Heyla! For all of you that wanted to know about me, here's a bunch of information. Not only about me, but there is some about my friend Erik. When I get around to it, I'll add some more about Ceylan. Hope you and enjoy!
Jessa
I, Jessa Voudron was born and brought up in the town of Cordor, near the Valdemaran and Karsite border. My parents are horse breeders, and very successful. The family home is a small cottage(five rooms) adjacent to a large horse barn. My special horse was a dark chestnut named Firefly. I spent most of my time with her before I was Chosen.
My family is of average size, with two parents and two daughters. My sister’s name is Leanna, and she is two years younger than me. She shows artistic talent, and may someday become an artist in Haven. I love my family very much, and always make it a point to visit them on holidays.
I finished with my schooling the summer I was Chosen. I had completed the eight grade, and my parents couldn’t afford to enroll me as an Unaffiliate(Blue) in Haven. I was slowly learning the art of combining equine bloodlines, and I probably would have lived my life as a horse breeder(and a damn good one, if I can be forgiven some vanity). But when Ceylan showed up, I got to finish schooling anyway!
I was born on the first day of Winter, and my parents joke that my Whites are a fitting attire for the season I was born in. I was Chosen about three months before my thirteenth birthday, at the height of summer. Riding for a week under a boiling sun en route to Haven was not my idea of a picnic, I can tell you! But the thrill of becoming a Herald was more than enough to make the journey bearable.
I am of middling height, about 65 or 66 thumb lengths(inches). I am a very slim young woman, with a heart-shaped face and pale complexion. Some friends tell me I give off a aura of the breakable that many take as information that I am not a fighter(and boy, are they wrong). My whites are my clothing, of course, but when off duty or visiting my home, I generally wear merc-type outfits, minus the chain mail. I am very partial to small jewelry and brightly colored scarves(even though I can’t wear it when I’m on circuit). I have long reddish-brown hair that cuts off at the middle of my back. It’s very versatile(to my great delight). Tendrils curl around my ears when my hair is tied, and when it’s loose, they frame my face.
My hair is my one vanity(sigh). An entire half of my dresser at the Collegium is filled with accessories. Bright ribbons, all colors, and all materials. Long, silky scarves that are braided in, or wound around buns, or just tumble down my back. Nets of all sizes, most of them in subtle colors, but some are as brightly colored as the scarves. Small snaps in many shapes that snap onto small locks. Tiny clips, generally in brown or black that secure escaped tendrils. Headbands worn with the snaps. Large barrettes that hold Polyannas or Chignons in place. Claws that serve the same purpose. Three sizes of brushes, and four types of combs. Special shampoos and conditioners that are imported from Rethwallen. I can duplicate any hair style that I’ve seen, and I generally create new styles about once a month.
I am not a loud person, and am generally thought of as being quiet and soft-spoken. A good-listener(I think), I enjoy solving people’s problems, even though my empathy isn’t very strong(actually, it’s practically nonexistent). I enjoy greatly the company of my many friends, and am continually forging new friendships. I am more apt to keep one lover for a long time, rather than have many short-term relationships. For the thirteen years that I lived in Cordor, my boyfriend(and best friend) for the whole time was Erik(Imagine my surprise when he was Chosen three years after me! But that’s another story). My favorite place to be is Companion’s Field, either walking or riding alone, or with one of my friends or lovers.
My so-called delicate appearance belies the steel muscles beneath the translucent skin. I am a master swordswoman(almost) and an expert rider, as good as or better than Keren(thanks to my upbringing). My archery skills are incredible also. I am Gifted with human and animal Mindspeech, Foresight, and a touch of Empathy. My mind magic powers are enough to cast second level Truth Spell, and to Mindblast people if I so choose. It doesn’t happen very often.
I am a dancer, and I sing perfectly well, most often at celebrations accompanied by my long-time friend and sometimes lover, Erik, on the fiddle. We’ve been best friends since we were two. I can cook plain foods, but nothing fancy, and I have no sewing skills whatsoever. But my favorite hobby is reading. When I has nothing else to occupy me, I devour book after book, either in the library, if the weather’s bad, or in the gardens or Companions Field. I have been know to read four or five books a day. I also write songs and stories. Needless to say, the arts are my favorite pastime(Besides Ceylan and Erik, of course).
I love the outdoors, and books and horses. The absolute best thing, in my mind, is to find a secluded corner of Companion’s Field and read, with Ceylan next to me. I love gentle spring rains, and howling winds. If I had a choice, I would have been born a child of the spring. It’s the most wonderful season. Everything grows and is wonderful(listen to me ramble on)! But enough of that.
I live in the lowest room in the same tower that Talia and Dirk inhabit. It’s pretty good, because there are only two(and Dirk) of us to share the bathing room. I don’t teach, except for when Keren and Sherill are both busy. Then I take over the equitation classes. The sector I ride most is the South Border, Holderkin sector. It’s the closest border to my home, and Cordor is counted as a border town.
