Sandria Shepherd

Appearance
Dria is ever the tomboy, slipping into her older brother Cai's clothing whenever she can escape her mother's (fortunately) wandering eyes. The girl is quite lucky that her older brother was a late bloomer and she can already fit into his clothes with few adjustments at the early age of 10. At 5' even already, her father predicts she might soon pass up both brothers in enough time.

Dria usually pulls her thick, straight red hair back away from her face so that it does not catch on whatever forest branches she is running through. Her eyes are the color that a potential suitor described as the green of a pine tree, though he was not around long enough to realize that they seemed to change shades along with her moods. When generally calm, Dria posesses a blue/green mix.

To her mother's absolute horror, her nose and cheeks are covered in freckles.Emelota accuses her daughter of being outside in the sun too much but, in all actuality, Dria gets the feature from her mother. However, Lady Shephard goes to great lengths to hide this curse whenever going anywhere outside her private chambers.

Personality
The young girl really never enjoyed having been born as such. She might honestly kill to become a boy and be able to go off with her brothers and become a noble knight, defending king and country. Unfortunately, despite all of her attempts, Dria cannot locate a potion or spell among her father's grimoires that will help her to achieve this end.

Thus, she remains trapped in her mother's clutches, forced to learn the ways of a lady during the day and the powers that she can harness by night. If there is anything that she enjoys as much as being outside, it's perched inside her father's library, learning to be a witch from her father and Cai.

All in all, the only thing her mother has taught her that Dria can agree with emotions are kept on the inside. However, her mother instructs that these are to be kept as fuel for later, while the 10 year old just doesn't want to deal with the negative consequences her fiery emotions bring.

History
Dria's life, like most people, has been a series of drastic ups and downs. Around the time of Dria and her twin Moira's birth, their oldest brother Aidan was being married to an 11 year old bride. The pair were moved into a home on her parents' lands to stay until their father dies and passes his lands onto Aidan.

Cai left not long after the wedding/birth to become a page and eventually become a knight like Aidan before him, which left the two baby girls in the hands of a very hands-on father (though usually only when it came to his villagers and their fields) and their mother, who was content to let a wetnurse tend to their needs. She was too busy with her 'friends' and lovers in the nobility ranks as well as covering up the shame her squib son brought to their completely magical family than to bother herself with 'the last brats she would bear for THAT man'.

The twins found a niche for themselves in the household, finding it quite pleasant as long as they avoided their mother. From quite early in their lives, both showed affinity for magical ability - sometimes more than their parents could have expected. They never said it to any of the adults but the two little girls felt somewhat guilty, having all this power when their oldest brother had been dismissed from his home because he had none.

During their short lives, Dria found that she loved the outdoors, dragging Moira along for a run anytime she could manage. Moira did not mind, though she preferred sitting inside and listening to the few lessons their mother finally decided they needed - starting around the age of 5.

Between the trial of being stuck between their parents and the occasional saves from brother Cai whenever he came home, Dria and Moira have led happy and normal lives.