[ooc] Application
Mun alias: Ari
E-mail: arivess@gmail.com
Messenger name: rachelani@hotmail.com / LadyArivess
Previous RP experience (if any): I think we know mine... For Natalia in particular, I have x_astral_rain_x and artemis_royal.
Character's full name: Natalia Luzu Kimlasca-Lanvaldear
Series: Tales of the Abyss
Gender: Female
Age: 18 (canonly 18; is currently 17 in Mukashi)
Personality:
Natalia, at first, comes off as very regal, as well as she should be; she is the princess/heir of a kingdom, after all. She is commanding and generally obeyed, and does not take "no" for an answer. Of course, aside from her father and Luke (her fiance and the duke's son), there are not many people who would disobey.
Speaking of commanding, Natalia is just as much demanding, especially towards Luke, who pretty much never listens to her, though, unlike her father, his station is not above hers. Natalia is forever reprimanding him for just about everything: making them worry by disappearing, not acting enough like a noble, not being kind to the people, not acting worthy of being the future king, etc. She's also quite demanding in itself towards Luke and his servant Guy, constantly telling the gynophobic Guy that he's going to have to get over his condition soon because he'll be her servant too once she marries Luke. However, despite the way it sounds, Natalia does not expect things of others (most particularly Luke) that she does not display herself -- mainly the qualities of a good ruler; after all, he is supposed to be the future ruler of her kingdom.
But despite all this, Natalia is not a bad princess. She cares deeply for her people, which is one reason Luke's "yeah whatever" attitude drives her up the wall. She believes that a ruler exists for the people, and does her utmost to help them. She is the one mainly responsible for a clinics and such in Kimlasca, and often volunteers at those and works as an ambassador. She is so popular with the common people, in fact, that at one point in the game, the people in Baticul, the castle town, rise up against the king's guards in order to protect her.
It is not only for her own kingdom that she is concerned, either. At one point, Kimlasca is asked to help Akzeriuth, a mining town lying on the border between Kimlasca and Malkuth and belonging to Malkuth. Even though relations between the two kingdoms are shaky, Natalia invites herself along on the journey and does her best to save the people there. While Luke disdains the miners and wants nothing to do with the miasma-covered area, Natalia immediately dives in and tries to help as many people as she can, with no regard to the danger to her own person. Another reason for this is because she is a Seventh Fonist -- a healer; Tear, the other Seventh Fonist in the group, also readily tries to help during that scene. Still, it is partially because of these types of convictions of hers that she helps to save the world, and tries so hard for her people.
Natalia, during the course of the game, gets torn between duty and love. She hounds on Luke despite him apparently losing his memories 7 years ago and forgetting his promise to marry her, because it is her duty to do so; it can be argued that she still loves him a little, at least, but it's more a friendly love rather than romatic. Upon (spoiler alert!) discovering that Asch is actually "her" Luke who made her that promise, she finds the decision harder to make, since he is no longer the duke's son and the prophecied "Light of the Sacred Flame", and is, in fact, their enemy of a sort. She mentions in a conversation that she will, of course, marry whomever her father sees fit, be it Luke, Asch, or someone else altogether, true to the mark of a good princess. The more the group crosses paths with Asch, however, the more obvious it is that Natalia truly loves him; near the end, even Natalia's sense of duty is not immune, and her love does overcome her better judgment and almost costs the group their lives.
Natalia's love of her people and of Asch are the central pillars of her personality, symbolized in her betrothal promise with Asch that Luke does not "remember", to change their country so that no one has to be poor and war never happens. It is for this promise that she loved Asch, and loves him still after seeing that he is still the same; and it is for this promise that she is the way she is.
Now, then, onto the smaller and somewhat more cracktastic points of her personality...
Natalia is not very smart. Well. That's not exactly true. She's fairly book-smart, but she's very, very gullible. In one conversation, a character tells her that another character's eyebrows can shoot laser; in another, that a character's not-different-from-normal clothing contain air-conditioning, and she completely believes both of those. She is also quite good at being totally blonde without other people's help, once believing that she wasn't the princess because she was sweating and princesses didn't sweat (which would almost make sense but still not quite, except they were in a desert next to a volcano).
She's also pretty bad at blackmailing, though she did succeed once. She uses the simplest threats (such as refusing to get away from Guy, Luke's gynophobic servant) and accepts his agreement to her demands, without realizing that he had no intentions of following through on it.
