| NAME: Erica von Ritzenzig AGE: 22 P.O.B: Fief Stallion's Hollow RACE: Drasenreichen OCCUPATION: Dragon Slayer WAR NAME: The Wandering Hawk FATHER: Archduke Wilhelm the Faithful, one of the Elector Princes MOTHER: Lady Katarina SIBLINGS: Johann - Younger brother by one year. Heir to Stallion's Hollow Everard - Younger brother by three years Hilda - Younger sister by two years Wilhemina - Younger sister by six years PHY.DES.: Is fairly tall; long, raven black hair; steely grey eyes; very fair skin; slim and athletic; is rather attractive. Her usual attire is either half-plate for riding or breeches, shirt and boots. Also has two sets of full plate armour, one silver trimmed with black, the other (her good suit) is black trimmed with silver. Her knightly golden spurs are a source of pride and as such are worn everywhere. Has a somewhat reserved, yet disdainful air about her. PERSONALITY: Has a good helping of the usual Drasenreichen pride, and a deep sense of honour and loyalty. Erica is generally quick to deprecate the common class as she is highly noble minded. However beneath her arrogant exterior and thick blanket of pride, Erica does understand the true meaning of honour and nobility. Erica is strongly nationalistic. A patriot to the backbone, she believes no race to come close to the Drasenreichen people and shows a natural camaraderie to those of her homeland, that no other person would be priviledged to recieve. Has no fear of death, so long as her death is glorious. STRENGTHS: Is a skilled and well practiced warrior, is also couragous, a fact displayed by her occupation. Her best weapon is the sword but she is also superb with lance and longbow. Is a keen and experienced horsewoman, totally at home in the saddle. Stallion's Hollow (as it's name would suggest) has long been renowned for the quality of its horses, that some say to be the finest in all Drasenreich. It is natural then that Erica would be confident in the saddle. Her artistic talents lie in her singing and the ability to draw, both of which she rarely, if ever, reveals. WEAKNESSES: Her major stumbling block is her pride and the dash of arrogance that follows her actions. Tends to look down on the peasantry and this can mean she is often respected but disliked. Her temper can also lead her to error, she has no patience for folly or for fools and will often act impetuously if pushed. Her humour is mainly dry sarcasm and this can get her in trouble when her humour rubs other peoples' proverbial fur the wrong way. COMPANIONS: Travels with her servant, Hans (better known as "Hans Boy"); her black destrier, Diable; a Dobermann known as Wroth; the pack horse; the pack mule and Hans' palfrey, Lenitas. BRIEF HISTORY: First born child to Archduke Wilhelm and the Archduchess Katarina of Stallion's Hollow, a large and prosperous duchy in Drasenreich, Erica von Ritzenzig has always known what it means to be nobility. From a very young age Erica was taught how to behave, what to think and how to feel. She grew to be true to her Drasenreich nature, proud, disdainful of the peasantry, but above all, noble-minded. Wilhelm, also known as the Faithful, impressed the values of Drasenreichen nobility upon all his children and rejoiced when he saw them grow into his ideal. Erica and her two brothers early on decided to follow the path of knighthood. Erica, being the oldest, was something of a pathfinder in this endeavour, however she worked hard and won her spurs, establishing herself as one of the foremost knights in the realm. Now that she had achieved her knighthood, Erica grew restless. Her own nature and the need to adorn her name with glory drove her to choose the path of Dragon Slayer. Not the first, and probably not the last, Dragon Slayer to come from Drasenreich, although the numbers in the profession were few and far between, Erica sought the experience of a retired Slayer of the Dragons. Count Udolph was more than happy to impart his wisdom upon the young knight and many evenings were spent in learning the Slayer's art. When Udolph finally decided that Erica had learned all he could teach her, he begifted her with a sword, his own flamberge that he called Schutz (meaning "Protector") for it was said that the blade would help protect it's bearer from the searing flames of a Dragon. Erica has carried the serpentine blade proudly from that day. Soon after that Erica left Stallion's Hollow with her young destrier Diable, her servant Hans and a small entourage in tow. She slew what Dragons crossed her path and soon earned herself the name of "The Wandering Hawk", a travelling predator. While on her travels, Erica's packhorse threw a shoe and ended up very lame. Being reluctant to sell the packhorse and set about training a new one to cope with the rigours of Dragon Slaying, the Wandering Hawk decided the best thing to do would be find an inn with a stables, then locate a good farrier and horse healer. As luck would have it, she chanced upon the Half Crescent Inn and Bar and took board there until her horse would be fit for travel again. Erica, Hans and their animal companions are currently residing at the Half Crescent and it seems that, due to the serious lameness of the packhorse, they will be there for quite some time. |
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