summary

A wanderer who's surprisingly upbeat for someone whose family was murdered by their close family friend. She fled Hingashi to escape her parents' murderer, changing her identity and utilizing her skills as an adventurer

childhood

Her life, as far as Araminta was concerned, began when she was pulled from the waters surrounding Kugane by retainers of the Amakura mercantile family. She had been so young, then; certainly too young to have remembered her birth parents, too young to have understood they must have been killed by pirates while crossing the Ruby Tide.Known for their benevolence, it perhaps should have been no surprise to anyone that the Amakura family decided to adopt the strange, half-drowned child. She was then named Akemi, for the brightness of her personality in spite of the tragedy of her early childhood.Araminta was eventually taken to the Amakura estate in Hingashi, where she was raised in relative normality. Her childhood was a happy one, for although she was not related to the Amakura family by blood, they had never treated her as anything but their own child. She'd even made friends among the village children living nearby, and was a favourite among the estate's staff.Naturally, however, all good things must come to an end.

fleeing home

As kind as the Amakura family was, it was inevitable that their success would result in rather dangerous enemies.They were vacationing at their summer estate when Araminta's mother had fallen ill. Though it was nothing serious, the family decided to postpone their return to their main estate so that their matriarch could recover.It had posed a rather convenient opportunity for their business rivals to strike; the attack had been staged as a robbery gone wrong. It would look like the perpetrators believed the family had returned home for the season, and in their surprise, killed the members of the Amakura family to eliminate witnesses.Araminta had woken up that night to shouting in the adjacent wing, to her mother rushing into her room with her cheeks stained with tears. She'd beseeched Araminta to stay in there, to stay out of sight before slipping out again when the sounds of the struggle escalated.So, she waited, tucked into the closet like a child hiding from her nightmares. Her mother never returned.She should have understood what that meant; the people who'd adopted her would not have abandoned her. But just the same, Araminta could not abandon them. So she left, clutching a golden hairpin she'd snatched from her vanity as a weapon.They were only around the corner; her father and her mother lying motionless on the floor. Even in the scant moonlight, Araminta could see the blood seeping into the floorboards.The assassins hadn't noticed her at first, and she'd turned to run as soon as one of them caught sight of her. He'd caught up to her easily enough, but he hadn't been prepared for a child who would put up much of a fight. Instinct had moved her hand, her fist lashing out with the hairpin pointed at the man's neck.He was the first person Araminta had killed; she's since learned that he wouldn't be the last. Especially given that the second man who'd approached her had a familiar face: one of her father's closest friends. Araminta used to address him as 'uncle'; he'd been there to celebrate her last nameday.She ran, turning the corner and darting into a hidden servants' passage. Her family would come to the summer estate every year; Araminta knew its layout as well as she knew her own face and even in her frayed state of mind, she managed to make it out of the estate unseen.And she kept running.

adventurer

Araminta had seen the face of her parents' killer, and she knew he wouldn't let her live if he found her.She kept her head down as she wound through the smaller villages, stealing clean clothing from clotheslines and hunting with a makeshift bow. Her bounty paid her enough to keep her moving, to buy her better weapons the occasional room at a dingy inn.By some miracle, Araminta made it to Kugane. Words of her family's murders had traveled far by then, questions arising about the tragic fate of their only daughter. There had even been talks of a reward for those who might have information about her whereabouts—a ploy, she's certain, by her parents' killer to tie up loose ends.She'll have to keep runningSo, Akemi became Araminta, the name stolen from a foreign merchant she'd overheard whilst lurking in Kugane. She'd convinced the captain of a mercantile ship to let her board in exchange for her help as a shipwright. They were headed for Eorzea—as far away from Hingashi, from her family's murder, as she could get.It wasn't long after her arrival that Araminta learned of the prevalence of adventurers in this foreign land. The stories made them seem like wanderers without ties—a reflection of what Araminta had become. She was naturally drawn to the occupation, and the many skills she'd acquired through her privileged education seemed to fit the job's demands well enough.

personality

Despite the events that led her to Eorzea, Araminta remains rather upbeat. Oh, she mourns the loss of her family, and is often haunted by the memories of their deaths—but what is the point in fixating on tragedy? Her parents would want her to live, to have her own life, to find fulfillment without them.Her warm personality often makes her appear rather unassuming, which Araminta much prefers. She is kind enough, sweet enough, but she remembers to keep it moderate to avoid making too much of an impression. After all, there is no telling how far her "uncle's" reach might be, and if he's still intent on silencing the last witness to his crimes.And so, in spite of her warmth even to strangers, Araminta remains weary. What little she might share of herself is superficial; enough detail to satiate someone's curiosity, but not enough to reveal her identity. She has a tendency to keep people at arm's length, as well. The loss of both her birth and adoptive parents might not have marred her brightness, but she's not keen to experience loss yet again.After all, who's to say that it isn't simply her who invites tragedy? Two may be coincidence, but Araminta would rather not incite a third tragedy just to prove a trend.

story hooks

OOC