Avery
Full Name: Ellenia Avery (she does not, and will not, give her real first name)
Used Names: Avery, Elle
Race: Human
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Deity: Tamara
Alignment: Neutral Good
Languages: Common, Draconic, Celestial
Height: 5'1" (155 cm)
Build: Slender, bordering on scrawny
Preferred Weapon: Crossbow
Occupation: Aspiring to join the Radiant Heart. Healer, cleric of Tamara.
Personality:
ISFJ-T (Defender, Turbulent)
Likes and interests: Medicine, draconic lore, music, being in the mountains, experiencing city life
Strengths: Supportive, patient, practical, kind
Weaknesses: Anxious, repressed, self-doubting
Fears: Confined spaces, sailing, pirates
Avery's personality doesn't seem particularly steady, her nature at odds with conditioning and experience. She might appear to be dry-humoured, sociable, and warm-hearted, only to flinch into someone introverted, anxious, and untrusting. Her innate altruism can suddenly be broken by a desperate survival instinct; caring for the weak, but then using the strong as a shield. Though equipped with the usual courage that many adventurers have, some phobias can interfere with her actions.
Avery is aware of this contradiction within herself, which she sees as cowardice and hypocrisy. She is trying to be a better person, but for now is willing to endure the shame of her worst traits, if those traits will keep her alive.
After a very confined beginning in life, the Sword Coast and Bauldr's Gate have offered up a near-infinite source of intrigue and entertainment, and Avery is determined to experience as much as possible. She can be easily convinced to go see a new place or take part in events; there's a deep well of curiosity there, and no real direction to focus it on.
For a long time, Avery was uncertain and clumsy about romantic pursuits and to a degree still is. This is changing however as a mutual affection developed between herself and Blake Hightower; a measured and respectful approach had helped her feel comfortable in the bourgeoning relationship.
History:
Avery rarely expands on her history, or may even be completely dishonest about it. She speaks about the temple she grew up in on a remote island, some 'time working on a ship at sea', and coming to Bauldr's Gate to join the Radiant Heart.
Avery was born in Aberwatch, the only town on a small island somewhere near the Moonshae archipelago. The small, mostly human society had developed alongside the dragons that resided on the island's steep mountains, and as such had developed faith in the Draconic Pantheon, rather than the Faerûnian.
At a very young age, Avery was given to the Temple of Tamara, having shown enough interest and aptitude to become an acolyte. This was not unusual for infants to be shaped into such roles, so though Avery maintained a friendly relationship with her biological parents, her 'family' was officially the clergy.
When Avery was fourteen the temple was raided by the crew of the 'Damysus', pirates who were searching for Draconic relics. While others fought, Avery was hidden, discovered only once the carnage had come to an end. In a desperate bid to stay alive, she offered to heal a gravely wounded crewmate in exchange for her own life. This was agreed to, however, the captain decided that Avery trading her skills for her life was not going to stop with one crewmate. She was taken prisoner and would spend the next years of her life aboard the Damysus, forced to treat and care for the same people who had killed her surrogate family.
Knowing there would be no way of retaliating without certain death, Avery endured the years as best she could. The deep-rooted hatred and fear she felt for the crew nonetheless became twisted, as she also had to nurse them and care for them. The most severe of her Stockholm Syndrome developed for two particular people: Asher, the Sailing Master, and Morgana Bennet, the Captain of the ship (who had, in turn, developed an unsettling attachment to the abducted girl). It was, in short, complicated.
It was five years before Avery walked on solid ground again, Captain Bennet allowing her off the vessel while docked in Athkatla. Avery took what was likely her only opportunity to escape, managing to vanish into the city then flee north.
Ever since then she has only introduced herself as 'Avery', rarely sharing the diminutive 'Elle', but not Ellenia. Avery was driven only by the need to survive, living in fear of being hunted down, vanishing if she heard mention of the Damysus, and seeking out stronger friends and allies to hide behind. This goal has stunted her true calling, to work as a healer and in the service of Tamara.
Avery has tried to reconcile this by joining the Radiant Heart; while protected by powerful people, she would also be given a purpose to do good in the world again, and work towards a more noble goal.
Her paranoia is not unfounded: Captain Morgan Bennet has put a dead-or-alive bounty out for 'Ellenia', the brown-haired healer and follower of Tamara. The rumour of it would be known in Roaringshore, possibly even whispered around the docks of Bauldr's Gate. In 1357 bounty hunters did manage to track her down, though with the help of her new allies, they were eventually silenced. The threat of Morgana however still lingers.
Radiant Heart Affiliation:
Avery currently holds the rank of Squire within the Radiant Heart and is mentored by the Grand Knight. Time among the Order has clearly had a positive effect, helping realign her moral compass to less self-centred and survival-driven purposes. Inwardly, there is still a problematic core of self-doubt and self-loathing; failure hits her hard and can easily dismantle the fragile framework that is being built around her confidence. The found family of the Order has earned her most feirce loyalty, however, and it is unlikely she will leave their company any time soon.
