Esa Nierde

Esa Nierde

Esa Nierde was the only daughter of Rissien and Estrun Nierde. The Nierde family had been the head of a military academy until they were massacred. At the age of eight, Esa became an orphan. Not long, she was picked up off the streets by, Levos Soryn, the leader of a tight-knit guild called Void Voice. Their most famous sign being that of an 'X'. Esa rose in the ranks, being favored and one of the most trusted assassins to get the job done. Eventually, in the underworld, she picked up the title 'Bloody Swan'. Eventually, she was placed by Sibir’s side at the command of the assassin's guild leader as a spy. Later it was revealed that she was an assassin for the Void Voice and has since been under Sibir’s direct order per contract with the assassin's guild.

## Personality

**Post-Civil War**

Esa was the type of woman that will entice one with her erratic behavior or get on one's last nerve with her eccentric sense of familiarity. Especially, towards strangers. She is constantly putting up a happy front and for the most part, she is happy. Devious, but happy.

She usually puts up a friendly front, a general response to let people lower their guard around her. That and she was genuinely just friendly. Though her facade is nothing but a shield. She usually is very guarded with her expressions and her response never wanting anyone to know what she is thinking or feeling. Deep inside, she had loneliness that she could never fill. It was a darkness that followed her everywhere.

Despite her usual friendly demeanor, Esa had always been outgoing and whimsical. Always living on the edge. The more dangerous the situation is, the more she felt alive. It was better than feeling lonely.

Esa is the type of person that tests her boundaries, just to crush them. She’s a bit of a people watcher which enabled her to be very observant. She believes even the littlest movement can give away a person. Because she is observant and because of her experience, she is very analytical and can rationally make the best decisions. Though knowing every decision she makes isn’t perfect, she is easily adaptable. She is very good at taking a step back and seeing things for what it's worth.

But, if she was ever crossed, will be a bitter Vixen with cold, cunning words that aim to hurt.

**After Civil War**

For the most part, Esa continues to be sincerely friendly and very accepting of all. She has kept her usually calm and elegant facade. Though, after losing her memories, Esa has nothing to hold herself back from expressing how she felt. Displeased? She’ll frown. Happy? The corner of her eyes will crinkle from her smile. Sad? She’ll cry. Worried? She’ll bite her lip in her anxiety.

Though just like she kept her friendliness, her loneliness stayed as well. It blossoms more and more and she doesn’t know how to make it go away. Because of this, she tries to go the extra mile to please those around her.

As she is in a world of this unknown, Esa has grown fearful. The fear only grew as she learned that she knows things, bad things. Like, if you hit an artery in a person’s next, they can bleed out in a matter of minutes. Or how there are pressure points that can render a person fairly useless in a fight.  Or how she can conjure up a detailed list on how to make different types of poisons. She has grown a fear that she is a horrible person and fears the bad that she had once done.

Just like fear is a new emotion, so is this sudden brash stubbornness. She can be worse than a mule at times and outwardly show her stubbornness. Heaven forbid if she was ever irritated, it would be written all over her face like an open book.

## Biography

I have a dark history, don’t we all? At one point, I reached a level where life and death meant nothing and I was happy to play with it. I grew up in a small town in Emala. I can tell you, no one will ever utter its name again. Even I have forgotten it. For you see, the town was desecrated eons ago. One will only find the harsh labor of the overgrown earth in its once beautiful glory.

What once stood with pride, was a town that revolved around the workings of my many great, grandparents. It was a place that prospered around its military-like training. It was an academy that turned useless fools into something great. The reputation of this establishment was grand and went far and wide. Elves would pay a high price to graduate from the esteemed academy.

I was born at this establishment. The vastly large mansion that stood in the middle of the lands was once my home. The large yards had been open with many arenas, sparring areas, and the forestry beyond the land limits that made the training all that much fierce. My father was grandmaster, the owner, and a well-respected teacher. My mother was a warrior herself, but her gentle, yet feisty soul, kept the place together as she stood by my father’s side.

It had been a beautiful place. Beautiful and divine.

