Post by Xolani on Apr 22, 2005 18:46:17 GMT -5
Name: Xolani Bronwen (Zoe-LAH-nee)
Age: 25
Gender: Female
Height: An unimposing 5’4”
Eyes: Blue
Hair: A somewhat-glossy black, usually held up in a messy bun
Weight: 120 lbs.
Description: A plain figure who tends to fade into the crowd. Eyes are usually downcast and her face has a distantly haunted look to her. She is unusually pale for a Domani, but stands straight and proud at all possible times. She would seem haughty if she didn’t look hunted. Rarely wears the clinging dresses of her homeland in an attempt to both disguise herself and forget her past.
Strengths: Confusing others and being vague. A sharp tongue, though that sometimes is more a detriment then a benefit. Very aware of her surroundings.
Weaknesses: More thinker than fighter, though she aims to change that soon. Don't expect any miracles, though.
Background:
Xolani Bronwen was born in Bandar Eban, Arad Doman, the second of four to two normal parents. She lived a normal life as a merchant’s daughter, sometimes traveling with either parent on their trading expeditions. Though a shy child, she had a great eye for her surroundings and could remember a location by only a single glance. She would always watch from a hidden corner as her parents dealt in their trade. Though these experiences, Xolani soon developed a mind for the world. Of course, as with most Domani, she developed an opinion to go with it.
It was towards her teenage years, as her soul began to become weary from her family’s journeying, that this opinion began to become dark. As the eternal months of travel went on and on, Xolani found that she wasn’t awed anymore by the splendor of great cities like Caemlyn and Illian. The Borderlands no longer impressed her with their rugged beauty. Ebou Dar was no longer a dangerously exciting place to be. Even in her home city of Bandar Eban, Xolani began to be restless. It wasn’t a restlessness for something innovative, though. It was a restlessness for something more profound, more abstract, and more untouchable. Around the time she began to feel these things and think these thoughts, she began to realize all the evils that had corrupted society. Before, in her sheltered childhood, she saw nothing but the good in people. Now she began to recognize the failings of mankind.
Frustrated in how the world could be so unkind as to be imperfect, she began to isolate herself even further from it. Xolani would lash out at those who tried to interact with her, even coming close to the point of violence. Why couldn’t people see the mistakes they were doing by stealing, murdering, scheming, and ruining the lives of others? She dwelt on these thoughts, let them feed her imagination, taint her young mind until it came to the point that not even her own parents could stand her any longer. It a fit of good ol’ Domani rage, Xolani was cast out of the family by her father. Turning an arrogant and angry heel, Xolani never looked back. For a year, she scrapped a living off the back streets of Bandar Eban. Determined never to beg, Xolani soon slipped into the ill doings of mankind that she had so scorned. Indeed, she had soon decided, that if you couldn’t beat them, join in and show them how it’s done. It was by running with the worst of them, however, that lead her to meet the man who would change her life.
Ohanz, though that is most likely not his true name, first appeared to Xolani as a middleman on the black market. It was through him, that Xolani came into the dangerous circle known as Darkfriends. Only a few years earlier she would have run away from the very idea of becoming a Friend of the Dark, but now Xolani welcomed it with open arms. Soon after meeting Ohanz, she swore fealty to the Dark Lord.
It should be known that at that fateful moment, Xolani felt complete. No longer was she restless or angry, melancholy or apathetic. She simply felt complete; there really is no other word for it. During the following years of her life, Xolani excelled in her new ‘trade’. Though she knew only a few other Friends, she schemed against them as well as a veteran Friend of the Dark. That isn’t to say that she was an expert in Daes Dae’mar, far from it. But her awareness that she had developed as a child was often a blessing when it came to evading the snares laid by her fellows and setting up a few traps of her own. Xolani quickly rose to a moderate position within the Darkfriend hierarchy of Bandar Eban. It was during these blissful years, however, when she met yet another catalyst.
Though nowhere near as frequently as Amadicia to the southeast, there has always been a few Whitecloaks wandering about Bandar Eban. Most paid them no mind and let them be on their way. Knowing this, it was somewhat unusual for Xolani to receive orders to capture one. By now, she had already done her share of kidnapping, interrogating, and disposing of certain unfortunate creatures in the name of the Dark, but she had never handled a Child of the Light before. It was stranger still when her orders said not to detain a Whitecloak immediately in the usual fashion, but over a long course of time, as to not arouse suspicion.
