Name: Alexandra Sabbos
Nickname /Alias: Alex, by closest friends.
Age: 23
Sex: Female
Race: Human
Height: 5’ 5”
Weight: 133 lbs.
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color/Style: Grey. Kept in a long, thigh-length ponytail by a leather strap; hanging from the tip is a very lightweight trinket, shaped in a small loop and coming to a soft point on the bottom. The sides of her bangs reach down around two inches past her shoulders.
Skin Color/Complexion:White. Slightly tanned, due to outdoor activity and travels.
Theme Songs: Immortal and
Siege of Madrigal Appearance: Pic
here. Alexandra’s face is smoothly square, her chin and cheekbones rounded rather than pronounced. It is most often set in a confidant smile or neutral expression. She has a celestial nose, and keeps her eyebrows well-trimmed. She also makes sure to keep most other visible body hair in check as well, and as such has little to no hair on her legs, armpits, etc.
Her form is fit and lithe as a result of regular exercise. While not overly toned or muscular, she possesses good strength for one of her gender, able to lift and use heavier objects than most women.
She wears knee-high brown leather boots, with straps on the feet for tightening. Underneath these are longer, leather, water-proof leggings, and then thigh-high socks. Her torso is completely clothed in tight cotton wrappings; covering these is a blue and white tunic, with embroideries on the front. The tunic top goes up several inches higher than the one in the picture. Around her waist and hips is a short skirt made of soft and hard leather skirting. Over her neck and shoulders is secured a hard leather throat-guard. Her arms bear sleeves stopping just short of her shoulders, and have leather around the biceps. She also wears gloves.
A few leather belts go over all this to hold her equipment and weapons.
Weapon(s): A light poleaxe of 6 feet in length. Its axe blade has spikes protruding from its curved edge, intended to puncture heavy armor, while also cleaving flesh from lighter opponents. While slightly heavy, it is perfectly balanced due to the counter-weight on the opposite end. It can be secured to her back for travel with an adjustable-length leather strap (not pictured).
A tanto, whose blade is four inches long. This simple knife is kept in a well-hidden sheath inside her right boot.
Armor: Much of her clothing is made of leather padding/armor, but in addition to this, she has a small blue plate attached to her left bicep, and metal gauntlets/vambraces up to her elbows.
Carried Possessions: A small bag of money with gold coins inside equaling $150 USD. She also carries a skin water flask that is nearly always filled.
A healing potion can usually be found on her person. Her usual choice is one that heals blood loss, muscle, tissue, and skin damage, but nothing skeletal, poisonous, or mental. It has one dose, and is potent enough to mend a deep gash or stab anywhere on the body. Skin damage cause by the wounds is reversed, and blood loss caused by the wounds is regained.
Powers/Magic: Alexandra was born with what some may call a heightened sixth sense, others, premonition, and still others, good instinct. Whatever it is, it is something she has come to rely on heavily, and calls it Vague Intuition.
Vague Intuition grants Alexandra an advanced “gut feeling” about people and choices. For instance, when interacting with another person, her Intuition will inform her vaguely of the person’s character, general purposes, and whether they pose an immediate danger to her or those around her. When dealing with a decision, the power gives her a sense for what the outcome may be, if she will be pleased with the results, and if she should make a choice or not. This ability makes her wise for her age.
Skills: Skilled in the use of the lance or derivatives thereof. If it has a shaft and sharp bits of metal on the end, chances are she will be highly effective with it in combat.
A decent tracker and novice hunter. Can easily survive in the wilderness. Her Intuition does assist in these areas.
Knows tanning of hides, to make clothing. Not a master by any stretch of the imagination, but still knows enough to do good work.
Has lead militia in small battles against bandits, mercenaries, evil-doers and the like effectively. Can devise functional battle-strategies and tactics. Also experienced in leading a small community.
Limits: Vague Intuition will not tell her specifics about anything it indicates. She is left with an unclear but useful sense of direction. It is also unable to show her any other possible courses of action. Its sole purpose to give vague foresight. It is very difficult to use in distracting or emergency situations, any foresight granted takes a short bit (under 30 seconds but always over 5) and enough focus to concentrate on the feeling.
Side-Effects: None.
Battle Strengths: A skilled user of polearms, Alexandra attacks quickly at a distance with both circling and stabbing motions, to outmaneuver, outspeed, and overwhelm her adversary. As good in a duel as a melee, she can predict her opponent’s moves ahead of time and prepare accordingly. Her ultra-light armor gives her the flexibility and freedom of movement she needs to be light on her feet and swift in the assault. She has the strength to use just about any type of polearm while maintaining her superb agility.
Her leadership in battle gives those under her morale and coordination, often giving her side an edge.
Battle Weaknesses: Her choice of weaponry, while good at a distance, is useless in extremely close quarters, and if the enemy is fast enough, he could possibly grab ahold of the shaft, however unlikely that is, considering her speed and experience with the weapon. When stripped of a polearm, she has pitifully little recourse. Alexandra cannot fight with her fists or legs with any skill, and is easily overcome at this point. In addition, should she be struck, by a hard blunt object or worse, her armor will provide hardly more than a cushion. While it can sustain blows from punches, kicks, etc., it was never intended to protect against sharp man-made weapons. Thus, she has to avoid the majority of enemy attacks, or risk serious injury.
Her strength is not up to par with an in-shape male’s. A soldier with average strength should prove sufficient to overpower her physically. She could still outrun him, but then again, there are those who can catch her.
