Star Berry

Styrbera Sylbraelwyn
"Life is one adventure, deat' is t'e next. Only one is inevitable."
The Wandering Priestess
Gender	Female
Race	Roegadyn
Clan	Hellsguard
Citizenship	Unknown
Religion	Nald'thal, the Traders Menphina, the Lover
Age	27
Nameday	10th Sun of the 5th Umbral Moon, 1550
Height/Weight	6 fulms 3 ilms, 250 ponz
Occupation	Priestess of Nald
Server	Balmung

Styrbera Sylbraelwyn is as unique a priestess of her order as she is an individual amongst her kin. Stout and sweet as a pint of the honey wine she favors, the Hellsguard bears a gentleness of nature rarely rivalled by others who worship Nald with the same devotion. While not naive, she is unfalteringly optimistic, offering prayers and benedictions freely to those in need. Despite her scarred visage, the aura of warmth that exudes from her person is difficult to miss.

Character

General

Given Name: Styrbera Sylbraelwyn [STEER-behr-AH|SEEL-brehl-WEEN]: The name she adopted upon reaching adulthood. As the small enclave in Alabathia's Spine devoted to Nald from which she hails has maintained its devotion for centuries with only moderate outside interaction, the Hellsguard there have yet to shirk their full names (or the language itself) in favor of their first name's translation. While in her community, she is rarely referred to as 'Sylbraelwyn' since she reached maturity except in formal instances that require it (such as by her elders).

Aliases/Nicknames: Star Berry : The translation of her chosen name, often given to non-Roegadyn she encounters in her travels to accomodate their typically untrained tongues. The name 'Styrbera' was taken after her rite of passage, wherein at the age of fifteen, she ventured into the wild below their mountainous home to meditate for three weeks without aid. During this time, she subsisted off the late winter snow of the lower slopes and would have undoubtedly succumbed to starvation if not for the gifts of pale, glimmering fruit left to her by some unknown source. A few of these were returned to the elders for examination and labelled starberries, reasoned to have been dropped by some unwitting bird trying to return to its nest only to be startled repeatedly by the fasting youth. Still, 'Star Berry' was taken as her formal name.

The fruits were, in fact, snowberries. These fruit are poisonous to many more fragile humanoids, but nutritiously valuable enough to subsist upon for short stretches of time for the strong-stomached Roegadyn.

Cyclops : A more intimidating label repeatedly bestowed upon her during her travels. Born with a congenital cataract in her left eye, Star Berry nearly lost the ocular altogether while undergoing her combat training. The vicious scar that stretches from lower cheek to forehead on that side and the milky lense of that eye has incited her to wearing an eyepatch regularly which obscures most, but not all of the unsavory aspect of her otherwise handsome face. This tactic, however, tends to be more intimidating rather than less.

Current Residence: Wanderer

Relationship Status: Available

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Romance: Panromantic

Religion: Nald'thal, the Traders; Menphina, the Lover.

Appearance

Height: 6 fulms, 3 ilms - Probably the absolute shortest Roegadyn woman you will ever meet.

Weight: 250 ponz - Often obscuring her wealth of powerfully corded and well-developed musculature is a generous layer of fat that lends to the appearance of a voluptuous figure that borders on corpulent. While her weight is healthy, her height does nothing to even out her distribution of weight.

Body: Styrbera possesses a stout figure for her race, inarguably the shortest even within her enclave. Her inherently hardy bone structure prevents her from appearing portly; rather, more stocky than some of her taller, leaner kinswomen. A strong neck leads to broad, squarish shoulders, and proportionate arms to terminate in large hands. Broad fingers bear well-kept nails and pronounced calloused across thick knuckles. Deltoids, biceps, and the leaner muscles of her forearms are all pronounced, bulging slightly even at rest as testament to the discipline through which they were forged.

A hardy ribcage tapers sharply at the upper waistline only to bloom again into broad hips. Her abdomen is long, and while thick, still reveals the outline of the hardened muscle beneath made softer by a layer of plush. Her legs, like her arms, are equally strong though the swells in thighs and calves does not lend to the illusion of length. The generous endowments of a shapely backside and the heavy swell of bosom are typically obscured as much else beneath layers of linen and leather, serving only to give her a heavier-set appearance than the Hellsguard truly deserves.

Styrbera is capable of graceful movement, her celerity and dexterity surprising in short bursts. Fluidity is a trait that she maintains at all times though when peaceful, the same ease of motions seem almost sluggish. While she can maintain a quick walk with a lengthy stride, she favors a slower gait and more relaxed posture whenever circumstances allow and will often fall behind if allowed.

