Post by Princess Sophia Lyonesse on Mar 15, 2010 13:22:33 GMT
Name: Sophia Lyonesse
Age: 16
Sex: female
Class: royalty
Appearance: At 5'2”, Sophia is delicate and diminutive. She has fair skin, light blue-violet eyes, and long, waist-length blonde hair. Her eyes are so light that they are a bit disturbing, as if they can see into one's soul. She usually wears her wavy hair loose, with some of it arranged into tiny braids, often woven with ribbon and beads. As she has never worked a day in her life, her skin is soft, and easily bruised. Her figure is slender and lithe, with gentle curves. She walks with grace and pride, her head held high.
Sophia is always elegantly and beautifully dressed. She prefers clothing of the finest fabrics in the latest styles, and adores lace, ribbon, and jewels.
Character:
Sophia is a mixture of sunlight and shadow. Born with the lethal combination of beauty and brilliance, she learned early how to manipulate others in order to get her way. Yet she does it in such a natural, innocent way, most people do not realize they are being manipulated until it is too late. She is a sweet girl at heart, but can ruthless when someone stands in the way of something she desires.
She has a natural and compelling charisma that draws people to her, and she makes friends quite easily. She can be quite the charmer when she wants to be. Sophia is shy around men, though, and often blushes in their presence. Although she has been told that she is beautiful, she is not the least bit vain and does not believe she is as pretty as others say she is. Being complemented also makes her blush. In fact, almost anything makes her blush, and she hates it.
Not quite sixteen, Sophia is very innocent in the ways of the world. She is impulsive and very curious, which sometimes lands her in trouble. Despite her high intelligence, she trusts far too readily, and can be easily tricked by a compelling story and clever words. She tends to believe that most people are basically good … unless, of course, they have magic.
The young princess has a deep-seated fear of magic that was nurtured by her father from the day she was able to say the word. She believes that all magic is evil, and that it corrupts the minds of those who use it into thinking that it is good. She does not hate magicians; she just believes that they are deluded and need to be eliminated for the good of the world. Once magic has one in its clutches, there is no hope for them anymore.
To those without magic, Sophia is kind and gentle, although her compassion sometimes has a sharp edge, especially when dealing with those who have done something she deems stupid. She has little tolerance for ignorance, no matter what class one belongs to.
Magic is not Sophia's only fear: after her mother drowned when she was three, she developed an aversion to large bodies of water. Her body trembles and sweats, her heartbeat quickens, and on rare occasions, she has even fainted when she has found herself too close to a lake or pond. It is a fear that she wishes she could overcome, but she is not certain how.
She is highly educated and accomplished in the social graces, and able to discuss most subjects with intelligence and insight. Sophia also sings … her voice is sweet, rich, and pure, and has been known to shatter glass. A highly skilled harpist, some say that her music soothes them.
Sophia has an uncanny way with animals. She has a calming influence on them and can usually coax even the most frightened dog or cat from its hiding place. She does not understand why, but animals seem to trust her. Her wolf cub Cedric is her loyal companion and very protective of her, even though he is a bit too young at the moment to do anything but scare away those that mean her harm.
Strengths and Weaknesses:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Magic: None that she knows of, but strange things sometimes happen when she's around.
Weaponry Skills: She knows that the pointy end of her dagger should always be held away from her.
Character History:
Sophia came into the world on a crisp spring morning that was sweet with the sound of birdsong and the scent of new-blooming flowers. The beautiful day was not enough to ease the sorrow in the hearts of her parents, King Urien of Gore and his wife Moira. Their other three children had died in infancy, the oldest only surviving until the age of two. Although they loved their new daughter, they were afraid to care for her too much ... in case that she, too, would leave them bereft.
Left mostly in the care of servants, the little princess thrived and showed no sign of the frailty her brothers and sister had exhibited. After she had passed her second birthday, Urien began showing her a bit of affection, although Moira still held herself aloof. Pregnant again, the queen longed to give her husband a son to be his heir. Since her daughter was healthy, she hoped that her next child would be too.
Unfortunately, the baby boy was stillborn. Moira sank into a deep depression, and Urien worried for her sanity. He was quite pleased when, one day, she expressed interest in taking Sophia for a boat ride in a nearby lake. The queen had always loved the water and it seemed as if she had finally moved beyond her sorrow.
