RPC Library - User contributions [en]

Arcian Martell

2017-05-05T19:57:20Z

Arcian:

Under reconstruction. Work in progress.

(I swear I'm actually picking away at this - work's just been crazy.)

Arcian Martell

2016-10-30T19:27:02Z

Arcian: Replaced content with "Under reconstruction. Work in progress."

Under reconstruction. Work in progress.

Arcian Martell

2016-01-25T16:35:08Z

Arcian: /* Biography */

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot2.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, though she currently resides jointly in Ishgard and Ul'dah.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 26
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Chief of security for the Dufresne Bellworks, and Lady Eliane's personal bodyguard
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, not long enough to even touch the collar of her shirt. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

Of late, she's been dressing in a decidedly more flashy manner, as her newly steady income permits her to indulge herself in her efforts to stand out from her frequently impoverished fellow Mhigans. If it has an open chest, dramatic sashes, or fancy bits of leather in appropriate places, she's probably going to wear it at some point.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|(By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Short, tousled.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive wife to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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[[File: RC_by_Eldenoix.jpg|thumbnail|left|A sketch done by a cheery Xaela gentleman by the name of Hei Ye. ((voidseapickle.tumblr.com))]]
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms, though she bears that dislike with remarkable aplomb given her job.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically her dog, Bernard, or Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the latter beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the bow. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

Arcian is currently in the employ of House Dufresne as chief of security for their manufacturing assets operating under the umbrella of the Bellworks. More often than not, she works out of Ishgard, though her presence at the Bellworks branch office in the Goblet is hardly infrequent.

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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "I heard that House D'Monchette had her knighted for dealing with one of their own turned heretical. Quite the rumor, really, but too absurd to even be funny. I mean, a ''Mhigan? Really?'' Ridiculous."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I wouldn't think about messing with Goldie if I were you. She looks like she could rearrange your face faster than you could count the fingers in her fist. That said, I still consider her a fair good friend o'mine." - [[Khuja'sae Fashonti]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She's a sweetheart, no matter what you might hear otherwise. Just don't let her know I called her that; she can take a fair beating, and she's a firm believer that it's far better to give than to receive. Brave might disagree with me on that. Feel free to let her know I said that part." - [[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]
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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to spouse over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her wife. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on her favorite rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a monk, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings. She views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with some of Arcian's more disorganized associates, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Ludivine Goultard]]''' : A Duskwight woman of perpetual grace and restraint (except at drunken oil-wrestling matches, apparently), Ludivine is someone whose company Arcian is always pleased to be in. Despite the striking differences in their personalities, the two of them get along wonderfully on the occasions on which they manage to meet. Arcian values Ludi's counsel, and is grateful that her friend is oft willing to lend a sympathetic ear.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]''' : Among the various acquaintances that Arcian has made in the course of taking mercenary contracts, Hyrtwyda stands out by dint of her resourcefulness and intelligence. The arcanist possesses insight beyond her years, and Arcian considers herself fortunate to be in good standing with her. Of course, that does not render her immune to Wyda's sardonic wit.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Shinorah Nightsbane]]''' : Shinorah, while not lacking in the capacity for emotional reticence common to Mhigans, is someone whom Arcian considers herself on excellent terms with. Between their shared cultural heritage and past experiences in the Resistance, the two Highlanders have quite a bit in common. Arcian, while not quite at the point of confiding all her doubts, will staunchly stand by her friend and countrywoman should the need arise.
: <font style="color:#C24640;" size="2">?</font> '''[[Solveig Martell]]''' After tragedy, betrayal, grievous bodily harm, and exile, Solveig returned to Eorzea after five cycles of leading a ragtag band of guerrillas in the mountains of Gyr Abania. Her motivations, she claimed, were not sinister in the least; she wished to see her beloved younger sister married, and to extend an olive branch that the two of them might tentatively patch up their relationship. To the latter end, she and Arcian had a long and emotionally charged conversation in the aftermath of Arcian's wedding, and Solveig disclosed quite a bit of information that her little sister would most likely rather not have known. Arcian is still uncertain as to how she feels about any of it, or about Solveig in general.
</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in most of 1579, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you reside or work in Ishgard or Ul'dah, or are familiar with House Dufresne and its operations.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2016-01-25T16:34:43Z

Arcian:

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot2.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, though she currently resides jointly in Ishgard and Ul'dah.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 26
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Chief of security for the Dufresne Bellworks, and Lady Eliane's personal bodyguard
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, not long enough to even touch the collar of her shirt. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

Of late, she's been dressing in a decidedly more flashy manner, as her newly steady income permits her to indulge herself in her efforts to stand out from her frequently impoverished fellow Mhigans. If it has an open chest, dramatic sashes, or fancy bits of leather in appropriate places, she's probably going to wear it at some point.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|(By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
<table style="position:center;">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Short, tousled.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive wife to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
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[[File: RC_by_Eldenoix.jpg|thumbnail|left|A sketch done by a cheery Xaela gentleman by the name of Hei Ye. ((voidseapickle.tumblr.com))]]
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

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<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms, though she bears that dislike with remarkable aplomb given her job.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically her dog, Bernard, or Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the latter beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the bow. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

Arcian is currently in the employ of House Dufresne as chief of security for their manufacturing assets operating under the umbrella of the Bellworks. More often than not, she works out of Ishgard, though her presence at the Bellworks branch office in the Goblet is hardly infrequent.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
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<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "I heard that House D'Monchette had her knighted for dealing with one of their own turned heretical. Quite the rumor, really, but too absurd to even be funny. I mean, a ''Mhigan? Really?'' Ridiculous."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I wouldn't think about messing with Goldie if I were you. She looks like she could rearrange your face faster than you could count the fingers in her fist. That said, I still consider her a fair good friend o'mine." - [[Khuja'sae Fashonti]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She's a sweetheart, no matter what you might hear otherwise. Just don't let her know I called her that; she can take a fair beating, and she's a firm believer that it's far better to give than to receive. Brave might disagree with me on that. Feel free to let her know I said that part." - [[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]
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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to spouse over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her wife. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on her favorite rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a monk, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings. She views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect. In a rather magnanimous gesture, he bestowed lower, landless titles upon Arcian and Brave as a wedding gift; while uncertain as to whether or not she's comfortable with technically being minor Mhigan nobility, Arcian is still humbled by Reiner's graciousness.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with some of Arcian's more disorganized associates, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Ludivine Goultard]]''' : A Duskwight woman of perpetual grace and restraint (except at drunken oil-wrestling matches, apparently), Ludivine is someone whose company Arcian is always pleased to be in. Despite the striking differences in their personalities, the two of them get along wonderfully on the occasions on which they manage to meet. Arcian values Ludi's counsel, and is grateful that her friend is oft willing to lend a sympathetic ear.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]''' : Among the various acquaintances that Arcian has made in the course of taking mercenary contracts, Hyrtwyda stands out by dint of her resourcefulness and intelligence. The arcanist possesses insight beyond her years, and Arcian considers herself fortunate to be in good standing with her. Of course, that does not render her immune to Wyda's sardonic wit.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Shinorah Nightsbane]]''' : Shinorah, while not lacking in the capacity for emotional reticence common to Mhigans, is someone whom Arcian considers herself on excellent terms with. Between their shared cultural heritage and past experiences in the Resistance, the two Highlanders have quite a bit in common. Arcian, while not quite at the point of confiding all her doubts, will staunchly stand by her friend and countrywoman should the need arise.
: <font style="color:#C24640;" size="2">?</font> '''[[Solveig Martell]]''' After tragedy, betrayal, grievous bodily harm, and exile, Solveig returned to Eorzea after five cycles of leading a ragtag band of guerrillas in the mountains of Gyr Abania. Her motivations, she claimed, were not sinister in the least; she wished to see her beloved younger sister married, and to extend an olive branch that the two of them might tentatively patch up their relationship. To the latter end, she and Arcian had a long and emotionally charged conversation in the aftermath of Arcian's wedding, and Solveig disclosed quite a bit of information that her little sister would most likely rather not have known. Arcian is still uncertain as to how she feels about any of it, or about Solveig in general.
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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

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: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in most of 1579, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you reside or work in Ishgard or Ul'dah, or are familiar with House Dufresne and its operations.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
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: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2016-01-25T16:34:15Z

Arcian: /* Biography */

Arcian Martell

2016-01-14T05:30:40Z

Arcian:

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot2.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, though she currently resides jointly in Ishgard and Ul'dah.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 26
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Chief of security for the Dufresne Bellworks, and Lady Eliane's personal bodyguard
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, not long enough to even touch the collar of her shirt. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

Of late, she's been dressing in a decidedly more flashy manner, as her newly steady income permits her to indulge herself in her efforts to stand out from her frequently impoverished fellow Mhigans. If it has an open chest, dramatic sashes, or fancy bits of leather in appropriate places, she's probably going to wear it at some point.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|(By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Short, tousled.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive wife to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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[[File: RC_by_Eldenoix.jpg|thumbnail|left|A sketch done by a cheery Xaela gentleman by the name of Hei Ye. ((voidseapickle.tumblr.com))]]
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms, though she bears that dislike with remarkable aplomb given her job.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically her dog, Bernard, or Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the latter beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the bow. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

Arcian is currently in the employ of House Dufresne as chief of security for their manufacturing assets operating under the umbrella of the Bellworks. More often than not, she works out of Ishgard, though her presence at the Bellworks branch office in the Goblet is hardly infrequent.

<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "I heard that House D'Monchette had her knighted for dealing with one of their own turned heretical. Quite the rumor, really, but too absurd to even be funny. I mean, a ''Mhigan? Really?'' Ridiculous."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I wouldn't think about messing with Goldie if I were you. She looks like she could rearrange your face faster than you could count the fingers in her fist. That said, I still consider her a fair good friend o'mine." - [[Khuja'sae Fashonti]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She's a sweetheart, no matter what you might hear otherwise. Just don't let her know I called her that; she can take a fair beating, and she's a firm believer that it's far better to give than to receive. Brave might disagree with me on that. Feel free to let her know I said that part." - [[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to spouse over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her wife. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on her favorite rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a monk, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings. She views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect. In a rather magnanimous gesture, he bestowed lower, landless titles upon Arcian and Brave as a wedding gift; while uncertain as to whether or not she's comfortable with technically being minor Mhigan nobility, Arcian is still humbled by Reiner's graciousness.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with some of Arcian's more disorganized associates, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Ludivine Goultard]]''' : A Duskwight woman of perpetual grace and restraint (except at drunken oil-wrestling matches, apparently), Ludivine is someone whose company Arcian is always pleased to be in. Despite the striking differences in their personalities, the two of them get along wonderfully on the occasions on which they manage to meet. Arcian values Ludi's counsel, and is grateful that her friend is oft willing to lend a sympathetic ear.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]''' : Among the various acquaintances that Arcian has made in the course of taking mercenary contracts, Hyrtwyda stands out by dint of her resourcefulness and intelligence. The arcanist possesses insight beyond her years, and Arcian considers herself fortunate to be in good standing with her. Of course, that does not render her immune to Wyda's sardonic wit.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Shinorah Nightsbane]]''' : Shinorah, while not lacking in the capacity for emotional reticence common to Mhigans, is someone whom Arcian considers herself on excellent terms with. Between their shared cultural heritage and past experiences in the Resistance, the two Highlanders have quite a bit in common. Arcian, while not quite at the point of confiding all her doubts, will staunchly stand by her friend and countrywoman should the need arise.
: <font style="color:#C24640;" size="2">?</font> '''[[Solveig Martell]]''' After tragedy, betrayal, grievous bodily harm, and exile, Solveig returned to Eorzea after five cycles of leading a ragtag band of guerrillas in the mountains of Gyr Abania. Her motivations, she claimed, were not sinister in the least; she wished to see her beloved younger sister married, and to extend an olive branch that the two of them might tentatively patch up their relationship. To the latter end, she and Arcian had a long and emotionally charged conversation in the aftermath of Arcian's wedding, and Solveig disclosed quite a bit of information that her little sister would most likely rather not have known. Arcian is still uncertain as to how she feels about any of it, or about Solveig in general.
</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in most of 1579, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you reside or work in Ishgard or Ul'dah, or are familiar with House Dufresne and its operations.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

File:RC by Eldenoix.jpg

2016-01-14T05:28:20Z

Arcian:

Arcian Martell

2016-01-10T18:57:42Z

Arcian: /* Mannerisms */

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot2.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, though she currently resides jointly in Ishgard and Ul'dah.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 26
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Chief of security for the Dufresne Bellworks, and Lady Eliane's personal bodyguard
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, not long enough to even touch the collar of her shirt. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

Of late, she's been dressing in a decidedly more flashy manner, as her newly steady income permits her to indulge herself in her efforts to stand out from her frequently impoverished fellow Mhigans. If it has an open chest, dramatic sashes, or fancy bits of leather in appropriate places, she's probably going to wear it at some point.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|(By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Short, tousled.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive wife to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms, though she bears that dislike with remarkable aplomb given her job.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically her dog, Bernard, or Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the latter beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the bow. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

Arcian is currently in the employ of House Dufresne as chief of security for their manufacturing assets operating under the umbrella of the Bellworks. More often than not, she works out of Ishgard, though her presence at the Bellworks branch office in the Goblet is hardly infrequent.

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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "I heard that House D'Monchette had her knighted for dealing with one of their own turned heretical. Quite the rumor, really, but too absurd to even be funny. I mean, a ''Mhigan? Really?'' Ridiculous."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I wouldn't think about messing with Goldie if I were you. She looks like she could rearrange your face faster than you could count the fingers in her fist. That said, I still consider her a fair good friend o'mine." - [[Khuja'sae Fashonti]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She's a sweetheart, no matter what you might hear otherwise. Just don't let her know I called her that; she can take a fair beating, and she's a firm believer that it's far better to give than to receive. Brave might disagree with me on that. Feel free to let her know I said that part." - [[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]
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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to spouse over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her wife. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on her favorite rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a monk, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings. She views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect. In a rather magnanimous gesture, he bestowed lower, landless titles upon Arcian and Brave as a wedding gift; while uncertain as to whether or not she's comfortable with technically being minor Mhigan nobility, Arcian is still humbled by Reiner's graciousness.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with some of Arcian's more disorganized associates, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Ludivine Goultard]]''' : A Duskwight woman of perpetual grace and restraint (except at drunken oil-wrestling matches, apparently), Ludivine is someone whose company Arcian is always pleased to be in. Despite the striking differences in their personalities, the two of them get along wonderfully on the occasions on which they manage to meet. Arcian values Ludi's counsel, and is grateful that her friend is oft willing to lend a sympathetic ear.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]''' : Among the various acquaintances that Arcian has made in the course of taking mercenary contracts, Hyrtwyda stands out by dint of her resourcefulness and intelligence. The arcanist possesses insight beyond her years, and Arcian considers herself fortunate to be in good standing with her. Of course, that does not render her immune to Wyda's sardonic wit.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Shinorah Nightsbane]]''' : Shinorah, while not lacking in the capacity for emotional reticence common to Mhigans, is someone whom Arcian considers herself on excellent terms with. Between their shared cultural heritage and past experiences in the Resistance, the two Highlanders have quite a bit in common. Arcian, while not quite at the point of confiding all her doubts, will staunchly stand by her friend and countrywoman should the need arise.
: <font style="color:#C24640;" size="2">?</font> '''[[Solveig Martell]]''' After tragedy, betrayal, grievous bodily harm, and exile, Solveig returned to Eorzea after five cycles of leading a ragtag band of guerrillas in the mountains of Gyr Abania. Her motivations, she claimed, were not sinister in the least; she wished to see her beloved younger sister married, and to extend an olive branch that the two of them might tentatively patch up their relationship. To the latter end, she and Arcian had a long and emotionally charged conversation in the aftermath of Arcian's wedding, and Solveig disclosed quite a bit of information that her little sister would most likely rather not have known. Arcian is still uncertain as to how she feels about any of it, or about Solveig in general.
</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

<table style="position:center;">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in most of 1579, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you reside or work in Ishgard or Ul'dah, or are familiar with House Dufresne and its operations.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2016-01-10T18:56:44Z

Arcian:

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot2.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, though she currently resides jointly in Ishgard and Ul'dah.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 26
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Chief of security for the Dufresne Bellworks, and Lady Eliane's personal bodyguard
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, not long enough to even touch the collar of her shirt. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

Of late, she's been dressing in a decidedly more flashy manner, as her newly steady income permits her to indulge herself in her efforts to stand out from her frequently impoverished fellow Mhigans. If it has an open chest, dramatic sashes, or fancy bits of leather in appropriate places, she's probably going to wear it at some point.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|(By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Short, tousled.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive wife to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms, though she bears that dislike with remarkable aplomb given her job.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically her dog, Bernard, or Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the latter beast when his owner is otherwise occupied. Also

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the bow. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

Arcian is currently in the employ of House Dufresne as chief of security for their manufacturing assets operating under the umbrella of the Bellworks. More often than not, she works out of Ishgard, though her presence at the Bellworks branch office in the Goblet is hardly infrequent.

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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "I heard that House D'Monchette had her knighted for dealing with one of their own turned heretical. Quite the rumor, really, but too absurd to even be funny. I mean, a ''Mhigan? Really?'' Ridiculous."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I wouldn't think about messing with Goldie if I were you. She looks like she could rearrange your face faster than you could count the fingers in her fist. That said, I still consider her a fair good friend o'mine." - [[Khuja'sae Fashonti]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She's a sweetheart, no matter what you might hear otherwise. Just don't let her know I called her that; she can take a fair beating, and she's a firm believer that it's far better to give than to receive. Brave might disagree with me on that. Feel free to let her know I said that part." - [[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to spouse over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her wife. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on her favorite rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a monk, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings. She views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect. In a rather magnanimous gesture, he bestowed lower, landless titles upon Arcian and Brave as a wedding gift; while uncertain as to whether or not she's comfortable with technically being minor Mhigan nobility, Arcian is still humbled by Reiner's graciousness.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with some of Arcian's more disorganized associates, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Ludivine Goultard]]''' : A Duskwight woman of perpetual grace and restraint (except at drunken oil-wrestling matches, apparently), Ludivine is someone whose company Arcian is always pleased to be in. Despite the striking differences in their personalities, the two of them get along wonderfully on the occasions on which they manage to meet. Arcian values Ludi's counsel, and is grateful that her friend is oft willing to lend a sympathetic ear.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]''' : Among the various acquaintances that Arcian has made in the course of taking mercenary contracts, Hyrtwyda stands out by dint of her resourcefulness and intelligence. The arcanist possesses insight beyond her years, and Arcian considers herself fortunate to be in good standing with her. Of course, that does not render her immune to Wyda's sardonic wit.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Shinorah Nightsbane]]''' : Shinorah, while not lacking in the capacity for emotional reticence common to Mhigans, is someone whom Arcian considers herself on excellent terms with. Between their shared cultural heritage and past experiences in the Resistance, the two Highlanders have quite a bit in common. Arcian, while not quite at the point of confiding all her doubts, will staunchly stand by her friend and countrywoman should the need arise.
: <font style="color:#C24640;" size="2">?</font> '''[[Solveig Martell]]''' After tragedy, betrayal, grievous bodily harm, and exile, Solveig returned to Eorzea after five cycles of leading a ragtag band of guerrillas in the mountains of Gyr Abania. Her motivations, she claimed, were not sinister in the least; she wished to see her beloved younger sister married, and to extend an olive branch that the two of them might tentatively patch up their relationship. To the latter end, she and Arcian had a long and emotionally charged conversation in the aftermath of Arcian's wedding, and Solveig disclosed quite a bit of information that her little sister would most likely rather not have known. Arcian is still uncertain as to how she feels about any of it, or about Solveig in general.
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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

<table style="position:center;">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in most of 1579, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you reside or work in Ishgard or Ul'dah, or are familiar with House Dufresne and its operations.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2016-01-10T18:56:00Z

Arcian:

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot2.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 26
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Chief of security for the Dufresne Bellworks, and Lady Eliane's personal bodyguard
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, not long enough to even touch the collar of her shirt. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

Of late, she's been dressing in a decidedly more flashy manner, as her newly steady income permits her to indulge herself in her efforts to stand out from her frequently impoverished fellow Mhigans. If it has an open chest, dramatic sashes, or fancy bits of leather in appropriate places, she's probably going to wear it at some point.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|(By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
<table style="position:center;">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Short, tousled.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive wife to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

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<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms, though she bears that dislike with remarkable aplomb given her job.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically her dog, Bernard, or Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the latter beast when his owner is otherwise occupied. Also

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the bow. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

Arcian is currently in the employ of House Dufresne as chief of security for their manufacturing assets operating under the umbrella of the Bellworks. More often than not, she works out of Ishgard, though her presence at the Bellworks branch office in the Goblet is hardly infrequent.

