Sigrid Halstead

Created: February 16, 2007

Do you have any nicknames, street names, titles, or nom de plumes?

Some of the other Order Chapterhouse members call me "Puppy" because of her (almost youthful) exuberance. Other than that, no.

What is your full birth name?

Sigrid Halstead

What is your greatest strength?

My enthusiasm for whatever the task at hand is.

What is your greatest weakness?

The fact that I feel I MUST Champion. I'm terrified my life won't matter, so I go over the top to make it matter. I don't believe in my own set of skills, and feel I must depend on my cause to give me some degree of power and control over my life. Also, I apparently annoy people a lot.

What is your most distinguishing feature?

I am missing the my smallest finger on my shield hand. It was cut off by an angry Giant merchant after I was caught stealing from him as a teenager.

What kind of clothing do you wear?

Devanian plate armor if the situation demands it. Otherwise a light-coloured tunic and breeches with riding boots.

Where did you grow up? Why did you leave?

The lower city of De-Shamod with my mother. It always struck me as odd that there weren't really any Giants living there in the slums. My mother worked in a human blacksmiths' shop. She wasn't a blacksmith herself, but as she always told me "Blacksmithing is messy and blacksmiths need someone to clean up after them." She also assisted the blacksmith with some of his work. My mother was killed by a city guard when I was 14. He claims she attacked him. I didn't believe it then, and I don't believe it now. I couldn't afford the rent, so I lived on the streets for several months. Eventually my mother's former employer (the blacksmith Loghan) found out I was living on the streets and took me in. I worked him in exchange for room and board. I learned a little smithing, though I was by no means his apprentice. He was a masterful smith. Had he been a Giant, he could have made weapons and armor for the Guard and Military. As it was, he was still very well off.

I would run deliveries for Loghan. Every couple months or so there would be a big order from out of the city. It would never all get shipped at once however. Loghan would send a few pieces a day down to the river port, as if to avoid attention. I would make these deliveries to various non-Giants down at the river. Sometimes I would meet a fishing boat. Sometimes I would meet a small merchant ship. Again, nothing ever stood out. Nothing about the deliveries or the recipients would draw any attention.

When I was 17 asked Loghan about it, he asked me if I had ever heard of the Order of the Axe. I said I had, and we had a long conversation about the Order. Apparently the human Speaker of De-Shamod, Lady Taliena Ishor, is covertly a supporter of the Order. In public she has always been loyal the Diamond Throne, but she carefully makes sure that people who support the Order, like Loghan, get turned a blind eye, as long as they do not draw too much attention to themselves.

It was then that I decided I would like to join the Order of the Axe. It took Loghan a couple months to coordinate, but one day, when the last of the shipment to the local Order Chapterhouse was delivered to the port, I was along with it. I trained at the Chapterhouse on White Shoal Island for the required seven years as a Squire. At 24, I became a true Knight and was transferred to a Chapterhouse off the coast of Ao-Manasa. I have been there less than a year. I have never served at an inland Chapterhouse, so I have never owned a horse like most Knights. At island, water-locked Chapterhouses, we do not own horses. We learn how to ride them, but it is impractical to keep them on an island.

Who is your closest friend?

I don't really have friends. A lot of the other Knights think I'm a bit overly-zealous. Lord Morek seems to like me well enough. He does give me a lot of missions for a Knight as young and green as myself. I have heard rumours that that's just to get me out of the Chapterhouse so I don't annoy everyone. I really hope that's not the case.

Who is your worst enemy?

Giants, perhaps? No, seriously, I hold no grudge against the race as a whole. I do hold a grudge against their leadership, and I HATE corrupt Guards, like the one that killed my mother. Also, I dislike members of my Order that follow Lord Harsted. His continued guerrilla attacks upon the Diamond Throne military have put the Order and it's goal of self-rule in serious jeopardy. I, like most of my Order, follow Sir Aniton and his idea of a peaceful resolution with the Giants.

What is your greatest dream?

To find real purpose in my life. The Order has given me that, and my chose path of Justice has as well, but I still feel very empty. I feel as if what I am doing doesn't really matter anyway.

What is your greatest fear?

Losing my faith and devotion. When I started Squiring, I was a Champion of Life. I held life above all else. As I got a little older, I decided that not all life was worth valuing, and sometimes people must die for the greater cause. I became a Champion of Justice. I devoted my life to following a Just path, and I cannot continually change my mind. That would make Championing anything meaningless. I need meaning. I do not want to lose my faith and devotion to Justice.

What would you die for?

If my death would help further the cause of Self Rule for all races, or if it would further the cause of Justice in the world, then I would welcome death. I do not want my death to be meaningless. I would also hope I do not die anytime soon. 25 is far too young to die.

What would you kill for?

I would kill someone to deliver them Final Justice. I do not see very many other reasons to kill someone. Self-defense perhaps, but that is also related to Justice. You try to kill me, I kill you instead, we're all happy.

Doesn’t know who her father is. Heh heh heh.