Tempt's HISTORICAL Thread ~ Vikings/Renaissance/WWII+ *NEW: FairyTales* Updated:02/27

Name: Dýrfinna
Origin: Iceland
Ethnicity: Norse
Age: 18-20
Status: Shieldmaiden, Wanderer
Languages: Old Norse
Religion: Norse Paganism
Theme Song: "Into The Mist" - Eivør

Historical Plot:

The recorded history of Iceland began with the settlement by Viking explorers and their slaves from the east, particularly Norway and the British Isles, in the late ninth century.  According to the Landnámabók, Iceland was discovered by Naddodd, one of the first settlers in the Faroe Islands, who was sailing from Norway to the Faroes but lost his way and drifted to the east coast of Iceland. Naddodd called the country Snæland "Snowland". The first permanent settler in Iceland is usually considered to have been a Norwegian chieftain named Ingólfr Arnarson and his wife, Hallveig Fróðadóttir. According to the Landnámabók, he threw two carved pillars overboard as he neared land, vowing to settle wherever they landed. He then sailed along the coast until the pillars were found in the southwestern peninsula, now known as Reykjanesskagi. There he settled with his family around 874, in a place he named Reykjarvík "Smoke Cove", probably from the geothermal steam rising from the earth.
This place eventually became the capital and the largest city of modern Iceland. According to Landnámabók, Ingólfr was followed by many more Norse chieftains, their families and slaves who settled all the habitable areas of the island in the next decades.

Biography and Potential Roleplay Ideas:
Dýrfinna is one of the first generation of Norse descendants born on the island of Iceland. She grew up in the snowy, winter-bound lands on the settlement. She does not have a specific storyline, other than the fact that she dreams of bigger adventures than just being limited to the growing settlement on Iceland. As she grows from girl to woman, she trains as a shieldmaiden but craves the thrill of war and battle – something she does not have in Iceland. She strays from her settlement and family, travelling north-east back to the homeland of Norway to continue training. There she becomes a fierce shieldmaiden, trained by one of the best women in the Norwegian-Norse army.

Where we place her in accordance to the story can vary. She will be inexperience in battle, but an exceptional fighter (she is just juvenile, and has yet to fight aside from training). I'm thinking she is recruited to raid and continue Norway's efforts to expand. She seeks adventure, and sailing to new horizons would definitely bring her to new places and new battles. There she can meet any number of characters, from other Vikings, to Anglo-Saxons, and etc. However, she will only be versed in Old Norse, and will have no knowledge of any other language. I will consider an option where her leader is versed in another language (most likely Old English) and perhaps has begun to teach her.

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Name: Thordis
Origin: Danish-
Ethnicity: Old Norse
Age: 16-19
Status: Swordsmith, Bladesmith, Blacksmith
Languages: Old Norse, Old English, Anglo-Danish Dialects
Religion: Nordic Paganism
Theme Song: "Lady of the Dawn" – Peter Grundy
Historical Plot:
In the 9th century, Danish-Norse conquest through the British Isles was successful, leading to the take-over of nearly half of English (Anglo-Saxon) territory. The Danes obtained Northumbria, most of Mercia, and territory that would become the Guthrum Kingdom. As part of English defeat, Danish territories were ruled by Danelaw. Danelaw can describe the set of legal terms and definitions created in the treaties between the West-Saxon king, Alfred the Great, and the Danish warlord, Guthrum, written following Guthrum's defeat at the Battle of Edington in 878. In 886, the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum was formalised, defining the boundaries of their kingdoms, with provisions for peaceful relations between the English and the Vikings. The language spoken in England was also affected by this clash of cultures with the emergence of Anglo-Norse dialects. The Danelaw roughly comprised 14 shires: York, Nottingham, Derby, Lincoln, Essex, Cambridge, Suffolk, Norfolk, Northampton, Huntingdon, Bedford, Hertford, Middlesex and Buckingham.

Biography and Potential Roleplay Ideas:
Thordis is an orphan who was found wandering aimlessly in a thunder-storm when she was just a toddler. A widowed blacksmith – a Dane – found her after she had nearly be struck by a falling tree. She took her in as his own, having lost his biological children and wife to illness. He raised her as his right-hand man and bladesmithing assistant, teaching her the ways of steel work in place of his son, who had passed. Although women were not traditionally seen as blacksmith or labourers, Thordis' adoptive father saw interest, skill, and potential in his daughter, and believed women could become as accomplished as men if given the opportunity and training. Although her father would fall ill in the future, he would leave Thordis with all of his fortune, including the family business of blacksmithing. She would go on to become one of the greatest sword-makers in the entire Daneland; serving Guthrum directly and supplying even the finest of warriors and nobles with their blades.

Despite her great upbringing, Thordis does not remember who she is, nor where she came from.

Due to varying business with many different clientele, Thordis is well-versed in Old Norse, Old English, and most Anglo-Danish dialects and cross-over languages from the two regions.

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Name: Damaris
Origin: Kievan Rus'
Ethnicity: Half Greek, Half Rus (Slavic)
Age: 18-25
Status: Princess, Daughter of Vladmir the Great and Anna Porphyrogenita
Languages: Greek, Old East Slavic, Old Norse
Religion: Christianity
Theme Song: "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" - LORDE
Historical Plot:

Vladimir the Great was a prince of Novgorod, grand prince of Kiev, and ruler of Kievan Rus' from 980 to 1015. Vladimir's father was prince Sviatoslav of the Rurik dynasty. Originally a follower of Slavic paganism, Vladimir converted to Christianity in an effort to gain the hand of marriage of the sister of Basil II of Byzantine, Princess Anna Porphyrogenita. Anna was the daughter of Byzantine Emperor Romanos II and the Empress Theophano. She was also the sister of Emperors Basil II Bulgaroktonos (The Bulgar-Slayer) and Constantine VIII. Anna did not wish to marry Vladimir and expressed deep distress on her way to her wedding. Grand Prince Vladimir was impressed by Byzantine religious practices; this factor, along with his marriage to Anna, led to his decision to convert to Eastern Christianity. Due to these two factors, Grand Prince Vladimir also began Christianizing his kingdom. By marriage to Grand Prince Vladimir, Anna became Grand Princess of Kiev, but in practice, she was referred to as Queen or Czarina, probably as a sign of her membership of the Imperial Byzantine  House. Vladmir the Great would go on to have three (unidentified/rumoured) children with Anna.

Biography and Potential Roleplay Ideas:
Damaris would be one of the first ever high-profile Greek-Slavic racial mixes. Vladimir the Great's marriage to Anna would serve as a substantial alliance betwen the Kievan Rus' kindgom and the Byzantine Empire (who previous feuded). The major alliance, fortified through this marriage and through Rus Christianization, would shape the future and history of Kiev. Additionally, many members of Rus/Slavs were also part of the Varangian Guard, an elite military of warriors comprised of Vikings (Norsemen), Slavs, and Greek soldiers.

Although Damaris would have grown up religiously Christian, as was her mother, she would still struggle somewhat with an identity crisis – having been raised in two very different cultures (one of pagan origin and one of traditional Greek/ Christian origin). Despite the unique blend of cultures (music, art, languages, customs, etc.), Damaris had the opportunity to learn of many cultures, including many languages. Because her father and his kingdom dealt closely with both Slavs, Greeks, AND Norse, she learned all three languages fluently. I imagine, as royal nobility and the princess of a major kingdom, only the luckiest of men would have the blessing to meet her and the royal family.

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Name: Bozhena
Origin: Kiev (Kievan Rus)
Ethnicity: Polan (Slavic tribe)
Age: 17-20
Status: TDB
Languages: Old East Slavic, Old Norse
Religion: Slavic paganism
Theme Song: "Dawn Light" - Máddji

Historical Plot:
Once of the biggest debates of the early Middle Ages, particular in the Viking Age, is whether or not the Slavs of Kievan Rus were in fact the same group of peoples as those from Scandinavia. One of the biggest debates is whether or not Rurik, the warrior who formed the Rurik dynasty and founded Kievan Rus, was of Slavic background or of Norse. To put it simply, it is difficult and highly debatable whether there was a distinction between the Norse and Slavs during this time period. There is evidence to support both grounds, however in my historical opinion, the nations were similar, though separate in ethnic identity. For sake of simplicity, I am exploring the idea that the Slavic people and the Norse people were indeed two separate communities during this time. However, due to growing colonization on Rus territory, the Viking Age is a time where Slavic tribes began dismantling and joining other nations, especially the Norse community.

Historical obscurity aside, another fundamental aspect of Kievan Rus and the Vikings is the famous formation of the Varangian Guard. Varangians were Viking warriors, Scandinavian in origin, who emigrated to Europe to colonize and rule. During their efforts, the legendary Rurik (Varangian chieftain) and his brothers and army invaded Slavic territory and usurped the Polans (dominant Slavic tribe) from city of Kiev. From this point on, Slavic tribes were defenseless against the unstoppable force of the Norsemen. From this point onward, Kiev became the capital to a new nation, Kievan Rus, ruled by the Rurik Dynasty. Rurik continued his ruling, uniting Slavic tribes with Norse colonies to form a single nation. Kievan Rus soon became an ally of the Byzantine Empire (Greeks/Romans), to which a unique army known at the Varangian Guard was born. Made up of Viking warriors, the Varangian Guard became a military success and political asset for the Byzantine Empire.

Despite initial tensions, King Rurik was a respectable ruler, joining all the Slavic tribes and Norse communities into one unified nation. The union allowed the area to flourish in trade, wealth, and international power. Although the nation was turned upside down, the Slavic culture and religion was very similar to that of the Norse. Despite initial tensions, the integration of both peoples was easier than expected due to peaceful interactions and cultural and religious similarity. Additionally, Kievan Rus was filled with fertile land, allowing for communities to flourish. During this time, the Volga trade route was established and allowed for commerce between Scandinavia, Kievan Rus, the Middle East and the Byzantine Empire. Kiev became known for trading furs, beeswax, honey, and slaves.

Biography and Potential Roleplay Ideas:
Bozhena is of East Slavic origin, her ancestors belonging to the Polan Slavic tribe. Despite her Slavic roots, she was born into an era of great ethnic change. As a young child, her home of Kiev was besieged and overtaken by Norsemen, soon transforming the nation into Kievan Rus, a new empire made up of Norse and Slavic peoples. She grew up during this transition, becoming completely fluent in both Old East Slavic as well as Old Norse. She would reside right outside of Kiev and work on her family's floral and honey farm, selling wholesome beeswax and honey to traders as well as harvesting the flowers for ceremonious events.

For this roleplay, there are many ways Bozhena can end up pairing with a Viking. Considering the Slavic peoples and the Norse are now unified in one nation, interaction between the two communities would be habitual and constant. We can also explore the idea of pairing her with a member of the Varangian Guard, or even a member of the Rurik dynasty (someone of much higher class). One way the two characters can meet is through her farm. Since she is a harvester, she would rarely leave the land and explore the big city. Rather, it is more likely a Norsemen would come to her farm to purchase goods to trade, and/or fresh flowers for an event.

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Name: Octavia
Origin: Constantinople (Byzantine Empire)
Ethnicity: Byzantine (Greek/Roman)
Age: 18-25
Status: Monarch of the Macedonian Dynasty
Languages: Latin, Greek
Religion: Christianity
Theme Song: "My Freedom" - Two Steps From Hell feat. Merethe Soltvedt

Historical Plot:
The Byzantine Empire ruled over the Mediterranean for over 1000 years, powers often shifting from Emperor to Emperor, and even Empress. During the Viking Age, several notable figures came in to power. For the sake of simplicity, I am basing the story of Octavia specifically on one ruler - the Emperor Romanos II. He ruled for only 4 years before his death, taking reign between 9 November 959 – 15 March 963. He had three notable children with his wife Theophano, the daughter of Constantine VII. The most notable was his son Basil II, who later took throne. There was also his son Constantine VIII, and his daughter Anna, who ended up becoming the wife of Vladimir the Great. Before Romanos II married Theophano, he was married Bertha, illegitimate daughter of Hugh of Arles, the King of Italy. However, she died several years later and the marriage was never consummated. Although history texts can only identify three prominent children, it is likely he was father to more.

Biography:
Octavia is the 8th child (fictional) of Romanos II of the Macedonian Dynasty, which ruled for centuries within the Byzantine Empire. Although Ramanos died at the young age of 25, he had many children with his wife Theophanos. Aside from the three identifiable historical children he had, he was also father to several other children. However, Theophanos initially had great difficulty bearing children. She suffered two miscarriages before becoming pregnant with their first son, Basil II. Soon afterwards, she had their second son, Constantine VII. Shortly after his birth, Theophanos became pregnant with twins. Despite the twin pregnancy succeeding to birth, the children were stillborn. The couple suffered great agony, but continued to try until Theophanos was pregnant again in 963. From this pregnancy, Anna was born, just two days before his death.

To fit Octavia into the roleplay, there are four options. She can be a twin to Anna, having also been born two days before his death. A second option is that we stretch history and have Anna born in early 963, and then have Theophanos become pregnant right before the death of Ramanos II. A third option we can also incorporate that she is his illegitimate child, a child also born several months after his death. In the last option, I'd like to have Octavia still raised by Theophanos. Essentially, remorseful on his death bed, Ramanos II would admit to an affair with a poverty-stricken woman. Not wanting the child to grow up the way she did, Theophanos (who also grew up in slums) adopts the baby as her own, paying the biological mother a considerable fee for the child. She would name the child Octavia, meaning, number 8 or "8th one", in honor of her heritage to Romanos II. In this scenario, Octavia would grow to believe Theophanos is her real mother. Theophanos, now the Empress following the passing of her husband, would also fool people into believe Octavia was her own - leading only to a handful of people who know the truth.

The fourth option is a twist on the third. Rather than Octavia being an illegitimate child of Romanos II, instead, she is the illegitimate child of Theophanos. During Romanos' illness, Theophanos had an affair and became pregnant soon after his death. She claimed the child belonged to Romanos, wanting the baby to continue to carry the reign and blood relation of Romanos II. Despite having given birth to his legitimate daughter Anna, just two days before his death, the lie sticks for many years. She even names the child, another daughter, Octavia, claiming she is the 8th child of Romanos II (although in all fairness, she is the 8th daughter of Theophanos, so the name isn't a complete lie).

Potential Roleplay Ideas:
Vikings did travel to the Mediterranean to raid Rome, so we could have part of her city besieged. However, there is also another option. During the late 9th century, the Byzantine Empire had a strong military alliance with the empire of Kievan Rus - with the formation of the Varangian Guard (army of Vikings fighting for the Byzantines). We can incorporate the guard, however we can also incorporate just about any Viking into the storyline. One other option is also to have her discover the truth about her birth and to perhaps run away from the palace/ home.

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Name: Pythia
Origin: Delphi (Ancient Greece)
Ethnicity: Greek/Roman
Age: Unknown
Status: Reincarnated Oracle (Priestess/Seer)
Languages: Latin, Greek, Arabic, possibly more
Religion: Roman Paganism, Christianity
Theme Song: "The Coven" - Peter Gundry

Historical Plot:
A Pythia was a High Priestess that served in an oracle for the god Apollo during the ancient times of Roman paganism. The oracle, situated in the Delphi sanctuary in Greece, operated out of the Temple of Apollo. The role of the Pythia was to provide prophecies, predictions, and precognition of the future. In the classical antiquity age, the job of a priestess, especially the Pythia, was a respectable career for Greek women. Priestesses enjoyed many liberties and rewards for their social position, such as freedom from taxation, the right to own property and attend public events, a salary and housing provided by the state, a wide range of duties depending on their affiliation, and often gold crowns.

According to the archaeologist John Hale, “the Pythia was (on occasion) a noble of aristocratic family, sometimes a peasant, sometimes rich, sometimes poor, sometimes old, sometimes young, sometimes a very lettered and educated woman to whom somebody like the high priest and the philosopher Plutarch would dedicate essays, other times who could not write her own name. So it seems to have been aptitude rather than any ascribed status that made these women eligible to be Pythias and speak for the god.”

At the turn of a new era, the Greek and Roman empire began to convert to Christianity in and around 30 AD. With paganism outlawed for several centuries, the Temple of Apollo (or what was left of it) was subsequently destroyed in 390 AD by the Roman emperor Theodosius I, who sought to eliminate all remnants of paganism. Since the adoption of Christianity, the philosophy of Oracles was rejected, and any mysticism or psychics became forbidden as per Christian teachings.

Biography and Potential Roleplay Ideas:
Pythia was born into poverty to a slave mother and an unknown father. Her mother suffered a difficult pregnancy, experiencing several strange spiritual phenomenons. Although a devout Christian, like all citizens of the Byzantine Empire in the early Middle Ages, her mother knew her unborn child would be gifted. After a lengthy childbirth, a daughter was born with “eyes that glowed for Christ”. She was worshiped by immediate family, having endured incredible hardships throughout the pregnancy yet still surviving. Convinced the child was a reincarnation of an oracle, her mother named her Pythia (a name meaning “priestess”). Her mother's predictions served true, and inexplicable occurrences of spiritualism, even miracles, occurred around the child. As Pythia grew older, her psychic abilities strengthened, and she began predicting events in the near-future. At just 6 years old, Pythia urged her mother to runway from their master - a cruel man - insisting that he was a “snake”, not a man, and that he would kill her. Just days following the statement, Pythia's mother was dead. She was murdered, and she had died of illicit poisoning.

After discovering the swollen and deceased body of her mother, Pythia ran far from her estate. As an orphan, she survived the streets by stealing foods and goods until she was eventually caught by a local couple. The couple felt compassion for Pythia, feeling a strong connection to the child despite being robbed by her. Although the couple was curious about the child's claimed name (Pythia), the two decided to care for the girl, adopting her as their own servant. As time progressed, they soon learned more and more of Pythia's spiritual abilities. Fearing that Pythia would be sentenced to death for mysticism if discovered, they sought to hide her from the world. They attempted to convince her that she was in fact not a priestess, but just a child experiencing bizarre coincidences. Although Pythia was well cared for, as she grew into adolescence, she felt lost in her identity. Knowing full well that she was gifted, Pythia rejected the advice of her adoptive caretakers to stay quiet, and instead, left the farm to venture on to new things.

From there on out, over the years, Pythia would garner an exceptional reputation as an oracle, proving time and time again that she was a psychic and not a fraud. As her identity as a priestess grew and grew, she became profitable, and soon, protected by the Byzantine underworld. Despite paganism being rejected by Christianity and the state, her abilities soon proved undeniable and rather than being persecuted or dismissed, Pythia's abilities blossomed into an illegitimate (but popular) business. Individuals all throughout the Byzantine Empire sought her services. Even noblemen and royalty soon discreetly approached her – requesting her mystical knowledge in privacy and secrecy.

Despite popularity, Pythia remained hidden from the public. She could not be found. She did not have an address, nor a temple. She was simply a being, a woman, who's identity as a priestess was protected. She operated throughout the Empire, only coming into contact with those who sought her services through word of mouth. If you wanted to speak to her, you had to ask around and have the request spread. From that request, Pythia would then find the individual for a session. The common saying would soon become:

“If you seek the Oracle, than the Oracle will seek the truth. With patience and virtue, she will come to you.”

As for roleplay ideas, I would want to pair Pythia is someone who is seeking her service, either to utilize her abilities or perhaps even to capture her and/or kill her. It depends on the plot, your character, and the motives.

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Name: Kalára
Origin: Magyar
Ethnicity: Old Hungarian
Age: 21-25
Status: Mistress, Consort, Spy, Assassin
Languages: Old Hungarian, many other languages
Religion: Hungarian paganism, Christianity
Theme Song: "Lacrimosa" – Media Music Factory
Historical Plot:

The Magyars ( Hungarian tribes) were the fundamental political units within whose framework the Hungarians (Magyars) lived, until these clans from the region of Ural Mountains[1] invaded the Carpathian Basin and established the Principality of Hungary. Around 830 AD,[8][9] the seven related tribes (Jenő, Kér, Keszi, Kürt-Gyarmat, Megyer (hu), Nyék and Tarján)[10] formed a confederation[8] in Etelköz,[9] called "Hétmagyar" ("Seven Magyars"). Their leaders, the Seven chieftains of the Magyars, besides Álmos, included Előd, Ond, Kond, Tas, Huba and Töhötöm, who took a blood oath, swearing eternal loyalty to Álmos (the Grand Prince of the Magyars). Presumably, the Magyar tribes consisted of 108 clans. The confederation of the tribes was probably led by two high princes: the kende (their spiritual ruler) and the gyula (their military leader). The high princes were either elected by the leaders of the tribes or appointed by the Khagan of the Khazars who had been exerting influence over the Magyars. Around 862 AD the seven tribes separated from the Khazars. Árpád  - the son of Almos - was the head of the confederation of the Hungarian tribes at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries. He might have been either the sacred ruler or kende of the Hungarians, or their military leader or gyula.  Hungarians refer to him as the "founder of [Hungary]". The dynasty descending from Árpád ruled the Kingdom of Hungary until 1301.

Biography and Potential Roleplay Ideas:

Kalára was a mistress of Árpád and his avid lover. The two were deeply in love, but Árpád
was married with a wife who would go on and bear many children. When Árpád
is killed, Kalára becomes convinced that he was murdered. Pregnant with his twins, she would later miscarry as a result of a sexual assault. She begins a bloodlust that would take years to complete – vowing to murder every single person she felt responsible for the death of her unborn children. In the process, she learns many languages (a genius in her own wright) and becomes a notorious spy and assassin. She becomes infamously known as the “Blood Plague”, an unidentified woman and master-of-disguise capable of snaking her way into any and every scenario with use of charm, sensuality, and intellect. She becomes a sort of legend, even folk myth to many soldiers and nobles, and remains uncaught, even years later.

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Name: Aruzhan
Origin: Kazakhstan Territory
Ethnicity: Kipchak-Kazakh
Age: 18-23
Status: Eagle Huntress
Languages: Kipchak language, Old Turkic, Some Mongolian, Some Old Arabic, Other
Religion: Tengrism
Theme Song: "Angel By The Wings" - Sia
Historical Plot:

The current-day country of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are both rich in ethnic history. During the Viking Age, the country of Kazakhstan had not yet formed into one unified territory, but moreso, was divided in to different nations controlled by different ethnic and religious groups. In the eighth and ninth centuries, portions of southern Kazakhstan were conquered by Arabs who introduced Islam. Previous to the Islamic religion, most tribes of the area practiced Tengrism and other shamanistic cultures. The Oghuz Turks controlled western Kazakhstan from the ninth through the 11th centuries; the Kimak and Kipchak peoples, also of Turkic origin, controlled the east at roughly the same time. The large central desert of Kazakhstan is still called Dashti-Kipchak, or the Kipchak Steppe.[3] The capital, Astana, was home to many Huns and Scythians.

Kazakhstan has a well-articulated culture based on the nomadic pastoral economy of the inhabitants. Kazakh culture is largely influenced by the Turkic nomadic lifestyle. Because animal husbandry was central to the Kazakhs' traditional lifestyle, most of their nomadic practices and customs relate in some way to livestock. The traditional Kazakh dwelling is the yurt, a tent consisting of a flexible framework of willow wood covered with varying thicknesses of felt. The open top permits smoke from the central hearth to escape; temperature and draft can be controlled by a flap that increases or decreases the size of the opening. A properly constructed yurt can be cooled in summer and warmed in winter, and it can be disassembled or set up in less than an hour. The interior of the yurt has ritual significance; the right side is generally reserved for men and the left for women.

Despite historical fluctuations in diversity, cultures and religions, much of the native-indigenous culture and traditions survived (even to this day). One predominant tradition of this time was a practice called eagle hunting, where men would hunt for foxes and other animals in the snowy steppes and mountains with the help of a trained golden eagle. In both Kazakh and Kyrgyz, there are separate terms for those who hunt with birds of prey in general, and those who hunt with eagles.

Biography and Potential Roleplay Ideas:

Aruzhan is the daughter of a famous Kazakh eagle hunter and chieftain. As his only daughter and favorite child, Aruzhan's father brought her along on many eagle hunts in the snowy steppes. Despite the eagle-hunting being traditionally only pursued by men, Aruzhan's loving father submitted to her constant requests to learn the trade. In essence, he taught her all of his ways and the ways of their people, inspiring a deep passion in Aruzhan to become not only the first female eagle huntress in her community, but one of the best her community had ever seen.

Although she had training and talent, Aruzhan's dreams were soon destroyed as Arab influences began sweeping across her nation. Surrounding tribes, including the Kyrgyz, Kipchaks, and Mongols, became disrupted by Islamic forces. Although Aruzhan and her family had lived nomadic and independently for generations, their lifestyle became threatened. Her father, chieftain of their tribe, refused to convert to Islam as a indigenous to his lands, but unfortunately, suffered dire consequences. With the Arab forces too great to combat, Aruzhan and her family fled the region, seeking solace and refuge in Mongolian territory. Despite their efforts to flee, her family was captured, and Aruzhan enslaved. As a result, she could end up anywhere en route with Arab traders, who will sell her as an "exotic" slave for her Eurasian and Turkic features. Additionally, Aruzhan has much beauty, riding a high price for her service. Taken against her will, Aruzhan is left vulnerable and susceptible to falling into the hands of evil.

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Name: Princess Aruna
Origin: Gurjara-Pratihara
Ethnicity: Indian
Age: 16-19
Status: Princess, Bride-to-be, slave
Languages: Sanskrit, Prakrit, Persian
Religion: Hinduism
Theme Song: "Choli Ke Remix" – RANIDU
Historical Plot:

The Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, also known as the Pratihara Empire, was an imperial power during the Late Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, that ruled much of Northern India from the mid-7th to the 11th century. The Gurjara-Pratiharas were instrumental in containing Arab armies moving east of the Indus River.[2] Nagabhata I defeated the Arab army under Junaid and Tamin during the Caliphate campaigns in India. Under Nagabhata II, the Gurjara-Pratiharas became the most powerful dynasty in northern India. The power of the Pratiharas was weakened by dynastic strife. It was further diminished as a result of a great raid led by the Rashtrakuta ruler Indra III who, in about 916, sacked Kannauj. Under a succession of rather obscure rulers, the Pratiharas never regained their former influence. Their feudatories became more and more powerful, one by one throwing off their allegiance until, by the end of the 10th century, the Pratiharas controlled little more than the Gangetic Doab. 

