One day this'll be done...
Name: Axley Crawford
Age: 25
Gender: Female
Equipment/Possessions:
One ceremonial sword, sharpened at a local blacksmith to be usable in combat, intricately designed with the crest of the Crawford family.
One necklace made of silver, holding a brilliant green gem at its center, kept around her neck at all times.
One lute, perfectly tuned and made of a beautifully varnished cedar.
Personality: Axley has had to make a very rough adjustment to her new life as a woman without means. She often finds it difficult to fit in with the people around her when she forgets that she is one of them now, as opposed to a member of the bourgeois who is used to looking down upon the peasants of the lower class. She doesn't take shit from others and tends to have an attitude with people who don't hold her respect. She has a fine eye for detail and a particularly fine ear for music from her upbringing, giving her great talent with both her voice and an instrument.
Though she is intuitive, Axley is not overly versed in the world around her, having grown up sheltered from it for quite some time. She is quick to anger, but not quick to violence, only carrying her blade for intimidation, and only protection as an absolute last resort. She shies away from conflict when she can, though does not step down to the catcalls of the men around her. She has a sarcastic, sassy streak that shows itself whenever she grows irritated with others, but once someone has proven themselves as trustworthy to her, she is a loyal friend that would always keep an eye out for them.
Axley loves fashion in spite of her limited income, and can often be seen in the merchant district, browsing the various silks and fabrics for sale in the wishes that one day she might be able to reclaim her fortune. She'll often try to set up her post near there so that she can look on the job; though she wishes to pinch some for herself, she lacks the skill set to be a thief and knows it. She keeps her nose clean of trouble, though the possibility of breaking the rules and seeking adventure has always allured her, even though she has not had the daring or the strength to take those chances.
Backstory/History: Axley was born to people of means, a wealthy merchant family in the affluent district of Ulfhednar. With a silver spoon in her mouth from birth, Axley grew up never knowing the trials of the lower class. She looked down upon them as her father had, calling them the 'pigs' of the Blessed Isle. She saw herself as entitled, a level above those without money, and quickly developed a superiority complex over those who were without. Having been tutored privately to read and write from a young age, Axley's own interests turned towards music once she had grown of age, and began taking lessons from private instructors to tune her ear to the world of sound around her. After all, were she to land a fetching husband in due time, she would need to showcase some sort of talent to win his affections. That's what her mother told her.
Until the age of twenty-three, Axley lived in comfort with her family, oblivious to the darkness dwelling just outside their pleasant abode. Her father, Eiric Crawford, hadn't acquired all his wealth quite so legitimately-it turned out he owed quite a few favors to the local crime syndicate, and they had grown tired and frustrated with his truancy on his 'donations' to their cause as of late. Eventually, it had all boiled over to a head. While the Crawford family slept one night, Axley awoke from her bed to find the scent of smoke clogging her nostrils. She opened the door to her room to see if something was wrong, only to find the lower floor ablaze, hungry flames consuming everything in reach. Her parents' master bedroom was already blocked off by the blaze, and she found herself desperately low on time to escape; the fire was already making its way up the stairs. Gathering what few possessions she could from the wall, including a family sword and her beloved lute, she tied her blanket to the window and clambered down, making the leap to the ground and running for her life as the fire went on to burn unabated until there was no more.
She didn't have the heart to look back on her destroyed home. The news had spread quickly enough; the charred corpses of her parents had been found, but Axley had been nowhere to be located. Whatever might have survived the blaze was most likely looted by the dawn. She was left with nothing; her fortune evaporated before her eyes, the few things she had managed to save from the tragic fire all she had to her name beyond a little jade.
She knew not what caused the fire, but couldn't bear to face the common folk of Ulfhednar, especially given the reputation she knew her family had with the lower class. Instead, she decided to start life anew. Using what money she had left, she purchased a ticket on a ship traveling south across the river, eventually finding her way to the Imperial Ruins. Nobody recognized her there; she managed to find herself a cheap building on rent on the outskirts of the city, and quickly weaved her way into life there as a traveling bard, wandering the streets and bars singing her hauntingly alluring tunes, now twinged with sadness as hints of her former life leaked out in her voice and lyrics while she played for what coin the folk she used to mock would spare her.
Bowing's for chumps.
Originally Posted by SaltyIrishman
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks