Percival Rigel

Percival Rigel
Gender	Cis Female
Race	Hyur
Clan	Highlander
Citizenship	Undisclosed, current residence is Limsa Lominsa
Birthplace	Ul'dah
Nameday	32nd Sun of the 5th Astral Moon
Patron Deity	Azeyma, the Warden
Height/Weight	6 fulms/145 ponze
Server	Malboro (NA, Primal Datacenter)
RP Tumblr	@blackguarded

Percival Rigel is a lancer-gone-rogue (pun intended) born in Ul'dah. Formerly passionate about pursuing the art of the lance due to stories shared with her as a child, events that transpired during her membership ultimately drove her away from the guild and the city-state of Gridania. Taking up a new outlook on life and a pair of knives, she now works for the Dutiful Sisters of the Edelweiss as a rogue, having found a new brand of courage in steadfast adherence and enforcement of the Code.

In Character

Appearance

Standing at 6 fulms even, Percival would be an imposing figure were she not so lean in build. Though she has some curves on her, she's pretty light for her height, and it shows in how thin she is. Her training as a lancer made her pretty physically fit, shaving off a lot of the extra body fat she had (although there wasn't much to begin with), and although she no longer follows a strict regiment of exercise, her work as a rogue demands she be at least somewhat nimble... Though her work at the Culinarian's Guild seems to have spoiled her, and she's started to regain some fat in part due to her diet.

Her shoulders are relatively broad, and serve as the other hint (the first being her height) of her Highlander heritage. Her face, on the other hand, is fairly feminine and soft in appearance, apart from the jawline. She wears her dark brown hair cut short and into layers, with bangs concealing her right eye, where she has a scar. Her eyes are also green, though the concealed eye is a bit lighter in shade (and no, she's not blind in it).

In terms of complection, it could be said that her skin is sun-kissed – and from just that, the sun. She tans before she burns, and the freckles adorning her cheeks and chest are a bit more noticable in the summertime when she gets a lot of sun as a general rule.

History

→With Time Comes Grace

Born on the 32nd Sun of the Fifth Astral Moon to a Highlander woman living in Ul'dah named Elise Blair (though Percival herself never took nor used this surname), Percival's childhood was marked with struggle. Despite frequent financial aid from a father unseen until her third year, there was constant effort needed to make ends meet; her mother, poor in health rather consistently throughout Percival's life, took up work with the Weaver's Guild spinning thread and making cloth, although she wasn't quite skilled enough to do much in the way of commissions or making repairs more complicated than sewing buttons back onto things. She kept young Percival at her side and indeed it was for Percival in the first place that she worked so tirelessly and Percival who saw most of the benefits from this work. As she grew older, her mother began teaching her things such as how to read, write, and do arithmetic, and although Percival would rather help her mother with her weaving, the lessons were quality time that she would come to miss once enrolled in formal schooling.

A few moons after Percival's tenth nameday, her mother's health began to rapidly deteriorate, but it being that they were strugglign to make ends meet, she did not seek medical attention and continued to work herself practically to death to ensure that Percival had a good life. And of course, her daughter knew roughly what was going on; however, the grim reality of death failed to hit her until Elise finally passed away on the 27th Sun of the Second Astral Moon. Both Percival and Percival's father – Aaron Rigel – remained by her side until she passed, and in the aftermath, her father readily took Percival in.

But she quickly found that there wasn't exactly space alloted for her in their family – the only room there was was for her father, her father's wife (Camilla Rigel), and her half-sister (Mintaka Rigel). While her father accepted and loved Percival unconditionally – as a father rightly should – Mintaka's reaction to suddenly having a half-sister was tepid at best, and her father's wife rejected her outright. Her arrival drove a wedge between them, and after around a moon and a half of arguments and strife, Camille divorced her father and ceased residence at their home. While Mintaka still saw her mother occasionally, she still came to resent Percival for driving her mother away.

Percival's father enrolled her in formal schooling shortly after takign her in – although the environment never resonated well with her and her marks were generally poor. Her difficulty adjusting, poor grades, and taunts from her peers in regards to her heritage led her to cause a fair bit of trouble in the classroom, until eventually she was placed in Mintaka's class despite being two years older. Her grades improved, but she gradually came to resent her schooling and by age fifteen had stopped attending altogether under the pretense of pursuing an apprenticeship, although most of the time she simply wandered the streets of the city or helped around the house. Occasionally she'd find work with someone or another hauling things about or doing other odd jobs in an effort to make some gil of her own.

Only a fortnight after her eighteenth nameday did all of her efforts come to fruition; she set forth for Gridania to take up the art of the lance, leaving only a note with assurances that she'd be fine behind. With her gil she bought first a weathered spear, then some food for the road ahead – and finally, a chocobo carriage ride first to Camp Drybone and then to the Black Shroud beyond.

→ Proof of Might

Having taken an interest in lance-wielding in part due to stories her mother told her about her grandfather, living at the time still in Ala Mhigo (though certainly presently deceased) and his service in the Ala Mhigan military and his skill with a lance, Percival set forth for Gridania with the singular goal of emulating her grandfather – and perhaps seeign the sights along the way. Having lived all her light in Ul'dah and the surrounding deserts and badlands of Thanalan, first seeign the Black Shroud in person was a little bit overwhelming, although it was certainly a change she welcomed.

In a way, it was a fresh start. The city of Gridania quickly found a special place in her heart, and she found her way to the Lancer's Guild just as quickly with her weathered spear in hand. However, she never excelled at lance-wielding, at least insofar as natural talent was concerned; she conformed strictly to Ywain's teachings with little question and rarely thought to do much different or innovative. But there, she at least felt at home; she faced each day with a smile and renewed determination to do something great.

