Her childhood contained several potentially angst-causing events including severe illness which left her permanently frail, her father being horribly spirit-wracked, and her mother walking out as a result of this. However, she remained resolutely cheerful and idealistic...
...until early in 1287 she accidentally blew a reasonably large hole in the wall of the Yorvik alchemists' guild. This resulted in her being thrown out for appearance's sake, and being told by her master it would be a really good idea if she went to another Guild a long way away. Given her natural ability to be in the same place as trouble, of course she managed to pick Grantabrugge.
Since her arrival in the city, Ariane's idealism and good nature have been worn down by being possessed by a demon and then falling in love with (and being punished for illegally meeting with) the city's most wanted criminal, Brother Gilbert Of Seeker. The deaths of Den Tellin and Esme? didn't help either, nor did spending far too much time trying to figure out just what the Bavarians were up to. On the other hand, she seems to be managing to command a reasonable amount of influence in the Arms, possibly due to having saved the lives of around half the regulars during the time she's been there. She just about managed to keep on the side of Good despite all of this, and maybe even regained a small amount of stability. Possibly.
Except any stability Ariane had managed to recover went out of the window when Borric returned in June from wherever he'd been, triumphantly bearing Gilbert's head and claiming the reward from the Children of the Light. But somehow she still managed to stay on the right side of The Line, certainly in part due to Sesqui's somewhat unusual methods of counselling.
Ariane and Gilbert's son John was born in October 1288, with the possibly encouraging result that she is now too tired, frazzled and generally Busy to think about all the Bad Stuff that happened to her, and maybe, finally, she is on the road to recovery.
So. It's now March 1289, and Ariane does indeed appear to have at least partially recovered. She's outwardly more stable, though she still twitches when a Child of the Light comes anywhere near her. If anything, the past year appears to have tempered her; she's colder, more calculating, but possibly also more compassionate. And she thrives on stress even more than she used to, which is just as well considering she's been named a Master Alchemist by the Guild.
Time for another update! Ariane and her apprentice, Francis, were married on May 12th, and do appear to be insanely happy. In the couple of weeks leading up to the wedding, Ariane seemed to mend; she can talk to Children of the Light without breaking, and her faith in St John grew stronger, to the extent that he turned up in person to bless her marriage (and enjoy the buffet, it seems...). It remains to be seen what effect this will have on her, but it can't be bad, and will probably involve Stress, so she'll be practised at dealing with it.