Briar Amaria Wilkes

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## Personality

Briar is both used to being told she is better than other people, and getting what she wants. As a result she has a confidence that is often unfounded, but also near unflappable. If something doesn’t go her way, she thinks that it isn’t because of some innate flaw, but instead because something is wrong with the world itself. Because of this she often stands firm on her beliefs even though they may be wrong.

This isn’t to say that she isn’t without compassion, however, and tears can often soften her demeanor. This and sob stories can drive her to help you as long as she thinks the end result isn’t too detrimental to the parties involved. A decent amount of her allowance has been spent to help a maid’s sister find a job, or to purchase a friend a new outfit to help them stand out, or things of that nature.

Briar also loves the idea of excitement, and now that her 20th birthday is passed she feels she must live as exciting a life as possible before she gets ‘too old’. Driven by the desire to stand out and be more interesting than she actually is, she seeks out experiences that promise to be exciting, even if they are a little dangerous. She doesn’t seek out death or injury, but often easily underestimates the stakes of an undertaking she decides to pursue. Even when these prove to be too much, however, she’ll insist to herself that she made the right decision, and will pursue her desires with an almost terrifying dedication.

## Biography

Briar was born in Erith Cross, Concordia to a mother, Elisia, who was a member of parliament, and to a father, Gregor,  who was descended from a bloodline of influential merchants that had made their fortune selling spireglass jewelry. Or… this is what she thought until she was 15 years old, and had broken into her mother’s desk only to find documents that proved that she was adopted. The mother that had raised her had proved to be a wild soul in her youth, and her best friend had been an influential fisher.

They eventually parted ways as her mother sought out a position in parliament and settled down and married, while the friend continued her adventurous ways. It was years later that she appeared before Elisia with a child, and begged her to give her baby a life that she would never be able to. Elisia agreed, on the conditions that the child would fully be hers, and that her friend would not try to be a part of her life. This was acceptable, and the friend disappeared to never be seen by the family again.

The 15 year old Briar returned the documents to the secret compartment in the desk, then quietly ran to her room to sort out these complicated feelings that had arisen. Cuddling her King Charles Spaniel, and lying on her bed, she eventually came to the conclusion that she loved the family that raised her despite how absent they often were, and that her birth mother had made the correct decision. On a fisher ship she wouldn’t have the luxuries she’d grown used to, and the dog she adored. She decided to keep the discovery to herself, and decided it only meant that it only proved further that there was a soul of iron and adventure hidden beneath what fools would take for frivolous beauty.

She dedicated herself to being the perfect parliament member’s daughter. She would be sociable, friendly, intelligent. She’d stay aware of Concordia’s current issues, and she would show compassion for those less fortunate. As she grew older, however, she began to notice with frustration that other officials, if they showed interest in the children of Elisia at all, were far more eager to talk to her older sister that her mother seemed most interested in teaching about the inner workings of the government, and who already worked as a secretary for someone of great influence, or they preferred listening to her older brother who was a talented soldier of Concordia. Anxiety set in. Was she treated differently because they knew she wasn’t the blood child of Elisia? Were they writing her off as a child because she lacked life experience?

She dwelled on this, and then decided that she must do something about it. She would find her own path in the world, and would rise to be far greater than either of her siblings. On this train of thought, she decided that she must become a merchant. Merchants were respected in Concordia, she knew that much, and she thought she had a good enough handle on the prices of things that she’d be able to rise in this chosen profession in no time at all, and to add to that she had the vaunted name of her father!

Unfortunately this ended up in her investing in the wrong man, who then ended up running off with all of her money. Her family was furious, and cut off her allowance.

She was humiliated, and thoughts that this wasn’t where she belonged began to spiral in her head. To add to her sorrows, her beloved dog passed away from old age, cutting away even further ties she had to this place.

Thus, she made her decision. It was clear to her now she was destined to become a fisher, but she’d have to go about this with more finesse than she had with her mercantile ideals. Pretending to be the good obedient child on the outside, in secret she found an old retired fisher, and paid him regularly so that he would teach her the secrets of the trade, and help her pass the exam.

As the next 2 years passed, she pawned off jewels, clothes, watches and the like to pay the fisher weekly, and in return he taught her what he knew. Eventually her allowance returned as well, and the fisher enjoyed quite the lucrative retirement. Eventually, with his help, she passed the exam and earned her license, and during the night of a dinner party, she snuck to her room, packed a bag with clothes, food, money, and a letter from her mother, and slept her first night alone away from home, leaving only a note behind for her family’s sake. The very next morning she began her journey  to Fisher HQ, eager to find a job as quickly as possible so that she may reach the goal she had been working towards, and so that she might have a chance to be up and away on a ship before her family could figure out where she’d gone off to.