Clarissa Reinhardt
Looking at the bodies of House Reinhardt before her, she said “I thought we were family”
Physical Description
Clarissa Reinhardt is 32 years old and is about 173cm (5'7). She has bright green eyes, and long, wavy brown hair. She often wears modestly nice dresses, as a woman of low nobility. Sometimes she may wear a cloak over her dress - to keep her warm.
Characteristics
Clarissa presents herself as neutral. She does not show much emotion in public, however, when given the chance, she enjoys telling jokes and has a witty sense of humor. She is also a big fan of cats and enjoys the Hadrian countryside. She is deeply interested in the Empire’s politics and wishes to be able to help the people, as well as the Empire. However, she is aware of her family’s past and wishes to earn and maintain respect for herself and her family.
History
Clarissa Reinhardt was born on Thunderday the 14th of Sunfall, Eden’s Shrine of 1498, as a young noble girl of House Reinhardt. She had one older brother, Elric, whom she loved dearly and spent a lot of time with as a younger child. They particularly loved playing with horses and singing songs together.
Clarissa’s and Elric’s father was Hugo Reinhardt, brother of Marcus Reinhardt. Her mother was Marion Reinhardt, whom she greatly loved. She spent a lot of time with her family when she was younger, often playing games, and cooking with her mother. However, this didn’t last long, and her mother made sure she was educated, often reading to her. Her father became more distant throughout her childhood, instead focusing on helping her brother grow up, and frequently ignoring her and her mother. This made young Clarissa upset, and she found comfort in a cat that was always around their household. His name was Roger, or ‘Roggy’, as she’d call him, and she loved stroking his fluffy black and white fur.
Clarissa was homeschooled by her mother, as her parents preferred her to be closer to home. Her mother taught her the vital skills of reading and writing, and then often made up stories to aid her learning. They also spent a lot of time studying Makerism, which her mother believed was very important. House Reinhardt had a resident clergyman, whom Clarissa was close with, and who taught her the guidelines of the Maker’s traits -The Nine Wisdoms.
Outside of her learning, as a young noble girl, Clarissa learned how to tend to horses, and horse riding, which she greatly enjoyed. She found them particularly calming, and perhaps an opportunity to go wherever she liked. Inside, she loved to sing and play music, which helped her regulate her emotions, particularly during times when her father would not pay attention to her. When Clarissa became older, she became more distant from her brother and father, but nevertheless still loved them.
She found great joy in the company of another young noble of House Rosenstrauch, called Adrian. They spent a lot of time playing and singing together. Frequently, they could be found wandering in the flower fields near Clarissa’s house. She believed him to be a kind boy, slightly arrogant but gentle and loving. Her brother did not like Adrian very much and continually scowled at him. Nevertheless, Clarissa enjoyed her time with him.
In 1506, the Rotten Plague hit the Kingdom. Her father refused to help the citizens of the Kingdom as he was supposed to do, just like her uncle did. Clarissa was still young then, at 10 years old, and did not know what this meant particularly. She was just glad to be able to be safe with her family. However, when she heard that Adrian had been infected and died from the plague, she cried and demanded her father let her out to help those in need. She could not bear to let others lose the people they loved. Her father said no, locked the front doors, and barred the windows to prevent her from getting out of the house. Throughout this, her mother continued to educate her and her brother, believing that they would outlast the dreadful disease.
Soon after, Clarissa heard that King Wilhelm von Leichenfelts had contracted the plague. She, like many others, believed that this was the Makers' punishment for him abandoning his people to their deaths.
Once the Civil war broke out, House Reinhardt had troubling political differences. Her father and uncle differed in who they would serve, House Withmond or The Royal House Lichtenfelts. Her father was loyal to the Royals, as he had served the longest with them. However, her uncle believed that a new dynasty was coming, and chose to serve House Withmond instead. Like her father, Clarissa believed that the Royals were the right house to serve.
