[Pureauthor]

Am I the only one who created character backstories? Nothing too detailed, but it's there.

*~*

Eurydice Alexandra Katarn
Female Protector
Age: 22

Hit: Nice, long soaks in the bathtub
Miss: Male Chauvinist Pigs

"What do you mean, 'you forgot to bring any Warp Wires'?"

Leader and creator of the Explorer Guild, Eurydice began her journey into the Yggdrasil Labyrinth for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was to prove her worth as a Shield Maiden under the Order of the Crimson Phoenix.

While headstrong, she still has enough sense to defer to someone else in matters in which she's clearly less experienced in. Commands the respect and loyalty of those in the Explorer Guild.

*~*

Cassandra 'Medigirl' Hoffman
Young Female Medic
Age: 15

Hit: Big, thick tomes filled with knowledge
Miss: Spiders

"Hey, guys! W-wait up! Wait for me!"

Granddaughter of the head of the Ceft Apothecary, Cassandra recently joined the Explorer Guild. Young, bright and optimistic, she hopes to make a valuable contribution to the records and lore of Etria by recording and collating all the wildlife and plantlife to be found within the vast Labyrinth. She is also rather talkative, endlessly quizzing her fellow guildmates on their opinions on the various flora and fauna of the Labyrinth

Remains painfully oblivious to the fact that her guildmates see her as a walking Medica.

*~*

Vante 'Lash' Simern
Dark-haired male Dark Hunter
Age: 18

Hit: Bindings
Miss: Dead knots

'Don't worry, this'll only hurt a lot."

Confident and self-assured (some might say cocky), Vanta sees conquering the Labyrinth as chance to make a name for himself. With the whip as his preferred weapon of choice, Vante often makes a big show out of immobilizing the enemies he faces to his comrades. Will his time spent in the labyrint come to teach him that friendship and camaderie are the true treasures of the earth, not fame or wealth?

Not bloody likely.

*~*

Mihawk
Young Female Survivalist
Age: 17

Hit: Cartography
Miss: Sloppiness

'Lessee, we take a right at the rotted tree, a left at the burnt boulder, and - wha? Oh, man - we're under attack again?'

Mihawk was originally part of some other exploration party that presumably met a sorry end within the bowels of the Labyrinth. Being the only survivor of the party, she managed to limp upwards through 7 floors of the Labyrinth, before collapsing approximately midway through the 3rd floor. Found and returned to Etria by the Metis group of explorers, she later awoke to the realization that she had lost most of her memory. Of what memories that still remained, the burning desire to explore the labyrinth proved the strongest. Adopting the moniker 'Mihawk', she joined the Explorer guild in an attempt to surpass the mysteries of the labyrinth and to hopefully figure out her past.

Is officially designated as the head cartographer of the guild.

*~*

Quark Teknon
Male Alchemist
Age: 30

Hit: Being alone
Miss: Interaction with other human beings

'...Go away.'

No one has the slightest clue why he joined the Explorer guild. A Poison and Volt formulae specialist, he pulls his weight in combat situations but is otherwise reticent and subdued.

Of note is that his contract with the guild is on a strictly temporary basis. The agreement for the time of his leave would be at the 15th floor or 'until I find what it is I'm looking for', whichever comes later.

*~*

Orpheus Katarn
Male Troubadour
Age: 25

Hit: Eurydice
Miss: Peanuts. Especially the roasted variety

'Why, I'd go to hell and back for ya, darlin'"

A master singer and songwriter, Orpheus showed up in Etria while the core group was busy navigating the 3rd floor of the labyrinth (and getting their asses kicked by the Stalkers). Still relatively unused to the rigours of combat, he often accompanies Franz and Ewan (see below) into the Labyrinth for training sessions.

Incidentally, Orpheus is Eurydice's husband, and he originally came to, in his own words, 'look after her', notwithstanding the fact that she is the battle-hardened Shield Maiden and his primary skill is... well, singing.

*~*

Franz, Son of Frederick, of the House Albion
Young Male Protector
Age: 17

Hit: Amelia
Miss: Rainy days, the cold

'Get behind me! I'll protect you!'

An earnest and compassionate knight, Franz's main duty prior to his journey to Etria was patrolling the countryside towns, keeping them safe from bandit assaults or attacks from wild beasts. It was in one such rural town that he met Amelia, the daughter of the village blacksmith. A close friendship soon developed, and whenver possible, he'd visit her and tell her stories of his exploits.

A romance soon blossomed - but at the beginning of the year Amelia fell deathly ill with an undiagnosed disease. The best healers and medic could find neither cause nor cure of this strange malady.

It was known that the Yggdrasil Labyrinth was home to a vast multitude of as of yet unknown and unrecorded herbs and plantlife. If any of those plants held the healing properties to save Amelia... Submitting a request - and receiving approval - for a leave of absence, Franz departed for the Yggdrasil Labyrinth, promising Amelia that he would be back soon.

