Runa Starshine

Character Name: Runa Starshine

Nickname(s): Chuckles/Giggles/etc.
 
Race:  Nord

Sex: Female

Age:  19

Birthplace: A farm south of Windhelm






Height:
6'2"

Weight:
170 lbs

Eye Color:
Grey

Hair Color:
Blonde

Hair Style: long with braids

Facial Hair:
N/A

Skin Color:
White

Build:
Strong and powerful for a woman

Distinguishing Features: A long scar across her right cheek nearly to her jaw, two small circular scars on her neck





Profession:
Dawnguard Soldier

Skills: (In descending order) Two-handed weapons, One-handed weapons, Blocking and Parrying, Light Armor, Alchemy, Ranged weapons, Restoration (barely above Novice due to lack of early training)

Magic: Basic Healing, wards, and rudimentary counter-undead/vampire spells

Training: Trained by the Dawnguard for the last three years, some prior training with family (whom had been soldiers), self-trained in alchemy, farm experience

Other Abilities: Nordic racial abilities, trained in the maintenance of farm equipment, taught to cook, skilled rider, reasonably good with horses and other domesticated animals.

Apparel: Dawnguard armor with helmet and fur coat

Weaponry: longsword/bastard sword (Rune sword, so add runes to the design) //  Crossbow and bolts // Hunting knife // Buckler

Other Equipment: Assorted survival supplies, assorted potions of varying usefulness, weapon maintenance equipment, an amulet of Stendarr

Companions: Her horse, Smokey


Affiliation: Dawnguard

Religious Belief: Nine Divines

Sexual Preference: Straight

Relationship Status: Single

Personality: Runa is a fairly tough and powerful woman in outward personality, often the sort to join in parties around a fireplace or campfire and drink after a fire or just for the sake of it.  She can come across as insensitive, speaking bluntly and, often, rather crassly with plenty of swearing when she is excited or agitated.  She also has a peculiar way of facing pain, known amongst her comrades for her habit of laughing when she gets hit.  Similarly, she will usually laugh, joke, drink and celebrate after the loss of a friend, preferring to commemorate the end their lives with recollections of their good times rather than mope and groan, often saying things to the effect of "What point is there in being depressed by death when it's our job?"  Now, that's not to say she's oblivious to others' feelings, but rather this is how she deals with her own pain, and will usually make an attempt to tone down on the cheer and comfort the person--though how well she'll do at that is a question up for debate.  Ironically for a dedicated vampire hunter, she doesn't proclaim to attach herself to causes, but rather to people, and as such is both very interested in the welfare of civilians and supremely loyal to individuals who earn her trust.  And don't let that talk of laughter make you think she is immune to sorrow, because she can be brought to tears if someone particularly close to her dies or if something particularly horrible happens, just like any other man/mer.  In fact, she's far from oblivious to situations, often making pessimistic quips about the likelihood of ambushes/dangerous creatures/etc. or growing a sudden serious side when she knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that it's called for (though her judgment in this can be lacking).  She's quite religious, though she most often prays to Stendarr and Talos over the rest, though Arkay is a fairly regular deity as well.  In regards to politics, she throws up her hands and holds the opinion that the Nords were right to rebel, but Ulfric Stormcloak was an inferior leader incapable of protecting his own people and a bigot to boot; therefore it's for the best that the people are safe until a proper leader appears.




Runa was born and raised on a farm outside of Windhelm, the youngest of six children and the only daughter of the bunch to a mother who was probably getting too old for children.  Her early childhood was a combination of endless chores and the occasional bit of coddling by her mother, whom constantly feared that little Runa would be the only of her babies who would survive to have children of their own.  And her fears were well-founded, as Runa's father was an officer in the Stormcloak army and all of her brothers of fighting age had joined the fight themselves, most of them from the day that recruits were called for or when they were old enough to serve (depending on the brother).  Her family believed whole-heartedly in the cause of the 'Cloaks, she initially no different (who was she to argue), though her mother often wished that Ulfric didn't ask for so many of her boys.  For the most part, she only had her mother and youngest brother, Jori, to keep her company, though she often met other farmers and travelers in the area and occasionally went to Windhelm.  Any time her father or older brothers came home was cause for celebration, filled with drinking and laughing, to the point that even Runa had a few sips of mead at a few points.  During one of the earlier visits, her curiosity got the better to her and she found out the hard way that a cooking pot stays hot for a while; her father's response was to laugh--but before she could cry at his "callousness" he quickly walked over and tended to it with a little magic, smiling and eventually saying with another chuckle, "There ya go, good as new."  While a simple thing to him, it taught her that pain only hurt if you let it, and she began taking the idea on as a philosophy.  At first she wanted to be like her father and brothers (to her mother's horror), often play fighting with her brother or the other children of Windhelm, and when her eldest brother died she simply felt it best to honor his bravery and sacrifice.  But slowly cracks of doubt began to slip into the cracks.

