Coatleque Crofte

Coatleque Crofte
Gender	Female
Race	Hyur
Clan	Highlander
Citizenship	Ul'Dah
Age	22
Marital Status	Single
Occupation	Paladin, Armorer & Blacksmith
Height/Weight	5 fulms, 11 ilms / 150 ponz
Nicknames	"CC", Lady Crofte

Coatleque Crofte (pronounced cottl-ee-kay) is, by her knowledge, the only remaining survivor of her fishing village from the north. Her life has been hard since the Calamity, but she is slowly working to piece it back together and raise her station.

General Demeanor

Coatleque tries to appear and act like a proper lady at all times. She will almost always be in uniform as this is the only symbol she has of her current station in society. To the common man she can easily fit the role of a knight, but to a true aristocrat her sometimes rough mannerisms and verbal slip-ups are blatantly clear. She is still the daughter of a fisherman in her heart.

While on duty her purpose is clear. She acts with respect and exudes the authoritative presence one would expect of the Sultansworn. She will avoid idle banter as well and only interject if she has a relevant point to make. Otherwise, business is business.

On the chance that you catch her off of duty, she is shy and awkward socially. Having to see everyone else's lives play out before her on a daily bases, she often forgets to have her own. She will only be found in a public place if she's accompanying someone else. Even then she'll tend to stay at the edge of the crowd and try to go unnoticed.

Education / Job History

- See Background for more detail -

Behind all her pretense, Coatleque has a rather sharp mind. While she started off with nothing due to her upbringing, the eventual life she was forced into brought great opportunity for her to learn. She taught herself to read and write in her time alone, learned a few sensual arts such as massage, and how to speak to the cultural elite of the city. Granted, not much of this helps in her current profession.

She knows the basics of conjuration as her first inclination upon gaining her freedom was to help others. She met her dear friend Jancis Milburga during this time and the two became inseparable. Unfortunately she just wasn't able to grasp some of the gentler concepts and decided to leave.

Taking up a sword, she joined the Brass Blades. She knew them as the ones who freed her from a life of forced servitude. They knew her as the high-class whore some of them often visited years before. Unable to gain an onze of respect among the wolves, she left to end the bullying if nothing else.

With nowhere else to turn she found herself registering at the Gladiator's guild with the mind of meeting a quick death in the Colosseum. It turned out she had picked up the sword rather well. Very well in fact, and quickly gained both respect and station. With new-found purpose in life and a talent she could exploit, she did not hesitate to swear her life in service of the Sultana when given the chance. Now a member of the Sultansworn elite, she spends her time patrolling the city and keeping the peace between her other investigations.

Combat - Views & Behavior

Coatleque will carry her longsword by her side while on duty. It is kept sharp, well oiled, and can be drawn at a moment's notice. She will use this sword both single and two-handed as necessary, favoring either quick defense or strong offense. She carries her shield only if brought into a campaign where a larger battle is assured. When off-duty she will still have a small concealed dagger or gladius at the ready. Despite this she has no love for war and will avoid mass conflicts when possible.

Coatleque shows great mastery of the longsword. She can easily pickup technique and adapt style, but she lacks the self confidence required of an accomplished swordsman. If the fight turns against her quickly, she'll tend to make more and more glaring mistakes. Otherwise she will fight defensively in style. She can avoid, block, or parry most attacks, but has trouble landing her own. Her frustrations can easily get the better of her the longer a fight draws out. (( In dice this translates to +2 on defense, and a cumulative -1 attack penalty every round to a max of -10 on a D20, or -6 on a D10 ))

Background

(In Character)

Coatleque is not wont to talk of her past history to people she doesn't know. You would be better off winning her trust first. Otherwise, if hard-pressed she may anger and simply leave.

(Out of Character)

Coatleque is from a fishing village in the northern lands. Built on the coast, of little importance, they eked out a meager existence far from any city. She was a typical country girl, the daughter of a fisherman, with no special skills or talents. Her parents were in the process of arranging her to be given away to the miller's son. A quiet life she was honestly looking forward to.

When Dalamud came raining down, a rather large chunk landed in the ocean off their coast. The resulting tidal wave destroyed the village and swept away a majority of its inhabitants. She was only 17 at the time. The remnants of the coast were soon raided by brigands from the mountains looking to make quick coin off the salvage. What few villagers remained were captured. The men were either put to the sword or pressed into service. The women did not fair so well.

Carted off in rags, they were taken by cover of night to Ul'dah and sold to one of the more high-class brothels of the under-ground. For three long years she served all manner of clients under fear of torture or death. Each night spent crying out to Menphina for deliverance. Eventually, as all people who think they are more influential than they really are do, the owner angered a very important client who was also a member of the Syndicate. Soon after, the Brass Blades swept through the establishment in a false-front raid to "expose slave trafficking". Coatleque escaped during the chaos as many of the courtesans fled.

She spent the next two years bettering herself and learning to fight. She has a mind for revenge against the brigands that raided her village so many years ago. But she would also like to find any others that may have survived, especially her family whom she has had no word of for these long five years. She has no interest in going back, however. She knows there is nothing for her there. She has embraced her life as a citizen of Ul'dah - even as she prepares to take her oath to lay down her life for the Sultana.

