Gwendolyn (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
crownlessbluebird) wrote2017-01-27 11:55 pm
crownlessbluebird) wrote2017-01-27 11:55 pm
Anima_Echoed App
Player Name: Re
Player Contact: pinkparasol (PLURK) // pinkparasol#4080 (DISCORD)
Character Name: Gwendolyn
Species: Valkyrie
Canon: Odin Sphere
Canon Point: Book 6: Armageddon; Chapter 5: The Last Dragon
History:
Gwendolyn and her sister Griselda are sent off to help lead the start of the Third Cauldron War within the ruins of the country of Valentine against the fairies of Ringford.
The first wave is a failure as Lord Brigan and his army are late on arrival to aide the flagging troops. Griselda is thus cut down and dies in Gwendolyn's arms.
Gwendolyn inherits Griselda's psypher spear and rushes off to die to avenge her sister.
Gwendolyn is defeated by Ringford's feared Shadow Knight, but is left alive despite all others before her being cut down by his blade.
The scattered troops retreat to regroup and rally for a second assault lead by King Odin himself.
During the assault Gwendolyn comes across and defeats the dragon Belial thus aiding in the victory for her country in retaking the Cauldron.
The victory turns bitter when the Cauldron seems to suddenly stop working due to the work of the Forest Witch, Velvet. Gwendolyn volunteers to capture Velvet.
During her fight with Velvet, Odin appears and Gwendolyn learns that Velvet is her elder half sister born from the Princess of Valentine during the war between Ragnanival and Valentine. During these revelations Lord Brigan also appears showing he had heard this scandal and blackmails Odin into using Velvet as a sacrifice to regain the ring Titrel from the dragon Wagner.
Seeing how much her father is suffering under the thought of Velvet being eaten by a dragon, Gwendolyn decides to go to Mount Horn and rescue this sister she had never knew of before. Even though it would mean officially being a traitor to her King and Country.
Gwendolyn manages to reach the summit of Mount Horn just as Brigan tells Velvet he does not plan to feed her to a dragon, but kill her himself and then go back to Ragnanival and spread about how heartless Odin is to send his own child to be killed. As Brigan has designs to overthrow Odin and rule himself.
Gwendolyn has no choice but to fight and kill Brigan in order to save Velvet. After telling Velvet to flee, Gwendolyn herself returns to Ragnanival despite knowing the fate awaiting her for her acts of treason.
Gwendolyn is judged and sentenced to banishment from her kingdom. To add on to such she is to be given to a stranger as a wife and spelled to love this man no matter what, which is considered the greatest punishment amongst the Valkyrie. However, she does not despair as Odin places the spells on her as he finally speaks of affection towards her before the sleep part of the spell claims her fully.
Gwendolyn awakens in an old castle and learns to her horror that she has been given to Oswald, the Shadow Knight of Ringford. Despite being enemies on the battlefield Oswald shows kindness and gives Gwendolyn a gift before leaving to perform a task.
Realizing the gift given to her is the ring Titrel that was supposed to be in the belly of the dragon Wagner, Gwendolyn returns to Ragnanival to deliver the ring to her father.
Arriving shows something horribly wrong as everyone seems to be against her by order of her father. When she manages to fight her way to the throne room Gwendolyn finds out her father is being possessed by the spirit of Brigan who made a deal with Odette, Queen of the Underworld, as both wish torment on Odin.
After banishing the spirit from her father, Gwendolyn hands Titrel over much to the delight of her father, but instead of using this to return as a citizen of Ragnanival she instead returns as her honor and slowly conflicting feelings have her heading back to be at the side of her husband.
As time passes and no word from Oswald is heard Gwendolyn becomes worried and after learning where he had gone, even more concerned and thus sets out to the Volkenon Lava Pits.
Upon arrival, and ignoring the blatant flirting and attempts to woo her from King Onyx she soon learns that Onyx had sent Oswald to fight a newly hatched dragon. Onyx attempts to make a deal of her renouncing her marriage to Oswald and marrying Onyx instead in order to annul the agreement the two had made, since Onyx was originally meant to be given Gwendolyn by Odin if not for the fact Oswald was capable of slaying Wagner. Gwendolyn rushes off to find Oswald.
She arrives as Oswald loses his strength and collapses and thus she rushes into battling the dragon Leventhan. Victorious and after once more telling Onxy to leave her alone she brings Oswald back to the old castle and tends to his wounds.
