Name: Eva Temaro
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Species: Hare
Appearance: Eva is tall for her age so it’s not unlikely that creatures peg her as being a year or two older. Her body is reasonably muscular, especially in her biceps. She has powerful legs and can outrun and out kick quite a few hares that are her age. Eva looks to be a warrior in the making, though her blade work suggests that she needs more training.
Eva’s fur is mottled. Most of her coat is light brown though there is a darker crest on top of her head that extends down her back. This crest is dark brown, bordering on black. The fur beneath her nose is white. The tips of her ears are ebony, as is her tail. She’s still growing into her ears so they’re a bit big for her head. They look even more comical when she wears hoop earrings. Her piercing amber eyes seem to change depending on the intensity of light. In sunlight, they are a liquid gold while in the dark, they look a shade closer to brown. They don’t actually switch color; it’s just how the sunlight plays with her irises.
Eva wears modest clothing, especially when she’s out traveling. She favors pants over skirts or dresses, and she likes wearing jerkins that leave her arms bear. Often, you may see her sporting a leather or metal brace around her right arm. She also likes wearing black fingerless gloves on her paws to keep her palms from getting scratched up. Truthfully, she is rather accident prone. Her clothing is usually accompanied by a black or brown belt beneath a colorful sash. Color wise, she favors red, gold, or green but she will force herself to dress in the colors of her surroundings so she can blend in. She carries a Salamandastron uniform with her, but it’s tucked away in her haversack so that no one can see it.
Eva never used to wear a lot of jewelry because of the strict rules at Salamandastron, but since she has left the mountain, she’s grown accustomed to purchasing rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings. She always wears a small sapphire ring on her right paw which belonged to her mother. There are two earrings in her right ear and three in her left which jingle when she waggles the appendages. There is a gold chain around her throat with a wooden carving of a hare that her brother made for her. Sometimes she wears a bandana around her head to keep her headfur out of her eyes.
Personality: Eva has a very mixed personality. In a lot of cases, she is a very bitter and angry young hare, but she tries to cover it with laughter and smiles. Most of her personality can be explained in her history but, in short, she has had a bad relationship with that wonderful word called “fate.” At one time, she used to be a hopeful maid filled with dreams of the future. Now, she’s just trying to get through each day and figure out where she belongs. A falling out with her brother has left her extremely bitter, and she has even given up her place at Salamandastron so that she doesn’t have to deal with him. Though she may look about 19, Eva still has a lot to learn about herself and the world. She’s seen more than others her age have seen, but she still has yet to develop a wise mind. She’s quick to jump to conclusions and she’s certainly not afraid to speak her mind, even if it might hurt someone. At times, she can appear shy, but she’s usually just gauging the situation she’s in.
The past year has changed Eva quite a bit. She used to be much more hopeful about life, but the death of her kin has left her damaged. The realization that they’re gone will hit her randomly and she’ll collapse into a fit of tears. She’s tried to turn to drinking once or twice to get rid of those feelings of sorrow and guilt, but she doesn’t want to be like her brother. Besides, the drinks taste horrible. She doesn’t talk to many creatures about what happened to her family, mostly because she doesn’t want to remember the guilt. She blames herself for what happened to them, and she hasn’t found anyone to console her. Eva’s not really looking for a shoulder to cry on, though it would be nice.
When she’s not a sourpuss, Eva is rather pleasant to be around. She believes that she can hide her grief and her anger if she distracts beasts with her wit. She likes to tell jokes as much as the next person. She loves to race, spar, or tell stories when there are creatures willing to listen. Mind you, she prefers a smaller crowd that she is familiar with, but she isn’t opposed to regaling a large group with fantastical tales. Her weakness is children. She adores young hares or dibbuns because they come up with some of the most entertaining games. She might be older than them, but it’s sometimes easier to talk to a child about her problems than an adult. They listen without giving advice. Eva tries really, really hard to act friendly to new creatures. She’ll even put on a fake smile if necessary. It’s not that Eva’s trying to be deceitful. She just wants to try to make a good impression so that she can find a friend. Though Eva won’t admit it, she hates being alone. She wants to have a close group of creatures that she can relate to, even if they are a bit older or younger. Eva may not like a large audience, but she certainly doesn’t mind small ones.