Barely three years old, Sophia would only remember small fragments of that fateful day. Her mother seemed so happy when they set out in the boat with one maidservant for company. In the middle of the lake, Moira gave her small daughter a beautiful smile, kissed her on the top of her little blonde head, and jumped into the water.
Sophia screamed and cried as her mother sank without any attempt to save herself. Neither the maidservant nor the rowers could swim. They could only look on in horror as their mistress drowned, her body eventually surfacing face down with her long hair undulating around her just beneath the water's surface.
The queen's death was ruled an accident, as the servants, afraid of what fate might befall them if they told the truth, insisted that Moira had slipped and fallen from the boat. Although Sophia believed that her mother jumped, her memories were not clear enough to be certain. From that day forward, though, she developed a deep-seated fear of lakes and other large bodies of water.
After Moira's untimely demise, King Urien showered his young daughter with affection, cherishing her as the last precious gift his beloved wife had given him. He discovered that the child was quite delightful … highly intelligent, curious about the world around her, and very pleasing to look upon. He spoiled her unmercifully, giving her everything her little heart desired, and as she grew older, no expense was spared on her education.
Despite the tragic death of her mother, Sophia grew up happy and well-adjusted, albeit more than a trifle spoiled. She had both a temper and a mean streak. She sometimes threw fits when she did not get her way. The princess was also not above blaming servants or companions for trouble that she caused herself. She didn't even feel bad when they were punished because of it. In her opinion, it was better them than her.
At the age of four, she showed a definite talent for music, and the best musicians in the kingdom were retained to teach her to sing and play whatever instruments she fancied. The harp was her favorite. She became highly skilled in coaxing beautiful tunes from the large stringed instrument, and learned to compose her own music.
But the instrument on which she truly excelled was her own voice. It was high, sweet, and pure. By the time she was seven, she sang at all her father's banquets and parties, and many other high-class functions as well. Sophia became known all over Gore for her absolutely stunning voice, a voice that could easily shatter glass. It seemed odd to her that she always thought about wanting to break glass before it actually happened, but she did not think too hard about this. She simply accepted it.
Sophia excelled in her other lessons as well, amazing her tutors with her intelligence, enthusiasm, and quick mind. They delighted in teaching her, and expanded her education farther than what was considered proper for a mere woman. Sophia learned advanced mathematics, politics, foreign affairs, languages, culture, philosophy, and any other subject that caught her fancy.
A lot of this she learned on her own, as once she learned to read, she became a voracious seeker of knowledge. The tutors would simply answer her many questions, which were well thought out and quite difficult to answer. As she matured, she channeled her rebellious ways into her education, and became more compassionate, not as willing to blame others for her own mistakes.
Although her broad education made her quite open-minded, Sophia was biased on one particular subject … magic. King Urien had instilled in her a distrust and fear of magic from the moment she was old enough to understand what the word meant. Magic could corrupt and destroy … therefore it should be eliminated from the world. Any magician found in Gore, even if they were only traveling through, was executed, and the young princess stood proudly by her father's side and watched as yet one more threat to the kingdom was removed.
Around the age of thirteen, Sophia's beauty burst into full bloom. There were no dearth of suitors vying for the chance to marry her, but Urien did not find any of them worthy enough for his beloved daughter. Sophia did not care; she was not ready for marriage and was quite happy with her life as it was.
When she was fifteen, things changed for the worse. Certain that Camelot's acceptance of magic was to blame, the king told Sophia that he was sending her there in order to woo Prince Arthur and to spy for him. If Arthur succumbed to her beauty and charm, perhaps she could convince him that magic did more harm than good. As his wife and future queen, she could even rule through him if she was clever and listened to her father.
This plan did not sit well with Sophia. Not only did she not want to be thrust into an unfamiliar kingdom that was rife with evil magic, she had no confidence in her ability to seduce a man. What if she failed? Would her father be disappointed in her? And what if Arthur was fat and ugly? She was no actress. It would be difficult to pretend interest in someone who appalled her.
