Liane Atropa Moretti
~~~
Name Pronunciation:
LEE-Anne Uh-TROPE-Uh MORE-Eh-TEE
Name Meaning(s):
Liane has no special meaning.
Atropa = genus name for deadly nightshade
Moretti = Family Surname
~
Nicknames:
Li = Most people who know her.
King's Kin = Often given to anyone with blood relations to the royal family
No other nicknames but is always happy to receive them.
~
Age:
Physical: 22 Years old
True: 24 Years old (Paired with her dragon 2 years ago)
~
Gender:
Female
~
Sexuality:
Bisexual/Monogamous
~
Moral Alignment:
Chaotic Good
~
Kingdom:
Kingdom of Paitan
~
Occupation:
Dragon Rider
+
King's Personal Assassin (In Training)
~
Physical Appearance:
Liane holds the same beauty as most people of the royal family do, but hers is more of a wild-type beauty. Almost like an unpredictable wildcat. Another trait that sets her apart from the rest of her family, is her stature. She's much shorter than the rest of them at only 5'2" on a good day. She's always had a rather curvaceous figure with more emphasis on her lower body. Although, she's always been active, the more intense physical training of dragon-taming, and ultimately becoming a dragon rider, has caused her to begin building more muscle. Now, after 4 years of undergoing her training courses, she sits at around 150 pounds. Her body sports an overall toned look similar to a cardio exerciser rather than a weightlifter. She still has a very pear-like body shape, adding to another difference between her family, who all usually are tall and slender. Her base skin is a pale warm tone, but due to her spending lots of time in the sun on her dragon, she has tanned a little, with lots of... curious tan lines. Her skin has a faint freckling to it that's only noticeable if you're close to her face. The freckles are scattered across her cheeks and nose bridge, and along her shoulders. Liane has a few various small scars, many of which are 100% due to her own fault and her getting herself hurt somehow.
The locks framing her face are a vivid strawberry blonde, bordering on a glistening rose gold in the sunlight. It falls about midway down her back in somewhat messy waves, but she usually tries to keep it contained in a braid. Most often she is fashioning a simple, single lined, Dutch-braid, with lots of random fly aways that curl and dance around her face. Deep, emerald, green orbs blink back underneath soft, thin eyebrows that match the color of her hair, that can be hard to see sometimes. Her eyes have a slight downturn to them, with wispy-type eyelashes that get thicker closer to the back of the eye. Giving her an almost unique blend of "siren-type" and "doe-type" expressions. Her cheekbones sit high with rounded cheeks that soften them back out. Her face shape could almost be described as a heart if it weren't for the more rounding of her chin. She has a rather straight nose. With the front looking slightly upturned and the side profile having a strong, straight bridge. Closely mirroring Greek-type noses. She has full, pinkish-red lips, that are slightly fuller on the bottom lip, with only a slightly raised cupid's bow, giving her lips more of a soft, smooth appearance. Liane usually carries herself with a wide-eyed and curious expression, but the harmony in her features allow her to be an almost dangerous blend of alluring and cute at the same time.
Personality:
Adventurous | Sarcastic | Curious | Impulsive | Stubborn | Playful | Mischievous | Defiant | Independent | Unpredictable | Determined |Mistrusting
Liane was usually found doing whatever she was supposed to not be doing. Sneaking out of the castle, attending, well, *forcing* the castle guards to teach her combat, and pretty much anything she was told not to do. Her mother would often mutter things about her father, but Liane could never quite hear it and usually chose not to press questions about her father due to her mother’s hostility when he was brought up. Being a Moretti meant Liane had expectations put on her. It was her familial duty to uphold the family image and play her role diligently. If only someone had clued Liane in on that. She never quite grew out of the incessant need to be stubbornly independent. Always attempting to prove that she could do whatever someone told her she couldn’t do. As soon as she could, she pursued the dragon-taming training, despite her mother’s disagreement. Her bonding of a wyvern only seemed to add to her pension to do whatever she wanted.
Her training began shortly after the successful bonding. Liane was an intense student. She loved pushing boundaries, whether they were her own or those around her. Sometimes a good motivator, but also incredibly vexing at times. She’s excelled through lots of her training with her determined mindset. She practically refuses to give up on anything or anyone she believes in.
With her newfound role as a dragon rider, came a bigger sense of freedom. Bigger than one she could ever imagine. From being kept in a bubble-wrapped castle to now being allowed to soar through the skies atop a scaly beast; Liane had become accustomed to being in the open too quickly. So much so that she can become restless and quite antsy if kept inside for too long. Fortunately enough, her training kept her busy. If she wasn’t training, she was exploring. Taking it upon herself to try and visit as much of Paitan’s side of the island as possible. Helping villages when she could, checking out coastlines and neighboring islands and kingdoms, looking for apothecaries and herbalist.
