Maja Darling

Maja Darling
Social Rank	8
Fealty	Crownsworn "Crownsworn" is not in the list of possible values (Redrain, Valardin, Grayson, Thrax, Pravus, Lyceum, Crown) for this property.
House	Darling
Gender	Female
Age	20
Religion	Pantheon
Vocation	Wheeler-dealer
Height	average height
Hair Color	Dark Brown
Eye Color	Warm Brown
Skintone	Golden Brown
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Description

Everything about Maja exudes warmth: the honeyed tone of her voice, her soothing charm and her winsome looks all come together to project an air of approachability. She's a slender wisp of a thing imbued with effortless grace; her movements are nimble and feather-light. Her wide smiles can feel like coming home and her touch a comfort -- they, coupled with her button nose and spray of tumultuous curls, lend her a disarming cuteness that plays against her sharper aspects. For despite the refinement of her appearance, her accent is common and her bird-like build is more the consequence of a life spent just-getting-by than the gift of natural genetics.

Personality

Best friend. Confidant. Confessor. To be in Maja's company is to often feel completely comfortable. She's a charming woman and works hard to make people feel at ease. She's sweet. She's warm. She's friendly. She can even be goofy at times. When someone needs to unburden their worries, it feels like their secrets will be safe with her. When someone needs a hug, her arms are there to comfort. So despite the rumors about her unfortunate beginning, many are happy to pass along favors and information because she is just .. so .. darn .. nice.

However, every once in a while, it all feels carefully .. crafted. In rare moments, when she thinks no one is looking, the warmth falls away and she is simply blank. She will fall back into her thoughts and feelings while her body appears to be a shell that she simply leaves behind for a spell. What exists in this inner world of hers? That is harder to discern.

Background

Majandra's life had an ominous beginning.

Knights of Solace, escorting a caravan of commonfolk looking to resettle in Arx, came across a gruesome scene. The path forward was littered with bodies -- first it was one or two but as they continued ahead, the number of dead increased to such a number that the ground was stained red with blood. It appeared that a group similar to their own had been set upon by Abandoned; the wounds on the corpses betrayed that this was no animal attack: weapons had been used. There were no survivors save one: a child. She looked to be no older than eight or nine and she stood there serenely amongst it all, covered in blood but not suffering a single scratch on her. When asked what happened, she was unable to tell them for she could not speak.

The travelers took her with them to Arx although the commonfolk kept their distance. 'Cursed,' they whispered between them. 'A bad omen, at the very least,' would be murmured in reply. Other than being unable to speak, the child seemed untroubled by what happened: no tears, no bad dreams, no signs of trauma.

When they arrived in Arx, she was taken to the orphanage, given a name and eventually, she learned to communicate -- first with hand gestures, eventually with words. Still, she was unable to shed light on what happened; it was as if her life began when the travelers found her.

She did not have many friends in the orphanage -- one of the children overheard the adults talking about how Majandra was found and once one kid knew, they all knew. She was ostracized and bullied. At first, she dealt with it by pushing back, by acting tough. However, she soon figured out that the best way to disarm someone was with sweetness. Majandra turned on the charm, her warmth shining like a light in the dark. A wink, a smile, a compliment: these were the things that made people believe that maybe, just maybe, their ideas about her were wrong.

'What's your name?'

'I'm Maja, darling.'

She grew from a child into a young woman and, once she was old enough, left the orphanage to find her way in the world. Although she never appeared to show interest in learning more about who she is -- who she /really/ is -- or what happened to her all those years ago, Maja did understand the value of information. When people told her things, she would store it away and keep it safe; after all, one never knows when something will prove useful. These charms, the same ones that made others feel comfortable sharing their secrets with her, gave her the ability to sweet talk merchants into giving her lower rates on goods at the market. Sometimes, she would turn around and sell them at a higher price. Sometimes, she would use the materials to craft. The future presents many options: merchant, tailor, information broker, good luck charm, bad omen...

Time will tell which path she will follow.