Nereida Dorean

**Nereida Dorean** is a Homini gladiator and later Dux introduced in Asphodel. *(Played by Captain Whitehawk.)*

## Biography

### *Pre-Asphodel*

In a civil war between Homini forces (the bloodbath later called Adwendo), her parents would find their deaths.  As he lay dying, her father begged his captain to take care of his only daughter.  She's little, he said, she will have no parents and die alone without home or hearth.  Moved and at least a little guilty, the captain agreed and took the little Nereida into his care.

Nereida grew up around soldiers. It was a rough and tumble life spent mostly on the roads traveling between town and fief, hard at work or stuck in command tents as strategists and military officials debated tactics.  There were few books, but plenty of hands-on experience to be had as her guardian would not allow coddling, nor sweet talk, nor quiet.  She would learn to break her back under the sun and burst blisters on sword pommels.  Though her parents had died on the field, Nereida would not.  Her guardian made sure of that, raising her up as a gladiator and commander among his forces.

It was a hard, and perhaps somewhat bitter upbringing. Nereida would have just as much liked a kind word as she would another round of work to prove herself by, but from her guardian she learned this much: words were careless treats thrown to foolish dogs without enough sense in their heads to notice petty gifts.  If she was truly strong, she would have no such need of appreciation.  Steady she would be then.

When her guardian met his end in sickness on the road, he had love enough to name her his successor.  But hard, cold, and unsure, she had not love enough to know how to put her devotion to words, and he died before she could admit him as father, mentor, teacher.  She buried him in the rain.

Spieti has always been the fief she called home.  By all rights, it's a fief that belongs to a real commander, but the Lord that sits on its throne now knows nothing of war or control.  Nereida has no intention of letting him have it any longer.

## Physical Appearance

Standing at about 5'6"-5'7" and 130 lbs, Nereida is toned, muscular, and broad-shouldered. Her brows are thick, her eyes deepset, her chin small and pointed. Her skin is a washed out brown, her eyes ochre. Nereida keeps her nails stubs and avoids smiling.

Since claiming the Duxship, Nereida is almost never seen out of armor.

## Personality

Somewhere between forceful, catty, aggressive, and short-sighted.

**PERSONALITY TYPE:** ESFP // 3w4 8w7 6w5 // SX/so //

## Relationships

* **Artos Polemistis** [Guardian] -- Feelings for him are ... complicated.  Were she a little more self aware, she'd probably understand that she loves him.  As it is, it's hard to reconcile his emotional unavailability with the affection she wanted from him.  Resentment is what she'd say she primarily feels for him.
* **Amery Vinkielle** [Fellow ward, adopted sibling] -- Given the great haste and concern with which Artos swooped him up, Nereida's regarded the younger boy first with jealousy, and later with some degree of loathing. Through no effort of his own, Amery claimed the love from Artos that she'd always wanted.
* **Phaedra Kairis** [Friend/On-and-off Lover] -- Phaedra has been a part of Artos' troop since she was a child, much like Nereida. Proximity had kept them bosom friends for many years and, as they bloomed into teenagers, each others firsts for many things. Phaedra has been Nereida's faithful defender and confidant since she was small, and though she has never asked for much, she has always wanted the assurance of Nereida's heart. Nereida's sudden rise to power has left Phaedra quite neglected.
* **Ashura Ferald** [Friend, Peer] -- When they were children, Ashura's position as a Lord's son and Nereida's as Artos' successor had frequently placed the two as companions while their parents talked vital matters of state. When they were children, his pleasant demeanor was easy crush-material. As teens, acting on impulse was innocent and had virtually no consequences. Now that they're adults with responsibilities, those latent feelings are dangerously unprofessional.

## Weapon

Like her guardian, she has been raised to fight with a gladius.

## Trivia

* Nereida's Spotify playlist.
* Nereida has dyscalculia.