Nice Espadas
Profile
Basic Information
Name:
Nice Espadas
Nickname(s):
Age:
33
Birth Date:
29th Month of Sun, 8262, Year of Coins (July 29th)
Height:
5'7"/170 cm
Gender:
Female
Race:
Human
Class:
Champion
Occupation:
East Miras Royal Guard
Guild(s):
Enhancement(s):
Ochi Simera Therras
Aurea's Favour
Likes
Pegasi | The ocean | Alcohol | Heroic tales | Swords | Strong moral codes | Festivals | Laughter
Dislikes
Inflexibility | Fussy formalities | Being looked down on | Breaking promises | Long-ranged weapons | Discrimination
Personality
Loyal | Charismatic | Just | Hard-working | Idealistic | Impulsive | Stubborn | One-track mind
A proud, confident woman, she is well-aware of her own abilities and limitations, and can take critiques gracefully while brushing aside personal insult-- though those directed at her family and friends are not so well-received. The years have mellowed the quick temper that coloured her childhood but the right circumstances will bring it all back. These situations aside, she is very good at forgiving without forgetting, a trait that has come in handy during these years of war and constantly-shifting alliances. Childhood friendships with dark elves and Kobeners dissipated any ingrained discrimination early, adding to her ability to stay open-minded.
Nice carries a natural honesty that's almost unfitting for a native Amedran. Though boasting ample smarts and command abilities, she is more charismatic than sly. The politics surrounding her upbringing have taught her to be calculating, but it doesn't come easily and certainly not naturally. She would rather face people and problems head-on, and can often become frustrated if she isn't able to do so. Nice is overall realistic, but it isn't a small part of her that holds to such knightly virtues as chivalry, loyalty, and generosity, wanting to help who she can while inflicting the least harm-- an ironic goal, she realises, considering her profession. Nonetheless, she does her best to stick to her morals and has come into conflict with her fellow soldiers more than once for her adamant sympathy for innocents and fallen enemies.
She enjoys good drink and better men, and is not innocent of deriving amusement at others' expense. She likes to poke fun and tease, and is not always aware of the limits though she will feel guilty and apologise should she realise she crossed them. Her friends and family are her world, and promises are a serious matter she will go to unreasonable lengths to ensure she keeps. This does lead to her being overly protective and self-sacrificing, and she will unnecessarily suffer alone in order to not burden those close to her.
History
The first child of a prominent Amedran family, Nice entered the world surrounded by honour and prestige, the latest in a line defined by tradition and military excellence. As the descendent of a war hero, she grew up seeing her mother, grandfather, and many other members of the family wearing their uniforms with their heads held high, the titles of knights attached to their names. Though her father was but a humble merchant who married into the family, she never carried herself as anything less than the best, and it wasn't long before she went from playing with toy swords to defeating even her teachers in matches. At the age of seventeen she put on her first uniform as a member of the Miras Legion. Her years of preparation clearly showed themselves and she was soon granted a mount and transfer into the Flight Regiment in Valsk.
It was while stationed in the North that she received news of her father's sudden passing in an accident. She immediately hurried home, the next few weeks a flurry of affairs that left little time to mourn. Before she knew it, it was time to go back to work, and this time, she wasn't quite so eager. The shock of her father's death opened Nice's eyes to the plight of her younger brother: though by no means untalented, the boy shrank away from the successes of his mother and sister, and with the death of their father leaving him the only one at home the pressure was tangible even to Nice. It troubled her, but with an active duty waiting for her return there was little she could do except offer some words of support and spending whatever off time she had with him at home.
When Nice was twenty-three, her father's younger brother passed from illness. As her father had married into the family, the Reeds' jewelry business was left to her uncle. Having lost his wife years before and with his parents too old and children too young, her uncle had managed the business alone and now, with him gone, things were left precariously in the air. The jewelry shop had been in her father's family for generations and, perhaps thinking of how her ignorance had led to her brother's current state, Nice decided that she couldn't push her family to the side anymore. Despite pending promotions and possible transfers into the Royal Guards she took an extended leave of absence from the military to return to Amedra and take over the business.
Nice enjoyed being a merchant, but she never shook the idea that her true duties lay elsewhere. With Koben's attack on Amedra, she closed up shop and returned to the Flight Regiment. The years of peace made the transition rougher than she would have liked, and the attack on the North while she was taking part in the Hallowed Embassy hit her hard, feeling as though she had failed her comrades. The incident hardened her resolve, and she took part in the attack on Linhythe and Song-Lu with little hesitation.
