Presenting:
The Wolpertinger of Gridania, Hunter of Wayward Gods;
Free Company
"An I be ever as I art, for any and and all else would surely be fatal - aiat."
Cast, Bibliography, OOC, LFRP, Contact
The Author
For a moment, we may speak as but ourselves, dear reader. In this fleeting moment we wake from our trance, in this subtle space between dreams. Shall we dream again? Together, Better, more meaningfully?
A word of warning which I hold to be self-evident, but the reader may not; Outside of her areas of expertise, Aine is not a reliable narrator. Her opinions and theology is extremely nuanced. The author avoids writing things according to the rule of cool; everything links into a deeper story and symbology, from the color of Aine's eyes to her tattoo choice to the nature of her alcoholism. She may lie to characters as well as herself about what she truly believes or pieces of the past she doesn't expect people to know about and/or is ashamed of. She has biased views, especially against Ala Mhigans, which tend to be half-true at best (because, Gridanian...) and still other things she leaves unsaid or won't talk about.
All of my writing on Aine is rooted in lore and inspired by Gaelic traditions and figures (sigh, yes, and some stereotypes), as this is their source of names (and, semi-relavently, my actual heritage). While I've done my best to research thoroughly (considering how personal her themes and character is to me), she's a new character and I may have misinterpreted/remain ignorant. The most 'reliable' source we have tends to be Julius fucking Caesar, so. y'know. not very. Please bear with me.
That said, this is a lore-abiding character and that, I do know thoroughly. She will react reasonably according to her character, independent of my OOC beliefs and morality. Some things she can ignore because she's ignorant. Some she can ignore as drunk hallucination. Please don't push it.
"I do hope you've brought your ivory standard, love, so I can tell you where to stick it."
About
There are families as old as time in the legacy of Gridania; those who have walked a thousand generations before upon the soil, and thus are respected to lead those who walked after.How disgraceful, then, is she?Constantly either moody or sultry, Aine is the oldest heir-apparent of the Gridanian House of Rin, and yet ironically the least out of any of them - save for her mother, Aine is among the only of her relatives (and the only currently living) non-Padjali descendant of her family line. When not buried in her cups - and mostly when she is - she contends with her duties at the Stillglade Fane, competing in a losing faire against her younger padjal kin.Without the expected inheritance of political 'royalty' that she once dreamed of (and, indeed, by all accounts was groomed for), the hyur has turned to the research of Gelmorra and their relationship with Nophica, delving into the deep logic fundamental to their kind and treading a dim twilit-line in her investigations.The hyur speaks of herself as a 'druid' as according to the old ways, though most even in her field laugh and call her 'hedge witch' behind her back - though never in earshot if they value their heads, as her temperament is firey and her patience is thin for most everyone she encounters. Able to switch from jovial to murderous on a dime, it's often hard to tell if she's joking or being serious, as she possesses a barbaric sense of humor and glee in making queasy folk squirm. Worse, she will make jokes about just about anything or anyone, which often gets confused with genuine hate.All said, though, the hot blooded hyur's loyalty is not in question; the woman dedicates herself to the Elementals and Nophica first and foremost, no matter how stung she may seem. She persues the laws of the Wood with zeal, and is considered by most to be knowledgable and wise... on the rare occasions they can get through the flint-fuse enabled by years of alcoholism.
Two toned echoes, one failed by Life;
Three score hated, one left to die.
Four fold knowing, one left behind,
I am the Light.
Aine is one of the only non-Padjal members of her family line; the Rin family is known to regularly produce Padjal, mostly among their women. In no small part has this contributed to deep bitterness and feelings of being 'less than', leaving her desperate to prove herself to her peers who (she feels) look at her as if she were somehow 'not good enough' to be chosen. Since she's not a Padjal, while most people look at the Rin family as royalty, almost everyone forget she exists.
Ancient Trees of Silver Wings,
Bole of Death, Bole of Kings.
Bear your claws, bear your fangs,
or never be yourself again.
The Rin family dates back to ancient Gelmorra (albeit under a different name, then), but the elezen have largely been bred out of the House, leaving the majority of them as at least part elezen but mostly hyur, enough to be inconsequential. More than one of the Padjal from her family have even been directly linked to elezen forefathers, sparking much intrigue in genealogical circles about when someone is technically a member of another race (and if the elementals even consider it, or if the elezen are just unsuited).
To these cherry boughs, I give my soul to keep!
Petals, mine shroud, softly carry me to sleep.
For the buds we regard in coats of palest pink,
In sweet Memoriam, bloom as black as ink.
A member of the Hearers, Aine is known for eclectic views among the Fane, a voice who seeks to uphold the balance less by barking orders and enforcing it. She identifies less as a conjurer and more as one of the old Gelmorran Nophica cultists known as the druids. She is intensely interested in the theology surrounding Nophica, and a devout priestess of her. She is known to be a firey-tempered, if fair, enforcer of the Wood.
Presence
A 5'2" woman who doesn't look like she has any business being in the martial fields, Aine is of pasty complexion and raging, obnoxiously thick red hair. Her face is painted with green tattoos, and her eyes are like inset emeralds. The hyur garbs herself in comfortable clothing, usually of a more tribal sort, finding the stifling finery of Gridania to be "fokin' unbearable torture devices".Unclad, she has a careful scrawl of geometric tattoos, head to toe, documenting the flows and flux of aether she has seen and heard from the Wood and helping her focus aether through her body. The hyur has a prodigeous reputation for both being able to hold a tremendous amount of alcohol, and being much more physical (and successfully so) than even her more heavy cousins, implying magic to the source of her strength.Aine almost constantly acts as if she were drunk, though markedly inconsistent in behavior to trained eyes. Regardless of her alcohol consumption, her gaze tends to teeter between dreamy and distant to fully lucid and piercing.
