Character details
Name: Atheleys Blackthorne
Gender: Intersex (she / her)
Race: Hyur, Highlander.
Birthplace: Gyr Abania, Ala Mhigo.
Place of residence: Goblet, Thanalan / Ala Mhigo.
Age: 24.
Height: 188 centimeters.
Weight: 70 kilograms without armor.
Occupation: Sergeant First Class of the Immortal Flames, Warrior of Light.
Marital Status: Single.
Personality
As is the nature of an adventurer, Atheleys is a thrill-seeker. She has yet to meet a challenge she doesn't want to face; even if her chances of winning are incredibly low. The more victories she's claimed, the worse this has become. While one wouldn't say she has a god complex, she certainly thinks she's "the shit". She can be quite a bit violent as well.
**Underneath it all, however, she does have a certain hint of femininity that sometimes seeps through. ****In conversation Atheleys can be a bit brash and in your face about things, but she means well. Having spent the later half of her youth homeless in Thanalan has made her a harsher person. Behind that however hides a woman who cares deeply about her friends, who'd do anything to protect them. After all, without such qualities she would never have been able to become Sultansworn. **She is steadfast in her beliefs and hard to convince otherwise; hard, not impossible. This mostly comes down to forgiveness; unless people have proven they earned it, Atheleys won't simply ignore past deeds.
History
The Blackthornes
**A bloodline going far into the history of Gyr Abania and Ala Mhigo, the Blackthornes had always served as noble guards to their regent. Bound by pride and duty, if you carried the surname Blackthorne, you'd become a living blade, a living shield. But this changed during the reign of the mad king Theodoric. Erling Blackthorne and his wife Agnete Swiftspear-Blackthorne, parents of Farulf and Aelvar, had seen their mighty home fall in hands of the Imperials. However, they were spared a cruel fate, and were allowed to continue their lives normally if they swore lealty to Garlemald. **Atheleys was born around this time, but her year of birth has been lost to time. It was rumored that she was the offspring of Agnete and another male, but Erling always denounced those claims. They had always believed Atheleys was a gift from Rhalgr himself.
Growing up with her family the young Highlander was taught the same values as her two brothers: loyalty to the nation, honor. Behind the scenes Erling and Agnete were part of the Ala Mhigan resistance, and they did all they could to keep their children from being involved. So as Atheleys grew into a strong teenager, those secrets would soon be revealed in a brute manner.
Bereft of hearth and home
Her mother had taught the girl to hunt well. Who once tried to capture fish with a blunt stick, was now shooting birds out of the sky with bow and arrow. It filled the Highlander with pride to know how far she had come, and what better way to show this than to bring home what she had killed? Unfortunately her mother and father would never see what she had learned.The streets of Ala Mhigo were silent, aside from one particular street. The home of the Blackthornes. Atheleys raced over, leaving behind the leather bag she was carrying, nothing could have prepared her for what she saw.
Imperial soldiers, cowards who hid behind their machina and their helmets, had Agnete and Erling down on the ground, metal boots digging in their backs. There was an exchange of words, there was spitting against the soldiers' helmets, and there was the deafening sound of gunfire as the streets gained two puddles of red.
Raise up your hands and voices.
5 years had passed since the Calamity. Along with many other Ala Mhigan refugees Atheleys had taken up residence in Little Ala Mhigo in the lands of Thanalan, far away from the lands she had once called home. Her mind was set on the prestigious city of Ul’dah. Without money to her name it would be difficult to get inside, but she’d work her ass off for it. Hunts, primarily, became her source of income. Her skills were unparalleled, which eventually caught the interest of someone who was looking for a new gladiator to fight in their name, for money of course. Being a sort of slave wasn’t exactly a prospect Atheleys was looking forward to, but it was something.Her time spent as a Gladiator was better than she had wished it could be, and eventually she was let free into the city. Atheleys signed up for the Immortal Flames and quickly made a name for herself; she even caught the attention of the Sultansworn who offered to train her in the ways of the Paladin. To carry a sword and shield to protect others, so that they wouldn’t witness what she witnessed; of course she’d say yes.
**She became an on again off again protector of the Sultanate, using her free time to go on adventures across the realm. Everything changed when she went after some Amal’jaa and ended up having to face a primal: Ifrit. **Atheleys Blackthorne had the Echo; she was a child of Hydaelyn nonetheless. Over the next few months she’d discover her place in this world, that she was the Warrior of Light. She met people along the way, friends who she made a group with to fight against evil. Her defeat of the Ultima Weapon signalled the end of the Seventh Umbral Era and heralded in the Seventh Astral Era, truly turning this woman into a hero.**Later, after having taken care of Ramuh, Leviathan, Moggle Mog and Shiva with the Scions, Atheleys became the victim of a ploy to ‘assassinate’ Nanamo Ul Namo. She was stripped of her rank, kicked from the Sultansworn and exiled from Ul’dah. Once again she felt lost; angry at everything. That’s when Fray answered.
**
(From here on out Atheleys follows the main story of FF14 almost verbatum.)
Combat
Unlike in the game itself Atheleys is capable to switch her combat class mid-combat. And class abilities can be used as any job, as long as it is in the same category. (so she can use Holmgang as a Paladin, but she cannot use Living Dead as a Paladin, nor can she use Holmgang as a non-tank class, for example.)Focusing mainly on staying alive, Atheleys is quite literally a beast. If she loses focus her mind can become a haze in combat, clouding her judgment and vision, and she will be able to massacre anyone who gets in her way. She has this under control most of the time, and she can selectively 'let loose' to aid her and her allies.Her weapons of choice are: the sword and shield, the battleaxe, the zweihänder and the bow and arrow, but she has yet to find a weapon that she doesn't know how to use.While sticking mainly to physical means of combat, from fist fighting to sword fighting to archery, Atheleys is also quite adept at the use of both damaging and healing magic.
Athe's Companions
Swiftspear
A noble Knight needs a noble steed, no? Atheleys met her Chocobo in no special manner; it is a standard issue breed received from the Immortal Flames, aside from the fact that hers was pure white instead of the usual bright yellow. They've ventured far and wide together; if Atheleys has been there, so has the horsebird.
She named the animal Swiftspear, after her mother's maiden name. It "kwehs" a lot, used to be annoying but she's grown used to it. She considers the giant bird to be pretty much her family.
Liberty
Athe has a Griffin. How she's gotten one is explain in this solo: Liberty