<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "I heard that House D'Monchette had her knighted for dealing with one of their own turned heretical. Quite the rumor, really, but too absurd to even be funny. I mean, a ''Mhigan? Really?'' Ridiculous."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I wouldn't think about messing with Goldie if I were you. She looks like she could rearrange your face faster than you could count the fingers in her fist. That said, I still consider her a fair good friend o'mine." - [[Khuja'sae Fashonti]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She's a sweetheart, no matter what you might hear otherwise. Just don't let her know I called her that; she can take a fair beating, and she's a firm believer that it's far better to give than to receive. Brave might disagree with me on that. Feel free to let her know I said that part." - [[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to spouse over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her wife. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on her favorite rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a monk, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings. She views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect. In a rather magnanimous gesture, he bestowed lower, landless titles upon Arcian and Brave as a wedding gift; while uncertain as to whether or not she's comfortable with technically being minor Mhigan nobility, Arcian is still humbled by Reiner's graciousness.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with some of Arcian's more disorganized associates, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Ludivine Goultard]]''' : A Duskwight woman of perpetual grace and restraint (except at drunken oil-wrestling matches, apparently), Ludivine is someone whose company Arcian is always pleased to be in. Despite the striking differences in their personalities, the two of them get along wonderfully on the occasions on which they manage to meet. Arcian values Ludi's counsel, and is grateful that her friend is oft willing to lend a sympathetic ear.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]''' : Among the various acquaintances that Arcian has made in the course of taking mercenary contracts, Hyrtwyda stands out by dint of her resourcefulness and intelligence. The arcanist possesses insight beyond her years, and Arcian considers herself fortunate to be in good standing with her. Of course, that does not render her immune to Wyda's sardonic wit.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Shinorah Nightsbane]]''' : Shinorah, while not lacking in the capacity for emotional reticence common to Mhigans, is someone whom Arcian considers herself on excellent terms with. Between their shared cultural heritage and past experiences in the Resistance, the two Highlanders have quite a bit in common. Arcian, while not quite at the point of confiding all her doubts, will staunchly stand by her friend and countrywoman should the need arise.
: <font style="color:#C24640;" size="2">?</font> '''[[Solveig Martell]]''' After tragedy, betrayal, grievous bodily harm, and exile, Solveig returned to Eorzea after five cycles of leading a ragtag band of guerrillas in the mountains of Gyr Abania. Her motivations, she claimed, were not sinister in the least; she wished to see her beloved younger sister married, and to extend an olive branch that the two of them might tentatively patch up their relationship. To the latter end, she and Arcian had a long and emotionally charged conversation in the aftermath of Arcian's wedding, and Solveig disclosed quite a bit of information that her little sister would most likely rather not have known. Arcian is still uncertain as to how she feels about any of it, or about Solveig in general.
</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in most of 1579, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you reside or work in Ishgard or Ul'dah, or are familiar with House Dufresne and its operations.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2016-01-10T18:55:41Z

Arcian:

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot2.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 26
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Chief of security for the Dufresne Bellworks, and Lady Eliane's personal bodyguard
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, not long enough to even touch the collar of her shirt. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

Of late, she's been dressing in a decidedly more flashy manner, as her newly steady income permits her to indulge herself in her efforts to stand out from her frequently impoverished fellow Mhigans. If it has an open chest, dramatic sashes, or fancy bits of leather in appropriate places, she's probably going to wear it at some point.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|(By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Short, tousled.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive wife to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

</tr></table>
<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms, though she bears that dislike with remarkable aplomb given her job.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically her dog, Bernard, or Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the latter beast when his owner is otherwise occupied. Also

</tr></table>
====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the bow. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

Arcian is currently in the employ of House Dufresne as chief of security for their manufacturing assets operating under the umbrella of the Bellworks. More often than not, she works out of Ishgard, though her presence at the Bellworks branch office in the Goblet is hardly infrequent.

<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "I heard that House D'Monchette had her knighted for dealing with one of their own turned heretical. Quite the rumor, really, but too absurd to even be funny. I mean, a ''Mhigan? Really?'' Ridiculous."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I wouldn't think about messing with Goldie if I were you. She looks like she could rearrange your face faster than you could count the fingers in her fist. That said, I still consider her a fair good friend o'mine." - [[Khuja'sae Fashonti]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She's a sweetheart, no matter what you might hear otherwise. Just don't let her know I called her that; she can take a fair beating, and she's a firm believer that it's far better to give than to receive. Brave might disagree with me on that. Feel free to let her know I said that part." - [[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to spouse over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her wife. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on her favorite rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a monk, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings. She views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect. In a rather magnanimous gesture, he bestowed lower, landless titles upon Arcian and Brave as a wedding gift; while uncertain as to whether or not she's comfortable with technically being minor Mhigan nobility, Arcian is still humbled by Reiner's graciousness.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with some of Arcian's more disorganized associates, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Ludivine Goultard]]''' : A Duskwight woman of perpetual grace and restraint (except at drunken oil-wrestling matches, apparently), Ludivine is someone whose company Arcian is always pleased to be in. Despite the striking differences in their personalities, the two of them get along wonderfully on the occasions on which they manage to meet. Arcian values Ludi's counsel, and is grateful that her friend is oft willing to lend a sympathetic ear.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]''' : Among the various acquaintances that Arcian has made in the course of taking mercenary contracts, Hyrtwyda stands out by dint of her resourcefulness and intelligence. The arcanist possesses insight beyond her years, and Arcian considers herself fortunate to be in good standing with her. Of course, that does not render her immune to Wyda's sardonic wit.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Shinorah Nightsbane]]''' : Shinorah, while not lacking in the capacity for emotional reticence common to Mhigans, is someone whom Arcian considers herself on excellent terms with. Between their shared cultural heritage and past experiences in the Resistance, the two Highlanders have quite a bit in common. Arcian, while not quite at the point of confiding all her doubts, will staunchly stand by her friend and countrywoman should the need arise.
: <font style="color:#C24640;" size="2">?</font> '''[[Solveig Martell]]''' After tragedy, betrayal, grievous bodily harm, and exile, Solveig returned to Eorzea after five cycles of leading a ragtag band of guerrillas in the mountains of Gyr Abania. Her motivations, she claimed, were not sinister in the least; she wished to see her beloved younger sister married, and to extend an olive branch that the two of them might tentatively patch up their relationship. To the latter end, she and Arcian had a long and emotionally charged conversation in the aftermath of Arcian's wedding, and Solveig disclosed quite a bit of information that her little sister would most likely rather not have known. Arcian is still uncertain as to how she feels about any of it, or about Solveig in general.
</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in most of 1579, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you reside or work in Ishgard or Ul'dah, or are familiar with House Dufresne and its operations.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2016-01-10T18:55:16Z

Arcian:

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot2.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 26
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Chief of security for the Dufresne Bellworks, and Lady Eliane's personal bodyguard
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, not long enough to even touch the collar of her shirt. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

Of late, she's been dressing in a decidedly more flashy manner, as her newly steady income permits her to indulge herself in her efforts to stand out from her frequently impoverished fellow Mhigans. If it has an open chest, dramatic sashes, or fancy bits of leather in appropriate places, she's probably going to wear it at some point.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|(By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Short, tousled.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive wife to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

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<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms, though she bears that dislike with remarkable aplomb given her job.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically her dog, Bernard, or Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the latter beast when his owner is otherwise occupied. Also

</tr></table>
====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the bow. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

Arcian is currently in the employ of House Dufresne as chief of security for their manufacturing assets operating under the umbrella of the Bellworks. More often than not, she works out of Ishgard, though her presence at the Bellworks branch office in the Goblet is hardly infrequent.

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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "I heard that House D'Monchette had her knighted for dealing with one of their own turned heretical. Quite the rumor, really, but too absurd to even be funny. I mean, a ''Mhigan? Really?'' Ridiculous."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I wouldn't think about messing with Goldie if I were you. She looks like she could rearrange your face faster than you could count the fingers in her fist. That said, I still consider her a fair good friend o'mine." - [[Khuja'sae Fashonti]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She's a sweetheart, no matter what you might hear otherwise. Just don't let her know I called her that; she can take a fair beating, and she's a firm believer that it's far better to give than to receive. Brave might disagree with me on that. Feel free to let her know I said that part." - [[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to spouse over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her wife. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on her favorite rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a monk, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings. She views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect. In a rather magnanimous gesture, he bestowed lower, landless titles upon Arcian and Brave as a wedding gift; while uncertain as to whether or not she's comfortable with technically being minor Mhigan nobility, Arcian is still humbled by Reiner's graciousness.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with some of Arcian's more disorganized associates, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Ludivine Goultard]]''' : A Duskwight woman of perpetual grace and restraint (except at drunken oil-wrestling matches, apparently), Ludivine is someone whose company Arcian is always pleased to be in. Despite the striking differences in their personalities, the two of them get along wonderfully on the occasions on which they manage to meet. Arcian values Ludi's counsel, and is grateful that her friend is oft willing to lend a sympathetic ear.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]''' : Among the various acquaintances that Arcian has made in the course of taking mercenary contracts, Hyrtwyda stands out by dint of her resourcefulness and intelligence. The arcanist possesses insight beyond her years, and Arcian considers herself fortunate to be in good standing with her. Of course, that does not render her immune to Wyda's sardonic wit.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Shinorah Nightsbane]]''' : Shinorah, while not lacking in the capacity for emotional reticence common to Mhigans, is someone whom Arcian considers herself on excellent terms with. Between their shared cultural heritage and past experiences in the Resistance, the two Highlanders have quite a bit in common. Arcian, while not quite at the point of confiding all her doubts, will staunchly stand by her friend and countrywoman should the need arise.
: <font style="color:#C24640;" size="2">?</font> '''[[Solveig Martell]]''' After tragedy, betrayal, grievous bodily harm, and exile, Solveig returned to Eorzea after five cycles of leading a ragtag band of guerrillas in the mountains of Gyr Abania. Her motivations, she claimed, were not sinister in the least; she wished to see her beloved younger sister married, and to extend an olive branch that the two of them might tentatively patch up their relationship. To the latter end, she and Arcian had a long and emotionally charged conversation in the aftermath of Arcian's wedding, and Solveig disclosed quite a bit of information that her little sister would most likely rather not have known. Arcian is still uncertain as to how she feels about any of it, or about Solveig in general.
</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in most of 1579, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you reside or work in Ishgard or Ul'dah, or are familiar with House Dufresne and its operations.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2016-01-01T22:43:57Z

Arcian:

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot2.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 26
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Chief of security for the Dufresne Bellworks, and Lady Eliane's personal bodyguard
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, not long enough to even touch the collar of her shirt. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

Of late, she's been dressing in a decidedly more flashy manner, as her newly steady income permits her to indulge herself in her efforts to stand out from her frequently impoverished fellow Mhigans. If it has an open chest, dramatic sashes, or fancy bits of leather in appropriate places, she's probably going to wear it at some point.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|(By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Short, tousled.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive wife to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Her dog, Bernard, a gift from [[Cassandra Lachance.]]

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms, though she bears that dislike with remarkable aplomb given her job.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the bow. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

Arcian is currently in the employ of House Dufresne as chief of security for their manufacturing assets operating under the umbrella of the Bellworks. More often than not, she works out of Ishgard, though her presence at the Bellworks branch office in the Goblet is hardly infrequent.

<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "I heard that House D'Monchette had her knighted for dealing with one of their own turned heretical. Quite the rumor, really, but too absurd to even be funny. I mean, a ''Mhigan? Really?'' Ridiculous."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I wouldn't think about messing with Goldie if I were you. She looks like she could rearrange your face faster than you could count the fingers in her fist. That said, I still consider her a fair good friend o'mine." - [[Khuja'sae Fashonti]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She's a sweetheart, no matter what you might hear otherwise. Just don't let her know I called her that; she can take a fair beating, and she's a firm believer that it's far better to give than to receive. Brave might disagree with me on that. Feel free to let her know I said that part." - [[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to spouse over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her wife. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect. In a rather magnanimous gesture, he bestowed lower, landless titles upon Arcian and Brave as a wedding gift; while uncertain as to whether or not she's comfortable with technically being minor Mhigan nobility, Arcian is still humbled by Reiner's graciousness.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Ludivine Goultard]]''' : A Duskwight woman of perpetual grace and restraint (except at drunken oil-wrestling matches, apparently), Ludivine is someone whose company Arcian is always pleased to be in. Despite the striking differences in their personalities, the two of them get along wonderfully on the occasions on which they manage to meet. Arcian values Ludi's counsel, and is grateful that her friend is oft willing to lend a sympathetic ear.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]''' : Among the various acquaintances that Arcian has made in the course of taking mercenary contracts, Hyrtwyda stands out by dint of her resourcefulness and intelligence. The arcanist possesses insight beyond her years, and Arcian considers herself fortunate to be in good standing with her. Of course, that does not render her immune to Wyda's sardonic wit.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Shinorah Nightsbane]]''' : Shinorah, while not lacking in the capacity for emotional reticence common to Mhigans, is someone whom Arcian considers herself on excellent terms with. Between their shared cultural heritage and past experiences in the Resistance, the two Highlanders have quite a bit in common. Arcian, while not quite at the point of confiding all her doubts, will staunchly stand by her friend and countrywoman should the need arise.
: <font style="color:#C24640;" size="2">?</font> '''[[Solveig Martell]]''' After tragedy, betrayal, grievous bodily harm, and exile, Solveig returned to Eorzea after five cycles of leading a ragtag band of guerrillas in the mountains of Gyr Abania. Her motivations, she claimed, were not sinister in the least; she wished to see her beloved younger sister married, and to extend an olive branch that the two of them might tentatively patch up their relationship. To the latter end, she and Arcian had a long and emotionally charged conversation in the aftermath of Arcian's wedding, and Solveig disclosed quite a bit of information that her little sister would most likely rather not have known. Arcian is still uncertain as to how she feels about any of it, or about Solveig in general.
</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in most of 1579, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you reside or work in Ishgard, or are familiar with House Dufresne and its operations.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2016-01-01T22:36:00Z

Arcian:

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot2.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 26
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Chief of security for the Dufresne Bellworks, and Lady Eliane's personal bodyguard
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, not long enough to even touch the collar of her shirt. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

Of late, she's been dressing in a decidedly more flashy manner, as her newly steady income permits her to indulge herself in her efforts to stand out from her frequently impoverished fellow Mhigans. If it has an open chest, dramatic sashes, or fancy bits of leather in appropriate places, she's probably going to wear it at some point.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|(By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Short, tousled.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive wife to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

</tr></table>
<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Her dog, Bernard, a gift from [[Cassandra Lachance.]]

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the bow. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

Arcian is currently in the employ of House Dufresne as chief of security for their manufacturing assets operating under the umbrella of the Bellworks. More often than not, she works out of Ishgard, though her presence at the Bellworks branch office in the Goblet is hardly infrequent.

<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "I heard that House D'Monchette had her knighted for dealing with one of their own turned heretical. Quite the rumor, really, but too absurd to even be funny. I mean, a ''Mhigan? Really?'' Ridiculous."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I wouldn't think about messing with Goldie if I were you. She looks like she could rearrange your face faster than you could count the fingers in her fist. That said, I still consider her a fair good friend o'mine." - [[Khuja'sae Fashonti]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She's a sweetheart, no matter what you might hear otherwise. Just don't let her know I called her that; she can take a fair beating, and she's a firm believer that it's far better to give than to receive. Brave might disagree with me on that. Feel free to let her know I said that part." - [[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to spouse over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her wife. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect. In a rather magnanimous gesture, he bestowed lower, landless titles upon Arcian and Brave as a wedding gift; while uncertain as to whether or not she's comfortable with technically being minor Mhigan nobility, Arcian is still humbled by Reiner's graciousness.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Ludivine Goultard]]''' : A Duskwight woman of perpetual grace and restraint (except at drunken oil-wrestling matches, apparently), Ludivine is someone whose company Arcian is always pleased to be in. Despite the striking differences in their personalities, the two of them get along wonderfully on the occasions on which they manage to meet. Arcian values Ludi's counsel, and is grateful that her friend is oft willing to lend a sympathetic ear.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]''' : Among the various acquaintances that Arcian has made in the course of taking mercenary contracts, Hyrtwyda stands out by dint of her resourcefulness and intelligence. The arcanist possesses insight beyond her years, and Arcian considers herself fortunate to be in good standing with her. Of course, that does not render her immune to Wyda's sardonic wit.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Shinorah Nightsbane]]''' : Shinorah, while not lacking in the capacity for emotional reticence common to Mhigans, is someone whom Arcian considers herself on excellent terms with. Between their shared cultural heritage and past experiences in the Resistance, the two Highlanders have quite a bit in common. Arcian, while not quite at the point of confiding all her doubts, will staunchly stand by her friend and countrywoman should the need arise.
: <font style="color:#C24640;" size="2">?</font> '''[[Solveig Martell]]''' After tragedy, betrayal, grievous bodily harm, and exile, Solveig returned to Eorzea after five cycles of leading a ragtag band of guerrillas in the mountains of Gyr Abania. Her motivations, she claimed, were not sinister in the least; she wished to see her beloved younger sister married, and to extend an olive branch that the two of them might tentatively patch up their relationship. To the latter end, she and Arcian had a long and emotionally charged conversation in the aftermath of Arcian's wedding, and Solveig disclosed quite a bit of information that her little sister would most likely rather not have known. Arcian is still uncertain as to how she feels about any of it, or about Solveig in general.
</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in most of 1579, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you reside or work in Ishgard, or are familiar with House Dufresne and its operations.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2015-12-30T02:52:11Z

Arcian: /* Appearance */

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot2.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 26
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Chief of security for the Dufresne Bellworks, and Lady Eliane's personal bodyguard
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, not long enough to even touch the collar of her shirt. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

Of late, she's been dressing in a decidedly more flashy manner, as her newly steady income permits her to indulge herself in her efforts to stand out from her frequently impoverished fellow Mhigans. If it has an open chest, dramatic sashes, or fancy bits of leather in appropriate places, she's probably going to wear it at some point.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|(By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
<table style="position:center;">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Short, tousled.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive wife to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

</tr></table>
<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

</tr></table>
====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the bow. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

Arcian currently resides with the free company known as Aeon at their headquarters in the Goblet. By all appearances, she seems content, having carved out a place for herself and her wife. Of late she has been seen more often in Ishgard than the south; if questioned, representatives of House Dufresne will confirm that yes, she has been offered a position in their employ.