Though, I must not forget the Nierde Heirloom. A  sword forged with the magic of the land by my father’s forefathers. Father said it’s been thousands of years. Its power wields what the owner truly desires; it will re-shape to the intentions resonating from the wielder. It was named fitting for such a feature ‘Blade of Cenedril’, Blade of Mirror. My father told me that evil had many forms and the blade was forged to defeat them. My father once told me whoever wields it will be my husband, that is if it doesn’t choose me as its mistress. What an irritating fool.

Even so, when I was eight, our village was attacked and I was the sole survivor. No soul lived. Just me and that damn sword. I escaped through the forest and kept going. There was no point in ever going back to a graveyard. My father didn’t raise any damsel, so I was able to live off the land, thankfully.

Often I had thought of throwing the sword out, I hated it. I hated how I used to look up to it. Even more, I hated that it didn’t vanquish the evil that befell its master, my father. I hated everything. I had succumbed to the essence of darkness. I was eight and my whole world turned upside down. Eventually, I came across a city and tried living off the streets. It was unbecoming of a lady, having to steal for food. I was better off in the forest.

But I stayed and that was how I met him, the leader of the assassin’s guild. He called himself Levos. I was taken under his wing. I was trained vigorously. I was tortured, to gain endurance. I was fed poison, to gain immunity. I was forced to do a lot of things to my body to ensure I survived. Most of the time, I wanted to die, but I always ended up prevailing. Despite the temptation of death, I continued living to see another day. I continued to get up, clean my wounds, only to do it over and over again. I was a masochist.

Even after everything, I never once let my sword leave my body. It always hung at my back, like a reminder. It was a reminder of the things I could not prevent. A promise that I will be better. As much as I could fight with it, I never felt like its true mistress.

My main weapon because dual blades. I was taught magic, master focused on one spell, and eventually, even after breaking a lot of bones in my body, I learned it. It was one spell that everyone in the guild had to know. It can render one temporarily weightless. So when jumping from high areas I can land safely on my feet. It is a spell that is very helpful for the assassin’s guild.

I became an emotionless tool, willing to do anything that was required of me. A 'perfect' protege. A 'perfect' assassin. I did many cruel things. You have to in order to ensure survival. After my graduation, my master picked the nickname ‘Bloody Swan’. Something so beautiful that can be tainted by the color of red.

The nickname soon brought fear upon many for I built up a deadly reputation. He gained even more of a reputation with the assassin guild, Void Voice, as I stood by him. I became one of the top ten. During the beginning years at my guild, he came across a journal written in an ancient elven language. He told me to go figure out what it says. So I chased down every linguist I could find and eventually found one who could read it. He helped me translate the book. It was ancient magic. Toberone's Word; four words that activate spells.

I may have learned the words, but learning the magic was harder. I wasn't going to return to the guild until I learned them. I took a year of hiatus from the guild. My master trusted me on my new training mission. In those years, I learned about life outside the guild. This made me a better intel gatherer. I made networks, connections. It was entertaining as well as a turning point in my life. I met many new people and found out there was more to just killing people. I almost didn’t want to return. But I did. I knew I could never run away from the guild, Levos had made sure of that in his twisted ways.

After returning, my master had a job for me. Infiltrate the Bastian kingsmen and gather as much intel as possible. Soon enough, through deep connections, I made it into the castle and worked my way up the ranks to a Grandmaster with special skills that pertained to my actual assassination job. It was ironic that the role I played was the role I was. Though, I never truly displayed my true strength nor my true colors. I only showed just enough to get me where I needed to be. I played this part for years and started to grow attached to the people that surrounded me. To the point that I refused to notate things that might have been important in my reports. I refused to let him have intel that could hurt the people I started to like and this confused me. How dare I betray Levos in favor of Sibir?

Eventually, Levos wanted to make a deal with Sibir during the rebellion and thus, my status and intentions had been revealed. Thus my status changed from grandmaster to Sibir’s assassin. This time, I didn’t hold back my true strength.

After Civil War

In the heat of the Civil War battle, Esa ended up using her body as a shield and was flung far from the battle. During her body’s descent to the grown, she sustained a massive head injury. Her body was never found and was presumed dead.

Though, she is alive. She woke in a refugee camp, barely alive. What had impaled her barely missed her heart. She couldn’t remember anything besides her name. She was nursed back to health and ended up meeting a merchant who was in some sorry state as well. He lost his leg. After they had both healed, the merchant invited her to travel with him until she can remember anything. She agreed.

