Unicorn Edelweiss [Final]

[Pony_Sage]

Name: Edelweiss, she was named after a white mountain flower, common to the high reaches of Gor Zarya. She loves her full name and prefers to be called by it rather than any variations.

Sex: Female

Age: Mare (Mid-thirties analog human years)

Species: Unicorn

Pelt Colour: Appaloosa, White base coat with black spots. She blends into the snow covered city of Stalliongrad rather well. Reference Picture.

Mane & Tail - Markings, Colour, & Style: Her tail and mane keep with the appaloosa style, mostly white with some black streaks. Her mane and tail are of a moderate length and straight as a pin. When afield she puts her mane in a loose pony-bun, and braids her tail. Keeping them away from her face and out of her way.

Eye Colour: A dark green, deep and contemplative.

Cutie Mark: Three feathers. To her it symbolizes her love of Raptors and the elegance of nature. Reference Picture.

Physique: Slender and light on her feet. A bit shorter than other mares.

Origin: Edelweiss was born and raised in the Veya District. She has since moved to the Ostrov District high atop one of the many spires.

Roleplay Type: “Mane” RP

Occupation: Falconer for hire. She has been contracted out to the airship docks in Ostrov to clear away the pigeons and geese. She has also been contacted to help clear the landing spaces in Stabil Krasnyi.

Motivation: Edelweiss loves all sorts of raptors. She is a major proponent of outdoors education and conservation. She aims to educate the city dwellers of Stalliongrad in the amazing field of nature!

Likes: Edelweiss likes the woods, outdoors, and raptors of all sorts. She loves her companion Gwenevere. She also loves the snow and the cold.

Dislikes: Surprisingly for a city dweller she does not particularly care for the city. The noise and lack of open space sometimes wears on her nerves. Ponies that are ignorant of the amazing things that are right in front of their faces also irk her.

Personality: Edelweiss is a very quiet and thoughtful pony. She may spend an entire day mulling over a decision before choosing her course of action. She does not brood, she merely likes to sit and contemplate things. She is a pony of few words, she lets her actions speak for her. If someone aggravates her, as rare as that is, she will walk away and go for a stroll in the woods with Gwenevere. She is a fan of the old axiom, “Walk softly but carry a big bird.” Well that is how she knows it at least. She is very professional when on the job, she may come off as a bit curt at times. In reality however she is an amicable pony who is easy to get along with, she is just rather quiet.

Companion: Reference Picture. Gwenevere is a female Gyrfalcon. She is mostly white with black bars on her wings and spots on her chest. Gwen stands about twenty inches and has a wing span of around fifty inches. Gwen is Edelweiss’ working partner and as close a friend as could be. Gwen looks out for Edelweiss and Edelweiss looks out for Gwen. Edelweiss raised Gwen from an “eyass”, fledgling, and has worked with her every day since then.

As per Edelweiss and Gwen’s meeting; When Edelweiss was a Filly and out hiking in the Vysokii District, up high in the Gor Zarya, Edelweiss heard a pitiful whimper of a scream. She picked her way through the deep powder that had been deposited the night before. Edelweiss soon came upon a small cliff, the pleading was coming from a small alcove about mid way up the cliff face. As Edelweiss worked her way up and poked her head up to see what all the noise was about, she saw the remains of a birds nest, some cracked egg shells and a small white and downy baby bird. The bird was all alone and was visibly frightened and malnourished. Edelweiss managed to convince the eyass that it would be a good idea to come with her so that she could take care of the orphaned bird.

Long months passed as the eyass matured into a full grown Gyrfalcon. The bird had imprinted on Edelweiss, making it very unlikely that she would reintegrate into nature. Edelweiss made the very hard decision to commit her life to the juvenile bird. Edelweiss named the raptor Gwenevere. They forged a strong bond over the subsequent years that they spent together. Gwen is Edelweiss’ best friend and pretty much adopted daughter. Gwen thinks of Edelweiss as her mother and best friend as well. Even though the two share no means of verbal communication, they still seem to be in sync with each other to a degree that only can come from years of close contact.

Edelweiss has trained Gwen extensively in many varied arts. The first and foremost of which is Falconry. Edelweiss makes her living by cooperating with Gwen to chase off the pigeons and geese from the airship docks in the Ostrov District and occasionally the Stabil Krasnyi. It should be known that Gwen is not a pet, she is an independent animal that lives with Edelweiss. Gwen has also been trained in the tracking of larger quarry. If a pony were to get lost in the wilderness, Edelweiss could use Gwen to help find the lost party visually. Edelweiss can almost never be found without Gwen nearby or perched on her back or shoulders.

Character Summary:

Edelweiss was born in the Veya District to two very loving, but busy, immigrant parents. Her mother was an expert seamstress at one of the textile mills in that district, and her father was a hard working factory foreman in the Kuznitza District. Needless to say this afforded Edelweiss with copious amounts of alone time. After school, Edelweiss would often go for walks through the streets of Stalliongrad. She never much cared for the smog of the Kuznitza District, nor the hustle and bustle of the Ostrov District.

Living in one of the taller apartment buildings in the Veya District afforded Edelweiss with a good view over parts of Stalliongrad. She would often sit up on top of their building to get away from the hustle and bustle of the streets, it was above the city miasma and a trifle more quiet. It was during one of these contemplative moments that she observed an osprey in flight. The flight enchanted her. How the bird could soar and dance upon the thermals and eddies mystified the small filly. This soon became her new hobby. As soon as school let out, she would hurry home to watch the falcons soar high over the impressive city of Stalliongrad. She visited the Chenya District on many occasions to learn more about her favourite animal, withdrawing as many books as the library would allow her to. She would spend hours observing, sketching and learning about these magnificent beasts.

During this period Edelweiss would often take trips out into the wilderness to observe these animals in their natural habitats. Honing her skills of stealth and tracking to find the perfect observation post. It was during one of these trips that she found Gwen as outlined above. Feeling the obligation to take care of the orphaned animal she obviously took it home and cared for it. After the crucial, and exhausting, period of time where the eyass would be the most dependant upon it’s caregiver, when Edelweiss could finally sit back and relax, that she noticed something had appeared on her flank. She was far too busy taking care of the chick to have noticed the addition before, feeding it, keeping it warm in the cold climate, and desensitising her new ward. It was hard work but Edelweiss loved every minute of it. She surmised to herself, after much deliberation, that this was what she would want to do with the rest of her life!

From that day forward Edelweiss has dedicated her life to the betterment of all nature and raptors. She began to notice more and more how the city of Stalliongrad was encroaching on the pristine wilderness of the Vysokii District. Edelweiss actively attends school classes with Gwen to try to educate the young foals of Stalliongrad about the beauty that sits right in front of their muzzles every day. Although she is often scouted and asked to join the Stalliongrad branch of the REA due to her stealth and knowledge of the wilderness, she declines every time. She feels that her obligation is to nature first.

Edelweiss has since moved out of her parent’s apartment and moved to the Ostrov District, to be closer to her jobs. She lives atop one of the taller spires in the District with in a small, homemade aviary. She has brought nature into the city with her home. Native plants and shrubs are all around; even a small pond is on premises. She has a small shack on top of the building for sleeping in, but other than that, it is as close to nature as can be found in the Ostrov District.

Skills: Edelweiss is not an especially magical Unicorn. She can use basic levitation spells and some other common place unicorn spells but she does not rely on magic very heavily. One spell that she does have which is unique is a spell that allows her to track Gwen. Gwen is fitted with a small bewit around one of her legs. This bewit has a small gem embedded in it; Edelweiss can charge this gem with her unicorn magic and by doing so, she can track Gwen in flight and find her in the event of Gwen getting lost or carried away with the hunt.

Equipment: Edelweiss owns many different pieces of equipment for her to use while practicing Falconry but a few of the most important ones are as follows. A saddle that is made out of thick leather, this affords Gwen a perch so that she can travel with Edelweiss where ever she goes. Edelweiss also carries a whistle to give commands to Gwen when she is afield. The bewit is another important piece as mentioned above. On occasion Edelweiss must have Gwen wear a hood so that she will not get over stimulated from the city around her and become unnerved. While this is a rare occurrence it still happens from time to time since Gwen is a wild animal.

[brianblackberry]

Wow, a pony falconer! That is so cool. Although she doesn't hunt in the traditional sense, I am curious if she feel uncomfortable sometimes using her Gyrfalcon to scare off the pigeons and geese, given the bird is a predator and a carnivore. It would seem more uncomfortable for a herbivore (especially a pony in that world) to care for and use predatory birds, even though you gave no indication Gwenevere actually kills any of the pests. Not saying its impossible by any means, I will just be curious to hear her perspective on it.

For Great Justice!

[Dio]

Tapatalk derped. Disregard this post.

That said, love this character. I'm glad that people are starting to populate Stalliongrad and can't wait to see where it goes!

[Pony_Sage]

Good thought Brian! I really had not thought about the ramifications of a herbivore watching a carnivore kill and devour its prey. I would imagine that Edelweiss would understand that Gwen being a carnivore would kill and eat smaller animals. Whilst ponies do not do this, I would assume Griffons do, I would think that Edelweiss has become accustomed to Gwen munching on the stray mouse or pigeon. She may never be fully at peace with this but I would imagine that after the years she has gotten used to it to the degree that she no longer really worries about it. Ponies can do some pretty amazing things, one time it was pointed out that Fluttershy of all ponies was handing some ferrets a meal of dead fish. So I would assume that ponies who are exposed to the act of eating meat would get used to it eventually, but never be 100% okay with it. Maybe a pang of sympathy here or there. Something along those lines.

Thanks for the thoughts Brian and Dio!

~Sage AkA Freddie Freewings

[RCTwilightSparkle]

Freddie this character sounds awesome! I'm getting very tempted to make my own OC to help populate Stalliongrad....

[flutterscotch]

This character is awful. She should be shipped immediately.

[brianblackberry]

This character is awful. She should be shipped immediately.

Straight to Equestrian Siberia comrade!

[Skye]

This app is excellent! Nicely done!