Where do we start?
Alicia Untergard was the second youngest, born to a family of six in Antiva. Her parents were wine-sellers, known amongst the public due to Antiva's renowned wines. Her eldest brother and second oldest child in the family, Ruger Untergard, whom she was closest to, eventually learned to despise the occupation and its slow income. He eventually picked up a sword and marched out of the house to earn his keep as a mercenary when she was not older than nine. He left Antiva in a guild, looking for coin to ease his parents' burdens. It wasn't long before Alicia tried to follow in his footsteps. However, due to Antiva's customs with regards to females partaking in the combat scene, she was initially stopped in her want to join her brother. The guild she had wanted to join turned her away, in fear of treading on the local customs. In an act of defiance, she bought a tricorn, her blue overcoat and trousers, with a blade of her own. Hiding her locks beneath the hat, she strode back to the guild and demanded they let her in now. Having no proof that she was female, and not willing to check, in case, they had to let her sign up.
Her inexperience with the sword, at first, made her a worthless asset to the guild. She displayed a knack, however, of getting out of harm's way every time she was faced with certain death. More often than not, her allocated missions had her escape with her life. Her amazing luck and deftness of dodging out of a situation made her guildmates clear that, if gifted with the proficiency of a sword, she would make an excellent duelist. Her seniors started training her with the works of a blade, to parry, thrust, cut, pierotte, riposte with the slim espada of hers. Spending almost seven years with her guild, treading through the Tellari swamps, wander the Sundermount watching the sleeping elves, she became quite the swordswoman, and earned a bit of gold on her side. She still had not seen sign of her brother, and her querying of his whereabouts result with no specific answers. His guild, too, had been wandering Thedas. Unless she set off alone, there was no way she was going to catch up with them.
Alas, the two years that followed, marked the death of her guild. Faced with less requests and less income to provide, the guild had to disband, and depart on their own ways. She followed a small group of them to Tevinter, and they soon parted ways there. She started trying to get some information once more with regards to her brother, as well as took up some requests to keep her coin pouch heavy enough.
Luck never shone on her, it would seem. Her months in Tevinter gave her no indication of where her brother may be, and this was only the beginning of the darkness that would encroach her in her mind. A dispute between two men was to be settled with a 'forceful discussion', whereby they duelled to the death, with men to back them up, that is. She was dragged into this dispute by one of them. And upon the opposition, there stood members of her old guild. Reluctant to kill them, she tried to reason with them. Not that it helped, since their blades came awfully close to taking her head off. With a heavy heart, she unsheathed her sword and met their blades with her own.
She survived, in place of their deaths. For the first time in her life, the realisation that killing wasn't all about swinging swords and winning the battle. It was taking the lives of friends and family. Resigned to kill forever more, Alicia continued to wander Thedas, putting on a mask of faux cheeriness, and making up jokes and puns to keep the mood of her current company lively. For all they know, this might be their last day.[/url]