Though very cultured now, Natalia is hinted to have been adventurous and a slight bit of a troublemaker as a child. She mentions an instance from her childhood where Asch caught her as she jumped from her castle window, in order to sneak off. And her chilhood dream was to become a famous thief, due to a book series she read. She was, however, just as much of a romantic then as she is now -- probably more of one, since she shows it less, now, and pushes it aside in favour of her duties -- often making flower crowns for Asch and later Luke; and making Asch pinky-swear to go with her together to the town of Belkend when they grew up.
Oh, oh, and on a random note: Natalia can't cook at all (in fact, most of what she makes are burnt on the outside and raw on the inside), and she likes ghost stories.
Fairy tale/myth/legend: Swan Lake
Role: Prince Siegfried
Kingdom territory of origin: Northern
Adaptation:
(Note: This story greatly concerns two characters, that of the Siegfried role and that of the Odette role. I've tried to leave the Odette role as vague as possible, and hope that whoever may wish to take it in the future speaks to me so we can work something out together with what I already have here.))
In the kingdom of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear (generally just called "Kimlasca"; the "Lanvaldear" comes from the ruling family's surname), the king and queen had a daughter, but she was stillborn. The princess's to-be nanny took the child of her daughter, born only a few days ago, and gave her to the queen instead, to raise as her own. Thus the infant Meryl was re-dubbed "Natalia", and raised as the princess.
Natalia grew up not knowing anything of her birth-parents; indeed, not knowing she was anything but the princess. As the crown passed to the eldest child in their kingdom (and she was the only child, anyway), she was the heir to the throne, and studied hard to make herself a good future queen.
When she was young, her father -- her mother had died not long after her birth -- took her to see the prince of a neighboring kingdom around her own age, hoping to engage the two children and form a lasting alliance between their kingdoms. Though they had their squabbles, Natalia quite took to the prince and delighted in spending time with him; and their parents began to take them to see each other every summer. They, as two idealistic children with a shared dream, made a vow to marry and change their kingdoms, so that people wouldn't be poor, so that there would be no more wars. (Will change this whole section to fit if someone applies the Odette-role and wants something different.)
One day, however, Natalia's betrothed disappeared, and no one was quite sure what happened to him. Natalia kept holding onto the hope that he was still alive, however, but as summers came and went, her father no longer took her to see him, and stopped mentioning him altogether. Natalia tried to put him out of her mind as well, pouring all her time and energy into studying, training in archery, and doing community service, earning her the love of her people. She became an avid hunter, mastering the Lanvaldear archery style, passed down through her father's line. She had, at the start, been squeamish about hunting, actually, but she understood that the food they had did not simply appear, and took responsibility for knowing the bloodier side of it. When she became a little older, she went on trips around the world as an ambassador of Kimlasca, to better understand the people, and to improve relations between their kingdoms and hers.
And then the suitors started arriving.
With the disappearance of Natalia's betrothed, she was, in the public eye, free to marry another. And furthermore, she was a beautiful, kind, and intelligent princess in the bloom of youth, soon coming of age, and the heir to a kingdom -- a rare specimen. Princes and dukes and other lords came from all over to court her, and, concerned for her future and the wellfare of the kingdom, her father ordered a ball be held on her 18th birthday, and for her to choose her future husband then. Natalia, gracefully accepting her duty as she always had, nonetheless asked, a few days before the ball (timeframe might change to suit RPing needs better, since almost everything happens story-wise within a few days), to allow her to go on one last great hunt by herself, knowing her future would be limited afterwards. Her father did not agree.
Natalia ran off, anyway; though it was not in her nature to disobey, she was still a willful girl, and she deemed this important. Fearing discovery, she rode as far from the kingdom as she could, until she realized that she was somewhat lost. Oh, she could retrace her steps, to be sure, but she had never been in that part of the forest before, and, not wanting to return, she proceeded more cautiously.
It was then that she saw a flock of swans, beautiful and majestic (animal may change depending on possible future Odette-role's choice). They were too far, and she too curious, to shoot, so she simply followed them until they led her to a lake. Night had fallen, and, as they touched the moonlight on the lake, the swans changed, one by one, into a young noble -- the leader of whom was Natalia's betrothed. After their reunion, he explained to her his situation: he was captured by a sorcerer, the master of the castle, and cursed to be a swan by day and man only by night. If the sorcerer was killed before the curse was undone, said curse would last forever. The only way to save him would be if someone were to make a vow before all the world to marry him.
