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WiP Profile: Caerwyn, Paladin of Sithis

Tags: #Baldur's Roleplay 
  • August 18, 2017

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    Name: Caerwyn. She has used false surnames so often and for so long she has long since forgotten her real surname.

    Aliases:  Caerwyn the Redeemed, "Hey, you!", The Silent Axe.

    Sex: Female

    Race: Breton

    Class: Mixed, combination of Assassin and Paladin.

    Alignment: Lawful Evil before her path of redemption, then Neutral Good.

    Title(s): Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, Harbinger of the Companions.

    Age: She's not really sure, but believes she's in her mid thirties.

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    Appearance:  Looks like your average, albeit rather attractive woman. She's not the most beautiful in all the land.. as it were, but she's definitely of above average in level of attractiveness.

    Skin Tone: Pale and Fair, much as it annoys her she burns easily, so she mostly travels at night.

    Height: Average, around five foot five.

    Weight: Relatively light, with muscle weight soaking wet she's roughly 126 pounds.

    Build: Medium frame with lean wirey muscles, her body is supple and sturdy with small-mid sized breasts which she normally keeps bound tightly when not in town or at home in case she needs to quickly run away from a situation, and to prevent armor chafing.

    Eyes: Brown with a hint of hazel. They often portray a look of cynicism.

    Hair: Blonde, long. In Town she usually wears it braided and has it well washed and brushed after spending a night at the inn. On the road it's usually bound in a ponytail, tangled and dirty but out of her face. At home she wears it loose and washed but with no real effort to keep it super neat and brushed.. she's there to relax and kick back not be a lady about the town.

    Apparel: Usually wearing leathers on assassin contracts (Dark brotherhood armor) but after she starts on a path of redemption she starts wearing leather, then when she joins the Dawnguard she starts to wear their light armor. She thinks the light helmet looks kinda stupid and will only put it on when she's about to go into battle, otherwise keeping her head uncovered and free to enjoy the breeze. At home she usually wears a simple robe or dress, (any "Clothes" that turns into a dress or a simple black robe and some form of shoes or sandals will do)

    Tattoos/Scars:  She has several small tattoos on her body, most of them are memories of loved ones or other losses. A small tattoo of a rabbit to remember a pet rabbit she had when she lived at home, a rose to represent the first woman she ever kissed, a small symbol of Talos to remember the priest that nursed her back to health instead of turning her over for the reward money.. She also has several scars across her face from fights with animals or bandits.

    Weapons Before she joins the dawnguard, she wields a simple steel war axe, it's easy to acquire and it's Shiny... she likes shiny things. After joining the Dawnguard she wields the Dawnguard War Axe until she gets the Rune axe, at which point she switches to that. She can also wield a mace, though she's less profficient with them.. she feels like there's a lot less skill in bashing someone with what is in essence a metal club than there is to the skill involved with a war axe.. but she will wield a mace if she has to. 

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    Background Breton, raised in Cyrodil. Father was a Nord her mother was a Breton. Father's Grandparents came from Skyrim, Mother's Grandmother came from High Rock, Grandfather came from the Imperial City.

    Special Abilities/Skills: No special abilities, though she's always found she's able to absorb magic to an extent if she concentrates on it.. though she can't do it for very long it's helped her against several mages throughout her career in the Dark Brotherhood. She learned to cook from her Father and takes pleasure in cooking homecooked stews and soups. One day she hopes to rebuild a home for herself and cook her own meals, marry a nice girl and maybe even look after a child or two, a family she would protect with every moment of every day if necessary just to not lose yet another home.

    Place of Birth: Cyrodil, On a farm near Chorrol.

    Religion: She worships Sithis, believing him to be neither good nor evil. On contracts she never feels fully alone, as if he was watching over her personally. She has always adhered to the Five Tenets, she even prayed to a Shrine of Sithis she found in a small cave, formerly used by an assassin. It even came with a vampire who would kill in her name.. She also appreciates Kynareth, as she has a love of all things nature.. from the feeling of rain on bare skin to the warmth of a summer breeze..

    Residence: She currently has a home in Fort Dawnguard, a bedroom on the second floor. She also calls Jorvaskr home, and has purchased Breezehome as a place to cook and call her own. She plans to eventually purchase land from Falkreath, as she's heard there's a fine bit of land with a view of the lake she could get her hands on. She's eager to make a house with a kitchen of her very own, a nice bedroom area and perhaps a storage room at the back.

    Political Affiliations: Though she does not particularly agree with his message, Caerwyn backs Jarl Ulfric and his Stormcloak army as they hate the Imperials and that's something she can definitely support.

    Occupation: Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, Harbinger of the Companions and Champion of the Dawnguard. Dovahkiin.

    Organizations/Factions: Dark Brotherhood, Dawnguard, Companions, Blades, Stormcloaks.

