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Hmm, what in the world to write...? While, my real name is Ashley Buchanan, and I am from Ontario Canada, where I was born in 1984. I am currently studying for a bachelor's degree in History at Acadia University, and hopefully plan to be a teacher, if everything goes like it should. I have a sister and a half sister, and am the youngest. Unfortunately that usually meant I was the one getting covered in band-aids or stickers or some such thing when my sisters decided to see what would happen if they covered their little sister with things. As a result, the stubborn Scottish side grew very strong in me. My dad has always been interested in our families Scottish heritage, as well as my mother's Irish heritage, and he passed that on to me, causing me to spend hours in the library with my nose buried in books about Scotland, Ireland, and the myths and legeds from those countries, which eventually led me to Lord of the Rings. I fell in love right away, and tried to read the Hobbit at age seven, but I might as well have been reading hieroglyphics, for all I could understand it. A few years later, I tried it again and succeeded in reading it, then moved on to Lord of the Rings, which I fell in love with just as quickly. I found the plaza while doing a random search for things on Rohan, and joined right away. I started out as one of the people who lurked in the knowledge halls and lore forums, especially after encountering Mo's little joke when I tried to enter Valinor, which effectively made me terrified of trying to enter another kingdom, lest I encounter the same thing, but after about six months got up enough courage to actually begin posting in the Riddermark, and can't seem to tear myself away, which I consider a good thing. As is obvious from the character of Shivased, I am totally horse crazy. I have, or had, a horse named Storm, an Arabian x Saddlebred gelding, who is the horse my character has, and happens to be the greatest horse in the world. That is the reason I joined Rohan, obviously, but after that decided to stay, since I was given a very warm welcome by everyone, and because Rohan is such a great place to live. I know I definitely don't plan on leaving anytime soon. |
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Some 20 years ago, in the spring, I was born on my families horse farm, which lies about halfway between Edoras and the Mering stream, the third of four children and the only girl. I have two older brothers, Daran and Sidan, and a much younger brother, Jacen. I was raised with the horses on our farm, learning to ride before I could walk; the first word I said was 'horse'. Daran and Sidan taught me everything they knew, from reading to riding to hunting to troublemaking, lessons that more often than not ended up with us getting in trouble. When I was four, and Daran nine, I was given his old pony, Chubby, a sour tempered chestnut gelding, who taught me more than anyone about riding. When I was six, my mother, fed up with my being a tomboy, and determined to turn me into a lady, sent me to live with my grandmother in Gondor. To keep a long story short, it didn't go very well, and, much to my mother's anger, I returned home two years later after managing to single-handedly crash a party, still not a lady, though my Grandmother taught me much in the way of history and geography. My mother gave in, finally, and my father began teaching me swordplay in preparation for a career in the cavalry. I spent two years learning swordplay and riding when, at ten, my father deemed it time that I was sent to live in the forest of Lothlorien, to learn archery and tracking from an Elf friend of his. I learned much from the elves in my stay there, including more womanly behavior, to my mother's pleasure, and by the time I returned home, was an accomplished archer and hunter. Upon my return home, I was given Storm, my horse, as I had outgrown Chubby considerably. Storm was only just born, and was a grandson of the horse for which I was named. He was a silvery colored colt (though he is now snowy white!) with a sweet, playful temperment, and is very intelligent. With the help of my father and brothers, I raised and trained Storm. Sadly, though, my eldest brother, Sidan, was killed breaking a stallion before he had much time to help me with Storm. I took his death very hard, as I was very close to him, and sold the stallion, though it wasn't the horses fault. I just could not look at it without remembering Sidan's death, which I witnessed. A year later my youngest brother, Jacen was born, and two months after that, in the spring, my father was killed by raiding orcs. I was with him in a far field when we were attacked. The orcs were too numerous and he sent me to get help, but I barely escaped with my life. By the time Daran and some neighbors returned, my father was dead, and the herd of horses that we kept there were gone. It took me four months to recover from my injuries, and when I did, Daran and I left Rohan, travelling Middle-Earth, which we did for three years. When we returned I fulfilled my father's wish that I join the cavalry, entering the Eastmark upon completion of my training. Shortly after that, I opened my shop, Ye Olde Pet Shoppe in the Riddermarket, where Daran and Jacen help me, though four year old Jacen is more trouble than help. |