Then came a Duskwight named Foulques. Having made the mistake of standing her ground instead of winding in fear when he turned his lance on her after she returned to the guild after a training exercise, he took an interest in her – and from then on continued to meddle in her training, with an unfortunately tragic end result.

So great was she, the woman who killed Foulques of the Mist. Of course, most reasonable people would argue that it wasn't her fault; that there was nothing she could have done. Ywain blamed fate; Percival blamed herself.

The bitter taste left in her mouth drove her to leave the lancer's guild with no notice, no warning – and leave Gridania and the Twelveswood behind shortly thereafter, being unable to bear the sight of the city that would so easily dismiss the death of Foulques – a man Percival regarded perhaps not as good, but certainly as brave. And perhaps she could have saved him.

→Namebrand Courage

She found herself in Limsa Lominsa after a bit of wandering, and quickly found that she could blend right in among a largely transient population. She reinvented her image, though refused to abandon her name – she took up a new lifestyle and started practicing a fake Lominsan accent in the mirror until it was perfected. She found her way among the rogues that comprised the membership of the Dutiful Sisters of the Edelweiss, and the idea of a strictly-enforced code only solidified her decision to join their ranks. She found courage in their code, in fact; although, any errant observer would be able to tell that her hands did not originally wield twin daggers; Percival Rigel, after all, is not what one would exactly call light on her feet.

But perhaps, she never quite found a purpose; never quite found a rhyme to the reason.

She also took up membership with the Culinarian's guild and found work with the Bismarck, although even with gil from both shady and legitimate sources, she has no true home of her own. She's more or less taken up permanent residence at the Mizzenmast Inn – or the Dutiful Sisters, if she's gone and overworked herself and needs to crash. Because of her twin career paths however, much of her time is filled, and though technically classified as an adventurer, she'd effectively taken up permanent residence in Limsa Lominsa (although the classification does help her when she needs or wants to take time off to travel around or visit friends).

Personality

→With Time Comes Grace

Percival during this time period is generally lax and a bit too loose-lipped for her own good. Bright-eyed and optimistic, she yearns for new opportunities and is looking forward to what the future brings. However, she tends to deflect the focus off of herself. While her dreams and goals (which she is fond of gushing about) seem selfish, it becomes apparent that she's learned either a bit too much or just enough compassion, depending on who you ask.

→Proof of Might

Stubborn to a fault when it comes to the pursuit of her dream of being a master Lancer, Percival is almost unbearably orthodox when it comes to the guild's teachings and, in battle, rarely deviates from the way she learned to move. She's become a creature of habit, and while she's still fairly good-natured and willing to follow through with her goals, as time goes on she becomes less naive and less optimistic than she had been when she was younger (as time tends to do). Foulques's influence eventually begins to embitter her towards the Gridanian establishment as she begins noticing more and more how Duskwight Elezen are treated in the city-state, which accelerated the deterioration of her optimism.

→Namebrand Courage

In the wake of Foulques's death, she cast off the mantle of a Lancer. In an effort to conceal any previous affiliation with the guild or Gridania, she became secretive and aimed to reinvent herself, going as far as to reherse and mimic the Lominsan accent and dialect to fit in better amongst locals. Having lost a sense of purpose, she's turned to the underbelly of the city to sustain her, policing it as a rogue and partaking in things such as gambling and getting mixed up with all sorts of shady characters while intoxicated. She throws herself into her work and often works on only five bells' worth of sleep between her work at the Bismarck and with the Rogues, and will actively refuse any time off. She's also become aggressive and stand-offish, even toward familiar faces.

Affiliations

• Lancer's Guild (former)
• The Dutiful Sisters of the Edelweiss (Rogue's Guild)
• The Bismarck (Culinarian's Guild)

Character Trivia

• Percival is not a/the WoL, nor is she affiliated with the Scions of the Seventh Dawn in any way, shape, or form.
• She does not posess the Echo.
• Even years later, she clings to the memory of Foulques's death. As such, she is not comfortable stepping foot in Gridania, although over time she's grown used to the idea of, one day, returning to the Twelvewsood.
• She's always been fairly adept at cooking, although her lessons at the Culinarian's Guild have taken that skill and passion to a whole new level, whether she acknowledges it or not. It's also somethign she enjoys to do.
• She technically has no place of permanent residence, and will stay wherever seems safe enough and willing enough to give her board, such as the Mizzenmast Inn (due to her technical status as an adventurer).

Out of Character Notes

• Most of this information is intended strictly for OOC use, and isn't in the realm of public knowledge unless known prior to Foulques's death, s she's pretty secretive about her history from then on and aims to sever her ties from it. It could be found with a bit of digging, but I would appreciate it if it was cleared with me first.
• I'm not really a person who appreciates walk-up RPs, and I don't RP in /say or /tell. If you're on Malboro and would like to RP with me, I would appreciate arranging for it in advance, as I prefer to do it in a party setting. I'm also not opposed to setting up an LS if need be for easier communication.
• I prefer plot-driven roleplay of darker persuasions, although I'm not opposed to fluff or general character interactions.
• I actually do a lot (most of) my RPing on Tumblr. It's linked in the info bar there, and is actually my preferred format, as Malboro does not have a large RP scene and it allows me to have a wide variety of partners, cross-server, without alts because I'm too lazy to level multiple characters to 60.
• Please don't be affraid to approach me by any means you deem necessary. I'm actually a potato.