Biography and Potential Roleplay Ideas:

Aruna – the female form of Arun - derives from Sanskrit meaning "dawn light" or "rising sun". According to Hindu scriptures, Aruna means the rising sun, which is believed to have spiritual powers. Aruna is thought to possess a deep spiritual connection to a higher power. She is rumoured to be able to accurately predict the future, and has helped her father keep an iron rule through her wisdom. Because of her conceived abilities, Princess Aruna is kidnapped and captured after a group of Persian-Arab men attack her temple. She is taken out of Pratiharian territory and into the Saffarid dynasty (Muslim caliphate) and enslaved in their Kingdom. Although she is a captive, she is not reduced to slavery or ruins. In fact, the Saffarid Emir (ruler) sought instead to form an alliance. Enthralled by her beauty, her verse in the Persian language, and her rumoured powers, her offers an undeniable offer – marry me or face beheading. She reluctantly agrees, with seemingly no other choice for her life. Though, her strong character will not be reduced to slavery, and instead, Princess Aruna plots an epic escape.

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Name: Tzipporah
Origin: Midian (Arabian Deserts)
Ethnicity: Midianite (Descendant)
Age: 22-27
Status: Hailed Assassin
Languages: Hebrew, Arabic, Mozarabic, Latin, Asturian Castilian, Persian, Old Norse (maybe, but not likely)
Religion: Jewish (Druze), Shia Islam
Theme Song: "Forsaken" - Peter Crowley

Historical Plot:
The Midian is a desert region along the Arabian Peninsula, east to the shores of the Gulf of Agaba (and the Red Sea). It is a region where a band of peoples - made up of different Jewish tribes - are known as Midianites. In ancient history and biblical lore, the founder of the Jewish-Druze religion is the prophet Jethro. In the Hebrew Bible, Jethro is Moses' father-in-law, Moses having married the Druze prophet's daughter, Tzipporah.

Using the same historical recounts as below (see "Daughter of the Emir of Córdoba"), throughout of the Late Iron Age and Early Middle Ages, regions of modern-day Spain and Portugal were referred to as the Iberian Peninsula. The territories of the Iberian Peninsula were widely malleable, the fight for dominance a constant struggle between two major religious states (Christian Kingdoms vs Islamic Emirates/ States). During this struggle, the Iberian Peninsula was distinctly separated in the 8th-10th century between the Kingdom of Asturias (Christian) and the Emirate of Córdoba (Islamic). When the Islamic Conquest first struck the Iberian Peninsula, Christians fought hard to hold command but ultimately failed. The failure was attributed, in part, to the aid of the Jewish community in Iberia, which sided with the Islamic efforts to conquer. With the Jews joined in forces with Muslims, much of the lands were lost to the Emirate. In turn, Jews were granted religious tolerance and freedom to practice their religion (rather than be forced to convert, which was what ensued under Christian rule).

Hashashin was the Arabic term for "Assassin", a band of Nizari Ismailis (sect of Shia Islam) who formed the Order of the Assassins which originates in Medieval Persia. Historically, the Order was formed in the late 11th century, in year 1090 by Hassan-i Sabbāh, who retreated to the Mountains of Persia and formed what would become infamously known as the Hashashins (Assassins). The Order continued and thrived for 2 centuries, until its leader, Alamut, was a besieged by the Mongols in 1275. From that point on, the Order of Assassins had lost their power forever.

Biography and Potential Roleplay Ideas:
Tzipporah is named after Jethro's daughter and Moses' wife from the Hebrew bible. Although an orphan from a young age, and with her origin unknown, Tzipporah's caretakers believe she came from the Midian. As a baby, Tzipporah was born to an unknown Midianite father and mother. She grew up in the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula, having been found by travelling Jewish merchants as a toddler. Although her Jewish adoptive caretakers kept her origin a secret for most of her life, Tzipporah later discovered that she was found in a ransacked community of nomadic Midianites. Her parents had been massacred, along side other Druze-Jews, and she was the sole survivor. The reason for their massacre lies unknown, even to this day.

Like many Jews throughout the Middle Ages, Tzipporah was raised in a thriving trade culture. As a result of her many travels and merchant roguery, she became fluent in many, many medieval languages. Despite abundant travelling, her caretakers soon came to settle on the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), where religious tolerance was standard. Her community was one of many, all residing peacefully in the Emirate of Córdoba (under Islamic rule). However, for Tzipporah, that peace was only short-lived. At just 10 years old, Tzipporah's caretakers were brutally murdered before her eyes by a troupe of masked men. Despite their diligence, Tzipporah managed to tactically fight back, severing the Achilles' tendons of one man to which she savagely stabbed to death. By the time the other men could get to their shrieking comrade, he was already dead and nearly dismembered. Tzipporah was found covered from head to toe in blood, with nothing but her piercing golden eyes spared from the red. With his face unrecognizable and torn to shreds, the leader of the men - seeing a fury in the child he had never seen before - decided to spare her life. Instead, he adopted the child into his band which would later become infamously known as the Order of the Assassins. He trained Tzipporah assiduously for years, molding her from a little Midian girl to a fierce, ferocious female Hashashin. Dedicating her life to the philosophy of the Order, Tzipporah became one of the band's biggest assets. Trained impeccably in mixed martial arts, acrobatics, swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat, Tzipporah grew to become known as the Golden Assassin.

In the Vikings TV show, Ragnar's Son, Bjorn Ironside alongside his younger brother Hvitserk sail to the Mediterranean and end up on the shores of Algericas, Spain (under Islamic rule). They rage a vicious attack on the port village, killing many. We can perhaps tie my character with that plot line. If not, I'm open to just about anything!

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Name: Intizara
Origin: Córdoba, Hispania
Ethnicity: Spanish-Arabian
Age: 19-22
Status: Emir's (Sultan) Daughter
Languages: Arabic, Mozarabic, Latin, Asturian Castilian
Religion: Sunni Islam (Muslim), Christianity (Soon to be converted)
Theme Song: "The Two Thrones" - The Prince of Persia

Historical Plot:
One of the most notable struggles for territory in the Middle Ages is the Spanish Reconquista. The Reconquista, starting in the late 8th century and spanning for hundreds of years, was the religious, war-raging battle between Christian Kingdoms and the Islamic State for large territories in the Iberian Peninsula, specifically for Hispania (modern day Spain and Portugal). During the 8th-10th century, Hispania was primarily divided into two major territories. First was the Kingdom of Asturias (Christian), and second was the Emirate of Córdoba, established by the Umayyad Caliphate. Ancestors of the Umayyad dynasty first formed as a state against the dominant caliphate of the time, the Abbasid dynasty, and thus separated from the Middle Eastern territory to later conquer Hispania.

Biography and Potential Roleplay Ideas:
Intizara is the daughter of a Sultan, the Emir of the Emirates of Córdoba. She is the youngest daughter, one of 12 children. Although she grew up in wealth under the rule of her father, Intizara was a troubled child. She was extremely defiant and rebellious, often sneaking out of the palace to explore the city as a free woman. During one of her escapades, she garnered the attention of a entitled man, the Prince of the Kingdom of Asturias. He became infatuated with Intizara; her quick wit, acrobatic talents and her striking beauty leaving him smitten. He became completely obsessed with her, refusing to marry anyone but Intizara. With a brewing war between the Christian Kingdom and the Islamic Emirate, their fathers saw this as an opportunity. Forging an agreement unlike any other in Hispania's history, the two states agree to form an alliance through the arranged marriage of the Prince and Intizara.

However, there was just one problem. By the time the arrangements were made, Intizara had fallen madly in love with a noble Arabian man, her teacher. Although the fate of the territories lay in her marriage to the Prince, she became conflicted. Although she attempted to deny her feelings, the romance continued to blossom into a passionate affair. The two were destined for each other, unable to live without one another. Where she felt weak, he made her strong. And that was how she remembered him. But fate would change when the adultery became exposed. Her father, outraged by Intizara's naive and treacherous ways, sentences her lover to death. Furious at the man for exploring his daughter, her father arrests him, humiliates him, tortures him, and gruesomely kills him - all in the public eye. Hoping to oppress his daughter, Intizara's father sought to make an example out of her lover. For all those who dared to touch Intizara, they would end up beaten, bloody, castrated and dead. She became untouchable, unwanted, and unconsummated - reserved for one man and one man only... the Prince of Asturias.

Additionally information: Intizara is a skilled acrobat, having obtained many skills from her adventures on the streets. She is also a talented belly dancer and singer. In the Vikings TV show, Ragnar's Son, Bjorn Ironside alongside his younger brother Hvitserk sail to the Mediterranean and end up on the shores of Algericas, Spain (under Islamic rule). They rage a vicious attack on the port village, killing many, but later discover a shrine of women being guarded in a temple. They siege the temple, taking most of the women as captives/ slaves. Perhaps one of those women is Intizara. We can perhaps tie my character with that plot line. If not, I'm open to just about anything!

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Name: Almira
Origin: Middle East (Baghdad, Iraq)
Ethnicity: Arabian
Age: 18-23
Status: Slave/ Servant
Languages: Arabic, Mozarabic, Latin, Old Norse (possibly)
Religion: Sunni Islam (Muslim)
Theme Song: "Yearning" - Raul Ferrando

Historical Plot:
During the Viking Age, the Middle East flourished under the Abbasid Caliphate, lead by numerous Caliphs (often referred to as Sultans) throughout this period. The Abbasid Caliphate and its rulers were known to engage in trade among many nations, despite cultural and religious differences, including a particularly strong relation to the Frankish monarchy. Thriving merchant culture and a rich community lead to many international interactions during the Middle Ages. Growing evidence - such as a ring with Arabic inscription found in the grave of a Viking - suggests travels and trade between Arabs and Norsemen. Although the Vikings were most famous for their notorious raiding, pillaging and colonizing throughout the Early Middle Ages, their involvement with the Arabian peninsula was mostly in regards to trade and business. Items such as furs, honey, leather, ivory, fish, and most of all, silver coins, were exchanged between the two nations.

Biography and Potential Roleplay Ideas:
Almira's character and her backstory are somewhat malleable. There are different options, depending on who we pair her with and the plot, that would be fitting. The first option is to have her be the daughter of a well-traded merchant. Merchant trade was highly valuable and the culture had Arab merchants travelling all over the peninsula. Almira would be multilingual, with a linguistic basis in not only Arabic, but also Old Norse, and Old Frankish. In this situation, her father would be in trade negotiations with the Norse and she would come to meet them through that trade agreement. Similar, we can also make her a Sultan's concubine. The difference, however, is that in old Muslim culture, concubines were like secondary wives, not so much mistresses. They were given wifely duties and were not to be shared with other men. However, if we want to introduce adultery, Almira could be an unhappy concubine and have a saucy affair with a Norsemen. A third option - one we can mix with one of the first two options, as well - is to make her an Arabian entertainer and belly dancer. She would be performing and catch the eye of a Norsemen through her hypnotic hip movement and extravagant coin-embellished dance attire. Similarly, I can also make her an even poorer character, perhaps a escaped slave who is now living meagerly on the streets off of cheap change earned through street performances such as belly dancing. We can have her come into contact with Norsemen when Vikings wash ashore and sack the town she's living in.

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Name: Zafira
Origin: Persia (traveller)
Ethnicity: Radhanite
Age: 20-25
Status: Merchant
Languages: Hebrew, Persian, Arabic, Mozarabic, Greek, Latin, Old Norse, Old English, Old Franconian
Religion: Jewish
Theme Song: "You" - Ofra Haza

Historical Plot:
The Radhanites were guild of Jewish merchants in the early Middle Ages. Jewish merchants operated in trade between the Christian and Islamic worlds during this medieval period. Many trade routes previously established under the Roman Empire continued to function during that period - largely through their efforts. Their trade network covered much of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and parts of India and China. The Radhanites harbored valuable business relations throughout medieval Eurasia, having close ties to numerous communities. Although Jewish in faith, their reputation as incredible traders was a business common ground that lead to religious tolerance.

Biography and Potential Roleplay Ideas:
Zafira is the daughter of a prestigious Radhanite merchant. Although her father's business left her family with a nomadic lifestyle, the international travelling allowed her to flourish into a multitalented and culturally rich individual. On top of her cemented Jewish faith, Zafira also grew to appreciate and admire the cultural and religious differences of people from around the world. She became fluent in many languages, like her father before her, such as Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, Latin, Old English, Old Frankish, and even Old Norse. Like her father, she is a skilled socialite and businesswoman, "capable of selling mule's shit at the price of gold", as her father would often joke.

Her father would have had close relations with the Norse peoples, often distributing and selling precious amber from the Baltic seas and turning a profit for many Norse Kings. Whether or not trades between the Radhanites and the Norsemen still continued can be discussed. We can have Zafira meet your character through such trade deals, however I am also willing to have Zafira enslaved. This can occur many ways, be it through a deal gone bad or even through a betrayal. In this scenario, her family would be killed and she would lose her wealth and status at the hands of the attacker. She would become a slave and servant, something she would be terrible at.

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Name: Amaruq
Origin: “Vinland” (North America/ Newfoundland)
Ethnicity: ”Skraeling” (Natives of Newfoundland)
Age: 19-25
Status: Chieftain's Daughter, Norse Slave
Languages: Native language, Old Norse
Religion: Native Beliefs
Theme Song: "Electric Pow Wow Drum" - A Tribe Called Red

Historical Plot:
Throughout early medieval history and during the Viking Age, many Vikings traveled from Scandinavia to form settlements on the northern island of Greenland. From Greenland. Viking culture continued its reputable crusade across the seas to new territory in order to raid. Along with the more commonly known Viking attacks on Eurasia, Greenland Vikings made travel to new, untouched territory. Rather than targeting Europe, they traveled even further west to the shores of North America. Raiding what is now known as modern day Newfoundland, Canada, the Vikings named this new land "Vinland". However, this new land was strange to them, unlike anything they had ever seen. Although still brisk with cold winters, Vinland was also blessed with warmer seasons as well. It was also inhabited by its own occupants, a nation of vastly culturally different peoples that were referred to by the Norse community as "skraelings". Skraelings - the native people of East Canada - did not welcome the Vikings. In fact, as the Norse foreigners invaded their land in order to build colonies across the shores, the "skraelings" met the Norse with great hostility. Fighting for territory that was rightfully theirs, the natives of the lands fought viciously with the Vikings, gaining a reputation as fierce warriors and savage men. The Norse settlements barely lasted a few years before the war between Norse and Natives ended in an arrow to the heart. With the leader of the Vinland Norse King assassinated by the "skraelings", the Norse retreated from Canada, abandoning the nation of Vinland and never returning.

Historical recounts of the Viking Age regarding North America and the "skraelings" do not clearly define which native peoples of Canada. During that time period, there were many possible ethnic groups that the Norse could have come in contact with and referrred to as "skraelings". Possible native groups are the Dorset peoples (proto-Inuits), the Innu (also of Inuit ancestry), the Beothuk ancestors, as well as possible First Nations ancestors. Because of the many possibilities, I will be blending aspects of many native cultures of that time to better suit the story.

Biography an Potential Roleplay Ideas:
Amaruq is the eldest of 6 daughters of the Chieftain of the Innu tribe. Although culture dictated that daughters should be married in order of birth, Amaruq defied her father time and time again and refused to marry. Instead, her family have been forced to break tradition, her sisters unwilling to wait for her any longer in order to marry their own match-made partners. Because of this, all sisters below her are married, with the exception of the youngest who is only 10 years old. In turn this unintentionally made Amaruq undesirable in her own tribe, gaining a reputation as the "one who will not submit".

Her independence and dominant character have instead lead her to become a fierce warrior among her tribe. Although traditionally armies were made up of strong men, Amaruq refused to conform to that norm and in turn developed an impeccable skill at archery. Her defiance proved time and time again to be problematic culturally, however within the tribe's military, translated to immense bravery and tactical talent. Despite being older and unmarried, she continued to prove herself as a valuable asset to the tribe.

For the roleplay, there are several ways we can incorporate her into the Viking Age. She can be one of the warriors who wages war and multiple attacks on the upcoming Viking settlements. She would be one of the contributing factors for the Viking's failure in Vinland. We can also have her be the one to assassinate the King. I'm thinking she is also a superior spy. She could be the mastermind who figured out who the King was simply through many weeks dedicated to sly observation. Another way we can incorporate her, too, is that upon the final battle between Natives and Norse, perhaps she could become enslaved by the Vikings. During their retreat back to Greenland, they take many "skraelings" as hostages and slaves with them. Amaruq could be one of those captured.

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Name: Sithara
Origin: Maldives Islands
Ethnicity: Maldivian
Age: 18-22
Status: Slave/ Servant
Languages: Maldivian language (Dhivehi), Indian, Arabic, Old Norse
Religion: Buddhism
Theme Song: "Dhenneveemey Gislaa (Dhivehi Song)" Cover

Historical Plot:
The Maldives, formerly known as the Maldives Islands, is a nation formed of 26 atolls compromising of over 1100 islands. An atoll is a ring of coral that originally grew completely around the shoreline of an island, and which continued to grow upward on top of itself as the island subsided or eroded away. As reef building corals thrive only in warm waters, atolls are only found in the tropics and subtropics. As such, the Maldives nation is a beauty place, with hot tropical weather and crystal clear ocean waters. Historically, the Maldives were first settled by Buddhists originating from Sri Lanka and India in the early 5th century BC. Over the centuries, the nation grew to the like of Buddhist culture, being ruled by Kinds and sometimes Queens. During the early Middles Ages, the Maldives close proximity to Sri Lanka and India, as well as its ties to the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea, made it an increasingly popular trading route. Although commerce of that time consisted of mostly metals, furs, and foods, the Maldives became famous for their unique cowrie shells. These shells, beautiful in their patterns and colours, became a popular currency in India and the Middle East. Because if it's increasing value, it garnered the attention of Arabian traders, who frequented the islands for the shells, and who soon realized value of the Maldives' strategic location. During this period, the Islamic Empire had began taking over the Maldives nation, converting the Buddhist monarchs to Islam, and in 1153, last Buddhist King to converted to Islam (forever cementing the religion of the islands). Despite Islamic relations, Maldivians still developed a culture prominently influence by Buddhism.

Biography and Potential Roleplay Ideas:
Sinthara is native Maldivian who was enslaved by Arabian traders when her family was reluctant to convert or embrace Islamic tradition. Just a young child at the time, she was taken from her home and shipped from her native islands all the way to India then subsequently the Middle East. There her and her family fell into the hands of several owners. Her and her many siblings were split up, and her mother and father would killed. After her mother' she death, Sinthara kept her mother's traditional red gown. Constantly being sold from one culture to another, Sinthara eventually fell into the hands of a Norse slave dealer at the age of 12. Although abused by many of her previous masters, she stumbled upon the hands of a kind Norse Earl and his family, becoming their servant and farmer. Sinthara quickly learned the Norse language and cultural customs, becoming an illegitimate member of the family and a loyal slave. Additionally, Sinthara was a wonderful singer, often humming or singing a Maldivian lullaby her mother used to sing to her. The [theme] song is about loving someone, even through tears.

From this point, there are many options we can take. Sinthara can grow up with the family, gaining the attention of the Earl's son, or any other Viking male in the community, because of her stunning ocean eyes, dusky skin and infectious smile. Another option is that her master's Earldom is usurped and her Norse family either killed or banished. She would become the slave of a new Earldom, or perhaps her dark skin and foreign beauty would repulse the new Earl or his wife (greedy and without compassion) and Sinthara would be sentenced to death or sold again (or even banished). Your character can be pretty much any Norsemen, and we can assign any role to his character which would allow him to come across Sinthara. Either he finds her at a slave auction, finds her roaming a winter storm (and on the verge of death) or perhaps he comes across her on the estate of the new Earl and is intrigued by her unique appearance. We can also incorporate her enchanting voice as a method of attraction. There are endless possibilities with this character.

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Name: Thyra Hjordotter
Origin: Scandinavia
Ethnicity: Biracial-Norse
Age: 18-25
Status: Earl's Daughter
Languages: Old Norse, Other
Religion: Norse Paganism
Theme Song: "Lady of the Dawn" - Peter Grundy

Historical Plot:

Although Scandinavians in the Viking Age had extremely limited, if not unheard of interactions with Black Africans, there is a term within the Old Norse vocabulary to describe dark-skinned people. Blámaðr (or blamadhr) literally translates from Old Norse to “black man”. Some scholars believe the term originates from Vikings coming into contact with Ethiopians, however sources are few and far in between, and conflicting. However, there was a case of one particular Viking warrior, who although was successful in business and in battle, was theorized to have not been including in popular Norse Sagas for his dark skin. Geirmundur Hjörson was an Icelandic viking who, in sources, was nicknamed "Heljarskinn", which means ‘black skinned’ (literally: ‘skin like Hel’). It is suspected that Geirmundur was of mixed race; that his mother was Mongolian and potentially of Turkish descent, which may attribute for his dark skin. Despite literature describing him as “ugly” and “black”, Geirmundur was successful in both business, trade, and battle. He was extremely wealthy, the origin of his riches not fully understood in historical accounts. He was also well-respected by many Norseman, and was the leader of a tribe of over 80 Scandinavian warriors. Supposedly, Geirmundur may have traveled over many territories, garnering a substantial reputation in the Viking Age.

Biography and Potential Roleplay Ideas:

Thyra is the daughter of Geirmundur Hjörson, more commonly known as “Heljarskinn”. Although her father carries a negative stigma about the darkness of his skin, he still remains successful and powerful in his own way. Despite Scandinavians being primarily sedentary (aside from raiding), Thyra and her father, along with their band of over 80 men, prefers a nomadic lifestyle. They are known across Scandinavia and Europe as the “wandering Norsemen” for their eagerness to explore new territories and trade across nations. Because of this way of life, Thyra grew up immersed in various cultures, languages, and religions, having picked up the ability to speak multiple languages.

Like her father, she also shares his dark features. Unlike typical Norse maidens, she sports thick black hair, deep chocolate eyes and caramel skin. She is often mocked for her black skin, facing discrimination from not only her own Scandinavian community but also from other ethnic groups throughout her and her father's travels. Despite the racism she has face, she still remains a strong and fierce character, with a thick skin and a hard head. She has a feisty tongue, not one to back down from insults nor a fight. Additionally, she is a ferocious fighter, skilled with both a sword, shield, and a bow. Along with the rest of her group, she travels on horseback, with her Grey Dapple horse named Haldor.

I'd like for Thyra and her father to be sort of “mythical” legends within the Scandinavian community. Because of their extensive travels, they do not have a major presence in Scandinavian politics and therefore remain fairly avoidable. However, their scandalous appearance is well-known throughout Daneland, having garnered a prominent reputation through the grapevine. Whatever Norseman who comes across her and her father would certainly have a strong reaction; either reacting viciously to her differences or finding beauty in her rarity.

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Name: Iskra
Origin: Great Moravia Empire
Ethnicity: Morovian
Age: 16-20
Status: Undecided
Languages: Old Slavic, Frankish, Old Norse (maybe)
Religion: Christianity (with Slavic Pagan beliefs)
Theme Song: "Myriad (Ethnica)" - Pjev Rusalke
Historical Plot:

Great Moravia (the Great Moravian Empire, or simply Moravia) was the first major state that was predominantly Slavonic to emerge in the area of Central Europe. Its core territories were located on the Morava river which gave its name to the kingdom. Moravia, the first Western Slavic polity arose through the unification of the Slavic tribes settled north of the Danube. The first report of the emerging Moravian state was recorded in 811. The late 9th-century Conversion of the Bavarians and the Carantanians (("The Conversion of the Bavarians and the Carantanians")) makes the first reference to a Moravian ruler. Morovians descended from some of the first Slavic people to accept Christianity from the West. They were mostly Christianized by Irish missionaries. Additionally, the Kingdom (although short-lived; having only succeeded until the early 10th century), had both alliances and pitfalls with the Germanic Kingdom of Francia. The 9th-century Catalogue of Fortresses and Regions to the North of the Danube – which lists the peoples along the borders of East Francia in a north-to-south order – mentions that the Moravians or Marharii had 11 fortresses or civitates.

The Great Moravian settlement structures had extraordinary defences for their community. They were well-defended fortified settlements built by the local Slavs both on elevated positions and lowland areas like marshes and river islands. Most Great Moravian castles were rather large hill forts, fortified by wooden palisades, stone walls and in some cases, moats. The fortifications usually formed several contiguous enclosures, with the elite buildings concentrated in the centre and crafts in the outer enclosures.Most buildings were made of timber, but ecclesiastical buildings and residential dwellings were made of stone. The Great Moravian settlements can be divided to four main categories. The most important were localities with central functions like Mikulčice, Staré Město - Uherské Hradiště and Nitra, where several castles and settlements formed a huge fortified (pre-)urban agglomeration. Along with the main centres, the system of fortified settlements included fortified regional administrative hubs, forts whose primary function was guarding and defence, and refuge forts which were not inhabited permanently but were used in the case of danger. The largest forts were usually protected by a chain of smaller forts. Smaller forts were also built to protect trade routes and to provide shelter for peasants in case of a military attack. The existence of nobleman courts like in Ducové and in other places is also documented.

Biography and Potential Roleplay Ideas:

Iskra, meaning “spark” in Old Slavic, was given her name for the way her crystal blue eyes illuminated the room. She is known to many to be “striking” in appearance, simply because of her soft features, strawberry blonde hair, and dazzling irises. She is well-known throughout the towns as the “Beauty of Moravia” for her features, and for her cunning personality. Although she has received many offers for courtship and marriage, she has to date, refused every single one.

Beside the above, I don't have any set ideas for Iskra. I can make her the daughter of a King or Duke, as Moravia was ruled by monarchs from a "wider kinship" known as the House of Mojmir. Since the throne rarely passed from father to son, Iskra does not have to be a descendant of a royal or monarch family, but rather, can be the daughter of someone who has recently risen to power. Additionally, Morovians have an extensive history with the Kingdom of Francia, therefore ties to their monarchy can be expected in the roleplay. We may even incorporate it into Iskra's storyline.

