>> Character Information

[givetheslip]

(Shortly to be amended for Paradisa)

» CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character NAME: Maria Thorpe
Canon & MEDIUM: Assassin's Creed | video game series, with some supplemental facts from the novel Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade
Canon PULL-POINT: Soon after the ending of Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines
Character AGE: About 30

Character ABILITIES: No supernatural abilities, but Maria is an adept fighter who is skilled at swordplay and general combat. She is stronger than the average woman of her time period (arms and armor can be pretty heavy) but not superhumanly so.

Character HISTORY: http://assassinscreed.wikia.com/wiki/Maria_Thorpe

Maria Thorpe is an English noblewoman born during the 12th century. Always boisterous by nature, she tried to fulfill the expected duties of a woman of her station after her parents arranged for her to be married at age 18. Finding herself unhappy and unsuited for such a life, she left her husband, was granted a convenient annulment to let her ex-spouse save face, and soon ran off and disguised herself as a man to join the Templar Order and the Third Crusade in the Holy Land, with the ambition of eventual knighthood.

Although the Grand Master of the Templars, Robert de Sable, discovered her true gender, he also saw Maria's true potential, and made her his steward. When Robert surmised that he was the next target of the Assassin Altaïr, who had tracked and killed eight key members of the Order, Maria took his place as a decoy at a funeral for one of Altaïr's previous targets. The funeral was a trap, and when Altaïr attacked 'Robert,' Maria fought toe-to-toe with the Assassin until he got the better of her. However, once Altaïr understood the ruse, he chose to spare Maria as she was not his target. He quickly went after the real Robert and was able to kill him.

One month later, Maria had fallen from favor with the Templars, as other members and more specifically the new Grand Master, Armand Bouchard, did not think as highly of her capabilities as Robert had. She met Altaïr once again when he came to investigate the remaining Templars as they were moving their operations to Cyprus, and she blamed him for ruining her life, despite sparing it. After he defeated her once more, he brought her with him to Cyprus as Templar bait and a potential source of information.

Maria had previously been unaware of the Templars' true plan to create order in the world by enslaving people's minds, but she began to understand the truth in Cyprus, by listening to Altaïr's words (with a great amount of initial skepticism) and gathering information for herself during numerous escapes. Eventually, she and Altaïr both made their way to the Templar Archive in the city of Limassol, where the Order stored precious artifacts and knowledge. Facing off with Armand Bouchard, Maria finally learned the truth of the Templars' goals and fought with him before being defeated. After Altaïr fought and killed Bouchard in turn, the two helped each other escape from the Archive, which had been emptied of most contents and was being shelled by cannons to destroy all evidence it had been there.

Afterward, the two enemies-turned-allies discussed their individual futures, with Maria speculating that she might continue East, perhaps to India, and Altaïr expressing that he, too, would go East first as part of his plan to learn about about the world and the mysterious Apple of Eden artifact. They became traveling companions and eventually lovers, marrying in Cyprus two years later; however, I will be taking her from before the offscreen point at which they became romantically involved.

Character PERSONALITY:

“I'm what they call the unusual one in my family. Growing up, I always preferred the boys' games. Dolls weren't for me, much to my parents' continued exasperation. I used to pull their heads off."

Maria Thorpe may have steered her life down a path incredibly different from that which was expected, leading her to become a cross-dressing warrior, ambitious would-be knight and friend of Assassins, but she didn't start out as someone who broke the rules just to be contrary. As a child, she indulged in activities unsuitable for a girl of her time and class, but when she grew into adulthood, she didn't object to the standard arranged marriage either, instead hoping that she would be embraced for her whole character and not just her role as wife. When she concluded that this would not happen, it marked the last time in her life that she went along with someone else's plans for her instead of making up her own mind.

Unencumbered by the weight of a 'proper' societal role, Maria is a resourceful, brave person with a practical mind. Her choice of joining the Crusades as a way of exiting the life in which everyone's expectations had been let down—including her own—was as much about taking on a role that fit her personality and making a fresh start as it was support of the war's purpose; Maria demonstrates skill in battle, but shows no bloodlust or enjoyment of killing for its own sake. She is also cunning enough to successfully disguise herself as a man long enough to prove her worth to Robert, a powerful leader.

Engage her in conversation, and Maria is either refreshingly straightforward or—if you get on her bad side—somewhat abrasive. She's not one to go out of her way to be rude, but she doesn't mince words, to others or to herself. Enemies and subordinates will get a sharp tongue-lashing, and if she's in a bad situation, she won't lie to herself or cling to optimism to make herself feel better. Back her into a figurative corner, and she might stew in frustration for a while, but she'll manage to keep a clear head...most of the time. Because Maria has limits, and when pushed far enough, she has a tendency to let her anger get the best of her. Her anger at her fall from favor with the Templars is a major contributor to her losing the second fight with Altaïr (along with his superior skill), and as a captive, she lets a piece of information slip once or twice before catching herself. While she's not a total hothead, it's a weakness that can be exploited by someone who's good at pushing buttons.