It started with the first time she heard about the Butcher, and asked her mother why Ulfric did nothing to stop it.  "Dear, we need to trust the guards to take care of it, Ulfric needs to worry about the Imperials."  A similar thing happened when Jori ran a shipment of food to a local town that had been hit by bandits; she asked her mother why nobody helped and told her that there were more important things.  To Runa's mind, those people could have just as easily been them.  When she was saved from drowning in the river by an argonian and was only rewarded with some berating from the other Windhelm locals, she began understanding the concept of bigotry... or at least knowing that it existed.  And Ulfric did nothing to stop this injustice right under his nose.  The questions began coming non-stop about all of the things that the Stormcloaks were doing wrong, to the point that when a letter came telling them of another of her brother's deaths, her mother told her to shut up about such thoughts and that she never wanted to hear them again.  Not long later, Jori finally "came of age" (he was only fourteen but was built like an oak and claimed he was seventeen to the recruiter) and went off to join the Stormcloaks.  Within the month, the final straw was dropped, and oh what a straw it was.

Runa had been sleeping in the windmill--the machinery helped her get some rest--when she heard some hushed talking outside.  Intrigued, she poked her head out to investigate and saw to her horror two cloaked figures huddled next to her home's door.  She waited for them to enter then followed them in, making sure to grab the wood axe (which was far too big for a girl her age).  The strangers didn't bother even looking at their 'valuables' or food; they went straight for her mother.  As she watched, one of them leaned over her mother and sunk his teeth into her neck.  Without thinking, she raised her axe and screamed "GET AWAY FROM HER!"  She was in fact able to injure one of the assailants, but before she could even attempt to pull the axe out, she was struck across the head and knocked out.  When she awoke, she was in a cell, her mother nowhere to be seen, three other people of varying ages in similar cages around her, none of them willing to speak to her.  Her usual cheerful nature was immediately gone, she was utterly and completely terrified, desperate for her mother and fearful that she was going to be killed.  Eventually her captors entered, and she quickly found out that the ancient tales of vampires were far more than just scary stories that other kids shared to scare each other.  They were very real, and these creatures had taken herself and these other people captive to make them cattle.  As a few of them went about feeding, she frantically tried to find something to use as a weapon, and when that failed and one of the vampires entered her cell and charged up a spell, she tried to fight back  She got impressively far (thanks to an uppercut to his jewels) and actually slipped out behind him into the 'hallway' of the abandoned mine they had taken up residence in, but while she was good at diving under things to dodge spells eventually someone hit her and she dropped.  However, while the one who had intended to feed on the little girl was furious, the coven's matriarch was impressed by her skill, and while she sent her back to be locked up (with manacles this time), a kernel of an idea slipped into her head.  The next morning, Runa awoke with a sharp, stinging pain in her neck and the matriarch smiling as she looked in on her.  The beautiful, but clearly psychotic woman called her daughter constantly as she talked at Runa, telling her that she would soon come to appreciate her new station in life, and that this new world which would soon be opened to her was far better than what mundane foolishness her family had prepared for her.  Of course, she was horrified and screamed at the woman to let her go, but was only met by a laugh and an assurance that "You will learn."  That next sleep was one of utter and complete horror, with every moment filled by visions of blood and murder, as well as a haunting craving in her stomach.  

She had no idea how much time passed in that hell, but it literally could not have been more than two days biologically speaking until a fiery commotion filled the nearby halls.  For the first time in what felt like an eternity, hope filled her core and she, as well as the rest of the prisoners, stared expectantly at the door.  When it was swung open, the matriarch was nearly punted across the room and an armored figure rushed her before stabbing her repeatedly with a sword and lopping her head off.  This man, as well as his companions, were soldiers of the Dawnguard.  However, while the horrors were now over for the other prisoners the drama was not yet over for Runa; the other prisoners immediately told their rescuers that Runa was infected.  The majority of these Dawnguard soldiers were considering killing her, saying that all of the vampires needed to die, but one man saved her, Carlin the Wild, the very same person who ran the matriarch through checked her and confirmed that she had not yet turned, but was well on her way.  Then, sweeping her up in his arms, he sprinted from the cave where they were and ran what had to be miles upon miles down the road towards Riften.  She passed out during the trip, both from lack of food, general exhaustion, and possibly the disease taking its toll.  When she woke up, she was in the Temple of Mara, the local priest watching over her while the soldier seemed to have fallen asleep sitting in one of the pews.  They both noticed she was awake very quickly and told her the wonderful news: she was cured.  They had made it just in time.  However, the lesser news was that word had come back from Windhelm that her mother's body had been found dumped in the woods near Windhelm.  The soldier was remarkably kind to her and offered her a shoulder to cry on, and once she had composed herself personally offered to see that the situation was told to her brothers and father.  In the meantime, once the soldier was gone she was placed in the orphanage to be looked after by Grelod the Kind.

