Cassandra Lachance

Error creating thumbnail: File missing  Cassandra Lachance
Error creating thumbnail: File missing
Gender	Female
Race	Hyur
Clan	Midlander
Citizenship	Gridania
Nameday	7th day of the 4th Astral Moon

Character

General

Cassandra is 19 years old. She has recently begun her training as an Summoner. However, she's not disciplined, nor is she a particularly good student. Instead, her proficiency seems to stem more from her propensity for the art rather than her dedication to it. Much of her time is also spent exploring Limsa Lominsa and it's outskirts, all of which are new to her.

Appearance

Cassandra is quite dainty, standing at 5'4", with a slim figure. Her black hair, unblemished porcelain skin and violet eyes are have gotten her in and out of trouble many times. She's well aware of her beauty and the effect it has on others, something she has often used to her advantage. That said, she doesn't enjoy being the center of attention, and as such she rarely dresses in revealing or provocative clothes, preferring instead a more discrete style.

Personality

Cassandra is not the most approachable of people. She appreciates manners and acts accordingly, but she also sees politeness as a way to keep people at arm's length. The irreverence that is common at her age often shines through the veil of formality though. While rarely outright rude or insulting, she instead employs sarcasm or aloofness to deal with those she finds unpleasant, or simply to mess with them, if she's in the mood for it. Indeed, a part of Cassandra seems to take great pleasure in creating mischief. She has a penchant for making inflammatory remarks, and the fact that she's brutally honest doesn't help matters. It's from that very same part of her that her dark sense of humor is derived. Said humor takes shape not only as schadenfreude but also in the form of inappropriate jokes.

While it may simply seem as though she has a chip on her shoulder, she's well aware of the effect she has on people, and her attitude is more often than not a premeditated way to avoid letting people get close. Some have said that beneath that somewhat rough surface lies a soft center. While not immediately apparent, her warmth can be observed in the way she deals with all manner of small creatures.

Beliefs and Motivations

Cassandra is not fond of religion. A firm believer in free will, she scorns the notion of fate. She does however believe that there's a purpose and a reason for everything and everyone, even if her actions might at times seem nihilistic. Her sense of morality appears to be somewhat flexible, that which she considers acceptable doesn't always coincide with the law. That said, she has no tolerance for those who in some way harm those she considers innocent, who she is quite passionate about defending.

Her one true motivation is power. She seeks power, not for the sake of ruling over others but as a means of independence, she hates relying on anyone else and she's willing to go to great lengths to avoid doing so.

Biography

1558-1568

Cassandra was born and raised in the Shroud. Her father, Edwin, was a carpenter by trade. A prominent member of his community, Edwin appeared to be far more well-connected than your average craftsman. Not only that, but his work took up more and more of his time as Cassandra grew up. For that reason, the girl's childhood memories of her father are few and far between.

Cassandra's mother, however, was an ever-present figure in her life. Perhaps too present, the girl often thought. Being an only child, Cassandra was treated like royalty, but that also meant that she was extremely sheltered. Edwin provided his loved ones with everything they needed and more. Everything, except his presence. Her mother grew more protective with each passing year, assuming the role of Cassandra's tutor as well, and soon the girl was living like a prisoner. Cassandra was 'too good and delicate to play with other children'. She was 'too smart for them', she didn't need friends, according to Bridget. After all, Cass had her mother. What else could a young girl need? Edwin never quite agreed with Bridget's approach to parenting, but he ultimately believed that his wife had nothing but good intentions, and he was far too absent to realize how much the girl was being affected.

1568-1572

Cassandra was 10 years old when she first escaped. It was just after lunch time, and Cass was sitting on the window sill, feeling the warm spring breeze, listening to the rustling of the leaves. Her mother had her on a strict schedule, she'd draw up detailed lesson plans every week, to make sure that Cassandra was properly educated. So even though it was barely past noon, Cass already knew how the rest of her day would be spent. The rest of her week, even. The girl hopped out into the yard, and made her way to the fence. She stood on the tip of her toes, peering out towards the forest. There was a small hill off in the distance, and it occurred to her that she'd never seen what was beyond the hill. She knew of geography, she knew the names of the places that laid east and west, north and south. And though she didn't care for history, her mother had made sure to hammer into her head what had happened in all of those places, why it happened, and a myriad of other facts that the girl knew, simply because she had to know. But she didn't want to know. She just wanted to know what was beyond that hill. And so she hopped over the fence, and ran.

It was dark when Cassandra made her way back home. She'd been hiding, listening as people looked for her. Her mother had already called for help, fearing for her poor, delicate daughter who, after finding out what was on the other side of the hill and the hill after that one, spent the better part of the afternoon hiding from her rescuers, finding the whole affair immensely entertaining. And though the punishment that followed wasn't quite as fun, despite her sore bottom and her rumbling stomach from being sent to bed after getting a spanking, Cass fell asleep with a smile on her face, the memory of her little adventure making everything else fade into the background.

The adventure would simply be the first of many. The punishments increased in severity at first, but the girl was not detracted. Edwin, despite his wife's constant protests, did little to convince the girl that she should be more careful. Like Cassandra, he seemed to see it as a game, and a much needed for the girl. And so it became a habit. A habit that Bridget refused to accept, but she eventually got tired of punishing her daughter, and simply made up for it with longer lessons and more difficult tests when Cass was home.