Also, Morovians were recently converted to Christianity during the late 8th and early 9th century, so it is a possibility that she may still hold on to some Slavic Pagan beliefs, despite being Christian.

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Name: Merida
Origin: Scotland
Ethnicity: Pictish (Celtic Scots)
Age: 23-27
Status: Monarch
Languages: Old English, Gaelic, Old Norse
Religion: Celtic Christianity
Theme Song: "Little Sparrow" - Audra Mae

Historical Plot:
The Picts were a confederation of Scottish-Celtic tribes inhabiting Scotland in the Late Iron Age and Early Middle Ages. The tribes joined forces to form one unified peoples due to threat of a growing Roman Empire. The Pict Kingdom, also known as Pictland, was ruled by royal monarchy, primarily of patriarchal descent. Like many territories at the time, there were several Kings and clans throughout Pictland. Throughout the early Middle Ages, Pictland was in a period of uncertain change. Anglo-Saxons of England were a close neighbour, with both battles for power as well as treaties and alliances occurring during this time. Additionally, the Viking Age marked a troubled age for Scotland. Starting in the late 8th century, Scandinavians travelled west to England and Scotland, taking to the shores with a mighty force. Amid a battle for power, wars raged between Vikings and the Kings of England, as well as between the Kings of Scotland. Due to increasing threat, Pictland unified under one Kingdom, the Kingdom of Alba (ruled by the Albinid dynasty). Despite efforts to fight the Norse, Viking forces were far too great for smaller Scottish armies, leaving much of Pictish territory lost to the Norse. As a result, many Norse settlements and colonies formed throughout Scotland, leaving the remaining Kingdom of Alba still standing, though vulnerable to further threat.

Biography and Potential Roleplay Ideas:
Merida (inspired by the Disney princess from Brave) is a fiercely independent Pictish woman born into the Albinid dynasty. She is born of a great Scottish ruler, her father King Fergus, and an equally brave mother, Queen Elinor. One of four children, she is the only daughter and eldest child, sister to much younger triplet boys. At a young age, her father, wanting her to be as tough as he was, gifted her with a bow and arrow for her birthday. Archery subsequently became a passion, Merida blossomed into one of the best archers in the lands. She grew to be a sassy and brave woman, known for her fearless personality.

As per tradition, all princesses of the tribes were eligible for betrothal at the ripe age of 16. However, as this time came for Merida, the princess put up a stubborn fight with her parents – refusing to marry any of the Kingdom's allies. Despite her pleas for independence, her mother moved forward with the tradition, inviting eligible princes and noblemen of Scotland to compete in the Highland Games for Merida's hand in marriage. The games - consisting of several athletic sports (caber toss, stone put, Scottish hammer throw, weight throw, sheaf toss, archery, etc.) - served as a time for celebration. Though, for Merida, it was a time to dread. As the games proceeded to an archery competition, Merida decided to rebel against her parents and tradition. Raising from her throne with her own bow and arrows, she defied all of her comrades and proclaimed she would be “shooting for her own hand” (you can watch the Disney scene here). Ultimately humiliating all of the eligible competitors by out performing them, the Highland Games were cancelled, and tensions grew among the Kingdom. The act of defiance resulted in the beginning of a civil war, as her father, King Fergus, defended his daughter's honour by refusing to marry her to someone she did not approve.

The decision caused chaos, however, much of the crisis was soon averted as the growing threat of the Vikings took all of Scotland's attention. Due to constant raids and lost battles to the Norsemen, the Kingdom quickly came to forget of the princess' controversy, and instead, banded together to work against the Vikings. Over the years, the events of the Vikings lead to much anguish, many of the tribes being destroyed by the Norsemen. The Kingdom of Alba, now consisting of a unified Scotland (what remained of it), was formed under the rule of King Fergus. The Queen of Alba, Merida's mother Elinor, later succumbed to illness and passed away. The wars raged on, and in the midst of battle, Merida's father, King Fergus, was also killed. With her three juvenile brothers still far too young to rule, Merida subsequently became the leading monarch. Now Queen of the Kingdom of Alba, Merida continued to prove herself as a powerful ruler, her tactical intelligence and military strategies resulting in many victories for the Picts against the Vikings and the Saxons. She became famously know as the “Sparrow Queen”, depicted as a warrior small in stature but ferocious in the protection of her land.

For the roleplay, we can discuss possible battles between the Kingdom of Alba and the Vikings and/or the Anglo-Saxons. In this situation, Merida would be known as the Queen who fights within battles. As a brave warrior and skilled archer, she is well-respected within her Kingdom. We can also incorporate a potential treaty and/or alliance that would allow our two characters to interact in a more peaceful manor, as well. A third option is perhaps that Merida finally considers betrothal, and for the second time in her life, hosts the Highlands Games in search for a suitor. Since the Kingdom is now unified, and with a thirst for fairness and democracy, Merida decides to open the competition to anyone who chooses to take part. Perhaps your character, in a twist of events, decides to compete for her hand in marriage (possibly trying to either woo her, ally with her, or overthrow her).

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Name: Una
Origin: Dublin, Ireland
Ethnicity: Irish
Age: 19-22
Status: Celtic Warrior
Languages: Old English, Gaelic, Old Norse
Religion: Celtic Christianity
Theme Song: "Warrior of the North" - Peter Crowley

Historical Plot:
From around 800 onwards Ireland was attacked by bands of Viking marauders. The raids continued right through the 9th century and a second major wave began early in the 10th century. The monasteries, as the major centers of population and wealth, were the main target of the Vikings. They were despoiled of their books and valuables and many of them were burned. These attacks, and attacks by the Irish themselves, contributed to the decline of the great monastic tradition at this period. The Vikings were great traders and did much to develop commerce in medieval Ireland. They founded most of the major towns such as Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Waterford.The lack of any political unity made it difficult to resist the Viking attacks. However, the strength of the Uí Néill kings in the northern half of the country prevented the Vikings from establishing themselves there.
(http://www.ireland-information.com/reference/midages.html)

Biography and Potential Roleplay Ideas:
Una is a Celtic Christian warrior from Ireland. Her family was murdered at the hands of Viking pillagers, who invaded her small village and killed everyone there. At the time, Una was a young girl and had wandered off with her trusted Irish Draught horse to play on her own. She returned at the plight of the Norsemen, witnessing the end of their brutal escapade. With her village set ablaze and virtually her entire life shredded to hell, Una was orphaned. Consumed with anger and bloodthirsty for revenge, Una dedicates her life to tracking down the man responsible for her village's massacre. In little time, she tracks down the Viking leader, a cruel Norsemen named Harald who had a wicked reputation for evil. Making a bold move, she approaches his settlement, professing her dedication to the Viking cause. Fooling the community at the leader, Una is accepted into their society as a devout servant. She plays the role for several months, becoming completely fluent in Old Norse, before she garnered enough intel and strength to overtake Harald. In a twisted turn of events, Una seduces Harald, tortured and murdered him. To make an example of him, she hung Harald by his toes in his own home, castrating him and allowing him to bleed out from his balls.

With a blood-splattered face, she proclaims her rage for the Norse community publically, affirming her actions against Harald for the evil he has done. Una escapes without reprimand, stealing a horse from the settlement and venturing to back to the lands of Dublin. Una would eventually grow to become a ferocious warrior, joining Irish efforts to push back Norse conquerors. Although female, the war against the Norsemen served far too great to manage at the time, allowing desperate Irish forces to accept her as a soldier, despite gender normative. She proved herself to be a fierce fighter, dubbing the name "Fire Maiden".

In terms of roleplay ideas, I'd really like to explore the concept of war and have Una meet your character on the battlefield. Perhaps Una could be a warrior who has fought against the Vikings on many occasions, becoming infamous among the Norsemen has the maiden with "fire hair", one of the most ruthless Celtic shieldmaidens they had ever seen. Una would be known as "unstoppable", a warrior who fights with such barbarity, she is deemed a savage even among the Norse community. She would be well-known as Harald's killer.

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Name: To Be Determnied
Origin: TBD
Ethnicity: TBD
Age: 18-20
Status: Farmer
Languages: TBD
Religion: Christianity
Theme Song: "Gone" - Karliene

Historical Plot:
During the many Viking raids of numerous countries across Eurasia, the infamous Norsemen pillaged and plundered many homes and kingdoms. As part of their efforts to gain wealth, status and territory, the Vikings traversed oceans, impeded on foreign shores and prowled surrounding land. In order to survive throughout these raids, they set up camps along the waters, often exploring the territory in and around their camps. They would come in contact with many foreigners of this newly invaded land, normally through contact of native farmers and folks with an estate out in the countryside and nearby shores.

Biography and Potential Roleplay Ideas:
In the TV show - Vikings - the Norsemen come into contact with local farmers and other foreigners on many occasions throughout their raids. There is one scene where a group of Vikings, particularly more vile than others, stumbled across a small farming family out in the country. Although the women hid in the attic of the barn, the Vikings found them, raped them, and then proceeded to gruesomely slaughter the entire family. You can watch the scene here.

For the roleplay, I'd like to explore a possible scenario where my character, the farmer, is spared. There are several options. This first is that your character cannot bring himself to rape/ kill an innocent woman, despite her foreign heritage. The second is that she is attacked by other Vikings, her family is killed but she manages to defend herself. Perhaps your character walks in on the scene, unaware that his comrades were pointlessly tormenting locals. He decides to spare the farmer, amused and impressed by her ferocity and bravery. The third option is unrelated to the family being attacked. Instead, perhaps my character stumbles across a Lone Viking, badly injured and on the brink of death. Rather than killing him, she has mercy, and instead chooses to nurse him back to health on her isolated farmland.

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Name: Elena
Origin: To Be Determined
Ethnicity: TBD
Age: 18-19
Status: TBD
Languages: TBD
Religion: TBD
Theme Song: "Once Upon A December" - Liz Callaway

Historical Plot:
To Be Determined - Greatly depends on what race/ethnic community we place her in. I have an idea for her character, not so much for where she comes from. See below!

Biography and Potential Roleplay Ideas:
Elena is a young lass who suffered a devastating cranial injury when she was just 10 years old. The injury caused significant damage in her occipital lobe, the part of the brain containing the visual cortex. As a result of the injury, Elena lost the ability to process visual information, rendering her blind. Despite beliefs that she was completely blind, unable to see anything but black, as time went on and her brain healed, Elena began to see strange things. Although her vision was normally black as night, she began seeing colors and outlines of objects and people through motion. Little did she know that she had actually developed Riddoch syndrome, a phenomenon that occurs when the visual cortex sustains damage, and as a result, the brain finds other ways to communicate vision, such as through movement. (For an example and explanation of Riddoch syndrome, see the story of "The Blind Woman Who Saw Rain")

After going blind, she was considered a cripple and became perceived as a burden on her family. In turn, they believed they could not offer a fulfilling life due to her "disability". Now seen as a shame on the family, Elena's parents disowned and abandoned her. She found herself an orphan at her 11 years old, with no where to go and no one to turn to. Her family made few attempts to retrieve her, assuming she was dead (as in their eyes, a cripple like Elena could not survive). She stumbled upon a childless senior couple who lived on a farm out in the country. The couple embraced her as their own, caring for her and also catering to her unique needs. Rather than feeling pity for her, her adoptive father saw strength in her visual impairment. He soon discovered that Elena could see movement, objects and bodies in motion. Soon he realized her unique vision was better when she was also in motion, so he built her a wooden rocking chair; enabling Elena to practice and strengthen her eye sight. With time and practice, Elena developed and impeccable "blind vision", one that enabled her to see the outlines of objects and people while in motion.

There are several options for her ethnicity. I'd ideally like to have her born a different culture than a Viking, however I am open to having her learn Old Norse from being adopted or perhaps cared for by the Norse community after she's gone blind. However, I'd prefer she didn't know the Norse language, unless we made her Slavic or part of a community that has been colonized by the Norse. I fancy the idea of her being Frankish or Anglo-Saxon, as well. In terms of how she meets a Viking, the standard plot idea would be that she is taking a stroll in the woods, perhaps apple picking, or collecting berries. She would attract the attention of a Norsemen through song. Although blind, she is a incredible singer with an enchanting voice. Additionally, she has a love for dance, as it provides her an opportunity to see more accurately. She sees the most clear when it is raining/ pouring outside, as the motion of raindrops falling enable her to see outlines of nearly all of her environment around her.

We can also add that her biological parents are of nobility, even of royalty. This is optional.

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Name: Adeline “Robin”
Origin: Nottinghamshire (Kingdom of Mercia)
Ethnicity: Anglo-Saxon
Age: 18-23
Status: Outlaw
Languages: Old English
Religion: Christianity
Theme Song: "Welcome To The Jungle" - Ghostwriter feat. Merethe Soltvedt

Historical Plot:
Robin Hood was an (originally male) heroic outlaw in English folklore who, according to legend, was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. Traditionally depicted as being dressed in Lincoln green, he is often portrayed as "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor" alongside his band of Merry Men. The Merry Men, reputable for their tactical skill and fierce loyalty, were a group of English outlaws who followed under the guidance and command of Robin Hood. The troupe were criminals with a positive moral crutch, using crime as a means to do good rather than bad. In the ballads, they are often seen fighting injustice, including dismantling royal corruption. Due to their efforts against the Kingdom, they are all criminals, wanted for treason against the state.

Biography and Potential Roleplay Ideas:
Adeline is a gender-bent portrayal of Robin Hood that I have designed to fit in to the Viking Age and early Middle Ages. Despite being born of the name Adeline, the character is known primarily by her alias, Robin Hood. In the ballads and in most depictions of Robin Hood, he is portrayed as a thief, but not as a killer. Historical, it is very unlikely that Robin Hood was capable of crusading around without causalities. Although the folklore is meant to be romantic and virtuous, my rendition of Robin Hood is much darker. In my portrayal, Adeline's character has been hardened by a dark and torturous past. She developed the Robin Hood alias after a grave personal injustice left her broken. Rather than allowing the corrupt atrocities to continue, she formed a militia, the Merry Men, who within their own experiences, all garnered a hatred for the Kingdom of Mercia, Wessex, and Northumbria alike. The Merry Men, of varied Anglo-Saxon origin, all devoted their lives to restoring justice for Anglo-Saxons across England. Under the lead of Robin Hood (Adeline), the group developed a fierce reputation in robberies, arson, holding hostages and sabotaging the Kingdoms of England. Additionally, they are known assassins, taking credit for the deaths of many prestigious men who've done wrong by the people.

There are many ways we can pair the Robin Hood alias with a Viking. Following the death of Ragnar Lothbrok by the hands of Aelle, the King of Northumbria, the Vikings returned to England with a vengeance. In the late 9th century, over half of Mercia's territory and Kingdom is overtaken by Viking forces. The war rages for many years resulting in countless Viking victories. I'd like to set the roleplay in and around this time, when Norsemen are abundant in England, and are fighting for territory. Since the Merry Men are nomadic in nature – travelling across England – they are considered widely untouchable due to their habitual discretion. They would seek solace most often in deep wooded areas, areas that Norsemen have been known to also settle in during raids. The two groups could collide, coming to a standoff in the woods.

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Name: Mathilda (Estrid)
Origin: Scandinavia, Wessex Norse Settlement
Ethnicity: Norse
Age: 21
Status: Noble
Languages: Old Norse, Old English
Religion: Norse Paganism, Christian Convert
Theme Song: "Star Sky" - Two Steps From Hell feat. Felicia Farerre

Historical Plot:
In the show (Vikings), Ragnar and King Ecbert of the Kingdom of Wessex are previous allies. In their mutual respect, Ecbert agreed to work with Ragnar to form peace between Vikings and Saxons. As part of this effort, Ecbert allots Ragnar a substantial piece of fertile land. The land is used as a foundation for a Norse settlement, intended as the first step toward tolerance between the two peoples. However, as Ragnar and his army leave Wessex - leaving the farming settlement defenseless - King Ecbert has a change of mind. Fearing that the Vikings could never integrate with Saxon society, he ordered that the settlement be destroyed. He sends out his son and a slew of armed Anglo-Saxon men, launching a gruesome massacre on the innocent lives of the Norse farmers. In this horrific attack, not even women and children were spared from hostility and ultimately, death.

Biography and Potential Roleplay Ideas:

Mathilda - born Estrid - was a Norse child that escaped the massacres of the settlement. She is the sole survivor of Ragnar's farming settlement in Wessex, having been spared an unholy death. In an effort to save her child, Estrid's mother hid her from the Anglo-Saxon attackers. She was just 11 years old when the Knights came on horse-back and began slaughtering the Norse people. She survived by hiding until the slaughters were over, and managed to avoid burning once the farms were set ablaze. She escaped into the forest, where she spent days without food or water. On the brink of death, a noblemen found her while on a trip back to his estate. Soon discovering the child spoke a foreign language, he quickly realized the child was of the Norse settlement. Estrid, with her bright blue eyes and long blonde hair, reminded him of his deceased daughter. Despite risk of treason, he could not bring himself to report her or kill her. Instead, he took her back to his estate; feeding her and nourishing her. He adopted her in as his own kin, treating her like his own daughter despite cultural and religious differences. In order to protect her, he gave her the name Mathilda, meaning "strength" and "battle". He hired a teacher, someone he trusted, to educate her in Old English from home. Living on private and densely forested land, he managed to conceal her from society for over 2 years until she was fluent in Old English and a newly converted Christian.

Although the two struggled at the beginning, by the time Mathilda had blossomed into her teens, the two had grown very close. Despite efforts to transform her into an Anglo-Saxon girl, Mathilda was permanently bonded to her Viking identity, unable to fully integrate into Anglo-Saxon culture despite the love and support of her adopted father. Although a child of great wealth and acquired nobility form her father - a close partner to the King - Mathilda never forgot the horrors she witnessed to her community, and she refused to forgive the King. With every year that passed, Mathilda's thirst for revenge grew stronger and stronger, until she reached her late teens where everything came to a blow. She used the holy faith of Christianity to gather a militia against the King, gaining an incredible military following by disgracing the King and his betrayal. What kind of Christian King murders innocent children in the name of God? This was the perplexing issue that spread controversy across the nation, sparking outrage throughout the community. She adopted the identity known as Eagle Eye, claiming that God has chosen her as a messenger, and that she used God's eyes to see evil (evil that is within the King). As a fierce leader, she sports an infamous eagle armor - the like of which is inspired by the story of Hraesvelgr in Norse mythology. Hraesvelgr (Old Norse for "Corpse Swallower") was a giant who would take the form of an eagle and sit at the end of the world to beat his wings and make the wind blow.

Her role as a militia leader would get her in a lot of trouble with the Kingdom. Tarnishing the monarchy's reputation, the King orders for her to be beheaded for treason. However, nearly 10 years after the massacre of the settlement, Ragnar and his army return to exact revenge. For the roleplay, we can incorporate that his sons also accompany him. She would seek the Vikings out, stating that she wishes to join their efforts to take out the King. She would have still retained her Old Norse language despite also being fluent in Old English.

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* OLD BIO, UNEDITED, NOT YET UPDATED *

Name: Fara (born Ingrid)
Origin: Scandinavia
Ethnicity: Half Norse, Half Undetermined
Age: 23
Status: No Status
Languages: Old Franconian, Old Norse, Some Hebrew
Religion: Mixed Beliefs
Theme Song: "A Journey In The North" - Trinity

History:
(Vikings TV Show)
A group of Norsemen (Vikings) lead by King Ragnar Lothbrok, travel to Paris (West Franks) to raid new lands. The city of Paris, being ruled by King Charles the Bald, is a city surrounded by big walls and towers that separate it from the water (water surrounds the city). The Vikings, on the shores of Paris across the river, build fort and organize their army to invade Paris. Several days after their arrival, they rage war and hell on the city of Paris, and are unsuccessful in their attempt to overthrow the Frankish army.

After retreating, Lagertha leads a night-time surprise attack on Paris. Before she sets out on the Vikings second attempt to conquer, she is visited by a mysterious veiled woman in knight armor. The woman refers to herself as the 'Ghost Runner', and tells Lagertha of her plan to join them in their nightly raid against Paris with her militia known as the “Ghosts”. She tells Lagertha that the Ghosts will appear in the Vikings time of need to help them overthrow the Franks. Before Lagertha could refuse or argue, the veiled woman disappears into the darkness of the night, leaving Lagertha a pendant necklace. Lagertha wears the pendant around her neck, and never speaks a word to any of the other Vikings.

Plans to penetrate the city go sour when Count Odo and his men launch a massive spike wheel down the corridor where the Vikings are fighting. The wheel nearly ends their nightly conquest, until Rollo crawls over the device and uses big iron arrows to block the wheel.

Meanwhile, a group of men in knightly armor come pouring into the corridor behind the Vikings. Lagertha orders her raiders to cease any attack on the knights. Kalf and Loki, despite their confusion, abide by Lagertha, alongside the rest of the Vikings, who all move aside to allow the masked knights to approach the wheel. The veiled female knight leading them, The Ghost Runner, charges towards the spike wheel mounted on a black armored stallion. With a burning arrow at hand, the Ghost Runner tightly jumps over the spike wheel, and lands several feet before Rollo. Without hesitation, the mystery knight pulls back the bow and fires the ablaze arrow.

Count Odo, thinking the arrows is headed for Gisla, pulls the Princess away from the target. The arrow strikes the Oriflamme (the sacred flag of Sainte Denis, supposedly bathed in his blood after his death) – the arrows true target. The flag rises to flames within seconds, leaving Princess Gisla's knees to buckle in devastation.

As Princess Gisla begins to wail in anger, The Ghost Runner removes her hood and cloak, to reveal her beautiful blue-eyes and long, gold-blonde hair. Despite the Princesses cries and shouts of religious curses towards the knight, Count Odo, wide-eyed and baffled, retreats with the Princess. Lagertha, in awe of the identity of the Ghost Runner, stands stunned. To compensate for Lagertha's silence, Kalf orders the Viking warriors to attack onward. The Ghosts militia continue to climb over the spike wheel, alongside the Vikings, to battle and overthrow the Frankish army.

Biography:
Fara was born originally with the name Ingrid, to a Norse mother and an unknown/ undetermined father. Her mother was born in a family of farmers, and was raped as a young teen during a town pillage. The group of attackers raided swiftly, taking women at will and leaving the village in ruins. To this day, little is known about the pillagers. After this horrific event, Ingrid's mother became pregnant with her rapist's child. She gave birth to a beautiful baby girl – unique for her golden hair and crystal blue eyes. She named her Ingrid, meaning god's beauty. Her mother loved, cared for, and raised Ingrid until she was 4 years old. On Ingrid's 4th birthday, the mystery pillagers returned to the village to finish business. They slaughtered all the children in the small town, ensuring any children born of their blood would surely be terminated. The event became known to the Norse as the “Infant Massacre”.

During this massacre, the mother attempted to save Ingrid's life by fleeing from the village. The flee was unsuccessful, as the raiders over powered her. She told her daughter run and to not stop. Ingrid, only a toddler, did as she was told. As her mother was slammed to the ground, Ingrid ran. But she couldn't run fast enough. A pillager on horse-back chased her down, and with the whip of a sword – slashed the back of Ingrid's small and frail body. The baby fell limp onto the ground. Presumable dead, Ingrid's child body was taken by the two-time attackers, stuffed in a bag, and dumped several kilometers from the village. Her mother never found her body – Ingrid was never seen again.

Ingrid's mother, along with the most of the village, were crippled in devastation. She vowed to never be overpowered again, and to protect people like farmers from further attacks. Moving locations, she put her past behind her. She became a skilled shieldmaiden, and a couple years later, married a farmer from a different town – Ragnar Lothbrok. Together, the two had 3 children and rose the ranks of the Norse world. After losing two children (Gyda and a unborn child - miscarriage), Lagertha and Ragnar parted ways. Ragnar became King, and Lagertha took the title of Earl Ingstad. She never spoke a word about Ingrid to anyone. The details a blur, Ingrid survived the slash to the back. After being dumped, Ingrid was picked up by Radhanites. Radhanites were Jewish merchants and slave dealers that traveled the world, doing trade and exchanges with people of all kinds in their travels. Ingrid was saved and nursed back to health. She traveled with the Radhanites before becoming old enough to be sold as a slave/ child worker. As the Radhanites traveled from Scandinavia to overseas, they landed in Frankish territory, where Ingrid was purchased by Count Odo.

Roleplay Ideas:
Ingrid is Lagertha's daughter. She chooses to join forces with the Norsemen in their battle against the Franks. Through this alliance, Ingrid would come into contact with many Vikings. If we'd like to pair her against one of Ragnar's sons, we can modify the timeline and the story to fit that into the roleplay. The ideas and plot is not set in stone - it is malleable!

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* OLD BIO, UNEDITED, NOT YET UPDATED *

Name: Daralis
Origin: Kingdom of Kent (under Mercian rule)
Race: Anglo-Saxon (Old English)
Age: 16-18
Status: Slave to the royals of Kent (Cuthred family)
Languages: Old English
Religion: Christianity
Theme Song: "Lost It All" – Jill Andrews

Plot:

A group of Norsemen (Vikings) lead by King Ragnar Lothbrok, travel west of Scandinavia to raid new lands. They pull up to the Anglo-Saxon shores of the Kingdom of Kent where they encounter the client King of Kent, Culfred (brother of King Coenwulf of Mercia). The Kingdom of Kent, in relation to the Vikings TV chronology, was the Kingdom in which Ecbert's father ruled as King Ealhmund of Kent, until his defeat. Upon Ealhmund's death, Ecbert was exiled from Kent by Offa of Mercia (new ruler of Kent) and Beorhtric of Wessex. Upon Beorhtric's death, Ecbert returned to Wessex and took the throne.

In this plot, Mercia would be newly ruled by Coenwulf, who took throne several months after King Ecgfrith. Ecgfrith was the son of Offa of Mercia, the greatest King of Mercia and his wife Cynethryth (who is actually Princess Kwenthwrith who plays the Queen of Merica in the show). Once Coenwulf took over (only 5 months after Offa's death), he appointed the Kingdom of Kent – a client state of Mercia – to his brother, Cuthred.