While nothing compared to the horrors of the vampires, Grelod was easily the next most evil person that Runa had ever heard of or met.  Worse, while some children just clung to anyone for support they could, others were envious of the fact that someone was coming back for her and thus took out their immense frustration on her.  It was hell.  To stack onto the matters, news reached her over the course of a week that all of her father and all of her other brothers, save Jori, had been killed in battle, her father at the Battle of Whiterun in particular and her second-oldest brother in some sort of skirmish with the Dragonborn.  It shattered her, and during the next three days she was unable to find any sympathy as the other children were prevented by Grelod and the hag herself simply beat her when she stopped working.  She feared that she would have to spend the rest of her childhood with this horrid hag and that she would be left to a life of utter misery.  But then, on the fourth morning, a frantic knocking came at the door and, once let in, Jori came frantically sprinting to sweep her up in his arms.  Her brother quit the Stormcloaks immediately and, after an argument so heated that he threatened to run Grelod through for attempting to prevent him from taking his own sister home, he took her to Falkreath where he worked as a town guard.

Their life normalized for a little bit after that.  The Imperials won the civil war, they were able to live their lives so long as they didn't agitate the peace, and she found herself a nice little bit of extra coin working as a helper (and sort of apprentice) to the local apothecary to keep herself busy.  Yet, while she did everything in her power to keep herself happy and cheerful, she was still haunted by what happened to her mother and the time with the vampires.  Her brother did a lot to try and take care of her properly, he was still little more than a kid himself.  He did his best, but neither of them had any idea what to do and mostly wound up leaning on each other.  Of course, he tried to give her some peace of mind by teaching her how to fight, and she did really well at it, but she found herself wondering what to do with herself after she got old enough.  Around the time that Jori started dating (the woman who would later become his wife), she spotted Carlin the Wild accompanying a passing Dawnguard patrol, and while he wasn't able to stay long, they shared a brief reunion and she finally got his name spelled out so that they could share letters.  Over the next few years, she spent the days working and some time at night practicing with her brother, occasionally going out to help the local stables with the horses for extra pay.  She kept in constant contact with her Dawnguard idol and, as she grew into a woman, began considering military work as a possible path.  She wanted to help people, wanted to stop the sort of madness that beset her family, both at home and in the field.  Of course, she had absolutely zero desire to work for the Imperials, as while she had long accepted their rule she didn't want to work for the people who killed her brothers and father.  The Stormcloaks were essentially dead and gone (not that she was certain she would follow that route).  The Companions seemed to just sit on their laurels until somebody jingled some gold in their faces.  Being a guard, while stable, seemed like it did little to actively help, more just keep things under control.  With all that out of the door, and with her pre-existing ties already considered, the answer was clear: the day she was confident that they wouldn't reject her on grounds of her age, she left to join the Dawnguard.

Training was brutal; she had actually become better than her brother in their spars, but amongst the trained soldiers of the Dawnguard she quickly realized just how inferior her pre-existing training was.  However, she refused to let that deter her, and simply pushed herself harder.  Carlin tended not to be around, in fact there was a brief time when she believed he'd been killed, though that simply pushed her harder rather than drown her spirits.  While not an outright star pupil, she did well and before long was put onto a patrol group with some more experienced troops who could mentor her.  In the field, her biggest fear was that she would freeze up when vampires appeared, concerned that memories of her childhood would come flooding back.  As it was she was occasionally pestered about her scars and what it was like to start having the dreams, not necessarily in a hostile manner (though there was some suspicion at first) but rather just genuine curiosity.  Thankfully, when they finally found their first group of vampires, she didn't freeze up, but rather went into a manic berserker rage and damn near led the charge, burying her hilt in one of the things and breaking its neck.  While she earned a scolding for her reckless behavior, there were plenty of pats on the back for a job well done.  Not long later she received her first injury thanks to some bandits they stumbled onto, and she (as well as her bewildered comrades) discovered her bizarre propensity for laughing off wounds--it actually had the effect of distracting the bandits and leaving them open long enough for her brethren to take advantage.  She's since earned a bit of a reputation amongst the newer recruits for her "battle laughter" as she calls it, as well as her titanic stamina.  She has begun learning restoration magic and making some use of it, perhaps a little recklessly, but mostly she has preferred using her alchemy to help heal others and herself.  During her time, she has seen some of the Dawnguard fall, and while she misses them, at some point she designated herself as the morale booster of the units she joins and has done everything in her power to keep up a cheerful demeanor as much as possible.  Overall, she loves her life with the Dawnguard, she loves the work they do, and she loves the company she keeps.  Recently she found out that Carlin the Wild was going to be the new commander of Fort Dawnwatch, and when the news arrived she seemed to practically teleport into the office in charge of transfers, pleading to join that posting.