Relationships

Family

Her family was either killed by the tidal wave that destroyed her village, or captured by brigands in the wake of the Calamity. She has not heard from anyone in five years and has all but given up hope of contacting them.

Personal

Coatleque does not currently have any romantic interest(s). She would say that her chosen profession is not conducive to such interests at this time. It could just be that she hasn't met the right man yet. In either case, from her past, she is used to being viewed as only an object and therefore has no experience in a real relationship. She dare not approach anyone directly and is easily flustered if someone else shows genuine interest.

PC Friends

  (♥ = Romantic Interest, ♥ = Sexual Tension, ♥ = Platonic Care )

♥ Jancis Milburga: A friend she met while studying conjuration two years ago. She is the closest thing Coatleque has to family right now, and she loves her like a sister. They have on occasion been mistaken for one another due to their like mannerisms.

♥ Alveo Soulseeker: An apparent sailor who has quickly muscled his way into Jancis's life. Coatleque does not fully trust him and is always looking for that hidden ulterior motive. Despite some recent rough time, the pair still seem to be sticking together. Something she can at least respect.

♥ Tasa Rhyzul: A strong, stoic Elezen whom Coatleque met while assisting the Harbingers. Coatleque quickly found herself drawn to the woman's confident attitude, and has developed a sort of girl-crush on her. After a few personal moments together they have found some almost uncanny similarities in their lives. Such common ground may serve to drive them closer in the end. With their recent change of allegiances, Coatleque is worried that their already sparse time together may be lessened more.

♥ Bartolomeo Filangieri: A fellow Sultansworn and shield brother. Coatleque initially reported to him while their blades were pledged to the Harbingers. Since then it seems she has been giving him more council than the reverse, a role she is rather uncomfortable with.

♥ X'Kohu Tia: Former (albeit short lived) Crafting Saint of the Harbingers, the two had little interaction until recently. His rather forward advances have made for some lightly awkward conversation mainly do to Coatleque's obliviousness.

Other Acquaintences

♥ Barbarccia Valadis: Coatleque does not know much about this woman, and from what she's seen so far that's a good thing. The Miqo'te comes off as very haughty, pushy, even rude. There is a certain tension present whenever they are in the same room together, and is probably best for the both of them that Coatleque can hold her tongue. Coatleque will refer to her as 'Madam Valadis' and indulge her aristocratic attitude, but personally would not shed a tear if the woman was finally put in her place.

♥ Val Nunh: Not so much a friend as an acquaintance. Coatleque knows next to nothing about him, save what she unfortunately has to overhear when in the same room. Her first impression was of him and another member discussing their many visits to the brothels of Ul'dah - a conversation which has left her with distaste for them both.

Enemies / Rivalries

None so far (feel free to edit)

Rumors

PC Rumors

None so far (feel free to edit)

NPC Rumors

• Random Brass Blade: "Oh, I remember her. Quite good with her mouth that one, mmm-hahahaha!"
• Random Brass Blade: "She was my favorite. Just something about those eyes... and red hair. *sigh* Shame when we had to take that place down."
• Random Drunk: "Huh? *hic* eeehhh... get offa my *hic* lawn you kidsh!"
• Mylla: "She came to us with nothing but a fire in her eyes, I couldn't turn her away. I just hope she learned something here."
• Jenlyns: "A fine sword arm on that girl. And you'd be hard pressed to find a more loyal soldier. I fear what her lack of confidence may lead to, however."

Quotes

(feel free to edit)

• "Look Jancis, I'm flying!" ~ while being carried to an inn room after too much wine
  
• "I'm not a warrior like you, Tasa. I was supposed to be a house-wife!" ~ personal moment with Tasa Rhyzul
  

Current Events / Achievements

(In order of most recent)

• Career Change: With the company slowly falling apart under absent leadership, a change of allegiance has finally been forced. While Coatleque's first liege has always been the Sultana, she worries for the rest of the Harbingers who are now scattered abroad.
• Dear Sister: It's hard not to get involved in your best friend's love life when everyone else keeps throwing it in your face.
  
• Tension Abounds:
  

• After sharing some personal 'girl' time with Tasa in the Mist, the pair parted ways with an unexpected kiss.
  
• An emotional parting of ways occurred as both women decided to move on from the Harbingers. They have promised to keep in touch however possible.
  
• Some shameless flirting has led to a sudden outburst in public. Has a relationship been strained, or has Coatleque been forced to confront her fears of being hurt?
  

• HoD Leviathon Plot: While the Harbinger's Vanguard fought the Leviathan near the Ilse of Umbra, Coatleque led a successful diversionary move against the Sahaguin to prevent them from interfering with the main assault. Once the beast was felled, she ordered the withdraw to reinforce the company while the wounded were tended to.
  
• Paladinhood:
  

• Since pledging her life and blade to the Sultansworn, Coatleque has been taking active guard duty in Ul'dah. A boring start to her career.
• Promoted to Leftenant through dedicated service (AKA, I ground enough tomes for the Valor set)