Irilme

Age: 24
Race: Human
Occupation: Ostler, farrier (Former stable hand )
Class: Druid
Horse: Suffolk Punch named Sala, age 20

Personality:
Irilme is very patient and intuitive. She enjoys spending time in the quiet with the horses, caring for them and taking care of them. She extends this to other animals as well, and is fairly well versed in animal husbandry and basic needs of local wild animals. 

Backstory:
Irilme worked for a friend of her family’s at their inn. She was a stablehand, charged with the care of the customer’s horses, along with her own old mare and the innkeepers’ nag. She was also an accomplished rider. Irilme never had too many ambitions above her station. She enjoyed working with horses and riding them and didn’t want for anything else.  

The innkeeper’s son had a wild crush on her. He wished to become a cavalier, so he spent every moment he could with Irilme, urging her to teach him riding-- and he got to spend time with her, so, bonus. Irilme, age 24, was, in general, uncomfortable. Audryl, while sweet, was just reaching his 16th year, and his maturity showed as much. He believed whole-heartedly that Irilme and he would ride side by side into the sunset-- he was a young romantic. Still, Irilme couldn’t and wouldn’t do anything to stifle that drive to care and ride horses. She kept him at arm’s length, while still encouraging him to ride daily, which meant interacting with him every day to observe as he readied his horse, and to regretfully decline his invitation to join. She hoped he would find some other nice girls in town when he left for training in his 18th year.

As it turned out, Audryl did find someone else to fawn over. A visiting knight, just a year younger than Irilme, but decorated with honors befitting someone several years older, stayed at the inn with his men. Audryl was immediately smitten. The man was a hero in his eyes, one who had fought demons and gods and conquered their enemies and protected the country and made maidens swoon-- the whole deal. Audryl’s hero-worship crush immediately switched from Irilme to Sir Viris, though he still treated Irilme with a more appropriate, sibling-like affection. 

As relieved as Irilme was, she did NOT like Sir Viris. His charm allowed him to seem flattering and humble, but his words reflected a somewhat vain, condescending, and boastful man. He seemed amused by Audryl’s crush, humoring him, and as soon as he started taking advantage of Audryl (mostly in asking for favors and errands to be completed), Irilme stepped in, asking Audryl to do things like check on the cooks in the kitchens, or take water to his brand-new gelding, which had been a 16th birthday present from Irilme and his parents, and was his responsibility. Viris was caught off guard by her interfering, at which point he truly noticed her. Suddenly, Audryl was ignored, and Viris directed his attentions solely to Irilme, who spurned his advances with annoyance. 

 Viris was not easily dissuaded, and engaged Audryl in conversation once more, learning that Audryl desired training to become a cavalier. To everyone’s great surprise, and Irilme’s intense shock and unease, Viris offered to take Audryl on as a squire. He would sponsor the boy’s training for a few years of servitude-- not a bad offer, considering the price of training and gear, if the offer had been made out of the goodness of his heart. It wasn’t. The Innkeeper and his wife’s concerns were overridden by the joy at the announcement, and Audryl couldn’t agree fast enough, while Viris’ men took turns to shake his hand and clap him on the back, assuring him of the honor he was receiving, and Viris’ eyes never left Irilme’s. Clenching her fists, Irilme opened her mouth to object, when Viris suddenly exclaimed that he was also in need of someone to watch his own horses. (A young man in the crowd looked suddenly and inexplicably confused at the declaration, pointing to himself while trying to catch Viris’ attention and mouthing, ‘Excuse me?!’)

So this is how Audryl became Viris’ squire, and Irilme became the keeper of their horses (she would never say that she became Viris’ servant, even though that’s what it was). Despite any of Irilme’s misgivings, Viris was true to his word and trained Audryl. As much as he seemed a pompous windbag, he was a fair mentor and guide to Audryl, and never treated Irilme with disdain-- except for the constant passes he made at her, which she quickly learned to brush off. She was still wary around him, and refused to let the two of them out of her sight for long. 

At the very least she didn’t have to worry-- Audryl, embracing his newfound freedom and exploration of the world, found lots more people to focus his affections upon, which were as ephemeral and changing as the winds. His string of puppy crushes distracts him well from Viris and Irilme. Viris doesn’t mind it too much and eventually does settle more into a teaching role.