As the war dragged on, the sudden death of King Giovan came as a terrible shock. Having known the king since she was a young child, Giovan was as much a beloved uncle as he was sovereign. Nice had once promised to protect him as he did the Mirian people, and losing the chance devastated her. Resolving instead to carry on the promise by protecting his family, Nice, feeling she could not be both heir and guard, gave up her position as heir to the Espadas family. She left the family in her younger brother's capable hands and left to join the Royal Guard in Miras.
Despite her longstanding friendship with Prince Vinicio, Nice supported the responsible Prince Silvan for king. However, she found that loyalty cemented by his success in retaking the North was soon shaken by his increasingly aggressive methods. The military's indiscriminate use of poison, the nationwide crackdown on dark elves and Kobeners, and the unsettling whispers of dissenters being silenced pounded crack after crack in her loyalty and faith in the monarchy. Everything came to a head when, in a mass of chaos, Prince Vinicio declared himself the rightful heir. Tasked with taking Princess Marise out of Miras, Nice fled east to Amedra with the rest of the rebellion where she currently works and lives at the Duchess's residence as one of Prince Vinicio's personal guards.
Current Story
Back in her hometown with friends and family around her, Nice adjusted fairly well despite the chaos. She had known the royal family and key members of the Royal Guard since she was a child, and better-equipped than most to guess at the truths behind the civil split. She put her faith and trust in Duchess Celestina's abilities and, never one to hold grudges, easily pushed aside her feelings towards Koben to accept the alliance-- in large part because she recognised the necessity of such an arrangement. Nice was keenly aware of how much the new "East Miras" was lacking, a truth that was further impressed upon her when she accompanied Princess Marise to Koben. There, she saw close up the weapons and ships that she once fought against and she knew that East Miras could neither win against them, nor survive West Miras without them.
Logical but misguided sentiment led to a rift between her and Princess Marise and Nice offered herself in service to Celestina. She became the Duchess's hunting hound, taking on jobs and missions far removed from the chivalrous knight she always aspired to be, holding herself up with the belief that it was all necessary to keep the East-- to keep everyone she loves-- safe. She strayed farther from herself, the return of Sunan and news of her mother's fate only solidifying her path even more: she had to do this. There was no other way.
Then, the truce was struck.
Suddenly, everything she did-- all the blood and dirty tasks-- seemed like it was for naught. All at once she was forced to face the person she had become, and despite recognising that it was the Duchess's way of telling her she was no longer needed, heeded Celestina's orders to join the Therras questers.
Ironically, it ended up being the best thing for her. Underground, focused on survival and far from the politics above, Nice was able to slowly regain herself by doing what she did best. This eventually led her to the ruins of Telurea where, for the first time in a long time, she pushed aside all logic and practicality to follow her heart and reunite two lost souls. Putting Adamar's spirit at peace did much the same for herself, and it was with spirit regained that she infiltrated Delverne and clashed swords with Dunor.
Even in the aftermath, Nice's spirits remained high. She was well aware of the consequences when she left the East, and was prepared to meet them as soon as she saw the Mirian military in Delverne. Now a prisoner in Miras, she awaits her final fate.
Additional Info
- Her mount is a pure white Onagadori pegasus named Alaric.
- Carries two swords: one imbued with illusion magic and one magically enhanced to cut steel and stone. The hilts can bond together to form a two-ended lance for use while mounted.
- Her earring was a gift from her late father, twin to one her brother wears.
- Taught how to shoot both bow and gun by her retired sniper grandmother.
- Conversational fluency in Valski from her time in the city, though what she knows she learned from nights at the tavern so it can come off very...vulgar.
Family:
The Espadas family has been a military line as long as they can remember, but it was only a few centuries ago that they came into prominence. During the last great conflict, a heroic feat led to the family becoming the retainers of a powerful noble family. Visconte de Fayolle gifted them a piece of his own land, propelling the Espadas into the ranks of landed gentry. Over the years, revenue from this gift allowed them to purchase land of their own, and shortly before the de Fayolles' fall from grace conflict between the families prompted the Espadas to return the ancestral lands, thus cutting all ties.
Currently, the Espadas maintain an estate about an hour by carriage from the edge of Amedra city, just far enough to raise pegasi while staying close enough to act in military engagements. The family's wealth comes from careful investment of their initial burst of wealth, military earnings, and a modest but steady income from being one of the families contracted to provide pegasus mounts for the local Flight Regiment. Though they're fairly esteemed in military circles, many in Mirian nobility look down on them for their common blood and historical association with a fallen house.