And there presented the perfect opportunity: Natalia's ball, only a few days (or however long) hence. Natalia invited him to attend her ball, promising that there, she will declare him her betrothed before all the world.
Natalia returned home, happy even in the face of her father's rebuke, and swore to him that she would find a husband in the ball ahead.
The date of the ball came, and Natalia danced with the suitors, polite, but bestowing no greater interest on any one person than another.
And she waited.
True to his word, her betrothed came -- or so she thought. She did not know that it was a trick, someone that the sorcerer who cursed her betrothed made to look like him. She could not tell the difference, and made her vows to the fake. It was then that the sorcerer appeared and showed her the truth, that her "betrayal" would then kill her real beloved. Natalia, shocked and horrified, ran out towards the lake, hoping she was not too late.
(So the ending really depends on if we get an Odette-role character and what happens with them. This version here will be assuming we don't get one before the end, and I control the whole story. In either case, given Natalia's personality and dedication to her duty, I don't believe she would kill herself.)
Natalia arrived at the lake to see her beloved dying, her tears and apologies having no effect. There, the sorcerer appeared again, mocking them, and she shot an arrow, straight and true, killing him.
But that could not undo the curse, of course, and the two said their farewells to each other.
Grimly, Natalia returned to the castle, to face a new future.
(Natalia will be taken from the period before her ball. As a reference and so I don't forget -- her birthday's supposed to be February 6th, according to a site I found that translated the ToA calendar into ours. So I intend to bring the story to the point of the ball on that date next year.)
Current area of residence: Kingdom of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear, in the Northern Territories
Sample journal entry:
Today looks to be yet another beautiful day! The sun is still shining, though summer is ending soon. It is this kind of weather that is most comfortable: not too hot, and not yet cold. Truly, I should take advantage of these conditions and practice my archery more. Oh, but I mustn't forget my studies, and I do believe the clinic is short-handed this week.
There is so much to do these days that it's almost overwhelming. Soon, the harvests will come in as well, and after that, I will need to help our huntsmen fill the castle larders for the winter. Let me see... There is also the festival that the bakers' guild invited me to near the end of the next month. It is so early, but I am truly honoured. Oh... If I recall, they were a day too late the previous year, and I was invited to the one held by the merchants' guild instead. I shall also need to survey the fields soon, as well. Father has heard tales that there may be unrest amongst the farmers living near the edges of our kingdom.
I wonder how I will ever find time to do everything! Still, I am happy to keep occupied.
I have not thought of him as much lately. I... I will do my best to keep our promise. I wonder if he would be proud to see me like this now...
Roleplay sample:
It was a practiced motion, archery. Natalia could feel the eyes of the spectators, though she kept her own on the target, her gaze never wavering. The bow felt an extension of her arm, sure and natural.
Her people wanted to watch her; she would not disappoint.
It was a practiced motion: nock the arrow, draw, and in one motion, release. It sounded so simple in words, and she could still remember the first day she started and wondered why her arrows flew everywhere except where they needed to go. Her instructor made her shoot again, again and again and again, until her fingers were blistered and raw and her arms felt like jelly. She had threatened to fire her archery master that day, and her father had informed her that if she could not perform the simple tasks her instructor gave her, then she was not fit to inherit the Lanvaldear-style archery.
By the end of the week, she could hit the center nine times out of ten at five meters, her hands and arms no longer hurt, and her hand-maidens declared over her poor fingers, half-healed and callousing.
It was a practiced motion to breathe, and each breath counted down to the sound of her heartbeats, loud in her ears even through the noises of the crowd. In archery, she learned, when she could improve no further however steady she held the bow, your whole body had to align with your arrow. The placement of your feet, the set of your shoulders, and the pace of your breath and the beat of your heart. It would not take more than one of those elements to be amiss to ruin an entire shot at this distance.
The crowd was distracting, and always would be, but Natalia Luzu Kimlasca-Lanvaldear did not miss. Not before and not now; she would not.
It was a practiced motion when she curtsied to cheers and claps, to the smiles of hunters and of her grizzled, old archery master. And she was as slender and graceful as her bent bow, and just as strong.