During the Viking raids, the Kingdom of Kent was not so much an independent Kingdom as it was a Kingdom that was constantly being fought over by Mercia and Wessex. During the first Viking raid of Kent, the Kingdom was current client state of Mercia (economically, politically, or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state – ie. Mercia).

Because I'm mainly following the true history of these three Kingdoms in this plot, I will be ignoring the Vikings show adaptation of the Queen of Mercia and not using her role nor rule of Mercia in this roleplay. For an image of the more accurate hierarchy (and the hierarchy I will be using in this roleplay) – refer here.

To continue, the plot will center around Ragnar's return to the Anglo-Saxon territory. The Vikings (Ragnar and his men) would raid the Kingdom of Kent for the first time (for whatever reason).

Biography and Potential Roleplay Ideas:

Daralis is an Anglo-Saxon slave. She grew up her whole life in the Kingdom of Kent castle, under the Cuthred family. Being a slave, she has little freedom. Though, because she is a slave of a royal family, she has higher value and a better, more nourished life than that of a poor slave (in Anglo-Saxon history, there was a hierarchy of slaves based off of their owner's wealth). Unlike most slaves, Daralis was not purchased; she was born into the house. Her mother, a noble slave for the Coenwulf family, became pregnant after an affair with King Coenwulf; making Daralis an illegitimate child of the King of Mercia. Rather than throwing his mistress slave and child Daralis on the streets, Coenwulf, a devout Christian, decided to keep her services of slavery in the family. Unable to bear the responsibility of having an illegitimate daughter being raised in his own home, King Coenwulf of Mercia shipped the slave mother and her infant daughter, Daralis, to the Kingdom of Kent to serve for his brother, client King Cuthred.

According to Daralis' mother, King Coenwulf and Daralis' slave mother were in love. Despite their feelings, Coenwulf could not wed her to the throne because of her poor slave status. Until her mother's death when Daralis was only 7 years old (due to illness); her mother worshiped the King of Mercia, and believed that King Coenwulf was unable to bear the thought of them being sold to another owner (who potentially could be worse, poorer, and abusive), and feared she would fall into the hands of the wrong people. For that reason, to avoid that heartbreaking outcome, he sent his lover slave and his illegitimate daughter to live and serve his trusted brother, Cuthred. The illegitimate child (my character) is also said to have been named by Coenwulf – who named her Daralis, meaning “beloved”.

Through orders directly from King Coenwulf, Daralis was to be nearly treated as a noble. Although she served as a slave and had maid duties, she was to be embellished in nice noblewoman clothing, to have an elaborate bedroom, and to be served good food. Despite these commands from the King of Mercia himself (her father), Daralis was not treated nearly as well. King Cuthred, disgusted by her very existence as half slave - half royal, slaved the poor girl half to death with chores and hard labor (think of a historical version of Cinderella). Although Daralis was meant to dine with the Cuthred family, instead, she was made to serve them [food] – and was often not given anything to eat (in which she would have to steal food). The times she looked the best and the healthiest were during visits from Coenwulf, who expected such an appearance (essentially, they treated her poorly behind closed doors, but would make it appear like she was practically royalty when Coenwulf would visit).

Despite hating her life in the Cuthred family, she did not runaway, in respect to her mother (who loved Coenwulf). Instead, Daralis resorted to dreaming of setting off to new worlds, a new life, and a new adventure. Little did she know, that new world, life and adventure, was going to come to her.

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Name: Sunniva
Nick Name: Sun, Sun Slayer
Age: 22-28
Status: Dame, Knighthood
Religion: Christianity
Short Bio:
Dame is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honor of knighthood in the British honors system and the systems of several other Commonwealth countries. The Order of the Ermine, founded by John V, Duke of Brittany in 1381, was the first order of chivalry to accept women; however, female knights existed for centuries in many places in the world prior to this. Like their male counterparts, they were distinguished by the flying of colored banners and generally bore a coat of arms. Additionally, women adopted certain forms of regalia which became closely associated with the status of knighthood. Unlike the male knights, it was virtually unimaginable to see women taking part in medieval battles or commanding battalions of soldiers, but there are exceptions, Joan of Arc being the most famous. Some wore armor, others commanded troops, and some were members of an official order of chivalry.

Sunniva is a titled Dame as part of the Knighthood of Britain. She is a descendant of the Norse people and has been described as “inheriting the strong spirit of a Viking”. Against backlash and surprise, she indeed does wear the coat of arms, including full knight armor and weaponry. She is most famous for fighting first-hand in battles and wars, giving her the nickname “Sun Slayer” by her respecting troops. Although a skilled combatant and soldier, her expertise and warfare talents are constantly undermined by male Knights and other citizens who do not believe she should be fighting nor in armor. Despite adversities, she has risen to high social status through her impeccable reputation on the battlefield and her quick wit. She does not hold her tongue, and is a vocal lady when it comes to expressing her opinion.

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Name: Dahlia
Nick Name: Black, Black Dahlia
Age: 19-23
Status: Blacksmith, Bladesmith, Swordsmith
Religion: Christianity
Short Bio:
Dahlia is one of the only known blacksmiths in all of Europe, having inherited her father's successful business when he became ill and passed. She was one of three children, the one daughter. However, her two brothers (twins), and her mother all died from the Black Death plague. Only her and her father survived, forcing him to train Dahlia in the ways of forging in order to keep the business running (after the death of his sons). She had a natural talent and soon became better at forging than he was. From that point on, he encouraged her and supported her passion to forge. Despite forging being an incredibly physical and masculine task, Dahlia ignored all social criticism and became known as one of the best swordsmiths in the entire country.

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Name: Fifika
Nick Name: Fifi (fee-fee)
Age: 16-19
Status: Outcast, Gypsy
Religion: Romani religion (Mostly Hindu)
Short Bio:
Although "Gypsy" is a derogatory word in modern-day society, it was a commonly used term to refer to a band of nomadic travelers - the Romani people - who originated from North Indian and dispersed to Europe (and later the Americas). The term "Gypsy" is coined from the word "Egyptian" as they were mistaken for having originated from Egypt/ Africa. They are a group of people who faced heavy slavery and racism throughout Europe (and pretty much everywhere they went). They faced horrible discrimination and accusations of witchcraft throughout most of their history throughout Europe. 

Their race was often banned from countries, such as in 1530 in England, after the Egyptian Act 1530 was put in place. "The Act accused Gypsies of using crafty and subtle devices to deceive people, notably by claiming to tell fortunes whilst also frequently committing felonies such as robbery. The statute forbade any more Gypsies from entering the realm and gave those already in England sixteen days' notice to depart from the realm. Goods which Gypsies had stolen were to be restored to their owners and property confiscated from Gypsies was to be divided between the Sovereign and the Justice of the Peace or another arresting officer. The 1530 act was not successful in its aim of expelling all Gypsies, for Mary I passed the Egyptians Act 1554, which complained that "Egyptians" were plying their "devlish and naughty practices and devices." - Wikipedia. 

Fifika is a Roma/ Romani gypsy who lives in a society of outcasts. Her gypsy community has travelled Europe in their caravans and wagons, marked with the distinct Romani flag. Although proud of their faith and culture, they faced much discrimination and abuse at the hands of locals. In order to survive with such an unwanted status, they resorted to less than favourable means of salary, such as hard labour, fortune-telling, street performances, and theft. Despite efforts to “cleanse” the gypsy community, Fifika and her family have stayed strong and true to their roots. Additionally, Fifika is a talented dancer and singer and performs for loose coins.

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Name: Syrena
Nick Name: Sy, The Serpent, Syrpent
Age: 25-30
Status: Outlaw, Pirate, Thief
Religion: Atheism, Piracy
Short Bio:

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Name: Fiorella
Nick Name: Fio, Ella
Age: 16-21
Status: Princess
Religion: Roman Catholicism
Short Bio:
Fiorella is a Princess.

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Name: Unknown
Nick Name: Robin
Age: 20-25
Status: Terrorist, Assassin, Mercenary
Religion: Atheist/ Anti-Religion
Short Bio:
"Robin Hood is a heroic outlaw in English folklore who, according to legend, was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. Traditionally depicted as being dressed in Lincoln green, he is often portrayed as "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor" alongside his band of Merry Men. Robin Hood became a popular folk figure in the late-medieval period, and continues to be widely represented in literature, films and television." - Wikipedia 

Robin Hood is an infamous thief known most for his "code" of stealing from the rich in order to give/feed the poor. Originally, his character is indeed a male archer/thief, although I'd like to gender-switch this so that my character is FEMALE. 

If, however, you're interested in playing Robin Hood, and you'd like to pair up your character with a female character similar to his, I am also willing to play a Robin Hood impostor. Perhaps my character, a female thief, hears the many tales and stories of the infamous Robin Hood, and decides to dress up as him (for whatever reason, could be for profit, for respect, to frame him for something, etc.). Your character, the REAL Robin Hood, would hear of an impostor and track her down. Bonus: It'd be even better if he thought the impostor was a male, and would be surprised to see the skilled impostor is actually a woman.

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Name: Fara
Nick Name: Nightcrawler
Age: 19-25
Status: Terrorist, Anarchist
Religion: Atheist/ Anti-Religion
Short Bio:
The Nightcrawler is a social-political terrorist who is against the state. This infamous anarchist dresses similarly to a Knight, and is known for riding an all-black stallion. Additional to this, he/she's identity is unknown. Because of this, the terrorist is presumed male, therefore everyone refers to the Nightcrawler as "he" or simply by his title. In reality, the Nightcrawler is a female noblewoman who started a militia against the King and his empire.

Although small, her militia was powerful in their tactics - using small acts of terrorism as a weapon against the King and his army. Her masked-militia became widely known as "The Antichrists", as they used local displays of terrorism to place fear in the public, and often used sacrilegious, blasphemous, and unholy acts to deface God and Christianity as a whole. Because they littered the streets with anti-God blood-smeared messages, they were banished from the lands, and a high-value reward was set for all of their heads. Despite efforts to stop The Antichrists, their latest attack lead the city and public to lose faith in their King, causing the beginning of a revolt. 

The Antichrists are most well known for a quote made famous by their leader:
"Believe in no God, only simply in the madness of man."
These words and similar anti-religion quotes are graffiti-ed across the towns. Primarily those closest to the King.

The Nightcrawler can be paired with anything, though I can see her being paired the best against someone trying to stop her (or someone hired to stop her). If you're interested in playing a sort of anti-hero character, I have designed a character known as The Dark Knight. The King becomes desperate to find the leader and core of the Antichrist rebellion, and hires a gentlemen known as The Dark Knight - a Knight fallen from honor/ turned dirty for hire. But also infamously known as the best bounty hunter and/or assassin in the country. His true identity is not known, as he is always masked when on the job to assure his identity is protected.

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Name: TBD
Age: 18-21
Status: TBD
Religion: TBD
Short Bio:

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Name: Aruzhan
Nick Name: N/A
Age: 20-25
Status: Eagle Hunter's Daughter, Slave
Religion: Islam (Muslim)
Short Bio:
Throughout the 15th-18th centuries, the Republic of Kazakhstan was ruled the Kazakh Khanate. The state and its citizens were Muslim, having converted in the 8th century at the hands of the Islamic conquest.

Aruzhan is the daughter of a famous Kazakh eagle hunter as part of a traditionally nomadic tribe. As his only daughter and favorite child, Aruzhan's father brought her along on many eagle hunts in the snowy steppes. Despite the eagle-hunting being traditionally only pursued by men, Aruzhan's loving father submitted to her constant requests to learn the trade. In essence, he taught her all of his ways and the ways of their people, inspiring a deep passion in Aruzhan to become not only the first female eagle huntress in her community, but one of the best her community had ever seen.

Although she had training and talent, Aruzhan's dreams were soon destroyed as Russian influences and conflict began sweeping across her nation. Despite their efforts to flee, her family was captured, and Aruzhan enslaved. She is marketed as an “exotic beauty” to Mediterranean and English slavers, eventually landing her in Europe.

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Name: Q'orianka
Nick Name: Golden Eagle
Age: 17-20
Status: Chieftain's Daughter
Religion: Native American beliefs, Christianity
Short Bio:

* If you prefer this model, we can also use her. *

Q'orianka, meaning “Golden Eagle”, is a Native American princess who agreed to embark on a journey to Europe in an effort to assimilate to European culture (and the Christian religion). The point of the mission was for her to gain knowledge on this new world, and to possibly bring back resources and power to her native lands. As part of this agreement between her people and colonialists, she is taken into the safe hands of a noble and wealthy family in Europe (possible royalty), who believe their hospitality will encourage the natives “barbaric” nature to dissipate. As part of this storyline, Q'orianka will have to be taught the European life and introduced to Christianity as a dominant religion.

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Name: Amaruq
Nick Name: “She Who Who Will Not Submit”
Age: 17-20
Status: Chieftain's Daughter
Religion: Native American (Innu) beliefs
Short Bio:
Amaruq is the eldest of 6 daughters of the Chieftain of the Innu tribe (Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada). Although culture dictated that daughters should be married in order of birth, Amaruq defied her father time and time again and refused to marry. Instead, her family have been forced to break tradition, her sisters unwilling to wait for her any longer in order to marry their own match-made partners. Because of this, all sisters below her are married, with the exception of the youngest who is only 10 years old. In turn this unintentionally made Amaruq undesirable in her own tribe, gaining a reputation as the "one who will not submit".

Her independence and dominant character have instead lead her to become a fierce warrior among her tribe. Although traditionally armies were made up of strong men, Amaruq refused to conform to that norm and in turn developed an impeccable skill at archery. Her defiance proved time and time again to be problematic culturally, however within the tribe's military, translated to immense bravery and tactical talent. Despite being older and unmarried, she continued to prove herself as a valuable asset to the tribe.

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Name: Kuwanyauma
Nick Name: Kuwa
Age: 17-20
Status: Orphan
Religion: Native American beliefs, Christianity
Short Bio:

Kuwanyauma, meaning “butterfly showing beautiful wings”, is an orphan born to a Native American mother and an English father. Since her biological father was a colonialist, he travelled to and from England over several years span. Despite her English descent, Kuwa lived with her mother until her English father returned, years later. With Kuwa's mother falling deeply ill and passing, her father took her from the village and integrated her into an English colony when Kuwa was only 12 years old. As a young adult, she still retains her native language but is also fluent in English. On the colony (filled with British settlers), she was converted to Christian and learned how to farm, among other skills. Depsite the changes, she still feels deeply rooted in her Native American identity, and struggles with racial and religious conflict.

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Name: Penelope
Nick Name: Miss P, Penny
Age: 17-20
Status: Farmer, Weaver, Teacher
Religion: Christianity
Short Bio:
Penelope grew up in the fields of her father's extensive property. Her father is a farmer, and her mother is a weaver. She learned both trades from her parents, however her love for children and literature made her strive to become a teacher. Living in a small colonial farming community, Penelope is one of the only citizens who is fully literate. She is mostly self-taught, and obtained most of her knowledge and books from travelling to different towns. The children in her grade school refer to her as "Miss P.", short for her first name Penelope.

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Name: Amare
Nick Name: The Phantom
Age: 21-25
Status: Outlaw, Thief
Religion: Christianity
Short Bio:
Amare (Ah-ma-rey) is a mixed race, biracial leader notoriously known for her thieving. Her and her bound of Outlaws known as “The Phantoms” are exceptional thieves, the best in Europe. They are for-hire mercenaries who steal anything from coins to jewels to human beings for the right price. They got their name The Phantoms from their expert ability to get in and out of places without ever being seen or detected. Their thievery is often referred to as “ghosting” for this very same reason.

Currently, there are bounties on every one of The Phantoms heads, though monarchy after monarchy has failed to properly identify them, nor their leader. Stealing without a trace, the Phantoms only leave a single coin, branded with the mark of a pirate skull. As a result, many citizens from Kings, to Noblemen, to even farmers have hired countless bounty hunters and mercenaries to attempt to investigate and track them.

Although they are infamous for stealing, they have never been reported to kill. Despite this fact, their heads are still wanted for thievery, fraud, and treason.

Side note, we could explore a plot where the Phantoms are framed for murder, as well!

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Name: Zafira
Nick Name: N/A
Age: 18-21
Status: Court Jew
Religion: Judaism
Short Bio:
The 14th and 15th  century saw the rise of what we call the Renaissance, which brought to Europe a new spirit in the arts, sciences, astronomy and philosophy – at the same time it brought a weakening of the hold that the Church had on the population. On one hand, the Church scored a great “triumph” in its expulsion of the Jews from Spain and forcing of hundreds of thousands of Jews to convert to Christianity. Because of active annexing, many Jews were forced to move country to country, or to live within ghettos.

However, following these bouts of annexing, the most notable role for Jews was their participation in money-lending. Since the Church could not condone money-lending for interest through its own means, money-lending (modern day loansharking) became a successful business. From this, Court Jews developed and were Jewish  bankers or businessmen who lent money and handled the finances of some of the Christian European noble houses. They often lent money to nobles and in the process gained social influence. Noble patrons of court Jews employed them as financiers, suppliers, diplomats and trade delegates. Court Jews could use their family connections, and connections between each other, to provision their sponsors with, among other things, food, arms, ammunition and precious metals. In return for their services, court Jews gained social privileges, including up to noble status for themselves, and could live outside the Jewish ghettos. Court Jews could amass personal fortunes and gained political and social influence.

Zafira is the daughter of a high-fame Court Jew. She is from a family of great wealth as a result of the money-lending business and has lived her life mostly outside of the Jewish ghettos. Despite because “priveledged” compared to other Jewish families, Zafira still faced much discrimination from Christians for her family's reluctance to convert.

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Name: Elena
Nick Name: Elle
Age: 16-21
Status: Farmer's Daughter
Religion: Christianity
Short Bio:
Elena is a young lass who suffered a devastating cranial injury when she was just 10 years old. The injury caused significant damage in her occipital lobe, the part of the brain containing the visual cortex. As a result of the injury, Elena lost the ability to process visual information, rendering her blind. Despite beliefs that she was completely blind, unable to see anything but black, as time went on and her brain healed, Elena began to see strange things. Although her vision was normally black as night, she began seeing colors and outlines of objects and people through motion. Little did she know that she had actually developed Riddoch syndrome, a phenomenon that occurs when the visual cortex sustains damage, and as a result, the brain finds other ways to communicate vision, such as through movement. (For an example and explanation of Riddoch syndrome, see the story of "The Blind Woman Who Saw Rain")

After going blind, she was considered a cripple and became perceived as a burden on her family. In turn, they believed they could not offer a fulfilling life due to her "disability". Now seen as a shame on the family, Elena's parents disowned and abandoned her. She found herself an orphan at her 11 years old, with no where to go and no one to turn to. Her family made few attempts to retrieve her, assuming she was dead (as in their eyes, a cripple like Elena could not survive). She stumbled upon a childless senior couple who lived on a farm out in the country. The couple embraced her as their own, caring for her and also catering to her unique needs. Rather than feeling pity for her, her adoptive father saw strength in her visual impairment. He soon discovered that Elena could see movement, objects and bodies in motion. Soon he realized her unique vision was better when she was also in motion, so he built her a wooden rocking chair; enabling Elena to practice and strengthen her eye sight. With time and practice, Elena developed and impeccable "blind vision".

Although blind, she is a incredible singer with an enchanting voice. Additionally, she has a love for dance, as it provides her an opportunity to see more accurately. She sees the most clear when it is raining/ pouring outside, as the motion of raindrops falling enable her to see outlines of nearly all of her environment around her. We can also add that her biological parents are of nobility, even of royalty. This is optional. 

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Name: Delilah
Nick Name: Dee, Lilah
Age: 18-21
Status: Princess
Religion: Christianity
Short Bio:
Delilah grew up in the prestigious royal family to a King father and a mother who died of the plague shortly after Delilah's 13th birthday. After her mother's passing, life in the household of only men became increasingly difficult, with both her father and brother viewing women as less than respected. Shortly after turning 16, she was exiled from the community, after she refused to marry another king's son in order to form an alliance. The rejection of marriage lead to the other King to deem war against the Kingdom unless the princess were to agree to marry. She refused, as the Prince she was supposed to marry was cruel, and known for his abuse (and lengthy history with many dead women). She also had a hatred for that royal family in general - they were notorious for war and she felt that alliance would only bring the Kingdom to ruins. Her father, the King, thought his daughter to be insane/mad, and in effect, locked her up in the tower. He tortured her for several months, thinking he could "beat the demon" out of her. Even going to the extent of performing an exorcism to try and get her to agree. The practices only left her scarred and ruined. Thus, the King sentenced his daughter to death - claiming to the public that she had fallen ill, and had passed away (in order to make himself look good and to try and buy time to make another alliance). Before she could be beheaded in her cell, she seduced a knight and escaped - never to be found or seen again.

Delilah vowed to rise against her father - to build an army and to take over her fathers kingdom. To do that, she ran away to far away lands. She later returned to English territory and built a rebellion militia. Although small, her militia was powerful in their tactics - using small acts of terrorism as a weapon against her father and his army. Her masked-militia became widely known as "The Antichrists", as they used local displays of terrorism to place fear in the public, and often used sacrilegious, blasphemous, and unholy acts to deface God and Christianity as a whole. Because they littered the streets with anti-God blood-smeared messages, they were banished from England, and a high-value reward was set for all of their heads. Despite efforts to stop The Antichrists, their latest attack lead the city and public to lose faith in their King, causing the beginning of a revolt. 

The Antichrists are most well known for a quote made famous by their leader:
"Believe in no God, simply in the madness of man."

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Name: Caera (pronounced “Keer-a”)
Nick Name: N/A
Age: 18-21
Status: TBD
Religion: Christianity
Short Bio:

Caera will be either Irish or Scottish, but aside from that, her character is free-game. I haven't come up with a set bio for her character yet. I figured I would leave it open and let your imagination run free. She could be a maiden of any status or background. She could be a kidnap lass or a runaway. She can be royalty or poor – whatever you choose! We can brainstorm.

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Name: TBD
Age: 18-21
Status: TBD
Religion: TBD
Short Bio:
I haven't come up with a set bio for this photograph and character yet. I figured I would leave it open and let your imagination run free. She could be a maiden of any status or background. She could be a kidnap lass or a runaway. She can be royalty or poor – whatever you choose! We can brainstorm.

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Option 1) Dido Elizabeth Belle x John Davinier:
If you've seen the film (or even if you haven't), there is a passionate and true love depicted between aristocrat Lady Dido Belle and Sir John Davinier, who is an aspiring lawyer and current law student. The gif above depicts the two of them, and the unrelenting love they have for one another.

Option 2) "Mulatto" Aristocrat Heiress (female) x Caucasian Lawyer or Law Student (male):
Additionally, I will also leave the option open to roleplaying the same concept as Dido and John but rather portraying them, rather, we pull inspiration from their love story and the film. In this idea, my character would be an heiress and an aristocrat though she would be black, either half or partially from African descent. She would have a complicated place in society, as although she is wealthy, she is still rejected by common society and is judged for the color of her skin.

Option 3) "Mulatto" Aristocrat Heiress (female) x Caucasian Male (general):
My character would be inspired by Dido Elizabeth Belle, but wouldn't necessarily fall for a lawyer or law student. Your character could be any other Caucasian male, anywhere from a farmer to a prince. The choice is yours and up for discussion!

Option 4) African Heiress x Caucasian Lawyer:
My character will be widow, either a mixed-race black woman or a full black woman of African origin, who is currently suing the state for the riches of her deceased husband. The state is refusing to transfer the estate and wealth of her husband, who was killed, even though his will stated that all of his worth would transfer to his wife (my character), who he reassures in the legal document is a FREE woman. Although the state initially signed off of his belongings, it later rebutted the will, claiming that a negro woman could not inherit the estate of a while male. The state, claiming my character is pulling a scam, is now in the midst of a heated lawsuit which has swept the nation. Within the controversy and publicity of the lawsuit, my character loses her lawyer (who quits under pressure) and is desperate to find legal representation. Your character would be a Caucasian male, a lawyer (whether reputable or not) who takes her case on.

Option 5) Justice Will Prevail:
In this storyline, I'd like for my character to be a passionate social justice fighter, who is from African-descent. She will be either a full "negro" or a someone of mixed-race. Additionally, she will be a FREE WOMAN, legally, despite society socially rejecting her wealth and her freedom. She would have acquired such status from her either her previous owner and/or her Caucasian family/ascendants. For this idea, my character would be a real pain in the ass for the state of Brittain, stirring up social conflict and causing an uprising from much of the black enslaved community. Additionally, with the abolition of slavery around the corner, many Caucasian individuals have rallied in support of her organization, known as The Wings of Freedom (TWOF). Your character is up for discussion in this situation.

Option 6) African Slave (female) x Caucasian Aristocrat (male):
This idea is incredibly general, meaning there is a lot of room for discussion and creative freedom. The bare basic concept is that my character is a female, either full black or half/ partially of African descent. Your character would be a white male, someone with wealth and status. The way the two of them would meet and/or become romantic is up for discussion!

Option 7) Love Letters (Secret Admirer):
This option follows the SAME concept as Option 6, with the exception that the two of them would begin to fall in love through written letters, before actually meeting in person and continuing their romance. For this idea, I'm thinking your character (white male) has no idea that the letters are coming from a black woman (or mixed woman of African descent) who is his secret admirer. I'm thinking the two of them would have met initially, either through a casual encounter on the streets or - depending on who we make my character - perhaps he would have come across her as a slave of a client or someone he is visiting. This all depends on what status we give both of our characters. For the letters, it would be my character who initially starts writing yours. Their letters would be delivered to a secret mailbox, which is what the two would use to communicate. In terms of how your character would finally find out her true identity, that is up for discussion!

Option 8) Runaway Slave (female) x Bounty Hunter (male):
In this option, my character is a female African slave (or of mixed-race) who has runaway from her master/owner. The owner, someone of decent or high wealth, has placed an incredible bounty on her head. The master, a white male, is obsessed with my character - despite subjecting her to years of physical and sexual abuse. He can either be enamored with her beauty and/or infatuated with the fact that she is a "negro". Although the bounty for her return is significantly more than her worth as a slave, he is still determined to have her returned to him, and ALIVE. He hires a prestigious bounty hunter/ personal tracker - your character - to get the job done after she has been missing for over 4 weeks.