She tried to talk him out of it, but he was adamant that she go to Camelot. And so, with tears in her eyes, Sophia set off from the only home she had ever known, with an entourage of servants and guards as befitted one of her station. She would try her best, but she was afraid that she would fail in the task her father set for her.
The trip itself was uneventful except for one unsettling incident. Sophia's party came upon a bear attacking a wolf that was trying to protect two little cubs. One of her guards dispatched the bear, but the wolf was beyond saving. One of the cubs was already dead, but the other, a male only a few weeks old, was still alive. The young girl's heart went out to it, and she decided to raise it herself, feeding it milk that was bought for her at the villages they passed.
Although the odds were against it, the wolf cub thrived. She named him Cedric and did not feel quite so alone when she arrived in the frightening kingdom of Camelot. Her welcome was warm and she was given a suite of rooms in the castle to use during her stay.
Sophia has now been at Camelot for two months. She has kept to herself for the most part, just learning her way around. The young princess has sought out Arthur a few times, but has not been brave enough to speak to him. She really does want to get to know him better, as she finds him quite handsome, but she is rather shy when it comes to men.
With her sixteenth birthday fast approaching and a letter from her father asking her what progress she has made, Sophia knows she must put more effort into her mission.
She is also determined to get out more, make some friends, and experience all Camelot has to offer. With any luck, she can stay away from any disconcerting magic ...
Additional Information:
Sample Roleplay:
{{from an ancient Rome RPG}}
Gods, but she was bored.
Livia moved gracefully around the room, occasionally exchanging pleasantries with this person or that one, but mainly she tried to keep to herself as much as possible … observing, taking mental notes, and gauging the emotions of those around her. You could learn a lot from just watching and listening, and the princess was taking full advantage of that tonight.
She knew that she was being watched as well. This was the first public appearance she had made since the death of her father, and that fact did not go unnoticed. Both men and women peered at her from beneath covertly lowered eyelashes, believing that she was not aware of their scrutiny.
Gods.
At least she was giving them something intriguing to look at. Her ensemble, as always, was flawless. Her clothing did not look the least bit contrived; instead it seemed as if yards of filmy fabric had simply fallen from the sky and draped themselves artfully about her slender form. The folds undulated elegantly as she walked, looking as if they were just an extension of her body instead of something placed upon it.
Her clothing tonight was a mixture of Greek style and Egyptian materials. Many graduated layers of transparent Egyptian silk, the colors alternating between the purest white and the richest cream, made up her one-shouldered chiton. An unassuming silver fibula held front and back together. Yards of a wide lavender ribbon were wrapped around her tiny waist, ending in a bow, the ends flowing down to the hem. Her one long sleeve was fastened with small silver clasps, and her bare arm was wrapped with a thinner lavender ribbon in a lattice pattern. Her only jewelry was yet another ribbon, wrapped around her neck and tied in a bow on the side, the ends trailing down on either side of her bare shoulder. Her hair was arranged in its signature style, but the braids were woven with ribbon and it was also wrapped around her three spiral curls.
The effect was simplicity at its finest, innocence at its best. It was absolutely perfect and absolutely Livia. No doubt women will be butchering the style tomorrow, she thought sardonically as she watched one woman staring outright at her clothing, as if trying to commit it to memory.
The princess was standing in the back by a fountain of wine, nursing the same glass she had carried with her all evening, when her stepbrother made his speech. Its content did not surprise her, although she did notice that it made some people uncomfortable. She had no idea why. No matter what he did, Darius would be a more effective emperor than her father, not that that was a difficult feat to achieve. Her caracal Tahira could have ruled better than Claudius.
Livia lifted her glass to her lips and nearly gagged. It was positively warm. While everyone's attention was still on her stepbrother, she shoved the glass behind her and emptied its contents back into the fountain before filling it with cooler, fresher liquid. It wasn't as if anyone had seen.
Eventually, she heard Darius call everyone to dinner. As she moved with the crowd, the young woman wondered where she would be seated. She might be a member of the Imperial family but it wasn't as if she were important, except perhaps as a political pawn. She could almost see the wheels turning in the heads of some of the men when they gazed in her direction.
Suck up to Caesar and you might get a beautiful virgin princess for your very own.
Gods.
