Ciel Valke

Ciel Lazuli
‘Is it better to trust the future than to dwell on the past.’
Gender	Female
Race	Hyur
Clan	Highlander
Citizenship	Lominsan
Place of birth	Ala Mhigo
Age	29
Sexuality	Undefined
Marital Status	Single
Height	5 fulms 9 ilms
Build	Slightly athletic

Ala Mhigan-born and rescued by the Lominsan folks after the Fall, Ciel is often compared to a semi-domesticated feral by those who know her well.

To the rest, she is merely a well-spoken, slightly socially awkward woman who will rarely refuse to help with a task or ten. Her blatantly calm attitude may soothe some or unnerve others, though it is as true as her tendency to base her thoughts on her natural feelings more than on the knowledge she’s gathered from her previous experiences. Highly intuitive, she is often wary of strangers and will take some time to fully trust someone. However, once she’s completely warmed up to them, there is little she wouldn’t do for their sake.

Although she is easily underestimated due to her less than impressive looks (some would say she is rather small for a Highlander), Ciel can handle many situations some would find difficult with surprising composure. She handles short swords best, as they are light and allow for freer movements. Her true natural talents, though, lie in magic, something that feels slightly less intuitive to her but that she handles best in situations that demand it.

Overall, she may seem innocent at first glance due to her seemingly non-violent nature, but one would do best not to underestimate a the nice ones, as gentle as they may seem.

Recent Events

None yet.

Character

Appearance

Eyes	Hair	Skin	Body Type	Voice	Bearing	Notable Features
Bright blue	Dark brown	Slightly tanned	Tall, slightly athletic build	Careful, polite, soft-spoken	Well-mannered, alert; slightly feral demeanor	Red tribal face paint; over the eyes.
Alignment	Element
True Neutral.[1]	Air/Water

WIP

Personality

Ciel is rather distant and seems extremely careful around people she hardly know, which makes a first encounter with her very tricky. Her lack of obvious reactions and subtle display of emotions also makes her seems like she cares little about what she is being told, even when the opposite is true. She will rarely disclose anything about herself unless she is asked, and doesn't really like to speak unless she has something relevant to add to a conversation, or she is expected to.

While she sometimes tries to exercise humor, her serious demeanor and polite word selection can sometimes make her seem more serious than she seems, making it hard to tell if she is jesting or actually means what she said. This kind of behavior is quite rare, however, and she will generally do it only amongst people she considers to be allies.

Ciel's lack of a clear past can make her seem slightly detached towards others, or even herself. While some people like to jokingly compare her to a wild pup, she can quite literally seem like it, sometimes. She will follow someone anywhere once they have her trust.

Strengths

People will often notice and praise Ciel's astonishing calm in any and every situation. Hardly anyone can say they've ever witnessed her in a state of panic or anything similar, and those that do have yet to prove their claims. Focused and careful, she tries to always be at her best when people have a need of her skills.

Highly intuitive, she usually bases her first impressions of people on the feeling they give off, making it harder if not impossible for some to gain her trust. The same goes for dealing with situations; she will get herself through things doing whatever feels right.

Finally, Ciel is the most loyal companion, assuming you can get your trust level high enough to be considered one. Earn it, and she will have your back. She is an excellent listener whose constant tranquility can soothe some people's worries.

Flaws

Ciel is utterly and obviously lacking in social skills. Her slightly feral demeanor and generally serious presence can make her seem intimidating to some. While she is a good listener, when it comes to giving advice, she will often seem kind of cryptic or just plain make little sense. Her sense of humor is dry, and she will often miss jokes or innuendos.

While she works hard on keeping cool, the many years she spent in a hostile land amongst a borderline feral people make her easily angered, especially in highly violent situations. While this can be useful in situations where the enemy needs to be eliminated, it can sometimes lead to her losing track of what she's doing, relying on instincts alone. In such a case, anything and anyone that feels like a threat to her or an ally's well-being is likely to become a target.

Ciel's lack of an actual judgement when it comes to good and evil makes her highly influenceable, something even her carefulness can't protect her from in the long run. While she is naturally careful around those who have vile intentions toward her or people she likes, she will often be oblivious of things directed to the general populace, making it easy for someone to manipulate her into doing their "dirty work".

Finally, her detached attitude towards her own self can lead her to neglect her own well-being over that of an ally, something that would cause her a lot more trouble if it weren't for her survival instincts. It can, however, lead her to push her limits to a dangerous level. It is, however, something that she does naturally, and thus is very hard for her to correct even if continually reproached.

