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Terese Valardin was a child of the White City, and grew up pampered amongst the old stones of an ancient fortress that has never fallen to a siege. The daughter of a cadet branch of the House, Terese was weaned on tales of duty and chivalry, and never lost her taste. From the first day that she was old enough to read, she devoured stories and histories at every opportunity. If there was a song of heroism, she wanted to know it. Really, if there was a story of heroism, she wanted to live it. There was no ambition dearer to her heart as a young woman than to die young, tragically and romantically, saving the world. She grew older and trained harder in the courtyards and stableyards of Sanctum, and studied under the tutelage of the priests and Templars who resided with her family. While her brother learned the graces of the court and excelled at them, Terese found the social games of society to be pointless. Leading men and women in battle or defeating Shav'Arvani in single combat struck her as entirely more of a lure than the structured dances and concerts and 13-hour worship sessions that were the highlights of the Sanctum political game. However, as a young woman, even though she had seen battle, her first taste of true reality was when the Tragedy of Sanctum struck. Sometimes, you are fencing with your cousins under the warm Lycene sun, and that is when reality strikes. There was nothing Terese could have done. If she had been there, she probably would have died with both her parents. Yet still, it was an awakening. The part of the Hero story that is the least best to live through; the part where she is powerless to impact the outcome. It was from this tragedy that she learned a lesson that many young knights do not: to die for a cause is easy. To live for a cause is hard. And the harder task is the more worthwhile. It is with a warrior's strength and a paladin's passion that she swore herself to the service of her family and the Compact with renewed vigor, and now she rides to join the Valardins at the Arx court with all her faith and fierceness brought to bear.

Piled waves of dark hair are pulled back from the strong-boned oval of her face, but a few stray curls fall forward across her brow. Her thin lips part to bare even white teeth in a smile with more ferocity to it than most people use to smile. Her eyes are clear, a pale blue rimmed in darkness around the edges of the pupil. She is built on lean, wiry lines, athleticism muting the lushness of curves naturally inclined towards an hourglass femininity.

Terese is a warrior cloaked in panoply: in chivalry, in duty, and in a deep love of the gods. She is a knight and in part she became a knight so that she could become a Hero like the ones in the storybooks, and she strives to embody those principles. This is not to say that she is without warmth or humor, staid and stiff; rather, it is to say that her driving force is her desire to make the world a better place, protect the innocent, defend the righteous, and ensure that the values of her heart -- and of her House -- are upheld. A staunch believer in the code of chivalry and in the old guard of the Faith, Terese stands for principle, and will yield no ground upon it.