<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "I heard that House D'Monchette had her knighted for dealing with one of their own turned heretical. Quite the rumor, really, but too absurd to even be funny. I mean, a ''Mhigan? Really?'' Ridiculous."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I wouldn't think about messing with Goldie if I were you. She looks like she could rearrange your face faster than you could count the fingers in her fist. That said, I still consider her a fair good friend o'mine." - [[Khuja'sae Fashonti]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She's a sweetheart, no matter what you might hear otherwise. Just don't let her know I called her that; she can take a fair beating, and she's a firm believer that it's far better to give than to receive. Brave might disagree with me on that. Feel free to let her know I said that part." - [[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to spouse over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her wife. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect. In a rather magnanimous gesture, he bestowed lower, landless titles upon Arcian and Brave as a wedding gift; while uncertain as to whether or not she's comfortable with technically being minor Mhigan nobility, Arcian is still humbled by Reiner's graciousness.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Ludivine Goultard]]''' : A Duskwight woman of perpetual grace and restraint (except at drunken oil-wrestling matches, apparently), Ludivine is someone whose company Arcian is always pleased to be in. Despite the striking differences in their personalities, the two of them get along wonderfully on the occasions on which they manage to meet. Arcian values Ludi's counsel, and is grateful that her friend is oft willing to lend a sympathetic ear.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]''' : Among the various acquaintances that Arcian has made in the course of taking mercenary contracts, Hyrtwyda stands out by dint of her resourcefulness and intelligence. The arcanist possesses insight beyond her years, and Arcian considers herself fortunate to be in good standing with her. Of course, that does not render her immune to Wyda's sardonic wit.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Shinorah Nightsbane]]''' : Shinorah, while not lacking in the capacity for emotional reticence common to Mhigans, is someone whom Arcian considers herself on excellent terms with. Between their shared cultural heritage and past experiences in the Resistance, the two Highlanders have quite a bit in common. Arcian, while not quite at the point of confiding all her doubts, will staunchly stand by her friend and countrywoman should the need arise.
: <font style="color:#C24640;" size="2">?</font> '''[[Solveig Martell]]''' After tragedy, betrayal, grievous bodily harm, and exile, Solveig returned to Eorzea after five cycles of leading a ragtag band of guerrillas in the mountains of Gyr Abania. Her motivations, she claimed, were not sinister in the least; she wished to see her beloved younger sister married, and to extend an olive branch that the two of them might tentatively patch up their relationship. To the latter end, she and Arcian had a long and emotionally charged conversation in the aftermath of Arcian's wedding, and Solveig disclosed quite a bit of information that her little sister would most likely rather not have known. Arcian is still uncertain as to how she feels about any of it, or about Solveig in general.
</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2015-12-30T02:50:54Z

Arcian:

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot2.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 26
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Chief of security for the Dufresne Bellworks, and Lady Eliane's personal bodyguard
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, not long enough to even touch the collar of her shirt. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

Of late, she's been dressing in a decidedly more flashy manner, as her newly steady income permits her to indulge herself in her efforts to stand out from her frequently impoverished fellow Mhigans. If it has an open chest, dramatic sashes, or charming bits of leather in appropriate places, she's probably going to wear it at some point.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|(By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Short, tousled.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive wife to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

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<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

</tr></table>
====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
<table style="position:center;">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the bow. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

Arcian currently resides with the free company known as Aeon at their headquarters in the Goblet. By all appearances, she seems content, having carved out a place for herself and her wife. Of late she has been seen more often in Ishgard than the south; if questioned, representatives of House Dufresne will confirm that yes, she has been offered a position in their employ.

<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "I heard that House D'Monchette had her knighted for dealing with one of their own turned heretical. Quite the rumor, really, but too absurd to even be funny. I mean, a ''Mhigan? Really?'' Ridiculous."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I wouldn't think about messing with Goldie if I were you. She looks like she could rearrange your face faster than you could count the fingers in her fist. That said, I still consider her a fair good friend o'mine." - [[Khuja'sae Fashonti]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She's a sweetheart, no matter what you might hear otherwise. Just don't let her know I called her that; she can take a fair beating, and she's a firm believer that it's far better to give than to receive. Brave might disagree with me on that. Feel free to let her know I said that part." - [[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to spouse over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her wife. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect. In a rather magnanimous gesture, he bestowed lower, landless titles upon Arcian and Brave as a wedding gift; while uncertain as to whether or not she's comfortable with technically being minor Mhigan nobility, Arcian is still humbled by Reiner's graciousness.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Ludivine Goultard]]''' : A Duskwight woman of perpetual grace and restraint (except at drunken oil-wrestling matches, apparently), Ludivine is someone whose company Arcian is always pleased to be in. Despite the striking differences in their personalities, the two of them get along wonderfully on the occasions on which they manage to meet. Arcian values Ludi's counsel, and is grateful that her friend is oft willing to lend a sympathetic ear.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]''' : Among the various acquaintances that Arcian has made in the course of taking mercenary contracts, Hyrtwyda stands out by dint of her resourcefulness and intelligence. The arcanist possesses insight beyond her years, and Arcian considers herself fortunate to be in good standing with her. Of course, that does not render her immune to Wyda's sardonic wit.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Shinorah Nightsbane]]''' : Shinorah, while not lacking in the capacity for emotional reticence common to Mhigans, is someone whom Arcian considers herself on excellent terms with. Between their shared cultural heritage and past experiences in the Resistance, the two Highlanders have quite a bit in common. Arcian, while not quite at the point of confiding all her doubts, will staunchly stand by her friend and countrywoman should the need arise.
: <font style="color:#C24640;" size="2">?</font> '''[[Solveig Martell]]''' After tragedy, betrayal, grievous bodily harm, and exile, Solveig returned to Eorzea after five cycles of leading a ragtag band of guerrillas in the mountains of Gyr Abania. Her motivations, she claimed, were not sinister in the least; she wished to see her beloved younger sister married, and to extend an olive branch that the two of them might tentatively patch up their relationship. To the latter end, she and Arcian had a long and emotionally charged conversation in the aftermath of Arcian's wedding, and Solveig disclosed quite a bit of information that her little sister would most likely rather not have known. Arcian is still uncertain as to how she feels about any of it, or about Solveig in general.
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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Roen Deneith

2015-12-30T02:19:35Z

Arcian:

=General=

[[File:Roen_Coerthas.jpg|right|450x630px| (Art By Jn3)]]

<div style="min-height: 650px;">
Once a Sultansworn and now a Free Paladin, Roen Deneith is a woman driven by her ideals. Her staunch adherence to her principles make her seem rigid at times, others have called her naive or foolish. As she tries to do what is best for those around her, she struggles with staying on the righteous path especially when the world seems to want to prove to her that virtue has no place in it.

===General Appearance===

Roen is a young woman in her 20's. While she used to call Thanalan her home, she is now rarely seen there unless hidden under a heavy cowl or behind a Brass Blades mask. Away from Ul'dah, she is often seen wearing armor if she is out of the city or a lighter fare of cottons and leathers within the city. She seldom travels without her sword, but when she does, she usually will have a pair of fist-cuffs handy. When she is expecting a battle, she prefers medium or heavy armor and dons a shield as well, befitting her paladin training.

She is of slight frame, but her lean muscles and calloused hands show evidence of training. Her fiery red locks and pale grey eyes often makes her easily recognizable to those given her description. The woman does not seem to possess anything of notable wealth, but keeps her armor and weapons in good condition. But despite her usual humble disposition, Roen's carriage tends to indicate that she's had a well-born upbringing.

Due to recent troubles, she is now rarely seen in public and does not make herself known except to those she implicitly trusts. But a paladin at heart, she still will not hesitate in coming to aid someone who is in need.
</div>

=Behavior=

[[File:short hair avatar.jpg |200px|left]]
She's mostly quiet. Roen often holds her tongue on matters she considers not important. But she is quick to come to the defense of the weak and does not hesitate to stand up to bullies, even when she is sorely outmatched or outnumbered. She is not quick to anger, but sometimes eager to commit herself to causes she believes are right. Emotions show easily upon her face, and she is a horrible liar. She tries her best not to do it often, if at all.

Roen does not speak of herself too often, but is forthright with her answers when asked. She also does not make small talk well; she is seen as quite serious by most, and some might even accuse her of lacking any sense of humor whatsoever. The truth of her guarded demeanor is more complex, of course, but few understand that. She smiles rarely... but when she does it is always genuine. She does not refuse to give aid if asked for, but where once she used to readily take people at their word, now she seems to make a conscious effort to be wary of those she comes across.

Roen has an inquisitive mind and is quick to learn, and any teaching of craft, skills, or lore offered to her will rarely be refused. Despite her competence with sword and shield, she is still very green when it comes to the general knowledge of the Eorzea overall. It seems what she knows of Eorzea was learned in the last few years.

=Combat=
[[File:Roen_Snowcloak1.png|300px|right|(Art By SoraNamae)]]
<div style="min-height: 400px;">
Roen prefers sword and shield above all else. She began her training with swords early in her childhood since she preferred it over the more docile studies, much to her mother's chagrin. Once arriving in Eorzea, she sought out paladin training under a few Sultansworns and Free Paladins. She excels in defensive fighting, always preferring to protect others before going on the offensive. While she takes to training with fervor and her technical skills leave very little to be desired, she still lacks in experience to put them to use with full effect. She often hesitates in striking down a weaker foe, especially if they show fear or remorse. If they ask for mercy, she will often grant it, even if it may be just a ploy.

While undergoing her training with the conjurer's guild, it was noted that she has great aptitude as a healer as well as a strong connection with the aether, both within and without. But Roen left their guidance after learning the rudimentary skills needed to continue her paladin training. She has since returned to Steelglen Fane to revisit her training as a healer, at the urging of her former teachers.

Recently, Roen has also been training in hand-to-hand combat, especially after learning the most painful way, how vulnerable she was without her weapons. She trains against a wooden training dummy every morning to acclimate herself to such impact against her bare hands.
</div>

=Rumors=

''Some of these rumors are untrue or are greatly exaggerated. Please feel free to add your own rumors under PC!''

===Common Rumors (Easily overheard)===
:*"Oh yeah! She was chosen by the Immortal Flames for that Little Ladies contest a few cycles back! I don't know what the big fuss was all about, but she sure looked uncomfortable being escorted everywhere by the Yataghans."
:*"Oh ye can find her easily enough either on Pearl Lane or the refugee camps outside the walls. A bleedin' heart that one, always bringing potions and the like. As if that'd make any difference."

===Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)===
:*"She has great potential for conjury. If she would only commit more time to it here in Gridania, I believe she can become quite a powerful conjurer."
:*"I heard she is connected to the Ala Mhigan Resistance, even helped them a few times. Wasn't she a Sultansworn though?"
:*"I saw a Wanted notice for her a few moons back in the Blades headquarters. It looks like she got mixed up with some pirate who pissed off the wrong people, if ya know what I mean. Not seen that poster in awhile though. I wonder if the bounty is still good."

===Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)===
:*"I remember her first day in the Steelglen Fane. She seemed awful nervous, despite being sent there by her Guildmaster. And then her first spell learned, she looked like she wasn't expecting that at all. Odd, don't you think?"
:*"I heard all sorts of rumors of her time as a Brass Blade. Blades aint' too kind to women, and an ex-Sworn to boot. I heard there was a Blade walkin' around wearing the hair he cut off from her head. I ain't seen ''him'' in awhile though."
:*"First Sultansworn. Then Brass Blade. Then accused Garlean. I heard though that Sultansworns got her freed, so she must be innocent right? And now I hear she be chasin' after Monestarists ... the girl's got a death wish if ye ask me."

===PC Rumors (Rumors from the character's of other players)===
:*"After Roen was released, watching her walk by me to go celebrate with others was one of the hardest things I've had to do. She needs someone to blame however, and if that needs be me, then I won't shy from it." -[[Natalie Mcbeef]]
:*"I think I understand now. The want for distance from everything and everyone. I think I see why it is she grieves." - [[Delial Grimsong]]
:*"What doesn't kill you can make you stronger... ''if'' y'pull through. If y'can stand. If ''y'survive'', inside ''and'' out." - [[Osric Melkire]]
:*"Roen is the first friend I made outside of the Twelveswood. She has put great trust in me... How does one truly repay that?" - [[Kiht Jakkya]]
:*"Roen is a sweet girl. Kind to a fault and I fear far too trusting for her own good. She saved the man I love and I'll always owe her a debt for that. I'm not sure Ul'dah deserves a girl like Roen Deneith looking out for it." - [[Obsidian Hornet]]
:*"If ever Eorzea had a well-meaning fool... But then, she's just a girl. A girl playing at things she ought not to. She seems to still be in possession of the idealism of youth, and Gods know how the Sultanate hasn't beaten it out of her yet. Still, she's a sweet enough lass, if a bit headstrong. Perhaps I'll keep an eye on her. Just in case." - [[Brynhilde Wulf]]
:*"She's a far different person than I imagined her being. Likable, strong, brave. My only regret is the conditions we were suffering under when I discovered these traits." - [[Askier Mergrey]]
:*"My sister will not be broken by her recent ordeal, I know this because she is a Wolfsong, I only hope the innocence that made her who she is nae gone completely" - [[Gharen Wolfsong]]
:*"I hear her name all the time, but I've never met her. I've been told that we would like each other! She seems to be involved in so much trouble, though..." - [[Aya Foxheart]]
:* "I don't know what happened to her, but Ul'dah seems to have chewed her up and spit her out. I worry about her." - [[C'kayah Tia]]
:*"I have promised to meet her on a day when the world isn't crashing down on either one of us. Easy enough for myself, but I wonder in her case." - [[Verad Bellveil]]
:*"Standing true to an oath even when the world crashes on top of you requires great deal of strength and character." - [[Xydane Vale]]
:*"They speak in hushed, reverent tones. Whatever slander they tried to saddle her with... The people remember who took care of them. We remember." - [[Warren Castille]]
:*"I've met her! And in Ul'dah even! Its so good to see her back, I know her friends have missed her so much. She's so nice, I just hope trouble doesn't catch up to her again!" - [[Aya Foxheart]]
:*"She's fond of ideals. Cook a meal and name it the 'Justice and Peace' and she'd eat it up like a starved coeurl. But she means well, which is a far better sentiment than most people deserve." [[Nero Lazarov]]
:*"She listened, which was more than I had expected. I would very much like to speak with her again, help show I'm trying to keep my word." - [[Franz Renatus|Franz]]
:*"Roen is the kindest being I've ever had the fortune to know, and she's very much the sister I never had but always wanted. Strong, warm, and always willing to throw herself in harm's way for someone who needs it most. I'm proud of her, I always have been, and she's grown so much as a person that I sometimes can't help but just marvel at her. Roen is one of the most important people in my life, I love her more than anything and even if she doesn't say it I know she feels the same. One day maybe we'll be able to just settle in the Shroud and have our talks again, as old ladies with our troubled days behind us. I'd like that for us." - [[Siha Xinkei]]
:*"Madam Deneith is a woman of distinction, and possessed of a fine and resolute character. I would not be so presumptuous as to suppose any nobility of title or breeding, but... certainly it is plain to see that she possesses an admirable nobility of bearing and demeanor." - [[Gideon North]]
:*"I have known the girl through chance encounters, nothing more, but that is all I have needed to gauge that this is, in fact, the type of person who finds themselves attracted to trouble like steel to lodestone. And if my dealings with [[Natalie Mcbeef|Ser Natalie]] are any indication, she is lacking much in the way of pity from her peers. I pray for her, and I do not pray for many." - [[Edgar Von Gandervalt|Edgar Gandervalt]]
:*"I met Ms. Roen halpin' out th' poor folks outside Ul'dah. That's th' kinda person she is - she halps people. Whenever I see her, she's halpin' ''someone'' - 'n on more than one occasion that someone was me! If there's anyone who has a heart closest ta th' kinda hero I wanna be, it's Ms. Roen." - [[Chachanji Gegenji]]
:*"Roen is the sweetest wide eyed piece of stupid I've ever met. If she lived in reality instead of her own romantic fantasy land she'd be bleeding out in an alley somewhere by now." - [[Spahro Llorn]]
:*"My lovely Red. Her presence... a sunset unhindered by clouds. Her demeanor... a cool, spring breeze. She is passionate in her feelings, noble in her intentions, and selfless in her actions. She holds my allegiance and my trust. I hope she will not disappoint me." - [['Lynx'|Lynx]]
:*"A mysterious woman. Now that she has found her freedom, she chooses to impose upon herself a lonely solitude, away from those who love and worry for her. I do hope she finds what she needs to smile with her friends again." - [[Edda Eglantine]]
:*"I hope that the core of her who I found a good friend in is not gone... but I always fear the thought of her cutting ties with me." - [[Kage Kiryuu]]
:*"Is she still here? I'd hoped she would chose to flee when given the chance." - [[Coatleque Crofte]]
:*"...Little Wolf." - [[Nameless Warrior]]
:*"She is armored in every sense of the word, but I've seen between the chinks, and there's light underneath. A bit of work and I think she could shine like a Starlight tree. She's a good woman." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
:*"Interesting woman, that one. Perceptive and intelligent. Contemplative, too, in a way I wasn't expecting." -[[Arcian Martell]]

=Preferences=
[[File:RoenPortrait.jpg|400px|right|(Art by mylsbunagan)]]
===Likes===

:*Rain, sound, smell, the feel of it
:*Running full speed on her chocobo
:*Warm bath
:*Cold weather
:*Sweets
:*The sound of the ocean waves
:*Children
:*Dancing
:*Fishing, in company of friends
:*A flavorful dish, especially with garlic or other Garlean flavors
:*Freshly picked La Noscean oranges

===Dislikes===

:*Boats, she gets seasick AND claustrophobic
:*Long tedious studies with books
:*Lying and deception
:*Bullies
:*Corruption and injustice
:*Slimy fish, namely one Dunefolk delicacy
:*Anything tight around her neck
:*Shackles or anything that seem to bind her wrists
:*Politics

=Relationships=
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest    <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love     <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing     <font style="color:#8f8377;" size="3">●</font> Neutral     <font style="color:#00000;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>
: <center><font style="color:#000000;" size="3">♥</font> Sexual tension    <font style="color:#000000" size="3"> ☠ </font>Deceased</center>

: <font style="color:#8f8377;" size="3">●</font>'''[[Askier Mergrey]]''' - A miqo'te and a fellow Garlean, made infamous by his attempt to bomb Ul'dah, Roen did not trust him one bit when he stood by Delial's side during Roen's dealing with the Highlander woman, and it was only made worse when he kidnapped her afterwards. But during her captivity, he tried to save her from his vicious partner and was tortured to near death for it. Roen no longer holds hatred for him, feeling that he has suffered enough.

: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font>'''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' - A strong and pragmatic Highlander and ex-Resistance fighter, Brynhilde came to Roen's aid when she was trying to save Gharen. Roen looks up to her for her wisdom and sharp-mind and takes her advice to heart, even if the Highlander seems jaded by her long history of warfare against the Garleans. Recently Brynhilde had warned her of her naivete, words that Roen is finding more poignant, given the string of betrayals she has suffered recently.

: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font>'''[[Chachanji Gegenji]]''' - Roen met this Lalafell youth of bright spirit and cheerful outlook on one of her visits to the refugee camps. She found his pure desire to help people mirroring her own in her earlier days, although it saddened her to realize that she herself had become somewhat jaded since. She has agreed to become one of his mentors, in hopes of strengthening her own faith in ideals in doing so.

: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font>'''[[C'kayah Tia]]''' - An enigmatic Seeker, Roen does not know much about him, other than two people who are dear to her both care for this Miqo'te deeply. She knows his dealings and connections to be vast and perhaps not all of them legal, although she has never fully delved into them nor is she inclined to. Recently he has offered to help her in a personal matter which has earned him her trust and gratitude.

: <font style="color:#8f8377;" size="3">●</font>'''[[Coatleque Crofte]]''' - A steadfast Sultansworn, Roen and Coatleque’s friendship was formed in face of much adversity. The two were each other’s confidants until they fell in love with two men that opposed each other, Nero Lazarov and Jameson Taeros. Crofte eventually ended up luring Roen out under false pretenses to arrest her, bringing her to Taeros for interrogation. After Taeros' disappearance, Roen and Crofte spoke once more and somewhat reconciled the enmity between them, but they still remained at unease with each other. The recent news of Taeros' return and engagement however, has rekindled some sympathy in the paladin for the Sworn.

: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font>'''[[Delial Grimsong]]''' - When Roen first met Delial seemingly by happenstance, in truth, it was all part of Delial’s plan: to win the paladin’s confidence, use her to hunt down the Resistance, and to capture [[Gharen Wolfsong]] for her employer, [[Raelisanne Banurein]]. Their relationship has seen its share of both rifts and mending, but after Delial killed Crimson Mountain--the Roegadyn that kidnapped and tormented Roen--they have been neutral towards each other and oddly enough Delial has shown a protective attitude towards the paladin. Currently Delial has been searching for Gharen who has gone missing, and it has become obvious to Roen that Delial harbors deep loyalties for her and her brother. The paladin has come to trust this woman more than she had ever intended.