This was an easy task for Xolani, as she was then guised as the owner of one of the many inns that dotted Bandar Eban. Pulling a few strings and creating a few ‘coincidences’, she managed to maneuver a new band of Whitecloaks to her inn, where they lodged for the time they were there. All the while, she played the part of the gracious hostess, attending to their every whim and smiling just so. Inside, she laughed, laughed at the irony of a Darkfriend serving the Children of the Light. But as their small tour of Bandar Eban drew to a close, Xolani sprung her trap. She drugged the captain of the Whitecloaks the night before they were due to leave and hid him deep within the bowels of a Darkfriend stronghold. When the rest of the company awoke to find their leader gone, Xolani gave them a forged letter saying that the captain had an urgent summons back to the Fortress of the Light and had commanded them to continue on as previously planned. Again, Xolani laughed in her head as the Whitecloaks complied with the letter like sheep. What fools.
The man she had captured, after awakening, had angrily demanded to know what was going on. It took a few more tries to finally have the Whitecloak inform Xolani of his name and rank. In his own words, he was “Lord Captain Sebast Jepar, Darkfriend, and you’ll naught get another word out of me.” At this, Xolani couldn’t have helped but smile. Her victims could always be so obstinate at first. Of course, they never were obstinate enough to hold out after days of torture. Eventually, they would spill out every detail of their life, from the intrigues of their betters to how many times they tried to steal a drink of apple brandy as a child. But to Xolani’s surprise, Lord Captain Sebast Jepar would not break. Try as she might, using every tactic known and newly invented, that iron man would not bend, nor do anything but give her a defiant glare. But what scared Xolani the most was that if Sebast should fail to give her the information required, she herself would fail her masters. And failure, for a Darkfriend, was never a tolerable option.
But despite her slim hopes, the forsaken day came when a new order to her arrived. She expected to hear of punishment for her failing, her crime against the Dark. Instead, all that was written was “Kill the Whitecloak”. Though she knew there would be worse following soon after, she was relieved as she prepared for the task. Never having been fond of a messy, bloody death, she prepared her trademark poison to do the deed. The memory of Lord Captain Sebast Jepar’s execution would be forever ingrained into her mind.
(Continued...)
Age: 25
Gender: Female
Height: An unimposing 5’4”
Eyes: Blue
Hair: A somewhat-glossy black, usually held up in a messy bun
Weight: 120 lbs.
Description: A plain figure who tends to fade into the crowd. Eyes are usually downcast and her face has a distantly haunted look to her. She is unusually pale for a Domani, but stands straight and proud at all possible times. She would seem haughty if she didn’t look hunted. Rarely wears the clinging dresses of her homeland in an attempt to both disguise herself and forget her past.
Strengths: Confusing others and being vague. A sharp tongue, though that sometimes is more a detriment then a benefit. Very aware of her surroundings.
Weaknesses: More thinker than fighter, though she aims to change that soon. Don't expect any miracles, though.
Background:
Xolani Bronwen was born in Bandar Eban, Arad Doman, the second of four to two normal parents. She lived a normal life as a merchant’s daughter, sometimes traveling with either parent on their trading expeditions. Though a shy child, she had a great eye for her surroundings and could remember a location by only a single glance. She would always watch from a hidden corner as her parents dealt in their trade. Though these experiences, Xolani soon developed a mind for the world. Of course, as with most Domani, she developed an opinion to go with it.
It was towards her teenage years, as her soul began to become weary from her family’s journeying, that this opinion began to become dark. As the eternal months of travel went on and on, Xolani found that she wasn’t awed anymore by the splendor of great cities like Caemlyn and Illian. The Borderlands no longer impressed her with their rugged beauty. Ebou Dar was no longer a dangerously exciting place to be. Even in her home city of Bandar Eban, Xolani began to be restless. It wasn’t a restlessness for something innovative, though. It was a restlessness for something more profound, more abstract, and more untouchable. Around the time she began to feel these things and think these thoughts, she began to realize all the evils that had corrupted society. Before, in her sheltered childhood, she saw nothing but the good in people. Now she began to recognize the failings of mankind.