E-mail: arivess@gmail.com
Messenger name: rachelani@hotmail.com / LadyArivess
Previous RP experience (if any): I think we know mine... For Natalia in particular, I have x_astral_rain_x and artemis_royal.
Character's full name: Natalia Luzu Kimlasca-Lanvaldear
Series: Tales of the Abyss
Gender: Female
Age: 18 (canonly 18; is currently 17 in Mukashi)
Personality:
Natalia, at first, comes off as very regal, as well as she should be; she is the princess/heir of a kingdom, after all. She is commanding and generally obeyed, and does not take "no" for an answer. Of course, aside from her father and Luke (her fiance and the duke's son), there are not many people who would disobey.
Speaking of commanding, Natalia is just as much demanding, especially towards Luke, who pretty much never listens to her, though, unlike her father, his station is not above hers. Natalia is forever reprimanding him for just about everything: making them worry by disappearing, not acting enough like a noble, not being kind to the people, not acting worthy of being the future king, etc. She's also quite demanding in itself towards Luke and his servant Guy, constantly telling the gynophobic Guy that he's going to have to get over his condition soon because he'll be her servant too once she marries Luke. However, despite the way it sounds, Natalia does not expect things of others (most particularly Luke) that she does not display herself -- mainly the qualities of a good ruler; after all, he is supposed to be the future ruler of her kingdom.
But despite all this, Natalia is not a bad princess. She cares deeply for her people, which is one reason Luke's "yeah whatever" attitude drives her up the wall. She believes that a ruler exists for the people, and does her utmost to help them. She is the one mainly responsible for a clinics and such in Kimlasca, and often volunteers at those and works as an ambassador. She is so popular with the common people, in fact, that at one point in the game, the people in Baticul, the castle town, rise up against the king's guards in order to protect her.
It is not only for her own kingdom that she is concerned, either. At one point, Kimlasca is asked to help Akzeriuth, a mining town lying on the border between Kimlasca and Malkuth and belonging to Malkuth. Even though relations between the two kingdoms are shaky, Natalia invites herself along on the journey and does her best to save the people there. While Luke disdains the miners and wants nothing to do with the miasma-covered area, Natalia immediately dives in and tries to help as many people as she can, with no regard to the danger to her own person. Another reason for this is because she is a Seventh Fonist -- a healer; Tear, the other Seventh Fonist in the group, also readily tries to help during that scene. Still, it is partially because of these types of convictions of hers that she helps to save the world, and tries so hard for her people.
Natalia, during the course of the game, gets torn between duty and love. She hounds on Luke despite him apparently losing his memories 7 years ago and forgetting his promise to marry her, because it is her duty to do so; it can be argued that she still loves him a little, at least, but it's more a friendly love rather than romatic. Upon (spoiler alert!) discovering that Asch is actually "her" Luke who made her that promise, she finds the decision harder to make, since he is no longer the duke's son and the prophecied "Light of the Sacred Flame", and is, in fact, their enemy of a sort. She mentions in a conversation that she will, of course, marry whomever her father sees fit, be it Luke, Asch, or someone else altogether, true to the mark of a good princess. The more the group crosses paths with Asch, however, the more obvious it is that Natalia truly loves him; near the end, even Natalia's sense of duty is not immune, and her love does overcome her better judgment and almost costs the group their lives.
Natalia's love of her people and of Asch are the central pillars of her personality, symbolized in her betrothal promise with Asch that Luke does not "remember", to change their country so that no one has to be poor and war never happens. It is for this promise that she loved Asch, and loves him still after seeing that he is still the same; and it is for this promise that she is the way she is.
Now, then, onto the smaller and somewhat more cracktastic points of her personality...
Natalia is not very smart. Well. That's not exactly true. She's fairly book-smart, but she's very, very gullible. In one conversation, a character tells her that another character's eyebrows can shoot laser; in another, that a character's not-different-from-normal clothing contain air-conditioning, and she completely believes both of those. She is also quite good at being totally blonde without other people's help, once believing that she wasn't the princess because she was sweating and princesses didn't sweat (which would almost make sense but still not quite, except they were in a desert next to a volcano).
She's also pretty bad at blackmailing, though she did succeed once. She uses the simplest threats (such as refusing to get away from Guy, Luke's gynophobic servant) and accepts his agreement to her demands, without realizing that he had no intentions of following through on it.
