Tridge

By Tooth and Claw Dragons

Name: Yalendatri "Tridge" Jostaninrae *

* Introduces herself as "Tridge" or "Tridge Jostan" and almost never uses her full name, considering it too long and too elfy.

Age: 200 (about 23 in human terms)

Gender: cis female

Species: elf (Vystrian/wood)

Sexuality: lesbian

Weapon: An expensive, finely crafted rowan longbow. It's about 5 feet long, made of well-polished red wood and inlaid with swirling golden design. When it's unstrung, she uses it as an elegant walking staff, the silvery string wound around her wrist as a bracelet. It is enchanted so that it can fire bolts of magic without physical arrows, though it can also use physical arrows -- it draws its energy from its user's own magic, so using arrows can prevent exhausting the user.

She also hides small daggers in her sleeves and tiny hand crossbows in her boots, to make sure she can defend herself even if she's caught with her bow unstrung.

Abilities: Tridge is a magic-user of moderate to low strength. She dabbles in enchanting, though she tends to prefer magical items made by others to her own. She can produce magic items of a middling tier, and occasionally sells her own work, though her more powerful creations are unsuitable for sale, as she has to personally renew their spells about once a year. (See inventory, below.) Her reiatsu is blue-green.

Appearance:

Tridge stands 5' 11", with a particularly solid build for an elf; she's not very heavyset by human standards, but no one would call her slender or willowy, either. She has a peach skin tone, blue eyes, and curly shoulder-length brown hair, which she usually pins up. A few freckles, no makeup. Round cheeks, pointed chin. People tend to refer to her as "cute" rather than "beautiful."

She wears well-made, slightly pricey garments but in a simple, unremarkable style. Most people wouldn't guess that they cost as much as they do; they're designed for durability and comfort, not flashy appearances. She doesn't want to look like someone worth robbing. That said, she does have to impress customers, too, so her clothes aren't ugly. Call them quietly elegant. As far as color schemes go, she prefers earth tones: greens, warm browns, and gold.

Personality:

Tridge is friendly and welcoming to all and would much rather settle a dispute with words or gold than combat. However, while she may not seek out conflict, she's no coward or lightweight; she doesn't shy from danger, and if a fight is inevitable, she's confident in her ability to handle it. Behind her open demeanor is a sharp mind, and she carefully calculates the risk of each move she makes. Though not preoccupied with morality, she considers herself a good person, harming others only in self defense. She is kind and helpful, as long as it costs her little to be so ...

Tridge's driving motivation, however, is jaden. She seeks to earn it primarily through trading in rare objects, magical and mundane, in which she is always quite interested. While spending money doesn't bother her, she always does so with an eye towards maximizing her profits. It's not that she loves gold for its own sake, exactly -- she's even been known to give it away. Rather, she regards the acquisition of wealth as a way of tracking her achievements in life: "money is just a way of keeping score."

History (backstory):

Tridge grew up in a small religious community devoted to Balion; her people eschewed all concerns of civilization and society, including money. While she wasn't unhappy there, Tridge never quite felt like she fit in -- she didn't hate Balion's worship, but it didn't interest her either. She did possess a certain wanderlust, so she was on her way to becoming a traveling cleric when, at age 80, she encountered a merchant for the first time: an enterprising, rather foolish soul who had thought to convince the community to start trading with the outside world. His project failed spectacularly -- the worshipers ran him out of town -- but his proposal did light a fire in young Tridge's imagination, and she quickly decided that she needed to become a merchant as well, horrifying her family and the rest of the community, who saw her new interest as a greedy corruption of the "civilized" world. They refused to let her leave except as an exile, forbidden to ever return -- and, young and stubborn, Tridge accepted those terms. (Does she regret that decision? No, except on very lonely nights.)

At first, Tridge struggled in the outside world; her education hadn't prepared her for, well, anything besides a quiet life in the forest. Multiple times, she had to retreat into the natural world and live off the land. She finally worked out two ways to earn coin: enchanting and selling trinkets, and dabbling in treasure-hunting. It took her a while, and she had several setbacks as she learned the ways of the world and savvy bargaining, but eventually she saved enough gold to pursue her true passion: trade.

Now Tridge travels the Realms as a wandering merchant, traveling on foot or via portal from town to town to find, buy, and sell expensive items. 

Inventory:

These are Tridge's primary magical items -- at any time she may possess others that she is carrying for trade, or may enchant new ones as needed. 

- An egg-sized crystal that sheds light when held by a warm-blooded creature
- A pair of glasses that allow the wearer to read, understand, and speak (but not write) any common language
- A Seeker Stone

She also currently carries the following for trade:

- A small golden statue of a cat that can come to life and hunt insects

History (roleplays):

With Felnova in chaos, Tridge fled to Lizzarkyth, seeking to avoid the violence -- and do some business. She suspects, but has not yet had a chance to confirm, that the Faction of Hope pilfered Abronel's banks, leaving her almost penniless. Though this thought causes her considerable distress, she deals with it the way she's always done: by throwing herself into her work. In time, she's sure, she'll make it all back.

- Briefly encountered Kaldair (inactive)