Option 9) Lady Orphanage (Lady O) x Other (male):
In this pairing, my character is a woman who runs an orphanage for homeless children. I'm open to making my character either Caucasian OR African descent (either full or mixed). She would have acquired the property and the orphanage from another woman - known as Lady O - who died of disease and left the entirety of her estate to my character. There's not too much information on orphanages back in colonial times, and in this time period, so we will have to be creative with this knowledge. However, I'm thinking the orphanage will have both white and black children. Perhaps it could be under controversy because of the fact that black children are living on the premises. To further the controversy, my character would refuse virtually all offers from buyers attempting to purchase children as laborers/ slaves.

Option 10) The Thief and the Noble:
For this idea, my character would come from desperate poverty, and would turn to stealing as a way to keep alive. She would steal not only for herself, but for others, and would eventually become infamous for her thieving ways. I'm thinking she becomes a very skilled thief, the kind of criminal who is like a ghost - comes and goes often without anyone even realizing she is there. She would have garnered a reputation and nicknamed as the "Moonlighter". We can have her steal anything from food to valuable jewels. Additionally, your character can be a noble, aristocrat, soldier, etc. Anyone, essentially, though I'm thinking he makes it his personal mission to hunt her down. To follow the interracial theme I'm seeking, I'd like for my character to be of African descent, be is mixed-race or full black.

Option 11) African Female x Caucasian Male OR
Option 12) Caucasian Female x African Male
I'm leaving these pairings super open - send me your ideas!

Name: Ava
Age: 20-25
Status: Terrorist, Assassin, Mercenary
Religion: Atheist/ Anti-Religion
Short Bio:
Ava is known primarily by her nickname the “Masked Medusa” or “Medusa Menace”, and sometimes the “Masked Menace”. Her character is loosely inspired by the Phantom from the Phantom of the Opera. She is known to terrorize opera houses, balls, theatres, and pretty much any high-class social gathering in which she can obtain access to a target. She is a skilled assassin and mercenary who works effortlessly against the rich and wealthy. She despises the upper-class, fighting their corruption and greed through her own dramatic, violent, and often theatrical means. Originally, the Masked Menace was assumed to be male, as Ava's attire was predominantly masculine, or androgynous. Many individuals were unable to wrap their head around a woman in pants, a suit, and a cloak. However, as her identity became more rooted in the ancient Medusa – female - characterized by a snake-infested mask, the media soon suspected that the masked vigilante may be female after all, and not male.

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Name: Anastasiya (“Anya”)
Age: 18-21
Status: Famous Ballet Dancer
Religion: Russian Orthodox
Short Bio:
Anastasiya is a ballet dancer from Moscow working for a world-famous Russian travelling company called Theatre Dushi (translating to “Theatre of the Soul”. She is most notably known for starring as Odile, the BLACK SWAN in the classical ballet, Swan Lake. Historically, the play is first performed in Moscow in 1877.

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Name: Estelle
Age: 17-21
Status: Chorus Girl
Religion: Roman Catholic
Short Bio:
Estelle is a Parisian chorus girl working for the Opera Populaire. As a chorus girl, she sings back-up vocals in a group choir as well as does basic background dancing for major productions. She grew up primarily in poverty, of a low-class father who later abandoned the family and left Estelle's mother to prostitute herself in order to provide for her daughter. Estelle eventually befriended Arianne as a child, who was of a family of extreme wealth. Arianne saw talent in Estelle and convinced the Opera House to take in Estelle as an “extra”. Working for a small salary, Estelle serves the Opera through small background performances and chores. Meanwhile, her best friend Arianne has risen to fame as a soprano and lead Opera singer. However, Arianne becomes unhappy with her life of fame. Having fallen in love with the Opera House's custodian boy (much below her social class), she decides to runaway with him the very day of the biggest performance and event of the year. Having to perform at the country's Le Grand Mascarade in just a few hours, Arianne enlists in her trusted best friend, Estelle, to secretly take her place.

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Name: Fifika (“Fifi”)
Age: 16-19
Status: Outcast, Gypsy
Religion: Romani religion (Mix of Hindusim and Christianity)
Short Bio:
Fifika is a Roma/ Romani gypsy who lives in a society of outcasts. Since the dawn of Romani history, gypsies all over Europe have been outcast and shamed for their foreign and exotic culture and nomadic way of life. During the 19th century, gypsies travelled Europe in their caravans and wagons, marked with the distinct Romani flag. Although proud of their faith and culture, they faced much discrimination and abuse at the hands of locals. In order to survive with such an unwanted status, they resorted to less than favourable means of salary, such as hard labour, fortune-telling, street performances, and theft. Despite efforts to “cleanse” the gypsy community, Fifika and her family have stayed strong and true to their roots. Additionally, Fifika is a talented dancer and singer. She could end up at the Masquerade for a number of reasons, however her dark skin would keep her from joining the festivities. Instead, she would remain hidden behind the scenes.

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Name: Adamina
Age: 17-20
Status: Unknown
Religion: Christian
Short Bio:
Adamina – a fake name - is a virtual identity ghost. She has no official paperwork or documentation, and enters the Masquerade under a false pretense. Her reasons for being at the Masquerade can be discussed. She could be a spy, assassin, thief, etc. Up to us to decide!

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Name: Belle
Age: 16-19
Status: Ballerina
Religion: Christian
Short Bio:
Belle is originally a background ballerina, performing as part of several small ballet companies throughout Europe. She is a low social status, which made it difficult for her to even become a ballet dancer in the first place. However, through hard work and theatrical passion, she proved herself to be an exceptional dancer. Despite her efforts, her “no-name” status left her without any major roles. That is, until the lead ballerina in a major orchestration broke her ankle just hours before the big performance at an established and extravagant Masked Ball. With no other ballerinas trained for the role, Belle offers to dance, stating that she knows the entire act from beginning to end.

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Name: Kamaria
Age: 17-19
Status: Mulatto/ Biracial
Religion: Christian
Short Bio:
Kamaria is a mulatto, shunned for her darker complexion and big, curly “black” hair. She is a fourth African, as her grandmother was originally an African slave labourer but had Kamaria's mother with a while male. Kamaria's mother was born into slavery, working as a labourer into slavery was abolished. Despite the end to official slavery, she still slaved as a labourer as a means to survive. When she was minor, she was raped by a Caucasian field-owner who sought to exploit her for her “exotic beauty” as a mulatto. The rape resulted in the pregnancy of Kamaria, who was born with a lighter complexion, curly hair, and green-hazel eyes. The pattern of abuse continued into Kamaria's life, where she was sexually assaulted by a high-status business man. This man, known not only for his extreme wealth and status but also for his oppression towards women, was a recurring rapist. He used money and fame to lure young women then assault him. In fit of vengeance, Kamaria and another victim decide to burn his entire estate to the ground, including his precious Opera House/ Theatre/ Ball.

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Name: Zola
Age: 16-21
Status: Circus Performer
Religion: Christian
Short Bio:
Zola is the child of a slave labourer who's parents were killed in a farmhouse fire. As an orphan, she escaped the fields and was taken in by the Cirque du Freaks. The Circus act toured many countries, performing a wide variety of acts and talents. Many members of the circus are known as “freaks” for their deformities or their bizarre talents. Zola, however, was extremely fit, fearless, and flexible, becoming a headlining acrobatic. The Circus is hired to a high-status Masquerade/ Masked Ball as a last minute effort to replace a classical ballet performance that was unable to attend the event.

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Name: Aurora
Age: 16-21
Status: Writer and Poet
Religion: Christian
Short Bio:
Aurora is a famous writer and poet who publishes her works under the pseudonym "Darcy Dawn". Although the 19th century marked a rise in the movement for women's rights and gender role changes, women of this era were still regarded as unequal to men, especially in areas of business and employment. They were seen to be incapable of accomplishing the sort of fame and success of a man, which lead Aurora to begin publishing her works under an ambiguous name. Although her work is deemed as incredible and ground-breaking in the realm of English literature, the public has no idea of its true source. Most journals and newspapers that do speak of her refer to Darcy Dawn, the author, as a MALE - however recent efforts to uncover this "Mystery Writer" has lead to much more interest in "Darcy Dawn" work and he/she's identity.

Regarding the Masquerade: I'm thinking "Darcy Dawn" - as a way to further popularize her work and identity - announces in local papers that she will finally make an appearance at the annual Masked Ball/ Masquerade. Still using the gender-neutral pseudonym, it will be up to guests at the party to try and decipher just WHO is Darcy Dawn and under which mask does he/she lie. The context of this ball can also be discussed.

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Name: Viviane Bonaparte
Age: 18-23
Status: Aristocrat, Duchess
Religion: Catholic
Short Bio:
Viviane Bonaparte is the daughter of Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France until 1814. She takes the honorary title Duchess, having been conceived shortly before her father and mother's divorce. She is the second daughter to Joséphine de Beauharnais, Napoleon's first wife, who was believed to be unable to have children and his heir, leading to their mutual divorce in 1811. Despite beliefs that Joséphine was infertile, little did she know, she was in early stages of pregnancy when their marriage was annulled. Napoleon remarried to Marie Louise of Austria and she bore two sons, while shortly after in 1814, his first wife Joséphine died. She left behind her daughter Viviane, only 3 at the time, who was later acknowledge by Napoleon and adopted into his fortunes. After his death in 1821 and with the resurgence of nobility rankings and titles, Viviane gained a substantial fortune, land, dowry, and the highest title of Duchess. As an aristocrat in France, she is referred to either as "Duchess" or "Lady".

Regarding the Masquerade: How Viviane ends up a guest at the Masquerade can be discussed. Either the masked ball is being held in France/ by a family or organization she is associated with, or she is a "special guest" at a Masquerade in another country. She would be deemed an HONORARY guest, meaning she is quite famed and her attendance is greatly anticipated.

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Name: Orabella
Age: 16-19
Status: Seamstress, Lower-Middle Class
Religion: Catholic
Short Bio:
Orabella is a well-known and reputable Italian seamstress. She is originally from the capital city of Turin of the Kingdom of Sardinia (Northern Italy bordering France). She grew up in a rather poor family, though her working mother and laboring father provided enough work and services to be respected in the community. Her father was a successful shoemaker and her mother before her was also a seamstress. Growing up surrounded by clothing and fashion, Orabella aspired to be a dress designer. Despite her envious dreams, Orabella was never able to afford the costs tied to fashion education. Coming from a lower-middle class family, Orabella instead took after her mother, becoming an exceptional seamstress. Although unable to become an official, high-end dressmaker, Orabella still designs and creates beautiful pieces on her own. Her talent has yet to be discovered.

Regarding the Masquerade: There are two options available to place her in this setting. Option 1) Orabella could either sneak into the masked ball by shedding her lower-middle class clothes (having made her own extravagant gown). Option 2) Orabella could be serving guests of the masked ball, hired as a on-site seamstress to do touch ups on gowns and formal attire. I'm thinking she gets hired for just this event as a result of her reputation as a phenomenal designer and talented seamstress.

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Name: Aislin
Age: 15-19
Status: Servant, Lower-Class
Religion: Christian
Short Bio:
Aislin, referred to commonly as "Little Aislin", is a low-class citizen who was born into a life of service. Her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother before her were all loyal servants, dedicating their lives to hard work and paid labor. Although slavery is little to non-existent, the 19th century marked the beginning of female servanthood as a career. Women servers were ranked based on the ranks of the families they served. Servants who served Middle or Lower-Middle class were grouped in that social hierarchy, whereas servants who served nobility were not only paid a more respectable wage, but were seen as more successful and less poor or degraded. As a result of her upbringing, Aislin is a skilled seamstress, cook, and maid. She is sweet in nature, but often very quiet. She has a beautiful voice, only singing in private when she believes no one else is around.

Regarding the Masquerade: There are two options available to place her in this setting. Option 1) Aislin could either sneak into the masked ball by shedding her servant clothes and raiding the wardrobe of the daughter of the household she is serving (or perhaps her and the daughter and good friends, and the daughter encourages Aislin to take dress and join the fun in secret). Option 2) Aislin could be serving the masked ball, in servant attire. I'm thinking she gets hired for just this event by a much more prestigious family than the one she currently serves, providing her with the opportunity to maid in a much higher-ranking event.

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Name: Helena
Age: 15-18
Status: Peasant, Poor/ Lowest-Class, Farmer
Religion: Christian
Short Bio:
Helena was born into poverty and has lived her whole in the lowest class of her country's social hierarchy. She has little education, having been raised on a farm and needed to help the family produce income at a much too young age. She did not complete basic schooling in an institute, and up until recently, was not even literate. Not wanting to fall into the same sad fate of her parents before her (who are also mostly illiterate), Helena has grown to become interested in education again. She garners the generosity of others through her kind and innocent spirit, allowing her to acquire many second-hand books for her to teach herself. She is the first of her family to know how to read and write fully. She is situated in a small farming town hours away from the nearest town, though her dream has always been to leave the farm life behind and explore the city.

Regarding the Masquerade: I'm thinking Helena, one day out of the blue, decides to runaway from home (temporarily) to see what life is like on the outside world. She hitches rides with several carriages, taking several days to arrive to (insert big city here). With no money in her pockets and just the clothes on her back, she begins her new journey with virtually nothing. I'm thinking she may end up at the ball by pure accident. She is attempting to "squat" or perhaps to find a place to hide from the rain showers, and she ends up taking an underground tunnel that leads her to the basement of the grand palace that is hosting the masquerade. So, she wouldn't be masked nor dressed for the event. But rather, perhaps your character or someone else would stumble upon her as she tries to figure her way out before getting caught.

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Name: Delilah
Age: 18-20
Status: Engaged (Upper Middle Class, but Poor)
Religion: Christian
Short Bio:
Delilah is a young lass from the Upper Middle class social hierarchy in England (and/ or the United States). Her mother is an English Lady who was penniless, without suitors and without dowry when she met Delilah's father, a prestigious American businessman and factory owner from the United States (roleplay can be set in either England or America). He married Delilah's mother for her beauty, which he believed to be "unmatched" by any woman he had ever seen. He cared little about her monetary status, and married her without any sort of gain. The two seemed to be in love, but as years went by and Delilah's father spent months at a time away from home, the marriage soon started to unravel. Despite their relationship being riddled with romantic affairs and mouths full of lies, Delilah's mother refused to leave him. However, when Delilah was only 16, the two of them came home to a dreadful fate. Their father had left them a letter, stating that he had left and would never return, as he had met a new woman and remarried. He left them with no money, and only the belongings that they owned and the lavish home that they lived in. For two years, Delilah's mother managed to string out what she had left in money, using her charm to leech off of the weaknesses (and funds) of other men. Despite efforts to survive, the two of them were flat-broke, the only value was the Name they carried at the image of wealth they maintained. Her mother placed Delilah in a desperate and impossible position, marry a wealthy (but unkind and cruel) businessman named Hal or stand to lose everything.

Hal is a man so rich in businesses that he dines with the aristocrats and lives a life of fame and wealth. Although successful, his achievements have made his ego far too great. He was either born a narcissist or became one, losing much of his empathy and compassion along the way. Due to his vast wealth, Hal pursues Delilah specifically for her beauty. He requires a beautiful wife to show to the world, furthering his "perfect" image he continuous boasts about. Despite Delilah despising Hal for his misogyny and greed, she becomes forcibly engaged when her mother leaves her with no other option. In celebration, Hal brings his new fiancé to the Grand Ball/ Masquerade to further glorify his already-powerful name. Although the two are supposedly set to marry (and Delilah sporting an hefty ring), it is visually apparent by Delilah's dispirited behaviour that she is truly miserable. More so, Hal will be exceptionally controlling of Delilah, gaining power by publicly degrading and humiliating her.

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Name: Nicoleta
Age: 20-25
Status: Vigilante, Bounty Hunter
Religion: Eastern Orthodox
Short Bio:
Nicoleta is a vigilante and bounty hunter originally from Transylvania. The 19th century was a revolutionary era for Romania. It marked the beginning of unification which would later create the Kingdom of Romania in 1878, finally gaining its independence from the Ottoman Empire through the aid of Russian soldiers. Nicoleta was raised in a family extremely passionate about gaining independence and unifying Transylvania, Wallachia, and Moldavia, which were all municipalities close in language, culture and geography. She is the daughter of a rebel who fought alongside Tudor Vladimirescu - leader of the Pandur militia - in the Wallachian uprising of 1821, in which she was only a child at the time. Growing up, Nicoleta faced many hardships from constant civil wars, however staying strong with the support of her family. She became passionate about issues of justice, growing to learn at a very young age that there is only so much that the law can do before you must take matters into your own hands to force change. That mentality carried on through adulthood, swiftly leading her into a life of bounty hunting. In areas where legal justice cannot, Nicoleta - known infamously as "The Huntress" - CAN. She focuses her energy hunting humans, mainly men, in an effort to make them pay for crimes they have otherwise gotten away with. Similar issues include theft, rape and murder. She is known to get both monetary currency as consolidation and penance from her victims as well as following an "eye-for-eye" method of harm. Although she does not always shed blood as part of her contracts, murder is within the realm of possibility, granted the crime warrants her target's death. Targets of The Huntress normally go missing for several hours to several days before turning up brutalized and/or dead.

Regarding the Masquerade: Nicoleta, "The Huntress", uses forged documentation and a mouth full of persuasive lies to fake her identity. She uses her fake identity to gain access to the masked ball, in which she attends specifically to find her contracted target. Her target can be whoever we choose to make him. He can be your character, or perhaps someone your character knows. In this contract, she will either be out to kidnap someone or be out for blood.

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* NEW CHARACTER *
"The Aufseherin"

Character Biography:
Real Name: Rosamarie Roth
Fake Name: Sascha Hofmeister
Age: 22-28
Country of Origin: Germany
Language(s): German, French, Dutch, English, Italian, Spanish and Polish
Occupation: Aufseherin, spy, translator
Theme Song: "Paint It, Black" - CIARA
Personality/ BIO:

The Aufseherinnen were female guards in Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust. Of the 55,000 guards who served in Nazi concentration camps, about 3,700 were women. In 1942, the first female guards arrived at Auschwitz and Majdanek from Ravensbrück. The year after, the Nazis began conscripting women because of a guard shortage. The German title for this position, Aufseherin (plural Aufseherinnen) means female overseer or attendant. 

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Rosamarie Roth is born of a French (Parisian) mother and a German father. She grew up in a dual-language household, speaking both French and German fluently. Since her mother was French, her family often spent summers in the countryside of France, despite being from Berlin. Her father was a prestigious banker, and her mother was a talented artist and passionate teacher. Money was never an object of issue, and as a result, Rosamarie lived a wealthy lifestyle and benefited from privatized education. She excelled in language skills, soon learning seven languages fluently.

As Nazi Germany began its assault on France and the Jewish population, Rosamarie soon discovers (unbeknownst to her) that her mother is Jewish. Despite being raised Christian, and her mother no longer practising Judaism, Rosamarie's mother was targeted by Nazi efforts to exterminate all Jews. Their home was invaded when Rosamarie was on an exchange-trip, and in a struggle to flee, her mother was shot dead. At the time, her mother was 9 months pregnant with Rosamarie's unborn brother. Rosamarie found the dead bodies of her mother and her 3 other younger siblings when she returned home. The slaughter left Rosamarie permanently psychologically damaged – igniting a darkness in her soul.

As the war waged on and France became German-occupied, Rosamarie crossed paths with the French Resistance and immediately joined their movement and efforts to squash German forces. They used her verse in languages and her hatred for the Nazi Regime to gain intel and infiltrate Nazi Germany. Successfully posing as a German Aufseherin (female guard), Rosamarie becomes Sascha Hofmeister in an effort to free enslaved women in Nazi-run concentration camps.

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* NEW CHARACTER *
"Operation Lipstick"

Character Biography:
Real Name: Verena Kneller
Age: 16-20
Country of Origin: Germany
Language(s): German, English
Occupation: Spy, assassin, German maiden, Schutzstaffel
Theme Song: "A Little Wicked” - Valerie Broussard
Personality/ BIO:

The League of German Girls  (or also referred to as the  Band of German Maidens) was the girls' wing of the Nazi Party youth movement, the Hitler Youth. It was the only legal female youth organization in Nazi Germany. The organization indoctrinated young girls through campfires, summer camps, sports, and lectures. It provided opportunities for education and training in various fields, while also enforcing Nazi regime beliefs. The girls were used as an essential tool in spreading the ideology, specifically through the use of Germanisation. They were also used for community service, as a source of entertainment for troops, as well as a placed on a door-to-door model to collect donations for the Nazi Party. In the last days of the war, German Maidens were used as last-ditch efforts to fight invasion in Berlin. They were documented using weapons, and in some cases, many were used for guerrilla warfare.

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As the height of the war waged on against Germany, the Nazi Party became increasingly desperate in their efforts against mutiny and espionage. Knowing both the Nazi Party and German forces had been infiltrated by oppositional agents, the Schutzstaffel (SS) sought to create a new band of agents to hunt down traitors and imposters. However, rather than appointing a team of male spies, the Schutzstaffel saw potential within their loyal and passionate Band of German Maidens. They, in turn, recruited a select group of teenage women from the League and enrolled them in a new SS project known as Operation Lippenstift (or Operation Lipstick in English). This select group of girls were heavily trained, both physically and mentally, to endure the worst of hardships – much like any spy. They were equipped with a cyanide tooth (suicide pill), weapons, and a lot of money. They girls represented glamour, beauty, and lethal force; known to the SS as an elite group of secret service agents. They were placed directly within the Nazi German units; used as wolves to snuff out those who sought to betray Germany. Through the use of charm, allure, and sex, they began to pick off traitors one-by-one.

Despite Operation Lipstick being widely successful, many of the plans backfired as Lipstick agents began to disappear and/or wind up dead. Many were unsuccessful in guarding their own lives – limiting the project's numbers until only the best, and few, remained. Verena Kneller is one of the surviving few, and to the SS, their most prized agent. Leading stats with the highest number of traitor discoveries and kills, she is considered to be one of the greatest secret service agents to have ever existed. But little does Verena know, there is someone just like her on the hunt for her head.

For this storyline, your character can be one of three options (though if you have another idea, I'm all ears) – One, he is a German/ Nazi member or soldier who is fond of Verena's work and espionage. Two, your character can be one of the imposter/traitors she hunts down (whether he is a spy from another country or a German who does not agree with Nazi Germany). Three, your character can be another spy/assassin/mercenary of some sort who has been hired/commissioned to hunt Verena down (or he can hear of her and vow to kill her for her work).

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"The Runaway"

Character Biography:
Real Name: Liora Gruenwald
Nick Name: Diamond
Age: 16-19 years old
Country of Origin: Hungary
Language(s): Hungarian, German, English
Occupation: Sex Slave
Theme Song: "You Don't Own Me" - Grace (Suicide Squad Soundtrack)
Personality/ BIO:

Although camp brothels dedicated to harvesting prostitutes for war prisoners are a well-known phenomenon seen in the history books of WWII, Jewish sex slaves harvested specifically for Nazi members are not. Despite the difference in documentation, Jewish women were indeed forced into prostitution catered for the Third Reich. Although most articles you'll read on sex slaves exclusively specify that Jewish women were NOT used, due to “racial hygiene” reasons, that proves completely untrue in the case of private escorts. As recorded in the memoir “After Auschwitz: One Man's Story”, Hermann Gruenwald, a Jewish cook in the concentration camps, tells a much different story. Working alongside the Gestapo and other camp-workers, Gruenwald recounts first-hand his encounters and experiences with beautiful Jewish women who were not only used as sex slaves, but glorified for courting the sexual desires of high-ranking officers. Rather than being confined to the slums of a scummy brothel, Jewish women were hand-picked based on their physical beauty to serve the Third Reich. Being chosen as a private escort meant that you were not only protected from the horrors of the concentration camps, but also that you were well taken care of. Escorts were dressed in lavish, expensive clothing and jewellery, and enjoyed fine wine and good food at the mercy of their subliminal line of work.

Liora Gruenwald (named after this inspirational memoir), is one of these private escorts. Although her Hungarian Jewish family tried to escape the war, a round-up left every single one of them on a train straight for Auschwitz. Despite being Jewish, Liora is well-educated, and speaks fluent German. She is a generally quiet character with a soft-spoken voice and a gentle kindness. Shortly after her arrival at the camp, she is recruited and turned into a private escort. She is blackmailed – told her family will only survive if she agrees to be an escort for Nazi soldiers/ officers. She agrees, though, soon comes to discover that all of her family is already dead. One cold, rainy night, she decides to runaway and escape this life or die trying.

SIDE NOTE:
I have personally met Hermann Gruenwald. He is an extraordinary man who immigrated to Canada after the war. If you're interested in a short blurb of his experiences in the Second World War, here is a video of him recounting a summary of what happened to him. If you'd like to support him, you can purchase his book at Barnes and Nobles (US) or at Indigo/Chapters (Canada).

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"Stone Red”

Character Biography:
SS Agent Name: Genoveva Stein, or "Stein Rot" (Stone Red)
Real Name: Udiya Bernstein
Age: 21-25 years old
Country of Origin: Germany
Language(s): German, English, French, Italian, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Hebrew, Yiddish
Occupation: Supersoldier, Assassin, Translator
Theme Song: "Building A Monster" - Skylar Grey
Personality/ BIO:

Genoveva (born Udiya) is an orphan who was recruited by the German government after a fatal accident left her comatose. After many weeks unconscious, the young teen awoke with absolutely no memories. She retained all motor and language skills, all knowledge, except for memories leading up to the accident. As an amnesiac, she is transferred from central care in a hospital in Munich to a secret medical organization run by the Deutsches Reich. With virtually no identity, she is named Genoveva and is subjected to several drug experiments. With absolute resilience, she soon becomes the leading subject in the Super Soldier project. Although the project was originally dedicated to male German soldiers, all of those subjects failed to perform under a newly modified D-IX drug. Genoveva, having been recognized for her unbelievable recovery from an accident that should have left her dead, became a wild-card guinea pig in the Reich's experiments. Successful, she became the first female subject to transform under the influence of the "Red Pill" (rote pille; modified and more powerful D-IX drug).

