Falling is the only out I see.

Caedana Maleven

An aloof mercenary, longing to either find a place in this world, or a way out of it.

And I don't want to take you down with me.

Dying once seemed so heroic to me...

Table of contents

Due to this carrd's goal to be an extensive look at the character and much of the elements of her character, each section is accessible via table of contents link. If you wish to just view it all, simply keep scrolling; otherwise, the pages will take you to where you need to go. There will be a button at the bottom of each page that returns here.Everything in the carrd is subject to editing as my lack of confidence in my direction ebbs and flows. While nothing in the carrd is a "spoiler" to the larger story of Caedana, there are enough vague details about her life and those before her that may paint a decent enough picture. If you do not wish to infer these things, I'd recommend skipping everything after "Purpose" and before "OOC."Last update: May 7th, 2023.

... giving this body for people in need.

Anxious, so cautious, I hate my subconscious.

Quick Bio

Name: Caedana Maleven
Race: Highlander Hyur
Age: 27
Height: 6'1"
Alignment: Neutral Good(ish)
Voice Claim: Ciri - The Witcher 3
Sexual Orientation: Pansexual
Status: Likely uninterested.
Hair Color: Dual-Toned (White/Black)
Eye Color: Grey
Body Type: Toned and Curved
Talents: Blacksmithing, swinging her axe, and dry sarcasm.
Owner of The Craftsman: Temporarily closed for remodeling.
Inspiration Playlist: Spotify Playlist

I wish I could care less, but I care too much.

I can't be killed by conventional weaponry,
Now you're trying with emotional surgery.

Description

At a cursory glance, Caedana tends to carry an intimidating presence, no matter her state of wear. Her piercing, grey eyes tend to constantly be looking for any signs of a threat, a trained stare eager to introduce any problem to the pendulum-shaped axe she keeps firm on her back. Those same eyes are often lined perfectly with pointed, thick black eyeliner, matching the near-abyssal tones that stay painted on her lips. Finely detailed eyebrows rest above her scrutinizing glare, almost perfectly defined, if it weren't for the scar running right through the right side of her eyesocket.While the Highlander once took to attempting to stylize her hair in a more traditional style from her so-called homeland, she has since taken to letting her mane hang freely around her features. The natural white-streak in the right side of her locks once stood firmly against the sea of black, but no longer; Cae does her best to make it blend in with the rest of her hair, artificially dying the right side white to oppose her naturally pitch-black locks.If the vigilant stare alone wasn't enough to intimidate another soul, her physique certainly would help along the process. Caedana's body has been thoroughly toned and sculpted through years of training, both in mercenary work and working her forge. Between years of hammering steel and swinging her axe, her arms have been worked to the point of being perpetually taut. Resting below her plentifully ample chest is a faint outline of six rigid abdominal muscles, outlined just enough to suggest a steel-toned core underneath her fair skin. Despite this, the woman's biggest strength though doesn't come from her upper-body; instead, her legs are clearly what does the majority of the heavy lifting in her training regime. From her perfectly sculpted and round rear, to her muscularly thick thighs, and down to her sinew-carved calves, Caedana seems to have taken the phrase "never skip leg day" to heart.As far as attire goes, the woman tends to favor a long, black battlecoat that hangs down to her calves, complete with hidden plates protecting her vitals. Her thighs are normally exposed for the sake of flexibility in combat, opting to forgo anything that may prevent her range of motion. When not expecting to have to take on a whole brigade of bandits or the like though, Caedana is known to sport any number of blackened leathers that comfortably highlight her features.

I hear you call with a sense of emergency,
Everyone dies but me; I'm sorry.

She's not acid nor alkaline,
Caught between black and white.

Personality

At her core, Caedana is a caring person who was raised with two conflicting notions in mind: help those who need it, and never trust anyone. As such, she typically finds herself battling between being distantly cold, or hesitantly kind. While it make take some time to get to know her, Caedana tends to be loyal to a fault to those that she chooses to call a friend. It's obviously when she views someone as a friend, as subtly is far out of her wheelhouse. When she doesn't like someone, it's more obvious than the sun in the sky; if she does like someone, sarcastic and emotionless tones will surely attempt to hide it.When in public, Caedana tends to be the silent observer, simply taking in the environment and listening to those around her. She attempts to keep her opinions to herself, though has been known to fail and blurt out her thoughts when they get the better of her.