Shortly after he awakens a messenger from Ragnanival arrives and informs Gwendolyn that Ringford had managed to defeat Odin and had taken the ring Titrel. This also in hearing of Oswald who had not realized his gift had been given away before now. Not realizing what is happening Gwendolyn does not realize Oswald has heard this and has left.
While searching for the missing Oswald, Gwendolyn realizes what her feelings are and what Titrel now means to her and thus heads to Ringford to reclaim the ring as the precious gift Oswald gave her.
After reclaiming the ring. Gwendolyn finds out the truth of how much Oswald has done in regards to her and that he had been taken by a Halja, a servant of the Underworld.
Not even hesitating Gwendolyn goes to ask the one person alive that knows how to enter the Netherworld, her father. Odin of course wants Titrel as the price and once set they make their way into the land of the dead. Gwendolyn soon confronts the queen of the dead and when Odette refuses to give Oswald up Gwendolyn engages her in battle. Ultimately killing her and severing the only link that allowed the living and dead to pass between the land of the dead and the land of the living. Her final breath stating death would now be more terrible without her there.
After escaping and Oswald awake Odin, laminates the lost of the crystals in the underworld to make more psyphers, thus once more demands Gwendolyn gives him Titrel as promised. Gwendolyn refuses as Titrel is a representation of Oswald's lover for her and thus far too precious to give away. Enraged Odin almost strikes her down, if not for Oswald intervening. Odin then tells them both to go and that he never wishes to see Gwendolyn with that ring in his kingdom again.
After a time the world seems to suddenly gone awry and while Oswald has gone off to gather information of the disasters happening. Gwendolyn watches as the the dead swarm Ragnanival, seemingly swallowing it whole. Instead of heading to safety she instead goes to follow after Oswald. Stating to Brom and Myrris, the trusted companions/servants that were asking her to come with them, that if they are meant to meet again to do so on top of Horn Mountain. Before she leaves the spirit of Griselda appears before her telling her to 'knock down the crown' and to 'remember her part in the prophecies' before disappearing.
Fleeing the old castle being overrunned by the dead Gwendolyn flies up and see Leventhan now grown and so large he looks as if he could swallow the world. She also notices a crown lodged within a horn on the giant dragon's head and remembers what her sister told her. After a furious battle Gwendolyn manages to knock down the crown and kill Leventhan. However the battle has taken its toll and as the great serpent falls from the heavens so too does Gwendolyn her wings dissolving from her injuries and the lack of magic on this dying world. Her last thoughts being her wish to see Oswald once more and to actually tell him her feelings.
She's reborn on a new world and tasked as a Scion to help save it now...
Personality:
In your character's canon, what motivates or drives them to make the decisions and choices they make?
Love. In every instance, moment, and decision that Gwendolyn makes throughout the entire game always comes back to love in one form or another and her desire to actually receive such from those she has deemed precious in some way. Her single minded pursuit of doing anything and everything she can think of that would have her father say even one word of affection for her, right down to her challenging and killing the Queen of the Underworld because losing Oswald and the love he was willing to give her is far more frightening than if she were to be slain.
It's quite frightening to think about what this desire could have done if someone else had given her love freely before Oswald had.
Underneath this central motivation is her pride and kindness, for she was raised to hold her head high and face any challenge bravely and with honor. Her kindness while scoffed at by many of her kinsmen is what led to wheels to be turned and fate to find a way.
Gwendolyn is first and foremost a Valkyrie.
As the word tends to invoke when heard by many, this means Gwendolyn is a fierce warrior in battle, proud and unafraid of the death that awaits her at the end of a blade whenever she steps foot into the chaos of war. One who is meant to show no mercy or weakness to the enemy, and being a motivation to allies to fight just that little bit harder to find victory. Coupled with a culture where if a Valkyrie slips up they lose their chance for an immortal soul via honorable death in battle, to instead become an obedient wife to whoever they are given to; Gwendolyn toils under the double burden of not being allowed to be anything but a perfect ideal of a Valkyrie and Princess of Ragnanival. Thus perfection and a fierce defense to any that may attempt to snipe her down into disgrace are wrapped around her like a cloak of ice.
