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+--- Thread: Elyse Andersen (/thread-234.html)
- Elyse - 04-28-2015
Elyse Andersen
Origin: Helsingør, Denmark
Occupation: Atharim Field Hunter
Age: 23
Psychological Description: Cunning and brave, Elyse prefers to plan things out rather than act on impulse, although in her line of work she has had to do so. Elyse is social and friendly and it is hard to find her without a smile on her face. When it comes to reborn gods, she prefers to judge them on their own merits, believing not all gods are inherently evil and need to be killed. She has a soft spot for wolfkin, even those who are lost.
Physical Description: 5'5" with an athletic build. Brunette with hair down past her shoulders. Eyes are golden, but are covered with hazel contacts.
Elyse was born into an Atharim family in Helsingør, Denmark. In addition to traditional schooling, she received education in the ways of the Atharim. Her mother was a researcher and planner, and her father was a hunter. The parents thought she would follow in her mother's footsteps, but they began to realize Elyse had an aptitude for hunting and moved her along that path. Her father trained her with firearms, knives, and crossbows. Elyse's parents worked as a team, and seeing them function this way made Elyse respect the importance of careful planning. She learned to utilize all resources available to her in her hunting experiences.
At age eighteen, the same year she received her tattoo, Elyse began having dreams. She passed them off as normal dreams, but began to worry when they came almost every night. The wolves were always there and she hunted with them, going after the creatures she fought when awake. Elyse didn't understand it, but it raised a red flag. She had read something about this before. It wasn't until she saw the golden eyes in the mirror that she put everything together.
Elyse found her coat and left, keeping her head down. Her immediate destination was a costume shop that had colored contact lenses. She could order more, later, but she needed them now. Her parents couldn't know about this - they were of a more conservative branch of the Atharim. She would be put down if they found out. Elyse went back home after getting the contacts and headed straight to their library. She began reading up on Wolfkin - they could sense wolves, talk with them somehow, saw them in dreams, and were a danger. Werewolf legends were based off of those that had lost their sanity, thinking themselves to be wolves. Elyse put the book away and then realized she could sense the wolves running through the woods outside of Helsingør.
The realization that she was wolfkin made her question some of the things she had been taught. Her parents had taught her wolfkin were monsters as were reborn gods. Elyse wasn't a monster though. She wondered if the gods were inherently bad as well. No, like her, they had the potential to become monsters, but there was a choice. Elyse had to make the right ones. The first one was whether to leave the Atharim or stay, but as she thought about it, leaving might raise questions, and in many ways she was on board with the Atharim's cause - to protect people. She would have to keep her secret and hopefully would find a means to help the Atharim gain understanding. The timing would have to be right for that to work.
For the next few years, Elyse continued as she always had, hiding in plain sight amongst those who would kill her if they found out. She hunted with them, and at least she never had to hunt another of her kind, she was uncertain of what would happen if she came across one with her father next to her. She got to get the basics of how to use her wolf abilities - the heightened senses often helped, but she had to hold back so her father wouldn't get suspicious of her. She even spoke to the wolves sometimes - calling her "Silent Fang" as a representation of her trademark silenced pistol and crossbow. It was the wolves that led her to the other wolfkin.
The wolves told her of him. A man had trapped him and put him in a cage. Elyse had no idea what the man planned on doing with him, but she had to do something. Elyse left home in the middle of the night and went to the location the wolves had shown her. She found the man, golden eyes gleaming in the moonlight, pacing around a cage that was too small for him. Elyse immediately felt pity. She was looking at what could be her future. The man was disheveled, and he looked up at her and growled as she approached. She sent images to the wolves questioning what had happened to him. The responses she got back were frightening. He wasn't a man anymore. He was a wolf now - not in body, but in spirit.
The wolf-man tilted his head in the gesture of a dog asking a question. Elyse didn't know if the wolves had told him that he was a friend or not. The gesture made the tears start. The wolf-man whined and pawed at the cage. Elyse felt sorrow instead of anger - there should have been somewhere he could have gone to learn - someone to help him, but there had been nothing. One thing was certain, Elyse couldn't let the trapper keep him. She pulled out her lock picking kit and worked at the padlock on the cage. It popped open and the wolf-man opened the door, using his nose instead of hands. The tears kept falling as he looked back at Elyse and then turned to bolt into the woods.
It was a few weeks later that her father and mother came over to Elyse's apartment and mentioned that they had noticed Elyse changing over the years. Initially Elyse was afraid that they had discovered her secret, but they just mentioned that maybe it was time for her to leave Denmark and see the world. Things were happening in Moscow, and the Atharim there could use one with her talents and skills. After some thought she agreed to go. She bid farewell to her parents and left for Moscow, hoping she would find people to work with there that might be sympathetic to her cause. The world was changing and the Atharim needed to change with it. She knew her life would be dangerous - more dangerous than it had been - but she had to try when the time was right.