Not quite either day or night,
She's perfectly misaligned.

One thousand miles an hour, how does it feel?
A million horsepower, no steering wheel.

Purpose

Many at Caedana's age wander Eorzea in search of who they are; Caedana wanders for something else though. She knows who she is, she knows what her purpose in life is; she's a mercenary, a contracted muscle, and anything else just fills in the gaps. No, what Caedana yearns for is a bit deeper: a place to belong.Despite her best efforts, the feeling of belonging is the one thing that constantly eludes the young Highlander. No mercenary company or crafters' guild has felt like home, despite both lending themselves to her skills. No cause has ever felt worth fighting for outside of her contracted work, no matter how much of a toll the war took on Eorzea. No relationship has left her fulfilled, no friendship has lasted long enough to make her feel like she had a true connection. Even in a room full of people who are friendly to her, Caedana would likely still feel truly alone.At the end of the day, that's Caedana's purpose: to find a place she belongs. She yearns for it, to feel like she's more than a contracted muscle, more than just her uncle's right-hand on the battlefield, more than just another face in the crowd. However fleeting, however temporary, it's what keeps the young woman going forward each day.

Running off the shoulder, asleep on the stage.
Exploding cold steel, fire, beauty, and rage.

I do what I want, I do what I please.

History

From her earliest memories, Caedana has only known one life: the life of a mercenary. She is the product of two former Ala Mhigan mercenaries, of which she never even knew. Her mother was out of the picture shortly after her birth, and the only known remembrance of her father now is the axe he left behind. The only connection she has to her birth parents is the man who raised her, a mutual friend named John Vecator.With no prior experience in raising a child, Vecator raised Caedana like he would train a new mercenary. Instead of dolls, she played with a bow and arrow. The whimsy of childlike wonder was replaced with rigorous practice of survival skills. Studies of culture and history were instead focused on the enemies she may encounter through life. The results of all this went about as well as they could: that is to say, not at all.At an early age, Caedana didn't take to the trainings she was offered very well at all. She hated using a bow, she saw no need for survival skills, and there was no need for studying enemies that she thought she'd never even see. It wasn't until around the age of 12, when digging through Vecator's basement that she found what would inspire her: a blackened battle-axe. It called her, enticing her to try to lift it; and somehow, she did. Much to Vecator's surprise, as he was barely able to drag the thing into his basement, the young girl was able to lift the weapon off the ground.From that fateful day on, Vecator abandoned trying to teach her to be a mercenary like he was; instead, he sought to have her trained in a similar manner as her father, the original axe's owner. Trained by the best axe-wielding warriors that Vecator could afford, Caedana would rapidly adapt to the barbaric ways that naturally coursed through her blood.===========================While Caedana is a pure-blooded Ala Mhigan, the young woman knows almost nothing about her homeland. With her parents gone from her life before she could even form memories, she instead spent much of her adolescent years in La Noscea, being raised by Vecator while he tried to keep some semblance of his old mercenary company alive. Once said company was finally in its dying days, Vecator took Caedana with him to the other side of Eorzea to instead set roots in Hingashi. As such, her teenage and young adult years were spent in Shirogane, performing contracts with Vecator wherever the jobs took him.For her most recent years, Caedana has operated out of an old shop that Vecator used to run as a questionable business establishment, having converted it into a workshop of her own design.===========================
Currently, Caedana's workshop has been relocated to the Lavender Beds (Mateus, Plot/Ward added when I remember them). Outside of her workshop, her employment status is kept private, but she is open to occasional freelance work.

I do it again, until I got what I need.

Thoughtless hunger echoes in a whisper...