Despite Bridget's strict nature, Cassandra still loved her mother. Her relationship with her father, while friendly, was also more distant. Edwin hadn't been there to tell the girl why people died, why the sun rose and set, how babies were made. Bridget had been the one to answer all the whys and hows, she'd been the emotional anchor throughout her childhood. Which was the reason why, when Bridget started poisoning Cass' head with stories about her father, the girl listened. After all, Cass had heard their arguments late at night, when her father would arrive after her bed time, and Bridget would pester him about how late he was, or how she needed money to purchase more books, more clothes for their daughter. Cassandra didn't realize at the time how unreasonable, how mad Bridget's demands were. She only had her mother's side of the story, after all, and the woman slowly managed to convince the girl that her father spent most of his time away chasing other women, even going as far as telling Cass that he was in reality a criminal.

1572

The relationship between Cass and her father, which barely existed in the first place, gradually soured over the years, thanks to the web of lies that Bridget had woven. There was a clear line drawn between the family. On one side stood Bridget, the tireless, loving mother who did her best to raise her daughter; and Cassandra, who was quickly growing into a young woman. On the other side of the line was Edwin, the absent father. The gaps left by his absence were filled by Bridget's words, twisting the girl's perception of her father.

As the rift between the family members grew and lead to more conflict, so had the Shroud been engulfed in darkness, the Garlean invasion of the Sylphlands was in full swing. They didn't venture far into the Shroud at first, aside from a few scouting parties. The Sylphs took the brunt of the attack though, and as the Sylphs suffered, the Shroud itself seemed to react to the presence of the Garleans. At the height of the invasion, Garlean juggernauts rained fire on the shroud, tearing the forests apart.

(Work in progress ^^)

0-5

In construction.

Combat

General

Cassandra isn't a skilled fighter, nor is she physically strong, and she knows it. While she's well aware of her weakness, she certainly doesn't enjoy showing it to others, and as such she does her best to avoid physical confrontation. Despite this, having spent a few years traveling on her own, Cassandra is no stranger to violence and is rarely without a concealed blade.

Although her magical abilities are still fairly limited, Cassandra shows promise as a Summoner.

Tendencies

Likes

• Animals, nature in general
• Good conversation, particularly if it involves discussing opposing viewpoints
• Chocolate

Dislikes

• Bigots and zealots (of the religious type in particular).
• Showing weakness of any kind
• Spiders

Hobbies/Talents

• Reading
• Travelling, exploring
• Pampering her pets

Other

• She's considerably wealthy. While she doesn't go around sharing that information with others, she makes no effort to hide it either.
• Being frequently on the outside, Cassandra has become quite observant about the behavior of others.
• When she's concentrating on something, she often can't help but to mumble to herself. Her mumblings can range from the non-sensical to the inappropriate, causing some embarrassment.

Relationships

Family

Edwin Miller - Her father, killed during the calamity.

Bridget Haurtelle - Mother. Aside from the fact that she's alive, there's very little that Cassandra seems to be willing to share about her mother.

Friends

Ludivine Goultard - Cassandra met Ludivine not long after getting settled in Limsa Lominsa, and the Elezen has captured a piece of her heart.

Ennara Calian - Upon joining the Free Wing Society, Cassandra immediately struck up a friendship with the Highlander, which soon developed into something more. However, they're currently just close friends.

Katiti Kati - Most of Cassandra's time spent with the Lalafell has consisted of heated arguments bordering on insults. Either through a mutual enjoyment of bickering, or due to the respect they developed for each other along the way, they have slowly become good friends.

Enemies

For obvious reasons, she's not fond of the Garlean Empire.

PC Comments

• "Miss Cassandra? I can't imagine being able to manipulate Primal aether the way she does. She makes it look easy! Ah, I'd be careful around the fiery one though, I think it has a temper." - Locke Rinannis

• "She's very silly when drunk! It was quite adorable! That aside, she's a wonderful employee thus far. I would recommend her if ever she went out and about for other work as well." - Lilithium Altair

• "She dresses really weirdly. I bet if you gave her a bunny costume and told her it'd enhance her magical powers, she'd wear it. Aside from that, she's a pretty charitable person." - Ludivine Goultard

• "I see potential, behind that veil of pervasive annoyance. Seriously, the woman has little idea where the line is drawn, and while that's admirable in some cases, overstepping the line is not advisable." - V'lanya Mei

• "We got off to a bit of a shaky start, but I think with time we could become close! She may not enjoy showing it at times, but I think she cares a lot about others, and she is hilarious when she's drunk!" - Liliro Liro

History/Timeline

Cassandra was born and raised in Gridania. She loved the outdoors from a young age and spent quite a lot of time exploring the Black Shroud, usually against the will of her parents. She always had a hard time making friends, she was a bit of a bookworm and counter more woodland creatures among her friends than she did people.

She was mostly oblivious to worldly affairs until the Garlean Invasion, which resulted in the death of her father.

About a year later, at age 16, Cassandra left Gridania for good.

Three years later she settled in Limsa Lominsa, to begin her training as an Summoner.

OOC Information

Please note that Cassandra's backstory goes beyond what you can see here, but I tried to post only what she would be willing to share with most people. I might expand on her story here if it becomes common knowledge about the character.

Feel free to add to the 'PC Comments' section.

My thanks to Deirdre Ta'ea for creating the template I've used, and an enormous thank you to my good friend Ludivine Goultard for the portrait.