Melenis Stormgate

DM Handle Jehaine
==Description==
Eye Color: Grey
Hair Color: Dark Brown
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 116 Lbs
Age: 21
Place of Origin: Far Madding
==Stats==
Rank: Tower Guard
Warder Weapon Score: 12
Paths and Disciplines: Me'Arearth/Path of Knowledge
Primary Weapon: Naginata
Secondary Weapon: Hand to Hand
Tertiary Weapon: Not yet chosen
==History==
Melenis stands at 5 ft 8, and weighs about 116 pounds. She has dark brown hair and grey eyes, combined with a lightly tanned complexion on fair skin. Her hair, when undone, reaches down to halfway between her shoulder blades, but she usually keeps it in a bun held in place with a small strip of ribbon, in to the Far Madding style. She keeps several locks on the left side of her face hanging free free, which fall down as sidebangs to about ear level.
From her training, she has developed an athletic build, and even though it primarily focuses on speed she has a good deal of stamina to back it up, making her quite cabable of taking a few blows before stopping. Being mostly self-taught however, she lacks the finesse of other bladesmen, though she'd be able to give someone a good run for their money.
Clothing: 
The clothes Melenis wears are usually a mixture of yellow and brown cloths, combined with some accessories in shades of blue, like the thin ribbon she wears in her hair. She also has a leather breastplate, which she wears under her robes for added protection to her vital organs.
She also wears dark brown studded leather boots and fingerless gloves, both reinforced with pieces of petrified wood to protect her ankles and the back of her hands respectively. Due to the hardness of the material, she can also use it to deflect other weapons, though outright blocking would hinder her fighting style too much.
It should be noted that Amaya always carries a tattered diary with her, but is never seen writing in it. It is the last link she has to her family, and she'll never give it to someone else.
And yes, she'll probably hurt you for asking. And kill you for subsequently bleeding on it.
Personality: 
Having learned to keep her emotions safely hidden away from her training, Melenis would appear to have no noticeable emotions. Upon closer inspection, one can find hints of an underlying optimism, though one would have to make effort in spotting it on her. Being seen as the personification of Coldness, her actions generally appear to be based on rational thought, and although she'd look out for the people in her group she'd be inclined to leave people behind if it'd increase the chances of success, herself included.
Strangely enough, Amaya isn't introvert. She doesn't mind people near her, as long as they don't try to interfere with what she's doing that is. She is both confident in her abilities as she is courageous, and is a clever and imaginative thinker when it comes to tactics, but her seemingly constant indifference on a social level remains a dominant factor in her personality.
Simply put, she couldn't care less about you.
Philosophy: The Flame and the Void
Discipline: Me’Arearth
Path: Path of Knowledge
Primary Weapon: Naginata
Secondary Weapon: Hand to Hand
Tertiary Weapon: (none)
Weapon Notes:
Melenis' naginata is called 'Yukikaze', after the family name of her grandfather. The shaft is red, measuring six feet in length, with the top eighteen inches being copper colored with some simple decorations on it. Above that, where the blade meets the tang, a shakudo tsuba can be seen that both decorates the fitting as well as protects the hands of the wielder during combat. The blade itself is slightly wider than the average naginata blade, and measures three feet in length. Rather than being smooth however, irregular serrations run along the back of the blade up to the tip, and the blade itself is slightly curved.
Just below the tsuba, a strip of white cloth is tied of about three feet in length also, but this has been an addition her grandfather had made back when he had owned the weapon as a family heirloom, and it was a tradition Melenis simply decided to keep up though she is unaware why the addition was made. Also, on the other end there is a counterweight to the blade in the shape of two metal rings in the same color as the staff itself, which can optionally be used for attacking as well.
Brief History:
Melenis was born in Far Madding on the 24th of Choren, 979 NE. Her mother had died giving birth to her, and the young girl ended up being the only girl in the house, which she'd share with her father and grandfather. Despite the less-than-favorable position men in Far Madding had, her father did his best working on various odds and ends, taking him away from home more often than not. As a result, Melenis spent a lot of time with her Arafellin grandfather, who practically raised her on his own. 
He had been an officer in the Arafellan army once, and Melenis truly loved him. The man was a warrior however, and as such knew little about how to raise a girl. Thus, Melenis was taught the same warrior disciplines her grandfather had been raised on, which she eagerly followed. While she of course lacked in strength compared to a man, the discipline she was taught focused more on speed and stamina given that the Arafellin preference for dual weapon combat, and she used that to compensate.
She learned the Flame and the Void as other girls her age learned to manage a household, and played Stones as others played with dolls. Her father was at this point gone for increasingly longer periods of time, and because of this, Melenis never really felt a connection between him and herself, certainly not to the extent of the common bond she felt with her grandfather. 
Unfortunately, the Wheel turns on, and one morning her grandfather did not wake up at the crack of dawn like he always had. Thinking he overslept, Melenis tried to wake him, but got increasingly worried when she could not. Still in her nightclothes, she ran out on the street, nearly breaking down the neighbours' front door in her panic. A hurriedly summoned healer could do little else than confirm the old man had died peacefully in his sleep.
That, in the absence of her father, the neighbours had to help with the burial was only a small blow in comparison.
Yet, the hardest blow was still to come. A few months later, news had spread about a circle of Darkfriends having been apprehended, and one of them turned out to be her father. He had even confessed his sins, explaining that his duties as a Darkfriend had been taking an increasing amount of time as his standing rose. After his confession had been written down, he was sent to the gallows along with the others.
That day, Melenis swore to herself that she'd restore her grandfather's name. That this was the last time she'd appear weak, and unable to control her emotions. The Flame and the Void would be the names of her new home, and she'd honor the teachings she had been given. Though Far Madding born, she was Arafellin raised, and shared their views on honor and duty. Going up into the attic, she took her grandfather's naginata out of its rack. Slinging the weapon on her back, she then walked to her grandfather's grave, buried next to his daughter, and swore the same oath she had sword to herself earlier that day. To restore the honor of her family name as descedants of his.
Her grandfather's teachings, written in a old and tattered diary, were the only thing she had to go by. He had been too aged by the time she would have been able to spar with him, and although she had spent a great deal of time working on the basics, she had little in the way of actual combat experience and weapon usage, but from the stories written in the diary she had learned about the White Tower. Though there weren't a lot of Aes Sedai in Far Madding -- something to do with not being able to channel -- she read about the skill of their Warders. If there would be someone able to give her the skill she required to cleanse her family's honor, it would be them.
Picking up her sparse belongings, she said her goodbyes to the neighbours that had taken her in after her grandfather had died, and started heading for the Ajalon Bridge that would take her to Caemlyn, and then, Tar Valon.
Category:Warder Bios