Jennifer Minakawa

[jennifer]

THE CHARACTER SHEET

FROM HERE TO THERE

FULL NAME: Jennifer Minakawa
ALIAS / NICKNAMES: Jen for short
AGE: 19 years old
RACE: Human
SOCIAL STATUS: Heir to the exceedingly humble duchy of Artol in eastern Terre de Conte.

DOWN TO THE FINER POINTS

HEIGHT: 5'8''
WEIGHT:140 lbs.
HAIR:Brown
EYES:Brown
GENERAL APPEARANCE:
PICTURE:(Note: I couldn't find a good picture of what she'd look like in her armor so here's what she looks like on a relaxing day:)

PERSONALITY:Easygoing and lighthearted most of the time, dead serious when confronted with a challenge.

[/b]
[li] sparring
[/li][li] training
[/li][li] making new friends
[/li][li] her parents

DISLIKES:
[/li][li] misers
[/li][li] arrogance
[/li][li] hot weather
[/li][li] willful ignorance

[/li][/ul]

HOBBIES:
Sparring, calligraphy

BELOW THE SURFACE

SPECIAL SKILLS:None whatsoever
WEAPONS:Plain iron sword
MAGICAL ABILITIES:None whatsoever

FAMILY:Earnest, her father; Lilia, her mother; Hugo, her uncle
BACKGROUND: This is gonna be long.

Jennifer Minakawa bears the hope of her family and by extension her duchy of birth, Artol. Her parents, Earnest and Lilia have governed for most of their lives, resolving petty squabbles and working their fingernails off trying to keep the barony from being absorbed by one of its larger neighbors. Jennifer is their only child and heir to the duchy.

Artol is rich in the materials for survival and the happiness of its people; food, clothing and shelter are available with greater ease there than in most other places in the kingdom. If Jen’s parents are accused of anything, it’s of ruling a place that is too easy to govern. But the duchy is impoverished in magic and military might; no notable warriors have come from the baron’s house or indeed anywhere else in the duchy since the settlement of lands westward over 400 years ago.

When news of the contest spread, Jennifer’s parents saw in it an opportunity to secure the duchy’s place in the kingdom, as well as the many other benefits of a link to the royal family. The main problem was of course the lack of resources for training. The main points to focus on are martial training, magical training, and social training, as all are likely to be required in the competition.

Martial training, such as it is, was provided by the Earnest’s brother Hugo who fought against strange creatures in several skirmishes on the western edge of the kingdom. Jennifer loved sparring with her uncle even at very tender ages, and indeed had to unlearn some of his more vulgar soldier manners as she grew up. At the time of the princess’s announcement, Jen had already begun to surpass her master and was doubtless the best swordswoman in the duchy…small honors indeed. Compounding the problem was that although Jen’s uncle has fought many different kinds of beasts, he has hardly any experience fighting other people, and thus can only teach this topic out of a moldy army training book. Oh well, at least Jen’s enthusiasm for combat has gotten her plenty of exercise, leaving her quite fit and healthy.

Magical training was sadly out of the question for Jennifer. In addition to not having a proper sage adviser since the duchy was formed, the culture of learning in Artol is and has been focused on farming and architecture, not spell-throwing. If training was going to be found, it would have to be bought from afar at a price that Jen’s family simply could not afford. So Jen will have to trust to her wits and hope that the struggle for the hand of the Princess does not require mystical wisdom.

Social training comes almost solely from Jennifer’s mother; the art of being a proper lady is in ways more demanding than the arts of war. Manners are the least of the lessons in front of her; dealing with social rivals in an elegant manner and holding off foes stronger with oneself using only language are tests that Earnest and Lilia have dealt with their whole lives, and ever since it became clear that Jen would be their heir they have had her observe the struggles of words and politics. However…Jen herself has not yet participated in any of these things, and her personal contact with the world outside her parents’ house has been sparse.

So much for Jen’s surroundings and family. What of the young woman herself? Being suddenly pressed into a struggle to win the love of a princess would be overwhelming to a cautious person who fully understood what was happening. Fortunately(?) for Jen, she is not such a person. A trip to the castle to find love seems like a wonderful adventure for her. The fact that she seeks love from a girl is no bother for her; Jen is particular about some things she seeks in romance but gender is not one of them. Furthermore, she loves her family dearly and is happy to have a chance to earn renown and a better place for them.

She stands at 5 feet 8 inches, brown eyes and brown hair flowing just past her shoulders. Jen’s fair face remains unscarred due to diligent use of a helmet when practicing with the sword. The helmet itself bears several marks along the cheek and forehead due to Jen’s early attempts at discovering tricks and sometimes her uncle’s over-enthusiasm when sparring.

Accompanying this plain iron helmet is an equally plain suit of plated armor covering her from head to foot (when the helmet is included), a straight double-edged sword and a shield bearing the mark of her family, a halberd imposed over a cloud on a blue background. This gear was made with iron bought from two duchies away because of the rarity of metal locally. Earnest was able to call in a couple of favors to get it done; to walk into this contest without even a semblance of equipment for the task would be madness.

Jennifer wears this war gear on her trip to the castle by horseback. Her saddlebags contain changes of clothes for several occasions, travel food and water, her best pen, paper and ink. and her uncle’s moldy war book which Jen would have left behind if she could get away with it. Her goal: complete all tests, defeat all rivals and earn the princess’s love. With strong will and little else, she travels to the Imperial castle to face whatever trials she may find.

THE MASTERMIND

ADDITIONAL CHARACTERS:None whatsoever
HOW YOU GOT HERE:Recommended from Hothcharm after it got shut down.

P.S. Um, I hope my description of Jen's homeland doesn't conflict with anything in the setting. If it does, let me know and I'll change it.