[Bio] Ellyse Duncan

[Istella]

((Sorry, yet another bio, let me know when they start to get old. ))
Name: Ellyse Duncan
Age: 17
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Class: Assassin


Languages: Common


Personality: Ellyse tends to be a selfish and is extremely possessive, not just of things, but of people. She is prone to paranoia and does not trust easily (especially paladins,) but if you manage to gain it you are ‘hers’ and she will do anything to protect you. She has very little faith in the Light or any other kind of deities or powers and is usually quite scornful of them. She has a calm, analytical mind and prefers to think things through, planning well ahead before she takes action. She is otherwise a quiet, bookish person who would rather read or play with plants than anything else. When her temper is roused, she rarely lets arguments escalate to outright violence, usually opting to walk away. But that doesn’t mean she easily forgives slights; rather, she prefers to find some dark corner to sit in, where she can nurse her resentment and plot her revenge. She can hold a grudge for a very long time.


Likes: Reading books, growing plants, experimenting with different mixtures, and cooking.
Dislikes: Paladins, anyone with a holier-than-thou attitude, not getting paid, and nosy people.


Appearance: Ellyse is a petite 5’1” with a slight frame and delicate features. She has red hair, greenish-yellow eyes, and freckles. Her hands are uncalloused but far from smooth, dotted with many scars from cuts and chemical burns. The last two fingers on her left hand do not have a full range of motion, neither extending nor closing fully; the result of a badly healed injury when she was younger. Her skin tends to be pale due to the large amounts of time she spends indoors and her everyday attire is usually neatly pressed slacks and a blouse. At first, her combat gear just appears to be a normal set of black and red leather, but upon close inspection you might notice all the little compartments in the lining. Hidden pockets and pouches are everywhere; along the seams or stitched on the inside of her belt, vest, pants, even her boots. Almost all of the pockets are filled with vials of deadly poisons, lethal venom, toxic plants, and other nasty bits. She always wears a black bandana in her hair, except when she ties it over her mouth for protection when working with more potent poisons.


Strengths: Ellyse is a master at poisons; she has one for everything- tasteless, scentless ones to add to food or drink, ones that paralyze, ones that kill slowly and painfully, ones that kill almost instantly, ones to coat weapons with, ones to dust over blankets or clothing, and a few potent and extremely rare ones that just have to be inhaled. She mixes them herself, from plants and even animals she has cultivated and raised. She is quite the green thumb and keeps a painstakingly tended garden full of some of the nastiest plants you are likely to encounter, though she is well versed on where to find them in the wild as well.
Weaknesses: She doesn’t like fighting face to face and if she must actually engage in combat, she strikes from the shadows or waits until an ally has the attention of her opponent to stab or poison. She will tire quickly in any one on one confrontation and is not too proud to turn tail and run if she feels she is going to lose. She only uses one dagger, holding it in her right hand because her left is too weak to properly grip a blade’s hilt.


