Name: Shielle Eventide
Age: 131
Class(es): Monk
Race: Moon Elf
Alignment: Lawful Good
Deity: Aeridin
Bio/Description: Background: Commerce fosters wealth, and wealth and nobility go hand in hand; in the elven city of Seldarine, one of the moon elven families, House Eventide, had both. As a minor noble house their influence on a continential level was small, but their successful business dealings with precious arts and jewels left them in a comfortable position in Seldarine itself; well-respected and not lacking of monetary means. The patriarch of the family, Cale'dien, a wizard of some power, had chosen a young sorceress to be his bride - Naellie, the daughter of another Seldarine merchant. Their union not only made beautiful magic, as it were, it also produced three children: Cale'daar, the eldest son, Shielle, the middle sister, and Caenaar, the youngest son. Their upbringing was a pampered and sheltered one, as tends to be the case among many noble houses - they never lacked any material things, and their home was a luxurious one. But as luxury tends to breed laziness and complacence, Cale'dien made certain that such would not be the case. The children were each given private tutors and educated according to tradition, encouraged to embrace their heritage at every step - they were
elves, after all, and their position among Seldarine society demanded that they act as such. Thus, they were taught the necessities of etiquette, history, languages and many other subjects. As the eldest child, Cale'daar was expected to take over the family affairs in the future, a destiny he himself looked forward to and was groomed carefully for. Shielle and Caenaar were on the other hand more free to pursue their own interests, as long as those interests coincided with their parents' wishes; spellcraft. While Caenaar much enjoyed the prospect of willing the energies of the arcane to do his bidding (perhaps even combining it with martial prowess as a bladesinger!), Shielle was not as enthused about the idea, as she had already decided what she wanted to do; enjoy the luxuries of her wealthy upbringing, lounge in the rich gardens of Seldarine and hobnob with others of similar standing. She was a
brat, more or less, and though she humored her parents' attempts at teaching her responsibility, her heart simply wasn't in it. Her father, growing increasingly troubled by her reluctance to actually do something constructive with herself, decided to put his foot down, and restricted her social life severely to make her see reason... which of course did not go over well at all with the young elf maiden. She took to sneaking out instead, becoming rather adept at avoiding the house guards - which of course did nothing to help her situation. Her father grew angered at her disobedience, her mother grew worried and her restrictions became more severe; something had to break, and it probably would have were it not for one particular day that would change her entire life. Shielle had once again managed to find her way out and about, this time outside the city limits to meet her best friend, Miaenna, another daughter of a noble house. They would often spend time together, bemoaning their fates (because as everyone knows, having overprotective parents is the worst thing possible for a young adult, no matter what their race!) and just generally take time away from their families. Unfortunately on this day, disaster would strike in the form of a fallen tree crossing a rapid stream. Though the step of an elf is light, it was not light enough to keep the rotten wood from crumbling away under Miaenna's feet, and Shielle had no choice but to watch helplessly as her best friend was swept away by the waters, her screams for help drowned out by the rush of the river. Shielle was absolutely devastated. Utter shock turned to complete depression and depression turned to self-loathing as it dawned on her just how useless she had been, how weak she was both in body and spirit, and how just meaningless her family's wealth and status really was. Though they could certainly afford the rituals necessary to revive one teetering on the brink of the afterlife, it was futile without Miaenna's body which was never located. Shielle's father chided her for her carelessness, her mother tried to comfort her and her brothers did their best to be supportive, but she sank deeper and deeper into her depression to the point of rarely leaving her room any longer. Time passed and things only grew worse; everyone had come to assume that Shielle had lost her will to live. While her family were doing their best to mend Shielle's broken spirit, she was not quite as defeated as everyone thought. While part of her wanted to just give in to depression and waste away, a stronger side of her knew that for her soul to know peace she would need to atone for her weakness. She left in the middle of the night without telling anyone, leaving only a short note as explanation and apology, but without revealing her destination: La'mune Forest and the Sisters of Rebirth. With the sisterhood, Shielle's spiritual healing could begin in earnest. She told them her story and they took her in - being a follower of Aeridin's faith already, Shielle had seen this as the best way to make amends for her prior mistakes, and although still frail of mind, she was determined to see it through. The adjustment was not easy for her - from a life of luxury and leisure to one of strict rules and regimented training, she found herself constantly pushing her limits and almost broke down on several occasions, though her determination saw her through it all. Her progress was not particularily fast, but it gave her much needed time to heal and find acceptance among the sisters. Though it took several years spent entirely within the forest, she eventually came to peace with her past and began to find her own inner strength through the tutelage of her sisters. So, the soft and pampered Shielle had become a woman with a strength of her own, her life radically changed from what she once knew. She stayed with the sisters still, as she knew there was so much she would need to learn, about herself, Aeridin and the rest of the world. When the call for help came, she would always answer, and helping those in need only confirmed to her that she had done the right thing; this was her place in the world, and meant so much more than the idle material pleasures of a life of wealth. She would likely have stayed on Voltrex her entire life had the call for aid not come from outside - a message from one of the sisters on Mistone reached La'mune, claiming that she had uncovered an evil that she could not defeat alone. The call for volunteers was made, and several sisters - including Shielle - answered it, even though they knew what leaving Voltrex could mean for them. However, as the long sea voyage neared its end, Shielle found herself in a strange dream...
Personality: Shielle is a much changed woman since her youth. Her time in the Sisterhood has opened her eyes to what she believes too many are blind to - the true value of all forms of life, and the benevolence and goodness of Aeridin. Where she once lived her life on a whim, doing what she felt like at any given moment, she now follows a strict code she set for herself with the assistance of the Sisterhood. She sets aside time each and every day to hone both body and spirit through training and meditation, and feels that her progress is confirmation she is doing the right thing. Though she now believes that living an ordered life is key to upholding her beliefs, she holds the tenets of her faith in higher regard than worldy rules and customs. If preventing the loss of life means breaking the laws of a city or telling a lie then it is regrettable, but an acceptable sacrifice to make as long as it does not lead to anything worse happening in the long run. In battle she favors fighting unarmed, as she feels that even though the quarterstaff is a formidable weapon, it reduces the control of just how much force she applies to her blows, making unnecessary loss of life more likely. Personally she is rather easy to get along with, at least if you are another elf. She tends to be amiable and even friendly to most, and like the rest of her Sisterhood does not shy away from offering her assistance if it is needed. However, as she has never met a non-elf, she tends to fall back to the arrogance of her kind as far as other races are concerned; she believes in what she has been told, that elves are the superior race and the other races are primitive in comparison. However, she does not despise them for it - instead, she sees it as the responsibility of her kind to shepherd the "lesser" races. This could lead to her acting rather condescending in an unintentional fashion, even if she means well. Though she is mostly past the tragic incident of her youth, she sometimes tends to space out and become lost in thought - part of her feels as if some scars are never meant to be fully healed.
(As a sidenote, making an anti-social character as my first one proved to be a big mistake, hence my application for second who would actually have a
reason tointeractwith other players!)
New Character: Shielle Eventide 
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