Despite this upbringing and harsh mentality, Gwendolyn is far from being bloodthirsty or without any softness in her soul. In fact she's actually quite kind, soft spoken, and gentle in nature when she is not being a soldier. Often times being ridiculed for being too soft and lenient when her sister or any other Valkyrie would strike first and ask questions later. Gwendolyn actually prefers aiding others and being helpful, but upbringing and her attempts to prove herself to her father makes such buried under the almost silent Valkyrie facet. In many other places such would be cultivated and her genuine regard for others seen as a good trait in a leader. However, in Ragnanival it is her elder sister who is seen as the more charismatic and strong leader. As such the side of her that is nurturing and soft tends to be smothered under her persona of a stoic soldier. However, when allowed and encouraged a more 'motherly' side is there waiting to bloom.
This does not mean that she is not without a temper, as there are a few things that can cause her to lash out. Even then she still remains mostly in control when her buttons are pushed. Oft times she retaliates with sharp words and only threatens violence unless pushed into having no choice but to physically lash out. Her reputation on the battle field and being 'Odin's Witch' making it to where intimidation is usually all she needs when someone crosses a line. Though the quickest way to make her wish to enact violence upon you is to threaten or attempt to take away those precious to her.
This leads into a deeper look at Gwendolyn. For you see, though strong and proud as she was raised to be on the surface, on a deeper level Gwendolyn is very much lacking in anything regarding self worth. Having grown up seeking the approval and affection of a father that at the best of times is distant and dismissive to at the worst overly critical and biting words, have left large cracks within Gwendolyn. This lack of real parental affection has left little in the way of a solid foundation in which Gwendolyn can feel safe and comfortable in being herself as most children have since they know regardless of mistakes their parents love them. Add in a mother dying when she was young and an older sister who did love her but was also seeking such affection from their father meant there was very little in the way of family warmth for Gwendolyn to hold on to and feel safe. It's likely a sheer testament to her natural kindness that while broken in various ways from this she didn't completely shatter and become an unfeeling and cold marionette. Though she has and still is close to being nothing but a marionette to be manipulated by whoever can hold the strings. As she spends a great deal of her life trying to be whatever it is Odin wants her to be and willingly going into any situation no matter how dire if it is what is needed of her. All in the hopes of one smile or 'good job'from Odin. Even her life is held with little regard as she would be willing to throw it away if death would mean she'd be loved. Once more due to her culture she also does not see herself truly as an actual person due to always having the threat of being given to a man as a bed warmer and brood mare if she disgraces herself or her father becomes tired of her not being enough to be a beloved daughter.
Even when she is hurting and bewildered by the fact Odin shows more care and love to Velvet then her, her own gentle nature and the need to please her father has her forsaking every value she has in order to keep her father from suffering in any way. Blithely stating she is happy to have done what she has done and willingly goes to her fate as a wife to a stranger for breaking her country's laws.
In many ways this need to be valued, to be seen as worth something to someone for who she is and not what she is has acted as a smoothing of the way in regards to her actually falling in love with Oswald. For though it's forever shadowed by her belief that her heart is being magically controlled to love Oswald, the very fact from the first waking moment Oswald has given her what she has wanted from her father without question and without any price to be paid tilts her world sideways in various ways. Growing up under the belief that she has to earn affection, and that she has to submit herself to whatever is asked for even a scrap of such, Oswald completely throws her for a loop. This confusion actually allowing her to think and realize that perhaps she doesn't need to actually jump through hoops for a kind word or to be blindly obedient for a brief moment of affection.
With these realizations Gwendolyn's steadfast loyalty to Ragnanival and her father Odin seamlessly shifts completely to Oswald by the time her story finishes. Which, while still unhealthy as she would gladly walk into hell if he wishes such of her, is actually a step in a better direction for her life as that unconditional affection fills in the cracks left by Odin. Giving her strength instead of chipping away at her. The more she is told she is valued and can decide for herself the more whole she becomes. Even though there will always be lingering aspects of her upbringing that will never fully go away.
It's not all that hard to imagine then, that in time, Gwendolyn would fully believe and actually use her free will instead of being a doll to be used for any scrap of affection. However, that time is cut short due to the end of the world so we can only speculate about how long and bumpy such a road to healthy self esteem and independence would be. I mention this as due to her coming in with barely a shaky foundation that still needs the support of Oswald to keep it steady in regards to free thinking and independent actions. She is likely to spend a bit of time guarded behind her normal proud Valkyrie aspects and just trying to find something to give her stability that she can cling to. Especially, as she will likely be in denial and then mourning over being alone in a new world some of her progress will be shot to hell and she'll fall more into Ragnanival thinking to cling to familiarity in regards to her husband and her memories.