Romance

Ciel is very emotionally detached, even towards her own self, for reasons she can't really explain herself. Thus, she hardly really connects with people on an emotional level. She will grow to trust people and work alongside them, but has a hard time to even grasp the concept of having friends, let alone a romantic partner. Her lingering subconscious fear of attachment might make it that much harder to get close to her as long as it remains. Anybody willing to get involved with her on the emotional level would have to be incredibly patient and willing to work hard. Is it, however, nowhere near impossible to achieve.

Anyone willing to get close to Ciel would have to actually get to understand her first, which can be quite difficult considering her natural reluctance to get along with people. They would need to be patient, as Ciel currently doesn't show any attraction towards any particular group.

Other/Details

• Ciel has repressed memories of difficult times and lives a life that is generally void of direct worries. She remembers close to nothing of her childhood, including her name, family and where she was originally from. She cares little about her lost history, instead keeping her eyes forward, subconsciously refusing to look back at what might have been. There are certain signs that tie her to her past, be it her aversion for meaningless violence, her anger outbursts and her inability to rest for quite so long, but she dismisses them all as parts of everyday life, as she has never really lived without them. As a mentally fragile person, the bonds she builds with those she feels a strong familiarity with can easily strengthen her. All the same, people who mean to do harm can destroy her just as simply.

• As opposed to her generally serene attitude, she can occasionally (although rarely) have strong fits of anger which are mostly justified but that even one who knows her well would never expect to see from her considering her usual lack of emotional outbursts.

Combat

WIP

Occupation, skills and pastimes

WIP

Likes: Nature Stories and tales Being among friends ...

Dislikes: Close physical contact Physical and verbal threats People of authority Strangers Needless violence ...

Skills: Healing Magicks Botany Swordplay ...

Fears: Uncontrolled fire Imperial soldiers (not so much fear as uneasiness) Accidentally harming a friend Being powerless to help a comrade in need The dangers of Black Magic and its corrupting effects

WIP

Relationships

Family

Father: Konrad Singvaldr (Status Unknown) // A proud warrior with a huge sense of honor and pride in his bloodline. It was his greatest wish that his only daughter become the next great warrior of their line. He wore a particular facepaint, one that has been worn by members of his family for generations.

Mother: Eleonore Singvaldr (Status Unknown) // A gracious and strong woman idolized by many for her skills of the sword, and despised by an equal amount for her highly egocentric attitude. She didn't want children, but eventually agreed to fulfill her husband's wishes.

Player Character Relationships

♥ Romantic Interest    ♥ Sexual Desire    ♥ Platonic Love     ● Good Standing    ● Neutral Standing    ● Poor Standing    ! Recent Standing Change

Positive Standing

●Zaku Paku : Ciel and Zaku met when the former became involved with a Lominsan Free Company several years ago. They have worked together on countless jobs and the lalafell somehow managed to grow on Ciel, making him the first person she actually ended up calling a friend in the long run. He was, in great part, responsible for a major shift in her personality over the years. Their closeness is rather obvious by the way Ciel acts around him, considering it is drastically different from the way she acts around anyone else. She would trust Zaku with her life if she had to, and knows that he would do just the same. He is one of the few people she naturally smiles to on a regular basis.	●Brynhilde Wulf : Brynhilde is a very capable fighter, and one you can definitely rely on in any situation. That is something Ciel recognizes, despite the fact that she knows very little about her. She always feels safer knowing the fellow Highlander on their side, and is even inclined to look up to her a little bit. However, like with most Ala Mhigan Hyurs she's met, a constant feeling of unease brings her to keep her distances, to a point where she will often subconsciously avoid looking into their eyes completely. The same occurs with Brynhilde, although it may or may not go unnoticed due to her distant attitude towards most individuals.
●Aryianna Nightshade : Of all people, Aryianna is probably the one who makes Ciel reflect on things the most, something that she would usually avoid doing too much. Although she understands little of her own hatred for the Garleans, it is but one thing they share that makes her feel somewhat close to the midlander. While the careful side of her knows of the dangers surrounding her, the less familiar caring side of her will not let go of the thought that she really wants to help her, somehow. Even if it's just by being around. Little does she know that the midlander might also have contributed in the slight curiosity she's been growing, one that may be making her slowly more intent to acknowledge the past she'd suppressed for decades.
●Striding Oak : Ciel knows little of Oak, except that she is very close with Brynhilde, and that she seems a respectable and strong warrior. She considers her an ally, and would likely not hesitate to aid her were she to ask for it.
●Nadeau Celeste : To Ciel, Nadeau is but another employer, and considering her tendency to dwell in the darker sides of magic, she is slightly more reluctant to completely trust her. She considers her an ally all the same, and as long as her fellow Templars acknowledge her as their leader, she will aid her in whatever task she gives her.

