Ser Maritta [WIP- For Feedback and Collaboration]

Name
Maritta


Species
Hylian


Gender
Female


Pronouns
She/her/hers


Age
43


Physical Appearance
Though she seems relatively inconspicuous, Maritta is truly built for combat. She is both dexterous and powerful. She keeps her hair cut short, though she maintains the sideburns emblematic of her lineage. 

    Though she no longer keeps her Violet Knight gear, she retains a circlet from the armor she once wore. Her present day gear is otherwise comprised of a hybrid between her old Hylian Knight armor and leather and furred gear she has acquired since serving under the Ridgeland Lord. She keeps a longbow, quiver, and short sword on hand, but the tools that really count are the mace and buckler she wears at her waist.


Background
Born as the daughter to the Hero of Light– he who sealed away the Dark King Ganon –and into a family long-tied to a lineage of knights, Maritta grew into a life of expectations. She was to train in the ways of the Hylian Knights and protect and serve the realm and in the years to come, she would meet these expectations most admirably.

    As she grew in years and experience, her efforts were recognized and she was called upon by the Royal Family of Hyrule: she would surpass her rank and be called upon to serve as her grandfather once had as one of the Four Knights of Hyrule, as the Violet Knight who would guard the sacred relic, the Royal Element of Earth. It was in these years that she came to find a woman for who she fell in love with, a lady who too served in the kingdom, an assistant to the Royal Chemist and Apothecary Orvanel, lending her services to the Hyrulean military, through which they had met.

    Together, they dedicated their lives to one another and those around them, spending their lives nobly in efforts to protect and serve the people of the realm. When freed from their professional duties, they were known for volunteering locally within Castle Town and even traveling around the kingdom, serving as a bridge between the Royal Family and the people of the kingdom. This was only on top of the time they spent, raising their only daughter, who had been named in memory of her father, Link.

    Then, one day nearly four years back, Ser Maritta and her peers were called upon by King Elphias Nostradamus Hyrule. It was then that the brotherhood of the Knights of Hyrule were publicly disbanded. Though now publicly retired, the King asked that each of the knights continued to guard the Royal Jewels which they had been charged to protect and spoke to each the knights, sending them to fulfill tasks most secret.

    With her new assignment in hand, Maritta departed the realm for the Hyrule Ridgelands, joined by her wife. It was there that the two then served under the Ridgeland Lord, keeping a watchful eye over the land, protecting the peace and integrity of the kingdom.


Relevance
Though she no longer formally serves His Royal Majesty as one of the appointed Knights of Hyrule, she continues to protect the Royal Element of Earth– which empowers the Four Sword –and still retains her knightly status within the kingdom. Additionally, she serves under the Ridgeland Lord, assisting in duties to guard the integrity of the realm.


Skill Set
Once a Knight of Hyrule who served at the behest of the Royal Family of Hyrule, Maritta is skilled in the art of combat and with her age additionally wields many years of experience that have prepared her for to both use and defend against a broad range of combat styles and weapons. She is primarily skilled with standard melee weapons– having been taught hidden skills and secret parrying techniques passed down through her family –but she can take up the bow or just about any other weapon and wield it with a level of proficiency.

    Most significantly, she excels in defensive endurance combat, making it her job to get in enemies' faces and give them trouble. With her combination of knight armor and travelers' gear, she is set to both take an evasive approach to combat and take a beating without so much a worry, even should she be struck.

    Her primary weapon is a mace and she wears a small buckler. Though these may seem insignificant, in the years that she serves as a knight, she once held a much heftier shield, and now that she carries this smaller buckler, she is able to access her shield-bound skills with much greater ease, and her mace allows her to simply smash right through enemy defenses.

Though she no longer serves in the name of the Royal Family of Hyrule, Ser Maritta still secretly serves as the guardian of the Royal Element of Earth, a jewel which serves as the physical manifestation of the Earth Element.

    So long as she maintains ownership of the jewel, she is granted the power to command the earth. This can come into the form of manipulation of stone, such as through calling forth spikes and pillars, but can also encompass the flow of sand, dirt, and crystalline forms. This can make her an especially risky opponent, as she can very literally take control of the battlefield, allowing her to supplement her combat prowess with the powers of the element. This can be used to blind, bind, wall, and more, though it is not necessarily either an offensive nor defensive element and in some cases can even be used in healing.

    Interestingly, the power of the Element of Earth seems to be enhanced whenever it is used at the site of certain (often sacred) locations throughout the world. Additionally, it carries a close connection to the elements of fire and forest, making it a perfectly complement to those who may wield such elements, though it in itself cannot directly call upon them.

    It should be noted that, being that her access to the Element relies on her maintaining possession of the element, she maintains her skills in non-magical combat, preparing herself to even fight against the element, should she ever find it taken from her.