Social Interactions
- Romantic Orientation:
- Flexible
- Sexual Orientation:
- Flexible
Relationships and Companions
While not her companions (unless otherwise stated), most of the following animals are familiar enough that Eaume has come to share a kind of respect and trust with them. She leaves them alone for the most part, and they in turn leave her alone, although some of those she's aided over the years are much friendlier toward her than the majority of the wildlife near her home in the Irtouen Reaches. She has named some of them in her mind, though the names are simply affectionate ones that have no bearing on the animals themselves.
Grizzle
Massive and powerful, this bear has almost as much gray and black in his fur as he does brown. His age is unknown but he has fathered more than a dozen generations, if the evidence provided by the local wilderness is any indication. He's as much a protector of said wilderness as he is a guardian of the cubs he sires (and their mothers, of course). He doesn't move around as much anymore, but he seems to regard Eaume with more respect than wariness.
Greta
It's unclear whether this bear is exceptionally long-lived or simply the near-identical offspring of its parents, one of whom is almost certainly Grizzle. Her fur is mostly light-brown with dark patches, and regardless of the above, she has sired at least a few generations of cubs. Frequently found wandering near Eaume's hidden cave, she makes for an excellent alarm and a kind of natural clock as well. The two seem to have a bit of mutual respect, neither trespassing on the other's territory but often crossing paths; of course, Eaume is smart enough not to get too close to Greta, but the comfortable distance has been shortened somewhat over the years. More often than not, Greta's at the river when Eaume comes to bathe, fish, or set off in her canoe.
Beavers
A large family of beavers can almost always be found working, hunting for food, or caring for their young near where Eaume lives. They seem to be quite friendly with her, though they're understandably wary when she nears the dams they build; unfortunatey, winter storms often destroy their dams, but they seem to take this in stride.
Snip
This odd little raccoon is...not so little. And not so friendly. Caught in a bear trap by the tail, he had to be freed by Eaume cutting the last few hairs that held him; it didn't help that he caught his left forepaw trying to free himself. He cause quite a bit of trouble when Eaume took him back to her cave to nurse him back to health, but he gradually and begrudgingly accepted her as a friend. His paw recovered fully but he never grew back the tip of his bushy tail. The rest of him is large and just as fluffy, and he tends to steal from people - the smaller and shinier the things, the better - but he no longer steals from Eaume. While not a companion in the truest sense and terrified of her more aggressive animal forms, he tends to follow her at a distance whenever she sets off on any significant journey. He often lurks near her cave and is secretive about entering it, knowing that the entrance isn't easily visible and thus should not be announced; he sleeps in her cave more often than not. He's troublesome but (usually) harmless (sort of).
Personality
Quiet, reserved, and stoic best describe her. She prefers to let actions speak instead of words, though she's not mute; she'll speak if it's needed. People tend to wonder if she's actually intelligent because she doesn't often say a lot when she chooses to speak; her eyes don't miss much, though, and they're probably the most expressive thing about her.
Raised as she was, she considers the wilderness her home and the area surrounding her mother's gravesite her territory and hunting ground. She has come to despise poachers - people who kill animals for sport or only take the furs and possibly the meat, without regard to the rest of the carcass, often left where it fell to rot; she loathes taxidermy as well. She has nursed more than a few animals back to health, mending wounds and the like, over the years; she has also put a number of animals out of their misery when it was clear that they could not be aided, such as those animals wounded but not killed by inexperienced hunters. She knows the territories of the wilderness well and shows proper respect for those territories.
As a hunter, she holds herself to a strict set of rules that she feels maintains the balance of nature and the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. For example, she won't kill a doe who has young. In a group of does protected by a buck, she'll kill a doe instead of the buck; this lets the buck continue to protect the other does, allowing them to bear young later. A lone buck is a different matter. She doesn't intrude on the hunts of others, especially animals such as wolves, and she gives them a wide enough berth that they usually don't bother her.
Most importantly, she uses EVERYTHING from a kill - not just the hide or the meat. Bones, teeth, and antlers can be shaped into tools or heads for arrows or spears, horn- and antler-tips can be used for jewelry, tendons can be used for binding, hooves can be carved or ground for mixing with other materials to make pitch, et cetera. Not using everything from a kill is a waste, and she hates waste.
Religion
- Belief:
- Idolism
- Idols:
- Esyrax, Kelorha
History
"Strength to overcome, wings to rise above."
That was something Eaume's mother always said to her, most often when she was a child and afraid of something. What developed as a result was an inborn stubbornness and refusal to submit, something necessary for survival in the extreme conditions of the Irtouen Reaches. Esyrax was a firm symbol in the mind of Eaume's mother, a strong focal point during times of trouble. While her mother always favored the bear, Eaume always favored the wolf; raw power versus endurance for long treks, but there was strong symbolism in them both, yet it was the chosen forms of Esyrax that most often guided her mother.
For Eaume, though, it was Kelorha more than Esyrax that was inspiring. Eaume has always cared more for animals than people. Animals are simpler, less cruel, and tend to be more easily understood than people. Most of them have nothing on people when it comes to ambition or politics, something she has heard large cities are rife with. Animals simply are what they are - no apologies, no excuses, and no pretending to be something they're not. Indeed, compared to many of the stories that Eaume has heard from her mother about people in general, animals seem to be the true denizens of the world and people are just rude houseguests. So a protective spirit that watches over them seemed very much like Eaume herself, with her natural tendency toward compassion and mercy where animals are concerned.
Nature is balance, and for Eaume, Esyrax and Kelorha are the perfect tenders of that balance. While not especially religious in her manner, she has uttered quiet prayers to one or the other (or both) during times of trouble or stress.
Background
- Age:
- 36
- Origin:
- Irtouen Reaches
- Residence:
- Wilderness along the Ordinuad
History
Daughter of a shapeshifter and an elemental, she has been raised in the wilderness along the Ordinuad in the Irtouen Reaches. She knows little of her father, has never met him, and less of her mother's background before she came to the Reaches. For her, the spear is life: she uses it for hunting, for fishing, and for guiding the canoe her mother taught her to build; she is a master of its use in battle as well, even without her innate magic heightening its destructive potential, but maintains that it is a tool rather than a weapon.
Her mother died several years ago. It was her wish that she explore beyond the Irtouen Reaches after she passed, but Eaume has had limited contact with people - limited to a small village of less than two dozen, in fact, and that visited infrequently for trade. She keeps meaning to go but hasn't found a reason yet other than her mother's wish; something else always seems to take precedent to further exploration, such as dealing with poachers who tend to leave rotting corpses behind after skinning their kills - the deepest insult to "real" hunters and an affront to nature itself, as far as she's concerned. She'll leave eventually...probably.