Another small weakness she suffers from is her terror of fire. Even the smell of a huge gust of smoke will make her tremble. She won’t fight with fire and when there is a campfire, she will sit several feet away from it, even if she is cold. She’s learned to eat food uncooked because of her fear of the flames.
She’s also not as knowledgeable about blades as she would like to be. Because her training stopped halfway through, she only knows some of the basics of fighting. The rest of the time she guesses which way she should swing her sword. She is a decent archer considering she hasn’t put an arrow through her footpaw yet, or anyone else’s for that matter.
One nice attribute about Eva is her laugh. It’s never the same. One moment she’ll cackle softly, the next she’ll chortle loudly which is quickly followed by a high-pitched squeak or a rumble in her stomach. No one ever really knows what kind of laugh she’ll use. Her favorite laugh she jokingly calls the “hyena” because it’s a long, throaty chuckle that just won’t stop unless she can’t breathe. Her laugh is quite infectious to some while others find it quite annoying. And to go along with her laugh, she’s a terrible snorer. She can’t even hear a bugle call because she makes so much noise during the night. No wonder her siblings never wanted to sleep in the same room!
Contrary to her obnoxious laugh and horrid snoring, Eva has a beautiful singing voice. She favors soprano but she doesn’t mind singing the alto range. She makes up a lot of her own songs. They may not make a lot of sense, but no one seems to care since they like her voice so much. Eva doesn’t sing a lot. Usually she hums or whistles under her breath and she sings only when she’s marching or when she’s alone. She doesn’t consider herself that great of a singer even if she’s been told otherwise. Eva doesn’t consider herself to be a vain so she doesn’t flaunt her singing. Yet, she has no qualms spouting the most, in her words, “Fantastical tales in all the land!” Alright….so maybe she is a little vain.
History: Eva grew up in a small house south of Salamandastron. Her father Galiare was once a member of the Long Patrol and only gave up his rank when he met his wife, Harriet. She was a musician for a local gypsy group, living under the watchful and judgmental eye of her father, Javis. However, the moment Galiare met her, he stole her away and they eloped at a very early age. Eva’s brother, Orion, was the first child born to the happy couple. He looked a lot like his mother who was an arctic hare. About 9 years later, Harriet gave birth to Eva and her twin sister Jolene. They lived peacefully together for about four years. Eva and Jolene were both cherished by their parents and even Orion did everything he could to make the young twins happy.
On Eva’s fourth birthday, there came a disturbance in the woods surrounding their small home. On a scouting journey, Galiare noticed the telltale signs that vermin were in their territory. Harriet had been planning a visit to see her father, but upon this warning, she canceled the trip and kept the family at home. Eva was only too happy. Jolene had started to show signs of sickness and she didn’t want her sister to get worse on the long trip.
About three days later, after Eva, Jolene, and Orion were fast asleep, there came the sound of barely-concealed voices sniggering and blades clinking. Eva poked her head out the window and saw dark figures mauling around her home. There were only a pawful of beasts, but they still outnumbered her family. Terrified, Eva woke up her siblings and dashed to her parents’ room, but by then it was too late. The front door burst open and about ten vermin scrambled inside. They smelled of cheap alcohol and were waving swords haphazardly around the hallway. One rat even stabbed a fellow vermin in the chest, accidentally, and laughed as he collapsed to the floor.
They spotted Eva first and licked their blades with anticipation. She didn’t know what to do. If she ran into her siblings’ room, they would kill her brother and sister. If she ran to her parents, they would die instead. Fortunately, Eva didn’t have to decide. Galiare appeared with sword drawn and gallantly charged the vermin. Eva watched, astonished as her father fought. Suddenly, two paws grabbed her and she screamed and kicked as Orion dragged her out a nearby window. Jolene ran after him but before she could get out, a stoat snatched her by the back of her shirt and jerked her back into the house.
