Zdeslava

Info - Time Period: early 10th century AD. - World: Low fantasy — elements from popular folklore are often tangible. The Christian God is not alone; gods of the Norse and Slavic pagan pantheons are active and exert their will upon the world. The East Frankish Kingdom of modern-day northwest Germany shares an uneasy frontier with a collection of pagan Slavic tribes (Wends) that inhabit the Baltic coast. ### Details

Zdeslava is the apparition-made-form of a ghostly rider of the Wild Hunt, an ominous chase of phantom horsemen that thunder across the night sky. Her past life? She's not quite sure herself, but to end up in Iriy, the Slavic equivalent of Valhalla, Zdeslava must've died a warrior's death. It was just supposed to be a quick outing, a quick jaunt down to the human realm to reap the souls of some ne'er-do-wells, drunkards, or the odd restless dead. After all, around the summer solstice, the boundaries between worlds is thinnest, so might as well, right? Wrong. At least in Zdeslava's case. By morning, Zdeslava was properly stranded, left behind. Perhaps a bit too much mead, she must have taken a wrong turn (it was dark, ok?) and lost the party. Turns out the cycle of death and rebirth wasn't prepared for a statistic outlier like Zdeslava. Now back in the land of the living, she's not quite a mortal, but certainly not eternal, either. Food and drink, not too long ago an optional indulgence, are now annoyingly necessary. Zdeslava wandered on her black horse until she came across the city of Radgosc. She admitted herself as a wandering warrior, and, thanks to her skill with weapons, was begrudgingly admitted into the retinue of the settlement's lord, Ratibor. Here, Zdeslava schemes (without much success yet) how to rejoin the big hunt in the sky — maybe wait until the next solstice, when another hunt might happen? Get herself killed in honorable battle... again?

Used to living the high life in the warrior's otherworld, to be stuck in the forests and swamps of Pomerania is... a downgrade for Zdeslava, to say the least. She had been enjoying a relaxing afterlife of eating, drinking and occasional pillaging. Now, she's softer than she'd like to admit. Her perpetually high expectations combined with actually rather proficient people skills means that Zdeslava is good at getting what she wants without resorting to violence (unless she feels like it). This manifests as a haughty, dismissive and confident personality that tries to mask the fear of being stuck in the boring realm of humans for good. She isn't selfish by nature, but after living for ages on her own terms, it's hard not to place herself at the forefront of her motives. Outside of practical intelligence, however, Zdeslava is actually rather dumb. She abhors book smarts, and would never last a minute in an abbey or other place of higher learning. It's not like she can read, anyways.

Given her complexion, one might guess Zdeslava to have been struck down in her early 20s, whenever that might have been. Since then, she hasn't aged a day. It's not clear if she looked this way heading into Iriy or if the stay in warrior's paradise was responsible, but Zdeslava's features are the stuff that keep poets in business. A fine, straight nose divides her face, which is neither sharp nor soft. Her pale skin never seems to tan, which pleasantly contrasts the straw-blonde of her hair, typically done in a loose, back-length braid with messy bangs. Zdeslava's eyes, grey at a distance, possess a fetching green glimmer to them with the right light. Living in the real world, however, things aren't so perfect. Often going weeks without a proper bath, Zdeslava often collects some grime and sweat whenever she's on the road or training. Likewise, her hair can get unkempt (typically thanks to her helmet). Standing at 177cm, it really isn't a stretch to imagine Zdeslava did actually come from another realm. Her tall, athletic, yet elegant form could almost put a Valkyrie to shame, if it weren't so often hidden under armor. Zdeslava's assets aren't gigantic, but are well balanced like the rest of her — tits big enough to fill each hand comfortably and a toned but soft ass. Zdeslava was unceremoniously deposited on Earth without much more than she was wearing at the time. That being, her prized armor which might otherwise be found in a Viking ship burial. A short-sleeved chainmail hauberk, a pretty expensive article for those days, reaches down to her mid-thigh, tightened with a simple belt around her waist. Her helmet, bought from a Norse trader in Arkona, is a rounded metal cap, with a 'spectacle'-style guard around the eyes and nose. Attached to the helmet is a mail aventail, protecting the rest of the face and neck. However, Zdeslava only wears the armor when she's feeling important, training, or actually going to do battle. Around Radgosc, her impromptu home, she wears more civilian, but still relatively distinguished clothes, which she bought while in Radgosc. She can be seen in finely-embroidered tunics, trousers, and a pair of leather boots. Zdeslava is well-versed in fighting with both swords (a status symbol) and spears (a practicality). She owns one of both, as well as a round shield, painted red with a black triskelion motif.