Application | Gwendolyn | Odin Sphere

[royaliability]

♚ OOC
Name: Kiva
Age: 24
Contact: obscureinternetreference
Character In-game: Nobunaga Oda

♛ IC
Name: Gwendolyn
Canon: Odin Sphere
Canon Point: After Odin casts the sleeping spell upon her, but before she wakes up in the old castle.
Age: uhhh early 20s or so
Gender: Female
Species: Human
Appearance: Like so

History/Background: http://odinsphere.wikia.com/wiki/Gwendolyn#Story
Personality:

When you first meet Gwendolyn, she gives off the impression of a warrior right away. On the battlefield, she moves decisively and cuts down anyone standing in her way, whether or not they're soldiers or beasts. Off of the battlefield, she tends to be all business with the people she meets, acting courteous yet distant. She'll show the proper respect towards royalty, often addressing them by their full title and speaking carefully as not to offend their egos. If dealing with others she regards as an enemy, she's not above threatening others to get what she wants from them - although it isn't usually her first choice. She'll ask first, but if met with resistance she'll gladly become more aggressive in her tactics. She threatened the Queen of the faeries during the cauldron war, referring to her as a Queen of ghosts in a derisive manner, and she told the Inferno King Onyx that should he stand in her way he risks his life being extinguished.

So, as expected of a hardened warrior like Gwendolyn, she possesses a great deal of courage and drive. Gwendolyn is the type of person who, if her heart is really into it, can ignore orders from even her father - someone she would never even think of disobeying - to reach the outcome she wants by acting instead of simply waiting around. Although the witch Velvet was to be executed, Gwendolyn rescued her and killed Brigan, her nation's greatest hero, simply because Velvet's death would have caused her father great turmoil. She also ignored Oswald telling her to stay in the castle as he went off, tracking him down and even rescuing him from the infant form of the dragon levanthan. Although she seems to be naturally servile due to her status as a valkyrie to Odin, which she takes very seriously, the truth is Gwendolyn is an assertive and independent woman whose nature would have her work on her own instincts instead of simply following the orders of other people.

In a lot of cases, those instincts tend to lead her on the right path. Past the image of a warrior, the reputation that lead her to be known as "Odin's witch" outside of her kindgom, Gwendolyn is an incredibly kind and compassionate person. As she held her dying elder sister in her arms she couldn't help but shed tears, something her sister notes makes her incredibly kind - mostly because as the kingdom they belong to is a warlike race, dying in battle is seen as a good thing, the ultimate act of honour and a way of finding glory for them. She also saves Velvet for her father's sake despite it resulting in her banishment from the kingdom, something she was fine with despite it being a valkyrie's greatest shame, to lose their status and be wed to a husband once stripped of their title as Valkyrie. She was also bothered by Odin's lack of emotion towards her sister's death, asking why he has nothing to say - even though her father has been cold and distant all her life, she still expected some kind of reaction from him with the death of his daughter. Even after her father banished her to avoid public outrage for her killing Brigan, she returned to him to deliver the ring of titrel he'd sought for so long, all because she remained loyal to him even then. Once Gwendolyn cares for someone she becomes loyal to a fault, even if it's wrong to do so - that being the case with Odin, who is an incredibly selfish and overall terrible father. However, it works to her advantage in the case of Oswald, who gives Gwendolyn the love and affection she'd been missing all these years, in the case of saving him from leventhan.

Speaking of her relationship with Odin however, it has greatly affected her in a very damaging way. Odin loved his mistress dearly, the late queen of the kingdom of valentine, and even acts rather affectionately - in his own way - towards Velvet. However, towards the daughters of his own wife, he's far from it. He doesn't seem moved at all by Griselda's death, nor does he show any love or real care towards Gwendolyn herself. As a result of this, Gwendolyn has an emptiness inside of her that she longs to fill; having never known love, she struggles with feelings of self doubt and even self loathing over it. She believes that the love of her father must be earned and that, having not received it yet, she simply isn't good enough yet. She calls herself pathetic for it, what she believes to be her own failings, and mentions during the game that she would gladly die for her father, believing it would finally earn her his love. But she is reminded by the bird that follows her that Griselda did the same thing, yet he didn't act any differently at all. As the bird is meant to represent Gwendolyn's feelings, we're shown then and there that even she doubts her own line of thought, simply being so desperate for his approval she ignores those thoughts entirely. Furthermore, while many characters do remark on Gwendolyn's "purity" during the game, she is still human at the end of the day. When Velvet, Odin's daughter born from his relationship with the Queen of Valentine, is to be executed Gwendolyn does consider that if she died, with Griselda gone, there would be no competition for her father's love, even if she can't go through with it. Also, while she tries to remain composed around Brigan - a difficult task considering his brutish, misogynistic nature towards the valkyries - we are shown her thoughts at one point and that she does secretly doubt him due to the fact he simply ignores Odin and does what he likes most of the time. Gwendolyn is perfectly capable of harbouring a poor view of the people around her even if she doesn't mention it - she simply remains composed and doesn't speak those thoughts aloud unless pushed, as is usually the case around the more antagonistic figures of the series.

Skills/Abilities:

Gwendolyn is an expert in spear fighting. Her elemental affinity in the game itself is ice, with all of her skills involving ice projectiles or freezing opponents, giving her great command over and plenty of experience with ice magic.

She also has plenty of experience in war and battle, not just in terms of fighting, but leading others into battle and likely has a fairly good grasp on battle strategy too.

Magic Weapon:

An unusual spear known as Nibelung Valesti, appearing entirely transparent as if the spear were made of glass and filled with swirling blue light and white haze, making it appear as if an entire blizzard was contained within the shaft. While the head of the weapon allows it to function as a normal spear, its main ability is the manipulation of ice - the applications are fairly broad, as with a single thrust one could fire off a hard spearhead of ice, sharpened to a deadly point. But ice could also be cast from the tip of the spear in a flurry of snow, which freezes all it touches at the cost of a greater drain on the user's mana. Finally, placing the tip of the spear in contact with any surface and channeling mana into the weapon generates ice - it could be a simple patch of ice to slip up foes, or a wall of ice to impede them. Either way, the user must trace the weapon's tip along the surface in a single, unbroken line to place the ice, no matter the form it takes.

While the weapon is flexible in its uses, great care must be taken while it is being used - while a simple projectile or a small patch of ice may not be too much of a drain on the user, use of the ability on grander scales - such as creating walls or extended use of its freezing ability - has a fairly intensive cost.

With little experience using the weapon, attempting to fully freeze a single person will exhaust the user's mana reserves. Only through training and extensive practice with the weapon's ability will the cost begin to decrease, allowing for extended use.

Carrier:

A bird that appears so otherworldly one might mistake it for some kind of spirit - in truth however, its feathers are simply incredibly fine and sleek, giving it its unusual appearance. In fact, its behaviour is very much at odds with its appearance, because it takes great pride in its appearance and demands it be treated with the respect it deserves. Has a habit of taking what it wants and doing what it wants, everyone else be damned.

...but if its a request from its master, it can hardly refuse, even if its cooperation appears reluctant.

Sample:
Here!