Ashleen

"Duty above All"

If she's heard this once, she's heard more times than she can count.

Her vivid green eyes betray nothing but the serene facade that her mother ingrained within her from the moment of her birth. Her raven-dark hair remains smooth and perfectly placed as befits a priestess of the village. Her expression never betrays anything but the controlled gentleness of her role.

When the time of her mother's death came, she dutifully took all the duties of her destiny upon her shoulders. The care of the villagers takes most of her time, for always there is something that needs to be done. She is confessor, midwife, doctor, and more. None look beyond the facade of serenity into the woman's heart beneath.

Above all, her duty to protect her part of the mystic ritual performed once every few years weighs the heaviest on her mind. Her mother's warnings of the future are a vivid echo in her mind. Trouble is coming, and she can only wait silently for it to knock upon her door.