Factions, Families, Clans, and Empires

Description

Personality

Personality: Raised to be a compassionate and comforting presence, Kaena has an irrepressible sarcastic side. Using it as a defense mechanism, she keeps herself from being taken in by thieves and conmen. She is careful to keep this side of herself from patients, as it’s not generally considered good bedside manner.
She will also typically treat strange people with indifference until getting to know them better, as an automatic defense mechanism.
She can be kind and caring, but the person on whom that little honour is bestowed has to earn her trust first, and maintain a place in her good books. Or be severely wounded, either one.
She does have something of a temper, something she works to keep under control. However, she will occasionally let it slip, and it’s generally considered better to avoid letting her get quite that angry. 



Pastimes: Reading, practicing her flute-playing, travelling, and recording her journey in a journal for posterity.



Weaknesses: Kaena’s sarcastic nature often forms a barrier between her and potential friends, rather than a bridge. She is highly suspicious of strangers who approach her out of the blue, having been warned repeatedly not to trust anyone to readily. It is because of this that she travels alone, relying on her fighting skills to keep her safe from highway robbery.

Equipment

Weapons: Two anelace, each appearing as shown here. http://pics.myarmoury.com/view.html?con ... lian06.jpg]

Supplies: Besides the typical bedroll, clothing, and rations, Kaena also carries medical and religion-oriented supplies in a brown leather utility belt around her waist.

Medical - (kept on the left side of the belt) Scalpel, bandages, mortar and pestle, common healing herbs, small book of healing notes, etc.

Religious - (kept on the right side of the belt) Set of two silver bracelets engraved with ritualistic symbols, facepaint needed for rituals, small reference book for ritualistic proceedings, small religious book with passages to be read during rituals, etc.

History

History: Kaena was born in Hadar, to a strongly religious merchant family. As a baby, she was brought by her parents to the Temple of Iyanu to be blessed and consecrated as a member of the sect. At the age of five, she was given over into the care of the priestesses, along with twenty other girls her age, in the hope that she would someday grow up to become a religious leader at the temple.

As she grew, Kaena was taught the principles of religion, as well as self-defensive fighting from her superiors, using the anelace - a sharp, double-edged blade - one in each hand. She studied hard, and proved to be a good scholar, maintaining high status in her classes. By age 15, she was named a Junior Priestess, meaning she took an active role in religious ceremonies and rituals, short of leading them herself, as that’s a job for the Senior Priestesses.

Once a girl has held the position of Junior Priestess for two years, she is allowed to leave the temple for five years as part of a sabbatical. She is to use this time to observe the outside world and learn about it as much as possible. However, she must return to the Temple from which she started at the end of those five years or be forever excommunicated and disowned by her family and peers.

Kaena is now two years into her time away. Back in Hadar briefly, to make a report on her progress, she will be leaving quite soon. With no specific destination, she will merely wander, although something inside her suggests going North. She doesn't know why, but North seems the direction to go.

Family:
Dekall Veresh (father)

Maestallah Shinsin-Veresh (mother)

Kirio Veresh (older brother)

Kolun Veresh (older brother)

As a priestess-in-training, Kaena was allowed limited contact with her family, on religious holidays and occasions when she had finished with her duties. She is especially close to her oldest brother Kirio, sparring with him and Kolun whenever possible. Her mother worries about her fighting; understandably, she doesn’t want anything to happen to her only daughter. Her father places heavy importance on status and position, taking pride in Kaena’s accomplishments.