Abilities, Powers, Afflictions:
-Physical Abilities: As a Valkyrie of Ragnanival it's in her blood so to speak, to be war like and battle ready. While canon does not go much into early years the fact Ragnanival has always been war like and a land of harsh conditions it is easy to believe Gwendolyn started training from a young age to be a soldier. She is trained primarily in the use of a spear and a small arm shield which is the standard weaponry for Valkyrie as such weapons utilize their speed and evasive movements. As well as allowing them a lighter carrying load to keep them from being unable to fly and glide into attacks from the air.
This also means she has tactical knowledge as being a princess she is meant to lead and show by example upon the battlefield. However considering most of the troops held Griselda in a deeper regard she likely did not excel at being a commander like her elder sister had.
A likely downside of her heritage is that she is not meant to take a lot of hits and to remain mobile as much as possible, so armor is often sacrificed to maintain speed and flying height. Thus if she can not dodge it would only be a matter of time before blows will overwhelm her.
Her wings are an iffy subject as it's not really stated or shown if they are genetic, magical constructs, or a bit of both. For my own sake I tend to default to them being a genetic trait of Ragnanival women that need a spark of magic at a certain age to appear and grow. The wingspan seems to be arms length or a little more and are situated at the juncture of hip and waist the length of each wings is about double the length from an educated guess while looking at her sprite and game art. While large there's likely some magic involved that allows those wings to allow flight without problems. Especially as her bones are likely not hollow like a birds, even if they may be a bit lighter than a normal human.
Due to her world being a middle age fantasy type world and her heritage as a member of royalty and officer in the military means that Gwendolyn has basic knowledge most modern societies take for granted. She can read, write, use math, and various other skills those in charge of kingdoms and armies must know to keep said groups of people alive and loyal. She also has skills in survival, tracking, hunting, gathering, herbalism, first aid, alchemy, cooking, sewing, leather maintenance, armor maintenance, weapon maintenance, map reading/making, and various other skills one picks up and learns when roaming through the wilderness as a soldier or being taught the expected skills a wife is supposed to know.
-Magic:Have you seen motes of light that appear from the bodies of the fallen? These lights are called Phozons, lights that hold the power of life. Phozons arise from the death of living beings, and return to the earth to foster new life. Man and beast are given life from this earth and plants bud and grow fruit. Phozons are also called magic elements and are an indispensable source of magic for sorcerers. However, in order to collect Phozons, one must steal the life force of the dead, originally meant to return to the earth.
You must never forget the weight of this act.
This is basically what Gwendolyn knows about magic, doubly so as most of her magic was brought about through the use of her Psypher spear which basically devoured phozons to gain more power to create more magic spells. Her psypher gave her ice aligned magic that allowed her to create waves of ice to slam up into foes from the ground or fly towards a target.
Normally this is where I would list and describe every spell one can grind for her in game, but as all of those are tied to her spear that has no business every showing up in this game because of the fact it sucks life to power it...So unless something comes up and the Great Beasts get drunk and decide to bring psyphers into this world it's best to just have it to where the only magic Gwendolyn has is whatever is inherent of being a Valkyrie and being Odin's daughter as he is known as a holder of a thousand spells. Though the chance of Odin willingly teaching Gwendolyn magic in any form is next to nil, and thus any magic she may have learned is likely traditional things women of Ragnanival should know if they have a spark of magic in them.
So starting out she's going to be just a spearman who can also fly, but will likely pick up magic quickly once she learns how it works in this world.
(I also have no idea if the feathers in her hair are purely decoration or are magically part of her because they change shape between her hair up and in armor mode and hair down in civilian mode. If it's allowed I'd like them to be part of her just for simplicity and the belief those feathers may have some magic in them like the normal wings since all Valkyrie have them.And is not just the artists keeping a them across the board for style points If not I'll just use her making new ones as a prompt.)
Path Preference: Chivalry For being a soldier all of her life the order and familiarity will help her as well as give her reason to seek out others due to various missions that may pop up. Or Devoted The whole aspect of faith and religion is not something she would fall into fully, it istoo much like the prophecies that governed most of her world, but that devotion and the goodness that seems to govern this path would likely draw her in even if just out of curiosity.
Element Preference:
Anima Creature Description:
Brunhilde (female)/Draconic
Egg: A smallish egg that can fit in the cupped palms of Gwendolyn's hands. With a slight glow, the warm to touch shell is smooth and could be mistaken for a large pearl in shape and shine.
