Rosalind was born in Sparta during the period we call Classical Greece. She was born of a union between her mother, a priestess of Ares, and the god himself. Her mother’s husband, a wealthy soldier, was away at a small conflict with a neighboring city-state at the time. In her earliest years, Rosalind showed equal interest in swordplay as she did more traditional feminine crafts, culminating in a staggering defeat of an older boy in a fist fight when he insulted her status as a bastard child of Ares. Her father, pleased with this display of honor in his name, comes to Rosalind in a public space to declare that she will die as a warrior. Leaving it at that, her father ordered that Rosalind be trained by friends of his in order to be a good warrior, lest they bring to them the wrath of the god of war.
Up until her early teens, Rosalind quickly proved herself to be as skilled as any man her age in combat, and when word came to her city of a monster in the countryside, she was among the many warriors who go out to slay it. Sadly, she was the only one who returned, and presented the head of the beast as an offering at her father’s temple. The offering was answered by her father, who came with an offer of immortality for Rosalind if she promised to kill as many people as she could in her lifetime. A deal is struck, and the terms are simple: Rosalind will live as long as she continues to slay monster and man alike. The more she kills at once, the less she’ll need to kill later. Rosalind accepted the gift.
As her age suggests, she became quite skilled at being a bringer of death and living up to her divine parentage and often dedicated her kills to Ares. Rosalind lived through many ages, and often thinks fondly of her first and consummated love: a soldier in the Spartan army. The years saw her outliving her mother and her mother’s husband as well as many other people she had grown up with. Though loneliness clawed at her from the inside on many occasions, she continued to kill and live on through the ages and travelled from battle to battle.
Among her many lifetimes, she lived primarily in Western Europe, although once in a while, she would travel eastward to safety or another grand war filled with bloodshed. Very rarely did she find herself able to properly step onto a battlefield, but she was no less able to ease her way into a position where she could find a life to take in her father’s name. Numerous conflicts extended her life until she found that there were many decades before her to live without needing to worry about who her next kill would be. During these times, Rosalind lived as an ordinary citizen of whatever nation she happened to be a part of and enjoyed the finer things in life as they were presented to her. In these years of relative peace, she took on more lovers, although they were few and far in between. Regardless of how long she lived, Rosalind was apt to mourn for decades after the loss of someone she had fallen for.
She has held positions as a maid, midwife, blacksmith, soldier, spy, assassin, pirate, smuggler, weapons dealer, apothecary, farmer, and countless other professions suited for a woman with a strong will and a stronger back. During these professions and the decades she lived through while engaged in them, Rosalind came to see human nature and how it played out in the long run. Conflicts became less about honor and more about oppression, something she could never get behind. In spite of the Crusades and Inquisitions being among some of the bloodiest periods of human history, she rarely took lives during these years. Slowly, but irrevocably, Rosalind grew to become disdainful of bloodshed and conflict.
The last major conflict Rosalind was in was World War 2, during which she acted as a smuggler for Jews so that they could escape the Nazis as they spread through Europe. German soldiers died by her hands on many occasions, but by the end of the war, she had made up her mind to finally die. Enough lives still loomed over her to keep her alive for a good couple of centuries, and as Japan and the United States made their peace over the atomic bombs, she vowed to hang up her weapons except for the truest of emergencies. Ares, who had long been impressed with his daughter’s tenacity and ability to live, respected her wishes.
Now in her twilight years, Rosalind is in the midst of speaking with her divine and mortal family to prepare for her eventual death.
[OC] Rosalind Strange aka Lysandra Kastaros l Not Reserved 3 of 4
A basic summary of the life of Rosalind Strange:
Rosalind was born in Sparta during the period we call Classical Greece. She was born of a union between her mother, a priestess of Ares, and the god himself. Her mother’s husband, a wealthy soldier, was away at a small conflict with a neighboring city-state at the time. In her earliest years, Rosalind showed equal interest in swordplay as she did more traditional feminine crafts, culminating in a staggering defeat of an older boy in a fist fight when he insulted her status as a bastard child of Ares. Her father, pleased with this display of honor in his name, comes to Rosalind in a public space to declare that she will die as a warrior. Leaving it at that, her father ordered that Rosalind be trained by friends of his in order to be a good warrior, lest they bring to them the wrath of the god of war.
Up until her early teens, Rosalind quickly proved herself to be as skilled as any man her age in combat, and when word came to her city of a monster in the countryside, she was among the many warriors who go out to slay it. Sadly, she was the only one who returned, and presented the head of the beast as an offering at her father’s temple. The offering was answered by her father, who came with an offer of immortality for Rosalind if she promised to kill as many people as she could in her lifetime. A deal is struck, and the terms are simple: Rosalind will live as long as she continues to slay monster and man alike. The more she kills at once, the less she’ll need to kill later. Rosalind accepted the gift.
As her age suggests, she became quite skilled at being a bringer of death and living up to her divine parentage and often dedicated her kills to Ares. Rosalind lived through many ages, and often thinks fondly of her first and consummated love: a soldier in the Spartan army. The years saw her outliving her mother and her mother’s husband as well as many other people she had grown up with. Though loneliness clawed at her from the inside on many occasions, she continued to kill and live on through the ages and travelled from battle to battle.
Among her many lifetimes, she lived primarily in Western Europe, although once in a while, she would travel eastward to safety or another grand war filled with bloodshed. Very rarely did she find herself able to properly step onto a battlefield, but she was no less able to ease her way into a position where she could find a life to take in her father’s name. Numerous conflicts extended her life until she found that there were many decades before her to live without needing to worry about who her next kill would be. During these times, Rosalind lived as an ordinary citizen of whatever nation she happened to be a part of and enjoyed the finer things in life as they were presented to her. In these years of relative peace, she took on more lovers, although they were few and far in between. Regardless of how long she lived, Rosalind was apt to mourn for decades after the loss of someone she had fallen for.
She has held positions as a maid, midwife, blacksmith, soldier, spy, assassin, pirate, smuggler, weapons dealer, apothecary, farmer, and countless other professions suited for a woman with a strong will and a stronger back. During these professions and the decades she lived through while engaged in them, Rosalind came to see human nature and how it played out in the long run. Conflicts became less about honor and more about oppression, something she could never get behind. In spite of the Crusades and Inquisitions being among some of the bloodiest periods of human history, she rarely took lives during these years. Slowly, but irrevocably, Rosalind grew to become disdainful of bloodshed and conflict.
The last major conflict Rosalind was in was World War 2, during which she acted as a smuggler for Jews so that they could escape the Nazis as they spread through Europe. German soldiers died by her hands on many occasions, but by the end of the war, she had made up her mind to finally die. Enough lives still loomed over her to keep her alive for a good couple of centuries, and as Japan and the United States made their peace over the atomic bombs, she vowed to hang up her weapons except for the truest of emergencies. Ares, who had long been impressed with his daughter’s tenacity and ability to live, respected her wishes.
Now in her twilight years, Rosalind is in the midst of speaking with her divine and mortal family to prepare for her eventual death.