Description: Slender but strong, everything about Ariella suggests speed, from her streamlined slimness to the short cap of black curls that crowns her head and frames her face. Her skin is a warm-toned dusky gold, darkened and weathered by long exposure to sun and salt, with a tendency to freckle mostly around her fine straight nose. The dramatic amber-gold of her eyes lends an almost lupine edge to the flash of her quicksilver smile in the spread of rose-dark lips.

Personality: Ariella is headstrong and hilarious, quick-witted and vocal, with a tremendous force of personality behind her ambitions. She is so much a free spirit that she finds the constraints and necessities for her role as a daughter of the nobility to be a tremendous hassle. While she can -- when forced -- put on a decent enough face for a few minutes in polite company, she'd always rather be sailing, dancing, drinking, throwing a punch, or otherwise having a good time as a wild young rapscallion. She is not a complete stranger to responsibility -- the men in her charge are close to her heart and though she struggles with structure she is no pirate to decry the bounds of honor and fealty. She'd just ... rather have fun about it.

Background: The eldest daughter a lesser line of the March of Granato, Ariella's ambition was never for political power or material wealth -- as such -- because both seem likely to encompass the kinds of responsibility she never really wanted. It's actually hard to quantify for certain whether she is the eldest for certain, but she was removed from her mother's belly first when she had to be cut open so that the children could be removed, so she is the eldest for all practical purposes. As a girl, she was a hellion and a troublemaker, but learned when to behave herself: when her auntie, the Badger of Granato, was in earshot, primarily, or under the glares of her Rubino or Zaffria lieges. The rest of the time? Screw it.

Ariella was not a well-supervised little lady. She frequently slipped her minders and ran among the tiered streets of Granato until she reached the rocky shores. Often underfoot for the sailors and merchantmen who peopled the docks and the drinking houses nearby, she developed early on the kind of uproarious temper and _awful mouth_ that makes one ... unlikely future princess material ... to say the least. It didn't help that her aunt, the Countess of the March ... always seemed at least a little amused. Still, these habits forced Ariella into aggressive etiquette lessons that she hated. H A T E D. Her true love was the freedom and the salt and the wind on the verge of the sea, and this was a tendency that only grew as she aged.

She managed to bully, cajole, and adorable her way into a role on one of the ships of the Granato navy whose principal duty was guard escort for the merchantmen who sailed back and forth on a route primarily between the Lyceum and the capital in Arx. After she learned the sailor's trade, she managed to bully, cajole, and adorable her way into a claim on her own ship: Lady Captain Ariella Igniseri, QUEEN OF THE WAVES. Since then, it's all been clear sailing. More or less.

Relationship Summary

Sibling:

Lucita - My twin, the better half of me in every way. We came into this world together and I will keep us in it together with all that's in me.

Friend:

Martino - He smells good, dresses well, and keeps me entertained.

Acquaintance:

Raven - Prickly and amusing.

Ian - Bossy and fun to annoy.

Sunaia - Strong and competent. I'd fight beside her any day.

Xia - Memorable Functionary of the Undying Empire. Striking and full of substance.

Family:

Yelana - Sweet cousin. Smart, keen of eye, and always prepared.