Zidana was born to a poor family of cattle ranchers in a village some miles north east of the holy Orenian Empire's capital, she lived there as the middle child with 7 siblings. The personal history dated back several generations with their original settlers being some normadic hunters that though considering themselves Orenian down to their core couldn't quite make a good living within the capital. It was quaint little village residing along a river bank and though they didn't have much they were taught to read and write. she initially took to this rather slowly and often suffered from a lack of motivation as well as a lethargic attitude brought about by a constant need to share everything with her younger sisters, often leading to her isolating herself from her more outgoing siblings. She had a talent for fixing damaged equipment and crafting little trinkets with wood and straw, eventually making her own toys and and hiding them so she wouldn't have to share with her brothers and sisters.
Hoping to bring her out her shell her parents often forced manual work on her to do with her siblings her other children her age, Zidana in turn developed a habit of hiding herself and select times of the day where they'd need her most. Eventually, seeing that despite her unfortunate stubbornness their daughter did have a talent for inventing and so picked her along with a few of her younger siblings to head to a nearby town where a fair was taking place. A competition was setup testing all sorts of different skills with the most talented participant taking home a bag of seeds.
Apprehensive but curious Zidana joined and though she didn't win her father was able to show off his daughters talents and got her placed under consideration for some apprentice ships . Her other siblings were not so lucky and would later cultivate some resentment within the family. By the time she was 13 she moved away from her home village and lived in a dormitory in a town some twenty miles away. There she studied, under various mathematicians and doctors, firstly as an assistant who would occasionally be given assignments and books to read.
She was taught proper manners dressing and orderliness and often found herself being yelled when she failed at it. She was fairly intelligent where it mattered though and it was certainly enough to keep her in mentor program. It was an exiting transition that though she was initially apprehensive the thought of having her own room and get away from the same home she'd always lived was too tempting. Enjoyed her new situation a fair bit though she found it difficult blending into due to her very apparent accent that city folk called 'peasant tongue'. This was one of the first times she'd ever experienced any real bigotry and found herself far more concerned with her intonation and wording far more than she really should have.
It was a hard adjustment but about a year later she had more or accustomed herself to city life and had a fair few payed attachments within the city , certainly more than enough to afford good food and a clean room. She had a fair few budding friendships.
Once it was time for her to return home a year later she found herself on rough ends with her family, where once she was a quiet farm girl with a handyman quirk she had become self conscious city girl. She had grown too different from her siblings and her already strained relationships would pushed even further. Her parents expected her to use her attachments to help her older siblings get jobs in the city, a suggestion she was quite uncertain she had the capacity or reach to really make happen, it was expected all the same and it was about as disastrous as it sounded.
A mix of Zidana's (debatably selfish) hesitation to admit she was related to anyone as rough edged as her family and her elder brothers lack of any particularly marketable skills. At some point almost getting her removed from the town. An act that would go a long to feeding into her more self-reliant nature
By the time she turned eighteen she had comfortable position working as a weapon and building architect for the city guard. Having recieved several awards and promotions that would feed into her confidence, at some point realising she was in fact a fair bit more capable than most of her peers, especially for her age. Where her shyness was once held in check by a heavy uncertainty of the world around her, these accomplishments told her that in fact, she was wrong to be shy. She was better than everyone around her. Overtime her more reserved nature fade off slightly and she'd grow into a decent orator, an important skill to have given her work
Moving into her mid twenties she'd completely cut off her family from her life and lived as a comfortable life as a freelance worker between employers within an outside the city, eventually finding herself taking a job off shore.
What was meant to be a simple job was pulled off its rails when their ship would take a significant damage during a storm would be redirected to the Norland Capital as a temporary post.
There her story begins.
"A little bit of everything, I'd say. Not exactly my chosen stop but..." Zidana would gaze at the vast city. "Its bigger than the paintings make it look". Adjusting the bag at her hip the brunette would take a moment to regard the man. She had a certain knack for telling when someone had ulterior motives when approaching her, this line of work tended to attract the scum of the earth. She couldn't quite get a beet on this man, however. He was either just a friendly stranger or an adept conversationalist, hopefully not both!
Smiling up at him she noted his fine dressing. "And what about you, its only polite you introduce yourself before asking a lady a question like that" she said with a practiced smile.
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