[Optional] OOC Section:
Name: Persephone
Location: Europe
How long have you been RPing for: fourteen years
Any other characters on the site?: not yet
Age: 16
Sex: female
Class: royalty
Appearance: At 5'2”, Sophia is delicate and diminutive. She has fair skin, light blue-violet eyes, and long, waist-length blonde hair. Her eyes are so light that they are a bit disturbing, as if they can see into one's soul. She usually wears her wavy hair loose, with some of it arranged into tiny braids, often woven with ribbon and beads. As she has never worked a day in her life, her skin is soft, and easily bruised. Her figure is slender and lithe, with gentle curves. She walks with grace and pride, her head held high.
Sophia is always elegantly and beautifully dressed. She prefers clothing of the finest fabrics in the latest styles, and adores lace, ribbon, and jewels.
Character:
Sophia is a mixture of sunlight and shadow. Born with the lethal combination of beauty and brilliance, she learned early how to manipulate others in order to get her way. Yet she does it in such a natural, innocent way, most people do not realize they are being manipulated until it is too late. She is a sweet girl at heart, but can ruthless when someone stands in the way of something she desires.
She has a natural and compelling charisma that draws people to her, and she makes friends quite easily. She can be quite the charmer when she wants to be. Sophia is shy around men, though, and often blushes in their presence. Although she has been told that she is beautiful, she is not the least bit vain and does not believe she is as pretty as others say she is. Being complemented also makes her blush. In fact, almost anything makes her blush, and she hates it.
Not quite sixteen, Sophia is very innocent in the ways of the world. She is impulsive and very curious, which sometimes lands her in trouble. Despite her high intelligence, she trusts far too readily, and can be easily tricked by a compelling story and clever words. She tends to believe that most people are basically good … unless, of course, they have magic.
The young princess has a deep-seated fear of magic that was nurtured by her father from the day she was able to say the word. She believes that all magic is evil, and that it corrupts the minds of those who use it into thinking that it is good. She does not hate magicians; she just believes that they are deluded and need to be eliminated for the good of the world. Once magic has one in its clutches, there is no hope for them anymore.
To those without magic, Sophia is kind and gentle, although her compassion sometimes has a sharp edge, especially when dealing with those who have done something she deems stupid. She has little tolerance for ignorance, no matter what class one belongs to.
Magic is not Sophia's only fear: after her mother drowned when she was three, she developed an aversion to large bodies of water. Her body trembles and sweats, her heartbeat quickens, and on rare occasions, she has even fainted when she has found herself too close to a lake or pond. It is a fear that she wishes she could overcome, but she is not certain how.
She is highly educated and accomplished in the social graces, and able to discuss most subjects with intelligence and insight. Sophia also sings … her voice is sweet, rich, and pure, and has been known to shatter glass. A highly skilled harpist, some say that her music soothes them.
Sophia has an uncanny way with animals. She has a calming influence on them and can usually coax even the most frightened dog or cat from its hiding place. She does not understand why, but animals seem to trust her. Her wolf cub Cedric is her loyal companion and very protective of her, even though he is a bit too young at the moment to do anything but scare away those that mean her harm.
Strengths and Weaknesses:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Magic: None that she knows of, but strange things sometimes happen when she's around.
Weaponry Skills: She knows that the pointy end of her dagger should always be held away from her.
Character History:
Sophia came into the world on a crisp spring morning that was sweet with the sound of birdsong and the scent of new-blooming flowers. The beautiful day was not enough to ease the sorrow in the hearts of her parents, King Urien of Gore and his wife Moira. Their other three children had died in infancy, the oldest only surviving until the age of two. Although they loved their new daughter, they were afraid to care for her too much ... in case that she, too, would leave them bereft.
Left mostly in the care of servants, the little princess thrived and showed no sign of the frailty her brothers and sister had exhibited. After she had passed her second birthday, Urien began showing her a bit of affection, although Moira still held herself aloof. Pregnant again, the queen longed to give her husband a son to be his heir. Since her daughter was healthy, she hoped that her next child would be too.
Unfortunately, the baby boy was stillborn. Moira sank into a deep depression, and Urien worried for her sanity. He was quite pleased when, one day, she expressed interest in taking Sophia for a boat ride in a nearby lake. The queen had always loved the water and it seemed as if she had finally moved beyond her sorrow.