History: Ellyse was born in Southshore in the Hillsbrad foothills to a Lordaeron paladin and his wife, shortly after they were displaced from their original home by the invasion of the Scourge. Her father was a well-respected paladin and officer in the army, but the loss of his homeland to the undead hit him hard. He lost faith in the Silver Hand and, rather than joining the Argent Dawn, turned to the Scarlet Crusade. Her mother was a gentle, pious woman who had her doubts about the Scarlets, but knew far better than to contradict her husband. Ellyse also had an older brother named Lucas who idolized their father.
All in all, Ellyse grew up as a quiet, bookish, well-mannered girl. That is, until she poisoned her father when she was 12 years old. She did it partially because he was a wife beater and partially because he often turned his rage on her as well, but mostly she killed him because he murdered her mother.
Of course he was very good at hiding or explaining away their injuries, it had been going on long before Ellyse was born, and no one had any idea that he was anything but a doting father and husband. Unable to find outside help, and unwilling to let her husband continue to mistreat her children, her mother began to make arrangements to run away with Ellyse and her brother. Once her plans were laid, she went first to Lucas to tell him they were leaving and that was her mistake.
The boy, who had rarely borne the brunt of his father’s abuse, ran to warn him. Enraged at his wife’s ‘betrayal,’ he beat her until long after she stopped moving. After he came to his senses, he carefully disposed of her body and immediately began circulating the story that his wife had ran off with another man, playing the victim and earning the sympathy of many of their neighbors. Ellyse, meanwhile, had no idea what had really happened, but with her mother gone, she was now the most common target for his aggression.
Of course, it was not long before Ellyse came up with the same idea that had gotten her mother killed and she began to plot her own escape. But she too made the same mistake of trying to ‘save’ her brother. Whether it was instinctual preservation of his young, or some other reason, her father managed to exert some form of self-control upon himself and stopped hitting her once she blacked out. He did, however, inadvertently let slip the the truth about her mother's disappearance when he warned Ellyse that she would end up they same way. It was at that point that she stopped thinking about escape, and started planning her revenge.
Ellyse’s mother had been an avid gardener and an accomplished herbalist and she had taught her daughter all about plants, both those that heal and hurt. She still bore the bruises of that last beating the morning she slipped water hemlock into her father’s breakfast. It took nearly an hour for the poison to take effect. She stood there as if rooted in place and watched the entire time as he doubled over in pain and began to vomit. She could not even turn away when he collapsed on to the floor and began to convulse. Even when he finally grew still, she continued to just stand there and stared at him, unable to believe what she had done and half expecting him to get back up and punish her. But not once did she think about remorse, her thoughts were only for her mother.
She was still there, frozen over her father’s body when her brother found her. Upon seeing what she had done, he flew into a rage not unlike their father’s. When he struck her though, Ellyse finally seemed to wake up and for all his fury; it could not match her own. Lucas was bigger than her and stronger, but she was far faster and after a short tussle, she managed to slip away from him. She ran from the house with nothing but the clothes on her back and just kept going.
Ellyse traveled the back roads for several long months, eventually wandering all the way south to Stormwind. Unwilling to trust any of the kind souls who offered to help her along the way; she had instead turned to stealing, becoming an adept pick-pocket and thief. As she got older she learned other skills, how to use daggers and (through reading and experimenting) she became a master at poisons. She turned her new skills into a profession, and quickly became a sought-after assassin at a young age. She keeps her true profession a carefully guarded secret though, and most of her days are spent at her ‘cover’ job, as an assistant in a small bookstore in the city. The job suits her well, for though she is self-educated for the most part, she is quite intelligent and an avid reader.
She is very close-mouthed about her past, even to the handful of people she trusts, and usually won’t even give her parents’ names. She hasn’t seen or spoken to her brother in years.

[Darced]

What a tragic childhood; I really like your story, its well written and the plot is well laid out. An assassin of this caliber should be feared as well as respected, and I look forward to seeing what sort of jobs she embarks on.

[Khorianas]

Really nice read and an original idea. I also like her brother still being around. Usually i have lots of things to critics, but with your bios it seems hard to find something. Only thing I'm wondering were the Scarlet Crusaders tolerated in Southshore? I must admit Warcraft-Human history is where my Lore knowledge is weakest. Other than that a sound and interesting character

[Professor Oak]

I'm sorry, but I'm not normally into RP, but I saw this up on the active topics list, and I just wanted to say..
One of the best bio's I've ever read.
Take it for what it is, but I read a few bios every once in a while, and this is the most down to earth, mellow yet powerful bio I've read. Ever.
Kudos to you, sir and/or ma'am.

[Istella]

I picked Southshore because it was the most northern human controlled settlement other than Light's Hope (controlled by the Argents) and Tyr's Hand (controlled by the Scarlets.) I considered putting their family in Tyr's Hand but decided that even if she somehow managed to get away from all of those Scarlets, a 12 year old would never have made it through the Plaguelands alone.

As far as Scarlets in Southshore, if I remember correctly, back in the day there used to be a Scarlet questgiver in Desolace that sent you to another guy in Southshore. It turns out the second guy was a good guy but he used to be part of the Scarlet Crusade.

I reasoned that as long as he didn't get too violent or outspoken in public, her father could have worked as a recruiter and sent people interested in fighting the undead over to the Scarlets rather than the Argents. I envisioned him as being very manipulative of people.

Thanks for taking the time to look over my bio though, I really appreciate it. ^_^