    Favorite food/drink: She's always been fond of Apple Pie, and though she doesn't get to have it very often, her father once let her try a glass of Cyrodilic Brandy, and she loved the fruity taste, though it tends to put her to sleep.

    Interests:  Though she can't play worth a damn, she loves listening to people play the Lute. She also enjoys reading, Meditation, and in the summer, long naps naked under a tree.. something she stopped doing after she was introduced to by her girlfriend in the Dark Brotherhood.. She stopped when she ran for her life but might do again someday.. she likes the feeling of wind on her skin and feeling of rain.. she loves nature.

    Flaws: She has very little patience for stupidity, or what she perceives thereof. She also has a habit of cracking her joints, usually her knuckles but also her neck, usually before going into a fight. She has low tolerance for alcohol and easily gets drunk after a few bottles of mead, leading to her spending many drunken one night stands with girls in the bars, or getting into fist fights with any drunken brawlers, depending on if she just came back from a contract or not. She hates the colour pink, as it reminds her of a snobbish rich girl who used to mock her when she was little, and she's afraid of birds.

    Citizenship: (Not sure what this question is asking)

    Relationships: Cicero-Best Friend. Frea of the Skall- Mentor and crush. Serana, Friend and Crush. Marcurio-Steward, polite friendship. Lydia, Thane/Housecarl, occasional one night stand after too much mead, friend. Isran, Dawnguard Superior. Mjoll the Lioness, Travelling companion, Friend and secretly loves her. Muiri, Love interest. Tiala, now deceased, former girlfriend and lover from the Dark Brotherhood, someone who would sneak into her bed at nights. A Dibellan and Kynareth worshipper, she taught Caerwyn how to appreciate the little things in life, the feeling of warm rain on bare skin, how to swim and catch fish bare handed, the bliss of napping after a swim with your lover cuddled against you. Caerwyn misses her terribly.

    Personality: She can best be described as complicated. She's flirty with women, usually after a few drinks or ones she admire most. She is emotionally scarred and damaged by the loss of her family and the Dark Brothehood of Cyrodil, and when she lost the Dark Brotherhood of Skyrim too.. she just couldn't take it anymore. When she heard about a Dragon attacking Cyrodil she attempted to use it as a way to simply die in battle, too scared to kill herself.. instead she found out she was a hero. Though some elements of her dark past remain in her personality.. she frequently thinks of how much simpler people's issues could be solved if she just killed them for example, after her discovery her personality changed.. like all the good parts of her came back to the surface. Instead of being angry at the world, Jaded and bitter, she was able to once again see the beauty of the little things, like warmth of the summer breeze, soaking in a hotspring, sleeping under the stars..though now she channels that rage into killing vampires and werewolves and Leprechauns.. though she's never actually found one she wonders if she chopped one's head off it would spew out septims and lucky charms..

     

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    Caerwyn grew up on a small farm just outside of Weynon Priory that her family bought from the Steward. Though the farm was in a rather bad state of disrepair, as it had been abandoned for more than two hundred years after the last family who owned it were slain by Goblins, they were able to hire mercenaries with some of what little coin they had left and were able to wipe out the Goblins. It took months of hard work but they were able to rebuild the farmhouse and till the earth again. Soon they had a thriving farm. Caerwyn was born soon after the farm began to thrive. Her childhood was pleasant, if a little difficult. Her father was missing one hand due to serving in the Imperial army previously, and as such mostly helped with the planting and the harvest, and did most of the cooking. Her mother would work the soil and Caerwyn would chop wood for the fire. As such, she got a feel for the axe at a young age. One summer, when Caerwyn was a teenager, her father was called off to yet another Imperial skirmish, seemed they were always getting int oone conflict or another. Her father used to tell stories to her about the Great War, which had happened before Caerwyn was born, and Caerwyn hoped that her father, now with only one hand, wasn't going to end up fighting some horrible second great war against the elves. 

    Her mother got a letter a few weeks after that, that though the skirmish was won, her father tragically lost his life attempting to defend the wounded soldiers he was there to heal. Beside herself with grief, Caerwyn's mother, Bronwyn, took her own life. Caerwyn buried her, alone and distraught, cursing the Empire who had cost her a family, beneath a cherry tree on the outskirts of the property that her mother had liked to read under on fine days when chores were done. She was left on her own for a year or two until someone came to her about the taxes. Though she offered what gold she had left to pay them, the collecter had other things on his mind.. namely her shapely teenage figure. Unfortunately for him, and fortunately fir her, he attempted to have his way with her in arms reach of an axe her father had mounted above the fireplace, something he had carried with him in the Great War. Though it had been mounted for many years, her father always kept it sharp.. it was a ritual of his, a way of honouring his fallen friends. The axe easily cleaved the man's head from his shoulders, but now Caerwyn was a murderer.. she was just some poor farm girl nobody would take her word about this.. she buried the body in the woods far away from her home, and scrubbed the place clean. When the guards came to ask about the man, she informed them she had paid him her coin and he had left. Confident in herself that nobody knew what she had done, as his disappearance was blamed on bandits or wolves, she slept easy that night.