Complexion: A unique characteristic of the Hellsguard is one of the first one might note upon an initial encounter. Her skin is remarkably pale, as far a cry of the deep reds and browns most Hellsguard are known for. The milky white is only slightly tinged by pink, spottled in clusters on the shoulders, hips, back, chest, and face with faint freckles. The equal pale of her hair, from braided main to thick, frosty lashes combined with the reddish hue of her irises hint at albinism, though she finds her coloration rather unremarkable and will openly claim that her mother and grandfather look much the same. She suffers as much in glaring sunlight as she does of shame, socially; which is to say, she does not suffer at all from either.

• 'Tattoos': There is a black outline of a shield in the center of her brow. A jewel of her namesday appears embedded therein through some means. The stone is pink tourmaline in the deep red variety. She also bears a black tattoo entwining the symbols of Nald and Menphina on the back of her neck between her shoulders.
• 'Piercings': Both ears, twice in the lobe and once in the cartilage on either side.

Face: Her facial shape is strong, not quite so afflicted with plush as the rest of her, though there is an undeniable plumpness in a shapely, rose-colored mouth and upper cheeks. Features like a broad jaw, a pronounced, aquiline nose, and the dark patch of skin above her nostrils define her Hellsguard heritage better than her size, weight, or hue. The creams and pale pinks of her palette make the deep garnet of her right eye more noticeable as well as the pinkish, milky hue of its twin and the jagged scar that 'decorates' the flesh above and below it. The fringe of over-thick white lashes decorate almond-shaped eyes with mild epicanthic folds.

Altogether, like many, she has a fairly masculine face made more feminine by the sheer softness of color and flesh therein (barring the left side's damage) Unlike some, however, she does make conscious effort to decorate her face and will apply some shadows or lip stains when the thought occurs to her. Whether or not this is merely for her own sake, to lessen the appearance of roughness, or to appear more attractive to others is debatable.

Styrbera is prone to smiling a great deal and frowning very little, lending to smoothness of a high brow and the light lines at either side of her mouth. When her joy is particularly strong, dimples appear in her cheeks which she can become mildly self-conscious of when made aware of them. This is likely to lead to trying to frown, imminent failure, then boisterous laughter on her part.

Hair: The locks of hair are worn in clean braids that range from the scalp to the tips; most ending in or ornamented with silver clasps and bells. Her texture of her hair, when freed, is silken, and the length nearly a quarter more than it is while braided. Loose, the stained tips reach her mid-back while the mass is composed both of waves and curls. The lack of real color in her skin is much the same in her hair; the whole of her mane so pale a blonde it borders on white. Only on rare occasion will she allow the locks to be seen free, however. Given that she goes to such lengths to braid it regularly, this is likely more because of the effort she puts into arranging it rather than any dislike of the strands in their natural state.

Periodically, the Hellsguard will stain the tips of her hair red with dyes that she will make of berries or, more often of late, procure from an alchemist. While she admits to enjoying the colors, the effort is made partially of some devotion to her patron, Nald. Another voluntary confession is that she takes great pride in her hair for a woman with a penchant for pugilism. Such length and embellishment might seem a hindrance to a martial combatant, though while fighting, her reason for pride becomes clearer. She is not so prideful in the appearance of the braids so much as she is the tempting handles they present to her opponents. Not once in her life has someone managed to grasp a handful in a fight and in all truth, Star Berry seems to be waiting for someone to accomplish the feat.

One can typically hear her coming before they see her, simply from the tinkling sounds of her many silver adornments clicking against one another while she walks.

Fashion: Unlike the mild effort of make up and the greater effort put into her hair, Star Berry seems rather unconcerned about her style of dress. She will wear just about anything she can, and in whatever assortment is most convenient. It may become rather apparent that she either has no fashion sense whatsoever in this capacity or that she may, in fact, be colorblind as this careless mentality towards dressing often results in a horrid clash of colors that can be offensive to the eyes. She seems to favor no colors or cuts, and will dress in just about anything that fits; something of a feat all on its own.

If she has any wealth, she does not show it in her attire. The majority of the fabric is composed of linen or wool, both of which she seems rather indifferent towards. Other pieces will fortunately be composed of leather, typically black but sometimes brown. She tends to wear shapeless pieces, though the reason for that is less that she is concerned about ease of movement or even that she is more comfortable and is often only because she picked them up somewhere and has yet to give up wearing them. While she will patch her clothes on occasion, many of them are threadbare or moth-eaten.

