Ashley Noel Engel

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"Just call me Ash. ..No, just Ash."




The ailment of the intelligent and the wealthy is the same: boredom.
Oh, what an awful life it must be to have both.


Ashley Noel Engel
Ashley Engel.jpeg
Information
Title(s) Grand Duchess
Archetype Curious Traveler
Hair Colour Brown
Eye Colour Green
Height 5’ 0”
Build Petite
Notable Features Blade scar across sternum, smaller cuts over hands/fingers
Born December 13th, 196 AR
Routledge, Trae Kelsa
Profession Merchant, recently quit
Religion Devout Atheist

Description

Short. Young- far more than she really is, in the face.

Ashley, at a glance, appears small and fragile. Tiny in every sense, from her low height to small frame. Even her chest is lacking, producing a common misconception from a distance that she is male. Her facial features normally clear that up, as she is delicately structured, with full lips and soft cheeks like a doll. While her features generally are gentle and girlish, she has for a while kept her hair cut short as a boy’s, and thus from behind or the wrong angles, people easily mistake her for a young male.

Typically she holds herself well, though not overly one thing or another until there is a need. Capitalizing on manipulation, she actively changes her demeanor and mannerisms based on situation and company. So while she has the ability to both act fragile and of nobility, or rough and masculine, which one is displayed depends on situation. On average she falls into a middle ground until she can determine how to act for present company, standing tall for her frame and with a clear sense of self. She looks at others with a sense of command and importance, and carriers herself in a strong gait lacking willowy feminine habits. At her core, she tends to act more like a finely raised prince than a proper duchess.

Clothes change frequently based on need and location. While at home, in childhood, she was frequently anointed with dresses and all manner of fine jewelry. Growing up quickly uprooted her from those habits. In the company of her grandfather she chose less and less female wardrobes. When she eventually left Routledge and her grandfather’s care, she took to standard male clothes so as not to draw attention to herself. Loose pants, common shirts, and heavy jackets. At current her collection of clothes is kept slim for travel, and mostly includes men’s pants, rough boots, and a variation between loose street clothes and thick leathers for travel and protection.

Attitude, much like the rest of her, changes on situation. Ash will put on whatever personality suits her needs, though more often than not she conducts herself as a less than pleasantly-mouthed individual. Playful, if not slanting towards the mean end of things. She can be abrasive and rude in such a way that leaves one guessing if it was carefully intentional or just a child’s clumsiness. She likes to play games with people, always seeking something interesting. Even on the best of days she has a strong tendency to “accidentally” offend people, sometimes to a point of physical altercations.
(At which point she will more than often plan an escape to avoid harm.)

Background

Origins

Grand Duke Rutherford Engel of Routledge was given his title by the royal family several generations ago, for an action of bravery long forgotten by both the crown and the Engel family line. Of course, while the exact event is hearsay and foggy memory at best, the relationship created therein is hardly discounted.

Rutherford’s title was since passed down through his family across generations, always to the most qualified son rather than simply the oldest. Through every generation of Grand Duke one thing has remained constant- the Engel line has first and foremost always served the crown with absolute loyalty, and an infallible reliability. Ruling over the Duchy of Routledge, the Engel line has predominantly been known for keen financial management and advice. They are not particularly military-gifted, though strategic thinking is well within traditional capability. Overall, the family is known for being one of the most stable and dependable strings of nobility in Trae Kelsa.

They value their current reputation more than any past accolades, and as a result the exact event that brought them into the noble circle is fairly skewed. Some say Rutherford Engel saved the king’s life, other say he defended the entire kingdom. The story ranges from plausible to impossible, heroic to godly depending on the circles. Generally, any real member of the family questioned on the tale with gracefully manage to sway the topic over to current achievements to capitalize that they are not happy to simple sit on awarded laurels. The family places core beliefs in earning their place, a practice enforced by the fact that inheritance is not determined by age, but yet by whom the current Grand Duke finds most suitable to proclaim as heir.

At current, Benjamin Engel is the Grand Duke of Routledge, and following in his father’s footsteps he has been managing the Duchy with an acute balance between fiscal responsibility and the very real concerns of the people. Surprisingly, the Duchy is not terribly wealthy or luxurious. It is mostly a land for common people, managed with a stable economy and trade. They are not rich, overflowing with short-lived prosperity, but rather held in esteem for several decades of consistent well-to-do standing.


Grand Duke Benjamin has yet to publicly name an heir, despite his age beginning to turn to a point of concern among the masses. Many would claim of his eight sons, Greggory is by far the most likely to earn the place for his numerous accomplishments throughout the land. However, recently rumors spread of a grandchild being taken in by Benjamin, supporting the idea the father of such child would be next in line. Exact names, however, change depending on who tells the gossip.