Eva and an unarmed Orion could only watch helplessly as their parents and little sister were slaughtered. Fire licked at the rafters of their house and while Eva fought to get free, Orion dragged her away from their home, leaving it and their family to burn.
Losing her twin was a terrible experience for Eva. Some creatures say that when something happens to one twin, the other can feel it. There were many nights after the attack that Eva woke up screaming because she felt like she was being slashed or burned. Orion never knew how to comfort her and he would sit there, listening as she relived those night terrors. They still haunt her today.
Shortly after the murder of their family, Orion and Eva happened to come across a beautiful home a few days walk from their ruined house. They had nowhere to go, since they didn’t know how to find their grandfather, so they knocked on the door, hoping that the beasts inside would help them. They had slept in the woods for several days and all they had with them, or rather all that they had saved from the fire, were their own bodies and the night clothes that they were wearing. The door opened and they came face to face with Gladepaw and his wife Lilyfern. They were young and fresh into their marriage, but when they saw the bedraggled siblings, they willingly took them in as their own children. They sent Orion off to school and taught Eva how to read, write, and sing.
Eva wasn’t exactly happy with Lilyfern and Gladepaw at first. She missed her parents and it hurt her to be without her twin. Days passed in which she refused to talk, eat, or do anything except rest in bed with the scraps of her old clothing. The scent of her sister still lingered in the fabric. Lilyfern and Gladepaw were worried about her. Eva couldn’t stand the worry in their eyes so one day she pushed down her sorrow and came bounding out of her room all smiles and giggles. She wanted to make her new guardians happy and what better way than to take away their worry.
For several years, Eva and Orion lived happily with their new family. Gladepaw was a traveling healer and Lilyfern made jewelry that she sold to passing caravans. At night, they would share meals together and talk about their day. When Eva was 9, Orion asked if he could travel to Salamandastron to visit the hares and the badger lord. He felt like he was being called to the mountain and he wanted to fight with the hares to bring justice to the wicked. He later explained to Eva that he was still bitter over what happened to their parents and he was hoping that by joining the Long Patrol he could avenge his parents. That, and he wanted to follow in his father’s pawsteps.
Gladepaw was loath to let him leave at first, but after a long discussion with Lilyfern, they agreed and Orion left the next day. Eva was heartbroken. She loved her new parents, but she didn’t want to live without her brother. She continued to go to school and practice her studies, but resentment built up in her heart against her brother. Each time he came home to visit, she was ecstatic to see him, but the moment he left, she locked herself in her room for two days. Fortunately, the siblings sent letters back to each other so Eva had some idea what her brother was doing.
The letters were what made Eva interested in the Long Patrol. Yes, her father had told her wonderful stories of the battles he had faced, but she could barely remember them. Orion’s letters were much more vivid and she put them on her wall so that she could read them at night. Dreams influenced her decision to follow her brother and, when she turned 11, she asked if she could go to the mountain as well.
Again, Lilyfern and Gladepaw were not happy, but they let her go. They were trying to have children and they figured it would be a little quieter if both of their adopted kids were off living their own lives. Plus, they wanted their children to be happy. Lilyfern was teary-eyed on the morning of Eva’s departure, but the young haremaiden left with her mother’s blessing.
She attended Salamandastron for a good four years. She learned under her brother and the other warriors. Her paws grew accustomed to the short swords and her fingers caressed the wood of the bow. Eva was an apt student and willing to follow whatever orders she was given. The leverets teased her at first because her ears were so big and she looked so much older than they did, but they grew to respect her over time. Yet, rivalry grew between Eva and Orion. While he was obviously a better fighter, Eva earned the admired looks of her elders. She was known as Galiare’s daughter while Orion was just called by his name. He slowly stopped training her, but Eva didn’t notice until he missed three of their training sessions. Only then did she suspect something was wrong.
