Arthes Damek
Translation/Meaning:
Arthes - Welsh, "she-bear"
Damek - Slavic, "Earth"
Nicknames: None, although she does bear a title in her town- Goodmother
Gender: Female. Very female. Enough female for TWO females, actually...
Age: 31
Height: 5'8"
Birthday: Equivalent of May 1
Astrological Sign: Taurus
Gemstone: Moss Agate
Blood type: O+
Dream/Passions:
Above all, Arthes loves children, and has devoted her life to caring for them. She's also very passionate about living with nature, rather than separating oneself from it or trying to enslave it.
Hobbies/Creative Pursuits:
Gardening- not the "pretty roses" type, although Arthes does grow roses. Instead, she keeps a garden of herbs and vegetables, useful for various medicinal, decorative, and ceremonial purposes.
Hunting- If it's necessary to feed the town during the winter, Arthes is not averse to going out with a crossbow and bringing in some meat. She's surprisingly good at it, capable of amazing stealth and accuracy.
Ordering people around- More of a job description than a hobby, except that Arthes does it even in situations where she doesn't have so much influence. The people of Eferheim generally do what she says, partially because she's reasonably wise, but also because she has ways of making life difficult for them if they don't.
Physical Appearance:
Arthes is a woman of awesome proportions. One could say she has an hourglass figure, although the hourglass has a rather wide neck and looks like it's been sat on. Most of her torso is taken up with an impressive swell of cleavage, under which there's a generously padded waist and childbearing hips capable of carrying major loads. Below these are thighs capable of killing a man, dimpled knees, and calves resembling inverted teardrops. These taper to surprisingly dainty feet. Arthes's upper limbs are similarly impressive- rounded shoulders and arms leading to small hands. In addition to this impressive stature, Arthes is several months along with her eighth pregnancy, so she takes up even more space than usual.
Nature has been kind to Arthes, blessing her with a golden complexion that makes her appear several years younger than she is. Her skin is soft and smooth, although faint smile lines are forming around her moss green eyes. Above these eyes, thick eyebrows form a slight curve. A mole decorates the cheek just below the outside ocrner of her left eye. Arthes's face is rounded and well-proportioned, and usually set in a serene smile. It's rare and quite scary to see Arthes drop that serenity- like watching a friendly dog suddenly intent on murder. When she's angrered, her features harden into a mask of stone, although her eyes blaze with the fury of a volcano.
Framing all this is her hair- ebony and shining, parted on the right and arranged in several braids that cover the crown of her head. Below that, her hair flows loose and free, curling in wide spirals to the middle of her back. A lock spirals in front of each ear, stopping just below her shoulders.
As an important member of Eferheim, Arthes owns three outfits. The main two are dresses almost exactly alike- floor-length, bell-sleeved, and scoop-necked affairs trimmed in fur. The only difference between them is color- one is red-brown, the other moss green. The third outfit is a pair of trousers and a long, hooded tunic, both in drab browns; this is her hunting outfit. Arthes is usually shod in thick leather boots. When wearing her dresses, she also dons jewelry- Arthes owns several rings, as well as a round moss agate pendant and a necklace of animal claws and teeth.
Personality:
Arthes has the serene confidence of someone who's spent most of her life taking care of things. It's difficult to get her to fly off the handle- usually, she'll retain a calm aura in any situation. Anything particularly important, like a situation where lives are in danger, will see her a bit more strict than usual, but still very controlled. One thing will send her into a rage any time, though- mistreatment of children. In he opinion, children are one of the most sacred things in life, and hurting them will give you a one-way ticket to serious discomfort, courtesy Arthes.
As a Goodmother, Arthes has come to expect obedience from people, and orders them around a lot, not in an imperious manner, but much like a mother would. She's got leadership down to an art, mainly because she has such confidence that people don't really feel inclined to argue. This tends to put her into conflicts with royalty, especially since she shares the Eferheim view that royalty should stay where they are and take care of the paperwork of ruling so that commoners can get down to the important things in life. As such, she tends to treat royalty as peers, being cordial but not as respectful as most would hope. She doesn't give herself airs, she just doesn't bow and scrape.
When presented with differing opinions, Arthes will listen, although most of the time she sticks with what she thinks is best. Most people see this as inflexibility and stubbornness; Arthes sees it as knowing her own mind and showing strength. She will change her position if she's OBVIOUSLY wrong, or if a challenger has an exceptionally good idea, but it's not a very common thing. Also, Arthes tends to stick around in danger longer than she should, often trying to make sure everyone's okay, but also because she's a little bit overconfident in her ability to survive. Of course, she hasn't had any disasters because of this trait yet, so in her eyes she's perfectly justified.
There's a positive side to Arthes's mothering, however- if anyone around her is hurt or needs help, she's instantly there to take care of things. It can be nice... it can also be annoying to people who fancy themselves independent. If her efforts are rebuffed, Arthes will back off, but will refuse to help later unless specifically asked to do so. She respects the desire for pride and independence, but she also feels that people should know when to ask for help and, if they want to be so independent, they shouldn't expect help otherwise.
Arthes, as stated previously, loves children. She goes into gush mode whenever small children are around, and has an almost endless reservoir of patience with them. Not that she doesn't keep them in line- part of her job is to discipline people, and children don't escape that. However, this discipline never involves harming them. Under no circumstances will Arthes ever attack a child. Ever.
As you may have gathered, Eferheim's Goodmother has a very strong will. It takes a lot of work to get her to do something if she's not inclined to do it. This can be both a strength and a hindrance- she's reliable when the chips are down, but she's also stubborn as a mule if she thinks she's right. And, given her status, she's used to being right. That's another problem with Arthes- she tends to have a bit of an inflated opinion of herself and her talents, which can lead to trouble. She usually gets out okay, but she hasn't had to deal with many things outside her town...
On the plus side, Arthes is strong, in every sense of the word. Having grown up in a rural area, she's developed strength in her muscles. As a Goodmother, she's developed strength of will. And, after giving birth five times (once to triplets), she certainly has stamina and pain tolerance. She's not someone to be trifled with, even if she may appear to be just a sweet, if bossy, pregnant girl.
Overall, Arthes is a very friendly, nurturing soul who wants the best for everyone. Her strong beliefs are an offshoot of this, and, unfortunately, tend to be a bit of a hindrance in some cases. However, she's a good person to have on your side.
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