: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font>'''[[Edda Eglantine]]''' - Roen met her by chance in Vylbrand and found her well-spoken and thoughtful. They seemed to have a common ground in their adherence to duty, their complicated relationship with their father, and their sheltered upbringing. Roen also sensed a streak of independence in the quiet woman and saw her as somewhat of a kindred spirit, enough so that she had entrusted the fate of her friend Gideon North to the noblewoman. Recently the paladin encountered her again only to find that Edda has become engaged to Jameson Taeros. Roen so far does not know what to make of this new development.

: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font>'''[[Erik Mynhier]]''' - The Sultansworn who saved her adopted family two years ago, Roen found him when she first came to Ul'dah and he agreed quickly to become her first paladin mentor. Erik recently returned from being missing for months, and currently leads a special unit within the Immortal Flames.

: <font style="color:#8f8377;" size="3">●</font>'''[[Franz Renatus]]''' - Roen does not know what to make of this Highlander. He speaks in Ishgard at times, but has also spoken to her in Garlean. To her horror, she discovered that a kind Elezen who has helped her in the past has passed, and the Highlander somehow inherited the man's memories. But he also seems to know Roen from her homeland Garlemald. Her first reaction was that of wariness, but Franz (who borrowed the Elezen's name) seemed so lost. So she is giving him the benefit of the doubt.

: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font>'''[[Gharen Wolfsong]]''' - Roen’s discovery that Gharen was her brother came after much trial and sorrow. The siblings seemed to always be on the lookout for each other’s well-being, but they came to stand on opposing sides when Gharen chose to work against Nero despite Roen's plea. After Nero’s death, Roen fled to Ishgard in shame and guilt, refusing to contact anyone that mattered to her, especially her brother. Even when she discovered that her brother had gone missing, Roen refused to get involved in the matter, her heartache and grief still too raw. A part of her desperately fears losing another person she loves, that she is denying even the opportunity of letting herself care much less suffer the pain that may follow.

: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font>'''[[Gideon North]]''' - This well mannered gentleman approached Roen, seeking help in finding justice for his masters who had been murdered. Suspecting the wealthy noble families of Ul'dah to have had a hand in their demise, Roen agreed to help him seek out the truth. She arranged for him to be employed under [[Jameson Taeros]], to serve as a new pair of eyes within the Monetarist society, but later discovered that [[Nero Lazarov]] was one of the people that were responsible for the death of Gideon's former masters. She revealed the truth to the valet, much to his sorrow. Throughout the entire ordeal of her trials in Ul'dah, she had come to rely much on Gideon's counsel and support, and now feels that she still owes him much for his unconditional alliance and aid.

: <font style="color:#000000" size="3"> ☠ </font>'''[[Itarliht Syhrkoensyn]]''' - A fiercesome Roegadyn known as Crimson Mountain, Roen met him during her encounter with Delial. Despite a rocky start, they came to agree to a truce of spilling no blood between them. However, he broke this promise when he took part in attacking her and taking her captive against her will. In her captivity, she discovered that Crim has a violent temper and a dark and cruel side to him. He was killed after she was rescued.

: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font>'''[[Jajara Jara]]''' - A generous and cheerful Lalafell, Roen met this skilled Goldsmith through Gharen when she was seeking a gift for Erik. While they have only met a few times, Roen finds her presence bright and comforting. In their most recent encounter, Jajara shared an insight about Roen's feelings for her brother, which gave her much comfort and confidence in protecting her sibling. The two have further bonded after a girls-only fishing trip since on their way to Gharen's camp.

: <font style="color:#00000;" size="3">●</font>'''[[Jameson Taeros]]''' - This noble and Roen share a sordid history. He has been responsible for getting her disgraced from the Sultansworns as well as an attempt on her brother’s life. But in a recent confrontation, Roen learned that the man had loved her Garlean mother and had been trying to watch out for the paladin but failing to protect her. Despite his opposition to Nero Lazarov, Roen let him live rather than taking the opportunity to end his life, only to find out later that Osric Melkire had shot him. The news of the noble’s recent return has left the paladin in a quandary of conflicting loyalties and emotions.

: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font>'''[[Kage Kiryuu]]''' - A brave and loyal Lalafell gladiator that Natalie also took in as an apprentice, Roen and Kage trained alongside each other and took the Trial of the Sultansworn together. Roen always held a soft spot in her heart for Kage, but after Natalie's death, they grew apart when the Lalafell seemingly severed all ties with his old life. She has recently reconnected with him, and to her surprise still found him to be a loyal friend as he always has been.

: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font>'''[[Kasrjin Khadai]]''' - An intimidating figure of a Xaela, Roen first came upon this Au Ra warrior as he stood amongst dead bodies--those belonging to the mercenaries she was tasked to track down. Their initial reaction to each other was one of hostility and suspicion, the paladin thought him to be a violent and cold-hearted killer. But since traveling with him, she has come to realize that there is an optimist hidden behind his severe demeanor, and she even came to his defense against Ishgardian prejudice. She has accepted the task of aiding this stranger on his journey, for she knows all too well how the world will want to take advantage of his guilelessness.

: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font>'''[[Kiht Jakkya]]''' - Roen met this Keeper Hunter at the Grindstone tournament. While both were quiet-mannered, they began to appreciate each other's knowledge of battle, and soon each other's unobtrusive company. Roen saw something akin to herself in Kiht, a stranger in a new land, walking her path alone, and trying to do what is right. Kiht has come to Roen's aid more times than the paladin can count. She was the only one Roen asked to accompany her to track down Nero one last time; Kiht was also the only one that stood witness as Roen killed him, believing it was the last resort.

: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font>'''[[Martiallis Heuloix]]''' - This Duskwight Ishgardian Knight happened upon Roen when she was at one of her lowest moments, searching for guidance at the Saint Reymanaud Cathedral. His gentle demeanor coaxed her into a conversation with him, and after a series of “chance” meetings, they have come to consider each other a trust ally and confidant. Roen sees his commitment to bearing the shield and protecting others as a reminder of who she used to be, and perhaps who she wants to be again.

: <font style="color:#000000" size="3"> ☠ </font>'''[[Natalie Mcbeef]]''' - Roen met this relentless Sultansworn when she accidentally fell under her investigation into the Syndicate. Despite initially finding her cold and intimidating, their relationship grew to one of trust and deep friendship after Natalie took Roen as an apprentice. But that relationship was shattered, first by Natalie's well intended efforts to keep Roen safe, which resulted in a horrific and violent kidnapping, and then Natalie's execution of someone that Roen held dear. She also began to hunt the man that Roen had professed feelings for. After Natalie's passing, Roen struggled to resolve her feelings for the mentor she once called friend then enemy, but recently has allowed herself to forgive her.

: <font style="color:#000000" size="3"> ☠ </font>'''[[Nero Lazarov]]''' - Roen sought this smuggler out while she was investigating [[Jameson Taeros]]. After a frank but secreted conversation, she discovered that Nero was not who he seemed, and had altruistic motives for Ul'dah. Seeing that she and he shared the same dream to help those in need, they agreed to an alliance, one that has taken a turbulent course since its inception. After the tragic death of Nero's first mate, Roen became more determined than ever to try and help the pirate, especially after realizing she had developed feelings for the man. She believed him to be her first love. Despite Nero's ruthless tendencies, Roen tried to hold onto her values, and hoped to save him from the dark path he paved for himself. But it was all for naught. In the end, he refused to recognize the ways of nonviolence or consider other means, and Roen ended his life rather than letting others kill him.

: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font>'''[[Obsidian Hornet]]''' - A strong and fierce Roegadyn, Roen recently brought Hornet to Gharen after his rescue, knowing that they used to be lovers. Hornet's affection and loyalties to her brother being made plainly clear, Roen considers Hornet a friend, and a good ally to have at her side. She knows the woman has a violent past, but trusts that she has changed many things about herself in her recent journey of atonement. Despite her recent departure from Gharen's side, Roen still holds Hornet dear in her heart.

: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font>'''[[Osric Melkire]]''' - Their acquaintance really began with a lie, when he duped her into meeting Gharen under the pretense that it was for Erik's sake. The two have had some rocky encounters since that meeting, but she's always seen him fight on the just side of things. She's also sought him out for some lessons in hand-to-hand combat. Despite his recent trials, she still trusts him and has asked him for help against the Monetarists in an effort to reform Ul'dah.

: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font>'''[[Qaeli Varily]]''' - Roen sought this silver haired Hyur woman out when Gharen disappeared, for her name was one of two he had listed as trusted allies. But in their joint effort to rescue Gharen, they found themselves at odds in most things, Qaeli's wrath being quick, her tongue cold and cutting regarding Roen's idealism and methods. But Qaeli's fierce loyalty to her brother was something Roen could not deny, so she continued to keep Qaeli's company, at least until Gharen recovered. Qaeli has recently returned from months of absence without a word, and Roen suspects there is a dark tale to follow that.

: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font>'''[[Shaelen Stormchild]]''' - A former Ala Mhigan Resistance member and currently a smuggler of all things Garlean, Roen met this Highlander woman after being indirectly responsible for death of a man that Shaelen loved like a father. Needless to say, their first encounter was not pleasant. They have come to terms since, and Roen now owes Shaelen for her help in exonerating Gharen as well as lending aid in her work against the Monetarists. Roen finds Shaelen's silent First Mate [[Thaliak's Axe]] endearing and trustworthy even though he has yet to speak a single word.

: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font>'''[[Siha Xinkei]]''' - A Keeper and a seer, Roen met Siha through Erik, who considered the Miqo'te woman his Oath Sister. It was Siha who saw a vision of a woman that was possibly Roen's ancestor. When Erik seemingly succumbed to his illness, both of the women found solace in each other through their shared grief and have become close. She considers Siha her Oath-sister, and while they have been absent in each other's lives for many moons now, their bond has never suffered.

: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font>'''[[Verad Bellveil]]''' - An eccentric and bombastic Duskwight Elezen, Roen met this merchant of "dubious" goods in Limsa when she was wandering about aimlessly after her kidnapping ordeal. He played a vital role in drawing her out of her shell and restoring some of her idealism. She saw 'Mister Bellveil' as a trusted friend, and welcomed his wisdom and company whenever she felt lost or conflicted. During her alliance with Nero however, the merchant came to betray her trust in trying to lead her down a righteous path, and the paladin ended their friendship. They reconciled recently but it was a brief encounter, and Roen left hastily before the two could really talk.

: <font style="color:#8f8377;" size="3">●</font>'''[[Xydane Vale]]''' - An aloof and mysterious Midlander, Roen met him through the Ala Mhigan Resistance when he was helping them locate a missing man. He helped rescue her adoptive father from a Castrum dungeon, and he did not judge her for her Garlean heritage. She saw him as man of good intentions, although his skills in killing and delivering violence did not go unnoticed. She has recently encountered him again in Limsa and suspects him of possibly trying to kill a Brass Blades captain because of something she told him.

=Written Works=
''The threads below are chronologically ordered. Legacy is still an ongoing thread that has yet to complete the telling of how the story began. What You Are In The Dark is most recently completed thread of current events.''

[[File:NeroRoen.jpg|right|450x630px| (Art By Jn3)]]

[http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=6355"A Legacy in Blood"]

''A tale of three people whose fates are entwined together by their blood and heritage.''

[http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=7280&pid=88088#pid88088 "Second Hand Faith"]

''Three Sultansworns are disgraced and struggle to find redemption.''

[http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=7981 "No Good Deed"]

''An alliance is formed between two people who share the same dream but opposing ideals.''

[http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=8223 "A Forlorn Fortnight"]

''A fortnight conversation between a condemned man and a hopeful paladin.''

[http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=8634 "The Coming Storm"]

''An escalation of events between those who hold the power in Ul'dah and those who seek to topple it.''

[http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=9325&pid=129027#pid129027 "Starlit Illumination"]

''Reflections of the past and loved ones during Starlight.''

[http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=9165&pid=126673#pid126673 "Paladin's Proof"]

''Roen acquires a new pupil. He may teach ''her'' a few thing or two.''

[http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=10212 "What You Are In The Dark"]

''It is said that the person's true nature is revealed when nobody is watching. Will they discover who they truly are?''

[http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=11851 "Absolution"]

''"What is a measure of a life's worth?" A glimpse into the paladin's ongoing journey as she tries to find the answer.''

[http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=12418&pid=196861#pid196861 "A Vision of Fog"]

''It takes a foreigner to recognize everyone's blindness about preconceptions and assumptions.''

=Gallery=
<table style="position:center;" width="75%">

<center>
<gallery>

File:RoenSiha.png|The two Oath-sisters share a moment
File:Sworns.png|The swearing of the Oath
File:Ffxiv 04192014 003541.png|"Brother for Brother"
File:Drybone Camp 5.png|Roen help Gharen recover
File:Ffxiv 06062014 203251.png|Roen receives a Brass Blade lesson from Anden Anduron
File:Roen Fireworks.png|Contemplative moment
File:Roen Nero Pearl Lane.png|Roen and Nero meet for the first time in Pearl Lane
File:Nero Roen Ride.png|Nero and Roen in Limsa after a chocobo ride
File:Nero Roen close eyes 3.png|Nero promises to be a better man
File:Delial Roen Rain.png|Delial and Roen conspire
File:OsricRoenpose.png|Osric and Roen share an understanding
File:Gideon_Roen.png|Gideon and Roen enter into an alliance
File:Roen Ballgown.png|Starlight Ball
File:JamesRoenCrofte.png|Crofte turns Roen in
File:RoenStorm.png|A storm is coming
File:Whisper.png|A whisper

</gallery>

<gallery>
File:RoenHooded.jpg|Sketch of Roen
File:Garleans_BW1.jpg|Sketch of three Garleans
File:Roen_Deneith_page.jpg|Lovely art from Zolaida on Deviant Art
File:RoenTierganFinal.jpg|Tiergan art!
File:Jameson.jpg|Portrait of Jameson Taeros by Mylsbunagan on Deviant Art
File:Roen Kas.jpg|Roen and Kasrjin face off against Dravanians

</gallery>
</center>
</table>

=History=

===Early History===
<spoiler>
Roen is the sole daughter of a high ranking Garlean scientist officer. Her father, Dorien nan Luraes, was a quick-rising officer in the ranks of the Garlean military, and was one of the men assigned to help overthrow the Ala Mhigan government. In the midst of all the violence brought on by the incursion, Dorien came upon an Ala Mhigan babe... and in rare a moment of mercy, brought the infant home to his barren but loving wife, Melia Luraes. For the first many years of her life, Roen's life was a good one, raised by a doting mother and a proud father whose influence easily squashed any rumors that questioned Roen's true parentage. Dorien, who was also a brilliant engineer, was soon recruited by officers under Nael van Darnus after the destruction of the Bozja Citadel. Dorien became part of the science team to resume the study and research for Project Meteor.

Like his predecessors before him, Dorien too became obsessed with this potential power to control the moons, snatching it from the sky and bringing it down upon the planet. In his obsession, he began to neglect his daughter, and his wife. When Melia discovered the true nature of her husband's research, she became horrified by its violent and destructive nature. In her distress, she was recruited by a resistance faction who sought to undermine Nael van Darnus's ambitions.

Melia began to leak secrets to the resistance in hopes of undoing Project Meteor and freeing her husband from its obsessive grasp. But eventually Melia was caught; she was tried and executed, much to Dorien's shock and despair. He threw himself back into his work, and in exchange for his devotion, the Garlean government kept his wife's treachery and execution away from the public eye. Roen never knew the truth; she was told Melia died in an accident. She was seven years old.

After her mother's death, Roen was raised alone in a large wealthy home, with only cold servants and domineering teachers for company. Her father seemed to have lost all affection for her in his grief. She grew to love riding, finding solace in her solitude, imagining adventures as she took to long rides in the woods surrounding their home. She also was quite the tomboy, climbing trees and practicing swordplay with the house guards who humored her. Due to lack of a motherly figure, she never took to dresses or concerned herself with looking beautiful. She was always polite and acted with perfect manners, for those brief moments when her father would grace their home with his presence.

When Roen turned sixteen, in an attempt to win her absent father's love, she illegally joined with Nael van Darnus' forces in the Battle of Carteneau. She was foolish, idealistic, and full of patriotism, all of which were shattered when she actually witnessed the bloodshed and violence on the battlefield. Roen fled from the battle...

...only to witness the horrifying truth of Project Meteor from a far.

Roen survived the Calamity. She was later found malms away by a traveling vendor, while wandering the hills, dazed, delirious, and dehydrated. The merchant was a kind man; his name was Brenden Deneith. Brenden and his family took Roen in and nourished her back to health.

She stayed with the Deneith family in Western Thanalan for the next four years. In the autumn of the fourth year, another tragedy struck when bandits set upon the Deneith family during a sojourn to a nearby market. Roen and Brenden fought them off bravely, but Brenden was gravely hurt. He would eventually succumb to his injury; Roen could only watch helplessly as one of the few selfless men she had ever known began to fail and die.

When the bandits returned again two days later however, a Sultansworn patrolling nearby saved the rest of the family. And taking sympathy on them, he also returned the seemingly dead Brenden Deneith back to life---much to Roen's wonder and disbelief.

It was on this day that Roen saw her path laid out before her: that of a Sultansworn. She would do for others what this paladin did for her family, but she also felt that she owed a debt to Eorzea, for her father's involvement in the Calamity. She set out to travel to Ul'dah to begin her training.

Upon her arrival in Ul'dah, Roen struggled to make ends meet, to find work so that she could send what gil she made back to her adopted family, who had now settled upon a farm in Southern Thanalan. But with the children being too young as yet, and Brenden being weakened since his return from near death, Roen felt responsible for supporting the family who had saved her life. And so she gained employment as a hired blade, taking whatever jobs she could. She looked upon the Sultansworns with something akin to hero worship, hoping for any chance to begin her training. One of Roen's greatest fears was that she would never be worthy of it.

Unbeknownst to Roen, her father had been pardoned after the Battle of Carteneau, for he disavowed any knowledge of Project Meteor not being sanctioned by the Emperor. He was seen as a callous murderer by some, yet the Empire still valued his engineering skills. Dorien currently believes his daughter to have died with the Fall of Dalamud, but may discover soon that his only daughter is actually still alive. Roen is the only link left to his dead wife, whom he still loves beyond the realm of death...and yet he hates her for her betrayal, and would likely go to extremes to bring his wayward daughter back under his control.
</spoiler>

===After her arrival in Ul'dah===
<spoiler>

When Roen first arrived in Ul'dah, she found employment with a company called the Gilded Mirage Consortium. She began to slowly warm up to some of them, and before long counted many of them as her friends. The wealthy owner supported her training first as a gladiator, then as a paladin. She was even allowed to travel via airship to Gridania for training at the Steelglen Fane.

Knowing that Garleans were not gifted with the ability to draw upon the aether, Roen was shocked to find that she was able to cast magic at all. This discovery was then followed by a revelation through Siha's vision that one of her ancestors had probably been a Highlander conjurer. This prompted Roen to start researching her mother's ancestry, since her father's proud Garlean bloodline was well-known.

During her search, due to a string of misunderstandings, a Sultansworn named [[Natalie Mcbeef]], also started to suspect Roen of being involved with the Syndicate and interrogated her multiple times. While the misunderstanding was eventually cleared, the damage to her reputation had already been done; when her employer heard of the incident, she was promptly dismissed from the Consortium.

This was also when Brenden Deneith, Roen's adoptive father, began to succumb to illness again. Due to being dismissed by her former employer and the rumors that she may be connected with the Syndicate, Roen could not find any employment. This was when she took on the job of a miner, despite the fact that it did not pay very well. In order to make the necessary gil to send back to her father, Roen began to neglect her training in lieu of breaking rocks all day.

Her prolonged absence unfortunately led to her dismissal from Ser Jenlyns Straightblade, her free paladin trainer and the Captain of the Sultansworns. But [[Natalie Mcbeef]], who had previously interrogated her, took it upon herself to take Roen in as her apprentice so that she may continue Roen's paladin training. It was with Natalie's guidance and trust that Roen finally passed her trials and was sworn in as one of Ul'dah's elite protectors. Natalie and another Sultansworn named [[Kage Kiryuu]] came to learn of her Garlean heritage, and to her surprise, still accepted her as one of their own. Roen considered this small group of Sultansworns her family through duty and oath.

Roen also found employment with a Free Company called Night Blades. She believed them to serve the people of Eorzea, although through unconventional means. She also believed that their leader, Ellion Goto, to have the right intentions at heart, even if his methods had proven to be ruthless at times.

