Physical Description

“It should be of no surprise that I take care in my looks… Why, it’s one of my best features.”

Maria is of an average height for a human female, made taller due to her often worn heels. Upon first glance, the woman would have a striking beauty, a sly smile and clever look to her. She holds a pair of olive green eyes, with an ever watching and sharp gaze to them, and a lot of her hair is hidden behind her constantly worn hood. Despite how much care she takes in herself to look presentable, to those that know her quite well they’d know there’s a lot more to her than just beauty…

Personality

“Hold pride, and keep yourself in a positive image above all others… Just don’t be too selfish…”

Maria often holds herself with pride and dignity when in public, not often being very casual to some. Though those that are closer to her know that she has a much softer and sweeter side, only using the other side of her to watch how others treat and respect her. She is often known to have a more enthusiastic mindframe than some, while also keeping herself largely grounded away from complete optimism.

Background

“The past often holds truths we’d rather not bare. Perhaps the sooner I face them, the better off I’ll be in the long run.”

Maria was born to the noble family known as the Greyskulls, being the last of their children, and the only girl of her two other siblings. As a young child, her life at first went well for her. She was cared deeply for and often found herself living in her own world with her little plush dolphin, which she still keeps to this day. Life was good for her, until one fateful afternoon.

Her grandfather, Abraham Greyskull, had been experimenting in the dark arts of necromancy far below their family manor. He spent years of his life working to perfection on discovering the heinous truths of the world, and soon, in his maddened state, attacked Maria and her family for inexplicable reasons. Reasons she denies and fails to believe to this day…

Her grandfather began to butcher the residents of the household one by one, until few remained. The lost and delirious Maria was thankfully taken by Bret and evacuated the house, while the rest of her family remained behind to perish, all but one…

Albert Greyskull, Maria’s eldest brother, would remain in a comatose for the following years following his injuries within the incident. In that time, Maria was watched over by her caretaker, and finally Bret after the caretaker’s passing. She lead her life hidden behind a vale, at first scared, but slowly turning towards her mother’s side. She began to follow in her mothers footsteps to carry on in her memory, to appease the mother figure that was ripped away from her life. She practiced mesmer magic, a popular gift within her family, so that she could cover her own image to perfection.
For, like her grandfather, that was all she craved… perfection.

As Bret began to study more into necromancy as their grandfather did, Maria became aware of the vast number of strange beings residing in the world. Moreover, she began to realize how many other tormented souls lay within Tyria, spirits who were trapped in the waking world from hatred and sorrow. Realizing this, Maria decided she could put what knowledge of self training she had to start her own business into delving deeper into these paranormal beings and their magics.

For years she honed further in on her skills, taking the odd job in investigating the paranormal. While on occasion it would be just a rat or a grawl stuck in the ceiling, it could have also been something very realistic. Unfortunately, Maria’s arrogance got the better of her, and when dealing with one spirit in a lone manor within Ascalon, she was placed under a time loop for weeks upon its defeat. It eventually took the work of Bret and his companion Niattin to set her free from the confines of her prison.

At first she had meant to remain within the Refuge only until she recovered from injuries sustained, but eventually she found herself drawn to a strange circus tent which had appeared one late afternoon within the arena. Realizing that this was just her line of work, she decided to take up a room in her brothers house and remain until the situation was dealt with.

She wasn’t regarded highly at first, terms like ‘bitchy’ and ‘snobby’ come to mind in her first interactions with the Refuge, as she was hardly known to spend much time in the company of others. Still, even after the circus show was dealt with she found herself largely gravitating towards the Refuge, especially after a strange demon emerged and took out almost all in her party but herself in a conflict. She found then, that she was caring for the residents more than she’d believe.

On one day, she was found to have been weary and exhausted from the work she put in to keep her mesmer illusions up, and was sent promptly to her room. While there, she was approached by her brother whom had information for her. He lead her further into the house to reveal the fate of her brother, Albert, in a heartwarming reunion that struck her deeply. Not long after, she was sent to her parents graveyard to speak with her mother from beyond the mists. While there, she found just how much she pushed away potential friends and relationships, and after being given her mother’s old locket, began to change how she was once and for all.

On one fateful afternoon, she even found a group of people which she formed a close bond with, closer than most she had been in before. She stuck by these close friends of hers and, somewhat literally, finally took off the hood of seclusion she kept around herself. And slowly but surely, she began to gain more friends than she had previously expected. Finally, she was beginning to feel like she belonged someplace.

Not all in life is happy though, and one fateful night when dealing with a variety of Inquest which targeted her brother’s association, she was given the news that Bret had sacrificed himself to seal the gateway his grandfather opened long ago beneath their estate. This single incident shattered her very being, and she collapsed into nothing but a sorrowful shell for many days to come. It took the comforting of many to eventually get her back on her feet, and even then she seemed shaky. In this rather vulnerable state, she confessed her feelings to somebody she had kept her eyes on for a long time. Though she feared the worse after uttering those words, she found herself welcomed by him after a small discussion. It was then her healing improved, and eventually she started to understand why Bret did what he did.

It wasn’t long however until brave members of her brother’s workplace pulled Bret from the mists he was trapped in, and brother and sister were reunited. Even if it shook Maria the wrong way at first, she eventually just found herself relieved her brother was alive, and realized how much better her life has become.

She for a while spent a lot of her time in her room, being largely closed off from the Refuge except immediate family and Yafeu, only being seen rarely around the tavern. Though it seems she’s starting to turn that around, beginning to appear more often, with a new wave of energy over her after she was relieved of a strange obelisk curse that impacted her heavily following the exploration of an ancient Orrian city.