Ava

**Ava** was a villager from Yatski in the Kingdom of Elphegort and a soldier serving under Earl Quentin Felix. The daughter of the village chief, the young woman fled from her home with her crush Clark and their friend Eater after discovering that Ava's father was plotting to frame Clark for murder. Delivering them to safety in the capital, Ava reported her family's misdeeds to Earl Quentin Felix and became part of the noble's army.

## History

### Early Life

Ava was born in the Kingdom of Elphegort in EC 477, the daughter of the Yatski village chief. Growing up in the small village, Ava's mother died of illness while she was a small child and her midwife and their husband took care of Ava instead. When the couple later left for Aceid, the girl learned that they owned an inn in the capital city.

Growing up, she fell in love a Netsuma boy who was abused by the other villagers, Clark. As time progressed, Ava became frustrated by both her father's corruption and by the constant mistreatment of her friend Clark. Hearing tales of the famed swordsmen Leonhart Avadonia and Gast Venom, the girl dreamed of becoming a powerful knight; to this end, she began learning swordplay from her cousin Eugen sometime during the EC 490s. As she grew older, Ava learned how to traverse the dangerous cliff paths to the north of the village.

### Taking A Stand

In the summer of EC 499, Ava met and befriended a newcomer to the village, Eater Sabella, visiting him as he lived with Clark and using the opportunity to get closer to the latter. One day, she approached Clark while he was walking home from the farm fields, congratulating him on his work and awkwardly chatting with him about the upcoming harvest festival. As they talked, they were joined by Eater, and Ave warmly greeted him before chatting more about the festival. Shortly after, she bid the two men farewell and left.

Months later, in November of that year, Ava discovered that her father had poisoned Eugen for trying to divert his embezzled money into illegal channels. The chief then claimed that Clark had done it out of resentment for Eugen treating him cruelly; as some of the villagers got ready to arrest the Netsuma man, Ava rushed to his home and warned both him and Eater. After quickly explaining the situation, he led the three of them along the northern cliff paths to safety.

Once they had gone far enough, the three took a break and Clark fell asleep, exhausted. Alone with Eater, Ava continued explained the situation with the village chief, as well as how the other villagers had treated Clark cruelly for years. Frustrated and ashamed of her father, she added that she planned to report everything to Earl Quentin Felix. In turn, she learned that Eater and Clark planned to start a new life in Aceid, stating her approval and admitting that Eater was a better friend for Clark, while Ava herself had room to improve as she was now.

After they rested, Ava led them the rest of the way to Aceid and brought them to the inn that her adoptive parents ran. After explaining their circumstances and making sure that Clark and Eater were properly settling in, she said her farewells and left for Toragay. There, she met with Quentin at his mansion and told him what had occurred in Yatski. As a result, her father was arrested and Ava joined the Elphegortean army with the earl's recommendation.

### The Brave Soldier

Ava spent the next few months honing her skills as a soldier. Later on, Ava heard from her adopted father that Clark and Eater had been hired as servants for the Freezis Family. On December 28, EC 499, Ava requested to accompany Quentin on his trip to visit Keel Freezis in Aceid, acting as his bodyguard. With her master, she traveled to the Freezis mansion and, with Keel still away on business affairs, stood by while the earl awaited his return. Once the earl requested that Clark and Eater specifically wait on them, the three were reunited; upon Keel's return, they were ushered out to not disturb the meeting.

After Ava caught them up about what had happened to her father, she proudly spoke of how she had become a part of the military, confiding in the two men her childhood dreams of being a knight. Soon after she did, the meeting concluded and Keel and Quentin came out into the hallway; once it was time to leave, Ava heard Clark shout out a thanks for his help and she was moved to tears, wiping her eyes briefly before returning to Toragay with the earl.

During the Green Hunting in EC 500, Ava was part of the unit deployed to defend Yatski from the invading Marlon army. While defending the village, they were overwhelmed by the attacking forces and the survivors retreated into the Millennium Tree Forest. Returning to the village soon after, Ava saw Eater and Clark being attacked by several Marlon soldiers and intervened, holding them back until the two men fled.

Catching up to them soon after, Ava explained her plans to lure the soldiers away while the other two escaped deeper into the forest; splitting up with them again, Ava lured away the soldiers and, cutting the tendons of their horses, managed to evade capture and meet back up with her friends. The three then began heading towards the well that hid Keel's secret safehouse in order to hide Eater, Ava explaining how she ended up back in Yatski.

Before they reached the well, they were alerted to the soldiers and their reinforcements, and Ava watched as Clark decided to take Eater's cloak and act as a decoy. After slipping Eater a sleeping pill, Ava carried the unconscious man to the hideout and hid him inside; at some point during this, she was shot by an arrow and fatally wounded. When Ava tried to leave the well and go find Clark, she collapsed due to blood loss, succumbing to her injuries and bleeding to death.

## Skills and Abilities

Although born as a common villager, Ava practiced her swordsmanship from an early age under her cousin's tutelage. After being recruited into the Elphegortean army, she took formal sword training lessons and honed her skills. Through this, she developed an impressive stamina, able to move quickly for long streteches of time even while wearing heavy armor.

Likewise, Ava had an aptitude for thinking on her feet, able to quickly make solid plans while under massive pressure. This was especially useful in combat and helped the soldier take on multiple opponents at once. Due to the bravery and dedication she developed, Ava was relentless while fighting and had a high endurance even when seriously injured.

## Character Connections

Clark Netsuma: Ava's crush. She grew to deeply care about Clark as they grew up, developing feelings for the man and treating him kindly, though she struggled to prevent his mistreatment at the hands of the other villagers. Ashamed of this, Ava's love for Clark led to her resolving to become a better swordswoman in order to protect him, and she later defended him until her death.

Eater Sabella: A friend of Ava. Getting to know him during their time in Yatski, she became close friends with Eater and saw him as a good influence and friend for Clark. Ava was able to confide in Eater her guilt and shame over not protecting Clark, and defended him as well during the Green Hunting.

Yatski Village Chief: Ava's father. She grew contemptuous of her father for his treatment of Clark and his embezzlement of Earl Felix's money. Although she initially felt too powerless to go against him, Ava gathered her courage to do so after learning that Clark was likely going to be killed by him.

Eugen: Ava's cousin. Ava had a regular familial relationship with Eugen, though grew closer to him after he started teaching her how to use a sword. Regardless, she occasionally thought of killing him to protect her crush Clark from his abuse.