Description: A short and rather slender young woman with something of a boyish look to her; "handsome" describes her better than "beautiful." Golden hair is cut so short as to just cover the tops of her ears; her fair-skinned face is blemished only by a few scattered freckles. Large wide eyes, the pale bluish green of verdigrised copper, are veiled behind dark lashes. Her manner is serious despite her youth, but her voice light, sweet and pleasant to listen to.

Personality: Pleasant, courtly, and polite almost to a fault, Damaris is well aware that she wouldn't be where she is if it weren't for the generosity of the Bislands. Deferential to those above her and firm but fair to those below her, she avoids politics, acts with restraint, and strives for sangfroid even in the worst situations. However much other people might expect from her, it's never as much as she expects from herself. She works hard to excel in all the knightly skills, and, outwardly, she's the very picture of chivalry ... but as far as she's concerned, the most important quality a knight can have is /loyalty/. Which means doing whatever job she's given, whether honorable or dishonorable, glorious or horrible -- and doing it with a smile.

Background: In less than a generation, Damaris Arenir has gone from her grandfather's farm in the hills of central Arvum to walking the halls of some of the greatest noble families of the land. It's a rise that would be dizzying if she stopped to long to think about it -- but fortunately, she excels at not thinking too much about uncomfortable things.

Her mother Alysse was a sheepfarmer's daughter who ran away from home to fight for House Bisland during the campaigns against the Shav incursions. Not the most auspicious start, but she proved to be a good soldier, and, when she had the opportunity, she turned out to be a /great/ soldier. The Duke of Pridehall himself tapped her shoulders with his sword and made her a knight, and, when Alysse perished in his service, he repaid her for her loyalty by making sure her young daughter would be trained as a knight in turn.

Damaris has done everything in her power to avoid giving him reason to regret it. She's worked hard at every turn to make herself into something her mother would be proud of. Whatever she's asked to do, she does, and, if she's ever said a word against the Duke, his family, or his lieges in House Grayson, she's done so where no one could hear her. If you didn't know any better, her manners and her fighting skills are polished enough that you might think she was born to knighthood. But she knows better, and she never forgets it.