    She was woken in the middle of the night by a slightly flirty female voice murmuring in her ear, "You sleep rather soundly for a murderer... that's good.. you'll need a clear conscience for what I'm about to propose.." She sat up with a start but felt a soft pair of hands press her down, an attractive Bosmer straddling her hips. The Black robed bosmer teased her, "Oh no need to be frightened.. I'm here to offer you a gift... a chance to join our cozy little family.. you see the man you killed was someone who made life very difficult for us... and now he's gone... I represent the Dark Brotherhood..." Caerwyn barely registered anything the woman said after that, merely hugging the woman as hard as she could.. she could have a family again. She could BELONG somewhere. After a very pleasant evening with the Bosmer woman, she packed up her belongings.. a dress her mother had made her, her father's axe and a few days ration of food and drink, locked the door to the farm and left it for good. She never went back there after that day, leaving the key on a nail by the door. She heard, a few years later, that the Steward had reclaimed the farm and sold it to a new family, which made her happy.. some new family would be able to make happy memories in that place.

    Her early years in the Dark Brotherhood were fairly eventful. Her contracts were fun and exciting, that risk of detection the thrill of the kill.. the warm arms of one of her fellow recruits at night.. all these things made her feel.. like she finally was accepted. Her experiences with the man attempting to have his way with her made her scared of men.. though she felt unafraid of one scawny awkward new recruit who came in just after she did.. a boy by the name of Cicero. He was an interesting man, played the Lute quite nicely and though he flirted with her occasionally, she rebuiked his advances, her ordeal tainting her view of men. One night however, she was on a contract that went horribly wrong. It turned out to be a trap set up by an Imperial agent, attempting to capture a member of the Dark Brotherhood, hoping to torture them for information. However, the trap failed when an unlikely person saved her life.. Cicero. It turned out he had been on a separate contract that sent him to the same building.. he was there to kill one of the other prisoners who apparently knew too much for his own good... enough some rich noble had paid for his permanent silence. After that, the two of them became the best of friends.

    Her life after that progressed without much of interest happening, she rose through the ranks and replaced the Bosmer who had recruited her as Speaker of the Black Hand. One night she was to kill a Thalmor agent, then on the way home recruit a youngish redguard who had apparently sliced her abusive mother-in-law's throat with a pair of shears when she heard the news.. the Sanctuary of Cheydinhall had been put to the sword, and the Crypt of the Night Mother had been defiled, and as far as she knew, her entire family was dead. Once again cursing the imperials, she fled that night. She cut her hair, disposed of her Dark Brotherhood leathers, and for the next 8 years she hid, never staying in one place for long. She hid in crypts, caves, mines, Ayleid Ruins, wherever she could find that was out of the rain and out of sight. Her favourite were the Ayleid Ruins however, as though they tended to look a bit samey and had very similar architecture, she had never been in anywhere with such pretty stonework and crystal lighting.

    Eight years of hiding and running passed, with her roughly in her late twenties, though she had forgotten even her own birthday, she made her way northwards to Skyrim, but that was where her luck ran out. She was caught by the Imperials, attempting to sneak through an Imperial checkpoint and sent off to Helgen. She nearly died in Helgen but, much to her disbelief, the city was levelled by a Dragon, and she was able to escape with Ralof. Lost in a new land and alone, she wandered aimlessly, unable to believe her eyes when she found Cicero, alive but insane, dressed as a Jester and carting the Night Mother off to some new crypt. Though she was saddened her best friend didn't remember her, she nevertheless helped him on his way and sought out the Dark Brotherhood.. hoping to resume her life in service of Sithis, believing this was why he led her to Skyrim.

    For more information on how her life progressed please see her Character build...

     

     

  • Member
    August 19, 2017

    Is this another profile I see!? You people are spoiling me!

    Well everything is very solid, Baldur, and as a result I've got questions instead of improvements.

    How did she become proficient in combat if her main job was a killer? I mean it makes sense that she'd be able to parry a blow or two through adrenaline alone, but running stands out to me as the assassin's fall back plan the vast majority of the time. Which leads me on to the question of why an axe (and mace)? Its cool, and I love that she's not the standard dagger-wielding cut throat, but its not the norm for a reason. How has she adapted her technique in killing, infiltration etc to compensate for her bigger and shinier weapon?

    You mention that she's a bit of a looker, what's her opinion of this? The more attractive you are the more you stand out, which isn't exactly ideal for someone who doesn't like to be noticed, so does she go to lengths to make herself as normal looking as possible? Or does she play it up and use it to get her in places she wouldn't usuallly be able to access?

