Estelle Dusoir

Estera LaRoche
(Image is just a placeholder until I actually create her in the game.)
Gender	Female
Race	Elezen
Clan	Unknown
Citizenship	Unaffiliated
Age	23
Guardian Deity	Oschon, the Wanderer
Occupation	Professional Hunter, Adventurer
Primary Disipline	Lancer
Secondary Disiplines	Pugilist, Archer
Linkshell	None (Currently Looking)

This character article or section of a character article is a stub -- a small, but growing, work in progress. If you're the creator of this character, why not consider expanding it?

Basic Info

Estera LaRoche is an Elezen who currently works as a freelance hunter. She's particularly proficient at fighting with a spear, but she's also rather formidable with her bare hands or a bow. She lives and hunts in the forests that surround Gridania, although she doesn't consider herself a citizen of the city-state. In fact, she doesn't really pledge allegiance to anyone or anything in particular, and usually only looks out for herself. At the start of ARR, she decides to temporarily give up her reclusive lifestyle and becomes a full-time adventurer, primarily to gather the knowledge and resources necessary for her to locate her long-lost brother.

Estera has been living alone in the Twelveswood for about 8 years altogether, and the experience has molded her into a talented and formidable hunter. Her acute hearing, excellent reflexes, and outstanding levels of patience and determination are some of many factors that make her a gifted hunter (although years of trail and error while fending for herself in the Twelveswood certainly haven't hurt her abilities, either).

Being an Elezen of shorter stature is more advantageous than not for a hunter like Estera, as it makes it more difficult for her to be spotted by predator and prey alike. She is sturdily built and definitely has some muscle on her, but she's not exactly what one would call ripped. Her physique naturally comes from all the physical labour that comes with her hunter-gatherer lifestyle, and as such some of her muscle is hidden under a nice healthy layer of chub. Her diet largely consists of meat, nuts, berries, and tea.

Spending most of her time alone in the forest has had a negative impact on Estera's social skills and manners. To be frank, neither of them really exist. She is constantly covered in dirt and sweat (and occasionally blood). She is stubborn, blunt, brutally honest, and swears often. She can't eat anything without getting it all over her face and clothes, and never uses utensils. She often completely ignores people or even physically pushes them away if they engage in any social interaction that she feels doesn't benefit her. She doesn't take kindly to lying and mind games, and isn't afraid to call people out on their bullshit.

(Estera's clan will be decided upon once the beta/launch happens and I finally get to create her. Sorry about the ambiguousness of her clan until then!)

History

A Somewhat Brief Timeline (WIP):

(Some notes for context: Eveline and René LaRoche are Estera and Aldric's mother and father, respectfully. They lived in a small community in the northern region of the Twelveswood while they were married. Eveline was a miner, and René was a mercenary.)

• (Estera, Age 0) Estera’s brother, Aldric, is born. Their father, René, is killed during a Garlean ambush while on a bounty hunt a few months later. Only his friend and fellow mercenary, Caedin Reine, survives. 5 years later, Caedin has a drunken one night stand with their mother, Eveline, after half-heartedly promising to help take care of her and her family. Caedin flees without a word as soon as he discovers that Eveline is pregnant. Estera is born when Aldric is 6.

• (Estera, Age 6) Aldric(12) is a fantastic older brother to Estera. He helps look after their mother and his sister, and teaches her the basics of fighting and hunting and gathering. Estera seems to have a natural talent for stealth, hunting with a spear, tracking prey, and hiding from predators. Her brother is fiercely proud of how quickly she picks up the skills, and they are rarely ever apart.

• (Estera, Age 12) As another 6 years pass, Eveline begins showing signs of severe black lung, and her health quickly deteriorates as time passes. Aldric(18), who grew up despising Caedin and blaming him for all the misfortune their mother has had to endure for the past few years, goes out to either find Caedin and have him pay to find a cure for their mother, or find a cure for her himself. Estera is scared to see her brother go, but she believes in him and believes he will come back soon.

