Florine

"I must.... Keep fighting."

## History Before Arriving in the Hales

### Childhood

Florine grew up as an orphan, and was taken in by an Andophist priestess who headed an orphanage. She grew up mischievous, often picking fights with other children including those who were bigger and stronger. Although she would sometimes lose such fights, she would almost always win the next fight.

After coming around her adolescence, she fled the orphanage and took to the streets.One day, she encountered a woman clad with armor, and a sword by her side. She had looked onto this woman, and felt something grow inside of her.

From that time on, she had decided on a lifestyle that she initially thought would be suitable for her.

### Life as a self-proclaimed mercenary in Latora

She took on many jobs, although the vast majority of them were simply her watching over farms for wolves and other harmful animals for little pay.

She, however, took one major job where she hunted down a rapist. She managed to succeed, and received a large reward as a result.

Although she had thought to herself that she enjoyed her life as a mercenary, she had secretly desired something more.

Over the course of several years, she had taken on small jobs. One night, in an inn, she had heard about an invasion of the Hales from the Grey Isles. Upon hearing of this conflict, she had quickly come to a decision to travel to the Hales, as she believed she would find greater work there as opposed to Lauchette.

Over the course of several months, she had saved enough money for passage to the Hales. Little did she know, it would be a one-way trip.

## Her Time in the Hales

### Life as a self-proclaimed mercenary in the Hales

Once she had arrived in the Hales, she wondered around the streets of Aedwin, speaking to the locals and getting a better knowledge of the area.

She would search for acceptable bounties, and search for work, but to no avail.

One day, Florine and a friend were traveling on their way back to Aedwin, but were captured and held hostage by The Brotherhood. They stayed put, fearing their lives were coming to a close. The next day, when the Aedwinian army laid siege to the camp and killed all Brotherhood members, and made their escape. Florine looked upon their saviors, and an idea began to form in her head.

### Life as a cheap mercenary for Aedwin

A few days after she was freed from the Brotherhood, she sought out King Vince and offered her services. Initially, they did not want to hire her, but after she had sweetened the deal, they begrudgingly accepted her into their ranks.

Her time as a mercenary for Aedwin did not last long. She was offered no active role, was often ridiculed by other Aedwinians due to her poor combat performance in duels, and was mostly ignored. She would often go hungry for days on end.

One day, Theutrich had suddenly approached her to retrieve him a halberd from Hallengard. Hesitantly, she agreed and travelled to Hallengard.

The guards had denied her access to a Halberd, after repeated requests. Eventually, Theutrich arrived and took a Halberd for himself, frustrated with her. Florine stood there in the Hallengard castle keep, fists clenched.

### Life as a soldier of Hallengard.

The same day that she had failed her job, she found King Sion. She had offered her services to him, only this time the conditions were to simply give her a loaf of bread each day. Sion eagerly accepted this offer, and so she would serve as a soldier until the time of her death.

She had experienced many pleasant and horrifying moments during her life as a soldier. While she began to make a lot of friends, and got well acquainted with the other soldiers, she began to develop strong feelings for Sion over several months. Florine, since then, promised herself that she would let nothing happen to Sion.

## Final Days: Siege of Hallengard

After returning from a quest in which she had found a new batch of throwing knives, she was commanded by a group of Aedwin commanders to gather near the main gate.

She was confused what was going on at first, but when she saw the distressed faces of the Aedwin soldiers, constant yelling from the commanders, and the sound of a horn going off, she began to panic. Eventually, she had calmed down just enough to brace herself of what was about to come. Unfortunately, no one could have been prepared for what was about to come,.

A series of battles against the Brotherhood had occurred, where many had died. Florine had done her best to treat injured comrades, and was often reckless when she wanted to ensure the safety of those she cared about.

After the second wave was routed, she had become very injured. She laid in a bed as she grasped her wounds in pain, with a growing desire to not remain bed ridden.

Once she heard news of another wave arriving, she found the strength to make one last stand against the Brotherhood. She grabbed her bow, and limped to the battlefield, where she would continue to fire more shots at the incoming invaders.

> "*I must... Keep fighting...*"
> ― Florine
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Once The Brotherhood and their allies broke through the gate, she had become even more injured. She had clashed with several soldiers, wounding her tremendously. She limped to nearby house, and hid until she would have the chance to strike at them again. She grew weaker by each passing moment, until she finally realized that she was not going to make it out of this war alive. Still, she would resume fighting once the Hallengardian reinforcements arrived, providing covering fire and engaging in direct combat.

Once the fighting had ceased, and the Hallengardians were victorious, she had collapsed. Her breathing began to shorten, and her heart began to slow down. She was still concious, but could not hear the voices around her. Her vision began to darken, and soon everything was pitch black.

Florine was sitting on a tree stump, in an endless plain covered by mist. A figure began approaching her from beyond the mist. He stood directly in front of her, as he reached his hand to her. He spoke in a calm, loving voice, but the words he spoke was not decipherable at first.

Florine sat there, staring directly at the silhouette. For a moment, she could not move nor find the strength to respond. However, the figure's face became visible by each passing moment, and she soon realized who this figure was.

Florine found the strength to say a final series of words before she would pass on.

> "*....Let's go together.....*"
> ― Florine, whispering her final words.
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