In researching her grandmother, Roen discovered that a Highlander by the name of [[Gharen Wolfsong]] was her brother by blood, and that she was taken from her family when she was a baby and given to her Garlean parents who raised her. This knowledge came at the price of much suffering and pain, mostly dealt by a mysterious Garlean woman named [[Raelisanne Banurein]], who captured and tortured Gharen Wolfsong for weeks. Roen was forced to resort to kidnapping an innocent man to trade for her brother's life, also making an enemy of another Highlander named [[Delial Grimsong]], who worked for Banurein. It was Delial who had initially befriended Roen through deception, and used her to capture Gharen and kill another Resistance leader.

After rescuing Gharen from the Garleans and helping him recover, Roen discovered that she had been suspended from her duties as Sultansworn due to an investigation that was initiated by a Monetarist noble named [[Jameson Taeros]]. It led two Immortal Flames to unearth evidence regarding a ceruleum core theft and what appeared to be a cover-up by her superior, Natalie. The three Sultansworns involved in the incident were all disgraced and given leave of duty, and to appease the Monetarists, their services were given over to the Brass Blades. Roen was assigned to a unit under the command of Captain [[Anden Anduron]].

Jameson Taeros then tasked Natalie to bring in Roen's brother, Gharen, else Roen would be tried as a Garlean spy. To hide her dealings with Taeros, Natalie arranged for Roen to be "kidnapped" by [[Askier Mergrey]] in order to keep her in the dark about the fate of her brother. Askier then asked his friend Crimson Mountain to help him, and the latter took to the task with obsessive fervor. He turned out to be a cruel and violent captor, and Askier, growing more and more uncomfortable with Crim's torment of Roen, finally attempted an escape with the hostage in tow. It ended with Askier losing an arm, and Crimson Mountain taking both Roen and Askier on a ship and sailing for destination unknown.

In the meanwhile, Natalie convinced Gharen to surrender himself to the Monestarists for Roen's own safety and freedom. She explained that she was following the Monestarists orders because they had evidence that Roen was a Garlean. To gain amnesty for Roen, she agreed to bring Gharen in, knowing full well that he would likely be killed. He agreed to this term to save his sister, and both believed that Roen would be delivered by Askier back to Ul'dah safe and sound.

But when Natalie realized that the kidnapping had gone horribly wrong, she and Kage recruited the help of [[Osric Melkire]] to break Gharen out, and they all eventually faced down Crimson Mountain for the two captives he had tortured for many days on the seas. Delial agreed to sail away with Crimson Mountain in exchange for Roen and Askier's freedom, to which Crim complied. Once alone on the boat with the Roe, Delial delivered death onto him with a blade to his neck.

Natalie, seeing Roen's condition after her rescue, forced herself to cut all ties with the Hyur, dismissing her from the Blades and calling her weak. She also hid away any regret as she spoke to Roen, nearly gloating about her own ruthlessness. That final betrayal shattered what remained of Roen's strength and resolve to hold herself together, and the Hyur broke. Gharen took it upon himself to take his sister way from Ul'dah, much to Natalie's silent relief.

Roen hid out with her brother in La Noscea, recovering both mentally and physically from her ordeal. She also began to train in hand-to-hand combat, but then discovered that she was wanted on the charges of being a Garlean spy. Rather than risking the lives of loved ones who would stand to defend her against those who came to arrest her, Roen turned herself in. She held to her faith that truth would exonerate her and despite the warnings of many, believed that the Ul'dah justice system would find her innocent. Due to diligence on the part of Natalie, Kage, and Coatleque, Roen was found innocent, and was even offered to be reinstated to the rank of the Sultansworn if she wished to return.

Roen did not return to the Order.
</spoiler>

===The paladin meets the smuggler===

<spoiler>
Since regaining her freedom, Roen turned her focus instead toward [[Jameson Taeros]]. She suspected that he was not only working for the Syndicate, but also for [[Raelisanne Banurein]], a woman who shared a mysterious past with her Garlean father. While investigating and gathering evidence on Taeros, Roen met a smuggler by the name of [[Nero Lazarov]]. In getting to know the man, her eyes were opened to the sufferings of the poor and the underprivileged in Ul'dah, so she joined his crusade to oust the corruption of the Monetarists.

The two have fought and argued more than exchanged pleasantries, but Roen could not help but be drawn to his relentless commitment to his cause. She also feared that he was headed down a dark path to see it through and promised herself to save him from such a fate. Somewhere along that journey, she came to realize that he meant more to her than just someone who shared her dream, and finally confessed to Nero that he had her trust...and her heart.

While Nero worked tirelessly to choke off the Syndicate's wealth by raiding their merchant ships on the seas, Roen worked to undermine the Monetarists' reputation and their loyalties to each other. She entered an agreement with a valet named [[Gideon North]], a man who was also investigating the wealthy Ul'dahn nobles for his own purposes. Gideon became Taeros' personal butler to serve as eyes and ears to Roen regarding the noble and the Monetarist families. [[Coatleque Crofte]] seduced Taeros in an effort to investigate him, but also draw his eyes and attention away from Roen. Roen even enlisted the help of [[Delial Grimsong]] who agreed to work for Taeros in an effort to keep abreast of his movements against Nero.

But as Nero's ruthless methods and plans came to light, Roen found herself becoming alienated from those she loved and held dear. Gharen, after discovering that Nero had an entire noble family killed for his plans, told Roen that he would be doing whatever he could to stop the pirate. The siblings understood they would be opposing each other as they parted ways. [[Verad Bellveil]], a Duskwight merchant that Roen considered to be one of her closest confidants, had also broken her trust in trying to steer her away from what he perceived to be an unrighteous path. And Gideon discovered that one of the people who had been responsible for his Master's death was none other than Nero Lazarov himself. He ended the agreement with Roen in working for Nero against the Monetarists, but remained in her service still.

Nero and Roen's plans were beginning to take hold, throwing chaos into the Monetarists' once secure power structure within Ul'dah. But when the pirate's crew found out about the innocent lives their captain had taken, they mutinied against him and took over his ship. They were the only family he had left. This threw Nero into a pit of despair where he considered giving up his entire plan. Roen was also lured into a trap by Ser Crofte and delivered to Taeros' dungeons.

With help of Gideon North, Roen escaped, only to wonder if her cause was indeed true. [[Osric Melkire]] led a small group to rescue Roen and to lure out Taeros, and ended up shooting the noble at point blank range with a gunblade. In trade for Osric's victory against the Monetarist noble, Nero relinquished all the details of his violent plan that involved the bandits and a ceruleum powered Dreadnaught that was smuggled into Ul'dah.

While Osric and Ser Crofte worked together to stop the bandits' bloody plans, Roen enlisted Kiht's help to find Nero, to bring him to justice.

But their final meeting was fated to end dark and bloody, as Nero had always predicted. Recognizing him as a violent anarchist that would not stop in achieving his goals, Roen killed him when he refused to be arrested, plunging her blade into his heart.
</spoiler>

=OOC=

This wiki page contains details about Roen's past, especially in the History section. Some of it may be discovered by those who actively seek it out, but much of it is not generally known. General and Behavior information are free for any observant character to play off of, and the same goes for the Rumors. History is purely there for OOC knowledge and is to help with plot development with those I am involved in a storyline with. Same goes for Recent Events, Relationships, and all the stories in the Written Works section. If you are interested in taking part, please let me know! And this page will be edited intermittently.

Also please note that this is a character that was originally derived from another collaborative role playing effort with another player. This one in Final Fantasy is a whole new reincarnation. If you are interested in the original story that gave birth to her, you can find it here: https://www.jukepop.com/home/read/110 It is written by the player I collaborated with.

===Annotations===

This Template was created by [[Bancroft Gairn]] with lots of help from [[Gharen Wolfsong]] and [[Coatleque Crofte]]!

More RP tidbits and captioned screenshots can be found at http://afreesworn.tumblr.com/

The artist known as Tiergan on this page can be found at http://yanareku.deviantart.com/

The artist known as Jn3 on this page can be found at http://cantkillus.deviantart.com/

The artist known as SoraNamae on this wiki can be found at http://soranamae.deviantart.com/

The artist known as mylsbunagan on this wiki can be found at http://mylsbunagan.deviantart.com/

<headertabs/>

[[category:Player Character]]

Arcian Martell

2015-12-19T03:34:54Z

Arcian:

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot2.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 26
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Bodyguard
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, not long enough to even touch the collar of her shirt. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|(By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Short, tousled.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive wife to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the bow. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

Arcian currently resides with the free company known as Aeon at their headquarters in the Goblet. By all appearances, she seems content, having carved out a place for herself and her wife. Of late she has been seen more often in Ishgard than the south; if questioned, representatives of House Dufresne will confirm that yes, she has been offered a position in their employ.

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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "I heard that House D'Monchette had her knighted for dealing with one of their own turned heretical. Quite the rumor, really, but too absurd to even be funny. I mean, a ''Mhigan? Really?'' Ridiculous."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I wouldn't think about messing with Goldie if I were you. She looks like she could rearrange your face faster than you could count the fingers in her fist. That said, I still consider her a fair good friend o'mine." - [[Khuja'sae Fashonti]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She's a sweetheart, no matter what you might hear otherwise. Just don't let her know I called her that; she can take a fair beating, and she's a firm believer that it's far better to give than to receive. Brave might disagree with me on that. Feel free to let her know I said that part." - [[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to spouse over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her wife. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect. In a rather magnanimous gesture, he bestowed lower, landless titles upon Arcian and Brave as a wedding gift; while uncertain as to whether or not she's comfortable with technically being minor Mhigan nobility, Arcian is still humbled by Reiner's graciousness.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Ludivine Goultard]]''' : A Duskwight woman of perpetual grace and restraint (except at drunken oil-wrestling matches, apparently), Ludivine is someone whose company Arcian is always pleased to be in. Despite the striking differences in their personalities, the two of them get along wonderfully on the occasions on which they manage to meet. Arcian values Ludi's counsel, and is grateful that her friend is oft willing to lend a sympathetic ear.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]''' : Among the various acquaintances that Arcian has made in the course of taking mercenary contracts, Hyrtwyda stands out by dint of her resourcefulness and intelligence. The arcanist possesses insight beyond her years, and Arcian considers herself fortunate to be in good standing with her. Of course, that does not render her immune to Wyda's sardonic wit.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Shinorah Nightsbane]]''' : Shinorah, while not lacking in the capacity for emotional reticence common to Mhigans, is someone whom Arcian considers herself on excellent terms with. Between their shared cultural heritage and past experiences in the Resistance, the two Highlanders have quite a bit in common. Arcian, while not quite at the point of confiding all her doubts, will staunchly stand by her friend and countrywoman should the need arise.
: <font style="color:#C24640;" size="2">?</font> '''[[Solveig Martell]]''' After tragedy, betrayal, grievous bodily harm, and exile, Solveig returned to Eorzea after five cycles of leading a ragtag band of guerrillas in the mountains of Gyr Abania. Her motivations, she claimed, were not sinister in the least; she wished to see her beloved younger sister married, and to extend an olive branch that the two of them might tentatively patch up their relationship. To the latter end, she and Arcian had a long and emotionally charged conversation in the aftermath of Arcian's wedding, and Solveig disclosed quite a bit of information that her little sister would most likely rather not have known. Arcian is still uncertain as to how she feels about any of it, or about Solveig in general.
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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

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: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
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: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2015-11-25T05:22:24Z

Arcian:

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot2.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 25
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Bodyguard
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, not long enough to even touch the collar of her shirt. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|(By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Short, tousled.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive wife to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the lance. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

Arcian currently resides with the free company known as Aeon at their headquarters in the Goblet. By all appearances, she seems content, having carved out a place for herself and her wife. Of late she has been seen more often in Ishgard than the south; if questioned, representatives of House Dufresne will confirm that yes, she has been offered a position in their employ.

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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "I heard that House D'Monchette had her knighted for dealing with one of their own turned heretical. Quite the rumor, really, but too absurd to even be funny. I mean, a ''Mhigan? Really?'' Ridiculous."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I wouldn't think about messing with Goldie if I were you. She looks like she could rearrange your face faster than you could count the fingers in her fist. That said, I still consider her a fair good friend o'mine." - [[Khuja'sae Fashonti]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to spouse over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her wife. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect. In a rather magnanimous gesture, he bestowed lower, landless titles upon Arcian and Brave as a wedding gift; while uncertain as to whether or not she's comfortable with technically being minor Mhigan nobility, Arcian is still humbled by Reiner's graciousness.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Ludivine Goultard]]''' : A Duskwight woman of perpetual grace and restraint (except at drunken oil-wrestling matches, apparently), Ludivine is someone whose company Arcian is always pleased to be in. Despite the striking differences in their personalities, the two of them get along wonderfully on the occasions on which they manage to meet. Arcian values Ludi's counsel, and is grateful that her friend is oft willing to lend a sympathetic ear.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]''' : Among the various acquaintances that Arcian has made in the course of taking mercenary contracts, Hyrtwyda stands out by dint of her resourcefulness and intelligence. The arcanist possesses insight beyond her years, and Arcian considers herself fortunate to be in good standing with her. Of course, that does not render her immune to Wyda's sardonic wit.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Shinorah Nightsbane]]''' : Shinorah, while not lacking in the capacity for emotional reticence common to Mhigans, is someone whom Arcian considers herself on excellent terms with. Between their shared cultural heritage and past experiences in the Resistance, the two Highlanders have quite a bit in common. Arcian, while not quite at the point of confiding all her doubts, will staunchly stand by her friend and countrywoman should the need arise.
: <font style="color:#C24640;" size="2">?</font> '''[[Solveig Martell]]''' After tragedy, betrayal, grievous bodily harm, and exile, Solveig returned to Eorzea after five cycles of leading a ragtag band of guerrillas in the mountains of Gyr Abania. Her motivations, she claimed, were not sinister in the least; she wished to see her beloved younger sister married, and to extend an olive branch that the two of them might tentatively patch up their relationship. To the latter end, she and Arcian had a long and emotionally charged conversation in the aftermath of Arcian's wedding, and Solveig disclosed quite a bit of information that her little sister would most likely rather not have known. Arcian is still uncertain as to how she feels about any of it, or about Solveig in general.
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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

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: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2015-11-24T17:37:37Z

Arcian:

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot2.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 25
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Bodyguard
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, not long enough to even touch the collar of her shirt. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|(By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Short, tousled.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive wife to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the lance. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

Arcian currently resides with the free company known as Aeon at their headquarters in the Goblet, in modest quarters shared with [[Brave Horizon]], a small tuco-tuco, and a dog named Bernard. By all appearances, she seems content, having carved out a place for herself and her wife. Of late she has been seen more often in Ishgard than the south; if questioned, representatives of House Dufresne will confirm that yes, she has been offered a position in their employ.

<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "I heard that House D'Monchette had her knighted for dealing with one of their own turned heretical. Quite the rumor, really, but too absurd to even be funny. I mean, a ''Mhigan? Really?'' Ridiculous."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I wouldn't think about messing with Goldie if I were you. She looks like she could rearrange your face faster than you could count the fingers in her fist. That said, I still consider her a fair good friend o'mine." - [[Khuja'sae Fashonti]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to spouse over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her wife. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect. In a rather magnanimous gesture, he bestowed lower, landless titles upon Arcian and Brave as a wedding gift; while uncertain as to whether or not she's comfortable with technically being minor Mhigan nobility, Arcian is still humbled by Reiner's graciousness.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Ludivine Goultard]]''' : A Duskwight woman of perpetual grace and restraint (except at drunken oil-wrestling matches, apparently), Ludivine is someone whose company Arcian is always pleased to be in. Despite the striking differences in their personalities, the two of them get along wonderfully on the occasions on which they manage to meet. Arcian values Ludi's counsel, and is grateful that her friend is oft willing to lend a sympathetic ear.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]''' : Among the various acquaintances that Arcian has made in the course of taking mercenary contracts, Hyrtwyda stands out by dint of her resourcefulness and intelligence. The arcanist possesses insight beyond her years, and Arcian considers herself fortunate to be in good standing with her. Of course, that does not render her immune to Wyda's sardonic wit.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Shinorah Nightsbane]]''' : Shinorah, while not lacking in the capacity for emotional reticence common to Mhigans, is someone whom Arcian considers herself on excellent terms with. Between their shared cultural heritage and past experiences in the Resistance, the two Highlanders have quite a bit in common. Arcian, while not quite at the point of confiding all her doubts, will staunchly stand by her friend and countrywoman should the need arise.
: <font style="color:#C24640;" size="2">?</font> '''[[Solveig Martell]]''' After tragedy, betrayal, grievous bodily harm, and exile, Solveig returned to Eorzea after five cycles of leading a ragtag band of guerrillas in the mountains of Gyr Abania. Her motivations, she claimed, were not sinister in the least; she wished to see her beloved younger sister married, and to extend an olive branch that the two of them might tentatively patch up their relationship. To the latter end, she and Arcian had a long and emotionally charged conversation in the aftermath of Arcian's wedding, and Solveig disclosed quite a bit of information that her little sister would most likely rather not have known. Arcian is still uncertain as to how she feels about any of it, or about Solveig in general.
</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2015-11-24T17:31:00Z

Arcian:

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot2.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 25
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Bodyguard
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, not long enough to even touch the collar of her shirt. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|(By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Short, tousled.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive wife to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

</tr></table>
<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the lance. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

Arcian currently resides with the free company known as Aeon at their headquarters in the Goblet, in modest quarters shared with [[Brave Horizon]], a small tuco-tuco, and a dog named Bernard. By all appearances, she seems content, having carved out a place for herself and her wife. Of late she has been seen more often in Ishgard than the south; if questioned, representatives of House Dufresne will confirm that yes, she has been offered a position in their employ.

<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "I heard that House D'Monchette had her knighted for dealing with one of their own turned heretical. Quite the rumor, really, but too absurd to even be funny. I mean, a ''Mhigan? Really?'' Ridiculous."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I wouldn't think about messing with Goldie if I were you. She looks like she could rearrange your face faster than you could count the fingers in her fist. That said, I still consider her a fair good friend o'mine." - [[Khuja'sae Fashonti]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to spouse over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her wife. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect. In a rather magnanimous gesture, he bestowed lower, landless titles upon Arcian and Brave as a wedding gift; while uncertain as to whether or not she's comfortable with technically being minor Mhigan nobility, Arcian is still humbled by Reiner's graciousness.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Ludivine Goultard]]''' : A Duskwight woman of perpetual grace and restraint (except at drunken oil-wrestling matches, apparently), Ludivine is someone whose company Arcian is always pleased to be in. Despite the striking differences in their personalities, the two of them get along wonderfully on the occasions on which they manage to meet. Arcian values Ludi's counsel, and is grateful that her friend is oft willing to lend a sympathetic ear.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Hyrtwyda Eyhafrynwyn]]''' : Among the various acquaintances that Arcian has made in the course of taking mercenary contracts, Hyrtwyda stands out by dint of her resourcefulness and intelligence. The arcanist possesses insight beyond her years, and Arcian considers herself fortunate to be in good standing with her. Of course, that does not render her immune to Wyda's sardonic wit.
: <font style="color:#C24640;" size="2">?</font> '''[[Solveig Martell]]''' After tragedy, betrayal, grievous bodily harm, and exile, Solveig returned to Eorzea after five cycles of leading a ragtag band of guerrillas in the mountains of Gyr Abania. Her motivations, she claimed, were not sinister in the least; she wished to see her beloved younger sister married, and to extend an olive branch that the two of them might tentatively patch up their relationship. To the latter end, she and Arcian had a long and emotionally charged conversation in the aftermath of Arcian's wedding, and Solveig disclosed quite a bit of information that her little sister would most likely rather not have known. Arcian is still uncertain as to how she feels about any of it, or about Solveig in general.
</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

File:Victoria 1.png

2015-10-21T03:43:23Z

Arcian: Arcian uploaded a new version of "File:Victoria 1.png"

File:Victoria 1.png

2015-10-21T03:42:23Z

Arcian: Arcian uploaded a new version of "File:Victoria 1.png"

File:Victoria 1.png

2015-10-21T03:00:25Z

Arcian:

Arcian Martell

2015-10-09T08:23:13Z

Arcian: /* Present Day */

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot2.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 25
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Sellsword/walking blunt instrument
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, not long enough to even touch the collar of her shirt. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|(By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Short, tousled.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive partner to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

</tr></table>
====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the lance. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

Arcian currently resides with the free company known as Aeon at their headquarters in the Goblet. By all appearances, she seems content, having carved out a place for herself and her lover. Of late she has been seen more often in Ishgard than the south; if questioned, representatives of House Dufresne will confirm that yes, she has been offered a position in their employ.

