Name: Sonia Windburnt
Age: Middleaged
Gender: female
Species: hare
Rank: East Tower Commander
Physical Appearance:
Sonia's appearance is borderline odd. She dearly loves uniforms of any style, and the more formal, the better. Unlike several of the other officers who adhere to a more informal dress on a day to day basis, she is almost always found in the proper Black Arch uniform. In stark contrast to her starched and orderly clothing, Sonia has picked up a variety of jewelry and tattoos during her travels, and these adorn any surface not covered by a uniform. She gets very defensive if anyone suggests that they do not match.... which, of course, they don't. Between the jewelry and uniform detailing, there is a distinct chink-clank-clank sound that preceeds Sonia into any room.
As with most hares, her initial appearance is one of lanky muscle. She is tall and wirey almost to the extreme, though her facial features and smile are distinctly feminine. When she isn't giving orders or lecturing random facts, Sonia can be an outrageous flirt. Rumor has it that many of her earrings, bracelets and other elements of decor are from past admirers. However, she probably started that rumor herself.
Personality & History:
Sonia is an awkward mix of overbearingly intellectual and shamelessly blunt; a complicated phrase for a complicated individual. Is she a dangerous, perilous, loyal fighting hare? To the extreme. Is she socially awkward and nerdy? Absolutely.
The first few years of Sonia's upbringing were relatively uneventful. Like so many of her species and lineage, she was born at the firemountain - just another face among the spring crop of leverets. Her parents were respected officers, her family had a good name, and she had a pleasant upbringing.
The majority of Sonia's education was carried out on the practice and parade grounds, and like so many before her, she excelled. Proficient with a variety of weapons, she found her particular talent lay with blades. Salamandastron has always been full of fine instructors, and they quickly turned Sonia into a fine little warrior(ess) in training. She appeared to be falling in line with the thousands before her and the thousands who will doubtless follow..... until the broken ankle.
At the tender age of adolescence, while running a tracking drill, Sonia slipped and twisted her ankle quite badly. She landed herself in the infirmary, and was strictly grounded from practice for nearly a full season. At first she was deeply resentful.... this was spring training, after all. If she failed to perform it was very likely she wouldn't be sent out with the next round of patrols, never mind advancement. She sulked, and moped, and sulked some more.
The officers were convinced her bad attitude would be contagious, so they sent her off to take care of some remedial, time consuming tasks that no one else could be bothered with. One of these was to organize the library. One week later, Salamandastron unexpectedly went to war.
The Badger Lord (NAME) rallied his officers and his army, and into the horizon they marched. Sonia and her broken ankle were left behind along with a small skeleton crew.
The young, athletic hare was absolutely bored out of her mind. She hobbled around the mountain, pestering the guards. Finally one of the remaining officers became so annoyed with her that he decided to enforce her task list: Sonia was sent to the library. At first, her resentment was so strong she was slamming books around, left to right, shoving stacks aside, and generally making a bigger mess than prior to her arrival. As the days turned into weeks, she composed herself and began to organize the vast volumes stored beneath the mountain. It wasn't long before several of the titles intrigued her, and she began flicking through the dusty pages.
Within a month, she was spending nearly all of her waking hours engrossed in the pages of Salamandastron's library. The volumes had long since been organized, but her fixation was growing. She read everything... history, biology, cartography, prose, recipes, riddles, whimsical stories, narrative interviews, and every single scrap she could get her paws on. The season wore on, and Sonia's mind became filled with words upon words. The other officers let her be, as she had long since stopped pestering them.
The following season, the army returned at last. Sonia was overjoyed! Here, at last, was her opportunity to rejoin her friends and family upon the glorious battlefield. Unfortunately, it was not so simple. Her mind had filled up with the stories and vocabulary of the firemountain's books, and concurrently lost the pleasant social skills and easy demeanor required for mountain life.
Sonia had turned into an insufferable know-it-all, on any subject imagineable. She was incapable of participating in any conversation without cramming in random facts or figures - regardless of whether or not they pertained to the task at hand. She drove her family, commanding officers, and colleagues absolutely crazy. For the next four years, she fulfilled the requirements of her training both on the battlefield and off. She was skilled, without a doubt.... but anyone who went out on patrol with her swore up and down they would never do it again. A simple "Sonia, try and find some ingredients for the soup" would result in something to the effect of "Leeks.... leeks, must be leeks 'round these parts. Allium porrum, that's th'other name, wot? In the lilly family, no less. Related t'onions and garlic, y'know-" and so on.
In an official decision to restore sanity to the patrols, Sonia had to depart Salamandastron. She took her weapons and a light traveling pack. She spent the next several years wandering in and out of jobs and mixed company. Word of Black Arch reached her ears, and off she went - in search of the next great adventure.
Skills and Weaponry:
Weaponry of Choice - Sabre, Throwing Knives