Hatchling: Serpentine like body the shape of a ferret and with about as much energy as one as well. Colored predominantly a blue so dark she is mistaken for being colored black to those that only give a brief look. The smooth scales have a soft pink glimmer when light hits at the right angle and large grey eyes that are a bit too wide and big for her face currently. The only other distinguishing marks being two "wings" on the sides of her head where ears on most mammals would be that range from a pink and purple 'feathers' at the rounded base and gradually darkening to black at the tips of these feathers. Very reminiscent of her sister's headband wings. ((Pic for ref)) With four black clawed limbs that are designed for climbing and clinging to various surfaces allows this very mobile noodle to be even more so in a more vertical fashion. Luckily flight is not an actual aspect for this little thing or else Gwendolyn would be even more harried in chasing it down. Especially as a hatchling she's starts out at a mere foot in length from snout to tail tip and only manages to get to two feet before the next development stage.
Juvenile: Jumping from three to four feet in length during this stage of growth but still maintaining that serpentine/ferret like body. The eyes are finally beginning to fit the face and the grey has darkened to a dull silver.
Adult: Growth finally stops at five feet in length and the claws have taken on a mirror sheen that reflects the same pink highlights her scales do. The "ear wings" have also flared out like a bird in flight. Coupled with the large silver eyes gives her an almost perpetual startled look.
Her diet is opportunistic. Which just means that she's an omnivore who will eat whatever can be found. Though there is a preference to sweet things if there is a choice.
Anima Traits:
Fiercely loyal to the point of bullheaded stubborn streaks when she attempts to help.
An unwillingness to back down from any challenge.
Extremely affectionate to those she likes.
A bit haughty and distant to those she's uncertain about.
Fearless and curious in exploring the world around her
RP Sample:
First Sample:
Heeding the Call
She remembered the burn of cuts and throb of bruises, even the odd agony as her wings had begun to dissolve and scatter feathers around her as she fell. The sight of a great shadow blocking out all light was confusing, but it surely was just her seeing the corpse of Leventhan falling alongside her from the heavens. She did not need to be told or given time to accept that Erion was gone, she had known her world was doomed the moment the dead had poured out of Endelphia and covered her beloved Ragnanival like a black wave in a putrid ocean. The prophecies had come to pass and the end of everything had been at hand.
It was why she knew she would not cry out or rage against her being here as she delicately picked her way into this chamber and to a tiny pearl like egg that seemed to hold most of her attention. She also knew that the only tears she would shed would be much later when she knew none would see and be for the fact that she was here without him, that whatever fate had decided when it had allowed her to meet Oswald had decided to rip her from him just as she had accepted and fully embraced this illusion of love in her heart. For now the warm weight in her hands was enough to keep the bruise in her chest from blooming more.
The sudden sound like glass breaking in tiny pieces had her fully staring as cracks appeared suddenly in the egg she held as the shell fell away and in her hands as a coiled ball of dark scales and feather tufts that made lungs hitch for a moment. The subtle sheen of a familiar shade of pink to those dark blue scales making it hard to regain lost breath as the ball of coils unfurls and a tiny face stares up at her with impossibly huge grey eyes and a sudden warmth is there in her chest next to the bruise that was once her heart. It's not enough to erase the fact Oswald isn't here, or that everything she knows is gone, but that warmth is precious all the same. She is still not certain what to do taking care of a dragon instead of attempting to slay it before it causes untold damage, but she's already decided to learn and try.
"Brunhilde."
It was a name that seemed connected with foggy sights and gentle hands in her hair as the dress she had loved and claimed when she had grown older rustled in those same memories. It was still a dear name, but did not have any of the agony that was there when she thought of Griselda.
"Your name is Brunhilde now. I shall do my best for you, and even if I falter I will rise up and try again."
She had made the mistake of losing sight of such warmth and how precious it is when she had spurned Oswald so harshly those first few months. This time she would be the one to cling tightly and not let go.
Second Sample:
TDM Thread
Player Contact: pinkparasol (PLURK) // pinkparasol#4080 (DISCORD)
Character Name: Gwendolyn
Species: Valkyrie
Canon: Odin Sphere
Canon Point: Book 6: Armageddon; Chapter 5: The Last Dragon
History:
Personality:
Love. In every instance, moment, and decision that Gwendolyn makes throughout the entire game always comes back to love in one form or another and her desire to actually receive such from those she has deemed precious in some way. Her single minded pursuit of doing anything and everything she can think of that would have her father say even one word of affection for her, right down to her challenging and killing the Queen of the Underworld because losing Oswald and the love he was willing to give her is far more frightening than if she were to be slain.