Endirinn

Endirinn, the name gifted to her labrys long before she ever took it in her hands. "The End," in the Vieran tongue. The weapon is older than Caedana herself, but has excellently held true over the decades; a relic from her father, and a testament to his unique crafting process. Other than a few grooves and nicks in the weapons' doubled edges, the weapon is as sturdy as the day it was crafted.In truth, it is likely less to do with the craftmanship itself and more to the aether resonating within the weapon's core. To most, the labrys might seem like nothing more than an impressively large axe; to the aether-sensitive eye though, the weapon practically radiates with aether in Caedana's grasp. The power lying within the core of the axe's blade resonates with Caedana's own essence, though it seems to have a near-sinister energy to it. The trained aetherologist might even swear that there was a void-like essence embedded into the core of her labrys.

... Can you hear the voices down below?

I cannot cry, for the shoulder cries more.

Father

Caedana's father is likely the biggest grey area of her history up to this point, as there is little information left to find on him. Most of what could be found is a name and a profession; his name was Caedus Maleven, an axe-wielding mercenary native to Ala Mhigo. The Highlander was supposedly well-respected in his field, often cited as a frigidly stoic man, his only concerns seeming to be his work and his mate. The circumstances of his disappearance, or demise, have never been fully corroborated.Inspiration Song: Black Honey - Thrice

I cannot die; I, a whore for the cold world.

A monster in paradise, it's hell to the core.

Mother

Caedana's birthmother is an easier one to pinpoint. Much like her father, Cae's mother is a native Ala Mhigan named Analise Maleven. The details about her past are scarce, though it has clearly been by design; what can be found, if one dug deep enough, are arrest documentation detailing her crimes to be in line with assassination. Unlike Caedus Maleven, Analise can still be found living within the bounds of Eorzea, as the woman turned to a life at sea shortly after Caedana's birth.Caedana has no connection to her mother, nor does she wish to.Inspiration Song: Towers - Daniel Deluxe

But all this living is so worth dying for.

Countin' all the assholes in the room...

Vecator

The only figure that has persisted through Caedana's life is that her mentor, John Vecator. The Midlander Hyur took her in shortly after her birth, but not truly by much choice; with Caedus gone, Ana seemed to abandon all notion of raising the infant. The Hyur argued and chased after Ana for as long as he could, but in the end, he knew what his options were: leave the child in an orphanage, or raise the last real semblance of his two best friends that he had left.While far from ideal for the young adult, Vecator made the choice to raise her, even going as far as to be the one to name her. "Caedana," the child of Caedus and Analise.Through all his shortcomings and all their arguments, anyone that worked for Vecator or saw him with Caedana knew one thing through and through: they were family, not by blood, but by choice.Despite their bond, much of who Vecator was prior to Caedana's birth seems to be unknown to her.Inspiration Playlist: Here

... well, I'm definitely not alone.

I'm so ashamed of my vicious problems,
keeping the worst of me all to myself.

The Covenstead

WIPSince Caedana set out from Hingashi some years ago, she's sought to fulfill that purpose-

It's overwhelming not ever telling,
the ones I love that I gotta find help.

Yes all of these quotes have been song lyrics.

OOC

If you made it this far, especially without clicking the buttons, thank you; I put a lot of work into this carrd and while it's nothing impressive, I hope you liked it.I'm a Mirror RPer, usually willing to work with whatever themes come my way. The effort I'm given is typically the effort I'll also put in. Comedy, casual day-to-day, combat, dark themes (within reason), whatever floats down the river is good by me. My strengths are combat-based and novella styled RP scenes.Player is 21+, male, with roughly 10+ years of RP experience between forums and other MMO-based RP. Why a female character, you may ask? After RPing every male character archetype under the sun for the past 10 years, I wanted to try my hand at a character far out of my wheelhouse. If I do poorly, please let me know.Caedana's actions and the like are in no way reflective of the player behind her. IC doesn't mean OOC, I'd like to think we all get that by now.Communication is first and foremost with me. While I'm more than happy to just let RP flow and see where chemistry and actions take all involved, if something important (Romance, combat, etc) is occurring, I ensure a pure communication on my end; I hope to be given the same.Thank you for reading!

I am the product of my generation, sorry.

Jesus Christ, that's a pretty face.

Gallery
(Judge Harshly)

The kind you'd find on someone I could save.