During her travels, she found that she had a vast amount of knowledge as well as muscle memory with weapons. This made her even more curious about who she was, that is, until she realized that she knew of so many ways on how to kill someone. The knowledge of being able to create poisons was what threw her over the edge. The more she found out, the more she realized she feared what she would discover. She had a bad feeling that she might have been a bad person.

Eventually, she feared traveling around with the merchant. What if she was a wanted criminal? What if she didn’t want to be this bad person? What if she endangered her older friend? Her friend started to realize her fear and eventually made a trade route to the Steppe, now Khanate. There, it was advertised that they were expanding the children’s education and needed creditable teachers. Esa took the opportunity to apply for the position. She knew an outsider like her would be frowned upon, but felt it was safer than figuring who she had been. Her worth eventually had been proven and she now teaches young children general education including different languages.  She wasn’t really welcomed, but she felt reassured that what she was doing was for the overall good. She had been here for the last 3 years.

## Skills

> Cooking: She was forced to learn this at the guild. She can cook a mean Duck Potage.
>
>

> Herbology: She knows how to mix some poisons though that isn't how she usually fights.
>
>

> Horsemanship: She usually can mount just about anything. ;)
>
>

> Swimming: Though she usually isn’t around water, she learned a long time ago.
>
>

> Languages: Read and write Bastin, common, llstari, Elvenor, and more. Can read some words in dark elf.
>
>

> Sewing: She can create her clothing from scratch or alter them. Though it’s a bit of a pain.
>
>

> Tracking & Hunting: She’s used to constantly being on the road and fending for herself.
>
>

> Climbing: She’s can scale walls to mountain terrain. She’s pretty good at this.
>
>

> Dancing: She knows several types of dances ranging from all over the world. It’s said that she is poised and elegant.
>
>

> Acting: Occupational necessity. She can clearly act out any emotion or ab-lib any situation and adapt smoothly to the situation at hand.
>
>

> Sing: She tends to know folklore songs from across the continent. It's more of a hobby.
>
>

## Powers and Abilities

**Shaendraer**: It's a spell that makes the user temporarily weightless so she can jump from any height, over 45 feet, and still land gracefully on her feet. It is a spell engraved in her mind from the assassin's guild. Everyone of the guild had to know it. This magic takes the least amount of magic so she can use this often.

**Illusory Script**: Mask writings/ scripts until one can activate it's true words.

**Shadow message**: Not often used, but she can communicate through a shadow. She'd have to be focus on who she is messaging, have an item of theirs (usually she has hair), and they have to be near a shadow. The dangerous part is that she can't see whose around. She will normally listen then mimic a bird for the person to either take notice,

**Toberone's Word**

*Xet* -
Destabilization: To make one unbalanced. This is activated with a touch. She can manipulate it to lasting seconds to hours. Unless the victim can fight off the spell. The after effects can leave quite the headache.

*Aphyon* -
Disease - Can create a type of corrosion/ disease/ rotting on anything living or not living. She has to touch the object or person and the type of effect depends on what she is touching. The effects will be as big as her hand, if it isn't stopped it it will slowly grow bigger until death. Only light magic can remove it and typically without regeneration, one would have to cut off the dead area that has been effected. It can be avoided by grabbing her wrist. She can only use one hand at a time.

*Elge* -
Super Strength - Can focus a vast amount of strength in her fists or feet. It's been known to shatter vastly large objects or smaller harder objects, like diamond. She can only use it on two limbs at a time.

*Oloth* -
Shadow Manipulation - Able to to become one with the shadows/ night. She can use it to maneuver around, though the shadow has to be touching. She can't teleport from one shadow to the next. She can even linger in a shadow, hiding her presence, until she releases it.

## Weapons

Dual blades, throwing knives(15), and heirloom sword named 'Cenedril'. (Cenedril, is actually a magical sword that chooses it's owner. It just acts like a normal sword. Once it chose's it's owner, it will change forms to mirrors what the wielder wishes. For example, if the user slashes someone, but doesn't want to penetrate them, the sword will be transparent. Rarely, did she ever use Cenedril.) Though after civil war the sword has gone missing.