Green Tiles - Plains, farmlands, etc.
Single tree tiles - Small forests.
Double tree tiles - Thick forests.
Jungle Tiles - Jungles, Swamps, Marshlands, etc.
Yellow Tiles - Desert or Coastline.
Red Tiles with Black Lines - Blood Sea.
Blue Tiles with Black Lines - Ocean/Sea.
Blue Tiles without black lines - Lakes, Ponds, Rivers, Oasis, etc.
Orange Tiles - Dead lands, twisted, corrupt, almost alien.
Yellow rocky tiles - Blighted lands, undead.
White Tiles with checkered pattern - Magical barriers/ancient landmarks.
White Tiles with straight line pattern - Ancient bridge built by the First Imperium, separates the (now) Blood Sea from the Ocean.

Endurance Training: After training out in the field for hours and hours on ending, you have come to realize the value of being able to simply last longer than your opponent. This translates into taking a couple more hits before you will go down, and having a higher tolerance to pain... Though, getting hit still hurts, quite a bit actually, and you’re no god. (Basics of taking more damage and resisting pain-related negative effects.)

Heavy Hitter: Where some would resort to flailing their arms about in an unsophisticated manner, you’ve decided that if you can hit something hard enough the first time that it stays down, that you can end fights before they can even really begin. Though, you’re still working on that “consistent” part, and not slowing down when you swing harder than usual. In the case of a ranged weapon, it means a larger calibre firearm or larger bow, translating to greater recoil and/or slower fire rate instead. (Basics of doing more damage with each swing.)
--Crushing Blow (Rank 2): You've learned that against enemies who are pained or slowed, you have even more time to swing and aim, hitting them with the maximum potential force possible. (Automatic critical hit against enemies that are stunned, dazed, unaware, or otherwise not expecting the attack. Small chance to crush armour in such a way as to mangle a limb or cause internal damage to a target through armour.)

Defender: You could take more hits to the face and become an unrecognizable, horrible mutilated piece of scar tissue on one and a half legs... Or, you’ve mused, you could probably just stop that by holding a shield and your armour correctly. This lets you absorb harder blows with your shield and armour. (Basics of wielding shields and armour (especially heavy armour) effectively.)
--Protector (Rank 2): Having grown to know your armour like it's a second skin, you've learned the second step to defending yourself in armour: How to lock an enemy down. When an enemy attempts to attack you, there is a solid chance that you will disable or break their weapon, or at the very least disrupt their combo giving you or someone else an opening to attack. (Weapon deflection and combo disruption.)

Charger: Something a lot of people don’t seem to realize is that the more muscles you have, the faster you are. Sure, perhaps not dexterous, but certainly faster. While you have only begun to learn the true meaning of land speed and would still be caught and killed by a tiger, you are capable of a short distance charge that can knock opponents down and catch the unwary by surprise. (Basics of dashing quickly and charging into opponents.)
--Smash n' Grab (Rank 2): Atop of charging brutishly like some kind of avalanche of death you've clued in that if you can grapple your opponent, or hit them specifically in a way to daze them or knock away their weapon, you'll then have a much easier time with introducing them to whatever entity they consider divine. Such as your warhammer, or crossbow. (On successfully charging into someone, you have a chance of disarming them, grappling them, pinning them, or stunning them, depending on what their size is and whether or not they're wielding a weapon, and have a greater chance of avoiding harm while charging into someone or something.)

Adrenaline: The only thing scarier than a fit man, is one with the determination to live. You realize now that a single moment can change everything, and in your most desperate moment, you can tap into hidden reserves of energy through adrenaline. It doesn’t last long and you feel tired afterwards, but it sure beats dying, and that temporary burst of speed and strength definitely isn’t anything to complain about either. (Basics of “last stand” mechanics.)
--Underdog (Tier 2): Where others would collapse and die, you live on. You know that if you can live just long enough to take out your opponent, you can stop and rest, and in doing so prolong and increase your odds of survival. (If the opponent you are engaging is struck dead, and you disengage to rest, you have a greater chance of surviving lethal or severe wounds, and have a small chance of recovering from them sufficiently to be combat-ready without the assistance of a healer.)

