Name: Emma Claudine d'Agreste
Class: Dark Trainee -> Shaman -> Druid
Character Skill: Dragon Ward
Affinity: ara ara
Personal Fault: A Nightingale in a Golden Cage: Against Light Magic, -2 DR.
Personal Skill: Locked Inside Reality's Maze: Against Anima Magic, +15 Crit.
/ Personal Skill: Make My Heavy Heart Light: Against Dark Magic, +10 HIT/EVA.
// Personal Skill: It All Starts With A Lullaby: When adjacent to a supported ally, +5% to Dragon Ward activation.
Preferred Stats: Magic, Skill
Weapon Profs: Dark (E)
Level: 1 (Trainee)
Total Level: 1
Special:
Initial Stats - Progression Spent: (330%/330%)
HP: 18 (70%)
STR: 0 (0%)
MAG: 5 (60%) [+2]
SKL: 5 (60%)
LCK: 0 (20%)
DEF: 0 (10%)
RES: 3 (50%)
SPD: 3 (60%) [+2]
CON: 5
AID: 4
MOV: 4
Backstory:
House Agreste is one of the major noble houses of Lastreodal, staying in a consistent position of wealth and pride throughout the years of its presence in the country. Situated on the southeastern coast of Lastreodal, the House's feudal lands are placed in the right position to regulate trade between Lastreodal, Cestulon and the occasional trading fleets from Othura and Arkensheen. The House of Agreste has grown in prominence and wealth through the possession of prime trading cities, in particular the feudal capital of Bernine, allowing the family to profit off of the many mercantile ventures that take place within the Agreste territory. The popularity of the Agreste family has generally been an anomaly among the peasantry, likely due to their genial treatment of commoners in Agreste lands; richer commoners have, from time to time, married into the Agreste family, who have notoriously rejected the hands of suitors from actual noble houses for unsatisfactory quality and House Agreste had, in general, never been known to go back on their word and pay their debts to those who they owed, commoner or noble. The Agreste family arms, a wheel on a field of gold, is a testament to these characteristics.
House Agreste is said to have been founded directly by one of the Executors responsible for slaying the great dragon Ragnarok; whether or not this is true, this family myth was perpetuated for the sake of increasing the family's prestige, and it is true that the house is among the oldest noble houses in all of Manoran, even predating Lastreodal and surviving through the civil war that ended the Kingdom of Lotis through a combination of neutrality and shrewd politicking. It is also true that the Agreste family possesses an odd magical ability, an odd resistance to magical attacks they can confer upon themselves or their allies, which occasionally manifests in those of Agreste blood and magical aptitude; the literature surrounding the exploits of House Agreste labels this odd power Celestine's Bulwark, named after the mythical founder of House Agreste. On top of this, age, prestige and control of valuable lands and trading routes has granted the noble house a great importance in Lastreodal, with traditionally close ties between House Agreste and the royal houses in control of Lastreodal through advisory, mercantile and even marital connections.
Emma was born the fifth child and sole daughter of House Agreste, of five siblings, to Auguste and Carole d'Agreste; Carole was the scion of the Agreste family, Auguste was a talented merchant working for her father's fleet who had attained his daughter's hand after two years of wooing the young Carole. The older Agreste siblings were twins; one of them, Alain, was already a decorated soldier of the Lastreodal Wyvern Corps and in line to inherit the Agreste holdings, and his younger brother Armand an attache to the liaison between Lastreodal and Arkensheen; of the younger Agreste boys, Etienne had gone off to be a priest somewhere on Orthula and had forsaken the Agreste name, while the youngest brother, Marius, had turned out to be a disgrace to the Agreste name, a hedonistic drunk who was disowned. Auguste was concerned with ensuring a good future for his family, and for Emma, he wanted her to have a husband of good birth, wealth and bearing. Though a stern father, he cared for his daughter regardless. Though he had five children, he was always closest to Emma, his stern exterior hiding a doting father who nurtured her talents; even paying for a tutor of magic from the esteemed Romorth University when Emma showed signs of inheriting Celestine's Bulwark and teaching Emma about the world himself from experiences he'd had.
