I figured I may as well make the post about my party, since as I've said, it's the most important part of Etrian Odyssey. This post is in an odd format, to say the least, but I think it gets its job done, describing the characters and their relationships with one another.


The adventure begins with two siblings...


[Endric]
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Class: Troubadour
Personality: Clever, cheerful, charming, and confident. Never seems to express anger.

A dashing, talkative, guitar-strumming wanderer with a true adventurer's spirit, traveling the lands along with his younger sister, enjoying every kind of experience the vastly uncharted world has to offer.
He is kind-hearted man by nature, with a deep respect for all forms of life, and never bearing any sort of ill-will toward others - even those who have wronged him.

A surprisingly capable combatant!:

Of course, despite his warm disposition, Endric is almost always involved in one fight or another, be it with a bandit who descended upon him in hopes for some easy gold, or a bitter businessman who simply doesn't appreciate how friendly Endric is getting with his wife. Either way, he's more than skilled enough to defend himself when need be.
He appears harmless, but Endric is deceptively formidable in battle, utilizing his graceful agility and unique brand of cunning trickery to keep his opponents on their toes, and if necessary, pulling out his guitar and proving the power of the Troubadour - channeling tremendous strength through the magic of song.

Relationship with Eiden:

There is nothing in all the world that Endric adores more than his younger sister. Even in the midst of adventure, her well-being is always in the center of his thoughts. It wouldn't be much of an exaggeration to say that everything he does is for her.
Endric's bravery is incredible regardless, but when it comes to Eiden, there's nothing he wouldn't do for her. If ever faced with a situation where he had to sacrifice himself for her sake, he would not hesitate.



[Eiden]
Age: 15
Gender: Female
Class: Medic
Personality: Shy and aloof, yet warm and caring.

Eiden is a sweet young girl gifted naturally with healing arts, which she proudly hones. Unlike her chatty elder brother Endrick, she seldom speaks, leading people who don't know better to believe she's a mute.

Relationship with Endric:

Orphaned too young to remember her parents, Eiden looks up to Endric not only as an elder brother, but as a parent figure too, since it is he who has raised and taken care of her since she was a baby.
She cares and respects Endric deeply, truly thankful to have him watching over her. However, she feels badly for being so dependant on him, seeing herself merely as a burden that keeps him from truly realizing his adventurous dreams, even though he himself has often denied that to be the case.
At all times she's hard at work improving her abilities, and dreams that one day she can be the one taking care of him.

But, hey, teamwork!:

As their adventures around the world continued, the dangers increased, and Eiden was occasionally forced into battle. Fortunately, just as she and Endric get along so well casually, they make an equally great duo in combat.
Very harmonious in their work, often one doesn't even need to speak to the other, as the siblings understand each other's thoughts so well.
Her medical skills are currently her strong point in these skirmishes, but she's been working on some offensive powers recently...


Endric and Eiden travel to Etria, wanting to partake in the adventure surrounding the Yggdrasil Labyrinth. Knowing they'll need some extra assistance, they search around town for like-minded adventurers in a similar circumstance who would join them. They eventually find a pair at the Golden Deer Pub...



[Arvis]
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Class: Landsknecht
Personality: Loud, egotistical, reckless, and intolerant.

The highly obnoxious and self-proclaimed Ultimate Badass, Arvis. On an abstract quest to become the strongest warrior on the whole globe, this over-confident battler wanders the realm picking fights with almost anything he sees.
Does he win these fights he starts? No, not often. His inflated ego leads him to overestimate his own abilities, whilst being blind to the traits of his foe. As far as becoming the mightiest warrior around goes, he's got a long road to travel yet.
Fortunately, along with him to help him survive the journey is his best (and only) friend Dia, who's always there to bail him out of the trouble he's constantly getting himself into.

Relationship with Dia:

Arvis is uncaring and disrespectful toward many people he meets, but that's not the case here. Hailing from the same tiny rural village, the two have been best friends since childhood, rarely seen apart from each other.
His rude nature is still apparent in her presence, of course, but there's no denying his ultimately kind intentions towards her. He's happy to have her alongside him on his quest.
And, although he'll never admit to it, he's well aware that he's only alive due to her continued efforts, and is always thankful to her for her devotion to his well-being. Even if secretly.

Relationship with Endric:

Differences in characteristics and opinions are there, certainly, but Endric likes Arvis, and identifies him as a fellow adventurer whom he can trust.
When they first met, Arvis challenged him to a duel, which Endric promptly won. Ever since then, Arvis has initiated numerous rematches, all of which end with the same outcome.
Endric admits openly that he only wins because of his artful dodging and deceptive abilities, acknowledging Arvis as the stronger fighter, but this only further provokes the warrior, and so their pointless skirmishes continue...

Relationship with Eiden:

Because Arvis is constantly trying to fight with Endric, she doesn't much care for him. Sometimes she's hesitant to heal him when he gets hurt, but she knows Endric's stance on ignoring the wounded, so she always ends up helping him.



[Dia]
Age: 26
Gender: Female
Class: Protector
Personality: Cunning, cynical, and mellow.

