About Nicoletta ScarlettiNicoletta Scarletti
Background: Nicoletta Scarletti grew up in a decidedly middle-class Korvosan family, a fiery young woman of Chelaxian stock. Standing out among her siblings for being the only girl, she quickly learned the value of holding one’s own against larger combatants, thanks to the frequent friendly brawls she engaged in with her brothers. While lacking much of the strength of her male companions, she possessed a slippery form, and even slipperier tongue, though it was sharp-edged and prone to profanity – which earned her more than one belting from her father, who would often remind her that it was no way for a woman to talk. To her mother, Nicoletta was a gem. To her father, she was a treasure. To her brothers – Aurelio, Lotario, and Rainieri – she was a brat, but a likable enough one. And out of the four siblings, it was Nicoletta who was chosen to learn the art of the sword. Though unable to afford the tuition to the fabled fencing college of Vencarlo Orisini, Nicoletta’s father, Antonio, was able to find her a tutor for a more modest sum. While Nicoletta wasn’t as physically strong as her mentor, she was nimble, determined, and able to read his movements, predicting his moves and ducking or sidestepping out of the way almost every time. The lessons wore on, and she grew more and more confident in her abilities. A fine future as a guardswoman was ahead of her, or better yet, as a competitive fencer, travelling Varisia – or even the rest of the Inner Sea! – fighting for coin and spreading her fame. Unfortunately for Nicoletta, it wasn’t to last. As her brothers grew older and moved into various walks of life – Aurelio to the Guard, Lotario to the copper-beaters, and Rainieri, the youngest, to the temple of Sarenrae – Nicoletta realized her dream would have to be pushed aside. Just as she turned eighteen, and was ready to resign herself to a dreary future, she found two armed men of the Korvosan Guard at the door to the family home. Her father was a murderer. Though Nicoletta knew it wasn’t true, the Guard didn’t believe her, or the accused, and the courts were convinced her father was guilty. His knife had been found in the dead man’s back, after all; the evidence was damning enough on its own, but it was the testimony of a fisherman that sealed it. While the sentencing wasn’t immediate, Antonio couldn’t live with the shame and accusatory looks from the community. When he nearly took his own life in an attempt that had Rainieri pulling every string he could at the temple to restore him to health, Nicoletta fumed with rage and a burning desire for revenge. She took to the streets, hunting down leads, lying her way out of trouble and into the right places, and finally managed to find the fisherman who’d testified against her father. A blade against his throat proved her correct – he’d lied to the courts. He’d planted the murder weapon, he’d been paid to do so by a man named Lamm. And when Nicoletta reeled with alarm, he ran. She found him dead in a gutter two days later, apparently silenced before she could take him to the judge. But she had a name. Lamm. And it’s this name she’s been following for two years now. Lamm. Appearance: Nicoletta is a lithe woman, around five feet, eight inches in height, with sharp cheekbones and a tapered jawline framed by wavy hair – a burning red, unusual for her lineage, and the reason her father would joke about her having a bit of devil’s blood. Her eyes are dark and smouldering – not with any of the more base human drives, but with a thirst for vengeance and a fierce determination that gives men pause. Her figure is reasonably attractive, with a large bust and wide hips, and while she wears clothing that flatters certain assets, she prefers not to show skin. While not as buxom or curvaceous as many of the Varisian performers, Nicoletta knows she doesn’t look half-bad in a fitted blouse – she just doesn’t bother to wear such things most of the time. Her preferred colours are simple backs, whites, and muted reds, and she always wears a finely-crafted rapier on her belt, a dagger in her boot (and several more in various places), and a buckler within easy reach. After all, she has no doubt she’s made an enemy of this ‘Lamm’ fellow, whoever he is. Personality: Nicoletta is a practical young woman – she prefers to be called Nic as opposed to her full name, or, by close friends, ‘Red’, in reference to her unusual hair colour. After all, ‘Nicoletta’ is a mouthful, and simply too big for her. Nic suits her just fine, and after a few pints, she’ll even answer to more colloquial variants. Nic is a lass of simple faith – she follows the Drunken Hero, simply because his ideals of freedom and bravery sit well with her dreams of travel and heroics. She leaves the fancier points of religion to her Sarenrite brother, preferring to worship Cayden the way he’d like it – with a drink and a song (in her rather recognizable [read: grating] singing voice). She’s fond of a drink, but prefers duelling, and is quick to challenge someone over a perceived slight – and she tends to perceive slights where there are none, leading to more than a share of awkward moments. She's brazen and, in ways, shameless, knowing what she wants and how to get it, and knows the benefits of a well-times sway of the hips or flutter of eyelashes. To her friends, Nic is loyal and easygoing; to her enemies, she is a red-haired she-devil capable of slicing a man from navel to nose before he can blink. Well, one day, hopefully... she’s yet to actually kill someone, though has no doubt she could do so if need be! Maybe. She thinks. Lamm, at least. She knows she could kill Lamm, given the chance. |