Negative Standing

●Varus Adelric Rosenthal : While she knows little of the man, his actions, as well as the look in her fellow Templars' eyes when they look at him, are enough to confirm Ciel's unease when in his direct presence. To her, he is more than a mere stranger; he is also a danger to her and her allies, and he can be trusted under no circumstances.

Rumors

Common Rumors

Moderate Rumors

Rare Rumors

History/Timeline

((Work in Progress))

Childhood

Show text

Born on the 20th Sun of the 3rd Umbral Moon 1549 as Nora Randi Singvaldr, Ciel hails from Ala Mhigo and is the only child of a pair of proud and respected warriors. Thus, her father's expectations for his one daughter to one day honor their family name on the battlefield was strong and true, as opposed to her will to abide by the man's wishes. Although she was not shy to carry her very first sword around wherever she went, as most of her friends did, the magically-gifted child much preferred to wander off into the city and observe the work of the grown-up magic users bringing the wounded back to their feet than to practice the art of the sword. In fact, she grew quick admiration for the people who saved lives than for those who took them, and was eager to become one of them one day. Thus, as the time passed, her relationship with her father grew more and more distant, while her already inexistent relationship with her mother simply remained as such.

Still too young to fully understand the cause of the turmoil surrounding the reign of King Theodoric and the apparent dislike he showed for the monks of Rhalgr, she could only watch as some of her friends joined their families into a rebellion against their now ruler. The Garlean Empire soon marched into the city, as if to save the day and rid them of their corrupt king. To the child, they were just more strangers, who would likely be looking for compensation for their aid.

She could hardly have been more right. The Garleans gradually went from saviors to oppressors, working towards making the Ala Mhigan their own personal armies against their future enemies. Any who would resist were slaughtered. Weakened by their previous conflict, the Ala Mhigans were outnumbered and forced to abide. The day these invaders started tearing children from their families, she watched as some parents protested or knelt in utter defeat after watching their neighbors be struck down in their attempt to rescue their kin. Her own parents, though, were merely watching, their expressions unreadable. She merely assumed they were hoping these strangers would turn her into the warrior they always wanted her to be.

A group of roughly ten, they were. Merely children, ranging from eight to fifteen cycles. Hardly enough to take on a group of fully-armored soldiers. Yet, somehow, as they were being escorted to Gods knew where, they had managed to escape into Gyr Abania, compelled to escape a fate of lifelong slavery. Eight were left when they finally stopped running. Days later, seven. Perhaps six, as one of them oft went off to survey their surroundings and had yet to return. A week passed. Most were eager to run away to the west as the refugees did. The oldest of the group, however, were set on finding and joining the resistance. Their inability to come to a decision that would benefit them all wasted them time and energy, and soon, they were again found. In a final attempt to escape, they split and all ran their own ways, never to see each other again.

"Found 'er on t'shore near t'Shroud, we did. She didn't seem too beat up, but t'lass hasn't said a word since she opened her eyes." A large Roegadyn man patted the child on the back vigorously as he spoke, but she was void of reaction. It remained so for several weeks, until she finally managed to thank her savior. Her name, though, she couldn't quite recall, so much as her past. It was the kind Lominsan Elezen woman that had brought her back to her feet that looked into her azure eyes and decided to name her Ciel, for the time being. A name she has stuck to for the two following decades.

Character Connections

The following characters may have an RP link with Ciel:

• People who are familiar with the Ala Mhigan communities and/or are Ala Mhigan themselves.
• Limsans who joined and trained with the Maelstrom before the Calamity.
• Conjurers who spent time at the Guild and in Gridania shortly before and during the Calamity.
• Dwellers in magic, white or dark, might have vaguely heard of her natural talent in the art.
• People who give or take small tasks and/or odd jobs; they may or may not have worked together at some point.

Author's Notes

I’m sorry there’s not much yet. I’ll be working on a brief version to put up as soon as possible to at least give you guys an idea.