Though very cultured now, Natalia is hinted to have been adventurous and a slight bit of a troublemaker as a child. She mentions an instance from her childhood where Asch caught her as she jumped from her castle window, in order to sneak off. And her chilhood dream was to become a famous thief, due to a book series she read. She was, however, just as much of a romantic then as she is now -- probably more of one, since she shows it less, now, and pushes it aside in favour of her duties -- often making flower crowns for Asch and later Luke; and making Asch pinky-swear to go with her together to the town of Belkend when they grew up.
Oh, oh, and on a random note: Natalia can't cook at all (in fact, most of what she makes are burnt on the outside and raw on the inside), and she likes ghost stories.
Fairy tale/myth/legend: Swan Lake
Role: Prince Siegfried
Kingdom territory of origin: Northern
Adaptation:
(Note: This story greatly concerns two characters, that of the Siegfried role and that of the Odette role. I've tried to leave the Odette role as vague as possible, and hope that whoever may wish to take it in the future speaks to me so we can work something out together with what I already have here.))
In the kingdom of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear (generally just called "Kimlasca"; the "Lanvaldear" comes from the ruling family's surname), the king and queen had a daughter, but she was stillborn. The princess's to-be nanny took the child of her daughter, born only a few days ago, and gave her to the queen instead, to raise as her own. Thus the infant Meryl was re-dubbed "Natalia", and raised as the princess.
Natalia grew up not knowing anything of her birth-parents; indeed, not knowing she was anything but the princess. As the crown passed to the eldest child in their kingdom (and she was the only child, anyway), she was the heir to the throne, and studied hard to make herself a good future queen.
When she was young, her father -- her mother had died not long after her birth -- took her to see the prince of a neighboring kingdom around her own age, hoping to engage the two children and form a lasting alliance between their kingdoms. Though they had their squabbles, Natalia quite took to the prince and delighted in spending time with him; and their parents began to take them to see each other every summer. They, as two idealistic children with a shared dream, made a vow to marry and change their kingdoms, so that people wouldn't be poor, so that there would be no more wars. (Will change this whole section to fit if someone applies the Odette-role and wants something different.)
One day, however, Natalia's betrothed disappeared, and no one was quite sure what happened to him. Natalia kept holding onto the hope that he was still alive, however, but as summers came and went, her father no longer took her to see him, and stopped mentioning him altogether. Natalia tried to put him out of her mind as well, pouring all her time and energy into studying, training in archery, and doing community service, earning her the love of her people. She became an avid hunter, mastering the Lanvaldear archery style, passed down through her father's line. She had, at the start, been squeamish about hunting, actually, but she understood that the food they had did not simply appear, and took responsibility for knowing the bloodier side of it. When she became a little older, she went on trips around the world as an ambassador of Kimlasca, to better understand the people, and to improve relations between their kingdoms and hers.
And then the suitors started arriving.
With the disappearance of Natalia's betrothed, she was, in the public eye, free to marry another. And furthermore, she was a beautiful, kind, and intelligent princess in the bloom of youth, soon coming of age, and the heir to a kingdom -- a rare specimen. Princes and dukes and other lords came from all over to court her, and, concerned for her future and the wellfare of the kingdom, her father ordered a ball be held on her 18th birthday, and for her to choose her future husband then. Natalia, gracefully accepting her duty as she always had, nonetheless asked, a few days before the ball (timeframe might change to suit RPing needs better, since almost everything happens story-wise within a few days), to allow her to go on one last great hunt by herself, knowing her future would be limited afterwards. Her father did not agree.
Natalia ran off, anyway; though it was not in her nature to disobey, she was still a willful girl, and she deemed this important. Fearing discovery, she rode as far from the kingdom as she could, until she realized that she was somewhat lost. Oh, she could retrace her steps, to be sure, but she had never been in that part of the forest before, and, not wanting to return, she proceeded more cautiously.
It was then that she saw a flock of swans, beautiful and majestic (animal may change depending on possible future Odette-role's choice). They were too far, and she too curious, to shoot, so she simply followed them until they led her to a lake. Night had fallen, and, as they touched the moonlight on the lake, the swans changed, one by one, into a young noble -- the leader of whom was Natalia's betrothed. After their reunion, he explained to her his situation: he was captured by a sorcerer, the master of the castle, and cursed to be a swan by day and man only by night. If the sorcerer was killed before the curse was undone, said curse would last forever. The only way to save him would be if someone were to make a vow before all the world to marry him.
