Mairaed O'Callaghan

Upbringing
Mairaed O'Callaghan was born 5 January 592 K.C. to Colin and Calleigh O'Callaghan, peasant farmers in rural Westfall. Calleigh passed away when Mairaed was barely walking, leaving Colin to fend for himself and his young daughter. He was remarried when Mairaed was four to a lovely woman by the name of Sarah. Sarah and Colin provided a warm, loving home to the firey little redhead, who soon bloomed into a lovely young woman they affectionately referred to as "Mai".

Coming to Stormwind
When Mairaed was seventeen, the dire situation in Westfall was beginning to overtake the small farm. The crops were failing, the raids by the Defias Brotherhood grew more and more common, and it was no longer safe for an unmarried girl to walk the rural paths around the farm. The decision was made to send Mai to Stormwind City, in the hopes she would find a living there as a seamstress' apprentice. She was able to scrape together a meager living, insofar as she was able to keep from starving to death by the skill of her hands both as a seamstress and a hunter.

Soon enough, the bustle of the city got to be too much for the country girl from Westfall. She took to Elwynn Forest, hunting on behalf of the women and children who had lost their fathers and husbands to the war effort. She was able to share in the kills, surviving on her rapidly developing outdoor survival skills.

Military Service
On a trip to Stormwind for supplies and provisions, Mai happened across a poster advertising the Stormwind Army. Work was drying up in Elwynn, and she knew sooner or later she would have to find other means of survival. After spending a few months conversing by letter with her father regarding the matter, Mairaed decided to volunteer for the King's service. She knew it would be an unpopular decision back home, but her father assured her that it was for the best. She vowed to never forget the people of Westfall and their plight, and would do what she could to bring the aid of the King back home.

She found her way into the First Regiment of the Elwynn Brigade under the command of Lord Marshal Maxen Montclair and settled quickly into the military lifestyle. Mairaed deployed with the first to Morgan's Vigil as her first tour of duty, and found a calling as a medic student in the dusty, orc-infested land they were sent to protect. While on a hunting trip, however, Mairaed was beset by their enemy and taken as prisoner. For two weeks she was interrogated, cruelly, the orcs drilling for information regarding the presence of the army and the plans of the Lord Marshal. As a lowly private, Mairaed had no information to give them and was soon left for dead beneath a half-burned cart on the side of the road. Two civilian travelers happened upon her, and since she was unable to tell them where she'd come from they took her back to Stormwind for recuperation.



During her time back in Stormwind, Mai was confined to bedrest and had a great deal of time to ponder things. She had no recollection of who she had been, aside from her bloody and partially burned tabard. Once she was healed enough to get back to the business of day-to-day survival, she set out to find out who's order the tabard belonged to. Chance brought her in contact with a member of the First who wore the same colors, and she found her way back to Lord Montclair's garrison in Westbrook.

In a guesture that was more a leap of faith than anything else, she was admitted back into the First as a Private. She set about regaining her battle prowess, and quickly moved up through the rank and file.

During her military service, Mairaed discovered she had a natural talent for medicine. She enlisted the help of some of the doctors in the King's service, and studied to become a trauma surgeon. Now she serves the men of the First not only as their Lieutenant, but the ranking medical officer as well.

Personal Tragedy
During a deployment to Northrend, word reached Mairaed that her beloved father and stepmother had died in Westfall. After the Cataclysm, the situation in Westfall grew so dire the people began to turn on one another. During her military service, Mai sent every spare coin she had back home to her parents to help them not only keep their farm, but to take in those that were less fortunate. Eventually, those they took in turned on them with larsony in their hearts. Colin attempted to defend his home and his wife, and was murdered in cold blood. Sarah, a witness to the murder, was also killed.

As deployment kept her away from home, Mai was not able to attend the gravesite memorial service. However, on a subsequent deployement to Westfall she was finally able to visit and say goodbye.

Knighthood
Most recently she was dubbed Dame Mairaed O'Callaghan, Knight Lieutenant of the first regiment of the Stormwind Army. In doing so, she was also admitted to the Brotherhood of the Horse, the assembly of Stormwind knights. Once inducted, an artist was commissioned to create the O'Callaghan family crest.



Shortly after her knighting ceremony, a trap was laid for Mairaed and the rest of the First in the streets of the Dwarven District. When they were attacked, Mai was once again critically injured by a sniper. She was evacuated by Olendir Fahennia and returned to the Command Center for medical treatment. The long recovery process that followed brought her into close, almost full-time contact with paladins of Stormwind's holy orders, infusing her very spirit with the Light as they healed her body. The infusion of the Light and her counsel at the hands of the paladins have awakened the calling, and she now seeks to serve the Light as an aspiring paladin.

