[Bio] Lady Adelaide De Certando

[fatchicken 22]

Lady Adelaide de Certando

"A great many thought the Certando household would crumble without its Lord.
A great many were wrong."

    Name: Adelaide Mirenza De Certando
    
    Title: Countess, Lady Certando (Official), The Lady in Black, The Widow (Monikers)
    
    Age: 64
    
    Birthplace: Tirisfal Forest
    
    Affiliations: The Stormwind House of Nobles, Lordaeron (Formerly), House Certando
    

Introduction

    The Certando household was one that had long since planted the roots of their influence, and then nurtured those infantile sinews by way of duplicity, gold and blood until a sprawling labyrinth had formed a base upon which they built their family tree for centuries. Lord and Lady Certando, namely Terrowin and Adelaide, were one such branch of the prestigious family. Arguably the most important, for their great oaken reach had based itself in the very capital, not just the kingdom, of Lordaeron. It was from there that they cast their looming eyes over the city, cold and calculating, and pulled the strings of paupers to best serve their self-absorbed purposes. All the while little Lady Emilia, the newest blossom upon their tree of heritage, grew up amongst wealth and luxury and magic.
    
    But, as the cold hand of fate would have it, tragedy befell the Certando family. First their daughter, barely eighteen winters old, was caught practising forbidden arts taught to her by her father. She was drawn and quartered the following day. Then the Lord, all caution shattered by his loss, sought justice for his child through ploys that grew continually more audacious. Erelong, Lord Terrowin de Certando and little Lady Emilia de Certando were reunited in the silence of the noose: an omen to all would-be-warlocks. 
    
    Which left Lady Certando, with no magic of her own, in a house that lay in ruin and at the head of a family whose heart had been torn from its chest. Her soul bled ever since, until it could bleed no more, and all that was remained was an ice-bound imitation of a person. It was as if someone had carved and animated from a glacier her solemn mockery:  Languid, cold, yet never ceasing.

 

Personality

 

Before the fall of their empyrean house, the Certandos commanded no small amounts of respect from their peers. Lord Terrowin was known to be a ruthless and avaricious businessman, but also opportunistic. He was precise and never clumsy, striking only when the iron was hot. What the masses didn't always know, was that Adelaide served as the wily temper to his fury, between which the two made a terrifying yet harmonious coupling. 
    
    It would make sense then to expect that with the absence of their family's fist, the Certando dynasty would grow reserved and pussyfooted in their manoeuvres. But as time passed grief turned to rage, then rage to heartlessness until finally the terrible embers of fury had but crumbled into ashes, from which was born the hardened Lady of today. In this way she has become the perfect medium between her and her late-lover. Just as careful as she once was, but now with a bitterness that makes her merciless, she took the family treasure and influence and built upon it still. 
    
    It is endlessly fitting, however cliché, to liken her demeanour to the first frigid touches of winter. Wheresoever Adelaide de Certando walks, nobility and townsfolk drop their gaze and descend to whispers, as if a blanket of snow had absorbed their tumult. There is no comely sway to her hips, instead her legs make only the necessary movements, instilling her upper body with a wintry lifelessness. So too are her features and expressions deathly stagnant, smiling in only the most blue-mooned moments. Her voice, flat as frozen water and crisp like frostbite, offers no cheer. But then there are her eyes, deep and green, they once spoke of a mother's love. Now, in a clash of ice and fire, one can still see the smouldering ghosts from the wrongs done unto her. 

All this said, the Lady is not immune to any and all enjoyment, and nor will she lash out if approached. It would be more accurate to say that, until prompted, she will remain in her state of quiet woe.

 

Appearance

 

Lady Adelaide de Certando was once a porcelain doll of the ballroom. Many a man envied the Lord Terrowin his mate, and some even sought to cajole her from him. Not because she gleamed like some gaudy stone, but because she exuded a subdued eloquence that no other could seek to match. 
    
    To look upon Adelaide was to look upon the matrimony of poise and beauty. She was almost entirely devoid of roundness, boasting a sharp visage and angled maw that tapered into a narrow chin. But then, in the softness to her porcelain cheeks and the button of her nose she had just a dash of motherly allure. Her nails, painted black, matched the shade of  her own silken locks, which arched like lunar crescents from either side of her head, curling back to level with the marble-like skin of her collar and shoulders. Her eyes were a splendid blue-green, emphasized by rings of modestly applied eye-shadow. All the sombre tones of her hair, eyes and sanguine lip gloss stood out sharply against her perfect ashen complexion. 

    Alas, as often happens with a soul perturbed, eventually her inward torment began to express itself through her countenance. Her glossy black hair, now tied back, has begun to see its first lunar streaks. The sea-green of her eyes has grown a shade darker, like looking into the bottom of two glass bottles, twisted by the rage so long kindled within her. Her skin has become thin and tight, having lost the plushness of youth and rendering the Lady somewhat cadaverous. Just like her nails, lips and hair, all onyx, so too does Adelaide prefer to dress herself in a simple midnight robe. Which, although plain, was quite clearly woven by a most artful set of hands. In the end, a stifling combination of her pallid skin, black decoration and motionless countenance has left Adelaide looking more wraith than woman. Which perhaps, given her eternal mourning, is but a manifestation of her sundered soul. 

Traits

 

Shrewd: All her years spent as a puppetmaster over the people of Lordaeron alongside her husband has taught Adelaide an astuteness when it comes to both managing money and judging character - Never is she impulsive.

Callous: All the wonderful passions of life, with nothing left to feed on, have long since fled Adelaide. So little manages to evoke emotion in the woman now, save for the courtly mannerisms she forces herself to assume.

Scheming: Unlike the other two members of her family, the Lady of house Certando has no magic nor prowess with a blade to protect her. She relies only on her intellect and resources to persist, almost always resorting to devilish deeds should the need arise.

Wanderer: The only thing that has allowed Adelaide to cling to her last vestiges of sanity are the brief and long-awaited excursions she takes into the public world. She may not frolic, drink to get merry, or scarcely even talk to people  - But it is one of the last pleasures she holds.

Survivor: Lady Certando has endured a great many hardships and trials throughout her life. She persists out of pure stubbornness, if nothing else, and will do so to her grave.

Wealth: Having lost not only her own branch of the family tree, but several more to the wars, Adelaide is now the sole director of the once-great family's fortune. With no claimants to the throne, many have tried to claim a stake for their own: Be it through business plotting, assassination, or supposed affections. 

Edited August 29, 2017 by fatchicken

[Mithaniel 66]

Interesting.

[fatchicken 22]

Thanks! Also, holy shitsnacks were there a lot of errors when I first put this up. Hopefully fixed, if you spot anything do comment/pm!

[Romeo 320]

Lovely! First and foremost I love foruming myself, and when I see bland, boring, simple effort put into posts like applications or guilds or characters, it kills my motivation to even read it in the first place. This is not one of those cases, not at all. You've built a perfect template for not just this character but for any really, using a good template suitable for pretty much anything in-character related. Neatly organized, good paragraph breakers and with just enough colour for it to look awesome, this is exactly what I want. This is exactly what makes me read, honestly. God damn this is awesome, mad respect for the effort!
 

The way you write is also really neat to me, you use words like "frostbite" which to me are cool synonyms that aren't complicated (aka no purple prose) but rather describe something rather vividly. All the sections you've provided perfectly cup together your character and that is exactly what these posts are for generally, or to remind you as a roleplayer what type of character you are actually roleplaying. This has all the information you'd need, in fact, if I wanted to roleplay this character - with this profile I could.

Simply awesome.