Varna

.:Basic Information:.

Name: Mindy G
Character Name: Varna Telukat Ashura
Alias/Nickname: ‘Mud’- a hated nickname and one only Bianca knows about.
Race: Human (Veluralan) - Dragoon
True Age: 24
Apparent Age: N/A
Sex: Female
Height: 6' 1"
Weight: 158 lbs
Hair Color/Style: Varna’s hair is long, falling to her mid-back and is mild, slate gray in colour. With no fringe, it frames her features with tumbling curls and waves to its length, thick and soft.
Eyes: Like most of her sub-race, Varna has warm, chocolate coloured eyes, flecked lightly with pale olive around the pupil, however appearing dark at first glance.
Marks/Scars/Tattoos: One large, slightly askew scar covers her left shoulder, almost completely over the deltoid and onto the top of the left breast where she was pinned by a blade through the upper torso during battle. Her hands are marked with a darker discolouration across the palms at the base of every digit with old calluses also.
Physical Appearance: True to her Veluralan race, Varna stands statuesque at just over six foot, taller then most other women and even men. At first glance, she clearly possesses a warrior’s physique, built for battle. With long, leanly muscled legs, a taunt abdomen and sculpted biceps, she is in optimal condition. Her facial features are sharp, with high cheekbones and an angular jaw line, accompanied by an aquiline nose. Her complexion is a mocha/caramel shade of tan, complimented by her curling, grey hair cascading around her face which is marked with a cedar hazel gaze. She speaks in a low alto and her voice has a husky quality to it with faint traces of a Veluralan accent.
Occupation/Class: Dragoon

.:Secondary Information:.

Philosophy: “In battle, fight with all your courage, passion and determination. In life, live with those same virtues…”
Magic Schools: Dragoon Abilities
Carried Possessions: Varna wears black leather underneath her armour; a choker around her neck, a tight, sleeveless bustier on the upper torso, a pair of high-cut briefs and other leather pieces to her panoply. The armour itself is made of dull, black iron with grey, steel accents, making it heavier then conventional equipment but providing excellent durability and added protection. A wide head-guard piece sits upon her brow, with large pauldrons covering both shoulders to the top of the chest, where a stiff, collared breastplate covering the torso to the upper abdomen is worn. Short rembraces resemble sleeve-like coverings over the upper biceps. The hips and pelvic area are covered by a central plate and layered byrnie on either side over a long, leather skirt reaching to nearly the ankles and trimmed in grey. Knee-guards and greaves cover the shin three-quarters before expanding out into a wide cuff with a second leather covering underneath which falls to the ankle. Under this continues foot-armour with high-heeled sabatons. From the elbow the forearms are covered in two layered vambraces which taper down to fit tight around the wrist, expanding out again into large gauntlets knuckle plates with black leather gloves worn underneath. This armour and clothing is magically altered to expand, contract and move with her dual forms or both Dragoon and Human.
Clothing and Armor: Her weapons of choice are twin, black steel swords with a classical cross-shape hilt and grip design. The blades widen out into scimitar-like tips, lightening along the length to a light steel shade. Razor sharp and agile weapons they are made for the slashing, dance-like Kensun Tome fighting style in which Varna specializes. These swords are collectively called the Black Dragon Blades.
Weapons:

.:Personal Information:.

Likes: Her childhood friend Bianca, honesty, bravery, being a Dragoon and fighting to protect those she cares for. Relaxing after a hard battle with honey mead. Has a knack for relating to Dwarves too.
Dislikes: Lying, sexism, discrimination of caste, gender or ability. Despises Deshiven due to her people’s continued conflicts with the race and tends to find Elsyven rather arrogant also, with the exception of only a few.
Merits: Varna is naturally honest, often to the point of bluntness. She is also brave beyond fear in battle, fuelled by her passionate spirit, she does not give up easily. Due to her athletic genes and battle training, she is also rather physically strong for a female, possessing excellent stamina and has exceptional agility.
Flaws: Varna’s passionate nature can translate, and often does, into a hellish temper. She can be quick to anger, especially when she feels she is being discriminated against for her race, background or gender. She has a tendency to curse, a habit which sometimes slips on formal occasions and can cause embarrassment.
Worst Fear: Varna fears failing her duty as a Dragoon in some way, afraid that this will somehow prove to others that she really is inferior. Above all others she is terrified of not being able to keep up with Bianca or making her ashamed of her.
Personality: Varna is a pragmatic and common person, the basis of her demeanour reflecting her commoner background. She is generally warm and friendly to those she feels are decent people, trusting her gut-instincts socially, however she does have underlying self-consciousness and trust issues which can surface from time to time in some situations, a by-product of the cruel hazing she underwent at the Academy. Passionate and honest, she is more likely to choose to fight first if confronted with any injustice or persecution, taking the latter very personally. She has a temper which some have compared to the wrath of the Black Dragon God himself, fierce and tenacious in battle, and in life. Though her training to become a Dragoon has taught her courtly customs and behaviour, which she makes an effort to uphold to avoid shaming herself and others when necessary, she prefers to shirk formalities when possible. A loyal individual, if not still slightly rough around the edges at times, she strives to give all that she has to any task she is set. She is known for her massive bravery and determination in battle which has earned her the reputation among some of her Dragoon peers as being a little insane.
History:

Born as the only daughter of a Veluralan mercenary named Mordran Ashura and his wife, Telukat, Varna’s family were fighters and little more then commoners. As an infant she spent most of her life moving around the continent with her parent’s profession, taking various jobs to earn a living. But it was her mother and father’s wish that they could make a better life for her and her brother, Nadran, whom was a year older.

Fortunately, when Varna was three and Nadran at the age of four, their parents were given the gift of a large section of land with a good house and a herd of four dozen cattle, along with a generous payment of gold by a nobleman as payment when Mordran was mortally wounded saving his life during a war campaign against a neighbouring enemy. Luckily, Mordran survived with the help of healers, but he now had a permanent limp which meant he would never again be as strong as he once was or be able to continue life as a mercenary. Their parents retired and decided to settle down as blacksmiths, now well off. With some of their gold, Mordran and Telukat sent both their children to Tosarik, to place them before the Dragon God Statues and hope that they would be chosen, planning on giving them the respect and prestige that neither ever had as common warriors.

Nadran left without being chosen by the Gods, however Varna was strongly selected by Hokaras, the Black Dragon God and now had a future as a Dragoon. Nadran resented her to begin with out of childish jealousy, but in later years this bad blood calmed as he enjoyed learning his father’s skills and decided to make a name for himself as a strong mercenary like Mordran. Both children grew up relatively similar up until the time when Varna came of age to return to Tosarik. Her father never treated her any differently because of being female; in Veluralan culture both sexes were equal when it came to picking up a sword. If there had ever been any discrimination in her early years it came from the closer attention Mordran paid to his daughter when teaching her basic combat skills, both parents trying their best to groom her for her training.

And so when Varna turned thirteen she left their home while Nadran stayed, already proving himself to be following in his father’s footsteps. But at Tosarik, the young girl was to discover that things would be very different…

Immediately, Varna was singled out as a ‘commoner’ and looked down on by the noble-blooded trainees for her handed-down clothing and ‘brutish manners’. For the first week she was constantly getting into fights to defend her family when they were called ‘grunts’ or ‘swords for hire’. She was given the cruel nickname of ‘Mud’ to refer to the colour of her skin and to insinuate that she was no better then dirt, a word that only had to be uttered in future to goad Varna into tackling the offender to beat them in anger. She earned a reputation as an ‘uncouth peasant’ and a troublemaker with the Academy teachers.

Luckily, there seemed to be one noble who didn’t turn her nose up at the Veluralan: despite Bianca Naveau’s background, she earned Varna’s loyalty and instant friendship when the other girl broke up a fight a month into her training. She had been provoked by a Lord’s son, predictably throwing the first punch when he called her ‘Mud’, but this time three other older trainee’s joined in, over-powering Varna and were beating and kicking her in the practise yard when Bianca interfered, chasing them off. From that point on, Bianca had a calming effect on Varna, helping her to contain her temper and ignore the taunts and names.

Varna became inseparable from Bianca and tried her best not to embarrass her friend, always aware that the other came from noble-blood and her family’s reputation could be damaged if she shamed her by association. She still occasionally got into fights to defend her family or now, to stand up for Bianca when she was criticized for consorting with ‘her kind’. In her second year, she calmed down a little and began to turn around her training, embracing it with her typical zeal and began to be noticed for it with her teachers. She earned the liking of the sword combat Trainer Master Kieger, later taking his Kensun Tome style as her trademark.

Varna was devastated when she accidentally hit Bianca with one of her blades during sparring practise in their third year, nearly killing her best friend from a near-fatal neck wound. But with blessed luck Evirion Ath'Legandril was able to heal her, an act which has made him one of the few Elsyven Varna likes and respects for it, but her dear Bianca would always carry the scar.

Varna went before the Dragoon Council to undergo her Final Test on the same day as Bianca, both novices passing on their first attempt. Varna struggled with her test towards the end, but she feared being left behind without Bianca or making the other ashamed of her, succeeding through sheer conviction.

She had hoped they could remain in the capital together as Dragoons, but soon after Bianca became assigned as the personal guard of the Dragon Seer and the two were separated. Varna hardly had time to see her friend now they both had duties, being transferred from her assigned position to her own role as Commander of the small, private guard protecting the Tosaran Council.

Every month or two their paths cross and Varna stays in contact with Bianca as much as she can. She sends most of what she earns back to her family and occasionally her nomadic brother Nadran, now a sought-after mercenary, tracks her down, the siblings keeping in touch.