It's quite frightening to think about what this desire could have done if someone else had given her love freely before Oswald had.
Underneath this central motivation is her pride and kindness, for she was raised to hold her head high and face any challenge bravely and with honor. Her kindness while scoffed at by many of her kinsmen is what led to wheels to be turned and fate to find a way.
Gwendolyn is first and foremost a Valkyrie.
As the word tends to invoke when heard by many, this means Gwendolyn is a fierce warrior in battle, proud and unafraid of the death that awaits her at the end of a blade whenever she steps foot into the chaos of war. One who is meant to show no mercy or weakness to the enemy, and being a motivation to allies to fight just that little bit harder to find victory. Coupled with a culture where if a Valkyrie slips up they lose their chance for an immortal soul via honorable death in battle, to instead become an obedient wife to whoever they are given to; Gwendolyn toils under the double burden of not being allowed to be anything but a perfect ideal of a Valkyrie and Princess of Ragnanival. Thus perfection and a fierce defense to any that may attempt to snipe her down into disgrace are wrapped around her like a cloak of ice.
Despite this upbringing and harsh mentality, Gwendolyn is far from being bloodthirsty or without any softness in her soul. In fact she's actually quite kind, soft spoken, and gentle in nature when she is not being a soldier. Often times being ridiculed for being too soft and lenient when her sister or any other Valkyrie would strike first and ask questions later. Gwendolyn actually prefers aiding others and being helpful, but upbringing and her attempts to prove herself to her father makes such buried under the almost silent Valkyrie facet. In many other places such would be cultivated and her genuine regard for others seen as a good trait in a leader. However, in Ragnanival it is her elder sister who is seen as the more charismatic and strong leader. As such the side of her that is nurturing and soft tends to be smothered under her persona of a stoic soldier. However, when allowed and encouraged a more 'motherly' side is there waiting to bloom.
This does not mean that she is not without a temper, as there are a few things that can cause her to lash out. Even then she still remains mostly in control when her buttons are pushed. Oft times she retaliates with sharp words and only threatens violence unless pushed into having no choice but to physically lash out. Her reputation on the battle field and being 'Odin's Witch' making it to where intimidation is usually all she needs when someone crosses a line. Though the quickest way to make her wish to enact violence upon you is to threaten or attempt to take away those precious to her.
This leads into a deeper look at Gwendolyn. For you see, though strong and proud as she was raised to be on the surface, on a deeper level Gwendolyn is very much lacking in anything regarding self worth. Having grown up seeking the approval and affection of a father that at the best of times is distant and dismissive to at the worst overly critical and biting words, have left large cracks within Gwendolyn. This lack of real parental affection has left little in the way of a solid foundation in which Gwendolyn can feel safe and comfortable in being herself as most children have since they know regardless of mistakes their parents love them. Add in a mother dying when she was young and an older sister who did love her but was also seeking such affection from their father meant there was very little in the way of family warmth for Gwendolyn to hold on to and feel safe. It's likely a sheer testament to her natural kindness that while broken in various ways from this she didn't completely shatter and become an unfeeling and cold marionette. Though she has and still is close to being nothing but a marionette to be manipulated by whoever can hold the strings. As she spends a great deal of her life trying to be whatever it is Odin wants her to be and willingly going into any situation no matter how dire if it is what is needed of her. All in the hopes of one smile or 'good job'from Odin. Even her life is held with little regard as she would be willing to throw it away if death would mean she'd be loved. Once more due to her culture she also does not see herself truly as an actual person due to always having the threat of being given to a man as a bed warmer and brood mare if she disgraces herself or her father becomes tired of her not being enough to be a beloved daughter.
Even when she is hurting and bewildered by the fact Odin shows more care and love to Velvet then her, her own gentle nature and the need to please her father has her forsaking every value she has in order to keep her father from suffering in any way. Blithely stating she is happy to have done what she has done and willingly goes to her fate as a wife to a stranger for breaking her country's laws.