• (Estera, Age 13) A year passes, and there is still no sign of her brother. Their mother dies quietly in the night, and having no other family to turn to, Estera flees in search of her brother. She winds up getting lost in the woods, and winds up falling asleep in a ditch, hiding under mud and bushes to keep her safe from predators for the night.

• (Estera, Age 13~16) For the next 3 years, Estera fends for herself in the Twelveswood. She relies primarily on her extraordinary hearing and the skills her big brother taught her to survive. She is constantly on the move, and never stays in one place for longer than a week. She becomes excellent at hunting and becomes somewhat of a local legend for the areas she visits, known as the Twelveswood Geist.

• (Estera, Age 16) While in the middle of a hunt, Estera stumbles right into a Mercenary camp in the middle of dinner. Assuming that she’s just some runaway from Gridania, they capture her and decide to bring her back into town to look for her parents. The leader of the band, Ashlyn Faerin, has been in the area for a while. She quickly deduces that Estera must be the Geist the locals have recently been talking about. Despite Estera’s stubbornness, she eventually opens up to Ashlyn, thanks mostly to Ashlyn’s persistence. Ashlyn offers to let her go if she agrees to “intern” as her lackey in mercenary work. Estera reluctantly agrees, although she does try to escape a number of times within the first few weeks, all of which ends in failure. At first, Estera is simply stuck doing the grunt work at the small mercenary camps Ashlyn leads for the many different jobs she takes on. But eventually, after a few months, Ashlyn starts taking her aside and helps her work on her combat abilities. It is under Ashlyn's tutelage where Estera further hones her combat skills. She also learns how to cook, mend clothing, and repair weapons and armour while doing grunt work and chores. Even though she is constantly around large groups of people, Estera only really ever grows close to Ashlyn.

• (Estera, Age 18) Ashlyn finally decides that Estera is ready for a job. She takes her along on her latest contract to help take down a small dragon who's been making trouble for a nearby village. Estera fights bravely, and everyone comes out successful, happy, and alive.Ashyln gives Estera the nickname Drakebane, half as praise and half as a joke. Ashlyn is incredibly proud of Estera, and it looks like Estera is well on her way to becoming a full blown mercenary alongside her guide and mentor. The victory is short lived, however, as Ashlyn and the band she has currently formed are called upon by the Grand Companies to help deal with the growing Garlean threat. Estera feels she is ready to join the fight, but Ashlyn eventually convinces her to stay in Gridania until the situation is resolved. Estera is unhappy with being left behind again, but she eventually complies to Ashlyn’s wishes. Months pass, and finally the Battle of Cartenau begins. Upon seeing the meteors devastate the Eorzean landscape, Estera gathers up whatever she can and immediately begins travelling towards the battlefield, hoping in vain that she still may be able to make it in time. It is far too late by the time she arrives, and all that’s left to find of the battlefield is a wasteland littered with corpses. She only stops wandering through the barren landscape when she finally comes across Ashlyn’s barely recognizable corpse. She pays her respects to Ashlyn, and silently heads back to the Twelveswood.

• (Estera, Age 23) For the next 5 years, Estera works as a professional hunter in Gridania. She still spends most of her time in the forest, and only wanders into town to take on new jobs, complete current jobs, and to sell any food or hides she has on her. She has quite a lot of money saved up, since she lives so frugally and is able to take on big, dangerous jobs that no one else wants to deal with. She is the one person to go to if one needs something big and nasty taken down, but she is willing to take on smaller jobs if the pay is right or if bigger jobs are sparse.

• (Current Estera, Age 23) Now, 5 years after the summoning of Bahamut, Estera has decided to go out into the world and find out what happened to her brother all those years ago. She doesn't really much care about what happened to her birth father, she just wants to find out if her brother is dead or alive. Even if there is only a slim chance that he is still alive, she will stop at nothing until she is either able to see him again, or at the very least lay his body to rest.