Barely three years old, Sophia would only remember small fragments of that fateful day. Her mother seemed so happy when they set out in the boat with one maidservant for company. In the middle of the lake, Moira gave her small daughter a beautiful smile, kissed her on the top of her little blonde head, and jumped into the water.
Sophia screamed and cried as her mother sank without any attempt to save herself. Neither the maidservant nor the rowers could swim. They could only look on in horror as their mistress drowned, her body eventually surfacing face down with her long hair undulating around her just beneath the water's surface.
The queen's death was ruled an accident, as the servants, afraid of what fate might befall them if they told the truth, insisted that Moira had slipped and fallen from the boat. Although Sophia believed that her mother jumped, her memories were not clear enough to be certain. From that day forward, though, she developed a deep-seated fear of lakes and other large bodies of water.
After Moira's untimely demise, King Urien showered his young daughter with affection, cherishing her as the last precious gift his beloved wife had given him. He discovered that the child was quite delightful … highly intelligent, curious about the world around her, and very pleasing to look upon. He spoiled her unmercifully, giving her everything her little heart desired, and as she grew older, no expense was spared on her education.
Despite the tragic death of her mother, Sophia grew up happy and well-adjusted, albeit more than a trifle spoiled. She had both a temper and a mean streak. She sometimes threw fits when she did not get her way. The princess was also not above blaming servants or companions for trouble that she caused herself. She didn't even feel bad when they were punished because of it. In her opinion, it was better them than her.
At the age of four, she showed a definite talent for music, and the best musicians in the kingdom were retained to teach her to sing and play whatever instruments she fancied. The harp was her favorite. She became highly skilled in coaxing beautiful tunes from the large stringed instrument, and learned to compose her own music.
But the instrument on which she truly excelled was her own voice. It was high, sweet, and pure. By the time she was seven, she sang at all her father's banquets and parties, and many other high-class functions as well. Sophia became known all over Gore for her absolutely stunning voice, a voice that could easily shatter glass. It seemed odd to her that she always thought about wanting to break glass before it actually happened, but she did not think too hard about this. She simply accepted it.
Sophia excelled in her other lessons as well, amazing her tutors with her intelligence, enthusiasm, and quick mind. They delighted in teaching her, and expanded her education farther than what was considered proper for a mere woman. Sophia learned advanced mathematics, politics, foreign affairs, languages, culture, philosophy, and any other subject that caught her fancy.
A lot of this she learned on her own, as once she learned to read, she became a voracious seeker of knowledge. The tutors would simply answer her many questions, which were well thought out and quite difficult to answer. As she matured, she channeled her rebellious ways into her education, and became more compassionate, not as willing to blame others for her own mistakes.
Although her broad education made her quite open-minded, Sophia was biased on one particular subject … magic. King Urien had instilled in her a distrust and fear of magic from the moment she was old enough to understand what the word meant. Magic could corrupt and destroy … therefore it should be eliminated from the world. Any magician found in Gore, even if they were only traveling through, was executed, and the young princess stood proudly by her father's side and watched as yet one more threat to the kingdom was removed.
Around the age of thirteen, Sophia's beauty burst into full bloom. There were no dearth of suitors vying for the chance to marry her, but Urien did not find any of them worthy enough for his beloved daughter. Sophia did not care; she was not ready for marriage and was quite happy with her life as it was.
When she was fifteen, things changed for the worse. Certain that Camelot's acceptance of magic was to blame, the king told Sophia that he was sending her there in order to woo Prince Arthur and to spy for him. If Arthur succumbed to her beauty and charm, perhaps she could convince him that magic did more harm than good. As his wife and future queen, she could even rule through him if she was clever and listened to her father.
This plan did not sit well with Sophia. Not only did she not want to be thrust into an unfamiliar kingdom that was rife with evil magic, she had no confidence in her ability to seduce a man. What if she failed? Would her father be disappointed in her? And what if Arthur was fat and ugly? She was no actress. It would be difficult to pretend interest in someone who appalled her.
She tried to talk him out of it, but he was adamant that she go to Camelot. And so, with tears in her eyes, Sophia set off from the only home she had ever known, with an entourage of servants and guards as befitted one of her station. She would try her best, but she was afraid that she would fail in the task her father set for her.
