Name: Chelka Yrlind
Aliases: Sister Superior Yrlind, Spearmaiden, The Silent Lady
Age: 29
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Height: 5'6"

Appearance:  At first glance, Chelka fits the model of a Spearmaiden with her strikingly red robes clad in armor. She is rarely seen without her armor, and even rarer still without the robe of the Spearmaidens. Her position, clothes or not, is unmistakable with the mark above her brow, signifying a full fledged member of the Spearmaidens. There is an ever present sense of pride in both her posture and her stride, attributing to an aura of confidence, or arrogance, that is unmistakable. The confidence is often seen as arrogance for those that doubt the skills that have been developed through years of training.

     Once people get past the armor and distinguishing marks of the Spearmaidens, it has been said that she had a calming appeal and more often than not her age is confused for someone a lot younger. Her features are sharp, a striking similarity to her eyes that appear ever vigilant, no matter her surroundings. Her hair is often worn down and is not often tied back, an uncommon trait for many warriors but is kept so as a personal statement.  Although she is not as muscular and brawny as the male warriors she trained alongside, her slim figure allowed her to utilize the full capabilities of her spear with agility and grace.

     Her armor consists of pieces built for maneuverability, composed of numerous pieces that make up the suit. Her gauntlets and arm arm guards are made of the finest iron the Spearmaidens could muster for all of their warriors and on her right shoulder is adorned her personal symbol, denoting both her house and familial ties. Her chest piece is often hidden beneath her robes and covers a majority of her upper body, held together to her arm guards and waist armor by a set of straps and buckles. The armor, being made of several linked, yet flexible pieces allows her the ability to be versatile both on the ground and in the saddle, allowing for many adopted stances and fighting styles. Her greave and boots were made together, yet given a separate matching piece to cover her knee, following the same form of flexibility without compromising protection.

Personality: Chelka was raised in nobility and as such had the best of instructors in most arts of writing and diplomacy, making it easier for her to engage others in conversation. However, she is always on her guard, a habit formed of constant training within the Spearmaidens, yet there are times when alone that she allows herself the freedoms that had been denied her from birth, slipping off her mask and instead embracing the carefree curiosity she feels in the world. Despite all this she is a calm and collected warrior, revealing absolutely nothing while maintaining an alert and astute view of her surroundings. She holds ideals of duty, honor, and morals above everything else and believes that the path of a Spearmaiden should be dedicated to helping those that cannot help themselves.

     Her beliefs, both through her upbringing and through her training, has leveled her as a defender of the masses to a fault. She is stubborn in her resolve to do what she deems is right and is hard to sway from decisions once she has made them. Her temper, albeit well controlled, can come out sharp and unforgiving, taking even the slightest of wrongs against her ideals as a challenge. Despite this, if she can be convinced of the wrongness of her actions, she would not hide behind her pride to avoid apologizing. If she had ever wronged another, she would see it as her duty and obligation to right the wrong she had caused.

     Her muteness has never hindered her training as much as it did her upbringing. Being the youngest in a line of six, little attention was left for her when it came to matters of state which made her move to join the Spearmaiden an agreeable option for her parents. She used this disadvantage to her advantage in anyway she could, learning to write in as many languages as possible and always carrying around something from which she could write made life bearable, if a bit slower and tedious for those involved. She learned from a very young age that people could not be bothered to handle her disabilities and so she became self-sufficient, insisting on honing her skills in writing more so than most diplomats. When it came to her training as a warrior, she learned to whistle as well as basic signals that could be made to identify herself and her intent to her fellow Spearmaidens.
Spearmaiden's Namesake: Spearmaidens for decades have handled the art of spears and as such have named themselves masters of it. Every Spearmaiden, since taken in at the age of thirteen, is trained to treat the weapon as an extension of themselves and as such is ingrained with a sense of respect and skill that is unrivaled in most areas.  This training makes them fine warriors to serve the Gods, as both defenders of the faith and protectors of the faithful. Everyone that passes by would recognize the armor and marks of a Spearmaiden.