Liane enjoyed her training the King arranged for her, often dealing with combat and poisons experts. Her natural adeptness to slip in and out of places with ease gave her a slight advantage, sometimes at the expense of her trainers’ sanity as well. She was a dedicated and passionate learner with an affinity for the poisons they had her dabble in. However, her defiant and rebellious tendencies often got in the way. A mock mission that should have gone smoothly, ending terribly because she was bound and determined to do anything she was told not to do. It would seem a life of being forced to squash herself down, behave, and never have an original thought, gave her an instilled sense of needing to express herself. Even if it is in unorthodox ways sometimes. Her determination and stubbornness pay off sometimes, especially when she’s using her tenacity to help a villager. But sometimes a discreet change of plans is needed in her line of work.
Overall, Liane wants what is best for everyone. Unfortunately for her, she is not aware of many problems going on right now. The royalty of Paitan has always tried to keep any conflicts, disagreements, startling news, anything, from reaching the ears of their subjects. The Moretti’s weren’t allowed to have scandal. They are even good at keeping things from members of the royal family themselves. Liane only knows what little she does about the current state of the kingdoms due to the King, who seemed to want to accelerate her training despite her trainers urging against it. If there’s one thing about Liane, she’s not going to make anything easy for anyone. Even the King.
Strengths & Weaknesses:
Strengths
Combat: Liane excelled at close combat. Her natural quickness and agility aiding in her ability to thrive in the environment of her training. She was mostly skilled with small knives, of which she kept stashed in various places in her outfits, especially her riding gear. She was not a heavy hitter by any means, leaning into her adeptness to dodge her opponents attacks and land small attacks of her own before they could recover from the effort of their first attack.
Poisons: Liane took a particular interest whenever her trainers brought up poisons. Ever since then, it’s been her hyper fixation. She was fascinated by the properties of many poisonous plants and even was able to study some venom extracts. Although she never thought of them in a harmful way, more just captivated by their beauty. Deadly creatures and plants often were adorned with bright colors and flashy patterns. It was captivating to see dangerous things existing freely in nature, untouched by anything that might want to harm it due to its poisonous nature. A trait she wished she could assume sometimes.
Escaping: Liane learned early on how to make quick escapes: Misdirection and camouflage. It's honestly surprising given how flashy her hair and usual attire is, how quickly she can slip from view. She had to learn quickly how to avoid any prying eyes, her mother, the rest of her family, the guards, anybody else that always seemed to be watching the royal family's every move. Partnered up with a dragon that also seems to be just as good about getting her out of places, Liane can be hard to pin down. Just as quickly as she gets into trouble, she gets herself out of it, even if it might've left a stampeding herd of pigs that ran right through a village...
Weaknesses
Inexperienced: Liane has been training for most of her life, spent lots of time on her dragon, and is an excellent dragon rider in all practical things. But her inexperience in real stakes combat, lack of knowledge about the political and social tensions going on between Paitan and Tyris, and unknown true nature of her training have set Liane up for failure. She could never know how much is relying on her, and her trainers and King worry if they reveal everything, she’d suffocate under it.
Stubborn: Who would've guessed the indomitable Liane Moretti would also be as stubborn as an elder dragon. Once she's made up her mind, it's hard to change it. Usually her determination pays off, or she gets to learn a lesson the hard way. Which she does a lot of the latter. Fortunately, her dragon seems to be an anchoring point for her. The creature seeming to be one of the only ones who can successfully make the difficult woman turn around sometimes.
Defiant: It would seem years of being told what to do and when to do it has made the dragon rider indulge in her newly found freedom. The perks of being one of the only royals to bond a dragon means she can get away with a lot more since they need her. She's not really sure what's so important about her training versus any other dragon rider, but she's damn sure not going to make it easy on anybody.
Claustrophobic: Although Liane thinks she has sort of always suffered from claustrophobia, it seemed to get worse after she bonded her dragon. After feeling how much freedom, she could have, sleeping under the sky, staring at the stars, fingertips brushing the softest of leaves, she realized how much she never wanted to be indoors again. The pompous balls, stiff small talk, upright postures, it was all so overwhelming, so entrapping, so suffocating. She would find herself struggling to control her breathing, sweating palms, racing heart, cold sweating, and even on the verge of panic attacks if she felt trapped in any way, shape, or form. If she doesn't have a quick exit route, she will quickly lose all composure and look for an escape route. Similar to a snake realizing its cornered.
~
Backstory:
Liane was brought up like most children in the royal family. Inside the safety of the castle walls with every waking moment planned for them. Her few siblings all seemed to go with the flow, but Liane just couldn't quite mold herself to fit in. She always had wild tendencies from sneaking out with the castle keepers to drink at the local taverns, bothering the castle guards enough for them to finally indulge in her curiosities about combat, to eventually striving to be a dragon rider. She never made many close personal connections. Even when surrounded by peers at the dragon-taming training, she found it hard to make close friends. Sure, she was good at making small talk and at least appearing friendly, but anything beyond the base line of interactions, she faltered. Whether it be due to her mistrusting nature, or the simple fact she got bored with the triviality of small talk.