In many ways this need to be valued, to be seen as worth something to someone for who she is and not what she is has acted as a smoothing of the way in regards to her actually falling in love with Oswald. For though it's forever shadowed by her belief that her heart is being magically controlled to love Oswald, the very fact from the first waking moment Oswald has given her what she has wanted from her father without question and without any price to be paid tilts her world sideways in various ways. Growing up under the belief that she has to earn affection, and that she has to submit herself to whatever is asked for even a scrap of such, Oswald completely throws her for a loop. This confusion actually allowing her to think and realize that perhaps she doesn't need to actually jump through hoops for a kind word or to be blindly obedient for a brief moment of affection.
With these realizations Gwendolyn's steadfast loyalty to Ragnanival and her father Odin seamlessly shifts completely to Oswald by the time her story finishes. Which, while still unhealthy as she would gladly walk into hell if he wishes such of her, is actually a step in a better direction for her life as that unconditional affection fills in the cracks left by Odin. Giving her strength instead of chipping away at her. The more she is told she is valued and can decide for herself the more whole she becomes. Even though there will always be lingering aspects of her upbringing that will never fully go away.
It's not all that hard to imagine then, that in time, Gwendolyn would fully believe and actually use her free will instead of being a doll to be used for any scrap of affection. However, that time is cut short due to the end of the world so we can only speculate about how long and bumpy such a road to healthy self esteem and independence would be. I mention this as due to her coming in with barely a shaky foundation that still needs the support of Oswald to keep it steady in regards to free thinking and independent actions. She is likely to spend a bit of time guarded behind her normal proud Valkyrie aspects and just trying to find something to give her stability that she can cling to. Especially, as she will likely be in denial and then mourning over being alone in a new world some of her progress will be shot to hell and she'll fall more into Ragnanival thinking to cling to familiarity in regards to her husband and her memories.
Abilities, Powers, Afflictions:
-Physical Abilities: As a Valkyrie of Ragnanival it's in her blood so to speak, to be war like and battle ready. While canon does not go much into early years the fact Ragnanival has always been war like and a land of harsh conditions it is easy to believe Gwendolyn started training from a young age to be a soldier. She is trained primarily in the use of a spear and a small arm shield which is the standard weaponry for Valkyrie as such weapons utilize their speed and evasive movements. As well as allowing them a lighter carrying load to keep them from being unable to fly and glide into attacks from the air.
This also means she has tactical knowledge as being a princess she is meant to lead and show by example upon the battlefield. However considering most of the troops held Griselda in a deeper regard she likely did not excel at being a commander like her elder sister had.
A likely downside of her heritage is that she is not meant to take a lot of hits and to remain mobile as much as possible, so armor is often sacrificed to maintain speed and flying height. Thus if she can not dodge it would only be a matter of time before blows will overwhelm her.
Her wings are an iffy subject as it's not really stated or shown if they are genetic, magical constructs, or a bit of both. For my own sake I tend to default to them being a genetic trait of Ragnanival women that need a spark of magic at a certain age to appear and grow. The wingspan seems to be arms length or a little more and are situated at the juncture of hip and waist the length of each wings is about double the length from an educated guess while looking at her sprite and game art. While large there's likely some magic involved that allows those wings to allow flight without problems. Especially as her bones are likely not hollow like a birds, even if they may be a bit lighter than a normal human.
Due to her world being a middle age fantasy type world and her heritage as a member of royalty and officer in the military means that Gwendolyn has basic knowledge most modern societies take for granted. She can read, write, use math, and various other skills those in charge of kingdoms and armies must know to keep said groups of people alive and loyal. She also has skills in survival, tracking, hunting, gathering, herbalism, first aid, alchemy, cooking, sewing, leather maintenance, armor maintenance, weapon maintenance, map reading/making, and various other skills one picks up and learns when roaming through the wilderness as a soldier or being taught the expected skills a wife is supposed to know.
-Magic:
You must never forget the weight of this act.
This is basically what Gwendolyn knows about magic, doubly so as most of her magic was brought about through the use of her Psypher spear which basically devoured phozons to gain more power to create more magic spells. Her psypher gave her ice aligned magic that allowed her to create waves of ice to slam up into foes from the ground or fly towards a target.
Normally this is where I would list and describe every spell one can grind for her in game, but as all of those are tied to her spear that has no business every showing up in this game because of the fact it sucks life to power it...So unless something comes up and the Great Beasts get drunk and decide to bring psyphers into this world it's best to just have it to where the only magic Gwendolyn has is whatever is inherent of being a Valkyrie and being Odin's daughter as he is known as a holder of a thousand spells. Though the chance of Odin willingly teaching Gwendolyn magic in any form is next to nil, and thus any magic she may have learned is likely traditional things women of Ragnanival should know if they have a spark of magic in them.
