Faith Winter

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Ariana Faith Winter-Felstar
Gender	Female.
Race	Hyur.
Clan	Midlander.
Citizenship	Ul'dah.
Age	26.
Namesday	29th Sun of the 6th Umbral Moon.
Guardian	Rhalgar, the Destroyer
Occupation	Bounty Hunter, Consultant.
Primary Disciplines	Machinist, Puglist, Rogue.

Biographical

'I'm not going to steal today... I'm not going to steal today...'

Lady Ariana Faith Winter, or Faith to her friends, is far from the proper noble that people would expect her to be. Although she was once notorious for getting into trouble while gambling at the Mirage or organizing illegal amateur fights, her passion for defending her home City-State of Ul'dah has matured her over the years.

Name

Full Name: Ariana Faith Winter-Felstar.

Pronunciation: Feyth.

Nicknames: Faith.

Origins: Ariana is derived from the Welsh word meaning “silver” referring to her light colored hair, however, Faith has always had a preference for her middle name.

Place of Birth: Ul'dah.

Favorite color: Cactuar green.

Free Company Association: Avalon.

Current Residence:

Family Members:

Marital Status: Single.

Availability: I'm not planning on having Faith date at this time.

Appearance

Height: ~5'1"

Weight: ~115 lbs

Body: Faith has a petite, yet curvy figure which is well toned after years of training and working out. Although shorter then average human females, she graceful, lithe and agile.

Hair: Pale blonde with near white highlights. She is known for her long ponytail adorned with a braided crown, the symbol of power for the Winter family females. Not one for tradition, however, she can often be seen wearing her hair flowing down over her shoulders or in intricate braids.

Eyes: Pale, ice blue.

Skin: Tanned and oiled daily with no apparent scars.

Clothing: Faith prefers wearing loose fitted, light cloth that does not restrict her movements when training

Voice: She naturally speaks in a soft, upper-class Ul'dah accent, but is often known to use a particular slang.

History

Faith was born to Rebecca Winter and an unknown father at the Winter Estate in Ul'dah. By that time her step-father, Maximillion Winter and older sister, Seraphine Winter Felstar, had moved to Limsa Lominsa. She grew up in the care of a governess named Vanessa Stanhope, rarely seeing her own mother. Faith developed a strong relationship with Vanessa and often called her 'mother'. Always shut up in the estate, Faith had no friends or companions to keep her company.

When Faith was old enough to be schooled, her mother decided to have Vanessa sent away and her care be transferred to a team of private tutors. Despite defying her mother's rules and boldly intruding upon Rebecca's private chambers to confront her, the decision stood firm. Filled with a sense of anger, betrayal, and abandonment at the loss of Vanessa, Faith rejected all of her studies. She would constantly play cruel pranks on her tutors, throw fits and acted as willful as possible. To date, Faith can still become headstrong and can be argumentative when someone stands in her way.

By age eight, Faith learned to escape the estate by picking locks, scaling buildings, and squeezing through small spaces. Once free, she would wander the streets of Ul'dah, making friends with everyone from the homeless to wealthy merchants. While Faith had rejected her formal studies, she took the opportunity to learn all she could from the local guilds, developing a talent for aesthetics through her artistry. Much of her early years were spent at the concern, hearing tales from the miners and learning to dance from the girls who performed there. Faith's feelings of abandonment continued and thus she developed a soft spot for the orphans she met on the streets, often stealing food from the Winter Estate to pass along to her new friends. Eventually, her growing habit developed into petty theft as she began to fall in with tougher crowds and pushed her further towards the life of a thief and gambler. Her sour attitude often lead to start fights with others who got in the way of her friends and she began to pick up street fighting from local gang members.

A few short years later, Faith was surprised to come home to an entirely new family waiting for her. Faith's step-father, sister, and a younger sister she didn't even know she had, had moved back to the Winter Estate. Although at first she was excited to have a family, at last, it didn't take long to realize she was very different from them. At the time Seraphine disapproved heavily of Faith's gambling and fighting habits, taking every opportunity to give her opinions on the matter. In turn, grew quickly bored of Seraphine's desire for success, endless concentration on her image, and gave her the nickname "Miss Perfect". The death of their step-father and the strain their mother places upon their lives finally caused the girls to constantly argue and their differences overshadowed any hopes of reconciliation.

Unable to obtain the assumed ‘perfection’ of her older sister, "Lady Seraphine", Faith Winter spent her teen years living up to her reputation as a constant troublemaker, street gambler and bruiser. Faith had an addiction to theft, especially when it could be used to annoy those she decided to amuse herself with. Much of Faith’s efforts were put into studying lock picking combined with breaking and entering She trained her pet star marmot, Jackpot, to literally become her partner in crime. Her one redeeming trait seemed to be her generosity. Faith would give not only her own money, but any gambling winnings she acquired, to the poor in the streets of Ul’dah. The commonfolk and poor respected her and often protected her from The Brass Blades... but for the most part the name “Faith Winter” was synonymous with “trouble”.