Penmanship: Chelka spent most of her youth and many nights of her training honing her mind as well as her body, in constant need for reassurance that her disability would not hinder her in the future as it did in her past. As such her ability to write and the fine way she can string words together on parchment challenges even the castle scribes. This gives her a knack for forging signatures and official documents.

Naturally Gifted Rider: Chelka, nearly from birth, has had an affinity toward horses and even during her training as a Spearmaiden had taken up the reins and become a more than competent rider. Her preferred horse, Tencendur, is a well bred warhorse given to her by her family and has been raised and trained alongside her.

Minor - Cooking: Chelka, during her initial entry into the Spearmaidens, learned to cook and clean most of the keep that the Spearmaidens and Shield-Brothers resided. She knows her way around a kitchen as well as the spices and herbs that go well with certain dishes.

Minor - Flute: Her learning how to whistle becoming a necessity in her training led way for her to become interested in music. On her travels, she picked up a flute and has learned to play it on her own, in the few moments she has of peace to play the flute. None know of this talent as she only takes up her flute when she is well and truly alone.
Childlike Appearance: She has always looked younger than she is and as such has been treated as a child equally as she has been treated as a warrior. This keeps her at a disadvantage in conversations yet allows her to take most of her opponents by surprise in combat.

"The Silent Lady": Her birth, being sixth in line of her house, should have left her in the background growing up, yet her disability brought her to the forefront of gossip and stories. She can gain nothing from her inheritance due to her siblings before her yet she is known as many that see the mark of her house upon her shoulder.
Disdain for Nobility: Having been born a noble and shunned for her disability, Chelka has a deep hatred for all nobles that remind her of her past. She does not care for nobility and has been known to refuse to even acknowledge their presence, doing her duties as they were given to her and nothing more.

Mute: Chelka, from birth, has never been able to vocalize the thoughts in her mind due to a birth defect that has plagued her childhood. This defect, as seen by her family, limited her usefulness to their line and as such isolated her from them.

Grudgebearer: Chelka is slow to anger, but once pushed past the boundaries of her patience she can not walk away. If Chelka ever reaches the point of losing her control and giving in to anger the results will always end in blows and will not be easily forgotten and almost never forgiven.

Sporadic Reaction to Magic: Due to the circumstances surrounding her birth, Chelka is weak to most forms of magic and can receive ill effects from even healing magic, making her weak and faint.
Writing Equipment - Inside her riding bag, stowed away in its own pouch with the utmost care is a set of fine pigments and parchment, bought for her by the Spearmaidens as a gift upon receiving her robes. She cherishes this gift and rarely uses it other than for important messages and for everyday writing she carries a chalk and slate, though she rarely takes as much care in it's condition as her finer tools.

Family Crest - The family crest, a red water lily seated upon her shoulder, was made for her as a parting gift by her family before she took her vows into the Spearmaidens, the last gift she ever received from her family and she constantly wears it as a reminder.

Tencendur - Tencendur is a sturdy and reliable war horse, having trained alongside Chelka since she was fully welcomed into the Order. Tencendur has a red blanket underneath her polished leather saddle, ensuring as much comfort as possible. Tencendur has two saddlebags, one on each side, that can be easily detached when combat is initiated by unbuckling the straps that hold them to the saddle itself.

Likes: Riding, Writing, spear practice, and spicey food.
Dislikes: Dishonesty, harming innocents/unarmed opponents, and cooking.
Habits: Playing the flute, reading, and fidgeting with her hair.

History:  Chelka was born into a family of deep seeded nobility, the House Yrlind, renowned far and wide in most circles as one of the leading houses. Yet her conception did not bring happy tidings to a family with six children already. Her mother, grown weak from the war and the worry that followed suit suffered difficulties near the final weeks before Chelka's birth. Her father, worried for his wife, sought the help of anyone and anything that he thought could help. As a last resort, and with all the secrecy that could be maintained with his position, he called upon a mage that practiced Forbidden Magic and begged for his assistance, promising him riches for the survival of his wife and unborn child.

