I'm necro-ing this thread, because I have a character to add:
CHARACTER STUDY 1
Kallis Nic an Ghoill
5'7'' - athletic build
Long black hair with a touch of red in it, normally tied up in a rough ponytail.
Blue skin, piercing green eyes; has the look of a relatively young woman - her race is youthful, in general - even though in reality she's into triple figures.
The piercings in her ears are a mark of military rank - (she's what we would call a lieutenant Colonel, I guess) - and the tattoo on her forehead, similar to that which Eilidh has, marks her out as having a presence at court as well - (namely Eilidh's fathers court).
She's been in the military practically all of her life, and in active service for forty years or more, rising to the rank that she has through sheer hard work and above all, Focus. And focused she is, too, indeed she comes across as a fairly serious individual, not overly given to levity and with a strong sense of duty, allied with an unshakeable belief in the system of which she is a part.
I would say that she has a strong sense of right and wrong, but that would be somewhat inaccurate. It would be more true to say that she has a strong sense of consequence allied to a sense that actions can be justified in the name of "getting a job done". She wouldn't necessarily, for example, kill someone out of hand, but you would not want to get in her way.
She's honorable and fiercely loyal, though more than a little impatient, which has in the past led to the odd impetuous episode. Such is her record in the field however, that her Superiors tend to turn a blind eye - she's good enough at what she does to have some leeway, is the prevailing opinion.
None of these character traits make her a terribly good party guest - (though to be fair she's not completely without a sense of humour and common social skills, her career in the military has given her a fairly "earthy" take on life and she's certainly happier mixing with the rank and file in her down time - which is not, admittedly, often) - nonetheless, allied with her undoubted good looks, overall she can come across as a little cold and intimidating, although only if you're not from her culture, or you've never really got to know her - (which few really do). In her world she's very much a person to be admired and courted, and it might surprise the rather more staid and backwards inhabitants of Cyrodiil to learn that she's been married twice, widowed twice, and has any number of quite highborn suitors willing to wait upon her, not to mention the respect and admiration of her lessers and peers - (for her skills as a soldier, and her influence and contacts. Gender it should be noted isn't really a factor, in this context). Her true partner though, is her Career, and it's a relationship that has blossomed.
She has been for a number of years the commanding officer of a particularly Elite cadre of soldiers within King Connor Mac Auley's army, soldiers who are sent on missions of the Utmost Secrecy that require discretion and no small amount of improvisation in the field. Such a mission is the one that she is on now, to look for the king's daughter, lost somewhere in Cyrodiil these two years gone, sent by her father; partly as a diplomat, partly as a spy, and partly to learn more about herself, and to grow from the experience.
Despite Eilidh's father's decree that she would be deemed a failure if she, Eilidh, did not report in to a messenger in the port city of An-vil every second month, he is nevertheless concerned that she has not done so, or at least not since the first time; Connor does love his daughter and wants her to be a good ruler, hence his actions; harshness on his part should not be taken to imply a lack of affection. Princess Eilidh's time in Cyrodiil is now up however, and nothing has been heard from her; at least nothing has been reported via either messenger, or King Connor's Chief Advisor Donal Mac Branain, who was intimately involved with coordinating the Princess' activities in Cyrodiil.
Nor indeed has anything been heard of another scout, the locating of whom was a peripheral aspect of Eilidh's mission: Oisin Mac Callum - MIA and wanted for questioning and\or summary judgement for dereliction of duty.
And so it is that Kallis has been sent to Cyrodiil: partly for her skill, partly for her discretion and loyalty, and partly because she and Eilidh had grown close prior to Eilidh herself being sent to this foreign land.
The fact that Kallis has been sent and not Donal, nor any of his spy network and indeed, the fact that Donal has not even been informed, is not lost on Kallis...
-X-
A Note on Kallis' Name:Anglicised, Kallis' name is Kallis Gill, and in its original form it means roughly: "Kallis, daughter of the son of the stranger", what this means really is that Kallis' parents are unknown, either through Kallis' abandonment or their death.
As a foundling or orphan, she would have become automatically a ward of the crown and therefore conscripted to military training and ultimately service. many who end up in this life falter, but Kallis is above all a survivor, and has flourished and risen to become the woman she is today.
This is very impressive particularly since her culture - not only a monarchy - but also highly stratified along class divides, means that people like her would have entered into society at the very bottom. The fact that she has found her way to somewhere close to the top in considerably less than even half her lifespan is a really very great achievement, and one that she has given much thanks for in her private chapel in her apartments in the regimental barracks.
-X-