Makaren

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Makaren grew up on her a father's ranch near Celeran, in the relatively peaceful land of Marukan. Her mother died when she was young and because of that, her father never had much to do with her, seeing in her far too much of her mother. And so it fell to the wisened head man of the ranch, an elderly gent named Vandalare to raise and instruct young Makaren.Her and Vandalare became incredibly close, and it was through Vandalare's prompting that her father, a national hero named Marhuel, agreed to instruct the young girl in her countries traditional pasttimes of horsemanship and archery. Like many her age, by the time of her womanhood, she could ride and shoot at the same time and was quite the accomplished equestrian in general. As her father instructed her in the physical arts, old Vandalare mentored the inquisitive young lady in the more scholarly arts, teaching her not only to read and speak in numerous tongues, but also of the intensely spiritual nature of the world around her and of the many odd things found throughtout it.

In the winter of her 19th year, after a particularly brutal storm in which many suspected was triggered by the nascent shadowland of Thorns, one of the yearly fillies ran off, and it fell to Vandalare and Makaren to go and fetch her. It didn't take long for them to find the panic-stricken horse, but it would not let them near her. Finally, Makaren summoned the courage to approach the horse and remarkably, to calm it as well. As she turned to face Vandalare however, she soon saw that he had turned pale and faint. When she asked what troubled him, he pointed towards a nearby reflective pond and that was when she saw the golden half-circle emblazoned on her crown.

It was her great fortune that she was with Vandalare, for in truth, as he explained to her, he had previous experience with her kind. Once, many years ago when he was a young man, he had a wife who one Exalted, exploding forth in a shower of golden essence to protect him, herself, and their mounts against bandits. She was the same caste as Makaren and became a swift prodigy in the arts of sorcery. Unfortunately, she also attracted the attention of the Realm when she protested the signing of a special accord between her nation and that empire that would see Marukani steeds in service to the Blessed Isle. Heartbroken, Vandalare fled Celeran with his wive's diaries (her sole legacy) and eventually found his way to Marhuel's ranch.

It was Vandalare's intervention that saved Marhuel from turning his daughter in to the Immaculate Order, but even he couldn't mend the rift between father and daughter after they exchanged some choice words. The morning after, as Makaren awoke, she found her father's room empty and him nowhere to be found. After that it became Makaren ranch, although as she studied those tomes provided her Vandalare took care of most of the tedious details.

As fate would have it, one day a young, reckless Exalted by the name of Angelo arrived at her ranch, requesting to purchase mounts from her. As he, her, and her new companion Zane all met, they shared a mutual First Age memory of them all together at a massive battle alongside 2 others. She quickly joined with Angelo's circle, leaving her ranch in Vandalare's capable hands. To this day, she still does not know the fate of her father, and that disturbs her deeply, for she never got the chance to apologize for the hurtful things she said. She gladly travels with her circle, providing support in the form of trusty steeds, an accurate bow, and a precocious wit.

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