Erik
Erik Pleantes(plee-an-tays)) is my dearest friend from childhood. HE and I grew up together, in the border town of Cordor. His parents were the innkeepers in our little town, and Erik grew up working in the inn. It’s very large inn, for a border town, with five upstairs rooms and places for ten others besides the kitchen staff by the fire.
He has one younger sister, Emilia, a year younger than my own sister. They did not have a good relationship, however, and to this day my sister shows a marked coolness when the Pleantes are mentioned. I got along with Emilia fairly well, and I still enjoy seeing her on vacations when I visit my family.
Erik was heir to his family’s business, and had no ambition for further knowledge, unlike me. Eventually, had Fate not intervened, he would have ended up the village innkeeper, with a wife and half a dozen children running around. And I, I would have nothing more from the love of my life, but the memories from a decade of summers, running through the fields and laughing in the hayloft(his room).
Erik was Chosen about three years after me. A strange phenomena occurred for his Choosing. Rumors of a white “spirit horse” had been drifting around for months. In the Pleantes family, the custom of proving one’s manhood by surviving for a week in the wilderness about 20 miles north. He came back from it riding Firefly, a gift from me at our parting. He rode into the square at the front of the inn at the exact second of his birth. And he was Chosen. Theesa was waiting for him when he arrived. It is as if she was waiting for him to come back a man, and come back worthy to be Chosen.
Erik was born at the height of summer. A true summer child, he was, with hair the color of raw wheat, long, tanned limbs, and eyes the color of the sky. I could fall into those eyes, they were so deep. His features are strong, and his face is square. He is always tanned, even in the deep of winter, when the rest of us are as pale as our Whites. He and Theesa could never be mistaken for a leshya, with the golden radiance of his skin. Erik is tall, much taller than I am, almost 72 thumblengths(inches). Although he is well-muscled, he is also thin and rangy. He looks more like a knife-fighter or assassin than a wielder of the battle-ax. His off-duty garments are as brightly colored as mine, although his follow the pattern of the town selectman or innkeeper, rather than the mercenary trooper.
Erik doesn’t spend as much time with his hair as I do, but my love of horses has rubbed off on him. While I am in my room, trying to decide which hair-do will go best with my outfits, he is in the stables, taking care of the Companions. He will spend fully as much time grooming the two of them as I will fixing my hair. I taught him all I know about caring for them, especially the areas about grooming. Anytime there is a reason to dress Theesa up, he’ll spend hours braiding barding into her mane and tail. That is preceded by a long grooming session, until she shines whiter than newly-fallen snow. The silver and white tack will be cleaned ‘til it gleams, and when he’s finished with her, not even Rolan could look more magnificent.
Erik is louder than me, but not by much. His sense of humor is based in sarcasm, but he is never intentionally sharp enough to hurt someone. Once you know him well, he is easy to read, but new acquaintances often find it hard to understand what he’s saying underneath the sarcastic remarks. Not many can see the hurt underneath his words. He is very sensitive, and can be hurt very badly by those who do not understand him. His gift is Empathy, and the two of us have spent many nights in ‘til dawn soul-searching sessions. Erik has many friends in the Collegium, since outwardly he is very friendly and outgoing. Of course, he would rather be in the Palace Gardens watching the highborns, while I like the peace of Companion’s Field.
Erik is a knife-fighter, his build is a description of his abilities. After training for two years with Alberich and Kerowyn, he spend the last three years learning every assassin trick that Skif could teach him. I, for one, would not like to take him one on one. He is a good rider, not incredible, but good, and a modest archer. His mindspeech is moderate, but enough to communicate with other Heralds with his gift. His strongest gift is Empathy. Second in strength only to Talia’s, he can do everything that can be accomplished with empathy, and many things that are usually only accomplished by Mindspeakers.
Erik is a fiddler, and a welcome addition at Heraldic gatherings. As I said before, I sing, and he plays. He’s not quite as devoted to music as I am, but we make a good pair. We’ve always been close. It’s what makes our partnerships so compatible. Erik is a past master at a sport known as baseball. However, he has absolutely no skills at domestic chores. But he loves sports, any sports. Any free time he has is generally spent working out, on horseback or on foot. The two of us sometimes play netball, or football. The Companions have let us put up a small net in one of the groves. Or we’ll kick a ball around. Several times we’ve stayed there over night, and it’s lovely to fall asleep under the trees, knowing that anything coming will have to get through the Companions.
Erik lives down the hall from me. He’s not quite as lucky as I am about the bathing rooms. He shares his with at least 15 others. He never teaches, but rides Herald Courier once in a while. It’s just us, other than that. I was his counselor once he first got his Whites, and we rides circuits together as often as we can.
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