So starting out she's going to be just a spearman who can also fly, but will likely pick up magic quickly once she learns how it works in this world.
(I also have no idea if the feathers in her hair are purely decoration or are magically part of her because they change shape between her hair up and in armor mode and hair down in civilian mode. If it's allowed I'd like them to be part of her just for simplicity and the belief those feathers may have some magic in them like the normal wings since all Valkyrie have them.
Path Preference: Chivalry For being a soldier all of her life the order and familiarity will help her as well as give her reason to seek out others due to various missions that may pop up. Or Devoted The whole aspect of faith and religion is not something she would fall into fully, it istoo much like the prophecies that governed most of her world, but that devotion and the goodness that seems to govern this path would likely draw her in even if just out of curiosity.
Element Preference:
- Ice - Aside from canonical importance due to her being Ice aligned magically in her own universe. Ice also in many ways represents how fragile and strong she can be during any moment and even at the same time. Her warrior heritage and upbringing makes her sharp and deadly as an ice storm in defense of her country and pride, yet like thin ice on a lake she can easily shatter and break emotionally, due to that same upbringing isolating her in various ways emotionally from those around her. As being the second princess and daughter of a father that does not give love freely if at all her heart does not just bruise it can shatter easily.
Light - As one of the two meant to recreate life for her homeworld after Ragnarok, the symbolism of her being a light at the end of that dark time. It also is a magic that could be shown as her gaining light into her own life. Both in her finding her own path as well as finding that light in being loved by someone unconditionally. Gwendolyn likens her love for Oswald like the light of the stars that shall never go out. This would mean that light magic could be a representation of her love.
Shadow - Much like light was brought into her life, her life has been full hardships that have made her who she is today. Most adversity shadows the memories of your life and paints them in ways that can weigh heavily on you or give you strength. The fact Oswald was the Shadow Knight of Erion means that it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility that her wish for some connection to her husband would translate into her gaining magic more attuned to her husband.
Anima Creature Description:
Brunhilde (female)/Draconic
Her diet is opportunistic. Which just means that she's an omnivore who will eat whatever can be found. Though there is a preference to sweet things if there is a choice.
Anima Traits:
RP Sample:
First Sample:
She remembered the burn of cuts and throb of bruises, even the odd agony as her wings had begun to dissolve and scatter feathers around her as she fell. The sight of a great shadow blocking out all light was confusing, but it surely was just her seeing the corpse of Leventhan falling alongside her from the heavens. She did not need to be told or given time to accept that Erion was gone, she had known her world was doomed the moment the dead had poured out of Endelphia and covered her beloved Ragnanival like a black wave in a putrid ocean. The prophecies had come to pass and the end of everything had been at hand.
It was why she knew she would not cry out or rage against her being here as she delicately picked her way into this chamber and to a tiny pearl like egg that seemed to hold most of her attention. She also knew that the only tears she would shed would be much later when she knew none would see and be for the fact that she was here without him, that whatever fate had decided when it had allowed her to meet Oswald had decided to rip her from him just as she had accepted and fully embraced this illusion of love in her heart. For now the warm weight in her hands was enough to keep the bruise in her chest from blooming more.
The sudden sound like glass breaking in tiny pieces had her fully staring as cracks appeared suddenly in the egg she held as the shell fell away and in her hands as a coiled ball of dark scales and feather tufts that made lungs hitch for a moment. The subtle sheen of a familiar shade of pink to those dark blue scales making it hard to regain lost breath as the ball of coils unfurls and a tiny face stares up at her with impossibly huge grey eyes and a sudden warmth is there in her chest next to the bruise that was once her heart. It's not enough to erase the fact Oswald isn't here, or that everything she knows is gone, but that warmth is precious all the same. She is still not certain what to do taking care of a dragon instead of attempting to slay it before it causes untold damage, but she's already decided to learn and try.
"Brunhilde."
It was a name that seemed connected with foggy sights and gentle hands in her hair as the dress she had loved and claimed when she had grown older rustled in those same memories. It was still a dear name, but did not have any of the agony that was there when she thought of Griselda.
"Your name is Brunhilde now. I shall do my best for you, and even if I falter I will rise up and try again."
She had made the mistake of losing sight of such warmth and how precious it is when she had spurned Oswald so harshly those first few months. This time she would be the one to cling tightly and not let go.
Second Sample:
TDM Thread