In any environment, whether it's familiar or unknown, Maria thrives when given the opportunity to act, to contribute, in a manner that makes use of her capabilities, especially when it will make a notable difference. There's no doubt that her life running a proper English noble household would have been its own kind of work, but she expressed serious distaste for the “hierarchies and politics of the staff," along with her limited ability to express her whole personality. It doesn't have to be a perfect situation; life as a soldier and steward in the Crusades obviously suited Maria more than her previous station, but she later acknowledges that Robert exploited her potential as much as he recognized it. For a time, it was a bargain she was willing to make.

The strong mind and determination that brought Maria to the Crusades are also what keep her going through difficult times once she's there. She has her own ideas about what she should be doing, and she's not about to allow others to dictate whether that will change or not. After the new Templar Grand Master made it clear that he considered her incompetent or a traitor and no longer welcome among their high ranks, it would have been more convenient for her to immediately ally herself with Altaïr, who had made overtures of wanting her to understand the Assassins' perspective, but her beliefs didn't change quickly just because her situation did. It's important to Maria that she ask her own questions, make her own investigations and come to her own conclusions. For her, it's a matter of finding a balance, neither locking her into a single point of view forever nor being overly credulous. As her future self will one day remark, “It is one thing to have a mind that is open. It is quite another to have one so open that the birds can shit into it." And while she does have a sense of pride, once she does change her mind about the Templars and about her own life, she’s not too proud or embarrassed by past actions to accept Altaïr’s help, or to help him in return.

"Everything I worked for in the Holy Land, I no longer want. And everything I gave up to join the Templars... I wonder where all that went, and if I should try to find it again."

At the canon point I've chosen for her, Maria's life could take her down any number of new paths, and even she doesn't know precisely which one it will be, or where she'd like it to lead. One thing she does know is that she still plans to move forward, finding a new place for herself in the world rather than going back to something known and safe. As neither a wife nor a Templar, it's also the first time in more than a decade that she's had no title around which to base her life. It's not something she would have chosen, but it is something she's at peace with. For Maria, the important thing isn't where she ends up; it's that she find what will be, for her, the right way of getting there.

» EXSILIUM INFORMATION

Chosen WEAPON: The standard longsword Maria brings with her from her world. As it evolves, it will become slightly lighter over time (although not so much that it would hinder her usual fighting style) and grow both harder and sharper in order to increase effectiveness in battle while reducing the need for care and maintenance.

Character INVENTORY:
-One longsword and sheath
-One knife
-A travel pack containing a spare change of clothes and her cloak, rations, and a skin of water
-A small amount of money in coins

» SAMPLES

First PERSON:

[If text had a tone, this post would carry a hint of uncertainty despite the writer's efforts to be forthright and calm. But it doesn't; only the chosen words matter, and that's why Maria has opted for this method of communication.]

Where I'm from, writing down one's thoughts and expecting any kind of reply without sending a letter through a courier would be considered mad. But being here at all seems even more so—and if that's the case, we're all mad together.

At least our 'hosts' have been considerate enough to offer us ways to stay occupied. I doubt most people are given the opportunity to train with weaponry after being spirited away unwillingly.

[There's a pause before she types more, slowly hunting and pecking, as she suppresses a wry chuckle. Certainly none of her previous captors had stood for such a thing.]

If anyone reading this is skilled with a sword, I could use a practice partner in one of the training rooms. My name is Maria.

Third PERSON:

So this was the future. Maria had thought about what it might contain before, of course. Living only for the moment might be a luxury to some folk, but for a woman in her position, consideration of the future was critical. Thoughts of a future containing nothing but domestic politics, childrearing and suppression of self had prompted her to change it; the illusion that she might have a chance at knighthood, once so real-seeming it had practically been tangible, had kept her reaching for a future no one wanted to give her. But as much thought as she'd given the future, she had always framed it in terms of years. Not centuries

.

But there she was, far in the future, or at least a future - if what she'd been told was true, and those centuries were very much on her mind. She hadn’t let herself think about it at the time. There'd been exploring to do, training to keep up with, and it hadn't been so bad. But in moments where she was alone, back in her room, her mind tended to wander as she cleaned her sword.

It could still have been a lie, a trick, another illusion cast by the Apple of Eden. The artifact had that kind of power; she'd seen it with her own eyes. But the Apple was also in the hands of a man who had resisted using that power for the most part, and this felt all too real. If it was an illusion, it was a very convincing one, and she could see no other option that was better than assuming it was reality until shown otherwise.

Maria leaned back and regarded her blade carefully, as if it might hold answers. It didn’t, of course. It didn’t even need cleaning anymore, but doing so gave her time to think without doing much else, and it was a habit from home. In a way, she supposed she was home now, but she’d never expected to go back to England, and certainly not in this manner.

It had caused a pang in her stomach she didn't expect, something that came and went. She hadn't wanted to come back, but she'd expected it would always be there, strong and proud and a fine place for many to call home. Just not her.

She shook her head and reached for her sheath. Enough of that. Whatever she felt about her current circumstances, they were what they were, and endless ruminating wouldn’t change things. Action might, if she knew the right action to take. Until then, well, at least her sword would be ready.