Reia Stringer

[Reia Stringer]

Reia Stringer Why not have fun with it? Basic Info Short Bio Race: Human Gender: Female Age: 19 Birthday: 5th day of the Spring season on the 495th year AV Birthplace: Mithryn Outpost, Syliras Appearance: Height:5'6 Weight: Dances around 110-115 pounds Skin Color: White naturally but heavily tanned into a pink-brown hue Eye Color: Blue Hair Color: Blond Of slightly above average size and thin, it is clear that Reia has lived her young life about as hard as one would expect for a young woman working for a farming family as essentially forced labor in the Mithryn Outpost. But it is much harder for nearly everyone else, as a farmers daughter she's had access to a relatively full and healthy diet leaving her tanned (as a young field-hand generally ends up being) and properly nourished - with a good complexion and generally full and healthy features. But having spent more time with the various games, activities and diversions she entertained herself with she is more so acrobatic, fit, and lithe rather than a thick muscled farmer. Her limbs are long and a bit gangly - often flailing as she moves. She takes decent care of her appearance as well - generally clean enough at the end of the day and hair regularly cut short. With her long thin fingers, elongated neck and loose malleable joints her father told her at a young age that she just wasn't fit for farmwork. She was more okay with that than he'd though she'd be. Character Concept Personality: Having had such a dour and down-to-earth father and world-weary mother it is a small miracle that her spirit is possessed of irrepressible zest and an unconquerable love for the sheer act of living. Every moment is a treat to Reia and she has the interesting capacity to make almost any activity fun (for herself, at least), and find an even better one if given a few moments to think one up. Every moment spent in too deep a reverie or too long a pause is a wasted moment, and what many would consider naivete and irresponsibility she can only understand as an endless pursuit of experience and wondrous moments of play and merriment. And though she may be no genius, she is not a fool (at least in the stricter sense of the term) and seeing her as naive is a misinterpretation of her joviality - Reia has spent too long in this world working hard and watching others work harder to believe that life it isn't what it is: far too often mean and short. But she's fine with it, she loves it - because it is what it is, she'd rather spend her days playing the grand game of life then spend those days worrying about its often unfair rules - worrying about rules just isn't very fun. In fact, if one could say she has an overarching system of belief it is that the world should be more about play and less about work. The world would be better if everyone learned not to take everything so seriously, lamenting every imperfection and setback. Because what's the point of the whole thing if you didn't enjoy it in the end? But optimism can be quite disconcerting and boundless gaiety, grating. In fact - her seeming incapacity to be brought into a bad mood could be considered in and of itself a form of sociopathy, or at the very least disassociation. Death, hardship, heartbreak - at the very most she'll be made disinterested or passive by it - quickly moving on to the next bout of fun. If her definition of entertainment wasn't anything but harmless and pleasant games, tricks, and japes she would be largely unapproachable and perhaps quite inhuman. Beyond the most viciously cruel aspects of the world, the only things that can falter her mood in the sliest are monotonous activities and various forms of commitment and stifling; all of which she finds to be terribly amusing. Interests: She has a wide variety of interests, whenever she discovers a new thing that is consistently fun she adds it to her list of them. Some of the highest things on her list though are various acrobatic pursuits and challenges, dancing, music, singing, plays, board and card games of all sorts, riddles and stories, talking and joking, and even casual flirting. Goals: At the moment she has one goal - not too long ago she heard, and was enraptured by, the various stories and tales surrounding the famous theater troupe 'The Inverted' and the wondrous tricks and plays they can perform. Just as exciting were stories of their hometown - the wondrous city of illusion and mystique known as 'Alvadas'. Few appreciate a good trick as much as Reia, and she's keen to learn from the masters. With her family gone and practically all of her old ties severed she now has little reason not to travel across the sea to this miraculous land and see all the wonders it beholds (besides the fact that she needs to gather enough money for the trip as well as find herself a vessel to travel on) - and have a bit of fun on the way of course. Character History Reia was the first and only child of Morsh Stringer and Sarah Quellen, a couple of young farmers from the harsh-soiled Denval. The couple had assumed, like most from Denval, that there was little left in the world until their settlement made contact with explorers from Zeltiva. As stories spread and contact grew more regular between their hometown and the outside world the classic 'grass is greener on the other side' tales of vast fertile farmlands, great abundance, and warm civilization available in the far off land of Syliras reached their ears. Enthused, they struck off on the first ships they could find in the year of 460AV - reaching Syliras at the beginning of the next year. And as usual with these things they were quite disappointed. They chafed quite harshly under the strict laws of the City, being made into farmers in the Mithryn outposts and allowed to keep very little of their produce - only to be replaced with meager coin (having come from a barter system, this embittered them). Their depression and disillusionment were only deepened at their seeming infertility -a child simply would not come. And just as they had given up hope for their family lines they had Rei, at the remarkable ages of 52 for Morsh and 49 for Sarah. But sadly by this time, even with the joy Rei bought the old