Within seconds of taking the substance, Genoveva gained superhuman strength, agility, and regenerative healing while on the drug. Not only was the drug a stimulant, but it flooded her body with adrenaline, voiding her body of any sensation of pain. On it she has exceptional focus, concentration, and heightened senses. The pill also makes her an exceptional learner, allowing the beginning folds of Nazi Germany to pursue years of rigorous training with her. From dusk until dawn, Genoveva - now nicknamed Agent Stein or Stein Rot (Stone Red) - transformed from an ordinary girl to extraordinary combatant. By the end of the program, she was completely fluent in multiple languages (German, English, French, Italian, Polish, Hungarian, Russian) and had extensive knowledge of military-grade weaponry, equipment, and vehicles (including planes and copters). Not only did Genoveva blossom into a beautiful young woman under the care of the Third Reich, but she emerged from the program as a trained assassin and the ultimate super soldier. She was as stunning as she was deadly, and the Nazi military wasted no time putting her to work as a undercover intelligence agent.

Despite Nazi efforts to keep her memories from returning to her, the more Genoveva free-roamed as an active agent, the more memories began to creep back in to her mind. We can brainstorm what point in the war we want to put her in, including which country she ends up in for her mission(s). However, with this character, I would like to incorporate that before the program and accident, she was a of Jewish faith. While on a trip alone, she ends up in an accident and goes "missing", to which her parents and family are never able to find her. I would like for my character to slowly start to piece together the truth; that she is a Jew; the very thing she's been taught her entire adolescence and early adulthood to destroy. We can pair her with virtually anyone (a Nazi, another soldier, another spy, an Inglorious Basterd character, another supersoldier... send me your ideas! ).

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"The Gypsy Travellers"
* These images can be interchanged with the bios. *

Character Biography:
Real Name: Tsura Klor
Age: 18-21 years old
Country of Origin: Austria
Language(s): German, Sinti-Romani language, some Yiddish
Occupation: N/A
Theme Song: "Rise" - David Guetta feat. Skylar Grey
Personality/ BIO:

Although a Gypsy, Tsura's family has settle primarily in Austria for generations. They are different from the more commonly known Roma people, simply in their dialect of the Romani language as well as slight differences in clothing. To the outside eye, they are barely distinguishable, simply because their nomadic background and controversial cultures are shared. Despite official historical reports determining the Holocaust began in 1941, for the Romas (commonly referred to as gypsies), it began several years before, in 1938. Although country-wide banishment had been ongoing for centuries, laws in the name of racial impurity on the same plane as antisemitism began as early as 1925. In 1936, three years after Hitler came in power, the Central Office to "Combat the Gypsy Nuisance" opened in Munich. In July of that same year, police would begin rounding up gypsies from their caravans to export them to interment camps, which served as ghettos in the outskirts of major cities. However, the infamous Heinrich Himmler lobbied to save a handful of pure-blooded Roma, whom he believed to be an ancient Aryan people for his "ethnic reservation". Many efforts were placed into exempting "pureblood" Romas from the "racially inferior". In lieu of Himmler's beliefs, doctors, Nazis, and other experts documented, analyzed, and questioned Romas in order to determine if they were of Aryan lineage.

Tsura and her family, blessed in their investigation, were one of the few Roma families to be deemed "pureblood"; of true Aryan lineage despite Gypsy status. Despite being exempt from concentration camps, her family still bore few legal rights and did not regain citizenship. Although officially documented as "pure" on her papers, Tsura faced many oppositions from Nazi and German soldiers alike at every encounter. Because many politicians, experts, and Nazi Party members opposed Himmler's outlandish Gypsy-Aryan beliefs, Tsura's once-protected family soon became a target. As the war against racial impurity raged bigger and bigger, Tsura's earlier documents had soon turned meaningless. She had become nothing but a dirty Gypsy, no better than any other Roma, and to some, even more worthless than a Jew.

With the rumour of wide-spread Roma massacre spreading like wildfire amid a raging war, Tsura and many other gypsy communities were on the constant move; doing everything in their power to avoid German forces. However, the gypsies could only cover so much ground before there was no more ground to hide in. Like many other bands of Romani people, Tsura's nomadic group had been discovered, and bombarded. Forced by soldiers to surrender their jewelry and caravans, the lot of them were ordered to huddle together in the middle of the forest. Without any apparent warning, soldiers began to open-fire on the group. Gypsies dropped dead like flies, while others graced by the edge took a run for it. While in hot pursuit by Nazis, Tsura makes the bold move to jump off the edge of a cliff in an effort to escape. She falls several meters down to plummet into the river's stream below.

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Character Biography:
Real Name: Luvina Dalca
Gypsy Nick Name: Lu-Lu
Age: 16-19 years old
Country of Origin: Romania
Language(s): Romanian, Romani language
Occupation: N/A
Theme Song: "I Put A Spell On You" - Moya
Personality/ BIO:

* In Progress *

Luvina is a very intelligent and cunning, despite her young age. She's extraordinarily street smart, and knows how to get around and survive on her own without the help of anyone else. Because she has lived her life in a traveller community, she is used to finding food that sometimes requires hunting – and is also good at finding shelter. Luvina is a handy pick-pocketer and a master actress. She can con nearly anyone into believing she's telling the truth – all to get what she wants (which is usually food, money, or something else needed to stay alive). She's constantly cautious, and trusts no one. She's suspicious of nearly everyone, and chooses to roam towns on her own. Though, her young age makes her a target.

There is no specific plot for this. The character is just a young Gypsy who is trying to escape the war.

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*NEW* "Lady Death"

Character Biography:
Real Name: Oxana Zelenko
Known As: Lady Death
Age: 18-25 years old
Country of Origin: Ukraine
Language(s): Ukrainian, Hebrew, Yiddish, Romanian, Russian, German, English
Theme Song: "Torched Song" - L.A. Noire (Claudia Brucken)
Occupation: Spy, Mercenary, Fugitive
Personality/ BIO:


Oxana is a Ukrainian-born female Jew and current pyromaniac. She was a victim and survivor of the 1941 Odessa Massacre in Ukraine, which was under Romanian rule under the German siege. As part of the massacres of October 22-24, thousands of Jews were round up into warehouses, shot to death then set ablaze. Others were tied together in masses of 40 and 50 people, thrown in trenches and shot dead. The massacres continued on October 28th, where smaller communities of Jewish Ukrainians were trapped in stables, shot, and then set on fire. Oxana, although well educated, was part of a small-town farming community. She lived an otherwise peaceful life, not having had access to higher education but making great leaps in knowledge through self-teaching. Despite their quiet farm lives, Oxana's community was not spared from the horrors of the raging antisemitic war. Romanian and Germans soldiers flooded their property, herding all local families into the biggest stable and firing away. Over 200 people, women and children included, were cramped into a single barn. Hundreds of rounds of ammunition were emptied into the stable until not a single person was left standing. To rid the evidence and ensure their termination, soldiers then set the barn on fire. Although Oxana was presumed dead - alongside every other Jew in her close-knit community - she miraculously survived the mass-shooting. When the Romanians assumed everyone was dead and fled, Oxana had the opportunity to pull herself from the bodies and escape the burning fire.

Having escaped the war, and with a tongue that speaks multiple languages, Oxana was rescued and recruited by Soviet forces. She was offered a unforgiving preposition; one she could not refuse. The offer? Become a spy, seduce the enemy, retrieve sensitive intel, and then put a bullet in their god damn Nazi brains. Oxana, now that her entire family and community had been murdered, had only the fiery rage in her heart left to live for. She accepted without hesitation, guaranteeing the Soviets that she would not disappoint. Soon, Oxana Zelenko became known as none other than, Lady Death. Not only was Oxana successful at extracting valuable information from military enemies, but she was ruthless, merciless, and foremost, clandestine. She became infamous among feared soldiers and military ranks as a fire-obsessed lunatic; seducing her victims, viciously torturing them, killing them, and subsequently burning the entire place down to the ground once she had what she needed. In situations where time was pressed and circumstances complicated, Oxana has become reputable for a pattern of administered a "Kiss of Death" - slipping a suicide cyanide pill into the mouths of her victim while locking lips and making them appear like they killed themselves, despite the murder.

She can be paired with virtually ANY type of character, be it Nazi/German, Soviet/Russian, Romanian, another Jewish survivor, and even any sort of character deriving from a country involved in the war, such as British and even American. I'm very open, and can place her character in virtually any country associated with the war to fit the plot.

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*NEW* "Primadonna and Prague"

Character Biography:
Real Name: Daruska Krall
Fake Name: Anezka Kriz
Age: 18-21 years old
Country of Origin: Czechoslovak Republic
Language(s): Czech, German, Polish, Yiddish, Hebrew and maybe English
Theme Song: "Primadonna Girl" - Marina and the Diamonds
Occupation: Con-woman, Primadonna
Personality/ BIO:

Daruska is one of many Czech Jews who's family fell victim to the Holocaust. She was born into immense wealth, her father and descendants all from rich backgrounds. With her she bore a dominant household surname, Krall , which translated to "King". Daruska has never known anything less than a lavish, luxurious and elite way of life, having garnered the best of everything in life, including food, clothing, and education. Her family was well-respected, capable of obtaining anything they want with the right connections and persuasion. All that came to a halt as the German forces took siege of the Czechoslovak Republic. Anti-antisemitism had swept across the country, and all Jews were ordered to be annexed. Despite fair warning, the Krall family were arrogant in their view of the war. They believed they were untouchable because they were filthy rich, but the cold truth of the war soon proved them wrong. By the time they realized money was their enemy in this war, it was already too late. Their assets and property had been seized, their confidence shattered, and their livelihood? Destroyed.

Daruska, however, managed to escape the round up that robbed her family and obliterated her life. Forced into hiding to save her life, Daruska adopts a new fake identity and begins operating under the name "Anezka". She uses her smarts and her good looks to charm her way out of trouble and into a new life of con. Because she is unable to support herself and survive legitimately on her own as a Jew in a raging, racist war, she instead becomes a master of disguise and the Queen of Con. Despite having nothing to her name, Anezka, over the months, manages to live in fancy hotel suites eating expensive foods and drinking fine wines. All on other men's dimes through money scams and cheap lies.

As the title suggests, Anezka has a very primadonna-esque identity and personality. She cannot bear the thought of living a life any less than of the high quality she was raised with. In order for her to maintain that lifestyle, she goes through great lengths and extremes in order to achieve it. Additionally, her life depends on not getting caught, so she has become extremely skilled and disappearing, sending her to travel all throughout Europe among the deadly war. Her hometown is the famous city of Prague, where Germans eventually invaded and conquered. She will be quite educated, speaking four languages. Her lineage originates predominantly in Poland, through many generations have since emigrated to Czech and settled in the regions of Bohemia and Moravia. However, Anezka still has many family members in Poland and Austria, which is the main reason why she was also educated in Polish and German.

Although I haven't quite decided the fate of her family (including extended family), I'm thinking they will be all deceased or at least in concentration camps as they are all of Jewish faith.

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"She-Wolf"

Character Biography:
Real Name: Nastasia Volkov
Age: 23-25 years old
Country of Origin: Soviet Russia
Language(s): Russian, German, English
Occupation: Sniper, Trained Assassin
Theme Song: "She-Wolf" - David Guetta feat. Sia
Personality/ BIO:

Nastasia Volkov is a Russian spy and extraordinary sniper for Soviet Russia. Nastasia grew up in a military family, born of a father who is a highly-praised and ranked USSR Officer. Since a very young age, Nastasia was familiarized with guns, other weapons, and military tactics. When she became a teenager, she was enrolled in a secret spy program for Russian females. There, she was trained as not only a phenomenal combatant, but also as a specialized sniper and assassin. The program was designed to turn beautiful Russian women into deadly assailants, capable of not only distracting and seducing male opponents, but also in disguising themselves well in order to gain access to their targets. Nastasia is one of the best in her league, with a total of 45 kills under her belt. Her pale features and icy eyes
allow for even the strongest of men to falter under her charming personality and stunning good looks. Mostly operating under cover, she is single-handled responsible for the deaths of dozens of political power-houses and military commanders.

In the recent weeks, Nastasia, also known as Agent She-Wolf, has disappeared. With no body, and no reports of her death - she is long suspected to have willingly gone rogue after her family, including her father had been murdered.

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"Black Rose"

Character Biography:
Real Name: Rosalia De Fiore
Nick Name: Black Rose
Age: 19-22 years old
Country of Origin: Italy
Language(s): Italian, Potentially others
Occupation: Assassin
Theme Song: "If I Had A Heart" - Fever Ray
Personality/ BIO:

Rosalia grew up in a small town in the region of Calabria, Italy. Although her parents were both native Italians, she was raised in a family with a Catholic mother and a Jewish father. Despite her parents religious differences, the two were very much in love and found a way to incorporate both traditions in their childrens' upbringings. For Rosalia and her younger siblings, it was the best of both worlds. However, the events of the Second World War plagued Italy after Mussolini twisted his power and shifted his efforts to join forces with Nazi Germany. And so, like so many countries before them, Italy was being evacuated of all its Jewish citizens; Rosalia's father included. Because their mother was Catholic, under Jewish faith, Rosalia and her siblings were not religiously bound to Judaism. Instead, only her father should fall victim to this round-up.

However, one evening, their home town was invaded, and both Rosalia's and her family were forced out of their home. Confused, Rosalia begged with the officers to spare her and her brothers, as they were not Jewish (only their father). The officers did not listen, convinced regardless of the religious red-tape that they were racially infected by Jewish blood. Threatened via gun-point, Rosalia and her family were obliged to board the train. Though, a familiar face, Sergeant Bandoni, recognized Rosalia and pulled her from the train's crowd. A childhood friend and past love-interest, Bandoni could not bear to let Rosalia go. He spares her, though, does not spare her father or her two brothers. Rosalia's mother, in complete distress over the events unfolding, tries to board the train with her husband and two sons as the train begins to move. Though, when she is refused entrance onto the train she becomes hysterical and a struggle with officers ensues. Amidst the physical altercation, Rosalia's mother is shot dead on the platform.

The scene leaves Rosalia traumatized and broken. Not only did she lose her father and two brothers in the evacuation, but also her mother. Several weeks after the incident, Rosalia hears rumours of gas chambers and concentration camps. Convinced her father and two brothers are dead, Rosalia becomes enraged. Riddled with anger, she vows vengeance and makes it her personal mission to kill every Nazi officer responsible for the death of her family. Though, instead of aimlessly killing every soldier with a Nazi badge, she becomes tactically invested in the politics of the war. She gains resources, Intel, and weapons to become one of the most infamous Nazi assailants in the entire country. Travelling from city to city, Rosalia tracks down Nazis that she considers are pivotal members of the Third Reich within Italy. The bigger your impact on the war, the bigger the target on your back. She is soon nick-named the “Black Rose” by fearing German soldiers and Nazi members (Rose deriving from her name Rosalia) and is has been an unstoppable force since the death of her mother.

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"Made In France"

Character Biography:
Real Name: Sophie Chevalier
Age: 22-25 years old
Country of Origin: France
Language(s): French, English
Occupation: Businesswoman
Theme Song: "Dernière Danse" - Indila
Personality/ BIO:

Like her brother, she is very wealthy from the business, and is high-class. She holds herself to the utmost standard, which is seen through her expensive jewellery, fine taste in wine, and glamorous appearance. She is very strong-willed, very smart, and very witty. It's what makes her so valuable to the company, and she has a knack for making good financial and company choices. Because Sophie is so independent, she has a big mouth, and often over steps social boundaries that a woman should not over step in that period. Likewise, she is very outspoken and always speaks her mind.

Sophie is the sister to a very successful French businessman (I'm thinking he owns ammunition factories or something of the like). Though, despite her brother owning the majority of the company, Sophie is the first-hand man (or woman) and the brains behind sales. She accompanies her brother everywhere to meet all the potential buyers. During Germany's occupation of France (after they surrendered), the company would go into arrangements with the Nazi Party. The meeting, since high-class and professional, would be at a restaurant over wine and good food to discuss the details of the sale. Though, little does Sophie know, that the group of men her brother has made arrangements with are reputable members of the Nazi Party. A political group she very much detests, and wishes to have no part in. Knowing his sister would not approve, Sophie's brother pretends like it's a different company – and Sophie does not find out who they are truly dealing with until already in the restaurant – when she meets them.

Possibilities include playing a member of the Nazi party, or perhaps even, someone who is working for the Nazi party to make this sale. Another possibility is also a German soldier, or even, no one from the group – but rather someone who is also eating at the restaurant. This can include the Inglorious Basterds crew – who perhaps can be eating there in order to get to the Nazi party who are meeting Sophie and her brother. If you have any other ideas, I'm open!

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"The Christian Jew"

Character Biography:
Real Hebrew Name: Dara Stolarz
Fake Christian/ More German Name: Giselle Kroll
Age: 16-19 years old
Country of Origin: Poland
Language(s): Polish, German, Hebrew, Yiddish
Occupation: N/A
Theme Song: "Beneath With Me" - Kaskade and Deadmau5 feat. Skylar Grey
Personality/ BIO:

Dara/Giselle is an extremely gentle character. She is kind-hearted, very sweet, and believes in treating everyone with respect despite their (often) undeserving characters. She is fairly quiet, and keeps mostly to herself, particularly with her loud family. She doesn't like to express her ideas, or what's on her mind, as she is often ridiculed for her sayings of peace and sympathy towards German soldiers and Nazi members. She is very intellectual, and is constantly reading. She has gone over the Torah many times, due to her teachings, but has a fascination with the bible, and has read it numerous times (especially since she is pretending to be Christian now, with her family). Although very young, she is wise beyond her years and is often referred to as an “old soul”. She writes in her diary multiple times a day – to which she pours out her heart and thoughts.

Two Jewish families are posing as Christians together in a log cabin in the woods. They would set up bear traps around the far-off property in hopes of keeping animals and unwanted guests, such as soldiers, at bay. Though, since there is a strong possibility of them being discovered, they have decorated their home as Christians – no signs of Judaism. As Christmas is approaching, they decorate the house with lights and the family sets off to get a Christmas tree. There the young Jewish girl (my character) would have an encounter with a German or Nazi soldier, or perhaps someone else. They could be caught in the trap, or tracking them. This can also be paired with Inglorious Basterds characters.

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* NEW CHARACTER *
"Benz Heiress"

Character Biography:
Real Name: Athala Benz
Age: 22-28
Country of Origin: Germany, England
Language(s): German, English
Occupation: Entrepreneur, heiress, celebrity
Theme Song: "Dark Nights" - DOROTHY
Personality/ BIO:

* In progress – fictional *

Athala Benz is one of the grandchildren of famous Karl Friedrich Benz, one of the founders, engineers, and creators of Mercedes-Benz company. She bore an extremely close relationship with her grandfather and in return, he left her a substantial fortune and part of the company upon his passing in 1929. Although the company was formed from a union of Benz & Cie as well as Daimler GM, Athala still inherited a portion of the company – making her one of the youngest, richest women in Germany at the start of the war. She is a savvy business woman, and known to be incredibly bright, charming, and beautiful. Although she was born into wealth and remained extremely wealthy, Athala is also very generous. She is an active member of her community and continues to offer her services and wealth to charities.

Because Athala is of wealth and fame, she is an avid socialite and fashionista. She is famous for her sharp sense of style and her love of fashion and glam. Because she is beautiful and charismatic, she is a popular guest among many high-class and high-profile events. Additionally, she is a successful singer and actress, appearing in many roles in both German and English cinema. Despite her creative talent, Athala has a strong passion for business and is determined to continue the success of the company (Mercedes-Benz) her grandfather had left her. Business was flourishing now more than ever, especially with the rise of war. Mercedes-Benz became the luxury brand of choice for Adolf Hitler himself, the company supplying Nazi-German forces with motors, engines, and vehicles that would soon become famous for their sleek design and specially-custom bullet-proof windshields. Hitler would go on to make the Grosser Mercedes 770 W 150 his car of choice.

Although the company had bloomed under the business of Nazi Germany, Athala was guilt-stricken by the horrors of war. She was unable to morally/ethically support the use of forced laborers in their factories nor the supply of product to the Nazi Party, though this side of the business was far out of her control and authority. However, since Athala is so wealthy and resourceful, she begins secretly aiding German oppositional forces by supplying them with funds, ammunition, weaponry, and vehicles. She, in turn, begins to live a double life. On one side she appeared to be a proud company owner, heiress and celebrity, enjoying a life of wealth, glam, and popularity. But on the other side, Athala was commuting treason and mutiny, completely betraying her country and assisting organizations in their efforts to stop Nazi Germany and the war.

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"Jazz Meister"

Character Biography:
Real Name: Kamaria von Stark
Age: 20-24 years old
Country of Origin: Germany
Language(s): English, German, some French
Occupation: Jazz Singer
Theme Song: "Cry Me A River" - Ella Fitzgerald
Personality/ BIO:

Kamaria is a biracial female, born in Germany to a German (Caucasian) father and an African-American mother. Her father, Mr. von Stark, met Kamaria's mother, Tiana, while on a business trip to the United States in the early 1900s. The two, despite social taboo, fell in love with another. Rather than staying in the US, the two returned back to Germany where it was legal to marry, unlike in the United States. However, legal marriage between interracial couple was not an easy feat, even in Germany. The two eloped in 1910, and by 1912, interracial marriage was mostly banned throughout all of Germany and even its colonies in Africa. With Hitler's rise to power and with the aggression of white supremacy and the Aryan race, by 1935, the Nuremberg Laws came in to effect. Although it specifically targeted Jews, Romani gypsies, and Slavs - it also included anyone of African descent, including biracial or "mulatto" individuals and children. Under this law, all biracials born in Germany were revoked their German citizenship and deemed impure. Although there was no official procedure against Afro-Germans like there was for Jews and Romas, blacks were placed at the very bottom of social class and deemed dirty, unsanitary, and disgusting. Most could not find legitimate jobs due to this growing stigma. During this time, there are also many reports of Afro-Germans being forcibly taken for experiments and forced sterilization. To avoid such torture, much of the black population of Germany fled and/or went into hiding.

Although Mr. and Mrs. von Stark face many sneers, judgements and dismay, they refused to divorce and went on to have three "mulatto" children. The eldest son, Aurick, and the middle child, Ernest, would return to the United States shortly before the war in order to visit family. Kamaria, on the other hand, would have stayed behind, having become a reputable singer and not wanting to let down her local band, The Meisters (in German, Die Meisters). Like her mother, Kamaria grew up with a love for jazz and an extraordinary talent for singing. However, with rise of antisemitism and racism, jazz became deemed "Negermusik" (negro music) by Nazi elitist, Hitler even calling it "alien", a form of music that had to be eradicated. By 1938, jazz had been oppressed and banned from most stages in Germany, with the exception of a couple of places in Berlin (for tourists). Despite the derogatory musical oppression, many elites still enjoyed the genre, including the dance form that normally came with it; swing dancing. Despite efforts to crush jazz and its origin to an impure race (African-Americans), underground jazz bars, clubs, and restaurants became big hot spots in Germany's secret underworld.

Kamaria, unable to escape Nazi Germany before the revocation of her citizenship and passport, she continues to sing and perform in her jazz band. For the roleplay, I will be using the voice of Ella Fitzgerald.

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"Sky Maiden"

Character Biography:
Real Name: Ruxandra Dalca
Age: 20-24 years old
Country of Origin: Romania
Language(s): Romanian, Russian - possibly German and English
Occupation: Pilot, (maybe - Super-soldier)
Theme Song: "Titanium" - David Guetta feat. Sia
Personality/ BIO:

Ruxandra is one of the few women of her time to be a fully trained and licensed military pilot. She is an active member of the Royal Romanian Air Forces, having enlisted under a special forces team of female pilots and military combatants in a project known as Escadrila Albă. Escadrila Albă, or “White Squadron” were an elite team of highly-skilled pilots and medical professionals that served for Romania in the Odessa invasion as well as the Battle of Stalingrad. Although trained to fly almost anything, Ruxandra's specialty in the war was flying medical transport, RWD-13 planes. Although many planes were shot down during battles both out of cross-fire and out of tactical medical sabotage, Ruxandra's is one of the surviving pilots of the war chaos.

Super-soldier Potential: I am also open to entertaining the idea that she is turned in to a sort of super-soldier pilot by Russian forces looking to gain an advantage over their German opponents. In this scenario, Ruxandra would have gotten her arm torn off in an accident after her plane was shot down. A Russian spy organization would save her life, opting to replace her unsalvageable human arm with a high-tech bionic one. This idea is inspired by the Marvel superhero/villain character "Bucky" or "The Winter Soldier". In the comics, he has a metal arm that enables his to do a variety of exceptional things as a result of the super-strength it provides. I'm open to exploring an idea similar to that. It may also be a bionic hand, not an entire arm, as well. Or even another limb or multiple limbs - we can discuss!

In this scenario, Ruxandra would still continue to be a pilot, and she would become known for jumping out of her own plane to land on another. Her arms would enable her to grab on/ penetrate the steel of a plane in order to invade the enemy pilot and eliminate them. She would become a sort of military myth - the kind of folklore soldiers would gossip about while trying to entertain themselves. Since few live to tell the tale, the stories of a "Sky Maiden" is believed to be just fiction.

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"Medical Morals"

Character Biography:
Real Name: Arielle Proulx
Age: 18-20 years old
Country of Origin: France
Language(s): French, English, Hebrew, German
Occupation: Nurse
Theme Song: "Human" - Christina Perri
Personality/ BIO: * In Progress *

Arielle is highly educated, coming from a wealthy family of businessmen and teachers. Her mother is Jewish and ab elementary school teacher and her father is Catholic, a businessman (owner of many companies). Her and her parents, alongside her three siblings, all grew up in central Paris. They were all educated in private schools and became fluent in four languages. After high school, Arielle pursued a career in Nursing. At the start of the Second World War, Arielle enlisted to serve France, thinking she would be utilizing her medical skills to help fighting members in the war. Little did she know, she'd also be at the mercy of treating enemies of the war, too – her country's very own invading German soldiers (and any other wounded members of the Third Reich (including but not limited to Nazi and SS officers). Because France was invaded and seized by German forces early in the war, her seemingly patriotic intentions were turned soured, and she was forced to also aid wounded Germans, as well.