    And I'd also like to mention that I really like the little injections of funniness here and there, the bit about the Dawnguard Helmet especially gave me a good chuckle (and a nod of approval, whoever approved that design has some questionable fashion sense).

    I feel like I've got some more to say but I can't think of it right now, so I'll probably pop by tomorrow with some more useless ramblings!

  • August 19, 2017

    Her combat prowess was acquired after she came to Skyrim and started on her path of redemption (If you look at her build after you finish the Dark Brotherhood questline) The Axe I haven't mentioned but it's because, until the Imperials took it away, she wielded her Father's old axe.. She joined the dark brotherhood in Cyrodil after her parents died after all... so she kept his axe and used it to make the world a better place one beheading at a time until she was forced to flee.

     

    And yes this is the START of a profile. I'm working on a second build as well so expect that at some point in future.. having trouble finding a picture that i like.


    Also depending on the contract she would either dress more provacatively to gain access.. after all too many men will think with their libido before they think with their brain and a little flash of skin can get a woman into a lot of places... or she'll specifically hide her looks to blend in as much as possible. The mace is because it does a lot of damage and though she doesn't like it as much... she's managed to save her skin by smashing people in the head with a metal club.. as she calls them.. a few times in the past, she just thinks they're too heavy and prefers the axe. 

     

    As for her opinion she personally doesn't care about how she looks.. she knows she's good looking.. some of her former girlfriends in the dark brotherhood used to murmur about her looks a lot.. but she personally doesn't see herself as attractive.. just knows how to ACT attractive (IE Makeup hair dress etc) she's more of a tomboy than a girly girl.

     

    IF you or anyone ever wanna talk about a build, discuss skyrim in general talk strategies or help me muddle over stuff feel free to talk to me on Discord, BaldurAnthology#8710

     

    Just keep in mind I don't approve of racism or homophobia, so if you're someone that's gonna talk to me about a hypthothetical reason why if i made a redguard build I was a lover of *Insert expletives here* then don't bother.

  • August 25, 2017

    Added in a ton of stuff, A proper backstory, banners etc. Please read and give criticism etc. It's not quite done yet, I'm not dead sure what is asked of me by "Cidizenship' for example...

  • Member
    August 25, 2017

    If her mother was a Nord and her father was Breton, she would be a Nord, not Breton. In ES the race of the child is determined by the mother, so her father needs to be a Nord or whatever, and her mother needs to be a Breton for that to work.

  • August 25, 2017

    Pickle Rick said:

    If her mother was a Nord and her father was Breton, she would be a Nord, not Breton. In ES the race of the child is determined by the mother, so her father needs to be a Nord or whatever, and her mother needs to be a Breton for that to work.

    thank you good to know I'll fix that right now.

     

    *Edit* fixed it, editing the Grandparents as well so they make sense with the breeding stuff.

  • Member
    August 25, 2017

    BaldurAnthology said:

    Pickle Rick said:

    If her mother was a Nord and her father was Breton, she would be a Nord, not Breton. In ES the race of the child is determined by the mother, so her father needs to be a Nord or whatever, and her mother needs to be a Breton for that to work.

    thank you good to know I'll fix that right now.

     

    *Edit* fixed it, editing the Grandparents as well so they make sense with the breeding stuff.

    No problem. Many people make that mistake.

    Edit: I looked over this and I am quite impressed with the detail you have done with this. The citzenship part is more or less where was she born, or that is how I have always took as. Also, I know this was proably discussed in your build, which I am going to give a second look, but why isn't Sithis consider good nor evil? Sithis is the aspect of Padomey, which is Evil and Chaos.

  • Nao
    Member
    August 26, 2017

    This is impressive work! I love all the little things that you add to make her more human, in spite of her desensitizing career. I especially loved the tattoos and the meanings of her tattoos.

     

    As Pickle Rick says, citizenship is essentially where one was born (e.g. the United States), but I do believe that one can work towards citizenship in another country. Don't quote me on that; you'd be better of checking the Internet. Basically, Caerwyn's citizenship would be Cyrodiil, because she was born there.

     

    As for her flaws...cracking her knuckles and a low tolerance for alcohol aren't necessarily flaws. I view the former more as a habit and the latter as a quirk. Still, the impatience was one I can definitely relate to, lol, and I think it's a very compelling flaw for her to possess, especially as an assassin.

     

    I know this is a WIP, but maybe once you complete it, try adding screen shots. The overall presentation was a little bland IMO. It was hard to follow along with the chunks of text that you had, but I think that by organizing it and adding some pictures, it will make it a little easier and more interesting to look at.

     

    Overall, I really enjoyed this! Very nice job, Baldur :) Do you plan on publishing a story about her, or is this simply a character you had played with?