Frustrated in how the world could be so unkind as to be imperfect, she began to isolate herself even further from it. Xolani would lash out at those who tried to interact with her, even coming close to the point of violence. Why couldn’t people see the mistakes they were doing by stealing, murdering, scheming, and ruining the lives of others? She dwelt on these thoughts, let them feed her imagination, taint her young mind until it came to the point that not even her own parents could stand her any longer. It a fit of good ol’ Domani rage, Xolani was cast out of the family by her father. Turning an arrogant and angry heel, Xolani never looked back. For a year, she scrapped a living off the back streets of Bandar Eban. Determined never to beg, Xolani soon slipped into the ill doings of mankind that she had so scorned. Indeed, she had soon decided, that if you couldn’t beat them, join in and show them how it’s done. It was by running with the worst of them, however, that lead her to meet the man who would change her life.
Ohanz, though that is most likely not his true name, first appeared to Xolani as a middleman on the black market. It was through him, that Xolani came into the dangerous circle known as Darkfriends. Only a few years earlier she would have run away from the very idea of becoming a Friend of the Dark, but now Xolani welcomed it with open arms. Soon after meeting Ohanz, she swore fealty to the Dark Lord.
It should be known that at that fateful moment, Xolani felt complete. No longer was she restless or angry, melancholy or apathetic. She simply felt complete; there really is no other word for it. During the following years of her life, Xolani excelled in her new ‘trade’. Though she knew only a few other Friends, she schemed against them as well as a veteran Friend of the Dark. That isn’t to say that she was an expert in Daes Dae’mar, far from it. But her awareness that she had developed as a child was often a blessing when it came to evading the snares laid by her fellows and setting up a few traps of her own. Xolani quickly rose to a moderate position within the Darkfriend hierarchy of Bandar Eban. It was during these blissful years, however, when she met yet another catalyst.
Though nowhere near as frequently as Amadicia to the southeast, there has always been a few Whitecloaks wandering about Bandar Eban. Most paid them no mind and let them be on their way. Knowing this, it was somewhat unusual for Xolani to receive orders to capture one. By now, she had already done her share of kidnapping, interrogating, and disposing of certain unfortunate creatures in the name of the Dark, but she had never handled a Child of the Light before. It was stranger still when her orders said not to detain a Whitecloak immediately in the usual fashion, but over a long course of time, as to not arouse suspicion.
This was an easy task for Xolani, as she was then guised as the owner of one of the many inns that dotted Bandar Eban. Pulling a few strings and creating a few ‘coincidences’, she managed to maneuver a new band of Whitecloaks to her inn, where they lodged for the time they were there. All the while, she played the part of the gracious hostess, attending to their every whim and smiling just so. Inside, she laughed, laughed at the irony of a Darkfriend serving the Children of the Light. But as their small tour of Bandar Eban drew to a close, Xolani sprung her trap. She drugged the captain of the Whitecloaks the night before they were due to leave and hid him deep within the bowels of a Darkfriend stronghold. When the rest of the company awoke to find their leader gone, Xolani gave them a forged letter saying that the captain had an urgent summons back to the Fortress of the Light and had commanded them to continue on as previously planned. Again, Xolani laughed in her head as the Whitecloaks complied with the letter like sheep. What fools.
The man she had captured, after awakening, had angrily demanded to know what was going on. It took a few more tries to finally have the Whitecloak inform Xolani of his name and rank. In his own words, he was “Lord Captain Sebast Jepar, Darkfriend, and you’ll naught get another word out of me.” At this, Xolani couldn’t have helped but smile. Her victims could always be so obstinate at first. Of course, they never were obstinate enough to hold out after days of torture. Eventually, they would spill out every detail of their life, from the intrigues of their betters to how many times they tried to steal a drink of apple brandy as a child. But to Xolani’s surprise, Lord Captain Sebast Jepar would not break. Try as she might, using every tactic known and newly invented, that iron man would not bend, nor do anything but give her a defiant glare. But what scared Xolani the most was that if Sebast should fail to give her the information required, she herself would fail her masters. And failure, for a Darkfriend, was never a tolerable option.
But despite her slim hopes, the forsaken day came when a new order to her arrived. She expected to hear of punishment for her failing, her crime against the Dark. Instead, all that was written was “Kill the Whitecloak”. Though she knew there would be worse following soon after, she was relieved as she prepared for the task. Never having been fond of a messy, bloody death, she prepared her trademark poison to do the deed. The memory of Lord Captain Sebast Jepar’s execution would be forever ingrained into her mind.
(Continued...)