Acrobatic: You understand the basics of climbing ropes, ascending walls, jumping across rooftops, and rolling when you hit the ground. On the other hand, you’ve only really grasped the basics of it, so jumping a twenty foot chasm while being shot at is not recommended. (Basics of acrobatics: Climbing, falling gracefully, etc.)
--Free Runner (Rank 2): Rolling, ducking, jumping, sliding, sweeping, edging--all of these things and more are things you are seasoned at doing. Having obtained peak conditioning, anything beyond this is unnatural... (The environment can no longer be factored negatively against your character--fighting atop a steep slope is the same as fighting on a flat grassy plane, save any advantages. Atop this, your character's acrobatic abilities are at their natural peak: There are few places you cannot reach.)

Slippery: You are fully aware of what happens if that war hammer the size of a small child hits you square on the chin. You’ve decided to make it a priority to learn how to never let that happen, and while you’re still learning, you understand at least enough to jump back from a blow before it takes off your head. (Basics of dodging and evasion.)
--Dodge! (Rank 2): As you've refined your instincts, your ability to avoid harm has also grown, and as such whenever an enemy swings at you, there's a solid chance you've already figured out not to be there by the time the swing would connect. (Dodging is quicker and no longer forces your character onto the defensive, and can occur even if your character is caught off guard.)

Stealthy: Every journey begins somewhere for the avid stealth expert, and yours is about on par with that of a cut-purse or a minor bugler. You have the basics down, but to learn more will take time and practice. (Basics of stealth-oriented tasks and escaping.)

Rapid Blows: Sometimes, it’s just better to hit something several times in quick succession, instead of trying to hit something really, really hard, and you understand this. Though you aren’t too good at hitting specifically vital points with it yet, or keeping it up for very long. In the case of ranged weapons, one takes a hit to accuracy in exchange for increased fire rate. (Basics of attacking rapidly in an effective manner.)

Sharp: You’ve started to notice how certain people stand, and how others try to keep certain parts of themselves out of harm’s way, or try to cover up certain not-so-good looking pieces of armour. Given more time, you could manifest this into a real talent for assassinating even the most armoured of targets. (Basics of weakness-finding and lie detecting.)
--Investigator (Rank 2): Where others might struggle to put the clues together, this character's eyes have grown used to looking for the out of place or abnormal. Chinks in the defenses are easier to locate, and things that aren't natural or off-kilter and relevant to your character's curiosity are easier to detect and find. (Increases chances of finding out of place things and detecting weaknesses in armour. There is a chance that your character will suddenly have a realization about something they didn't understand before (GM assistance).)

Raw Talent: After a few (or perhaps several) failed attempts at magic, you suddenly found yourself able to bring a raw spark of power to life in your hands. After being awed by it, you found that you could consistently control and contort this power to your will. You could conjure subtle things, flashes of light or wreathing your hands in fire. (Basics of casting magic power-wise.)

Apprentice: Combined with Raw Talent, you’ve learned how to harness that raw magical power into a consistent train of thought. Through studying a few tomes and, possible, learning from the Mage’s Guild, you’ve focused yourself onto a single school of magic. This will help focus your power into something consistent and tangible, but it’s only the beginning... (Basics of understanding magic. One school of magic unlocked.)
--Wizened (Rank 2): Having done some study and practice, you can now understand two schools of magic, and understand a greater amount of subtly with your first school of magic. There is now a greater chance of you casting a spell without others noticing, unless the spell is blatant and loud: Like a fire ball. ("Stealth magic" and a second school of magic.)

Wells of Power: Having been born with this talent or having artificially acquired it later on in life, you’ve connected your mind and soul to the five ethereal Wells of Power, the sources of all magic. You can subtly feel nearby mages and places of magical power, though this isn’t precise yet. The more powerful it is, the more likely you will detect it. (Basics of detecting magic and mages.)