The trip itself was uneventful except for one unsettling incident. Sophia's party came upon a bear attacking a wolf that was trying to protect two little cubs. One of her guards dispatched the bear, but the wolf was beyond saving. One of the cubs was already dead, but the other, a male only a few weeks old, was still alive. The young girl's heart went out to it, and she decided to raise it herself, feeding it milk that was bought for her at the villages they passed.
Although the odds were against it, the wolf cub thrived. She named him Cedric and did not feel quite so alone when she arrived in the frightening kingdom of Camelot. Her welcome was warm and she was given a suite of rooms in the castle to use during her stay.
Sophia has now been at Camelot for two months. She has kept to herself for the most part, just learning her way around. The young princess has sought out Arthur a few times, but has not been brave enough to speak to him. She really does want to get to know him better, as she finds him quite handsome, but she is rather shy when it comes to men.
With her sixteenth birthday fast approaching and a letter from her father asking her what progress she has made, Sophia knows she must put more effort into her mission.
She is also determined to get out more, make some friends, and experience all Camelot has to offer. With any luck, she can stay away from any disconcerting magic ...
Additional Information:
Sample Roleplay:
{{from an ancient Rome RPG}}
Gods, but she was bored.
Livia moved gracefully around the room, occasionally exchanging pleasantries with this person or that one, but mainly she tried to keep to herself as much as possible … observing, taking mental notes, and gauging the emotions of those around her. You could learn a lot from just watching and listening, and the princess was taking full advantage of that tonight.
She knew that she was being watched as well. This was the first public appearance she had made since the death of her father, and that fact did not go unnoticed. Both men and women peered at her from beneath covertly lowered eyelashes, believing that she was not aware of their scrutiny.
Gods.
At least she was giving them something intriguing to look at. Her ensemble, as always, was flawless. Her clothing did not look the least bit contrived; instead it seemed as if yards of filmy fabric had simply fallen from the sky and draped themselves artfully about her slender form. The folds undulated elegantly as she walked, looking as if they were just an extension of her body instead of something placed upon it.
Her clothing tonight was a mixture of Greek style and Egyptian materials. Many graduated layers of transparent Egyptian silk, the colors alternating between the purest white and the richest cream, made up her one-shouldered chiton. An unassuming silver fibula held front and back together. Yards of a wide lavender ribbon were wrapped around her tiny waist, ending in a bow, the ends flowing down to the hem. Her one long sleeve was fastened with small silver clasps, and her bare arm was wrapped with a thinner lavender ribbon in a lattice pattern. Her only jewelry was yet another ribbon, wrapped around her neck and tied in a bow on the side, the ends trailing down on either side of her bare shoulder. Her hair was arranged in its signature style, but the braids were woven with ribbon and it was also wrapped around her three spiral curls.
The effect was simplicity at its finest, innocence at its best. It was absolutely perfect and absolutely Livia. No doubt women will be butchering the style tomorrow, she thought sardonically as she watched one woman staring outright at her clothing, as if trying to commit it to memory.
The princess was standing in the back by a fountain of wine, nursing the same glass she had carried with her all evening, when her stepbrother made his speech. Its content did not surprise her, although she did notice that it made some people uncomfortable. She had no idea why. No matter what he did, Darius would be a more effective emperor than her father, not that that was a difficult feat to achieve. Her caracal Tahira could have ruled better than Claudius.
Livia lifted her glass to her lips and nearly gagged. It was positively warm. While everyone's attention was still on her stepbrother, she shoved the glass behind her and emptied its contents back into the fountain before filling it with cooler, fresher liquid. It wasn't as if anyone had seen.
Eventually, she heard Darius call everyone to dinner. As she moved with the crowd, the young woman wondered where she would be seated. She might be a member of the Imperial family but it wasn't as if she were important, except perhaps as a political pawn. She could almost see the wheels turning in the heads of some of the men when they gazed in her direction.
Suck up to Caesar and you might get a beautiful virgin princess for your very own.
Gods.
[Optional] OOC Section:
Name: Persephone
Location: Europe
How long have you been RPing for: fourteen years
Any other characters on the site?: not yet