Yet the future was still Auguste's concern, and eventually, he knew he couldn't protect or keep Emma forever. He had concerns about the family she might marry into, and at first, she was introduced to House Valiere, a minor noble house with a pittance of wealth and territory but, as Auguste was initially informed, with a husband of good breeding and good character, someone who might take care of Emma when Auguste was unable to anymore. That potential marriage was ended when Auguste found that the Valieres were scumbags, cutthroats and general unsavory folk, that he refused to have anything to do with them or have them near his daughter. With the Valieres furious with Auguste for breaking off the marriage, Auguste looked for a way to protect his dear young daughter, at this time barely seven years of age. He saw an opportunity, at an invitation to send his daughter to the capital, to live at Alovine while Auguste sorted out the mess. And so, Emma was sent to Alovine with her tutor to protect her from the feud between House Valiere and House Agreste.
During her time in hiding at Alovine, Emma became an acquaintance of the bastard prince Gunvald- whom she was a few years older than-, all the while House Valiere and Agreste feuded in the south. Emma befriended the young prince, though his reclusive nature kept somewhat of a distance between the blossoming young lady and the young prince. Though there were whispers around the court that House Agreste had considered offering Emma's hand in marriage to the Prince and Emma herself was amenable to such an arrangement, these were but rumours; it took several years for House Agreste to sort out the mess House Valiere had forced them into, none of which were spent by Auguste attempting to pair his daughter off, though he attempted to visit her every so often to keep an eye on her. As the years passed, Emma befriended or got to know others around the court, including Eydis, though she was always closest to Gunvald and had always been seperated from the closest, most secretive royal affairs.
Emma grew into an outgoing young lady of the court, refined in taste but with her eyes cast on the world around her, something she had inherited from her father's time on the sea. She desired to go out, to see the world, much to her father's consternation and resignation; he knew that it had come from his side of the family, and after getting lucky with her older siblings, the wanderlust was within Emma instead. For a time, Emma had gone on a few voyages around Manoran; to Arkensheen, to Cestulon and even at some point to one of the far-off Outerland kingdoms, but always with her eye back on Alovine and Bernine, always with her father in mind. Emma eventually returned to Lastreodal, her thirst for adventure currently quenched, to return home for a whille and to adjust herself back to life within Manoran. She had even returned to the court at Alovine where Eydis and Gunvald, now grown, were the talk of the court. This was mere months before the fateful trip that King Ingvar and Queen Eldrid took, but for a while, life was peaceful for Emma de Agreste.
Tragedy struck, and King Ingvar and Queen Eldrid were killed on their honeymoon, leaving an unprepared Princess Eydis and Prince Gunvald in charge of a decapitated Lastreodal. Unease set in around Lastreodal, as people looked to who seemed to be unprepared children to lead Lastreodal through the time of uncertainty. Emma was urged by Auguste to return to Bernine, to return home, but she had loyalty to Gunvald in particular. The world was changing around them and she felt a responsibility to stand by her friends; especially at this time, with their parents killed by foreign assassins, the country doubting their capability to lead and the Cult of Ragnarok cutting down innocents, something that troubled Emma and was something she wished to do something about. The world was falling about the heads of those in charge of Lastreodal and Emma was one of the few people in any position close by to aid them.
Furthermore, there were the ideals and values that an upbringing in House Agreste had instilled in Emma. Her father had instilled in her the value of family and relationships, a value which Emma had never forgotten, as well as the family propensity for honesty and responsibility. Though she felt no loyalty to the royal bloodline in and of itself, personal loyalty was important for Emma, and she had no intention of abandoning those she called friends in their time of need. After a visit to Bernine, where she spoke with her father for advice, Auguste solemnly accepted her decision to stand by the side of Eydis and Gunvald. He was proud of his young daughter, for she had grown into a fine young woman, but concerned, for these were times of uncertainty and worry, and the fatherly instincts that had led him to send her away pulled so desperately to keep her by his side. After informing her she always had a home in Bernine and struggling to let her go, Auguste d'Agreste let Emma return to Alovine, to stand by those she called 'friend'.
And so, Emma Claudine d'Agreste returned to Alovine, to support Gunvald and Eydis in whatever way she could.