even family.
Like all children she began her training at a young age first through simple little war games she and her siblings played. There favorite was called cat and mouse. Her people pride themselves as being excellent fighters. The horses, clothes, and children are all created for battle. Both men and women are taught how to fight, some pursue combat training more than others. Ayende loved the training sessions but she didn't want to spend her life as a patroller since women were denied official places in the war band. Both men and women fight and hunt for their tribe, but only serve in the war band during times of actual conflict. Women who pledge themselves to the warriors life generally serve the tribe as patrollers. Ayende's eldest sister is next in line to lead that little group.
She loves archery although it wasn't always so. After many hours of frustrating practice and failure she began showing some skill with the bow. Because of her injury though she could never find the strength to pull the long bows that would really give her some distance. Archery was also enjoyable because it gave her an excuse to practice and be with the horses at the same time.
The horse trade is the main lively hood of their people. The Re'ems are the most sought after breed on the continent for there strength, endurance, and obedience. They make the perfect warhorse but aren't as large and cumbersome as other breeds. This is the only way the Rider Tribes can really trade for the modern goods from the far away cities they've become accustomed to. Some of the elders bemoan the lose of older traditional ways, but even they cannot deny that the quality of steel from the mountains is far superior from the crude natural ores used in older days. Because the livelihood of an entire people depends on the herds they are very protective of the horses. They live in a symbiotic relationship with the herds.
Everyone in tribe had duties to fulfill. Ayende was all too happy when her chores included helping with the horses. She loved watching them run, longing for the day when she'd be allowed to ride. The horses seemed to like her too, and it wasn't long before her second eldest brother saw this affinity. Sei, was her favorite of all her siblings, although to be fair she would never tell him that. He was unlike the other three, always quiet and reserved. He was as quick as a rattlesnake in combat but preferred the quieter life among the herds. Sei was the one who nicknamed her Aya and the term on endearment spread among the others. He as a good ten years older than her but never minded her childish antics or resent her presence like the older boys when she was passed around for supervision. Besides she was good with the horses and never grumbled when working. Like all her people she was riding not long after she could run on her own two feet, but the adults kept a close eye on the younger kin. It wasn't until she was eleven that Ayende was given her own horse. She learned her first lesson that day, that life could end before you could even blink due to recklessness. It was her fourth time out with Tsorovan and she over estimated her abilities managing a horse. The basics of training centered on building a good relationship with the animal first or you would never be able to guide it properly. The she tried to take him over a jump before he was ready and he spooked. Ayende was thrown from the saddle and very nearly trampled under his hoofs. Sei was there when she woke up wrapped in bloody bandages. It just another scar, she would make more trouble for herself but some not always physical.
She made a rapid full recovery thank the spirits. It wasn't long before she was back on her feet and back in her saddle. She had learned her lesson in pride and was more willing to let time run its course and let trust go. Her ability to work with the horses was unquestionable was unquestionable. Her relationships with humans were second place in her life. Even though she was growing up day by day she was miles away from her siblings, and she hadn't really bothered to make many friends outside her immediate family. This set her apart from the tribe since the communal sprit had always been key to there survival in the modern way. Ayende felt alienated from the rest of her world, and withdrew from it entirely at times.
The Plains of Marr were her playground. She would spend horse riding as fast as she could with the wind blowing through her hair. The sound of the ground thundering beneath her horses hooves. The scent of the sweet grasses and wildflowers being crushed underfoot releasing there aromas into the dry air. The billowing clouds raced across the sky as she rode chasing the sun. The vast emptiness of the grassland filled her with a sense of solitude that was thrilling. She was always aware of the small place she held in her family, tribe, and world, but it was still hers to explore. If she was only a tiny spec in grand design it meant that there would always be more for her to experience. Wanderlust had taken her soul a long time ago, but she could only ride so far before she would look back. Her heart longed to free herself, but her duty called her back. The Plains Riders are known for their deep sense of duty and honor.
The trouble started for her on a patrol one evening as she went to check on the herds. Three horse thieves attacked her after being discovered. Ayende killed one and the other two fled. It was long before an armed war band from outside came demanding justice for the death of a minor son of one of the neighboring outland Lords. The war council reluctantly agreed to the demands, but not before sending warning and supplies to Ayende in time for a quick escape. She has been wandering since afraid to return home should she bring trouble to her tribe. Ayende has been traveling as a mercenary and adventurer, hiring her sword out to merchants ever since.