And there presented the perfect opportunity: Natalia's ball, only a few days (or however long) hence. Natalia invited him to attend her ball, promising that there, she will declare him her betrothed before all the world.
Natalia returned home, happy even in the face of her father's rebuke, and swore to him that she would find a husband in the ball ahead.
The date of the ball came, and Natalia danced with the suitors, polite, but bestowing no greater interest on any one person than another.
And she waited.
True to his word, her betrothed came -- or so she thought. She did not know that it was a trick, someone that the sorcerer who cursed her betrothed made to look like him. She could not tell the difference, and made her vows to the fake. It was then that the sorcerer appeared and showed her the truth, that her "betrayal" would then kill her real beloved. Natalia, shocked and horrified, ran out towards the lake, hoping she was not too late.
(So the ending really depends on if we get an Odette-role character and what happens with them. This version here will be assuming we don't get one before the end, and I control the whole story. In either case, given Natalia's personality and dedication to her duty, I don't believe she would kill herself.)
Natalia arrived at the lake to see her beloved dying, her tears and apologies having no effect. There, the sorcerer appeared again, mocking them, and she shot an arrow, straight and true, killing him.
But that could not undo the curse, of course, and the two said their farewells to each other.
Grimly, Natalia returned to the castle, to face a new future.
(Natalia will be taken from the period before her ball. As a reference and so I don't forget -- her birthday's supposed to be February 6th, according to a site I found that translated the ToA calendar into ours. So I intend to bring the story to the point of the ball on that date next year.)
Current area of residence: Kingdom of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear, in the Northern Territories
Sample journal entry:
Today looks to be yet another beautiful day! The sun is still shining, though summer is ending soon. It is this kind of weather that is most comfortable: not too hot, and not yet cold. Truly, I should take advantage of these conditions and practice my archery more. Oh, but I mustn't forget my studies, and I do believe the clinic is short-handed this week.
There is so much to do these days that it's almost overwhelming. Soon, the harvests will come in as well, and after that, I will need to help our huntsmen fill the castle larders for the winter. Let me see... There is also the festival that the bakers' guild invited me to near the end of the next month. It is so early, but I am truly honoured. Oh... If I recall, they were a day too late the previous year, and I was invited to the one held by the merchants' guild instead. I shall also need to survey the fields soon, as well. Father has heard tales that there may be unrest amongst the farmers living near the edges of our kingdom.
I wonder how I will ever find time to do everything! Still, I am happy to keep occupied.
I have not thought of him as much lately. I... I will do my best to keep our promise. I wonder if he would be proud to see me like this now...
Roleplay sample:
It was a practiced motion, archery. Natalia could feel the eyes of the spectators, though she kept her own on the target, her gaze never wavering. The bow felt an extension of her arm, sure and natural.
Her people wanted to watch her; she would not disappoint.
It was a practiced motion: nock the arrow, draw, and in one motion, release. It sounded so simple in words, and she could still remember the first day she started and wondered why her arrows flew everywhere except where they needed to go. Her instructor made her shoot again, again and again and again, until her fingers were blistered and raw and her arms felt like jelly. She had threatened to fire her archery master that day, and her father had informed her that if she could not perform the simple tasks her instructor gave her, then she was not fit to inherit the Lanvaldear-style archery.
By the end of the week, she could hit the center nine times out of ten at five meters, her hands and arms no longer hurt, and her hand-maidens declared over her poor fingers, half-healed and callousing.
It was a practiced motion to breathe, and each breath counted down to the sound of her heartbeats, loud in her ears even through the noises of the crowd. In archery, she learned, when she could improve no further however steady she held the bow, your whole body had to align with your arrow. The placement of your feet, the set of your shoulders, and the pace of your breath and the beat of your heart. It would not take more than one of those elements to be amiss to ruin an entire shot at this distance.
The crowd was distracting, and always would be, but Natalia Luzu Kimlasca-Lanvaldear did not miss. Not before and not now; she would not.
It was a practiced motion when she curtsied to cheers and claps, to the smiles of hunters and of her grizzled, old archery master. And she was as slender and graceful as her bent bow, and just as strong.