     During the birth, the magic was said and the powers that were enacted that day were enough to save Chelka but not enough for the mother, who passed a few hours later. The child, although alive and seemingly healthy was unable to talk, having been addled by the Forbidden Magic and forever scarred by its powers, a life saved at the cost of another. Her father was grief stricken, and coming to terms with the loss of his wife and the birth of a daughter that could not speak weighed heavily on him for some time.

     Eventually guilt turned to resentment as the House Yrlind name was 'tainted' by the birth of Chelka, rumors eventually spreading for the reason of her disability. She was spirited away and kept from most of the world for her youth. Taught all things by private tutors and instructors, maintaining very minimal contact with the rest of her family, by her Father's orders. She grew up in solitude and yet made friends with all of her tutors and servants, attaining the best she could from the life she was given until she came of age to become a Spearmaiden, as one of her instructors before her had mentioned in passing. She listened to the praises of the Spearmaidens and the thoughts of defending those that could not defend themselves and was wholly enraptured by the idea.

     When she turned thirteen, the minimum age someone could be accepted into the Spearmaidens, Chelka approached her father with the instructor, and after a heated debate between the Spearmaiden and her father, she was given leave to join the order. Chelka would never forget the look on her Father's face as he parted ways with his daughter, the look of resigned acceptance and the relief buried deep. She traveled to the Everlon Keep, home of the Spearmaidens where her training began.

     She was taken on as an apprentice, a banner bearer of the order and was put to work immediately. The Spearmaidens were a self-governing order whose purpose was to act as protectors of the faithful and defenders of the faith against those that would trample upon the beliefs of others. They paid their tithes to the local lord, Chelka's father, for the property they held and offered their services to both nobles and commoners alike. Spearmaidens trained from young ages to take up their spears and defend the people and yet the politics infected even the holiest of causes. Spearmaidens that were trained exceptionally well were often positioned to defend female nobility, as a sort of bodyguard in exchange for goods and gold.

     Chelka became aware of this backroom dealing and was angered by it, feeling as though that the order betrayed everything it stood for by forgoing the common folk for nobility. She made her decision early to train the hardest she could and strive to outmatch even the best of spearmaidens. She trained hard for five years before she was given the chance to earn her robes, the red robes to prove that she had undertaken her first pilgrimage. She was assigned to defend a merchant caravan with five other spearmaidens, and was sent on her way toward Streamore. The trip was plagued with issues and mishaps, yet by the end the caravan reached its destination.

     The return journey back to Everlon was harder as the Spearmaidens were ambushed upon the road by deserters of the Peas'mak that sought their armor, weapons, and goods to help earn them enough money to pay their way. A battle ensued in which all but Chelka and one other sister lay dead, the journey had turned the white robes of the apprentice red. They rode back in silence, all thoughts of glory and righteousness gone as the gates of Everlon opened to receive the two Spearmaidens and the four bodies that rode behind them.

     It was with a saddened heart the Chelka obtained her robes, the signs of a Spearmaiden, at the age of nineteen, her father had sent her the symbol of her family and a horse as a present and a reminder that he would always be watching her progress. She continued her training for ten years, exploring out into the countryside, escorting pilgrims, caravans, and nobility (nobility as few times as possible) whenever she could spare the time from her training. She had obtained the rank of Sister Superior for her hard work and was sought after by nobles to defend their daughters and yet she would not be bought or taken, refusing to forsake her oath to line her pockets.

     At news of a siege at Wind Breaker Castle spread throughout the Keep, Chelka volunteered to find others to help stem the tide of the invaders, knowing that the innocent people trapped within and the people that depended upon the commerce in and out of the castle would not be able to wait out a siege. She took her detachment of Spearmaidens and spread them across the countryside, taking it upon herself to travel toward the Wetlands once more to the town of Streamore as she remembered the path from her youth. She took her trusted horse, Tencendur, and whatever she could pack comfortably into the saddle bag before making her journey to look for volunteers ready to break the siege, she did not know if those so far would be interested in aiding the people within Wind Breaker Castle but she had hope, and that would have to do.