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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "I heard that House D'Monchette had her knighted for dealing with one of their own turned heretical. Quite the rumor, really, but too absurd to even be funny. I mean, a ''Mhigan? Really?'' Ridiculous."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to lover over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her partner. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

<table style="position:center;">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2015-10-09T08:22:25Z

Arcian:

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot2.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 25
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Sellsword/walking blunt instrument
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, not long enough to even touch the collar of her shirt. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|(By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Short, tousled.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive partner to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the lance. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

Arcian currently resides with the free company known as Aeon at their headquarters in the Goblet. By all appearances, she seems content, having carved out a place for herself and her lover. Of late she has been seen more often in Ishgard than the south; if questioned, representatives of House Dufresne will confirm that yes, she has been offered a position in their employ.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "I heard that House D'Monchette had her knighted for dealing with one of their own turned heretic. Quite the rumor, really, but too absurd to even be funny. I mean, a ''Mhigan? Really?'' Ridiculous."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to lover over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her partner. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
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: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Reima Awen

2015-10-05T06:39:34Z

Arcian:

{{Infobox-character
| name = "Reima Awen"
| image = ReimaPortrait1.jpg
| imagewidth =
| caption = "The Spinner weaves strange tapestries."
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ishgardian
| race = Hyur
| clan = Midlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 23
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Messenger
| stat_4 = Height/Weight
| stat_4_value = 5 fulms 3 ilms/106 ponz
| stat_5 = Marital Status
| stat_5_value = [[Dartanon Nobis|Betrothed]]
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Gauvain Gilrouis (Father)

Lucienne Gilrouis (Mother)

Babayo Bayo (Adopted "Aunt")
}}

''"What good is our still having a world to live in, if we are afraid to find what it is we are living for?"''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

Originally “Gwennyth Gilrouis” before the events of the Calamity, the Ishgardian-born young woman suffers from severe dis-associative Amnesia in the wake of Dalamud's fall and so goes by what name she could “remember” to assign to herself. After spending five years living as an outcast among the people of Ul'dah and finding work as a seamstress and courier, the strangeness and intrigue of her abilities as a Hearer finally drove Reima toward Gridania, seeking out those who might offer insight into the whispers she ever hears on the wind. Since then, she has embraced her abilities as a healer and “communicator”, and seeks to do what she might to heal the wounds left on the world.

She had, however, remained an outsider to the people of Gridania as well, and while she has come to accept the state of her broken memories, there remains in her a sense of unshakable displacement, and a void in her that even the song of the Elementals can't fill. Coupled with a plague of cryptic dreams that she wants to believe are from a time before the moon fell, Reima's burning passion for knowledge and the unknown drive her to plunge eagerly into Hydaelyn's mysteries in the hopes that some day she might find an answer to her own.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====
[[File:Reima Full-Rough.jpg|thumbnail|right]]
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Slight, slender
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' 5 fulms 3 ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' 106 ponz.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skintone:''' Fair

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Dark auburn
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Style:''' Typically worn loose, or in low plaits.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Grey-hazel
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Soft, lilting

</tr></table>

Reima is slight and slender of figure, with porcelain-coloured skin that lends itself to a delicate, almost doll-like appearance. The faintest dusting of freckles mark her shoulders and nose as a remnant of years under the Ul’dahn sun, and the apples of her cheeks are eternally rosy. Thick, ruddy-brown hair is worn long and falls to her waist, occasionally tamed by low plaits for the sake of practicality, or accentuated with hairpins and other ornaments. Her eyes are large, and a greyed hazel colour reminiscent of a forest in the wake of a summer storm. They peer eagerly out at the world around her with a vibrant energy.

The girl walks with a spring in her step and at times almost seems on the verge of dancing, cutting a cheerful, upbeat presence in the face of others. When alone, she is far more subdued--bordering on melancholy, or perhaps just thoughtful. She gesticulates often, as though accustomed to speaking to those unfamiliar with our language. Even while silent, however, Reima’s hands are almost constantly fidgeting; be it toying with the hem of a sleeve out of nervous habit, or fiddling with the crystal pendant around her neck. Aware of the tic, she’s prone to keeping her fingers laced or her hands folded.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Apparel</div>====

Reima’s dress will vary dependant upon climate and function, but she prefers loose, comfortable tunics and dresses bound in place by cinchers and belts, over leggings with high, laced sandals or tall boots. She favours yellows and whites in her clothing, as well as earthen greens, or the rose and burgundies of dawn. While she seeks durability in her dressings-especially with her shoes--Reima still has a fondness for light, breathable fabrics. She enjoys elaborate embroidery or other adornments on her articles as long as they aren’t overdone, and is usually wearing some pair of dangling baubles in her ears, or metal cuffs.

No matter the clothing, what remains unchanged is the presence of a certain piece of jewelry; a sliver of clear crystal, set and suspended from a simple silver chain around her neck.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Mannerisms</div>====
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Has a tendency to lose herself in "deep thought" while in public.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Often toying with her jewelry or hems.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Occasionally appears to be speaking to herself.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

[[File:ReimaDusk2.jpg|250px|thumbnail|left]]

:By nature a bright and cheerful person, Reima is rarely seen without a smile on her face. She bears a genuine love for even the simplest aspects of the world around her, and so tries--despite whatever hardships she may have faced--to view most things with an optimistic attitude and a youthful enthusiasm. This coupled with the way in which she wears her heart quite visibly on her sleeve, lead many to believe Reima a rather naive individual. While that assessment might be true, it doesn’t stop the young woman from trying to be taken seriously.

:Behind the smiles, however, is an unspoken loneliness and solemnity. Reima is aware that despite having lived five years of her life as a refugee in Ul’dah, she’s never quite fit in as one of its people. Coming “home” to Gridania and facing treatment no different than that of any other outsider has established the Calamity as having stolen away not only the bulk of her memories, but her place in the world as well. To this day, she finds her greatest comforts alone in the presence of those things that others cannot see or hear.

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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Strengths'''</center></div>

Reima is kind-hearted, generous, and compassionate. She is given to putting others before herself and willing to bend over backwards for their benefit, and “cares far too much about everything”. She will adapt to the social comforts of others, be it on a personal or cultural level for the sake of propriety, as well as a means of empathizing. She seeks to listen to and learn about those who come into her life, be it through conversation or observation, and will always look to offer support to those in need as a willful pillar of strength.

She is both intelligent and curious by nature and willing to try new things, showing interest in what those close to her hold dear and seeking to discover exactly why that is. She holds thoughts of grand adventure and so welcomes the sporadic as an opportunity for this, rather than an inconvenience. She sees the obstacles in her path as personal challenges to overcome instead of impassable walls, and will thus give her all in rising to meet those challenges.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Weaknesses'''</center></div></span>

Because Reima is gentle and trusting to a fault, she leaves herself open to being taken advantage of by those who would exploit her kindness and naivete. In her desire to make those around her happy, Reima often finds herself forgetting her own needs and wants, becoming the proverbial doormat or running herself ragged in the process. She will prefer to bottle up any negative emotions or signs of stress so as not to “burden others”, but this only leads to depression and anxiety. She has a difficult time managing stress and will seek solitude before assistance.

She can be headstrong, especially when it comes to aiding others or in doing what she feels to be right, and is like to put herself straight in the path of danger through good intentions. Once she gets an idea in her head or finds something to cling to and fight for, it’s difficult to make her budge on the matter without protest. On the other hand, shyness and uncertainty will keep many of her thoughts internalized. Some also find Reima to be too cheerful to the point of being absurd, and assume that she’s running from reality.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Tendencies</div>===

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div></span>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Warm winds and rain, and summer thunderstorms
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Thriving gardens and the scent of sodden earth
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Heights and scenic vistas, thoughts of flight
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Music boxes, mammets, and other curiosities of cogs and springs
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> The idea of ancient artifacts, lost civilizations waiting to be uncovered, and the romanticism of adventure
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Teas, curries and other spiced cuisine, mushrooms, cakes, candies, and nuts
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Music, history, legend, folk tales and song

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Cruelty, spiteful behavior, and mean-spirited individuals
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> The dark, and most certainly being alone in the dark
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Cold temperatures and the biting winds that chill one to the bones
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Dry explanations
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being treated as a child, or having her opinions valued less for her youth

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': Curries
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Spiced black teas
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': Rootslake and Urth's Gift in the Southern Shroud
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Yellow
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Birds

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Reima appears to have been gifted with the abilities of a Hearer, and is thus able to commune with the Elementals of Hydaelyn and, to a degree, other inhabitants of the Aether. Her time spent with the Conjurer’s Guild has cultivated her skill as a healer and the capability to borrow the blessings of nature for the boons they might offer
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She is fond of growing things and gardening, having kept a small patch of herbs for medicinal uses while in Gridania
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She bears some small musical talent with pipes and harp. While she also enjoys singing and dance, she prefers to keep ''those pastimes'' a secret between herself and the Elementals
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Reima is a passable seamstress and weaver, working looms as a trade following the Calamity

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

[[File:Wild-rose-sword5.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Reima's rapier; a gift from her tutor]]
As someone who seeks to avoid conflict, Reima doesn’t have much in the way of true combat aptitude. Her studies as a Conjurer have allowed for the manipulation of elemental energies as an offense, but it isn’t something she prefers to exploit.

As a healer, she utilizes both ritualistic verbals and somatics with the aid of an unworked wand of wood. One might suggest that the woman is wind-aspected, as her primary healing and shielding "spells" appear to call on the Elementals of air for assistance.

She appears to hold some small skill with a bow, which has been put to use during her extended field studies in the Twelveswood.

Most recently, she's taken up the art of swordplay beneath Ser Draco Nobis. Finding her ill suited to the harsh regiment of his own combat methods and wanting to see her smaller size and dexterity put to use, he's made the decision to educate her in fencing. The blade Reima wields was commissioned by Draco, and bears a motif of rose and thorn.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

''Overall, under renovation.''

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Fragments of a Past</div>====

''Under renovation.''

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>::The crowded, desperate, and sorrowful streets of Ul’dah were the first of Reima’s new memories. All that happened prior to the fall of Dalamud was an unknown, save for her name. She knew that something awful had happened--everyone knew. Eorzea had been left in ruins, and the young woman found herself utterly lost and alone.

::Fortune would come in the form of a Dunesfolk Seamstress, Babayo Bayo, who took pity on the bedraggled youngling sleeping outside her shop front night after night. It was Babayo who took the girl in, washed her and clothed her, and put her to work as an apprentice weaver. Reima obliged without question, thankful for the turn of fate. The Lalafell proved to be a stern but nevertheless compassionate guardian, and Reima would spend the next five years eking out a new life amongst the people of Ul’dah.

::As time went on, flickers and fragments of Reima’s previous world would slowly begin to return. It began with quiet, whispered voices that she could barely understand. Before long, there were dreams as well; memories of green. They came as visions of sprawling forests and secret glades with their carpets of flowers. Gradually, the voices that Reima picked up on the winds began to make more sense, and the connection she once shared with the Elementals creaked open like a door with hinges that had been long rusted shut.

::Reima knew of Gridania, shrouded in the safety and sanctity of the Twelveswood, and knew too of the conjurers of Stillglade Fane. She knew that they were a folk who could speak with the unseen things of this world--that were the world--and began to wonder if they might aid in riddling out the voices and their whispers. Knowing that there was a “something” to be fulfilled in her, Reima resolved to make her way north toward the Black Shroud. Bidding farewell to Babayo and thanking the Lalafell for everything she had done, the young woman took up what few belongings she kept and, in the warm seasons of 1577, caught a caravan bound for answers.</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

::<spoiler>::For just over a year, Reima studied with the conjurers of Stillglade Fane. Returning to Gridania had sparked a surge of newly returned memory--she could heal before, she knew, and so much more that seemed familiar--but the whole of her past was still lost to the fires of the Calamity. All the same, the girl accepted the way things were, and the bond between she and the Elementals began to strengthen anew. Reima understood the whispers now--most, at least.

::Her dreams did not cease, and carried with them now a far stranger nostalgia. In those rare, disjointed visions were grand, spiraling towers that touched the skies, while now and then there was sight of a gallant, smiling figure obscured by a blinding light. While Reima tried to justify her previous dreams of green with a desire to study her connection to the Elementals in Gridania, it was these more surreal images and their dusty familiarity that perplexed her. Perhaps, had they not come so frequently, she would have forgotten them altogether. Instead, they lingered in her mind as though they’d been a part of her all along.

::Fueled by incorrigible curiosity and an adventurous spirit that grows all the more free by the day, Reima is determined to continue filling the voids left in her mind and heart. To that end, she holds on to the strange visions that still plague her and to those whispers that she cannot yet identify, developing a fascination with the uncharted lands and ancient secrets of Hydaelyn. To this day, as she seeks to do what she might for a world that’s given her a new life, she keeps the company of invisible friends close beside her and a crystal suspended over her heart; the comfort of both a guide toward whatever she might uncover.</spoiler>

<h3><span class="mw-headline"><div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;font-family:Helvetica;"><center>Relations</center></div></span></h3>

<div style="text-align: center;"><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing
</div>

{| style="width: 100%; position:center"
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<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">'''Friends'''</div><div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px">

: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''Kumomo Kopli (NPC)''' : A moogle of the Twelveswood, Kumomo has taken it upon himself to act as Reima’s constant chaperone. Having met during Reima’s field-study with the Conjurers of Stillglade Fane, the two became a curious pair of confidants who were eager to learn more of one another’s people. Bossy, egocentric, and overprotective of his “charge”, the moogle never fails to make his thoughts on a matter known to Reima while ever remaining out of sight.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Arcian Martell]]''' : Arcian was among the first--if not ''the'' first--that Reima truly opened herself to. She views the Mhigan like a sister, and takes comfort in the woman's honesty, loyalty, and the easygoing demeanor that offsets the turmoil of frenzied days. Reima, quietly, places Arcian as the unsuspecting heroine in some rollicking, romantic adventure.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : Like Arcian, Reima sees Brave as a much-loved sister. The stark differences in their personalities give Reima a glimpse into a hitherto unknown world beyond her own innocence, but what Reima sees before anything are the Roegadyn's strength, devotion, and affection for those she calls family. She admires the love between Arcian and Brave as something true.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Were you to ask her, Reima would say that it was a chance meeting with Brynhilde beneath the merciless sun of Drybone that nudged the course of her Fate in its current direction. She loves and respects the towering, gallant woman for her stalwart leadership and maternal compassion, and fosters a subconscious wish to make her proud.
: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Dartanon Nobis|Draco Nobis]]''' : The knight who appeared to--quite literally--whisk Reima away into the mad adventure her life has become, Ser Draco at once awes and infuriates her with his strict sense of duty and dazzles with his courtesies. A nostalgic familiarity found Reima drawing closer to the old weapons master, seeking to provide a pillar on which he might lean with his burdens and, unwittingly, offering up her own. Her teacher and confidante, Reima seeks comfort in his shadows.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : ''Under construction.''
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : ''Under construction.''
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Jayson Cross]]''' : ''Under construction.''
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : ''Under construction.''
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Kail Gerrad]]''' : ''Under construction.''
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Kyraeth Vale]]''' : ''Under construction.''
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Leon Greymoon]]''' : ''Under construction.''
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[X'Septha Dhen]]''' : ''Under construction.''

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<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><span class="mw-headline">'''Family'''</span></div>

: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''Babayo Bayo (NPC)''' : A sharp-tongued Dunesfolk seamstress and weaver who has served as Reima’s surrogate guardian since shortly after the Calamity. While she puts on a cantankerous front, Babayo’s warm-hearted sympathy leaks through for those she cares about, though that doesn’t prevent the woman from holding those people to high professional standards. She’s dearly fond of teas, and Reima still makes a point to meet her “Aunt” for a cup at home no matter the circumstances.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''Gauvain Gilrouis''' : A bowman and ranger who was in service to the Holy See and stationed in Ishgard proper, later swearing fealty to House D'Monchette. Outside of his duties in defending the skies above the city walls, he was one of those men responsible for maintaining communications between Ishgard and outlying fortresses due to his skillful handling of the messenger falcons. By appearances, he was tall and lean, marked by the dark curls of his hair and a slightly crooked, hawk-like nose. He was beloved by his daughter and once sought to nurture her skill in archery after their relocation to the Shroud. He is presumed dead in the wake of the Calamity.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''Lucienne Gilrouis''' : ''Under construction.''

<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><span class="mw-headline">'''Acquaintances'''</span></div>

: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Devereau Beauregard]]''' : ''Under construction.''
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : ''Under construction.''
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Sophia Grave]]''' : ''Under construction.''
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Teetering Owl]]''' : ''Under construction.''
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Trisselle Ganathain]]''' : ''Under construction.''

<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><span class="mw-headline">'''Ways Parted'''</span></div>

: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Bertrand Irons]]''' : Betrand--the gruff physician--quickly became a steadfast fixture in Reima's world. While their lives often see each one passing by the other, Bert has a knack for making a paternal appearance when Reima finds herself subconsciously needing it most; be it through late-night meals or a shoulder on which to let free her secret tears.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Striding Oak]]''' : ''Under construction.''

<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><span class="mw-headline">'''Enemies & Rivals'''</span></div>

: <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> '''Louis D'Monchette (NPC)''' : ''Under construction.''

|}

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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">

<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Some of these rumors are untrue or are greatly exaggerated. Please feel free to add your own rumors under PC!''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "There's something not quite right with that one. Always talkin' to things that ain’t there." ''- Ul'dahn Market-Goer''
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Reima? Ah, she was a good courier when we didn't have the means for another. Borrowed her from Babayo Bayo. Pretty sure she just wanted an excuse to spend more time in the markets, eh? She got this glimmer in her eye like she was digging for buried treasure in the stalls. Still does, when she passes on through." ''- Ul'dahn Merchant''
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Chatty lass, that one, once you get 'er going. Likes 'er stories. Likes to talk pretty, like she's stuck in one." ''- Wood Wailer''
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes and goes a lot. 'Blows in on the wind', some might say. I think she's gone back to Ul'dah, now? Or headed north for Ishgard?" ''- Conjurers' Guild Acolyte''

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "I heard she can talk to trees. Moogles, too!" ''- Gridanian Child''
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Fairly sure that she was some noble's girl before the Calamity. You can hear it in the way she talks, from time to time. And she's got that ''bearing'' when she doesn't realize it. Sad, of course, but she won't have been the first to be brought low." ''- Ul'dahn Socialite''
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "That girl has been digging into ''something'', for certain. Asked me if I hadn't spoken with one of those academic lot lately. Keeps buying these old books no matter how torn apart they are. Junk." ''- Ul'dahn Peddler''
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "I see her with one of the Temple Knights rather frequently. A Duskwight, no less, and keeping close company. Now ''there's'' a curiosity for you." ''- Ishgardian Laywoman''

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "She looks quite a bit like Lucienne... She was a good woman that, but...very frail. When she'd mentioned her mother, I thought it might be the Gilrouis girl, but Gauvain and Lucienne haven't been back to Ishgard since cycles before the Calamity." ''- Stephannot Arbeau, Ishgardian Pharmacist''
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font>

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the character's of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Darling Reima. She possesses beauty and courage a-plenty, and a heart of gold to match. She is as a daughter any mother would be proud of." - [[Brynhilde Wulf]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Lady Reima is a kind hearted, charming young woman. To others she may seem like a wall flower, dainty, and otherwise clumsy...But I know she has potential." - [[Dartanon Nobis]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Lady Reima is probably the most positive person I have met. She is always looking at the upside, and is admirably able to pick up just about anyone's spirit." -[[Leon Greymoon]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has a real lovely way with words. I hope one day she does something with her creativity -- she'd put most bards to shame." - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Gem among coals that girl, can get more done with a smile than I can get done with a blade." - [[Kail Gerrad]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh she's precious, really! Her positiveness is refreshing and there's no one other person I would love to talk about ruins and lost artifacts throughout the night than her. She makes sleeping parties fun." - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She is kinder than most I have met during my travels. I foresee great things from her in the future." - [[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "♪Lady Reima of Green, so it would seem, is a light and fine maiden before thee. But with just an ire stare, best you beware, even a dragon would flee.♪" - [[Khuja'sae Fashonti]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh my, yes, she's a definite sweetroll. But the very wise know better than to underestimate their pastries." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Wonderful girl, Reima. One of the kindest people I've ever met. Treat her well in turn, and you've a true friend. Treat her badly, and I'll see that you regret it." - [[Arcian Martell]]
</div></td>

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Reima if…

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: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...you've done business with the seamstress Babayo Bayo in Ul’dah since the Calamity (Year 1572 ET). Reima would make deliveries and perform some mending work.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...you’ve spotted her while shopping along one of the Exchange Avenues, in Ul’dah. She could often be found browsing the stalls and speaking in a friendly manner with merchants, and so may appear to be familiar.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...you've heard word of the girl's search for scholar and historian from one of those merchants, or of her penchant to poke into the unknown, from the same.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...you’ve frequented the Stillglade Fane in Gridania at any point since the launch of FFXIV ARR (Year 1577 ET).