Particulars
Her choice of attire may seem reminiscent of the Padjal, and some theorize that this is intentional; that she is trying to feel less 'left out' by her kin. Or, maybe that's just how she was taught to dress.
The aethersighted may notice that her aether is not so much 'weird' as it is overabundant; it's not particularly polarized or aspected, so she's not a Voidsent or anything of the sort. She just has a lot of anima, which is ironic considering her focus on succor-based arts.
Aine constantly seems drunk, and indeed almost always seems to be drinking something that is very much a disgustingly pure amount of alcohol. Despite that, she bears sharp wits and a focused gaze to those who observe her, and to trained psychologists, her behavior is markedly inconsistent with the habits of both the drunk and alcoholics.
Aine is a Hearer. While she doesn't usually want to, she does VERY OCCASIONALLY get forced to wear the purple robes and hats common to them. She invariably looks very uncomfortable.
| Name: | Aine of House Rin A.K.A. 'The unimportant one' |
| Title(s): | The Wolpertinger of Gridania, The Mad Axewoman, The Godhunter, Iron Maiden |
| Class: | 幻術士/Conjurer/モンク/Monk monkas |
| Subclass: | 戦士/Warrior/ mad because smtall |
| Race: | ヒューラン | Hyur pure 100% vanilla extract |
| Clan: | ミッドランダー族 | Midlander Group see race |
| Height: | Five fulms, two ilms. (5'2", 157.5 cm) haha short |
| Weight: | One hundred and thirty one ponze (131.3 lbs, 59.4 kgs) of pure rage |
| Hair: | VIOLENTLY RED no soul, full of pilk :( |
| Eyes: | Green |
| Sex: | Female |
| Age: | Thirties, but lookin' twenty. Padjal blood counts for something, I guess. |
| Nameday: | 24th Sun of the 6th Astral Moon November 24th |
| Alignment: | Neutral Good neutral drunk lmao |
| Patron: | Take a wild guess Nophica, obviously |
| Deity: | The Elementals and also Nophica, who is(?) the Elementals, but also isn't, somehow, maybe. |
| Address(s): | :( I'm on Mateus, you think she has a house? Adorable. |
Reknown
| Hook | Background | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Order of the Twin Adders (Common) | Aine is a foulmouth and troublemaker by habit, and a troublesolver by necessity - a notorious drunk and impropious woman who regularly runs afoul of some custom or another, or for excessive threats or violence in her duties. In this, Padjal siblings work for her, as she can often get out of messes most other people would be in gaol for... even if their attitude toward her generally seems to be pity. More often than not, Aine is sentenced to community service, which generally means mandatory service in the Adder. | |
| Conjurers (Common) | Aine is well known amidst the conjurers. Despite the disappointment of not being a Padjal, she is a skilled conjurer - just often overlooked in favor of her siblings, who are for obvious reasons leagues more proficient than she is. Regardless, she is a Hearer and works in official capacity as a conjurer. Best known for her enigmatic interpretations of liturgy and for being impatient and hot-headed, she nonetheless serves the interest of the Fane with zeal. | |
| Bandits/Poachers (Rare) | Contrarily to her perception among the Fane, Aine is known to be quite merciful. There are tales in which she lets accused poachers and bandits go after apprehending them on the excuse that they were just making ends meet, and even one where she helps butcher their kill and sends them on their way. That said, she's still considered to be a violent wildcard - since if she discovers one is lying to her, or in the cases she doesn't have the luxury of showing mercy, she isn't averse to knocking someone's teeth in before turning them over. | |
| All ye Drinkers (Reknowned) | Aine is legendary amongst Gridanian - and some non-Gridanian - drinking circles. Monikered 'The Iron Maiden' or alternatively 'The Wolpertinger', she drinks ale that can put down men thrice her size like water. The Brewmasters of Gridania have taken to making stronger and stronger concoctions in a futile attempt to conquer her metabolism, but to date have not purportedly succeeded. There are also lesser known (and not believed) tall-tales of Aine drinking straight up poison and sleeping draught and not even noticing. If only she shared this resistance with spice... | |
| The Godhunter (Uncommon) | Aine purportedly possesses a personal, unstated vendetta against primals and Voidsent. Formerly 'Demon Hunter', she upgraded to 'Godhunter' after providing support to a Flames-based operation to routinely cull the primal Ifrit. Accounts of the event are scarce, but she (and an unexpected number of her accompaniment) survived, and Ifrit did not. That said, despite the reknown, she doesn't talk about it much aside from giving mad rambles when pressed about how primals are 'the literal worst'. In recent times, the cure for the Tempered has made her stance even more closed off on the matter. | |
| Wild Heart (Common) | Aine is no stranger to the world of nature. She possesses a natural affinity for beastkin, cloudkin, wavekin, seedkin, and vilekin in order of effectiveness, and those around her tend to be safe in her presence so long as they don't provoke an attack. She has an instinct for where to find flora and fauna, even in unfamiliar ecosystems, based on the knowledge she's gleaned. By choice, Aine spends much of her time in the Shroud, living off the land and out of the city proper. |