Personality

(WIP)

GOOD POINTS: Patient, determined, creative, and confident (but not recklessly so). Has an incredibly strong will. Fantastic at hunting and gathering. When she finds a goal to focus on, she sticks with it until the end. Very focused and persistent. Incredibly loyal to anyone who somehow manages to get close to her. Willing to help out strangers if someone else is physically harassing them (but unwilling to get involved with them beyond that). Never backs down from a fight. Uninterested in wealth, fame, power, and knowledge (unless it concerns the whereabouts of her brother).

NOT SO GOOD POINTS: Stubborn, unsociable, not easy to get along with, holds people at a distance, has no manners, usually follows no law or rules above her own, doesn't care about politics/the state of the world/laws, not very book smart, can only just barely read and write (and goes out of her way to hide the fact that she's so terrible at them), despises magic and is terrible at it, brutally honest, willing to punch someone out if they get in the way of her goal (or even if they're just being an asshole), evasive, doesn't open up to anyone, willing to break the law if it gets in the way of her goal (but never breaks the law just for the heck of it), only relies on herself to get things done, not much of a team player.

Affiliations

Currently not affiliated with anyone.

Secrets and Rumours

(Disclaimer: A lot of these rumours are greatly exaggerated.)

Easily Overheard Rumors:

"I hear the poor girl swears like a sailor, bleches like a pig, and smells like a swamp. It's no wonder she hasn't got any friends."

"Say what you will about the girl and her manners, but anyone who can hear the twitch of a rodents nose a malm away or wrestle a bear to the ground with her bare hands has nothin' but admiration and respect from me."

"I heard that someone saw her catching fish with her bare hands in a stream a few days ago, and while she still had the fish in her hands, she just reached over and took a HUGE bite out of it! While it was still raw and wriggling and alive! How can anyone possibly live like that?!"

Difficult To Overhear Rumors:

"So, I hear yer in the market fer quality skins and certain... Speciality items, yeah? Whether it's skins or 'shrooms ye be wantin', I know just the huntswoman you'll be wantin' t' meet."

"Well I've heard that she's actually quite the artist. Didn't expect that, didja? Of course, I've never seen any of her work myself, so I can't say for certain if it's really any good or not. But I heard one day a while back that some poor urchin was caught gawking at some of her work when the pouch she keeps it all in fell and scattered everything in the middle of the street. Poor kid hasn't been seen since."

Impossible to Know (you'd have to be her best friend to know this):

• She can't read or write very well at all, and when she has to do either of them she's very slow.

• Keeps a semi-detailed, but beautifully illustrated personal bestiary that lists every animal and monster she's ever hunted. It includes brief, messy notes on where they can be found, any weaknesses she's noticed, dietary habits, and any other information she may find useful for future hunts. If a monster was hunted at the request of someone else, she'll often add the name of the person who hired her, and the date and time for the beginning and conclusion of the hunt. There are also a few entries on interesting and useful plants she's come across. It isn't nearly as expansive or detailed as the Raimdelle Codex, but it works for her and it gives her an excuse to work on her art. She primarily uses pencil charcoal for basic sketching, and occasionally uses water colour paint she received as a reward for completing a hunt a few years back when she feels like adding colour.

• She especially loves drawing and painting while high on 'shrooms.

WIP SPOILERS FOR LATER ON IN ESTERA'S "QUEST FOR THE BRO(MANCE)" CHARACTER ARCH:

Show text

It is eventually discovered that Estera's biological father, Caedin, was a spy for the Garlean Empire. It is suspected that he played a part in the destruction of Ala Mhigo, and the ambush that killed René LaRoche. Aldric, who eventually discovered this, travelled into Garlean territory and was captured when he confronted and attempted to kill Caedin. He is either imprisoned or dead, although it is uncertain which of the two her currently is.