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
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: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I thoroughly enjoy random roleplaying, and I welcome walk-ups! Please send me a "/tell" if you think I might be OOC, as I am still trying to absorb the game's main story content.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> You can reach me at the [http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/index.php RPC] through a private message to "Reima".
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> Feel free to contact me through my [http://conjurer-reima.tumblr.com/ FFXIV Character Tumblr], as well!

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: '''Theme Song''': [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8FUPDxc3sA Key to My Heart (Piano)]

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]].

Arcian Martell

2015-10-04T01:44:28Z

Arcian:

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot2.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 25
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Sellsword/walking blunt instrument
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, not long enough to even touch the collar of her shirt. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|(By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Short, tousled.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive partner to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the lance. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

Arcian currently resides with the free company known as Aeon at their headquarters in the Goblet. By all appearances, she seems content, having carved out a place for herself and her lover. Of late she has been seen more often in Ishgard than the south; if questioned, representatives of House Dufresne will confirm that yes, she has been offered a position in their employ.

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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to lover over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her partner. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2015-10-04T01:41:41Z

Arcian:

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot2.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 25
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Sellsword/walking blunt instrument
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, not long enough to even touch the collar of her shirt. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|Arcian as of roughly six moons ago. (By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Short, tousled.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive partner to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

</tr></table>
<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

</tr></table>
====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the lance. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

Arcian currently resides with the free company known as Aeon at their headquarters in the Goblet. By all appearances, she seems content, having carved out a place for herself and her lover. Of late she has been seen more often in Ishgard than the south; if questioned, representatives of House Dufresne will confirm that yes, she has been offered a position in their employ.

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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to lover over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her partner. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2015-10-03T05:17:55Z

Arcian:

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot5.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 25
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Sellsword/walking blunt instrument
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, though of late she at least takes the time to tie it back. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|Arcian as of roughly six moons ago. (By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Frequently tied back in a ponytail or, more rarely, hanging loose around her shoulders.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive partner to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

</tr></table>
====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the lance. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

Arcian currently resides with the free company known as Aeon at their headquarters in the Goblet. By all appearances, she seems content, having carved out a place for herself and her lover. Of late she has been seen more often in Ishgard than the south; if questioned, representatives of House Dufresne will confirm that yes, she has been offered a position in their employ.

<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to lover over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her partner. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2015-10-03T04:48:12Z

Arcian:

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot5.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 25
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Sellsword/walking blunt instrument
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, though of late she at least takes the time to tie it back. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|Arcian as of roughly six moons ago. (By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Frequently tied back in a ponytail or, more rarely, hanging loose around her shoulders.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive partner to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

</tr></table>
<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

</tr></table>
====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the lance. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

Arcian currently resides with the free company known as Aeon at their headquarters in the Goblet. By all appearances, she seems content, having carved out a place for herself and her lover. Of late she has been seen more often in Ishgard than the south; if questioned, representatives of House Dufresne will confirm that yes, she has been offered a position in their employ.

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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Who th' hells told ye to ask about her? Little birdie flutter down on yer shoulder and go, "Gee, lassie, sure'd be nice if'n ye went and asked ol' Zwynskaet about his Mhigan friend!" 'Cause if'n I see yon little birdie, I'll shoot it out the soddin' sky for fillin' yer head wi' that shite. Don't fuckin' ask, y'hear me? None a' yer business. Now go on, piss off."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to lover over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her partner. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2015-10-03T04:30:14Z

Arcian: /* Present Day */

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot5.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 25
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Sellsword/walking blunt instrument
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

(Still under construction. It's a process, folks.)

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, though of late she at least takes the time to tie it back. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|Arcian as of roughly six moons ago. (By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Frequently tied back in a ponytail or, more rarely, hanging loose around her shoulders.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive partner to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the lance. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

Arcian currently resides with the free company known as Aeon at their headquarters in the Goblet. By all appearances, she seems content, having carved out a place for herself and her lover. Of late she has been seen more often in Ishgard than the south; if questioned, representatives of House Dufresne will confirm that yes, she has been offered a position in their employ.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Who th' hells told ye to ask about her? Little birdie flutter down on yer shoulder and go, "Gee, lassie, sure'd be nice if'n ye went and asked ol' Zwynskaet about his Mhigan friend!" 'Cause if'n I see yon little birdie, I'll shoot it out the soddin' sky for fillin' yer head wi' that shite. Don't fuckin' ask, y'hear me? None a' yer business. Now go on, piss off."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to lover over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her partner. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

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: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2015-10-03T04:28:12Z

Arcian: /* Present Day */

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot5.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 25
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Sellsword/walking blunt instrument
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

(Still under construction. It's a process, folks.)

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, though of late she at least takes the time to tie it back. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|Arcian as of roughly six moons ago. (By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Frequently tied back in a ponytail or, more rarely, hanging loose around her shoulders.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive partner to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the lance. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

Arcian currently resides with the free company known as Aeon at their headquarters in the Goblet. By all appearances, she seems content, having carved out a place for herself and her lover. Of late she has been seen more often in Ishgard than the south; if questioned, representatives of House Dufresne will confirm that yes, she has been offered a position in their employ.

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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Who th' hells told ye to ask about her? Little birdie flutter down on yer shoulder and go, "Gee, lassie, sure'd be nice if'n ye went and asked ol' Zwynskaet about his Mhigan friend!" 'Cause if'n I see yon little birdie, I'll shoot it out the soddin' sky for fillin' yer head wi' that shite. Don't fuckin' ask, y'hear me? None a' yer business. Now go on, piss off."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to lover over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her partner. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2015-10-03T04:24:27Z

Arcian: /* Before the Calamity */

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot5.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 25
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Sellsword/walking blunt instrument
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

(Still under construction. It's a process, folks.)

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, though of late she at least takes the time to tie it back. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|Arcian as of roughly six moons ago. (By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Frequently tied back in a ponytail or, more rarely, hanging loose around her shoulders.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive partner to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

</tr></table>
<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

</tr></table>
====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the lance. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, bearing the blooded name of Spinebreaker and pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

::<spoiler>::</spoiler>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Who th' hells told ye to ask about her? Little birdie flutter down on yer shoulder and go, "Gee, lassie, sure'd be nice if'n ye went and asked ol' Zwynskaet about his Mhigan friend!" 'Cause if'n I see yon little birdie, I'll shoot it out the soddin' sky for fillin' yer head wi' that shite. Don't fuckin' ask, y'hear me? None a' yer business. Now go on, piss off."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to lover over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her partner. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2015-10-03T04:23:42Z

Arcian: /* After the Calamity */

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot5.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 25
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Sellsword/walking blunt instrument
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

(Still under construction. It's a process, folks.)

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, though of late she at least takes the time to tie it back. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|Arcian as of roughly six moons ago. (By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Frequently tied back in a ponytail or, more rarely, hanging loose around her shoulders.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive partner to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

</tr></table>
<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the lance. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>
The fall of Dalamud heralded a downward spiral in the Martells' fortunes. With security tightening in the wake of the the VIIth Legion's defeat on the fields of Carteneau, things became markedly grim for the Resistance. Arrests and executions came in clusters as one operative after the next cracked under torture and gave up their cells.

Desperate, Sieglinde ordered an interrogation of her own, and her daughters snatched a sentry off the street not six bells later. His name was Justinian quo Vaelen, the young son of a prominent centurion, and his capture and death that night in 1574 set off a chain of events that ended with Sieglinde's execution by firing squad, Solveig's exile and brutal, rage-fueled beating at Arcian's hands, and Arcian herself returning to Vylbrand, disillusioned and sick with grief.

In the wake of her departure from the Resistance, Arcian struggled with her explosive anger and the psychological scarring she'd acquired from essentially fighting a guerrilla war for three cycles. She drank and fought her way through a cycle and a half before the fire in her guttered out; the nightmares and hair-trigger temper remained, however.

Lying awake tangled in the sheets one sleepless night, she came to the weary realization that this was not the person she wanted to be.

The vicious creature she was had no place in the life she wanted for herself. Arcian drew the shreds of her resolve around herself and grimly began to mold herself into someone different. She abandoned her blooded name and her Resistance connections, instead focusing on controlling her fury and smoothing her innate aggressiveness over with layers of forced affability. It was a long and arduous process, filled with slips and setbacks and bursts of frustration.

But eventually, after three cycles of intense effort and much support from her remaining family, the persona she forged for herself began to feel real.

In the spring of 1579, armed with determination and a few hundred gil, she set out for Thanalan as a way to start anew.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

::<spoiler>::</spoiler>

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Who th' hells told ye to ask about her? Little birdie flutter down on yer shoulder and go, "Gee, lassie, sure'd be nice if'n ye went and asked ol' Zwynskaet about his Mhigan friend!" 'Cause if'n I see yon little birdie, I'll shoot it out the soddin' sky for fillin' yer head wi' that shite. Don't fuckin' ask, y'hear me? None a' yer business. Now go on, piss off."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to lover over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her partner. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

<table style="position:center;">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2015-10-03T03:36:40Z

Arcian: /* Before the Calamity */

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot5.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 25
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Sellsword/walking blunt instrument
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

(Still under construction. It's a process, folks.)

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, though of late she at least takes the time to tie it back. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|Arcian as of roughly six moons ago. (By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
<table style="position:center;">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Frequently tied back in a ponytail or, more rarely, hanging loose around her shoulders.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive partner to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

</tr></table>
====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the lance. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig grew to be an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

::<spoiler>::</spoiler>

<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Who th' hells told ye to ask about her? Little birdie flutter down on yer shoulder and go, "Gee, lassie, sure'd be nice if'n ye went and asked ol' Zwynskaet about his Mhigan friend!" 'Cause if'n I see yon little birdie, I'll shoot it out the soddin' sky for fillin' yer head wi' that shite. Don't fuckin' ask, y'hear me? None a' yer business. Now go on, piss off."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to lover over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her partner. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2015-10-03T03:36:12Z

Arcian: /* Before the Calamity */

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot5.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 25
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Sellsword/walking blunt instrument
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

(Still under construction. It's a process, folks.)

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, though of late she at least takes the time to tie it back. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|Arcian as of roughly six moons ago. (By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Frequently tied back in a ponytail or, more rarely, hanging loose around her shoulders.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive partner to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

</tr></table>
<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

</tr></table>
====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the lance. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

In their first cycle, the three proved quite successful. Solveig proved an able spy and interrogator. Sieglinde, named Redhands for her calculated and shocking brutality, rose to prominence as an infamous figure in the Resistance's ranks. Arcian, pointed where her mother and sister needed a battering ram, sabotaged and maimed and killed for her homeland, and became all the more aggressive for it.

It was not to last.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

::<spoiler>::</spoiler>

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Who th' hells told ye to ask about her? Little birdie flutter down on yer shoulder and go, "Gee, lassie, sure'd be nice if'n ye went and asked ol' Zwynskaet about his Mhigan friend!" 'Cause if'n I see yon little birdie, I'll shoot it out the soddin' sky for fillin' yer head wi' that shite. Don't fuckin' ask, y'hear me? None a' yer business. Now go on, piss off."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to lover over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her partner. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2015-10-03T03:25:37Z

Arcian: /* Before the Calamity */

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot5.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 25
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Sellsword/walking blunt instrument
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

(Still under construction. It's a process, folks.)

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, though of late she at least takes the time to tie it back. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|Arcian as of roughly six moons ago. (By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
<table style="position:center;">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Frequently tied back in a ponytail or, more rarely, hanging loose around her shoulders.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive partner to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

</tr></table>
<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

</tr></table>
====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
<table style="position:center;">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurity about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the lance. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

::<spoiler>::</spoiler>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Who th' hells told ye to ask about her? Little birdie flutter down on yer shoulder and go, "Gee, lassie, sure'd be nice if'n ye went and asked ol' Zwynskaet about his Mhigan friend!" 'Cause if'n I see yon little birdie, I'll shoot it out the soddin' sky for fillin' yer head wi' that shite. Don't fuckin' ask, y'hear me? None a' yer business. Now go on, piss off."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to lover over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her partner. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2015-10-03T03:22:03Z

Arcian: /* Biography */

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot5.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 25
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Sellsword/walking blunt instrument
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

(Still under construction. It's a process, folks.)

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, though of late she at least takes the time to tie it back. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|Arcian as of roughly six moons ago. (By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Frequently tied back in a ponytail or, more rarely, hanging loose around her shoulders.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive partner to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

[The following is more than likely not known on an IC basis; if you want to do something with it, feel free to raise the subject with me and we'll discuss.]

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====
::<spoiler>
The youngest daughter of Sieglinde Bergfalk, a disgraced ex-Fist of Rhalgr, and Egilhard Martell, a florist, Arcian was born in Ala Mhigo during the early days of King Theodorac's purges in the winter of 1553. Her family escaped the executioner's axe by dint of their low social status. Sieglinde had been expelled from her order some ten cycles previously for killing a brother monk during a heated quarrel, and was thus somewhat of a pariah. Arcian and her sisters bore the stigma of their mother's dishonor, as did their father; his business suffered for it, and many were the times the Martell girls had to come to one another's defense in the face of jeers or cruelty from other children.

That changed with the fall of Ala Mhigo and Garlemald's occupation of its newest vassal. In the face of crushing subjugation and increasing brutality on the part of the invaders, Egilhard and Sieglinde elected to flee, taking their daughters with them. What small wealth they had managed to accumulate went into smuggling their family over the border to Gridania, where ten-year-old Solveig and six-year old Arcian ended up sprinting through the Shroud in terrified flight from an angry morbol before its swift and brutal extermination at Sieglinde's hands. After camping miserably in the woods for some sennights, the Martells eventually gave up and relocated to La Noscea.

The incident with the morbol sparked Arcian's interest in martial arts. She begged and pleaded for suns, and eventually her mother relented and agreed to instruct her in the fine art in beating the everloving shite out of things. Arcian took to her lessons with the sort of genuine enthusiasm that only grows stronger with the cycles. She grew tall, strong, and intimidating; unfortunately, her strength lent itself to rashness and aggression. Coupled with her budding insecurities about her looks and her fierce pride in a heritage looked down on by most, Arcian developed a tendency to pick fights and meet contempt with anger.

Irritated by her youngest daughter's hotheadedness, Sieglinde intensified her efforts to instill some sort of discipline in Arcian, whether martial or not. This was not only out of parental exasperation; Sieglinde's homeland still called to her, and she yearned to join the Resistance. If she could forge at least one of her offspring into someone who could accompany her and also be an asset to their motherland, why, all the better.

This did not go unnoticed. Solveig, though generally unremarkable in all but intellect, was perceptive enough to piece together her mother's motivations. Instead of confronting Sieglinde, she silently applied herself to training with knives and the lance. Arcian, for her part, ended up drifting towards the boxing ring; knowing that her youngest offspring hungered for her praise and approval, Sieglinde had expressed an interest in seeing Arcian vent her aggression in a constructive manner.

So it was that Arcian began punching people in the face for coin. Her size and strength served her well, and she attained some moderate success in the ring before her mother deemed her worthy of being an attack dog for the Resistance. In the summer of Arcian's eighteenth year, she and her mother set off for Ala Mhigo, with Solveig watchfully alongside.

::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

::<spoiler>::</spoiler>

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Who th' hells told ye to ask about her? Little birdie flutter down on yer shoulder and go, "Gee, lassie, sure'd be nice if'n ye went and asked ol' Zwynskaet about his Mhigan friend!" 'Cause if'n I see yon little birdie, I'll shoot it out the soddin' sky for fillin' yer head wi' that shite. Don't fuckin' ask, y'hear me? None a' yer business. Now go on, piss off."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to lover over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her partner. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

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: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2015-10-02T23:39:30Z

Arcian:

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot5.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 25
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Sellsword/walking blunt instrument
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

(Still under construction. It's a process, folks.)

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, though of late she at least takes the time to tie it back. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|Arcian as of roughly six moons ago. (By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
<table style="position:center;">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Frequently tied back in a ponytail or, more rarely, hanging loose around her shoulders.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive partner to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

</tr></table>
<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

In battle, Arcian prefers to strike swiftly, savagely, and with overwhelming force. Her objective is not a mercifully quick end to combat, but to brutally put her opponent down in such a way that they are incapable of retaliating. In her mind there is no reason to pull punches if she's being threatened. She prefers to wield baghnakhs instead of the more common spiked knuckles or cesti; they allow her to rend and tear as well as punch. While her choice of weaponry does not play to her raw physical strength as much as a battleaxe or zweihander would, it permits her to be surprisingly quick. Many of her opponents have found themselves beaten, bloodied, and reeling after expecting naught but clumsy power from someone so large.

As she does not tend to wear heavy armor, her defense is based on evasion and mobility. Rather than blocking or taking a hit, she'll twist or duck away, then lunge in to strike again. Arcian prioritizes a relentless assault over cautious, measured combat. Her tendency towards unceasing aggression proves both an asset and a detriment. While it keeps her opponent under pressure, her ability to fight defensively suffers for it.

She is not a full Fist of Rhalgr, nor would she even dream of titling herself as such. She has, however, devoted significant time and attention to opening her chakras. This effort is one that she has struggled with in the past; she continues to have difficulty with it, even after hesitantly coming into contact with a group of monks seeking to rebuild the old order.

Arcian has only opened one chakra. Combined with her skill and experience, this is still enough for her to be a threat. Her already formidable strength and speed can rise higher still if it is drawn upon; between that capability and her fists occasionally wreathing themselves in flame during battle, she is more than capable of shredding an overconfident adversary.

In addition, she also has some skill with knives, though she is by far more adept with her fists and claws.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

::<spoiler>::</spoiler>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Who th' hells told ye to ask about her? Little birdie flutter down on yer shoulder and go, "Gee, lassie, sure'd be nice if'n ye went and asked ol' Zwynskaet about his Mhigan friend!" 'Cause if'n I see yon little birdie, I'll shoot it out the soddin' sky for fillin' yer head wi' that shite. Don't fuckin' ask, y'hear me? None a' yer business. Now go on, piss off."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to lover over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her partner. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2015-10-02T22:53:00Z

Arcian: /* Flaws */

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot5.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 25
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Sellsword/walking blunt instrument
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

(Still under construction. It's a process, folks.)

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, though of late she at least takes the time to tie it back. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|Arcian as of roughly six moons ago. (By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Frequently tied back in a ponytail or, more rarely, hanging loose around her shoulders.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive partner to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to come across as honorable, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

</tr></table>
<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

::<spoiler>::</spoiler>

<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Who th' hells told ye to ask about her? Little birdie flutter down on yer shoulder and go, "Gee, lassie, sure'd be nice if'n ye went and asked ol' Zwynskaet about his Mhigan friend!" 'Cause if'n I see yon little birdie, I'll shoot it out the soddin' sky for fillin' yer head wi' that shite. Don't fuckin' ask, y'hear me? None a' yer business. Now go on, piss off."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to lover over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her partner. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2015-10-02T21:34:41Z

Arcian:

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot5.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 25
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Sellsword/walking blunt instrument
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

(Still under construction. It's a process, folks.)