On the first of January, Mairaed encountered Meriliah Forger, a young refugee from Theramore that sought out the Regiment for sanctuary. Mai felt an instant connection to the girl, so similar were their introductions to the army, that Mai decided to take her as a squire.

The Path to Paladinhood
While awaiting entry into Crystalsong Forest, a very important conversation occured regarding Mairaed's path in life. She was approached by Mother Chantale Corinthal, under oversight from Bishop Johannes Moorwhelp of the Clergy of the Holy Light and was told her aspirations to become a paladin were met with approval from the Church. She was taken under Mother Corinthal's wing, and given a set of tasks to complete before she could be ordained. Since, she spends her free time studying the tomes of the Clergy, so as to excel at this newfound challenge.

Appearance
When on duty, Mairaed wears the uniform of a knight-lieutenant of the Stormwind Army. As she has studied the rites of paladinhood, Mai has adapted to the formal heavy plate of her fellow knights, including a stunning truesilver chain she wears around her neck and a finely crafted belt buckle, proudly bearing the Lion's Crest. Her red hair is usually tied back either at her nape or piled atop her head, allowing her helm to rest more comfortably depending on which peice of armor she chooses to wear.

Mairaed, having made her living as a talented seamstress before joining the First, is a deep-seeded passion for beautiful clothing. When she is not on duty, she strives to dress in an elegant, modest manner. She feels strongly that her appearance reflects not only on herself, but the Brotherhood, the Lord Marshal, and the First as a whole. She is almost always well-groomed, save for when it is entirely unavoidable, and lightly colors her eyelids, lips and cheeks for formal occassions.



During Winter Veil she was gifted a bottle of perfume, which she is now known to dab lightly to the inside of her wrists and the back of her neck when not on duty. It is a fresh, light blend of floral fragrances mixed with earthy sandalwood, orchid and vanilla.

Mai prefers to wear her hair down when she is in formal attire, which tends to curl naturally.

Tense times sometimes call on Mairaed to bring forth her previous ranger-ly ways, and she has developed a significant repetoire of costumes and clothing to assist her in blending in as a citizen in almost any locale in the Eastern Kingdoms.

Philosophy
Mairaed was raised simply, and her philosophy reflects this. Her personal code of ethics drove her to always protect those that cannot protect themselves, and provide for those less fortunate than herself. However, she is hot-tempered... Once you have betrayed her, she will not soon forgive you. While she does not pursue revenge, her grudges are held deeply and for lengthy periods of time.

Her pride is the formality and dignity of her station, and she fiercely guards the ceremonial aspects of the chain of command and military displays. Her wrath is quickly earned if one does not act in a way that shows respect for their office, and only through exceptional conduct and genuine remorse can one smooth her ruffled feathers.

Mai believes strongly that she always represents those above her whether she is in uniform or not. She is not one to engage in public tomfoolery, and always strives to keep both her words and her actions polite and refined in public. This has grown significantly more important as of late, and she has made great strides in polishing what was a sweet but somewhat blunt way of conducting herself. She finds some humor in it, some days, having mocked nobles in her younger days for such political ways of speaking.

With her recent exposure and call to the Light's service, Mai has found a great deal of inner peace in her newfound faith. It has given her a more positive outlook on things, and she has become more optimistic because of it. She is still known to have bouts of depression, and in those times she tends to seek solitude.

Her instruction in the ways of the Order of the Silver Hand and the guidance from the Church have given Mairaed structure to what was instinct previously. She relishes her time learning from Chantale Corinthal, and is almost daily humbled by the great history of the orders to which she belongs. Mai has also found the teaching and molding of Maxen Montclair have made her a natural fit for her current study, however she is yet unsure if that was intentional or a happy coincidence.

The Duchess of Westridge
On 27 January, 623 K.C. Mairaed O'Callaghan was united in marriage to Lord Marshal Maxen Montclair, Duke of Westridge, in a ceremony conducted by Chantale Corinthal. The lady was attended to by Carith Halfien and Meriliah Forger, while the Lord Marshal was attended to by Aliaes Lamente, Ismond Ladere, and Olendir Fahennia. Tenevus Stromheart had the honor of giving the bride away to be wed. Shortly thereafter, Mairaed was coronated Duchess of Westridge.