Special Equipment:

Excellent quality longsword; silver medallion with “To Dear Aliana” inscrible on one side, and a crest that resembles a bird in flight carrying a sword on the other

Appearance:

She’s a fairly tall woman, with the lean and wiry build of a practiced fighter.  Some scars and a missing eye (left) show that she’s gotten into her share of scraps.  She wears a pale green blouse and sturdy black trousers.  Over that she wears well-worn leather arm and leg guards, and a leather vest that doubles as armor.  She wears a pair of scuffed, scarred, but still sturdy leather boots.  Most of her equipment shows use, but it’s been well cared for.  Her sword is in the best condition of all her possessions.  A black patch covers her left eye, and a scar is visible beneath it.  She wears a silver medallion under her clothes.

Background:

Three very odd women, known to everyone but themselves simply as the Ladies, who live in Drinen Wood, found her by a stream in the wood.  Aliana was unconscious, and bore every evidence that she had been attacked and left for dead.  The Ladies brought her to thier house, and watched over her until she recovered.  When she regained consciousness, they asked Aliana what had happened to her, being naturally concerned that brigands might be running amok in the wood.  Unfortunately, Aliana could not remember what had happened to her.  In fact, she could not even remember who she was, not even her name.  The only clues to her identity were the fact that she was obviously a swordswoman, and the medallion around her neck.  The medallion had what appeared to be some kind of crest on one side; some kind of large bird in flight, carrying a sword.  On the other side was inscribed “To Dear Aliana.”  Having no better idea, they decided that her name was Aliana.  The Ladies gave her the surname “de Cienn,” which in an old, forgotton language means “the wanderer.”  She stayed with them until she had recovered completely.  She proved that she still knew how to handle a blade, and was in fact quite good at it.  When she was back to full strength, she decided to go see if she could find anyone who knew who she was.  Since she had nothing that told her where to start, she decided to make for the closest city and start from there.
She will not attack unless she is threatened.  She is not entirely positive that the medallion belongs to her.  She might be willing to pay for information regarding her past.

Roleplaying Notes:

Some possible pasts for Aliana:

She could be a member (or the head) of a mercenary unit with an excellent reputation, who was ambushed (or maybe even betrayed), resulting in a hefty thwack on the head.  The medallion was given to her by the (possibly former) leader.  The crest is the symbol of the company.

She was a member of some nobleman’s elite guard, assigned to protect his son/daughter/trade caravan, etc.  She and her charge were waylaid/ambushed/tricked, etc.  Her charge was kidnapped; Aliana herself was left for dead.  The medallion was a gift from the nobleman as a reward for excellent service (or maybe a son of the nobleman who is sweet on her).  The crest is the noble’s family crest.

She is a rich man’s daughter, possibly a noble or minor royalty, or maybe just paranoid.  Whichever, learning how to fight and fight well was the only way she could steal some time away from constant bodyguards.  She went out for a walk in the woods, and was attacked.  The medallion is her family crest, and was a gift from her father.

Whoever Aliana is, the medallion does not belong to her.  She bought it because it was an interesting trinket, and came to the wrong conclusion after she was attacked.

She was a member of a group of bandits, who either badly planned a raid or was betrayed.  The medallion was stolen, and the real Aliana is most likely dead.

She worked for the bad guy, and as part of some insideous plot, arranged with a magician to wipe out her own memory (a la Total Recall).  The medallion is a fake, designed to give her a plausible identity, and possibly to lead her to accomplish what ever she needs to for the insideous plot.  Only without her memory, Aliana is a basically good person.  This could lead to her working against the villian, and foiling the insideous plot that she helped create.

It is also possible that Aliana’s amnesia is the result of an accident, possibly magical.  The medallion could also have been a gift from a boyfriend.