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"The Club Singer (Cheetah)"

Character Biography:
Real Name: Eva Jager
Fake Name: Adeline Hase
Age: 18 years old – pretending to be 21.
Country of Origin: Unknown/Undecided
Language(s): Unknown/Undecided
Occupation: Club Singer
Theme Song: "Why Don't You Do Right" - (Who Framed Roger Rabbit)
Personality/ BIO:

Eva/Adeline is a drop dead gorgeous young woman who has come accustomed to men swooning over her looks and her voice. Though, because of her beauty and the fact that she is ringless/husbandless, she has become susceptible to much disrespect from men. Although she is often seen as an object of sexual desire, she is much smarter than that and holds herself to a higher standard. She is extraordinarily stubborn, and makes it part of her mission to refuse and repel all men who wish to get to know her. She's very independent, head-strong, and quite fiesty. She has a sassy, but charming, personality and a big mouth that often gets her into trouble.

I don't really have a plot for this one. I'd just like her to be a club singer stage-named Cheetah. Someone who would be a reputable performer in a small town. She would sing at a fairly fancy restaurant that has a stage and equipment for entertainment. She would be the entertainment that night where the restaurant is very jam-packed with various families and parties – one being members of the Nazi party and/or German soldiers and/or the Inglorious Basterds crew (or some other group of individuals – open to suggestions!). A male member of any of these groups would find himself entranced by her voice, beauty, and her extremely curvy physique. She would have a false identity as she is Jewish and escaped the hold of a notorious Nazi who tried to keep her and use her as a sex slave. There would be a bounty on her head and/or someone looking for her. This someone could also be your character. Open to other possibilities, too!

We can have her from/ the club-resto at any country. She is singing in English, but if we change it to a country where English wouldn't be sung in a restaurant (likely), then we'll just pretend she's singing in whatever language of the country.

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"Mystery Bride"

Character Biography:
Real Name: Audra Buckley
Fake German Name: Vera Auttenberg
Age: Claims to be 22 years old but is actually 25.
Country of Origin: England (Pretending to be German)
Language(s): English, German
Occupation: “Widow” – British Spy
Theme Song: "(I Always Kill) The Things I Love" - L.A. Noire Soundtrack
Personality/ BIO:

Although Audra/Vera is British, she is a wicked good actress, and has mastered both the German language and the German accent – completely concealing her British accent. Despite all the legal documents to prove her fake German identity, Vera is actually a British spy. She has worked for years to infiltrate Nazi Germany; working with a private British organization. Though she is to be married to a big political powerhouse, closely linked to the Nazi party, there is truly something more she wishes to gain other than Nazi access. She is just as smart as she is beautiful, and uses her good looks and charming personality to lure in people she can use – including her soon-to-be husband. She is head-strong, very stubborn, and acts like nothing can scare her (although this isn't true). Audra/Vera tries not to be intimidated by soldiers and Nazi members though she fears losing her identity, as well as losing her chance to get what she wants.

One of the most beautiful high-class women in the region is Vera Auttenberg. She is smart, cunning, but most importantly, charming and beautiful. She is a young woman, new to the marriage market, as her previous husband died, leaving her a young widow with a ton of money. Since her deceased husband was a very prestigious business man and was active in the political scene in Germany, he was very well-known and left her well off. Because of this, it didn't take her too long to meet another powerful man, though much, much older, a 62 year old gentleman named Eber. Eber is a successful politician and businessman with no wife, an older son, and a very young 9 year old daughter. Having been widowed for a long time, it didn't take him long to fall for the young and beautiful Vera. Their engagement comes as a quick and shocking surprise, though nevertheless, their wedding is announced to be extravagant. Despite this happy day, there is one issue – Eber's son.

Eber's son - who just so happens to be a high ranking Nazi party member who doesn't always see eye-to-eye with his father; particularly not with marrying a much younger woman, whom to him, seemed very, very suspicious. Prior to the wedding, he had only met this mysterious wonder woman once, on a short meeting at his father's and her's engagement party. His life being chaotic and busy with work, politics, and parties, he didn't have the time to interrogate her... though, he did have the resources to investigate her identity. His investigation leads him to a slew of legal German documents, though he can sense they are fake. On the wedding day, he makes his way over to the mansion (to which is in hectic preparation) and snoops around her belongings. He comes to find a British passport labelled Audra Buckley (her real identity) as well as a picture of a baby girl. Convinced she is a spy, Eber's son decides to surprise the bride in her suite, as she is just about to leave to walk down the aisle.

The interaction I envision would be him coming into the “touch-up” room she's rented at the church, to which she is just putting the last of her jewelry and such on. She would already be bride-ready (the pictures above) and would be startled by his entrance. I'm thinking he could start off talking to her calmly and nicely but then he would start to ask her subliminal questions. His intent is to threaten/scare her into a confession. Though she is stronger than he thinks. Being a Nazi, I don't expect him to be particularly gentle, unless you want to make his character vindictive and creepy – in that sense. How ever you want to play him! I do just have one requirement: That his character is remarkably attracted to Vera and her beauty – and cannot pull his mind away from wanting and having her as his own bride and in that sense, carries a lot of jealousy towards his father (especially seeing her in wedding attire).

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"The Ratskeller Barmaid"

Character Biography:
Real Name: Arianne Bellerose
Fake Name: Christa
Age: 18-25 years old
Country of Origin: Unknown
Theme Song: "Bang Bang (Shot Me Down)" - Nico Vega
Personality/ BIO:
* Inspired by Inglourious Basterds *

Arianne is a Jewish young woman who's actually from France. Her family was massacred at the hands of Hans Landa. Having been part of a decently wealthy and prestigious family, she is fluent in German, having learned it extensively in school. She is very intelligent and educated, and speaks five languages: French, German, English, Hebrew, and Yiddish. She is very charming, sweet, and soft-spoken. She is a general kind and generous person, though, since the slaughter of her family, she has vowed vengeance (although doesn't really have much of a game plan - she's traveled to Germany out of spontaneity). Additionally, her family also had a farm house that they spent most summers at. There, she learned many skills, such as how to handle a gun.

In order to further the Basterd and English military cause, actress Bridget von Hammersmark "The German Actress" arranges a sort of event/party at an underground Ratskeller/German tavern. Bridget teams up with Lt. Archie Hicox “The Brit" - who is posing as a German/Nazi Lieutenant. At the tavern, the group of soldiers are being served by a lovely Barmaid named Christa - who is posing as German Christian, though she is secretly a French Jew named Arianne. A drunken German soldier takes a particular liking to Christa, and oversteps his welcome by sexually harassing her and trying to grab her ass. She gets irritated, and talks back to which she realizes could get her killed. Lt. Archie Hicox realizes the lady is in a social-political murder spot and stands to defend her. (If, like in the film, the tavern scene turns to a shooting, then perhaps they are the sole survivors).

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"The Lone Soldier"

Character Biography:
Real Name: Izolda Izbicka
Nick Name: "Hellfire"
Age: 18-23 years old
Country of Origin: Poland
Theme Song: "The Devil Within" - Digital Daggers
Personality/ BIO:
* Inspired by Inglourious Basterds *

Izolda is a disturbed young woman. She has a reputation within the Nazi-soldier community for being extremely vicious, sadistic, and violent. She has been linked to over a dozen high-profile assassinations of Nazi members, and has killed countless German soldiers. She is very gory and torturous with her murders, landing her the nickname "Hellfire"; inspired by her bright red-orange hair. She has often been described as cold, wicked, and even demonic. Because of her past, she has no sympathy towards anyone involved in the Nazi/German movement. Aside from being a skilled killer, Izolda has also been known to effectively use a sniper rifle (the one portrayed in the image is a modern sniper - thus to properly fit in this roleplay, she would be using a Gewehr Sniper Rifle instead).

She is the sole Jewish survivor of her family and community to have escaped a Jewish round-up in her town. She has wandered from Poland, through Germany, and to (potentially) France on an escapade to find Sgt. Rachtman; who had raped her younger sister (and attempted to rape her) before putting a bullet in her sister's head. Since the even, she has lost a sense of privacy. She has very few personal boundaries for a woman of her time, not finding her body to be something worth hiding/saving/ preserving since the assault. Izolda can be interpreted as borderline psychotic, as she shows very little emotion and is very closed off (though, this is just a defense mechanism developed after the incident to protect herself from emotional pain). However, once she trusts someone enough, she does open up, and is actually very intricate, complex, and even humorous. She is a sadistic murderer, often using her own body and the power of sexual desire in men as a means to seduce, lure and/or distract her prey.

Izolda is driven by a furious vengeance, and as she discovers Sgt. Rachtman at the hands of Donny Donowitz (The Bear Jew) she makes an effort to stop him from killing the Nazi, so that she could do it herself.

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MY CHARACTER:
Name: Kiara
Age: 18-23 years old
Background:

Kiara is the daughter to King Simba and Queen Nala. She is their eldest child, one day scheduled to take the throne from her father and mother before her. She is a fierce and independent woman, constantly looking for adventure, freedom, and excitement. She has grown restless with the sheltered life her father has raised her in – unable to explore beyond the Pride Lands at her own free will. Rather, to ensure she stays within “safe” boundaries, for her entire life, she has been accompanied by her father's faithful servants, Pumba and Timone. Finally of woman age, her father has no choice but to allow her to venture on her own for the first time – something he promised her years ago.

This will be her preliminary outfit.

YOUR CHARACTER:
Kovu 1 (Jason Momoa – Stargate Atlantis) OR Kovu 2 (Clive Standen – Vikings) OR Kovu 3 (Keith Hamilton Cobbs - Andromeda)
(Feel free to provide your own faceclaim, as well!)

Name: Kovu
Age: Older than Kiara
Background:
Kovu is the bastard son (or adopted son) of Taka (known as Scar), Mufasa's half brother. Scar himself a bastard son to father Ahadi, who although allowed him to live among the pride, always dotted his favourite son Mufasa (Simba's father). Although Scar was older than Mufasa, and traditionally set for the throne, Ahadi chose Mufasa as his heir, rather than Taka. Scar, feeling rejected and enraged, began to plot his bitter revenge to take the throne. The plan lingered for years, until the right moment arose when Simba was just a boy. Scar, the evil man he was, started a stampede in the canyons where Simba, just a child, was left to fend for his life. Scar signaled to help from Mufasa, luring his in to the canyons where Mufasa risked his life to save his only son. Although successful, the stampede left Mufasa injured and weak. Holding on for dear life to the edge of the cliff, he called for the help of his brother, Scar, to save him. Though, rather than helping him up, Scar stomped on Mufasa's hands, sending him plummeting feet down to be trampled to death. Scar blamed Simba for the death, to which he convinced the child to run away and never return. Simba complied, allowing for the next heir to become Scar. He ruled with an Iron Fist, but left the Pride starving and bare. It wasn't until the return of Simba, now a grown man, to challenge his betraying Uncle. Sima won the throne with the help of his faithful army, however spared Scar's life out of a compassion.

Scar retreated to the Outlands, a territory of few natural resources, where all members of the Prideland Kingdom were banished. There he started his own Pride with an Outland Queen, Zira, who had children (Kovu one of them) before her devotion to Scar. Although Scar soon passes from illness, his dotting Queen Zira continues in his vengeful legacy. She raises Kovu, just a young child at the time of Scar's death, that the Pridelands were a place of riches, and that the riches rightfully belonged to Scar and the Outland Kingdom. He grew up with anger, dismay, and bitterness for the Prideland Kingdom, vowing like his mother to avenge the death of the only father figure he had ever known, Scar.

Plot:
As Kovu grows older, his family concocts a plan to get him accepted into the Prideland Kingdom. Kovu's mission, in all of its devious planning, would be to save the precious Princess (Kiara) from a fiery death. And with King Simba indebted to Kovu, Kovu will beg for forgiveness, convincing Simba and Kiara that he had left the Outlands and his family because they were evil, and that he wanted a new life; a fresh start.

In the film, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, it's actually Kovu and his brother and sister who initially start the fire, which ends up blazing a huge part of the Prideland territory – trapping Kiara, who is out hunting (however it will be meditating in our roleplay), among its lethal flames. The goal is to get Kovu close enough to Simba to kill him, rule the Prideland Kingdom, and have the Outlands take it over in what would become a bloody war. However, in the film, Simba does not trust Kovu, and assigns his daughter (who begged for him to give Kovu a chance) to chaperone him every where he goes (disallowing Kovu to get anywhere near Simba alone, as Kiara is following him everywhere). The two, very opposites in talents and personalities, end up learning a lot from one another. Feelings develop, which begin to conflict with Kovu's initial plans.

Setting:
I'm thinking of LOOSELY setting the roleplay on 16th century Ethiopia, in Gondar. Although, of course, the film takes place in the Safari, that is not entirely feasible for a human kingdom. So I figured we could improvise and fictionalize the kingdom(s). I'll be using the Fasil Castle in Gondar as a castle-claim for the Prideland Kingdom. The royal territory is pretty significant, with several structures/ buildings throughout the property. Kiara will have a private mini castle.

I'm open to suggestions/ideas/modifications as well!

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MY CHARACTER:
Name: Rosabelle "Belle" Lafleur
Age: 18 - 23 years old
Background:
Belle is the only daughter of Maurice, a widowed father and quirky inventor whom the town often ridicules. She is a non-conformist woman, spending most of her time with her nose buried in a book rather than socializing. She is very well-educated and well-versed as a result, even though she has been shamed for not marrying. Having grown up most of her life on farmland in a small village, she is an extraordinary cook and gardener.

YOUR CHARACTER:
Prince Adam 1 (Jason Momoa - because, well, Jason Momoa)
Half-Beast (Jason Momoa)
Full-Beast (Jason Momoa)

Prince Adam 2 (Dan Stevens - played The Beast in the 2017 Beauty and the Beast live-action remake)
The Beast 2 (Dan Stevens)

Name: Prince Adam (referred to as The Beast)
Age: Depends on the plot, but definitely older
Background:
In Disney's 1991 classic, Beauty and the Beast, the prologue explains the story of an enchantress, disguised as an old beggar, who offers a rose to a young prince, in exchange for shelter in his castle from the cold... though, Adam refuses. For his arrogance, the enchantress transforms him into a beast and places a spell on the castle. She gives him the enchanted rose that she had offered him initially, and tells him that to break the spell, the prince must learn to love another and earn love in return before the rose's last petal falls. If he fails, he will remain a beast forever.

Plot:
There are several ways we can go about this. In the film, Adam is in a permanent Beast-form. However, I would like to change it so that he is not ALWAYS a Beast, just certain times a day. We can explore this concept similarly to that of gothic Werewolf literature, where the Prince would turn into a "beast" once the sun sets. In literature, werewolves are often depicted as having no human control over themselves and being wild, hungry and vicious when in beast form. We can choose to follow that or reject (perhaps give him a human conscious when in beast form). Typically werewolves cannot speak, either. This is something we can choose to incorporate or deny, as well. We can also reverse the folklore to have him transform into a beast in the DAY and only at night is Prince Adam human. That could be a sort of, wicked condition of the curse that doesn't allow him to live a normal human life. All of this is up for discussion.

I'm also open to exploring different time periods, as well. We can have it set in 18th century France, like in the film, OR we can explore two other options; a) Nazi-Occupied France in WWII, and b) a modern setting.

18th Century France:
For this setting, the story would remain more or less the same as the animated film. Belle would go looking for her father, who has disappeared after leaving for an inventor's convention. She becomes stranded after days of horseback travel, when her horse becomes frightened by wolves and heaves her off his back. There is a blizzard-heavy storm passing through the area, and Belle finds herself lost and later unable to defend herself against a pack of hungry wolves.

German/Nazi-Occupied France in WWII:
The curse would still have been placed in the 18th century, however because it was never broken, he remained cursed and immortal as a result of the enchantress' magic. He would not have aged, or would have aged very, very slowly. In this scenario, Belle would be a French Jew who is trying to escape the invasion. She could have had her own small chateau (France is filled with small chateaus) ceased by German officials, and would have escaped their capture. She takes off into a more rural part of France, hoping to escape the antisemitic wrath of Nazi Germany by hiding out in densely forested and abandoned regions. She would live mainly in the woods for several weeks before settling cold winter nights threatened her survival. She would stumble upon Prince Adam's castle one stormy, blizzard night where she would hope to seek refuge from the cold.

Modern Day France:
The curse would still have been placed in the 18th century, however because it was never broken, he remained cursed and immortal as a result of the enchantress' magic. He would not have aged, or would have aged very, very slowly. Belle would be a struggling teacher from a small, rather poor village. Her father would have died years ago, leaving her with the farm but no family and alone. Not able to support the costs of the farm lifestyle on a meager elementary school teacher's salary, she seeks another job to make ends meet. She advertises her service as a cook, gardener, and farmer where an agent contacts her about a possible job at a castle about a 45 minute drive from her village. Although far, the job would pay extraordinarily well. The service would be for Prince Adam, who has since also lost all of his family and is alone in the world. He enlists the help of an agent to find him someone to help him maintain his large property. The agent hires Belle, though, one night a massive blizzard prevents her from leaving. (I'm also thinking that although she works there, she never sees the Prince/ her employer, so she thinks she's alone when she's working.)



MY CHARACTER:
Name: Ella (Enchantress)
Age: Unknown
Background:

YOUR CHARACTER:
Prince Adam 1 (Jason Momoa - because, well, Jason Momoa)
Half-Beast (Jason Momoa)
Full-Beast (Jason Momoa)

Prince Adam 2 (Dan Stevens - played The Beast in the 2017 Beauty and the Beast live-action remake)
The Beast 2 (Dan Stevens)

Name: Prince Adam (referred to as The Beast)
Age: Depends on the plot, but definitely older
Background:
In Disney's 1991 classic, Beauty and the Beast, the prologue explains the story of an enchantress, disguised as an old beggar, who offers a rose to a young prince, in exchange for shelter in his castle from the cold... though, Adam refuses. For his arrogance, the enchantress transforms him into a beast and places a spell on the castle. She gives him the enchanted rose that she had offered him initially, and tells him that to break the spell, the prince must learn to love another and earn love in return before the rose's last petal falls. If he fails, he will remain a beast forever.

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MY CHARACTER:
Name: Hua Mulan
Age: 16-21 years old
Background:
Mulan is a Chinese young woman who's father is a legendary war hero. She grew up in moderate wealth; her family owning substantial property, a farm, and a nice home. Although her father was well-known for his battlefield expertise in the last war, he has grown old, and the last war has left him with a weak, crippled leg. When a new war arises, one against the Huns, he is called back to serve in the war. Devastated and knowing her father would never last in his condition, she steals his equipment and runs away to the camp to impersonate a man and enlist in the army in his place.

YOUR CHARACTER:
Shan Yu - Leader of the Huns
If you have another face claim you'd like to use, send it to me!

Name: Shan Yu
Age: Older, Your choice
Background:
Shan Yu is the leader of the a nomabic tribe of warriors known as The Huns. He is one of the most ruthless and merciless villains in the Disney universe. He is not above killing his enemies in cold blood to prove his strength and he has been shown to make jokes about it: After capturing two imperial scouts and sending them to deliver his challenge to the emperor, he asks his lead archer how many men it takes to deliver a message. The archer then draws his bow and replies, "One." Ultimately, only one scout delivers the message, implying that the archer kill the other.

Plot:
Mulan takes her ill father's place in the war by impersonating a soldier. It takes merely two days in the training camp before she is discovered to be a woman. Although this is cause for her death, her courage and dedication lead Captain Li Shang to give her a chance. He spares her life and allows her to continue fighting with their army; where she succeeds despite being a woman. The Imperial Army finally meet up with the Huns, who are being lead by the notorious Shan Yu. The Captain and Mulan are well outnumbered, and in a rash decision, Mulan decides to fire a canon up into the mountain. The explosion causes an avalanche, which begins to wipe out most of the Huns Army in seconds.

Adaptation: Mulan takes this opportunity to chase the horse-mounted Shan Yu, and make a final attack. She surprises him from behind; launching herself from the back of her horse in attempt to soar through the air and stab him from above. This attempt fails at taking his life, and rather, Mulan stabs Shan Yu in the leg; nearly falling off his horse and killing herself in the process. Struggling to hold on to the side of Shan Yu's horse; Mulan is vulnerable to an attack. Before Shan Yu gets the chance to eliminate her, the avalanche approaches and swallows them whole. Fortunately, the Imperial Army escape this fate and flee the area. They assume everyone is dead, including Mulan and Shan Yu, and return to the Emperor to commence a celebration across China. Despite these assumptions, Shan Yu survives and resurfaces from the rubble of snow and dead soldiers. He finds he is the sole survivor of his army before discovering Mulan partially buried several meters from him; still breathing but barely conscious.

I'm thinking there are several possibilities here:
- Despite his anger that his victory had been stolen from him, Shan Yu finds himself impressed by the fact that a woman could pull off such a mass defeat, and in respect for that face, spares her life.
- OR He finds himself attracted to the young maiden, and rather than killing her or leaving her to die in the cold, he takes her with him.
- OR He decides not to kill her because he's seeking answers. Perhaps he ties her up and waits for her to wake up, or even cares for her. Who knows.
- OR All of these / multiple of these.

How they end up meeting/ battling can be changed, as well, so long as the avalanche wipes up most of Shan Yu's army. Any point after that, we can brainstorm and discuss how they meet again.

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MY CHARACTER:
Name: Esmeralda
Age: 18-25 years old
Background:
Esmeralda is a young Romani woman residing in the underbelly of Paris, France. Her people, the Romani travelers, are outcast from most of Europe, for being impure. Seen as dirty and poor, the group, known more commonly as their pet name "gypsies" are ridiculed and shamed from their distinct native language, religion, and riveting culture. Esmeralda works as a performer, particular dancer, on the streets of Paris for money, and resides with the rest of her traveling community deep in the catacombs of Paris, in an area known by the Romani as the "Court of Miracles". She is as cunning as she is beauty, her education mostly street-ridden, though she is wise beyond her years. Unlike most Parisian women of that time period, Esmeralda is outspoken, rebellious and devious. She is unafraid of using her tongue to defend herself and her community, despite discrimination. Although her people are seen as "thieves", "scam artists" and practicing "witchcraft', Esmeralda remains headstrong.

Regarding appearance:
In the Disney film, Esmeralda is portrayed as being a dark skinned, dark haired and green-eyed Gypsy of Romani descent. However, in the original play, Esmeralda was actually born of a French prostitute mother (making her Caucasian) but was raised by "gypsies". I've provided 3 very different physical face claims. The first is a more traditional, medium-skinned Esmeralda. The middle is the fairest, most European-looking of the three. And the third is the darkest, modeled after the Romani's Indian descent. You may choose whichever you like best!

YOUR CHARACTER:
Phoebus (Bearded) OR Phoebus (Clean) (Or your own character choice!)
The face claim is from Game of Thromes (Jamie Lannister), but can be swapped out for another
(Pretty much any image that suits the time period is fine!)

Name: Captain Phoebus
Age: 31 years old (according to Disney)
Background:
Phoebus is the Captain of the King's Guard
French Knight of the King's Army. He is noted to have a highly reputable caliber in the wars based on his bravery accounted in his service record. He is the only soldier in the movie that stands apart from the other soldiers and is claimed to be a knight in shining armor. Though he tends to over-analyze and act like he knows what he's doing, he is described as a soldier who is sarcastically witty, brave, confident, and enjoys finding humor in situations. Although he can keep a straight face when it's required of him, you can tell deep down, he'd rather tell a joke. Phoebus is almost always seeming to get into arguments, and enjoys challenging authority when it is nonsensical.

Plot:
Esmeralda is a well-known performer, someone who has garnered the obsessive attention of Frollo, Phoebus' superior. Frollo, conflicted with his attraction to Esmeralda, frequently uses her at events like the Festival of Fools despite her being a "gypsy girl". However, at this years festival, a deformed gentlemen (Quasimodo) is crowned the Fool of the Festival, though is soon ridiculed after the crowd realizes his appearance is not a mask, but his true face. He becomes humiliated by the crowd, with guards tying him up and allolwing the audience to throw tomatoes and other things at him to further shun him. Frollo does not stop the events and instead allows Quasi to be publicly disgraced. However, Esmeralda cannot bear to watch an innocent man fall victim to a cruel crowd, and instead of standing by, actively defends him against the rioting audience. Frollo orders her to stop her actions, though in an act of defiance, she takes a dagger and frees Quasimodo from his restraints and claims "You speak of justice yet you are most cruel to those that need your help! It appears we crowned the wrong fool. The only fool I see... is you!. Appalled and humiliated by her direct betrayal of orders, Frollo orders that Phoebus arrest Esmeralda. Phoebus orders his men to get Esmeralda, but although she is duly outnumbered, she manages to escape their capture with witchcraft and theatrics, even making a public show out of it which gets the crowd cheering. Phoebus, completely smitten by her energy and wit, is amazed at her vast abilities and bravery.

The roleplay would take place right after Esmeralda's escape, where Phoebus is ordered to find her and bring her back to Frollo alive.

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MY CHARACTER:
Name: Pocahontas
Age: 17-20 years old
Background:
Pocahontas is the daughter of Chief of the Powhatan, known as Great Powhatan, making her the second most important individual of her tribe, second to her father. She is very curious and adventurous in nature, and has been known to live independently despite her father's efforts to have her conform. She is being courted by the fiercest Powhatan warrior, Kocoum, although she dislikes his rigid, uptight nature and does not find herself attracted to his character.

YOUR CHARACTER:
John Smith (Or a character of your choice!)
The face claim is from Game of Thromes (Jamie Lannister), but can be swapped out for another. (Pretty much any image that suits the time period is fine!)

Name: John Smith
Age: Your choice
Background:
John Smith is a British settler who has traveled to the New World from London in search for gold. He is travelling under Governor Ratcliffe, a greedy and gluttonous man who believes the Natives are nothing but savages, and that they are hiding the gold from them.

