Caelain: Deirdre Faerald

[Cherie]

[Your Information]
Name: Cherie
Contact: this.starlight(at)gmail(dot)com


[Public Application]

Character Name: Deirdre Faerald
Character Age: 15
Gender: Female
Birthday (including year): March 26th, 226
Current Location: Caerthynas, Caelain
House: Faerald

Player Base: Mia Wasikowska
Appearance:

Deirdre has a full, youthful face with round cheeks and a wide smile. She has big brown eyes and long light brown hair that hangs past her shoulders in loose curls. As is typical of her family, she's a little taller than average for a young lady her age, and she has a thin, willowy frame. Deirdre favors bright and bold colors, with a particular fondness for green and blue, and often wears ribbons in her hair and delicate, subdued jewelry with songbird motifs.


Personality: Deirdre is a spirited and kind young woman who's quick to smile and possesses a natural friendliness. She's candid and mirthful, with a cheerful demeanor and a tendency to wear her heart on her sleeve. Though she's very intuitive to the emotions of others and conscientious towards anyone she meets, her political savvy is not as sharp, and she can be quite shortsighted and sometimes very naive about the the shrewder machinations of war or even a royal court. She's talkative, and often can be deft at decorum and charm as a result of her attentiveness to social cues. An idealist at heart, Deirdre firmly believes in seeing the best in both people and situations, but in moments when she feels hurt or her sunny view of the world doesn't come through for her, much of her usual confidence deflates and she loses her typically chatty and open nature.

Passionate about fantastical old tales as well as the more adventurous sagas in history, Deirdre has a fierce pride in her family's long and storied heritage. Though she has no particular talent as a singer, she still enjoys memorizing the bards' songs of the Caelish Isles, and has taken up studying the harp in a homage to her mythical ancestor, the bard-king Faeral. Any sense of coordination this may have granted her notably does not extend to her stitching, and Deirdre's embroidery is clumsy and childish no matter how frequently she practices. One of her greatest loves is dancing, and she has a shining enthusiasm for the art and constant willingness to learn. Deirdre is the sort who amuses easily and can make her own fun when she's in any dull scenario.

As a young woman who loves any chance to break free of her typical routine and meet new people, she thoroughly enjoys the idea of observing a hunt or jousts. An enthusiast of epic poems involving valiant knights and victorious battles, Deirdre has a strong admiration for those who she sees as loyal and true of heart. While she is spontaneous and adapts easily, Deirdre's also very sentimental, and greatly treasures keepsakes that remind her of noteworthy events in her life, like a memorable family dinner with her Faerald cousins or a day she spent exploring her family's castle with her brothers. She has a great love for giving thoughtful little gifts and kind gestures as well as receiving them, and holds any item she sees as a memento dear to her heart. The trunks in her room are filled with old notes and letters, and whenever she picks or receives a flower she insists on keeping it out in a vase as long as she possibly can.

Deirdre is a very dutiful daughter who loves her family dearly and hopes to make them proud. Over the years, she's gained a tendency to frequently write to her loved ones whenever they're away, and has a bad habit of worrying too much about others. Since several members of her family passed away when she was too young to truly know or remember them, Deirdre tries her best to take no one for granted, and holds preserving memories of happier times as a high priority. She always seeks to understand the people in her life and remain close to them.


History: Deirdre was born in the spring of the year 226, her parents' second oldest child and their only daughter. In her youth, she was accustomed to spending time with her brothers, chasing them around her family's grounds and playing games of knights, dragons, and princesses. Though Artur was usually too young and fragile of constitution to contribute much to adventures, she greatly admired both Aiden and Brennan. The Faeralds were a house of both high status and a strong focus on family values, so their children never found themselves wanting and were taught well from a young age.

When Artur was an infant, the reports to trickle in of a pox in Ernsaw, but Deirdre and her siblings were too young to really hear of this or take it to heart. The reality of the situation didn't strike her until two years later, when her father and her grandfather, the head of their house, went to Belleile to visit the queen. Only her father returned. With him, he had brought the grave news that both his father and sister had perished - the plague had spread to the capital. The young Deirdre was jarred out of her previously peaceful childhood by both the sudden loss of two family members and her immediately following change in status as the daughter of the head of House Faerald.