Shortly after she turned 15, Eva decided that she and Orion should visit their parents. They would go home for holidays but Lilyfern had just given birth to her first biological daughter, Irene, and Eva wanted to help out her parents. Orion didn’t want to go home, but he wasn’t going to just let his sister leave the mountain alone. She was only 15 after all.
They set out together and stayed with their family for a couple of days. Eva adored her little sister, and Lilyfern and Gladepaw were only too happy to let her baby sit. One night, Eva put the young leveret to bed and kissed her goodnight. What she didn’t realize was that she left a burning candle on a table close to the bed. Eva went to sleep while Orion snuck out to scout the woods for any signs of trouble.
Late in the night, Eva woke up with a start as her night terrors returned. She thought she heard her twin sister crying out for Eva to help her, but she just figured it was her dream. The maid went back to sleep, oblivious that it had actually been Irene calling to her.
No one really knows what happened, but Eva believes that Irene saw the glowing candle and grew curious. She reached out for the flame and burnt her paw. As she jerked her burnt fingers back, she knocked the candle over. It rolled off of the table and fell into a pile of parchment which instantly lit on fire. Irene cried because her paw hurt and had Eva listened, she would have found the candle in time to stop the inferno.
Sadly, Eva didn’t wake up until the smoke started clogging her throat. She dizzily crawled out of bed and caught whiff of the fire. Once again, she was thrown back into that terrible night when the vermin attacked her family. She barely made it to the door before the flames chased her from her room. The maid stumbled into Lilyfern and Gladepaw’s room and shook them awake. They were even dizzier than she was, but she managed to get them out before it was too late. It wasn’t until the fresh, night air helped clear their minds that they realized no one had rescued Irene. By the time the fire was extinguished, there was nothing left of the leveret except for the burnt bed.
Lilyfern and Gladepaw were devastated. They wouldn’t even look at Eva and when she tried to help salvage items from the house, Lilyfern screamed for Eva to go away. Gladepaw tried to console his wife, but the pain-filled looks that he sent Eva were enough to break her heart. That evening, she wrote a note to them, the parchment dripping with her teardrops. It said just how sorry she was that Irene was gone. She asked for their forgiveness and told them that they could find her at Salamandastron.
They never responded.
Orion was even harder to deal with. When they went back to the mountain, he refused to speak to her. Eva attended her daily lessons, waiting for the letter, waiting for her brother to speak. After a week, she couldn’t stand it any longer. She confronted him in the middle of the dining hall.
“Dash it all, why won’t you bally well speak to me, wot?” she cried, fighting back tears.
Orion calmly looked down at her and growled into her face. “Because your irresponsibility killed Irene. It’s your fault that she’s dead!”
If Eva hadn’t practiced keeping a straight face and hiding her grief, she would have collapsed in front of her brother. Instead, she calmly left the room, packed up her clothing, her books, and some food. She put a necklace he had made her around her throat, grabbed her blades, and walked out of Salamandastron without a word to her commanders or her brother.
For the next two years, Eva wandered the land. She took little jobs to survive and volunteered to help the elderly or the poor at forts or small homes. Deep down, she felt that she had to find some way to redeem herself. She stayed at one fort for a short while but grew tired of the lies and deceit.
Now, she’s traveling to Black Arch Fort, hoping to start her life over for the better. She still hopes to hear from her brother and her parents, but she doesn’t expect a response.
Skills and weaponry: As was stated, Eva’s still learning how to use the short swords and she’s decent with the bow. She also knows how to box, like most Salamandastron hares, but she hasn’t physically fought anyone for quite some time. Her blades and bow are not special to her. She would trade them for better crafted weapons if necessary. Eva is a strong writer and an avid reader; hence she can recite many stories to her friends. Through reading, she has learned a few rules about healing, but definitely not enough to save her life. She’s also a strong singer, though she doesn’t use her voice very much unless she’s alone.
