(As a note I'd just like to say this character was not created for any RP in particular, I'm just leaving her laying around in case one rises. And as you read it you may see similarities to Joan of Arc and that was on purpose. The original idea was to do Joan of Arc herself but alas I know no French, so I chose someone from an interesting point in British history.)

Gaia Username: Lateralus Angel

Character Name: Cartimandua

Age: 1216

Appearance: As a vampire over a thousand years old she bears little resemblance to humans anymore unless she’s fed quite well. Her hair has turned completely white and brittle. Her eyes have sunken in, now they appear to be completely black. Her skin looks more like rough white stone. Her nails have grown to appear more claw like and are thick and yellow. Her hands have scars on them in the forms of crosses, from repeatedly trying to hold them in her hands over and over again for a millennium.
Her outfits range anywhere from military apparel to white robes to a suit of armor she owns.

History: Cartimandua was born in the late 8th century in a British Abbey. About this time, many of the abbeys throughout Britain were run by those of Noble blood, whereas Cartimandua herself was a peasant, although descended from the people of Brigantes. (Cartimandua herself was named after a Brigantes queen which ruled about the time the Romans arrived.)

As she grew older Cartimandua believed she could speak with God. Not only did she want to put in place a radical reform of the political and religious institutions of the time but she was also forewarned of a Anglo-Saxon raiding party and was able to evacuate her home abbey before the invasion. Throughout her living life she used her religious influence to organize what Celts she could as they were pushed to the fringes of Britain. She herself was eventually captured and tried as a witch. It was about this time that she was found by a vampire of Roman descent, Publius Ostorius Scapula, whom had contact with the original queen Cartimandua herself. Publius freed her but also turned her in the process.

Cartimandua was furious about her transformation, as she lost her ability to speak to God. Daily she still took the cross, hoping that she could find penance through the burning of her own hands so that she could speak with him once again but to no avail. She found herself learning to take arms and participated in any of the feuds of the time for the first few centuries including skirmishes against the Saxons, Vikings, and Normans in disguise as a boy. She often fed upon the corpses sprawled across the battlefield of the opposing side. It was during this time that Publius moved on, leaving her on her own.

Cartimandua believed that her participation in war was keeping her further from God. She repeatedly tried to enter various abbeys but to no avail. She watched as the black plague spread and wondered if this was punishment for the displacement of the Celts. (She refused to feed upon the corpses, although a few that were her own victims were supposed to be plague victims.) By the time the Hundred Years War began she had finally given up the attempts to enter a church and joined her country men in war once again. It should be noted that it was Cartimandua was actually the archer that dismounted Joan of Arc at her capture, having a hideous jealousy of the woman.

During the Renaissance she her thinking began to be revitalized as had much of Europe at the time. She began to believe that she herself was soulless and believed that if she could take the soul of a human into herself she would be able to speak to God once more. At this point in time her humanity was long gone and she wasn’t particular in how violent the attempts were to steal a soul.

She’s still unrepentant of this task and has been at it ever since, at first employing alchemists but later founding a medical company for her purposes. It should also be noted that about this time she also pulled herself from human affairs, although she did feel the need when any war arose to participate with her countrymen, with the exception of the American Revolution. She watched curiously as the British expanded into an empire, making comments on the similarity of British to Romans. She was furious about the Spanish Armada and Inquisition and came the closest to going to war once again at that time, with the second closest being during World War II.

Cartimandua currently minds her own medical business but beyond that does not find it in herself to participate in the affairs of mortals. She resides in the basement of a deconsecrated church, still daily trying to appeal to God to speak with him although the centuries have vastly altered her sense of morality and her perceived relationship with Him.

Personality: Depending on the subject she’s a woman of few words and cares little or nothing for her fellow vampires. As far as she knows she’s the oldest one and she cares nothing for the rest, considering even centuries old ones to be fledglings. She only cares about the affairs of mortals as far as warfare is concerned, beyond that they’re merely a food source and a potential soul source. It could be said that she’s slightly envious of their souls, but seeing as there’s no one she’s aware of that can truly speak to God she makes no action against them in that regard.

Powers and Weaknesses: As a vampire naturally she enjoys certain powers and weaknesses. Obviously she cannot enter sunlight and enjoys super strength. Her glamour is strong enough to work on very young vampires if she chooses and no mortal she’s aware of has the power to resist it, although it is not sexual in nature as it seems to be for many other vampires. Instead one would be summoned and seem to move against their will. While many vampires attempt to breath and appear human she makes no attempts whatsoever, causing some people to mistake her for a corpse or statue. Considering she holds a cross daily as she tries to pray to God, they don’t affect her the same way that they would others. It hasn’t been tested whether or not holy water would have a reduced effect as well but there seems to be no reason why it would have a reduced effect. She’s capable of various psychic abilities to a degree and is very speedy when she chooses to be. She is however incapable of flying and transformation.

Association: Nuetral. For the most part she cares only about her own affairs. While she can be roused to want to fight for her countrymen, seemingly a good motive, the amount of violence and disregard for life she shows makes her appear to be more evil than otherwise.