This caused a dramatic split between the family, and House Reinhardt fought not only the Royalists but mostly their own people. Clarissa witnessed her cousins, uncles, and family kill each other. She often saw her cousin Cedric come home wounded, and once or twice helped him patch up his injuries. She was secretly worried that he, too, would end up dead during the chaos, but never voiced this to him. However, this misfortune came to her brother, instead. Wanting to be brave, he had gotten himself involved in the fighting, and was dramatically caught in the bloodshed, and killed while trying to prevent one of her cousins from killing another.
While she and her mother were out collecting flowers to lay by her brother, a man came running towards them with an axe, with a look of hate in his eyes. He took his axe, aimed it at her mother, and in two blows she was dead. It was a horrific sight for young Clarissa, and she began to run, terrified and could hear the man behind her. However, it seemed he had been involved in fighting prior to her mother’s murder and was weakened and Clarissa managed to outrun him, partly due to her love for the outdoors. She realized her mother had been murdered due to her association with her father, and never forgave him for this.
Near the end of the civil war, her father heard that the Lords’ Alliance was going to try to storm the castle and end the war. Her father disapproved of this and took his forces to attack her uncle. Clarissa was barred from going, however, she snuck out and watched her family fight each other from a hilltop afar. In the end, she saw her father and uncle battling to the death, resulting in her father killing her uncle. Out of the confusion, she spotted her infuriated cousin Cedric running toward his father’s body. She saw how angry he was, and witnessed him beating her father to death in revenge. She fled from the hill and returned home swiftly.
She realized that out of the entire Reinhardt family, very few survived and were scattered around the Kingdom. She became envious of the fact that her cousin still had his sibling, and she didn’t. She also hated him for what he had done to her father. This atrocious event caused a change in Clarissa’s personality, causing her to be confused about the concept of family, as she had seen so much bloodshed. She began to trust less, and keep herself on guard constantly. She saw how little family meant when it came to conflicts, and out of anger, she fled and stayed hidden outside of the Kingdom of Hadriana, referring to herself as Rodina Einar.
Through a merchant, in the winter of 1515, she heard that her cousin Cedric had been declared a Heretic by the Church and law. His titles had been denounced, and he had been cast away into the dungeons of Hadriana’s Castle. When she learned of this, she fled further from the Kingdom to the North, where she survived by doing farmwork for an old man. At this time, she was glad Cedric had been imprisoned, as she saw it as a rightful punishment for what he had done to her father. However, after harbouring her identity for so long, she told the old man everything, encouraged by his solitude and trust. He was kind and assured her that no harm would come to her. He told her that forgiveness was vital, and that in the situation she was in, there were no ideal choices. Over time, through talking, he encouraged her to forgive her cousin and to move forward. She never left the farm, for fear of being branded as a Heretic too, or being related to one. In a way, also, the farm was the only stable home she had.
However, years later, she heard of her cousins’ turn in fortune, when Cedric was appointed Ser, a knight of the Imperium. Despite this news, Clarissa wished to stay with the old man and help him, but he encouraged her to seek out her only remaining family member of the Reinhardt Household. Consequently, she began to make her journey back to the Newfounded Hadrian Empire, believing it to be safer for her now. Although she questioned if it was wise of her to return to her cousin after abandoning him and resenting him for so long, she kept going on her journey. When she finally reached the Hadrian Empire, under the guise of her persona Rodina Einar, she asked where Ser Cedric Reinhardt lived and ended up travelling to Norbüren, to knock on his door.
Trivia
1. Clarissa loves singing and reading, and can often be found practicing with her instruments. The harp and flute are her particular favourite.
2. Though she does not show much emotion, once a trusting relationship has been built, she laughs easily and enjoys jokes.
3. She often wears a blue dress, to remind her of her mother’s favourite colour.
4. The wolf in her family crest stands for the Beast of Hadriana and the Blackwood Forest. A story that their family was involved in. This has now been turned into a folktale.
5. She can be found out and about either in a tavern or outside looking for a cat to pet.
