Character History I - Childhood & Teen years.
Early childhood.
Esther Charlotte Avalyn was born into a traveling family of sorts, to a member of descending branch of a leading family in Earldom. Born inside the province, she was left there for her safety: Safe from demons and the curse; to be taken care by a relative: her paternal great uncle, the earl himself. Despite an army of nannies taking care of her needs, over years Esther grew close to her guardian as much as she could. He played a role of a close grandfather and mentor. He was someone so rebellious as Esther would always respect and look up to; and for the widoved earl she became a dear evening star, spoiling her rotten to very core, fueling her already instable nature.
Influence.
Despite the fact for the most of time her biological parents were absent in her life, Esther never experienced neglect or abuse, neither mentally or physically. However, being grown in a family of a political leader, she was exposed to cruelty and scheming practiced around her, her guardian’s ideology and experiments - adapting his beliefs over spending time with him.
The liar themselves suspect everyone else to be a liar.
The earl was sly, intelligent but very paranoid man, suspecting people for acting against him. He believed people were watching, trying to poison his food and drink, leading him to practice mithiridarism to increase his poison resistance. Esther became a subject of this practice too, later practicing it on her own. His fears weren’t always unnecessary, being well aware some found him as a tyrant. Rebellious units were born as previous crushed. In past, he was assaulted at night. Due to trauma, he could wake up at night and wander around halls for intruders. No one could be trusted. Eliminate, before becoming eliminated.
Esther couldn’t just go out and play like an ordinary child; as a nobility her childhood was guarded inside garden and visits to other high standing families. She barely got in touch with an ordinary life either. Her childhood was luxury and power. Having a large age difference to other family members and her social contacts limited to the staff and her relatives; her skills to come along with her age group were lacking. She expressed dominance over other children and adult. She was well aware of her great uncle’s status and her own position as a child of a higher class. Thus, her behaviour was rarely punished, if ever. It was a silent allowance for her to go on.
If not pointed to interact with other people, Esther was always naturally withdrawn and independent, a child playing and exploring on her own indoors or outside in the garden. She wasn’t completely alone, she got a pet crow, someone to socialize with when no one else had time.
Esther had no patience problems; she knew to wait for good. However, her temper became to the limits if she lost that feel of control.
Education.
As a daughter of a sorcerer, she had a potential to become a sorcerer, if she had chosen the path to develop her basic skills further. Esther didn’t want the stigma and become one of despised; rather denying she ever had any at all. She shames her background, even to the length joining crowds to laugh at them. She hasn’t buried her skills completely as some have proven to be rather useful and the more and more knights use sorcery as a part of their technique. Today, she would use sorcery only for hiding her presence; sound and illusion spells. Chameleon and ‘spook’ her favourite.
Esther proved to be quite an intellect since her early years - playing puzzles and board games but becoming awfully easy bored. Her schooling started off early, beginning a strictly scheduled phase in her life. Her guardian become to see her education as sort of a project. A potential to be used.
She was taught religion and basic literature by a nun, mathematics, history and politics by a mentor. Each subject were added one after one into her schedule, later to be tutored by her guardian himself to feed her interest towards engineering, experimenting and learning his ways. The schooling years were tough by monastery, causing her often to try to oppose her great uncle and hide behind an illusion.
In a land at the verge of war, Esther practiced melee fencing and archery daily. She wanted to master crossbow after the footsteps of her father, become a sniper. By then, she hadn’t developed her skills with a whip. Esther did garden work by her guardian’s command, learning plant and animal life, especially poisonous and venomous ones they would use as a part of their practice of ‘Mithiridarism’.
Unlike men in family, Esther had no military training but by her mid teen she was skillful with a rapier, shotel, parrying dagger, long bow and cross bow over her daily practice ever since she could hold one without a fear of harming herself. Swordsmanship was highly praised among the highstand women.Still, she wasn’t one of the best: skillful fencers beating her over and over again in duel. Esther decided to go a step further: for the odd choice for a weapon she became to practice with a whip - a weapon that could not be countered in duel. Her first whip was old, with sharp broken edges to cause scratches, veiling it later with poison for unfair matches. As her interest towards poison use and the effects grew, her experiments turned from fantasy to reality. Rumors spread but were silenced, eventually forgotten.
Teen Age & Social life.
Esther became more and more independent with her studies, beginning to develop her skills and create ideas of her own as she was highly encouraged to. Unlike most of the noblewomen at time, she had freedoms at home even in choice of dressing, but outside even the tomboy had to force herself into a corset and dress. Social events became more common after hitting thirtheen, as the earl realized his failure at creating her a social web, as well as her difficulties to interact with people. The young girl was way too straight with her tongue. To become ‘a possible successor’ she needed to develop her social skills further, at least for political purposes.
She knew to smile, what to say and what to answer and let everyone know when she was unhappy. One could swear she never cried, as her only emotions seemed to be that strange calmness, or flaming rage. Her tongue gave only lies unless one was aware. Overhearing political schemes she took relationships as a play.
Esther had no real friends over her childhood, neither she yearned for any. Those who followed her around in her teen years were one sided friendships- expressing their interest in her in hopes to benefit from Esther’s status while she herself manipulated them around, doing things for her and getting in responsibility. People didn’t interest her unless they were for use and she rarely showed any genuine care towards anyone but her family members. Spending time with her guardian and her father were the peak of her social time but otherwise, she still preferred to be alone.
Over years she grew and people started to show interest in her in a form of possible suitors - also noted by the earl who started to see even more potential about Esther. She brought him in new light, with a young ‘daughter’ he had accesses to events and new social constructs himself. Never he forced her to be with anyone against her will, but often brought people to meet her. Pretty face and strong character appealed to many but she had no plans for settling with anyone or taking her place in political field. As the social pressures started to grow over her, she was ready to take the path her father chose.