At the age of sixteen Faith made a "mistake" that ended up turning her life in a new direction. After attempting to steal from the Mirage, Hamon offered Faith the choice of being turned over to The Brass Blades at last or running errands for the guild. Finally unable to avoid the consequences of her actions, Faith took the job he had offered and eventually discovered she was at last in the company of those who shared her views on life. She took up lessons from anyone at the guild who would teach her on her off hours and finally evolved her style beyond that of a street fighter. Her skills as a gambler also increased and she began to support herself through her own winnings instead of depending on her families money. During this time, her sister Seraphine went missing and she was appointed the leader of the project Outer Heaven by her mother. The company was at the height of its success when Faith stepped in, although many doubted her abilities due to her clouded past. Oddly, Faith became one of the most successful leaders in the group's history, earning a commendation from its founder. This breakthrough made Faith realize her talent for business may extend beyond what she had previously thought. Her biggest break came when her adopted brother, a duskwight by the name Ravirr Shiga, gave her the chance to manage his boxing career. Finally, with the Mirage in her corner, she began her work setting up legitimate matches, publicizing prize fighters, overseeing training and promoting the guild in general. As a team, Ravirr and Faith managed to boost his boxing career -almost- to the top. For the first time in her life Faith saw some hope for herself...

Then Ravirr was murdered.

Ul'dah

Faith has a passion for the city where she was born and truly loves her people. Ul'dah's culture and beliefs are found within nearly every aspect of Faith's personality. As an older teenager, Faith spent endless hours a day at The Mirage. In the past, she was known to organize fights there between the lower citizens. Offering large cash rewards to participants, Faith invited nobles of her acquaintance to bet on the fights and indulge in other pleasures Ul'dah had to offer. Later as her own personal wealth increased she began sponsoring fights and acts as manager to several prize fighters. Faith has also studied card tricks and even perfected her own method of shuffling a deck in one hand to increase the odds in her favor which she calls, "seven bare". Among those who have had the pleasure of playing against her, she is known as the most entertaining person to lose to. In the past Faith had been known to take work as a bodyguard for nobles who make requests at the guild. Due to her stature, many of the nobles felt Faith can pass as a mere companion during events. This often gave her access to information and areas that some would envy. When not at The Mirage, Faith can be found at the Miner's Guild. Although she keeps her profile lower than at The Mirage, Faith is known for spending time at the concern, buying drinks for the miners. She is kind to the girls who worked at the guild often buying them expensive clothes or jewelry. Although she has a history of causing trouble in Ul'dah, as soon as her city fell under threat of invasion, Faith matured quickly in order to assist in its defense. Before the calamity, Faith enlisted in the Immortal Flames and participated in the Battle of Carteneau.

Likes

• Theft - Faith is a recovering thief who steals not for any material gain, but more for the excitement and “rush” it brings her. Stealing gives her satisfaction akin to sexual acts and can become dangerously addictive to her. For the past five years, Faith has curved her propensity towards kleptomania as well as breaking and entering in order to uphold the Winter name.
• Gambling - Often seen at the high stakes gambling tables at the Platinum Mirage and casinos around Ul’dah, Faith enjoys taking risks. A master of sleight of hand, Faith has perfected a one handed shuffling technique she uses as a distraction to amuse crowds at the table.
• Anything to do with Seraphine.

Dislikes

• Garleans - As the Garlean forces move closer to Faith's sister vineyard in Limsa and set their sights upon Ul'dah, she has became increasingly active in the war.
• Fire - After losing her entire family in flames and barely escaping the attack on her sister’s manor, Faith is terrified of fire.
• The Brass Blades - Although Faith has been on the straight and narrow for a while, the police force in Ul’dah still make her nervous whenever she meets them.
• Anything to do with Seraphine.

Demeanor

Faith’s personality is as warm and wandering as an Ul’dah breeze. Easily approachable, she is quick to make friends and form alliances. She exudes charm and is at her best when with others, but her need to keep things interesting often drags her friends into strange adventures. Those close to Faith have come to expect the unexpected when dealing with her as no one is ever quiet sure what she's going to do next. Over the past two years, she has also developed a passion for reading history and loves listening to people’s life stories. However, her interest in boxing, fights at the Blood Sands, and gambling has not wavered. She is an optimistic and hopeful person, always seeking truth and happiness, although she does not always succeed. Even in failure, however, she holds to the Ul'dahan spirit that hard work will always pay off in the end and anyone can accomplish their goals. Faith follows her own deep moral compass, always trying to do what she feels is right - not the right thing society tells her to do. She has a strong sense of balance, believing that the world is not black and white, but (50? - Sorry, had to say it!) shades of gray.

Relationships

Family

• Father: Unknown. Step-father, Maximilian Winter (deceased). Cartius Felstar is the nearest thing to a father she has.

• Mother: Lady Rebecca Winter (deceased)

• Siblings: Seraphine Winter Felstar, Gabrielle Winter (deceased), [[Ravirr Shiga))

• Pet: Jackpot, a star marmot trained to be Faith's partner in crime.

Miscellaneous Info

• Character Inspirations:
  • Faith Lehane -- http://buffy.wikia.com/wiki/Faith_Lehane
  • Amanda Darieux -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanda_(Highlander)
  • Vesper Lynd -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesper_Lynd

• Theme Song: [1] [2]