She does wear six, heavy silver bangles apart from her earrings and hair ornaments as a form of jewelry. Three on each wrist, each bears a repeating pattern of the symbol of Nald. Star Berry does not permit these being removed for any reason and will become aggressive if a circumstance arises wherein any one or all of them might be forcibly removed.

Behavior

Voice: Styrbera has a rather obvious accent that she -can- but rarely if ever, tries to hide. Her pronunciations can be a bit odd, 'w's often turning to 'v's and 'th's becoming 't's and there is usually a discernable upwards inflection to be found. Still, she maintains a pleasantly smooth voice in speaking and enjoys a lengthy conversation for great spans of time, never seeming to run out of questions or winding tales. On occasion she will lapse into silence or request it outright, fading into periods of quiet introspection before resuming a conversation.

She does not sing when she can avoid it and the reason why is fairly obvious early on when forced to do so. Anything outside of a jaunty tavern song seems to be beyond her capability to perform. Though she speaks in a sweet albeit languid way, her singing can be, for lack of a better word, squawkish, breaking at anything above or below her natural range.

Demeanor: This Roegadyn, for one who enjoys a good fight, is as non-aggressive as one can be. Her laid-back demeanor comes dangerously close to lethargic at times, as she seems somewhere between perpetually calm and eternally jovial. It is incredibly difficult to offend her. Even speaking poorly about her friends, origins, or deity will rarely rile her, and instead incites more patience and effort at diplomacy. If she is not eating, she is drinking. If she is not drinking, she is sleeping. If she is not sleeping, she is laughing. If she is not laughing, she is fighting. Otherwise, she is doing some combination of those and enjoying herself immensely.

In her opinion, life is about balance. Her dedication to her cause may seem only to exist at the back of her mind, but in truth it is always at the forefront. If faced with any circumstance involving evil or sorrow, her personality will change immediately to handle the situation then and there. As mellow as she is, Styrbera is not lazy, and will not shirk important duties or try to devalue the problems of others. Her sincerity is palpable and positive as she may be, she is never saccharine.

Quirks: Under Construction

Intelligence: Under Construction

Religion: A priestess of Nald and a follower of Menphina, Styrbera's religious beliefs may seem as though they would be as conflicting as the fire and ice of both patron deities. In reality, her dualistic worship has served to temper her, offering more insight into the divine than focusing on the tenets of a single member of the Twelve than some others may boast. Much of her gentleness and efforts at altruism come from her beliefs regarding Menphina. These also heavily influence her views on romance in general.

Her worship of Nald more conservative and disciplined than her free worship of the Lover. As a Priestess of Nald, she has been brought up on the belief that death reaches all, even the immortals. For those who aspire to immortality with evil in their hearts death must be delivered at the hands of Nald's followers. Necromancy is a capital sin beyond all else, the horrors of which her enclave seeks to hunt down and exterminate. This calling is prioritized above love, self-preservation, and even family though the tenets of her order do not require abstaining from any of those otherwise.

Those of Nald are free to live and love for up to two epochs and are encouraged to experience all that there is in life (in moderation) before they are expected to return to their home in Alabathia's Spine to deliver the records of all they have encountered in the outside world. Every priest and priestess has undertaken these pilgrimages and these are often the times that children like Styrbera are conceived before being returned to the enclave at the end of the parent's venture.

Death is not to be feared, nor is it to be prematurely sought out. Taking one's own life for any reason save for the preservation of innocents is a choice others are free to make and respected by the devout of Nald; though taking one's own life within the order is seen as disrespecting their patron. Life is a journey to death in their mind, something to be suffered through or enjoyed for all that it has to offer. Depending on how an individual chooses to live that life, the eternity to follow may be proportionally beautiful or nightmarish.

Romance: Under Construction

Combat

General

Style:

Under Construction

• Smaller Opponents/Melee:
• Larger Opponents/Melee:

Specialization: Under Construction

Strengths: Under Construction

Weaknesses: Under Construction

Weapons:

• Daggers
• Staff
• Unarmed

Tendencies

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Other ■ Favourite Food/Drink: ■ Favourite Creatures: ■ Least Favourite Food: ■ Least Favourite Creature:

Relationships

Family

Under Construction

Player Character Standings

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

Under Construction

History

Past

[Under Construction]

Current

[Under Construction]

Rumours

Common Rumours (Easily overheard)

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Moderate Rumours (Moderately difficult to overhear)

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Rare Rumours (Very difficult or rarely overheard)

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PC Rumours (Feel free to add IC rumors.)

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Artwork

[Under Construction]

Annotations

• Template credit goes to Bancroft Gairn.