However, Deirdre and her family adapted. The now High Lord Tysilio deftly quelled the paranoia of the inhabits of Great-Caelain, and though there were rumblings of conflict over the isles when Prince Owyn of Dun Eamrath refused to renew his vow of fealty, she and her family had never been the sorts to lose their heads in the chaos. They were Faeralds, descendants of the great Bard-King, and they wouldn't have gained their seat of power in the first place if they weren't capable of handling a crisis. Life had changed, but it continued onward.

None of the previous losses had prepared her for when the plague struck Great-Caelain. A fearful shadow had grown into an immediate threat, and more and more of the people of Caerthynas were being bedridden and eventually expiring. Familiar faces she had seen around the castle since her youth began disappearing, and one such casualty was her youngest brother, Artur. Deirdre was overcome with grief, and over the following months mourned her dear sibling, wishing she would've spent more time with him when she had the chance. She lost an uncle around the same time, and it begun to feel like just about anyone could be snatched away from her without a moment's notice.

Though she felt pride for her father when he departed the next year to lead a campaign against the lords who would rebel her family's rule, she was also gripped with anxiety. She knew little about the workings of a plague, but it was clear even to her that he had risked exposure many times with his travels back and forth to Belleile, and heading off to battle had only compounded the risk of his life. Her brothers were old enough that they had studies to focus on as future lords, and there was no more running in fields with a silly little sister. These days, there were greater concerns. Instead, she grew closer to her mother, and began to understand the strength a noblewoman must have.

The Faerald family would never forget those that passed, and Deirdre still felt sorrow that she hadn't had a chance to grow closer to her departed kin, but in the meantime, she intended to bring her family pride in their honor. Deirdre was still a child, but this was when she began to feel that she must grow up some day. The time for idle play had ended, and she was expected to eventually become a young lady. She would have to be brave, for while bravery had not saved Artur's life, it had steeled her family to move forward.

There were great knights in legends, who were both kindly and supportive as well as valiant and true. She would learn from their example, arming herself with resolve but never allowing herself to lose faith or become overcome with sorrow again. Her eldest brother, Aiden, had grown distant over the years, but Deirdre refused to be daunted. She continued to seek strong friendships with her two remaining brothers, and remained close to her parents.

As the reports of deaths dwindled to an end, it was as if a weight had been lifted off of her. She had grown in the midst of a blight, and though she had never lost hope that it would end, the kingdoms of Forsilvra as a whole had been becoming accustomed to death. Deirdre was now a woman, just in time to embrace a new age where it felt like anything was possible. In the peace, her good cheer had more than returned, and though the old conflict with the Cemric princes had reared its ugly head again, she had faith that it would be swiftly dealt with.

Deirdre had been enamored with with tales of knights and ladies ever since her youth. However, her sense of romanticism had rarely extended to actual romance outside of the vague ideals of chivalric courtship that occurs in the epilogues of a legend. Though she believed it sounded lovely and had entertained the idea of it, it always felt like a faraway notion to worry about later, especially in the grips of a plague. Now, however, she's begun giving the notion far more thought, and is ready to seek out suitable match that will hopefully make both her and her family happy.


Writing Sample: The sun dappled meadows surrounding Great-Caelain's Keep of the Harp were as familiar to Deirdre as her own bedroom. She'd spent so many clear-skied afternoons there, her legs tucked under brightly dyed chiffon skirts as she distracted herself with a pretty little book stolen away from the castle library, or perhaps her harp clutched in the crook of her arm and she practiced a particularly difficult note, needlework lying abandoned in the grass a yard away. Her typical routine was serene and often lackadaisical, usually a welcome respite from inside the castle walls, which for the last several years had been burdened with news of sickness and war wherever she turned.

Today, a golden day after the purported end of the plague, was entirely different. In her growing excitement for the ball, she had difficulty even feigning an interest in stitches, and her maids had been particularly relentless in keeping her busy with preparations and avoiding any chance for frivolity - though for once, there was little threat of that. Deirdre's attempts at light reading the night before were quashed when she found herself rereading the same stanza of poetry over and over again, until she'd finally given up. After all, it was far more difficult to amuse herself imaginary adventures when she was about to embark on one of her own.

