Cynthia Bray (Pending Approval)

Cynthia seemingly surrounds herself with a certain air of importance, however, this is not intentional but despite this, she is very approachable. Cynthia likes to keep her voice soft in an almost soothing manner, she doesn't raise it very often if ever. She sometimes has trouble communicating her emotions and tends to bottle them up and this is because of her situation/lifestyle she grew up in and the fact she spent her last two years "alone".  

Cynthia is also religious which could potentially offend the most conservative of individuals. She understands that her particular beliefs may seem foreign and strange but even in spite of this she doesn't hide away from her beliefs and while she isn't obnoxious about preaching her religion she doesn't shy away from talking about it.

Overall Cynthia is looking to make connections with others and try to put her expectations behind her, do right in the world and stick to her metaphorical guns.

“Was I born to be a hero? A villain? Am I lost? Simply put; yes.”

The wilds outside of the four major kingdoms are considered by some to be inhospitable and barren, Grimm roaming the night terrorizing anyone stupid enough to be wandering after the sun goes down. Villages who settled out here usually have a unique culture and a different view on life and this was no different to Cynthia’s home. She was raised by the village priest who only “conceived” her under the guidance from “Solis” who is the goddess of light and who originally was the one who gave humans the power of aura to protect themselves against the creatures of Grimm. Solis’s guidance came in the form of that one day Cynthia would be a hero, a champion of the light that would protect the helpless.

Cynthia was born on a stormy cloud filled day on November-22nd which wasn’t and her birth was celebrated by her village, she was put under a spotlight that she loved as a kid but grew to resent the pressure that came with her life as she got older.

Cynthia growing up was actually quite sheltered and forced to suffer through the beliefs of Solis. She didn’t mind the teachings and actually is still a believer of the light goddess. However, because of her sheltered nature, she wasn’t allowed to go outside much or make friends as they were considered “beneath” her, this isolation made her feel alone as her Mother was only a “vessel” and didn’t live with her and her Father saw her as an object to be molded correctly. She was taught how to train at a very young age and given a sword said to be blessed by Solis, it was a slim but long katana with a black and blue threaded handle that was slightly jagged at the edge, the blade had a gold metal streak through the center of the sword up until the tip, it was a unique gift that left a distinct cut because of its style. Cynthia was trained by one the village militia’s best, he was a young man, handsome and talented. The two formed a bond because of their positions in the world, he knew what she was feeling being isolated from the rest of her peers and the two thoroughly enjoyed their time together and continued training for years becoming best friends despite her Father's wishes of their connection and the age gap, Cynthia viewed him as an older brother, as she turned 15 her training was almost complete.

As her training completed Cynthia now was quite the skilled huntress for someone who had second-hand teachings without the proper hand of an actual teacher. Her Father approached her the day before her birthday saying that her destiny was at hand, she wrote it off as another one of his ramblings of Solis but he assured her that she was to be at the outskirts of the village tomorrow at noon, little did she know that her Father had planned to offer her up not necessary as a sacrifice but as a test to see if she would for filling her “duties” and this had been planned since she was born. This secret was kept from her still even as the night came and her Father and the village elders went to set up her trial as she slept. She awoke earlier than she normally did, the sun was still not up over the horizon yet and while she didn’t know exactly what was in store for her that day she was still nervous, she decided that a walk in the slightly cold weather would maybe calm her down. Cynthia stepped out of her home with her sword strapped to her side, its gleam reflected off the full moon. She would make it only a few hundred feet from her front door before she was approached by the militia’s captain, she would greet him and he would put his sword to her throat saying that she was under arrest for the murder of Her Father and all of the Village Elders. Cynthia pleaded her innocence but the older gentleman wanted to hear none of it and she was thrown into jail where apparently the evidence was so damning that no trial would be held and she would be executed in two days’ time in front of everyone. She was crushed, not believed, now hated and feared, she needed a way out and that way out came in the form of a boy, the militia captains own son, he admitted that as he unlocked the cell that he had a crush on her, he wasn’t doing this because of that…but because he believed her innocence. As the jail door swung open, he led her out and told her to run, run and never come back until she had proof of the true culprit, advice she took with a kiss on the cheek, she turned and left her home for an unforeseeable forever.

Cynthia would roam the outlands searching for clues for over a year, she was an outlaw by her own people and an exile, Cynthia was hunted constantly and she ended up putting down some of her own people as they swung aiming for her own life. Finally, one early morning she was confronted by a hooded man on an old bridge just outside of Vale. He said nothing but he drew his weapon and charged her, she had no choice but to defend herself, steel clashed and under the rising timeframe of dawn, the man fell from a swift slash to the gut. His yell was familiar and as Cynthia rushed to her attackers side and pulled up his hood, the slightly now older face and scruff of her mentor, her best friend, and thought of brother looked into her eyes and she starting crying into him, she would pound the ground and ask how he could think of her as guilty. His last words as he died of his wounds explained that the weapon that ended the lives of her Father and the Elders had a unique jagged cut to them, the only weapon that could have created those slashes were her own weapon and nobody was more experienced than herself to have created those kills. He whispered “Who else could have done it?” and with that, he died in her arms. Cynthia closed his eyes and ended up placing his body in a nearby flower field, she didn’t have time to bury, as more would be coming soon. She laid his body and recited a prayer of Solis over him and left there… at rest.

Eventually, as another year passed and Cynthia turned 17 the attacks stopped coming, either they gave up or her village was tired of sending their own to fight over deaths that probably had no meaning anymore.  She had no leads and was just leaving a trail of wounded or dead friends behind her. Cynthia traveled outside of the four kingdoms again to a small island just south of Mantle, Bellmuse it was called, her life would have to be restarted, she would become a huntress and despite having nothing to go on, she would one day find the killer and clear her name and maybe… just maybe… come home as the hero she was born to be.

As the sun crested the horizon Cynthia could be found near the edge of a forest clearing, one foot firmly planted on nature's floor and the other pressed into her knee. The morning air was crisp, cooled by the coming change in season, prompting her an attire of something a little more casual, she had ditched her armor and settled for track pants and a light blue sweater. With all the stress of change compounding, the blonde had decided to take some time to collect herself and of course that meant several hours of meditation, she would close her eyes and just listen to the soft singing of birds in the morning and feel the wind slightly mess up her hair, she inhaled and exhaled waiting for peace. So there she stood, stock still and eyes closed doing her best to clear her mind. It wasn't working just like ever since those events back home, typical, she couldn't catch a break.

"Solis...show me a path..." she whispered, the wind blew slightly harder and leaves swirled around her and she felt a soft ease fall over her head, maybe she was finally listening but as quickly as clarity came, it disappeared but just for that one moment, Cynthia smiled.