Profile
The Reclusive Knight
"When the war came, the war came hard."
A prized Knight of Taura and a decorated war hero. Despite her hard-earned favor in the eyes of the Tauran crown and the people of her home country, Carys chooses to live a life of solitude, keeping a low profile and travelling around Opreia. She seems to be trying to out-run something, though it catches up every time.
Carys is haunted by the things that she did during her time in the war. She was a ruthless and efficient soldier, shutting off her humanity in an attempt to survive to see the next morning. Now, with no wars to fight and no support system, she finds herself crumbling under the weight of her guilt.
Likes
- animals
- the ocean
- travelling
- hearty food
Dislikes
- loud noises
- crowded places
- staying still
- waiting
Personality
stoic
Carys is a rock: standing strong both physically and emotionally, she gives off an air of being unaffected by pain, grief, joy, or pleasure. This is a skill honed when it was necessary to present a strong front to those under her command in the military, but it's carried on beyond that and now she finds herself afraid of vulnerability and unable to express her emotions comfortably. Still, she's definitely the one you want on your side in a pinch; she stands fast and doesn't let pressure get to her, at least not outwardly.
avoidant
Carys is extremely avoidant when it comes to her personal life and emotional struggles. Rather than face her problems she runs away from them and is more than willing to spend her life running if it means she never has to handle them head-on. She rarely speaks and although she stands strong, she is extremely awkward with human interaction and intentionally pushes others away, finding it easier to keep to herself than to navigate the pain that often comes with interpersonal relationships.
dutiful
A strong sense of duty is what drives Carys -- although she doesn't take very good care of herself, she has no problem stepping up and being there for others. At first it was for her country and a misplaced sense of patriotism, and then when she became disillusioned with that it was for those under her command in her batallion. She took an oath of protection when she became a soldier, and although the conditions of war had her violating that oath, she still holds the commandments above almost anything else.
dry
Some people might call Carys 'a humorless woman with no innate instinct to use the usual social lubrications', while a kinder person might just call her 'dry'. Carys often comes off as grumpy and uncomfortable, though never outwardly mean or even unkind. She is gruff and she doesn't hesitate to speak plainly, simply stating what's on her mind. As for being humorless -- she is.
meticulous
Carys is very type-A from her time in the military. Everything either on her person or in her posession is always immaculately clean and put together. Mess bothers her immensely, to the point where she can be a little obsessive about it; she's constantly fiddling and cleaning if she has nothing else to do with her hands. Every word that comes out of her mouth, every action she makes is carefully considered and thought out. She's a sticker for details and, when committing to something, she commits to it fully.
intimidating
Despite the fact that these days Carys is closer to a meek sheep than a vicious wolf, she's well aware of how she comes across to others. She doesn't go out of her way to dissuade others from finding her intimidating as it does offer a few perks. She would never use force unless absolutely necessary, but being muscular and carrying a sword and never smiling seems to do the trick just fine.
Skills
• weapon versatility
• armor proficiency
• leadership
• equestrianism
• blacksmithing
Trivia
• Carys grew up both wielding and creating weapons in an armory, primarily blades. She's extremely skilled with several weapons, though her favored weapon is a simple sword and a shield in her other hand.
• She names and talks to her weapons. Cecilia is the name of her main weapon, a one-handed blade made out of a dark steel and with a leather-wrapped handle and a dark steel pommel in the shape of a lion's head. Robert is a tower shield made out of metal but treated to be as dark as Cecilia's steel. Both are named after her late parents.
• Her horse is a brown Destrier named Lady.
• With a commanding presence both in and out of battle and with many years of leadership experience behind her, Carys is exceptional at rallying and encouraging her comrades to fight harder, faster, and longer.
• On all of her travels Carys likes to collect knick-knacks from wherever she ends up. It could be something as small as a piece of sea glass or a more expensive item, like a fancy brooch.
• She's a borderline germaphobe and displays an obsessive need to keep things clean and organized, a result of her time in the military.
Background
Carys' early childhood was dominated by the active war effort of the Tauran crown against the land of Avscon. In a time when all able-bodied men and women were needed, Carys rarely saw her parents and spent most of her childhood under the care of a rotating series of educators alongside the other children in her town. Raised under the propoganda of the crown, Carys was raised to believe that giving your life for the war would be a noble thing to do, Carys volunteered for service as soon as she was able.
Strong and tactical, Carys was an immediate standout amongst the soldiers around her during training. Her fellow soldiers liked her, though she was thought of (rightfully) as a hardass who took it all a little too seriously. She dedicated herself to the hard work and was eager to join active service in Avscon.
Needless to say, war was not what Carys had imagined it to be. Occupying several Avscon towns and only rarely seeing a real battle, it wasn't until Taura's final push into the city of ??? that Carys came into her own as a soldier. Ruthless, efficient, and determined to ge the job done, Carys was promoted several times over the course of the next few months as they pushed into the heart of Avscon. When it was time to lead the final invasion, Carys was the highest ranking soldier on the battle field.
The cost of Carys' time in the military did not make itself apparent until she was back home. Knighted by the crown for her service in battle, Carys' life should have been a life of a decorated war hero -- she had earned it. Guilt had begun to gnaw at her insides, however, and she couldn't stay still long enough to enjoy the benefits of her title. Instead, like a criminal, she packed up and skulked off into the night. To distract herself from her troubles she travels all over the world, rarely planting roots anywhere for longer than a year before she's off again. She makes her living as a blacksmith when she can manage it, offering mercenary services only if her situation becomes truly desperate.
Relationships
Friend Although she wouldn't admit it, Kad is Carys' closest friend and ally. The two met in a tavern one night, and Kad was curious about Carys and her disposition. They traveled together for a time until Kad's path led them elsewhere, but they stayed in contact through letters and visits whenever they could manage it. Carys likes Kad's carefree attitude and feels that Kad does not judge her for her past despite knowing many of the gory details about it. She knows she can rely on Kad if she needs help, and she would fight for Kad if they needed help as well.