Before the plague had torn apart the five kingdoms, Deirdre supposed that celebratory balls like this had to have been more common. Her previous visits to the capital had been merry, but they had been so long ago that she could hardly remember them. Thusly, the upcoming festivities were less a familiar reprieve for the young lady than a exciting new world to uncover. She was well-acquainted with the noble houses of her family's own isles, and had quite enjoyed social affairs among them, but the idea seemed like mere child's play compared to meeting the noble houses from all over the kingdoms of Forsilvra - not to mention the royal twins themselves!

She sighed wistfully, turning back from the window and glancing back at her quarters, where one of her handmaidens, a stocky, fairhaired girl named Muriel, was storing gowns in a trunk for the upcoming journey. There would be no more opportunities for lazy afternoons in the Caelish fields before she would embark. She took a seat next to her maid to assist, a nostalgic smile spreading across her face.

Muriel spoke up at her sudden sudden involvement. "My lady, you needn't trouble yourself-"

Deirdre waved her concerns off gaily. "It's no trouble at all." Though she doubted her help would get her family on a ship any faster (oh, how she loved the sea!), it was nice to feel as though she were a part of the process instead of simply giving directions. She glanced down at a velvet dress she'd begun folding, albeit more clumsily than Muriel's practiced hands could have done. "I suppose we'll probably purchase new dresses in Belleile, so that I'm up to date with the current Forsilvra fashion... But I'd like to bring several of my older ones, too. The seamstresses of Great-Caelain deserve recognition." She picked out a emerald green frock to top off the selection. "It feels so strange to be leaving. I don't think I've ever been away so long. I hope I don't get homesick." She glanced over at her maid, sheepish. "Look at me, prattling on when you're trying to get something done."

"It's fine, my lady," Muriel insisted. "You'll miss the keep. Everyone does. But I have no doubt that you'll enjoy yourself in the capital."

"Thank you, Muriel." Deirdre beamed, sitting up to help her maid reach a shift in her wardrobe. There would be shopping, and dancing, and jousts, and even the royal family themselves. It would be as grand as a legend, she felt quite sure of this. As she clasped the trunk closed, there was a sense of finality to the gesture. The young Lady Deirdre Faerald's days would no longer be lazy and purposeless. It was time for her to go out and see the new world, reborn from the death and fear of the last decade, and filled to the brim with hope and promise.


[Time Line Events]
226: Deirdre Faerald is born.
228: Her younger brother, Brennan Faerald, is born.
230: Her youngest brother, Artur Faerald, is born.
231: The plague begins.
233: Her grandfather, Lord Maereus Faerald and the previous High Lord of Great-Caelain, dies of plague, as does her aunt, Queen Corenna Faerald of Forsilvra. In the wake of her grandfather's death, her father, Tysilio Faerald, assumes lordship over the Caelish Isles. The Cemric princes refuse to renew their oaths of fealty to Caerthynas and raid Weallan during the ensuing chaos of the plague, leading to a power struggle on the isles that continues to this day.
234: Her uncle, Haluin Faerald, and then her youngest brother, Artur Faerald, die of plague.
235: The plague sweeps through the Caelish Isles. Her father leads a campaign against the princes of Cemria, but despite their loss and renewed oaths Prince Owyn of Dun Eamrath and his allies continue to raid Weallan.
240: The plague ends.
241: Present year.


  - Maereus Faerald -- Unnamed Wife
    - Tysilio Faerald -- Elwen Kyffin
      - Aiden Faerald
      - Deirdre Faerald
      - Brennan Faerald
      - Artur Faerald
    - Corenna Faerald Fontenot
    - Haluin Faerald
    - Sir Calhad Faerald -- Unnamed wife
      - Florys Faerald (twin)
      - Niece Faerald (twin)
  - Aemrys Faerald -- Rhona Kyffin
    - Sir Teodor Faerald -- Elisa Tanear
    - Sir Kaye Faerald -- wife
    - Matildis Faerald -- husband
  - Donnar Faerald -- wife
    - Sir Uthaer Faerald -- Annalisa Alysworth
      - Lyneth Faerald
      - Thelyn Faerald
    - Gwynver Faerald
    - Wylfred Faerald -- wife
      - more cousins

[Marty]

Very good. I approve.

[Lyneth Faerald]

Approved!

[Jenn]

Lovely!!!! Approved! <3