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, though of late she at least takes the time to tie it back. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|Arcian as of roughly six moons ago. (By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Frequently tied back in a ponytail or, more rarely, hanging loose around her shoulders.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive partner to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to cling to some semblance of honorable conduct, in her eyes the end tends to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

::<spoiler>::</spoiler>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Who th' hells told ye to ask about her? Little birdie flutter down on yer shoulder and go, "Gee, lassie, sure'd be nice if'n ye went and asked ol' Zwynskaet about his Mhigan friend!" 'Cause if'n I see yon little birdie, I'll shoot it out the soddin' sky for fillin' yer head wi' that shite. Don't fuckin' ask, y'hear me? None a' yer business. Now go on, piss off."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to lover over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her partner. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

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: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
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: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2015-10-02T21:24:55Z

Arcian:

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot5.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 25
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Sellsword/walking blunt instrument
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

(Still under construction. It's a process, folks.)

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, though of late she at least takes the time to tie it back. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|Arcian as of roughly six moons ago. (By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Frequently tied back in a ponytail or, more rarely, hanging loose around her shoulders.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive partner to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. At heart, she is deeply pragmatic; the world is not a storybook, and sometimes one must do wrong for the right reasons. Try as she might to cling to some semblance of honorable conduct, in her eyes the end tend to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

</tr></table>
<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
<table style="position:center;">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

::<spoiler>::</spoiler>

<table style="position:center;" width="100%">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Who th' hells told ye to ask about her? Little birdie flutter down on yer shoulder and go, "Gee, lassie, sure'd be nice if'n ye went and asked ol' Zwynskaet about his Mhigan friend!" 'Cause if'n I see yon little birdie, I'll shoot it out the soddin' sky for fillin' yer head wi' that shite. Don't fuckin' ask, y'hear me? None a' yer business. Now go on, piss off."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to lover over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her partner. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

</tr></table>
===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2015-10-02T21:23:13Z

Arcian: /* Flaws */

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot5.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 25
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Sellsword/walking blunt instrument
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

(Still under construction. It's a process, folks.)

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, though of late she at least takes the time to tie it back. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|Arcian as of roughly six moons ago. (By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
<table style="position:center;">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Frequently tied back in a ponytail or, more rarely, hanging loose around her shoulders.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive partner to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

Arcian is not above doing grim or distasteful things to protect the ones she loves. She has attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and, on at least one occasion, beat someone nearly to death with her bare hands in the name of defending those dear to her. Try as she might to cling to some semblance of honorable conduct, in her eyes the end tend to justify the means.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

::<spoiler>::</spoiler>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Who th' hells told ye to ask about her? Little birdie flutter down on yer shoulder and go, "Gee, lassie, sure'd be nice if'n ye went and asked ol' Zwynskaet about his Mhigan friend!" 'Cause if'n I see yon little birdie, I'll shoot it out the soddin' sky for fillin' yer head wi' that shite. Don't fuckin' ask, y'hear me? None a' yer business. Now go on, piss off."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
</div></td>

<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to lover over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her partner. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

<table style="position:center;">
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
<table style="position:center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2015-10-02T01:47:06Z

Arcian: /* Tendencies */

{{Infobox-character
| name = Arcian Martell
| image = Shot5.png
| imagewidth =
| gender = Female
| citizenship = Ala Mhigan, technically speaking.
| race = Hyur
| clan = Highlander
| stat_1 = Age
| stat_1_value = 25
| stat_2 =
| stat_2_value =
| stat_3 = Occupation
| stat_3_value = Sellsword/walking blunt instrument
| stat_5 = Orientation
| stat_5_value = Homosexual
| stat_6 = Relatives
| stat_6_value = Egilhard Martell (Father)

Sieglinde "Redhands" Martell (Mother, deceased)

Ragnhild Richter (Sister)

Gerlach Richter (Brother-in-law)

Eydis Richter (Niece)

Lothar Richter (Nephew)

Asta Martell (Sister)

Solveig Martell (Sister, estranged)
}}

(Still under construction. It's a process, folks.)

''"What, you want something witty? From me? Think you're asking the wrong person."''

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Basic Info</div>===

A friendly oaf, and nothing more - at least, at first glance. On the surface, Arcian seems to be naught but a fairly good-natured Highlander of no real note. This, however, is not entirely accurate; she has brains to go with her brawn, though she takes pains not to reveal the extent of her perceptiveness and competence. The finesse and savagery she learned during her time in the Ala Mhigan Resistance still remains, though cloaked by good humor and carefully contained.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Appearance</div>===

Arcian cuts an imposing figure even among her fellow Highlanders. She easily passes the six-fulm mark and towers over most other Hyur women. Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, she looks as though she'd be best suited to delivering beatings to unruly drunks, or perhaps breaking kneecaps for a moneylender. Hers is a strong-featured face, with a chiseled jawline, generous lips, and a nose that seems to have been broken at least once. Shaggy blonde hair frames her face, though of late she at least takes the time to tie it back. With her somewhat masculine build, relatively flat chest, and apparent lack of curves, she is rather androgynous in appearance, and has been mistaken for a man far more often than she cares to admit.

Her eyes are a fierce blue, like glacier ice.

For the most part, Arcian eschews armor, barring light leathers. Her preferences run to loose shirts and trousers, favoring mobility over protection. Though seemingly not overly concerned with appearances, she does make one concession to vanity; her earlobes are pierced with a pair of worn, unremarkable silver rings.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;"> Physical Appearance</div>====

[[File: RC headshot.jpg|thumbnail|right|Arcian as of roughly six moons ago. (By [[Rei'li Niraj]].)]]
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<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Build:''' Athletic, with strongly defined musculature.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Height:''' Six fulms, four ilms.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Weight:''' Roughly two hundred ponze.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Skin tone:''' Reasonably fair for a Highlander.

<td style="vertical-align: top;font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;">

: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hair Color:''' Golden blonde.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Hairstyle:''' Frequently tied back in a ponytail or, more rarely, hanging loose around her shoulders.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Eye Color:''' Blue.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> '''Voice:''' Contralto, occasionally sliding down into outright gruffness.

</tr></table>

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Personality</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Strengths</div>====

The persona that Arcian does her best to project is not a wholly false one; she is entirely personable
when treated with civility. Most often, she is a genuinely affable person, barring insult or provocation. Arcian is more likely to invite a stranger for a pint than to turn a cold shoulder, even if she subtly watches them like a hawk. Her loyalty, too, is neither feigned nor exaggerated. To those who have won her esteem and affection, she is a true and devoted friend, considerate of their welfare and valiant in their defense. There is a noble sort of earnestness to her staunch allegiance; those close to Arcian have a faithful ally unless they break her trust.

Despite her oafish facade, she is fairly bright, and is capable of grasping reasonably complex concepts despite her rough and incomplete education.

Defeat does not send her spiraling downwards, nor does she brood over her failures unless they are truly crushing. Failure, Arcian believes, is how one learns to be better, and so it is that she shrugs it off more often than not. This is not to say that she waves off matters of consequence; while she is more than capable of recognizing the seriousness of a given situation, she harbors a capacity for great and stubborn determination and will strive for victory until she attains it.

====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Flaws</div>====

Under her carefully maintained veneer of goodwill, Arcian is not terribly trusting. Past experiences have conditioned her not to open her heart to all and sundry. While she does genuinely love the people she's close to, she's guarded despite her apparent good nature, and generally will not render herself emotionally vulnerable barring exceptional circumstances, a close bond, or both.

Her insecurities run deep, especially about her appearance; she thinks of herself as brutish and grotesque, wholly undesirable, and a joke. The world has not been kind to her in matters of the heart, and she still expects any attempt at intimacy to be thrown back in her face in a gale of scornful laughter. Consequently, she is not one given to flirtation or lasciviousness, or public displays of affection beyond the minor and innocuous. Her inclinations, too, have caused her grief. She views her preference for the company of women as something abnormal, though she does not enjoy the thought of attempting to change it, and it is with some lingering guilt over her orientation that she strives to be a loving, supportive partner to Brave.

In truth, she is not so easygoing as she strives to appear. Lurking beneath her initial friendliness is a volcanic and disturbingly violent temper. While it is no longer as easy to provoke as it once was, the potential for explosive, destructive rage still lies within her, and she devotes considerable time and effort to controlling it so as not to appear a threat. It has reared its head in recent sennights, despite her best efforts.

She's also a bit of a bigot when it comes to those with Garlean blood. To her, such folk are all alike: invaders and sadists all, at least until strongly proven otherwise.

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Mannerisms</div>===
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Arcian tends to respond with her eyebrows as well as verbally; they lift, knit, furrow, and occasionally make a bid for her hairline as the situation demands.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She has an easy smile, though most often it manifests as an outright grin.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> When deeply distressed or angered, she'll lean towards swearing in Mhigan rather than Common.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Alcohol brings out her long-suppressed accent; when she's spent significant and involved time in the company of a bottle, her W's harden into V's and anything with a CH in it tends to migrate to the back of her throat.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px;background: #ECCA67;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Likes'''</center></div>
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> People with a good sense of humor.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Gardening.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Water and the sea.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> A pint or three every so often.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Good bards, harpists in particular.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Riding, though she's only passable in the saddle.
: <font style="color:#ECCA67;" size="3">■</font> Griffins. They're powerful. They're majestic. Their chicks are crushingly adorable. Indeed, she has a weakness.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #DFD59E;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Dislikes'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Garleans and Garlean sympathizers.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Slights to her homeland or bloodline.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Morbols.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Arrogance and the condescension towards her it begets.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Oathbreakers and traitors.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Any attempt to present seaweed as actual food.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Being given orders by anyone she sees as irredeemably incompetent.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Sand.
: <font style="color:#DFD59E;" size="3">■</font> Firearms.

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<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #CACFA5;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>'''Favorites'''</center></div></span>

: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Food'': If it was formerly part of an animal, Arcian will likely devour it with gusto.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Drink'': Ale. Or mead. Or whiskey. Or wine...
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Place'': The floating city of Nym. [[Graeham Ridgefield]] guided Arcian and [[Reima Awen]] through La Noscea to its shattered, overgrown ruins on the day they first met, and since then, it's become her preferred place to retreat and think.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Color'': Sky blue.
: <font style="color:#CACFA5;" size="3">■</font> ''Favourite Animal'': Anything furry and willing to be played with. More specifically, Philippe, a lesser panda belonging to an Ishgardian friend. Arcian frequently ends up looking after the beast when his owner is otherwise occupied.

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====<div style="padding:0px 15px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:1px dotted;">Hobbies and Talents</div>====
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: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> Aside from her aptitude at more serious combat, Arcian retains her skills at boxing for sport. She's capable of playing to a crowd, and either drawing out a bout or striking swiftly for a quick victory. In another life, were she more adept at conventional arms, she might have made a capable gladiator in the arena.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> While she is quick to deny that she qualifies as an artisan, she does have some skill as a jeweler and metalworker, born out of long hours fumbling for something to occupy herself after her departure from the Resistance. Her work, while not legendary, is tasteful and surprisingly well-crafted.
: <font style="color:#F77A83;" size="3">■</font> She also has a knack for floral arrangements, thanks to picking up bits of her father's trade when young.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Combat</div>===

===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Biography</div>===

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Before the Calamity</div>====

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">After the Calamity</div>====

::<spoiler>::</spoiler>

====<div style="padding:0px 30px; font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Present Day</div>====

::<spoiler>::</spoiler>

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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Rumors''</center></div></span></h3>
''Anyone whom Arcian has interacted with may feel free to add a rumor under PC rumors if they are so inclined.''
<div style="border:0px solid; padding:8px;"><b>
<div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #90AB76;">◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Wait, that's a woman?"
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "She comes into the Bismarck once a cycle with a scholarly sort of fellow. He looks twice her age; I have to wonder what she's up to with him."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, that one? I suppose she's decent enough. Polite, for a Highlander. Not like those thugs in Pearl Lane."
: <font style="color:#90AB76;" size="3">■</font> "Twelve, look at her. Big as an ogre and probably about as smart."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #F37E1D;">◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Say, isn't that Martell? I bet on her once, when she used to fight in the ring; she punched a Duskwight so hard in the first round, he blacked out and dropped like a sack of popotoes. Won me a few hundred gil that night."
: <font style="color:#F37E1D;" size="3">■</font> "Aye, we used to see Egilhard and his brood in Hawkers' Alley every so often about eight, nine cycles ago. Now it's just him. Guess his girls grew up and moved on, but what happened to his wife?"

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #D83018;">◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Used to be that one was always spoiling for a fight. A real hellion when she was young, you get me? But she went away to gods-know-where near seven cycles ago, and when she came back after the Calamity...she'd changed. Got calmer - less likely to lock horns. Something must've happened to her, but hells if I know what."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "M'friend N'galzeh pierced her ears for her when she came back to Limsa. He looked fit to piss himself after she left; said it was the way she looked at him, like there'us summat under the surface trying not to explode. But eh, he's fulla shite like that normally, the dramatic little bastard. Y'know how it is with Miqo'te."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "I ran into her out near Summerford while some Yellowjackets were doing target practice. You should've seen her when the first volley of rifles went off; she flinched and tried to pass it off as nothing. Weird shite."
: <font style="color:#D83018;" size="3">■</font> "Who th' hells told ye to ask about her? Little birdie flutter down on yer shoulder and go, "Gee, lassie, sure'd be nice if'n ye went and asked ol' Zwynskaet about his Mhigan friend!" 'Cause if'n I see yon little birdie, I'll shoot it out the soddin' sky for fillin' yer head wi' that shite. Don't fuckin' ask, y'hear me? None a' yer business. Now go on, piss off."

<b><div style="padding:10px 25px; background: #aac5b4;">◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players)</div></b>
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She likes to say she's not a good fighter, but I saw her knock somebody out with their own helmet. She's quick, and brutally efficient. Wouldn't see it coming from someone so friendly." " - [[Striding Oak]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "I actually feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with her fists. Anyone stupid enough to enrage her definitely deserves a swift order of uh, what's the phrase...'Knuckle Sandwich?'" - [[Septhaja Hellebore]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "She has proven to be a reliable ally and has been friendlier than many I have met during my travels. I hear she is quite the skilled combatant though she is wise enough to stay her hand and avoid picking fights where none are needed." -[[Graeham Ridgefield]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "Oh, don't let her tell you that she's only some 'great lout who's only good for punching things', yes? She's a warrior when she needs to be, that's true, but...she's a stout heart to match her strength, and it's goodness, loyalty, and love that drive her." -[[Reima Awen]]
: <font style="color:#aac5b4;" size="3">■</font> "If I've to choose one word to describe her? Princely. Oh, yes, it's quite deliberate. She's far more charming than she gives herself credit for, and while she's rough around the edges, she's a noble heart. Place her upon a white bird, and you've got yourself a hero." - [[Eliane Dufresne]]
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<td style="vertical-align: top;width:50%;padding-right:10px; font-size:9pt;font-family:Helvetica;"><h3><span class="mw-headline">
<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;"><center>''Relations''</center></div></span></h3>
: <center><font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> Romantic Interest <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> Platonic Love <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> Good Standing <font style="color:#C24640;" size="3">●</font> Poor Standing</center>

: <font style="color:#F02311;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brave Horizon]]''' : To Arcian, Brave has gone from acquaintance to comrade to lover over the course of almost a full cycle, and the surest way to draw her ire is to threaten her partner. With fierceness comes genuine affection, however; in Arcian's mind, there is no one she could be more fortunate to be loved by. The two of them are ardently devoted to each other. If anyone can truly be said to possess Arcian's heart, it's Brave.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Eliane Dufresne]]''' : In the initial few sennights of her work in the Holy See, Arcian was rather out of her element; she knew no one, and seemed to be viewed by most as naught but yet another thuggish sellsword. A chance encounter with the heiress of House Dufresne changed that. Ellie has proven to be a lady of tremendous intellect and business acumen, and also surprisingly deep empathy. Arcian holds her in high esteem. Recent events have made her greatly concerned for her friend's welfare, however, and of late, the two can more often than not be seen together as Ellie goes about her business in Ishgard with Arcian trailing watchfully behind.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Reima Awen]]''' : Reima seems to have a way of endearing herself to all and sundry, and Arcian is no exception to the rule. The little Midlander has tangled herself in Arcian's good graces by dint of charm and earnest goodwill. Despite Arcian's misgivings about Reima's romantic entanglement with Ser Draco Nobis, she wishes her nothing but the best, and quietly thinks of her as a little sister.
: <font style="color:#FA70BC;" size="3">♥</font> '''[[Brynhilde Wulf]]''' : Brynhilde commands Arcian's respect for both her leadership of their free company and her commitment to honorable conduct. Her past inspires some unease in the younger Highlander, however, and between that and their shared tendency towards emotional reservation, there is a distance between them that has yet to be wholly breached. Despite this, Arcian trusts Brynhilde with her life, and privately laments the friction between her and Brave.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Chip Wayman]]''' : When Arcian discovered a goblin-masked urchin lounging in Cliffperch's kitchen and gorging himself on their finest rolanberry jam, she would not have imagined herself as harboring anything more than pity for the little brat at any point in time. She turned out to be entirely wrong. Chip has endeared himself to her, and has applied himself to being her student with remarkable zest. He openly aspires to be a Fist of Rhalgr, a desire that Arcian views with mingled uncertainty and flustered, tentative pride.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Juleaux Dufresne]]''' : Eliane's brother and a man who is entirely too clever for his own good. Arcian respects Jules' gift for remaining profoundly unimpressed by catastrophe and finds herself amused by his dry wit. She has not seen him of late, and wonders if he is alright, wherever he is.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Graeham Ridgefield]]''' : A half-blooded Garlean and, surprisingly, one of the most upright people Arcian knows. The concept of noble knighthood seems to ring true for Graeham, and he cleaves to its ideals in his diplomatic dealings; events of late have seemingly left him shaken, though, and it is with no small amount of concern that Arcian watches him draw away from their company. Still, she views him as a good man, and finds herself mentally adding, "You know, for a halfbreed," less and less.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Reiner Dorn]]''' : While she addresses him as nobility strictly out of politeness and societal expectation, Arcian thinks very highly of her fellow Mhigan exile. Herr Dorn, as she calls him, has done much for their people and seems to expect nothing in return. For that, Arcian affords him great respect.
: <font style="color:#9EC60B;" size="3">●</font> '''[[Martiallais Heuloix]]''' : Despite his apparently heartfelt exasperation with the relative disorganization of her company, Martiallais has proven himself to be an honorable man and a skilled combatant, and thus has Arcian's goodwill and respect. (It helps, of course, that Eliane is fond of him.) To her, he is truly worthy of the mantle of knighthood.

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===<div style="padding:10px 15px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Roleplaying Connections</div>===

You might know Arcian if:

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: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you had an interest in the bare-knuckle boxing circuit in Limsa Lominsa around 1570-1571.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you were involved with the Ala Mhigan Resistance between 1571 and 1574, or were familiar with Sieglinde Redhands, a particularly brutal Resistance leader.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if you've been in need of a guard or bouncer in Limsa Lominsa from 1574-1578.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> ...if, in the past six moons, you've required the services of any sort of mercenary in the greater Thanalan area.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Contacts and Out-of-Character Information</div>===
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: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> This character is on the Balmung server.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> I'm on the RPC as Arcian, if you want to contact me there.
: <font style="color:#5c8aa4;" size="3">■</font> My Tumblr is arcianmartell.

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===<div style="padding:10px 35px; background: #BEC3BC;font-size:14px;color:#5F5F5F;">Footnotes</div>===

: Original template by [[Bancroft Gairn]], using modifications from an older version of that template as seen on the page for [[Valerie Vaulefort]], and totally borrowed from [[Reima Awen]] with her permission.

Arcian Martell

2015-10-02T01:17:19Z

Arcian:

Arcian Martell

2015-10-01T04:51:40Z

Arcian:

Arcian Martell

2015-10-01T03:54:53Z

Arcian:

Arcian Martell

2015-10-01T02:37:56Z

Arcian: /* Appearance */

Arcian Martell

2015-09-30T22:13:58Z

Arcian: