A hollow woman, having the appearance of being without anything on the inside, torn from her by fate. She is pale and mildly sickly looking, but don't let that fool you, she can and will fight if someone tries to hurt her. Her hair is simple, long and dark, sometimes held up with strip of cloth. Her eyes are dark, misty looking and distant. She is of average height, looks like she is devoid of fat (from her rough lifestyle and years of fighting and running), being thin and muscular.
Needless to say, her life of fighting and adventuring has taken a toll on her, as it would anyone. She is probably around 27, but she stopped counting long ago when it came to age. She is missing an eye, and it is covered with an eye-patch. A tattoo of a snake creeps around her neck.
Cold and metallic, she distances herself from people. Has developed a cruel sense of humor from seeing some of the worst in humanity in her adventures. Has long since stopped caring about social graces, brutally honest and very negative as well. She is deeply cynical, having little faith in other human beings.
However, has a bit of an "ethics code" when it comes to the what she does. Swears by her own ethics, but also claims to be without morality. The ethics code isn't very well defined and it fluctuates or changes whenever it suits her. Of course, there are a few certain things she will never do, but she doesn't tell people what they are.
In addition to all this, it's very difficult to get her to show any outward signs of anger, sadness or happiness. She typically only shows bitterness and pessimism, which can make her unpleasant to be around, but it makes the times when she does reveal other emotions very refreshing. A diligent worker, gets very focused on the task at hand.
Her sense of humor is cruel, but it can be rather clever (and dare I say, funny) at times, leading to many fits of uncomfortable but uncontrollable laughter from the others working with her. Tends to captivate people, mainly because of her mysterious and cold demeanor... the people she captivates are often disappointed to find out she isn't really worth getting to know. She doesn't have any friends, but her lack of personal relations have also given her freedom from enemies as well.
She is very intelligent and educated, all thanks to her upbringing.
Akane is a master at swordplay and hand-to-hand combat. While extremely unpleasant, she is useful, which is probably why she is one of the most requested adventurers. She also has basic knowledge on taking care of injuries and carries around medical supplies with her at all times, although her abilities in that area end where illnesses begin. Knows a few languages well enough to converse with native speakers. Very familiar with wilderness and living in wild, inhospitable places.
Born to the most powerful family in her city, she was the first and only child of Lady Kayako Niora, who had nearly given up on having a child after six miscarriages. She was protected fiercely by the family, kept away from the outside world and made to spend all of her time studying and training. As the sole heir to the Niora clan, she was considered precious and valuable to both the city and her family. She never saw her mother or her father, but was raised by a collection of the most trusted servants to the clan. She showed great potential in martial arts and intelligent work, and was called the 'Lucky Daughter'.
But eventually she grew to be fifteen, and ended up falling up with one of her servants. When their love was revealed, the servant was executed and Akane was imprisoned in her own home. Visited by the old matriarch, she was told that she would marry her second cousin and become the new matriarch. The thought sickened her, and in despair over losing her lover and of a loveless marriage, she attempted suicide. A guard found her before she could die. Suicide was one of the worst transgressions of her family's code, and she would be punished with severity.
The matriarch cut out her left eye with a jagged knife. Her mother held her down while they tattooed a snake around her neck. And without any other options, they expelled her from the family, she lost all titles and connections to the city. Formally, she was completely exiled from her family's city, and if she would come anywhere near the city's walls, she would be killed on sight.
Akane attempted to start over in another city, but the word spread of her infamy. Everywhere she went, she was publicly humiliated, people threw stones at her and chased her out of villages and towns... all because of the snake - the tattoo that marked her for the rest of her life. She tried to live an honest life, a normal one, but no one was willing to associate with her. She was finally taken in by a monastery, where monks taught her how to fight. She might have grown to be a priestess... if it weren't for the armies. An army invaded and destroyed the monastery and killed everyone, everyone but her.
She felt as though she didn't deserve to live, but was captured by the army. For weeks, she was used by the men for despicable things, things she won't reveal even if one threatened to end her life. This went on until the army's captain met her, and he grew extremely infatuated by her. With the power of jealousy, not love or caring for her dignity, he removed her from the other men, finally ending her torment. He trained her with the sword, entranced by the novelty of her skills in fighting. Steadily, she grew strong, strong enough to defend herself. The captain wanted to marry her, but to tell the truth, she was only using him to get away from the other men. In reality, she could never love him, and his affections were never returned. Out of a newly formed mutual respect, he let her leave the traveling army.
To this day she doesn't know why they were there or for what cause they were fighting for, but she always thought it couldn't have been worth it. Enough time had passed that she could move from town to town without being chased out, and she started doing her "odd jobs", clearing out a den of rogues here and there, retrieving treasures from temples filled with traps, etc...
She did have a partner for a while, an outcast like herself, and they grew to have a deep friendship. If you've noticed the general amount of luck she's had in life, you'll know how well this ended. Her partner was a bit of an idealist, always having a strict sense of morality. So, when they witnessed an aristocrat whipping an old man, while Akane knew enough to not intervene, her partner attempted to stop it. The crowd cheered at the man being saved. Her partner was promptly executed with a sword, unceremoniously and quickly, without a single thought.. The spirit the crowd had gained from witnessing the bravery promptly died, and the people who cheered grew fearful.
The aristocrat was assassinated in his sleep the following night, although it is unknown who committed the act and why to this very day.
She gave up on friendship, and instead focused her life on her own work, just living to survive. By this time, she was already deeply cynical, but losing her friend poisoned her from the inside. She became unpleasant, she distanced herself from others, and she became cold and without visible emotion over time. It only got worse as the years passed and she witnessed more cruelty. Her reputation as the fallen daughter of the Niora clan is gone, and now she is known for being the cold adventurer, lending her skills to anyone with the right price.
Hers is a story of a broken soul.