couple, they had both been quite hardened by the world and had fair difficulty raising Rei. Even as a wee babe she was energetic and rambunctious, and it was often quite difficult for them to tell when she was hungry, soiled, or otherwise uncomfortable as she never cried, not once. It was even rare to see her frown - all she ever seemed capable of was smiling. And as charming as it was a baby that gives you no emotional feedback can be even harder to raise than the loudest most obnoxious toddler. Rei was the loudest most obnoxious toddler the old couple had ever seen. She'd never do what she was told and would run off and put herself in all sorts of trouble. Though she never had tantrums she was always laughing and yelling and exclaiming the wrong thing at the wrong time. They had to beat what little tact they could into her with a wooden spoon - quite literally. And even then they were baffled when she managed to turn the spanking into a game - trying to figure out how many times she'd get hit before she'd work her way out of it or they'd stop. And she wouldn't even hold a grudge - the most she'd give of it was exclaiming that it "wasn't a very fun game.". Their fears of their daughter's strangeness only grew worse as she hurt herself time again: if not from falling out of a tree in her race to climb it, then by bullies who didn't appreciate her attitude or animals that didn't think tail pulling particularly entertaining. She even managed to rile the guards a few times. Few appreciated her irrepressible sense of humor and love of pranks in the humorless land of Syliras, but she would not be dissuaded. When she couldn't find a willing partner for her games - many of which she made up on her own, she would go off by herself to play alone, reveling in running and jumping about and whatever else she could do by herself. As Reia grew older and her nature began to seem more normal for her age her parents focused more and more so on their work, hoping to build a better life for their daughter. At a young age Reia began to work in the fields with her parents, and she managed to keep the varied activities of farm-work amusing for a while. But by keeping it fun she became more and more inefficient - until she was relegated to the most repetitive and menial tasks which were watched over strictly by her father, who's patience with her daughter's behavior was wearing thin. She began to sneak off whenever she could, and her father could never get angry enough to make her stop - as long as fun was to be had by disobeying. Eventually he gave up entirely, and Reia worked only when she wanted to, or when the guards threatened her or her father. It as during these years that she began to pick up on many other activities that had previously been unavailable to a poor young farmer's girl. She learned some dance and even managed to find a couple of simple plays to watch. It was around this time that she also got into her first couple of tussles as well, coupled with her new interest in various card games and gambling. She attempted to skirt the very edges of the harsh law of Syliras - quite a few times at a good risk of tipping over to the side that involves iron bars and dark pits. Sarah, hoping to dissuade these activities, began to try and teach Reia the strange and unique instrument she had picked up her journey across the sea but had not played in many years, a gea'tars. And though the teacher was hardly a masters it kept Reia out of a good amount of trouble, as she instead stayed at home to pluck away at the large stringed instrument - and hear of her mothers stories about the strange and intriguing land of Alvadas and the amazing troupe of performers known as 'The Inverted' who resided there. While Reia was out and about slacking off her father died out in the fields, crushed by an overturned cart. She was 17 at the time her father, the late Morsh, was 69 at the time of his death and her mother, Sarah, was 66. And it was not looking good for Reia's mother either, she was sickly and rapidly getting worse. Having lost income from Morsh's death and with Sarah largely bedridden the family was struggling. Reia tried her best to be productive, but simply hadn't learned very much about farming in her time and it became clearer and clearer that no one was willing to help provide treatment for Sarah with so little for the family to compensate with. Sarah passed at the age of 67, a short time before Reia's 19 birthday. Sarah noted bittersweetly that her daughter never once seemed sad at either her death or the death of her husband - disappointed perhaps - but Rei just kept smiling and joking and playing strange tricks even as she tended deathbeds. Reia, having little to rebound from, decided she'd set out on her own to pursue the many interests that simply could not flourish in Syrilian society. But that meant she needed both money and transport, specifically over the Suvan sea. Reia had a very clear destination in mind; the magical land of Alvadas that Sarah spoke of, even as she began to fall into Dira's hands. Reia sold everything she couldn't bring with her, packed up her mother's gea'tar and a deck of her favorite cards and set straight off to Syrilian to make some coin and find a ship to take her across. Language Fluent Language: Common Skills Skill EXP Total Proficiency [Acrobatics] 26 SP 26 Competent [Instrument: Gea'tar] 15 RB 15 Novice [Dance] 9 SP 9 Novice [Singing] 5 SP 5 Novice [Brawling] 5 SP 5 Novice [Running] 5 SP 5 Novice Lores [*]General Knowledge: 'The Inverted' [*]Syliran Culture Possessions 1 Set of Clothing -Simple Shirt -Simple Pants -Simple Undergarments -Simple Cloak -Simple Boots 1 Waterskin 1 Backpack which contains: -Comb (Wood) -Brush (Wood) -Soap -Razor -Balanced Rations (1 Week's worth) -1 eating knife -Flint & Steel 1 Gea'tar 1 Good Instrument Case, Gea'tar 1 Set of Cards 510 Gold Mizas Heirloom: Mother's Good Gea'tar Case Housing Location: Not yet decided. House: Inn "Cash-In" package chosen - inn of residency not yet decided. Ledger Purchase Cost Total Starting +100 GM 100 GM Housing Value Cash-Inn +500 GM 600 GM Gea'tar -80 GM 520 GM Set of Cards -10 GM 510 GM Thread List Flashbacks : Games and Childhood 1, Bad Falls