Plot:
One day while piked on Grandmother Willow (a massive willow tree by the village), Pocahontas witnesses a series of "strange clouds" in the sky. Little does she realize, the strange clouds are actually big, white sails of Captain John Smith's ship, which is sailing onto nearby shores. Pocahontas though, in her free-spirited and curious nature, follows the strange clouds until it leads her to the ship. From a far distance, she spies on the boat and its crew, fascinated by the pale, dead-looking men who scurried about. She relays news of these new settlers to her father, who seeks the help of the tribe's shaman, Kekata. Her warns that "These are not men like us, they're strange beasts with bodies that shine like the sun, and weapons that spout fire and thunder. They prowl the earth like ravenous wolves, consuming everything in their path!" Although Kocoum requests to destroy them like they did their previous enemy, the Chief votes against it, claiming that in the past war they knew how to fight their enemies, whereas this time, they don't. Instead, he enlists in a group force of his own men to stake the "pale visitors" in order to retrieve more information. Meanwhile, Captain John Smith is enlisted with the task of finding the whereabouts of the "Indians", in order to ensure they do not end up meddling with their plans to dig for gold. Out on his quest to explore the land, he takes rest by a fresh waterfall spring where he notices the reflection of a foreigner in the water. When he turns around, he sees no one. Knowing someone is lurking nearby, Smith readies his rifle and hides behind a tree by the water. When the foreigner retreats from hiding, he jumps out, expecting to find an male Indian ready to attack him. Instead, he finds standing before him a beautiful woman, Pocahontas.

I'm also leaving the option OPEN to pairing Pocahontas with an Original Character, not just John Smith.

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MY CHARACTER:
Name: Princess Jasmine of Agrabah
Age: 18-23 years old
Background:
Jasmine is the daughter of a Sultan, and the Princess of Agrabah. As the Princess, she is confined to the palace and not permitted to leave without the approval of her father, and the accompaniment of multiple guards. However, recent political turmoil between regions has left his tensions, and Jasmine's father has banned her from leaving, in fear that she will be assassinated or kidnapped for ransom for her status. Additionally, she has been confirmed in an arranged marriage to an elderly, widowed Sultan. The political marriage serves as a unison between two states. Jasmine is also a talented belly dancer, and is often prompted to dance in order to entertain guests and other important political individuals.

YOUR CHARACTER:
Name: Your choice
Age: Your choice
Background: Your choice

Plot:
Tired of the restless royal life, Jasmine seeks adventure and freedom. Absolutely disgusted by the man she is to wed, she vows to leave the palace forever. However, her father, suspicious that she may try to leave, enlists in the help of several guards to keep watch over the entrance of her room at night. Despite his efforts, Jasmine still manages to escape the palace undetected one early morning (right after sunrise). There she would venture into the busy streets, dazzled by the hundreds of vendors who's merchant displays range in product and produce. Although hidden under the guise of her black lace veil and cloak, her wealthy ignorance and appearance has left her easily identifiable.

From here, we can take the roleplay nearly anywhere we want it to go.

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MY CHARACTER:
Name: Princess Ariel
Age: 16-18 years old
Background:
Princess Ariel is the protagonist of Disney's classic 1989 animated feature film, The Little Mermaid. She is the seventh daughter of King Triton, ruler of the undersea kingdom of Atlantica. She lived through much of her young life with a longstanding, yet forbidden, admiration of the human world, and longed to someday experience life upon the surface.

YOUR CHARACTER:
Prince Eric (Henry Cavill from The Tudors)
Name: Prince Eric
Age: Older, your choice
Background:
Despite being of royalty, Eric is an accomplished mariner who is often seen partaking in various duties aboard ships in his own fleet. Eric is a skilled helmsman as he is seen steering ships in both the 1989 film and its sequel. This could be due to the fact that Eric's kingdom is coastal and most of the subjects make their livings by shipping and fishing, and as such it is expected that the rulers be skilled in maritime trades. Eric spends much of his free time out at sea, fishing, going on explorations, or even taking the sail to celebrate his birthday. Grimsby, his servant and personal confidant, often accompanies him on his voyages, and disapproves of Eric's stubbornness and lack of interest in potential wives.

Plot:
In the film, she trades her voice for legs by making a deal with the Sea Witch, Ursula. Once ashore, she meets Prince Eric and falls in love with him. For the roleplay, we can adapt any way we want. She doesn't necessarily have to trade her voice - perhaps she trades something else? I'm also open to having their romance develop in her mermaid form and only later incorporating legs.

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MY CHARACTER:
Name: Wendy Darling
Age: 16-18 years old
Background:
Wendy Moira Angela Darling is a fictional character and the protagonist of Peter and Wendy by J.M. Barrie, and in most adaptations in other media. Her exact age is not specified in the original play or novel by Barrie, though it is implied she is about 12 or 13 years old, as she is "just Peter's size". Wendy expresses an innocent admiration for Peter as soon as they meet. As a girl on the verge of adulthood, she stands in contrast to Peter Pan, a boy who refuses to grow up, the major theme of the Peter Pan stories. Wendy hesitates at first to fly off to Neverland, but she comes to enjoy her adventures. Ultimately, she chooses to go back to her parents and accepts that she has to grow up.

YOUR CHARACTER:
Captain Hook 1 (Colin O'Donoghue as Hook from Once Upon A Time)
Captain Hook 2

Name: Killian “Captain Hook” Jones
Age: Older, your choice
Background:
Killian Jones, better known as Captain Hook or simply Hook, is one of the main characters of Once Upon A Time. He is a determined pirate captain who was unfortunate enough to humiliate and anger the feared Rumpelstiltskin (portrayed in the show as a man with crocodile-like skin), who ripped the heart out of his beloved Milah (lover) and cut off his hand. In the books, Hook loses his hand as a result of a crocodile bite.

Plot:
In my adaptation, I would like to set the storyline for when Wendy is older, about 16-18 years old. She would have had a romance with Peter Pan that was never acted upon, since she ultimately chose to return to England rather than be with Peter. In the roleplay, I would like for her to return to Neverland as an older teen. She would have lost interest in Peter, no longer interested in a boy (as she has grown into a woman). She would somehow end up in trouble, seemingly resulting in her coming into the hands (perhaps even capture) of Hook, who barely recognizes her and is smitten by the woman she's blossomed in to.

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MY CHARACTER:
Name: Tiger Lily
Age: 18 years old
Background:
Tiger Lily is the princess of the Piccaninny tribe of "Indians" (Native Americans) living on the island of Neverland. She is apparently old enough to be married, but she refuses any suitors because she desires Peter Pan over all. She is jealous of Wendy and Tinker Bell. Tiger Lily is nearly killed by Captain Hook when she is seen boarding the Jolly Roger with a knife in her mouth, but Peter saves her. In the earlier versions of Peter Pan, it is assumed that she disapproves of Wendy and even Tinker Bell at one point because of her envy.

YOUR CHARACTER:
Captain Hook 1 (Colin O'Donoghue as Hook from Once Upon A Time)
Captain Hook 2

Name: Killian “Captain Hook” Jones
Age: Older, your choice
Background:
Killian Jones, better known as Captain Hook or simply Hook, is one of the main characters of Once Upon A Time. He is a determined pirate captain who was unfortunate enough to humiliate and anger the feared Rumpelstiltskin (portrayed in the show as a man with crocodile-like skin), who ripped the heart out of his beloved Milah (lover) and cut off his hand. In the books, Hook loses his hand as a result of a crocodile bite.

Plot:
In my adaptation, I'd like to have Tiger Lily and Peter Pan previous lovers. I'm thinking he is sort of a two-timer, and ends up betraying Tiger Lily; choosing to be with Wendy over her. In this complicated romance, Peter Pan would have made Tiger Lily many false promises, ultimately leaving her brokenhearted and devastated. I'm thinking as a way to retreat and get over him, she leaves the tribe in order to adventure out in Neverland. There she could get involved with Hook some how. I'm not at all interested in Peter Pan's character, and would like to use Tiger Lily's dislike of him to lead her into Hook's desiring arms. The two would perhaps team up, or even Tiger Lily could become a member of his crew (she would have many skills).

MY CHARACTER:
Name: Princess Merida
Age: 17-19 years old
Background: Merida is the eldest daughter of the one of the four Scottish Highland Kings. Although she was ready to be married off (in the eyes of tradition and her mother) to one of the other three Kings' eldest sons, she rejected this concept and sought help from a forest witch to get a spell that would 'change her fate'. Though, the spell was gammy, and turned her mother and her three little brothers into bears. The witch gave instructions related to reversing the spell - "Fate be changed, look inside. Mend the bond torn by pride." She was able to reverse the spell by re-sewing a tear she had created in a tapestry her mother made her.

YOUR CHARACTER:
Mor'du the Bear - and - Human Mor'du
If you have another face claim you'd like to use, send it to me!

Name: Known as Mor'du (a killer bear)
Real Name: Unknown other than he was once one of the four Princes from the Legend
Age: Unknown
Background: A legend told By Merida's mother, Queen Elinor, recounts the story of the original King who ruled all of the land. When he grew old, he divided his land equally to his four sons. But one of the sons (Mor'du) grew greedy and selfish, and wish to rule it all. He made a deal with a witch for a spell to 'change his fate' - but the spell instead turned him into a bear. He did not mend the bond (as we can assume he was too proud, didn't want to rule with his brothers, or perhaps plain didn't know how to reverse the spell), and because of it, his mind and body was lost forever in the form of a vicious bear.

Plot:
In the film, the notorious killer bear known of Mor'du ends up being the selfish Prince from the Legend who sought a spell from a forest witch to change his fate (to rule the lands). He was turned into a bear, and had 2 days to mend the bond he had created but failed to do so and was cursed as a bear for the remainder of his life. Although he dies in the film, I'd like to erase that part of the film and have Merida try to save his soul and reverse the curse (this would also require removing the 2-day expiration). After reversing the spell for her mother and three younger brothers, Merida decides to lure Mor'du (who is attacking her people) via horseback to ruins in the forest where his castle once stood tall. This is where his "bond" had been broken (the severed stone of him and his brothers). There she would push the two pieces of stone back together in hopes that Mor'du's spell would be reversed.

The roleplay would begin there, or right as she begins to lure Mor'du to his old castle. The Prince in human form is not very clearly shown. You can completely make the character your own by choosing your own image/description.

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MY CHARACTER:
Name: Queen Elsa of Arendelle
Age: 21 years old
Background:
Elsa is the eldest daughter of Arendelle monarchs and was born with the blessing of magic. She acquired several ice-related abilities as a result of the magical mutation, including the ability of creating, manipulating, and controlling ice, snow, frost and cold temperatures. She is capable of using solid ice to form protective walls (like a force-field), as well as using them as pellets, spikes, and other shapes to be used as projectiles. The force to which she uses is capable of launching her ice to pierce through materials, including but not limited to flesh, brick, steel, glass, and plastic. These abilities become harder to control depending on her emotional state. Additionally, she is sensitive to cold temperatures, and is capable of changing cool weather to benefit her powers. Upon her parents death, she became Queen of the Arendelle Kingdom.

YOUR CHARACTER:
Name: Your choice
Age: Your choice
Background: Your choice

Plot:
In progress ~ send me your ideas!

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MY CHARACTER:
Name: Princess Kidagakash "Kida" Nedakh
Age: Ageless
Background:
Kida was born a Princess on the mythological (but real) continent and island of Atlantis. The daughter and only child of the ruling monarch, Kida lost her mother at a young age to the Heart of Atlantis (the infinite and divine energy source of Atlantis). When Kida was only a toddler, Atlantis was threatened by a catastrophic natural disaster. In order to protect itself and its culture, the Heart of Atlantis chose a host to utilize its mass power. Before devastation could strike, it chose Kida's mother, the Queen, and abducted her entirety into its energy form. The energy, now performing under the Queen's mystical grace, unleashed a seismic force field that swallowed the city whole, ultimately protecting it from the tsunami. However, it also sunk the island and hid it from the world in an untouchable alternate dimension. From that day forward, Atlantis had become known as the Lost Empire, or the Lost City – as it vanished from existence, without a trace.

The Empire soon became popularized as a myth and work of fiction, and although many people thousands of years ago believed it to be true, it could never be located. Atlantis had been fantasized as a city of wonder; a divine empire that possessed infinite energy – a part of it embedded into the crystals of each and every one of its citizen's necklaces. It was also depicted as a society with high intellect, power, and advanced weaponry and machinery beyond its primitive years. Despite its folklore, it could never be proven. Until now.

Additional Info:
- You can check out this video to get a feel for Kida's accent, and the way she speaks. She is very poetic in verse, and is generally kind with the ability to generate quite the sass.
- Kida is multilingual and fluent in most Latin-based and Germanic-based languages, such as Latin, Greek, Italian, Spanish, French, German and English, to name a few.
- Atlanteans all wear crystal necklaces that possess a fraction of the energy's power – which allows them to heal minor injuries in seconds and power their machines.
- Atlanteans are dark-skinned, but have ghost white hair and bright blue eyes. They have blue tattoos on their body that symbolize status and achievements.
- The empire requires the Heart of Atlantis (the energy source) to stay in the city for it to keep the island powered (and the people of Atlantis safe and well).

YOUR CHARACTER:
Name: Your choice
Age: Your choice
Background: Your choice

Plot:
We can follow the Disney film's plot, in the sense that an explorer discovers the Lost City of Atlantis in which your character would come to face Kida. HOWEVER, I am willing to explore a different option, where Kida goes through a portal which lands her in modern day world (or any time period we choose, for that matter). With this idea, I can place her in virtually any setting or point of time. It will greatly depend on who we will be pairing with Kida (which male character you will be playing).

Current Day:
In Atlantis, Kida's people are beginning to die as a mysterious plagues sweeps across the city. Atlantean's survival is threatened yet again, requiring the Heart of Atlantis – the energy source – to chose another host. Kida's mother, the Queen, did not survive the initial devastation – as the Heart of Atlantis consumed her, and ultimately, killed her. Princess Kida, who is now recently made Queen as per her father's passing, is chosen, as her mother before her, by the energy. However this time, rather than her body being absorbed into the energy, instead, the Heart of Atlantis bonds permanently to her soul – keeping her body intact. Kida is enveloped in the energy, and the Heart of Atlantis mysteriously sends her through a portal into the future: modern day (insert city here). The reason as to why the Heart has sent her there is unknown; something she will have to discover on her own in this new and unfamiliar world.

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MY CHARACTER:
Name: Princess Moana
Age: 16-19 Years old
Background:
IN PROGRESS

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MY CHARACTER:
Name: Marian Fitzwalter
Age: 17-22 years old
Background:
Marian grew up in the castle as a well-cared for and high-class maid (also referred to as lady-in-waiting). She was cared for by an older noblewoman, Lady Kay, who showed her the ropes of the castle as well as the responsibilities of being born into a privileged service position. Aside from serving King Richard and the nasty Prince John her entire life, Maid Marian dreamed of bigger things; a brighter destiny. Although she was fed good food and drank fine wine, the wealth of the castle did not make up for her often limiting lifestyle. She was born to service the monarchs of the East Midlands of England. Among many talents, such as cooking and painting, Marian found a passion in equestrianism and foremost... archery.

YOUR CHARACTER:
Robin Hood 1 (Russell Crowe) OR Robin Hood 2 (Once Upon A Time's Sean Maguire)
(You may also provide your own image!)

Name: Robin Hood
Age: Your choice
Background: Your choice

Plot:
One quiet evening, Marian sneaks out of the castle to venture into the woods to shoot some bow and arrows. Although Marian thought she was being sneaky, in reality, her caretaker and noble head, Lady Kay, knew of her adventurous spirit and allowed her free time while also keeping a watchful eye. As Marian explored her normal route, Lady Kay watched blissfully at the forest from a tower balcony in the castle nearby. Though, what once was normal leisure routine soon turned to gloom. A blood-curdling scream echoed throughout the forest, sending Lady Kay into a panic as she witnessed black-dressed men in the distance trespassing on to royal territory. By the time the guards would reach the forest, Maid Marian and the masked villains would be no where in sight.

With the help of King Richard, and with Lady Kay frantic at his side, the King makes a desperate plea to the only forest outlaw he knew... Robin Hood. After his own resources and searches run a dry trail, the King becomes determined to retrieve Maid Marian at all costs. He calls upon Robin Hood in a letter, proposing a deal of considerable gold and jewels as well as immunity if he were to accept and succeed at this mission. The mission? Find the missing Maid Marian and those responsible for her disappearance and kidnapping – whatever it would take. Although bizarre for a King to offer up such substantial monetary reward for this task, one would have to wonder why the return of a meager noble maid would reap such valuable importance to the Lady and the King.

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MY CHARACTER:
Name: Melinoe
Age: Unknown
Background:
Melinoe is the daughter of Hades and Persephone, and is the officially the goddess of ghosts. She is capable of taking many forms, from animals, a ghost, to a water nymph, to even a regular human. She has the ability to inflict nightmares and madness of mortals, particular men, and has been known to seduce men in the form of a siren. She is capable of haunting mortals at night, a technique she uses by either becoming a ghost or sending the spirits of the dead to do the haunting for her. Melinoe takes mostly after her father in behaviour. She is conniving, intelligent, and has a short temper. Her beauty, however, is acquired by her mother, Persephone, who has managed to keep her daughter sane and even a bit compassionate, despite Hades' evil power.

YOUR CHARACTER:
Hercules (Or any other character)
The face claim is from Spartacus, but can be swapped out for another!
(Pretty much any image that suits the time period is fine!)

Name: Hercules
Age: Your choice
Background:
Hercules is a God born on Mount Olympus to father Zeus and mother Hera. Though, as a baby, he is kidnapped by Hades' sidekicks, Pain and Panic, at his request. The two are ordered to kill Hercules with a poison potion that will turn him mortal. However, while on earth feeding him the poisoned bottle, Pain and Panic are interrupted by an older couple who heard a commotion. The two scurry away, but not before Hercules is able to drink every last drop. Because the potion was not consumed in full, Hercules was not killed, but he was turned mortal. However, his Godly and superhuman strength, stamina and agility remained.

Plot:
In the film, Hercules is very young (18), naive and rather unintelligent. He becomes a hero to the mortal people of Greece through the training of Phil, a satyr, and ends up falling for an Greek girl Megara, who made a deal with the devil (Hades) and now owes her soul to him. However, I have no specific plot for this pairing. I'm keeping it completely open and we can brainstorm ideas. Ideally, I'd like for Hercules (or another character of your choosing) to be older (more experienced), and perhaps a Demi-God working for his father, Zeus, to end any of Hades' maniacal plans. He would come in contact with Melinoe, either by venturing to the underworld to face Hades, or by Hades sending Melinoe to haunt and distract Hercules (to prevent him from interfering with his plans).

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MY CHARACTER:
Name: Tzipporah
Age: 18-25 years old
Background:
Tzipporah is a young Midianite woman (from the Midian Region) native to a desert-dwelling community. She is the one of the seven daughters of the high priest of Midian, Jethro - a leader of the Midianites and great founder of the Druze religion. She is as feisty, sassy, and hard-headed as she is independent - still unmarried despite countless efforts by Jethro to convince her to settle down. While wandering the desert, she is captured by Egyptian men/ guards and is held captive at the Palace. There she is given as an offering (presumably to be turned into a concubine) to Rameses II (Mose's brother) from the priests Hotep and Huy. However, when Rameses goes to inspect Tzipporah, she fights back, attempting to bite him. Instead, he gives her to Moses as a gift, in which Tzipporah also defiantly refuses. Insulted that she does not respect his royalty, he publicly ridicules her in front of the palace crowd (see this short video clip for reference). Rameses, finding it hilarious, orders the guards to take Tzipporah to Moses room for later enjoyment. However, as Moses goes up to his chamber, he soon discovers Tzipporah has tied up the servant and is in the process of escaping the palace grounds. He chases after her, but feeling guilty, allows her to flee unnoticed.

YOUR CHARACTER:
Moses (Jim Caviezel as Jesus from The Passion of Christ)
(Feel free to change the face claim!)

Name: Moses
Age: Your choice
Background:
Moses is the biological son of Yocheved and Amram, and a younger brother of Miriam and Aaron. After Pharaoh Seti of Egypt orders all Hebrew nerbow sons be killed, in an effort to minimize the chance of his kingdom being overtaken by Hebrews. In an effort to give baby Moses his best chance at life, his mother placed him in a wicker basket and into the river/stream. His basket travels quickly with the water, soon washing ashore at the Pharaoh's Palace. His sister, Miriam, follows the basket and watches from a distance as Moses is retrieved by Queen Tuya and adopted as her own. Moses became Rameses' adoptive younger brother, unknown to him that he was a Hebrew. Later in life, Moses learned of his true identity and became morally conflicted. He ends up running away from the palace after he murders one the palace guards in an effort to stop the flogging of a Hebrew slave. He ventures into the harsh desert, where after days of no food or water, is on the verge of death.

Plot:
Moses is found unconscious in the dessert by a roaming camel, mistakens his hair for food. As he awakes, he manages only to hook his arm into the camel's satchel of water before losing consciousness again. The camel drags him to a nearby herding stop, where he awakes in front of a drinking dish intended for farm animals (goats). While desperately drinking from the goat water, he hears the cries of three young girls who are being robbed by desert thieves. He saves the three girls by untying the men's camels and sending them running into the canyons ( in which the thieves must chase and retrieve them). Despite his efforts, Moses is too weak to stand properly, and soon leans against a water well to support him. However, the well crumbles under his weight and sends him barreling down. Now trapped, the girls call for the help of their eldest sister, Tzipporah, who initially thinks their joking. She is shocked to see a man in the well, though, as she pulls him back up soon realizes the man is the former Prince of Egypt - the same selfish Prince who ridiculed her in the palace.

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MY CHARACTER:
Name: Kayley
Age: 18 years old
Background:
Kayley is the daughter of a respected knight, Knight Lionel, one of the man honoured men of King Arthur's Round Table. However, after travelling to Camelot to meet with the King and Knights of the Roung Table, a greedy knight Baron Ruber betrays the King, attempting to kill him. In an effort to save the King, Kayley's father, Lionel, rises to defend him against Ruber and ultimately loses his life. Ruber escapes into exile, leaving Camelot shaken and the lives of many shattered by the loss of Lionel. Kayley, having been close to her father, was devastated by the loss, however never let his passing stop her from dreaming of becoming a Knight one day herself. Despite being a young woman, Kayley refuses the normal maidenly role; wearing boyish men's clothing and indulging in horseback riding and archery. She is an independent and head-strong individual, unshaped by the eyes of judgement and society's submissive expectation of women.

YOUR CHARACTER:
Garrett (Henry Cavill from Tristan and Isolde) OR Garrett 2 (Craig Horner from Legend of the Seeker)
(Feel free to change the face claim!)

Name: Garrett
Age: Older than Kayley
Background:
As a young boy Garrett worked as a stable boy in Camelot and dreamed of becoming a knight. One night, however, there was a fire in the stables and Garrett rushed to save the horses. One of the panicking horses reared up, striking Garrett in the head with its hoof. As a result of this injury, Garrett slowly lost his eyesight. After going completely blind, Sir Lionel was the only one who still believed in Garrett. He trained him how to fight and taught him the knight's oath. Unfortunately, some time later Lionel was killed by Sir Ruber, and Garret's dreams of becoming a knight "died with him". Feeling unwanted and alone, Garrett eventually left Camelot and went to live in the Forbidden Forest. He was later joined by the falcon Aiden (it is implied the wizard Merlin was the one who sent Aiden to help Garrett). Using Aiden as his eyes and adapting to his surroundings quickly, Garrett survived alone in the Forest for many years.

Plot:
Ten years after the death of Lionel, a griffin attacks the kingdom, stealing Excalibur (King Arthur's sword). Merlin's falcon, Ayden, forces the griffin to release Excalibur and it falls into the Forbidden Forest - a forest of many dangers. Word of the missing Excalibur soon falls on the ears of Kayley. Against her mother's wishes, she vows to find Excalibur in hopes of prving herself worthy of being one of the King's Knights. However, the infamously violent Baron Ruber soon returns with an army of his own. He pays Kayley and her mother a visit, forcing Juliana to give him safe haven and passage into Camelot. Despite his threats, Kayley's mother helps her to escape. Kayley successfully ventures into the Forbidden Forest, and encounters Garrett; a blind hermit who is assisted by Merlin's falcon, Ayden. Upon hearing that Excalibur is in the Forest, he decides to retrieve the sword, though to Kayley's dismay, does not permit her to come along. In her defiance and stubbornness, she follows him anyways.

Additional details:
- Kayley does not realize Garrett is blind, as he maneuvers the forest with ease and tactility. (In the film, it takes her a while to realize. She realizes when he never looks at her / makes direct eye contact.
- Garrett does not initially know that Kayley is the daughter of Knight Lionel, one of his biggest inspirations and a great father figure to him.
- Garrett initially finds Kayley bothersome/irritating/annoying, since she is so adamant and often naive. Her forced partnership to find the sword is greatly against his self-isolating personality. However, her gentle character and free spirit soon changes that.

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MY CHARACTER:
Name: Anastasia "Anya"
Age: 18 years old
Background:

YOUR CHARACTER:
Dimitri (Chris Pine)
Feel free to change the face claim!

Name: Dimitri
Age: Your choice
Background:

Plot:
IN PROGRESS

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MY CHARACTER:
Name: Akima
Age: 18-23 years old
Background:
IN PROGRESS

YOUR CHARACTER:
Cale 1 (Austin Butler)
Cale 2 (Chris Evans)
Cale 3 (Paul Walker)
Feel free to change the face claim!

Name: Cale
Age: Your choice
Background:

OR OPTION #2 FOR YOUR CHARACTER:
Captain Joseph Korso 1 (Michael Fassbender)
Captain Joseph Korso 2 (Clive Owen from Shoot 'Em Up)
Captain Joseph Korso 3 (Gerard Butler)
Feel free to change the face claim!

Name: Captain Joseph Korso (known as "Korso")
Age: Much Older, Your choice
Background:

Plot:
IN PROGRESS