Personality: Alexandra is a leader by nature. She isn’t a heady, forceful woman, but she will take initiative and command if given half a chance. Her style of leadership is done by example, rather than delegating orders. Tolerant (though not fond) of opposition, she views adversity as a challenge for her character. Insubordination and disobedience, however, she will deal with harshly, perhaps too harshly, but never unjustly. She encourages free thinking and problem-solving, and is disappointed if those under her command have to come to her to settle an issue they could have on their own.
This is supplemented by compassion and understanding for those under her leadership and those she cares about. Alexandra is an approachable, caring person, easy to talk to and confide in. She tries to bring out the best in those she interacts with, inspiring loyalty. She truly loves her village, and would do anything to help or protect it.
Doesn’t plan things out too far ahead of time. Normally, her power has saved her the need for it, but she still often finds herself in situations where some extra forethought would have saved her time and pain. This tendency is also evident in her speech: often she will say something straight out of her mind, and then regret her hasty words.
Whatever she puts her hand to, she strives to master it. This applies to fighting, the order, hide tanning, teaching, etc. Even if she doesn’t possess an aptitude for what she does, she still attempts to be the best. This can and has exhausted her, as she spent too much energy on something that she couldn’t really do.
She hates studying and reading books. As much as it was necessary for her to learn the ways of
St. Melkos’ order, and to teach her village’s children, she still detests learning and teaching in this way, and would much rather learn kinesthetically, or, by experience.
As a leader or friend, she values honesty and loyalty above all else. She cannot stand lying, backbiting, gossip, and the like. Her strong moral convictions stem primarily from her training in the ways of the order. Alexandra feels that this training was her most valuable gift growing up.
Killing is something she strongly dislikes, but knows is necessary for defense. She believes wars of aggression cannot be justified, but that self-defense is a requirement to stop evil men from taking advantage of the good. Every time she hurts or kills someone, she feels guilty, but tries not to think about it, and focuses instead on the good she did by protecting the well-being of another. Those who kill for sport, personal gain, and pleasure are the worst sort of people in her eyes.
Alexandra believes everyone has a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. By doing evil, though, one can forfeit those rights and force the hand of those who defend good. At the same time, everyone can be redeemed. The basis on which she extends her mercy to evil-doers changes from person to person, usually at the counsel of her conscience. She is a woman of second and third chances. Most of the time.
She is usually an upbeat, happier person, capable of being serious, but preferring to stay positive. Her morale can easily fluctuate with loss or disappointment, and she doesn’t deal with either well, though her strong will has never let her quit yet. Her belief in the doctrines of
St. Melkos has taught her to live for others, and those she is closer to hold greater sway over her emotions.
Likes: Leading, working, having fun, being with friends and family.
Dislikes: Evil people, raiders, lack of morality, reading, idleness.
Fears: Loss, especially of loved ones or close friends, failure, betrayal.
Virtues: Loving, compassionate, just, moral, hard-working.
Vices: Poor planner. Often has overly high expectations for herself and others; deals poorly with failure, loss, and disappointment. Puts too much on herself. Inexperienced in many areas. Poor with money management.
History: Alexandra was born in western Yaevin as the fourth child of a tanner and his wife. She grew up in a happy household, if a work-filled one. Her father did not make a lot of money in the forest village they lived in, and so the children did their part to keep food on the table and clothes on everyone’s backs. They had little materially, but they loved each other, and appreciated the simple things in life. These sentiments were reinforced by the local chapter of
St. Melkos’ church. Unlike the majority of Yaevin, Alexandra’s village accepted the teachings of
St. Melkos, living within their means, being honest with one another, working hard, and doing their best to be compassionate and peaceful with all they came in contact with. She was always known as a girl who had uncommon wisdom, if not always maturity, for her age. In time, Alexandra went into the priesthood, learning the skills necessary to teach others, and the finer points of belief in Sol and Luna, the two-part god. This decision was influenced by her growing understanding of the unnatural sensing she had. After these skills were hers, she decided on becoming a missionary for the order, and thus began her second season of training. This one was more difficult. She learned how to use a lance, taught her by the veteran captain of the village militia. Then she was put through wilderness survival training, and learned the skills necessary to stay alive.
When this was done, the village chapter paid for her equipment, and sent her off. A tear-filled good-bye ensued, but her heart called out for her to leave. So she went, off into the labyrinthine forests of Yaevin. There she lived for a few months, seeking out the village she felt she could do the most good in. When she found it, it was a sequestered, failing, isolated village on the very border of Yaevin territory. Its seclusion provided for some protection from thieves and such, but its situation was still very dangerous, as frontiers often are, and the people’s lack of morals did nothing to improve their situation. Alexandra began working as a hunter, bringing in kills to support herself while she started teaching the beliefs of
St. Melkos. The villagers, initially distrustful, warmed up after several months, due in no small part to her willingness to adopt the attire, customs, and lifestyle of their community. They allowed her to continue instructing, and in time adopted the faith themselves. It was at this point when they made her teach their children basic reading, writing, and mathematics, like she had learned from the priesthood. A transformation occurred amongst the people: they grew to be honest, rather than lie; they started working their fair share, instead of procrastinating or lazing off; they grew to have a greater respect and love for one another. The village’s prosperity soared.
Then the village elder died, and Alexandra was unanimously appointed as the new Chief. She immediately formed a militia group to provide organized resistance against raiders, and established a written form of the common law. She successfully trained the men of the village to be a respectable, if tiny, fighting force, and together they have prevailed against the outlaws who have intended harm against the community.
She currently resides as the Chief and head of militia, arbitrating law disputes, teaching the village children, and overseeing major community projects, such as palisades or wells. The life she has chosen, while difficult in the eyes of some, has brought her nothing but fulfillment.
07-29-2012, 12:26 AM
(For that matter, Alexandra is also Greek.)
