Ingrid Bergenholm

"'Wisdom is knowing that one must be prepared for whatever situation they may find themselves in.'"Ingrid Bergenholm (called The Ironwielder) is a secular canoness with a certain expertise in martial arts and weaponry. She is particularly skilled in the art of war and strategy, and can be often found on the front lines of any battle, darting in and out with the kind of speed afforded by years of self-training. Notably, she is a second-generation adventurer, preceded by her mother before her, but she holds other skills unique to her upbringing, as she was trained to be a woodcarver under her father's tutelage.

Appearance
Ingrid is a fair young woman, with features that are very much llluskan. Her long blonde hair is kept up in a braided bun most of the time, as it keeps her hair away from her face and prevents it from becoming a distraction. She has steely grey eyes with hues of green and porcelain skin, both inherited from her father. Despite being a petite 5'2", years of constant training under the tutelage of the monks gave her a toned body, with muscles a tad more prominent than what would be socially acceptable for a lady.

Given these circumstances, her day-to-day outfit consists of a white long-sleeved buttoned shirt, a medieval bustiere, a long white skirt, and an outer skirt made of brown fabric, all tailored to create a conservative yet feminine form. Two belts rest around her waist: one, made of loosely tied copper cloth, a relic from her monastery days, and the other an actual leather belt, cinched around her waist over the bustier, a gift from her brothers.

Personality
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Background
She is the youngest child of Hans Bergenholm, a skilled woodcarver whose name was renowned throughout Neverwinter, and Ilse Lindell, an adventurer who trained under the prestigious House of Ambry. With three older brothers, the house was a lively one in her early youth, until tragedy struck.

After her mother's death when she was five, Ingrid found comfort in the company of the children of her father's noble patrons, Elena of Beauvont and Marius of Ambry. Around this time, her father began training her to become a woodcarver, as she showed a natural affinity for artistic endeavors, and he took her in as an apprentice, like two of her older brothers before her.

When she reached the age of 15, she joined the woodcarver's guild in Neverwinter, at around the same time her eldest brother Guthrun had completed training under the House of Ambry. However, tragedy struck less than three years later, as the noble house was decimated due to dragonfire- an event that saw her lose her eldest brother, a death she saw Marius responsible for.

In her grief, she sought solace in the Order of the Gilded Eye, an order dedicated to Helm in Helm's Hold. There, she buried her emotions into training to become an expert in martial arts, a skill that would become useful in her quest to deliver justice, an ideal she saw as essential to the preservation of her way of life.

Plot
Ingrid first appeared in No Foolish Matter, as a canoness whom had been sent by an unknown patron to investigate the incidents of Doctor Jubal's Carnival of Curiosities. While she was initially acting independently, a chance encounter with an adventuring party by the big mirror maze led to her reluctantly assisting the party by helping them free the villagers under Graz'zt's control, then battling the "demon" Tak. She was knocked unconscious in this encounter, an event that saw her unlock the ki inside her body.

After this, she travelled to Vuerthyl in The Black Road,

Hans Bergenholm
Hans, a renowned woodcarver from Neverwinter, was forced to raise his four kids alone after the death of his wife Ilse. As such, he is the only parent Ingrid really remembers, and they share a very close bond. Despite the circumstances, he was a devoted and loving father. He began training her in the art of woodcarving at a young age, and was supportive of all of her endeavors, as long as it made her happy.

Her eldest brother Guthrun's "death" in the culling of House Ambry affected Hans greatly, and although he kept up his jolly demeanor, she noticed the pain in his eyes. When Ingrid decided to become a monk to cope with her grief, her father supported her, even going as far as visiting her every weekend in Helm's Hold, and writing to her constantly as she began adventuring.

Ilse Bergenholm
Ilse, a famous adventurer, was said to have died fighting a priestess of Lolth, the Drow Goddess of Spiders, when Ingrid was five years old. While she barely remembers her mother, her death greatly affected their family, as her father was forced to raise her and her brothers alone.

Ingrid resents her mother for choosing to die against an unbeatable foe, instead of staying alive for her family. Because of this, she has sworn to herself that she would never be like Ilse, whose emotions and passion directly led to her downfall.

Guthrun Bergenholm
The eldest child in the Bergenholm household, Guthrun was affected the most by their mother's death, as he shared a very close relationship with her. As such, he began training under the prestigious House of Ambry, in order to become strong enough to protect the people he loved. Over time, this rise in power corrupted him, and he began to have illusions of grandeur, alarming his family. Unfortunately, when the House of Ambry was consumed by dragonfire, he was nowhere to be found, and presumed dead afterwards.

Ingrid idolized him, seeing him as a man who could do no wrong. While he was a doting brother to all his siblings, he was especially close with his sister, who resembled their mother the most, both in looks and in spirit. He taught her how to fight, and passed on to her his love for languages. His "death" broke her the most, causing her to sever ties with her longtime friend Marius, who she blamed for his demise, and encouraging her to join a monastery, to cope with her grief.

Aksel and Espen Bergenholm
Aksel and Espen are twins, both of them grew up under their father's tutelage and became woodcarvers like him. Aksel is the more outspoken one, brash and teasing, while Espen is the more soft-spoken one, gentle and caring. Despite their blatant differences, the twins are very close to one another, and Ingrid looked up to both of them as her idols. She learned how to keep her composure from Aksel, and she learned how to cook from Espen.

Both of her brothers were supportive of her joining a monastery, as they thought that a change in atmosphere would be good for her after the events leading to Guthrun's "death." They continuously write letters to her, detailing their family life, up until the present day.

Elena Beauvont
While Elena's family is just a patron of Ingrid's father, the two girls actually became close after the death of the latter's mother. Despite the vast difference in social status, they treated each other like sisters, to the extent of both their families warming up to this friendship. Alas, they drifted apart in their mid-teens, after Elena began to take her duties as the heir of Beauvont more seriously, and Ingrid began to work as a woodcarver under her own title.

Growing up, Ingrid looked up to Elena as an older sister figure, and she picked up many feminine traits from the latter. They are beginning to reconnect as of present day, although the shadow of Marius hangs over them, as they both share differing opinions about his involvement in his family's demise.

Trivia

 * Ingrid is derived from the Old Norse name Ingiríðr, meaning "Ing is beautiful", from the name of the Germanic god ING combined with fríðr "beautiful."