After she successfully bonded with her wyvern, Aspis, her training took a different route. One tailored by the King himself. Liane should’ve felt proud, honored, anything besides what she did: Infuriated. Infuriated by him taking it upon himself to make decisions for her. From that moment on, she made every step difficult. She excelled at her training and teachings, but either disappeared before her trainers could give her an actual task, or she’d blatantly disagree with them just to watch them desperately try and persuade her. She listened to a certain extent, but not much passed, not getting banned by the King himself. Which would be unwise of them to send off one of their only promising dragon riders. Liane somehow subconsciously knew this, maybe it also infuriated her more that they only tolerated her out of needing to use her. Liane wanted to feel like she was being helpful, and usually wanted to do good. But she was going to do it on her own, not because of some posh, regulated rules set for her by her family.
~
Affiliations:
Leila Moretti || Biological Mother
Leila has always been a rather... jealous woman. While Leila and her family are considered royal, there is a constant power struggle on who are the more elite family members. The royal family is also rather large. Making it harder to stand out to the King and Queen. The current King's mother is one of Leila's many sisters. And her many sisters also have many children. There's never a shortage of Moretti's in the Palace of Paitan.
Unknown || Biological Father
Leila never spoke much of Liane's father. Well, any of her children's fathers really, but particularly Liane's. That also seemed to wound Leila's pride, given the whispers their family murmur about the true heritage of her children.
King Sebastien || Cousin
Sebastien and Liane only ever saw each other in passing and at family meals. Sebastien was 5 years her elder and had known he would be the heir to the Kingdom since he was born. He only seemed to talk to his own cousin once she bonded a dragon and even then, he would rather his council deal with her brazen nature.
Moretti Royal Family:
Liane usually kept her distance from most of the royals. Preferring to wander the gardens or mingle with some of the more talkative help. She always felt like everyone was judging her. Preferring to do things her own way. She cares for her family, in a way one would for a familial feeling, but she's not close with any of them. She's not even sure if they could recall her favorite color.
Aspis || Dragon || Companion || 110 years old || Female || Wyvern build || Venom Element
Aspis had always been a rather aloof dragon. Tending to stay near the coastal outskirts rather than close to the Kingdoms. This often led her to miss out on a lot of potential bonds. But one day, something pulled her inland. She wasn't sure what, but luckily, she had. Other dragons hanging in the area told her that day was the day the trainees would attempt a bond. She watched from afar as all the dragons did. Watching the humans do their frivolous traditional activities and shortly after, everyone was off to try and attempt a bonding. A few dragons leapt into action almost immediately. Others waited until they singled out the one they wanted. The flash of a bright reddish tinted color caught the wyvern's eye. Pulling her attention to a rider creeping along the sides. Almost hidden from view in a grove of gnarling trees. She almost got away with it, but Aspis was quicker. The wyvern dove with precise agility down into the trees. Swiping for the girl as she barely missed her leap away. Aspis didn't give up quite yet, even if Liane had chosen a rather thick grove of trees. Her wings batted at the trees as she attempted another swipe at the woman, knocking loose branches in her vision path. Liane took the opportunity of the misdirection to roll away, removing herself from swiping distance of the wyvern. In the zealousness of the red beast, Liane had a clear spot to take a swipe at her soft underbelly. But instead, she hesitated. Spotting a wound that still looked fresh, with a deer antler protruding just on her flank. In one quick movement she rolled under the wyvern, ripping the antler free as she went. The red wyvern roared at the pain but also felt relief. Whipping to face the young woman with a snarl. They both could feel the pull, the potential of what they could do together, but first, Aspis had to try and kill her.
Other:
Dragon:
Name: Dendroaspis [Aspis]
Age: 110 Years Old
Gender: Female
Abilities: Possesses snake-like fang protrusions which she can spit a toxic venom that stings and eats away at living tissue. Eating different plants can affect the potency and effects of her venom.
Height, Weight: 12 feet tall, 30 tons, long, slender wyvern build
Key Details: Wyvern build consisting of two back legs and two large wings that also act as front leg supports. Hook-like claws attached at the curve of the wing to aid in gripping. She sits low to the ground, with her body being built for speed and quick turns. Two short, backwards facing horns positioned at the base of her skull merge into a frilled ridge running down her spine. The ridge flares out along her tail, giving it a wider appearance like a gliding squirrel’s tail. Her scales are a deep hue of red with orangish accents.
Personality: Vain, allusive, explorative, observant
Secret:
Liane is unaware she is being trained as the King's personal assassin. She knows she's in training, just not exactly sure for what. At the moment she is under the impression that all draagon riders in Paitan undertake the courses she is currently doing. Without many other riders around, the King and her trainers can get away with keeping this secret. For now...