A very bright young woman, whose swift and masterful strategizing could assure survival in any situation. Dia's honed these skills, as well as learned the ways of the Protector, out of necessity, to keep her childhood friend Arvis from getting himself killed.
Since Arvis has a knack for getting himself into otherwise-hopeless situations, she really has no choice but to follow him around, lest he perish.
Assuring his survival can be stressful at times, but she's glad to be a part of his journey. Not only is she getting to see quite a variety of sights on the way, but she's also getting to put her skills to practice far more than she ever would've been able to back home.

Relationship with Arvis:

Though she acts like she's only with him because she doesn't have a choice, the truth is that she really does enjoy his company. She's happy to have had Arvis as her lifelong buddy, and despite what she may say to the contrary, there's nothing more valuable to her than the time they've spent together.
Their powerful friendship often leads people to believe they're a romantic couple. However, both of them shoot down that notion without a second thought.
Dia and Arvis are simply pals. Then, now, and forever. And they wouldn't have it any other way.

Relationship with Eiden:

Dia protects Arvis, just as Eiden wishes she could protect Endric. As such, Eiden sees Dia as who she wants to be in the future.
She now takes every opportunity to study her behavior, and shyly asks questions about her childhood and training habits. Her queries generally only acquire sarcastic responses, but she keeps at it, determined to learn what it takes to be a protector.

Relationship with Endric:

Endric highly respects Dia for her abilities and can easily relate to her desire to protect the one she cares for. However, this doesn't stop him from constantly pelting her with his pick-up lines.
His jestful attempts at wooing aside, the two get along well. In battle, the both of them are easily the ones leading the show, creating complex strategies in no time, and promptly putting them to work. The co-operation of their genius intellects is no doubt the reason for the team's continued success in the Labyrinth.


Together, the four adventurers formed a group called "Eternity," and set off into the forest. It was one-man short of a normal-sized group, but they were fine with that. Still... that soon changed.



[Minerva]
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Class: Survivalist
Personality: Spunky, adventurous, and strong-willed.

A lively young girl who descends from a long bloodline of lumberjacks. Proud of her heritage, she makes lumber her life. Upon hearing about the Yggdrasil Labyrinth, she sets out immediately, dreaming of a new legendary kind of lumber to be found there in the ancient sea of trees.
It's a dangerous place, to be sure, but fortunately she's no slouch. In addition to being a full-fledged lumberjack, she's a very accomplished archer, sporting near perfect accuracy in a baffling contrast to her normally clumsy nature.

Journey into the Forest, and a Meeting:

The Labyrinth is a perilous place, even for a group of skilled warriors. Yet, brushing aside all warnings and concern, Minerva entered the vast forest completely alone.
She experienced more than a few scrapes with death, but managed to keep hold of her life nonetheless, delving deeper into the woods, and receiving no end of glee from the adventure.
Minerva eventually runs across Eternity in the forest, finding them engaged in a battle with a wide array of ruthless Ragelopes. Without a second thought, she offered her assistance to the party by jumping into the fray with them.
Together they fought off the beasts, and the group became acquainted with her.

Dia's Invitation:

Dia immediately recognized Minerva's impressive abilities, but even so, she knew that Minerva wouldn't last long if she continued to survey the Labyrinth on her own. So, she gave the offer to Minerva about joining in on Eternity's journey.
Though Minerva would quickly disagree about the "wouldn't last long alone" idea, she took a liking to the members of Eternity, so she accepted.

Relationship with Arvis:

Minerva finds the Landsknecht's brazen words to be rather amusing, even charming to a degree, despite the fact that most would agree his words are anything but.
Arvis, however, wishes she would get offended by his speech. He's disturbed greatly by how he's unable to phase her with anything he says, since that goes against everything he's learned throughout his years of socialization with people.
Regardless, the two work together well in battle, able to make up for each other's respective weaknesses with the teamwork they've developed.

Relationship with Endric:

The one member of the group who Minerva doesn't trust, which is sometimes problematic, as he's the team leader.
Minerva just feels that there's something shady about him. The way that Endric's always smiling, and never seems to express anything but glee is suspicious to her. "Even happy people aren't THAT happy!"
She's just sure that he's hiding some secret about himself, and she's determined to get to the bottom of it.
Despite her typically cold and distrusting nature towards him, though, Endric naturally never sends any negativity back in return. Rather, he seems to respond to her with nothing but friendship and trust.
This irritates her.

Relationship with Eiden:

While Minerva may not much care for her elder brother, but Eiden herself is a-okay. In fact, being the person whose age is closest to her own, Minerva actively pursues a friendship with Eiden. It's strained at times due to Minerva's attitude towards Endric, but otherwise, the two get along awfully well, sharing similar interests and whatnot.
Minerva, for the sake of Eiden, tries to cut down on her rudeness towards Endric. But, she still can't shake her suspicions... and won't be satisfied until she figures out what he's hiding behind his smile.



Yep, that's that. You deserve a cookie if you read through all that without succombing to illness.