Upon joining the Explorer guild, he has become fast friends with Cassandra, and is the only member of the guild who actually refers to her by name.

*~*

Ewan Paraji
Young Male Alchemist
Age: 17

Hit: Fire. Lots and lots of fire.
Miss: Water used for any capacity other than direct consumption

'So, Franz, what are the odds on that being flammable?'

A childhood friend of Franz, he agreed to join the knight on the journey to the Yggdrasil Labyrinth, not least because he has a secret crush on Amelia himself. A fire formula specialist, he and Franz have complete trust in the abilities of each other.

Has a reputation for being a bit of a pyromaniac.

*~*

Rosalina 'Ross' Lenson
Red-haired Female Landsknecht
Age: 20

Hit: Roughing it
Miss: Frilly dresses

'What? Lookin' down on me just 'cuz I got a pretty face? Ha!'

Tomboyish by nature, Rosalina often got into scraps with the boys of her village (and more often than not, came out the victor). Raised by her father, she was told of how her mother had been carried off by a group of raiding bandits and never found again; after hearing this Rosalina resolved to become strong enough that she and her family would never have to suffer the same fate ever again.

Upon hearing of the vast and unexplored Labyrinth, Rosalina decided that the uncharted depths would make the ideal training grounds. Journeying to Etria, she met Eurydice and shortly resolved to join the Explorer Guild.

Despite considering Eurydice's fighting style to be too 'cautious' for her own tastes, Rosalina holds the Shield Maiden in extremely high regard, and an exemplary model for women who choose to prove themselves in life. She is somewhat antagonistic to Franz, whose order of knights failed to protect her village against the bandits all those years ago.

*~*

Tonytony, Jack, Chopper, Woody, and Ms. Hart
4 Male and 1 Female Survivalists
Age: Varied

Hit: Gathering materials
Miss: Not gathering materials

'Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work we go!'

The 'Broke Down Five', as they are popularly known in the Golden Deer, were hired by Eurydice for the purpose of harvesting various materials to sell off and thus keep the group in a steady inflow of cash. However, given the amounts of food they consume on a daily and regular basis, one can't help but wonder if the guild would be financially better off were they not around...

Like Quark, the 'Broke Down Five' have a temporary contract, although this time it's at Eurydice's discretion as to when she evicts them from the guild.

*~*

(Below are characters who have not yet actually been created, but will be unless something crops up)

*~*

Fight Bloodblade of the Warsong Clan
Male Ronin
Age: 34

Hit: Fighting
Miss: Not fighting, pathfinding

'So is this my right hand, or is this my right hand?'

As legendary as Fight's fighting skills are, what is even more legendary is his complete and utter lack of directional capabilities. In a rather infamous epside, Fight found himself lost within an enemy's fortress and spent the better part of three days wandering around and cutting down anyone who got in his way.

He's currently heading for Etria after hearing tales of the vast and unexplored Yggdrasil Labyrinth. How long he'll take to find his way to Etria itself, though, is anyone's guess. Luckily for him, he's got a companion.

*~*

Master Heal of the Royal Apothecary Society
Young Male Medic
Age: 19

Hit: Healing
Miss: Not healing

'Just hang on and I'll patch that riiigght up...'

An emissary from the Royal Apothecary Society, Heal has been dispatched to aid travelers in their quest to plumb the depths of the Labyrinth. Brash and easygoing, he has utter faith in his own capabilities as a healer, and isn't afraid to let the world know.

Ran into Fight while at a local pub, and now travels alongside him and ensuring Fight doesn't run off the wrong path.

Also, Fight appears to be rubbing off on Heal, as Heal has claimed to be studying the Caduceus ability, and toughening up his attacking capabilities.

*~*

Shathra Moonsorrow
Young Female Hexer
Age: 12

Hit: The colour purple
Miss: Being called a kid

'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocio... wait a minute! This isn't the Evil Eye spell!'

Over the years, Shathra has gotten extremely adept at projecting a mystifiying and dark image of her personality - an effect that is somewhat ruined when people find that she's about as scatterbrained as they come.

Being twelve years old, she has a serious lack of liquid funds, and has thus far made up for it by Hexing various innkeepers into giving her free rooms and goods. Once, while at a seaside town, she read a flier asking for strong adventurers to come and join the Darkbane guild so as to explore and conquer the Yggdrasil Labyrinth. Seeing as she had nothing better to do, Shathra decided that she might as well, and set out for Etria.

One can only expect that she would be somewhat disappointed to know that the Darkbane club had disbanded some three months prior to her ever laying eye on the poster...

*~*

*~*

Yeah, I have too much time on my hands. Hey, if I have time, I might even post short blurbs on my character's progress.