The fact of the matter is that Ashley is Benjamin Engel’s granddaughter through his second-to-youngest son Thomas. Thomas was married off to a lesser nobleman’s daughter for the sake of shared power and status, and there is little to no love between him and his wife. The man does however love his daughter dearly, and spared no expense in giving her everything she wanted growing up. Ashley was only ever kept at the family home, socializing in passing with house staff and (typically in arguments) her mother. While Thomas traveled across Trae Kelsa for his work, Ashley would wait at home for his rare returns.

Somewhere across her formative years it was realized she was.. odd. Different. Strange. She didn’t care for people, and when she dealt with them it was never pleasant. Too perceptive, with no filter. She would take one look at a visiting noble and realize the woman was having an affair. And subsequently point it out so all in the room could hear. As a result, Ashley’s mother kept her far from visitors and the girl mostly grew up in the company of books. Maybe it was due to this, or vice versa, that Ashley grew very obviously into a mentally gifted child. Intelligent to an extreme, seemingly at the cost of proper social functionality and emotional understanding.

When she came of age and proclaimed a vehement disinterest in being married, her mother reached her wit’s end. There was no proper academy Ashley strived for, no job she pined after, and no marriage she would hear of. For all her smart potential, she had no motivation towards anything. In all the ways someone could fail at being a duchess, she seemed to. After a particularly raging fit with her mother, Ashley sent word to her grandfather, imploring him for help on the matter. It was a strange altercation largely kept out of gossiping attention. In the end, Thomas was briefly consulted and both parents agreed to turn the girl over to where she wanted to go. Benjamin made the offer more formal, and all proper rights as Ashley’s parent/guardian were turned over to her grandfather. Under him she studied voraciously for a few more years, wherein Benjamin did not mind or try to curb Ashley’s strange personality. Rather, he hired tutors to teach her how to lie and fake emotion and correct responses to at least pass as ‘normal’.

At most Benjamin would continuously ask her what she wanted to do in life, to which Ashley repeatedly responded that everything was “too boring” to pursue. She only ever wanted to read, showing interest in collecting books from all over.

Ashley never attended proper parties or social turns after an incident at a very young age, and thus is largely unknown in proper noble circles. While she does technically hold the title of Grand Duchess through her grandfather, and bear a signet ring with the family’s crest, she has no real reputation or acknowledgement to speak of power-wise.

The Broken Dagger

Ashley traveled with Benjamin once on business, to visit a family a great distance away. It was a political meeting, in which Benjamin had been told a royal library would be present with books he could not bring home for Ashley’s reading. This was what had the girl accompanying him, and she spent almost the entire trip in the library. It was this though that had her realizing not all the world would be accessible from her grandfather’s estate. She wanted to read, to learn. To seek out something that would manage to keep her occupied.

Out in a foreign town, she decided to try and roam freely for what was virtually the first time in her life. So she walked, watching people in the streets. No one much spoke to her, and as she observed others she realized the sheer possibilities that laid outside libraries. Inevitably, her roaming lead her farther and farther from the safer, cleaner streets. Her fine clothes drew inevitable attention, and a potentially poor altercation ended in someone stepping in on her behalf. A defender. Stranger. They spoke, afterwards. He lead her back to the library. Her first real conversation at length outside her family had the budding appetite of wanderlust fully blooming.

The rest of the year after her return to her grandfather’s home was spent preparing. Learning how to travel, how to handle other people. Benjamin supported her fancy, with texts and teachers- not of scholarly note, but rangers and guides of the wilds. He knew the girl would be unstoppable, and sought only to prepare her properly before she set off. So, after almost a full year’s time, she gathered bags and dressed down in commoner’s clothes. Benjamin sent her off with coin, and a reliable messenger raven for contact. Since her entire stay with him had been largely kept quiet, no one really knew enough to judge him for sending a noble granddaughter out freely into the wilds.

At age seventeen, without profession or husband, Ashley went out into the world. She traveled north, steadily coming across strangers and towns. It was never easy, never safe. Injuries were accrued due to carelessness, and risks brought her ever-closer to death. But she learned. And in that knowledge, she kept traveling. Seeking out more and more, gluttonous appetite for the world unsated. She simply didn’t want to be bored anymore. No real goal, no real desire. Just the urge to travel, to go, to see. For a time she tried to hunt down her defender from a year ago, but the search turned up hopelessly empty. After that, she took up trade as a merchant for a short time. The routes lead her up, into Amasynian territory.

Now, just recently, she’s decided the merchant life is not one she finds interesting any longer. Having sold off all her stock to a few lucky strangers, she’s made her way with heavy coin into Myrken Wood. Resting for a time at the Broken Dagger, she isn’t sure what direction to take next, if any. She knows only one thing.

She cannot stomach the sensation of boredom.

The Present

At current, Ashley is no more than a traveler rolled into the area. With no more than a horse and a raven recently sent off with letter to Routledge, she bears the air of adventure. She holds no real goals. Nothing she is looking for, no one she is after. She exists in Myrken Town simply as a vagrant, not yet up to anything noteworthy. Certainly though, this will not last long. The people alone promise plenty to do, see, learn. Inevitably, she will find trouble. Or it will find her.

Plots

Major plot events in which the character has been involved.