Fortitude: Whether or not you are a mage, you can learn how to defend yourself from one, and that is just what you decided to do. After all, how else are you supposed to save the world if you can be cooked in a fireball by a pissed off mage? (Basics of resisting magical spells. NOTE: This is all magic--good, bad, and neutral!)

Awakened Meditation: Through great discipline you have figured out how to tap into the natural magic in the air all around you. It will still take time and practice to master, but nonetheless, this has increased the amount of spells you can cast before you fatigue yourself, and increased the rate at which you regain your energy to cast more spells. (Basics of increasing your magic limitations, and recovery speed from casting magical spells.)
--Rapid Mental Recovery (Rank 2): You have mastered the art of magic to the point where you can recover fully between battles, and have started to develop a small ability to 'steal' and absorb the magic others throw at you. (Basics of spell stealing (passive), this character fully recovers between multiple battles in a single mission.)

By Gender
--Women: 13.
--Men: 11.
--Non-Binary: 1.
--Dead Women: 1.
--Dead Men: 2.
--Dead Non-Binary: 0.
--Inactive Women: 0.
--Inactive Men: 1.
--Inactive Non-Binary: 0.

Active Duos (Maximum of five!)
Kasim & Zinnarath (Jorick)
Rayvon Krayvitch & Maeven Lucre (Tempest)
Murderok & Gryff (Kadaeux)
Andrea Llolth'Allin & Ceann (Andrea)

Laenaia. Author: Alphakoka.

Kasim Ambilus. Author: Jorick.

Zinnarath "Zin" Corsys. Author: Jorick.

Draza Zorya. Author: Elendra.

Abida Qisaf. Author: Herzinth.

Rayvon Krayvitch. Author: Tempest.

Maeven Lucre. Author: Tempest.

Aëyr. Author: Holmishire.

Esyllt Boudica. Author: Kestrel.

Alicia, the Blood Duelist. Author: LimeyPanda.

Maher Adonai. Author: Gat.

Nadira Adonai. Author: Genais.

Zayn. Author: Alex.

Murderok. Author: Kadaeux.

Gryff. Author: Kadaeux.

Andrea Llolth'Allin. Author: Andrea.

Ceann. Author: Selvi/Andrea.

Naream Baenre. Author: Sarzu.

Aslo. Author: Icarus.

Mars. Author: Brand.

Russel. Author: Goldmarble.

Doctor Steven Adian Gremlock. Author: Maxim.

'Child'. Author: Hellis.

Elrbetrt Westfeld. Author: GreenGoat.

Elrithos “Sand Runner”. Author: Rayn Night.

Algrimm Ironblood. Author: Zed.

'Child'. Author: Hellis. Death: Crushed by Dirge's Warhammer.

Dread Fang. Author: Hank... Chitter chitter chitter. Death: Crushed by Dirge's Warhammer.

Thailen Vicarris. Author: Herzinth. Death: Incorrect colour picked: Bomb ending selected.

Raen Delaeseris Elvarasi. Author: Raen Elvarasi. Death: Wilhelm'd.

-Gained Flash-Step (TM)

Biographical Section

Name: Kasim Amibilus.
Age: 24
Race: Human
Sex: Male
Appearance:

Image borrowed from showmeyourmoves on deviantart.
Homeland: The Goblin Holds

History: Kasim was once a slave in the city of Kinghold, set free by the goblins when they conquered the city. He was either born into slavery or taken at a very young age, for he knew nothing but servitude in the time before the goblins came and he never knew his parents or land of origin. He was owned by an aging merchant woman who was fairly kind as far as slave owners went, only rarely ordering whippings and being frugal enough to feel that working a slave to death was a waste, but Kasim could never work his way around to being happy about his lot in life. The merchant woman mainly used him for simple manual labor, hauling heavy crates of goods to load up her wagons, but once she realized that his strange statements about other people originated from a rare telepathic talent she wisely put his skill to use: she had him serve food and drinks during business meetings at her estate, just happening to make fleeting skin to skin contact to read the surface thoughts of her guests and then discreetly relaying that information to her. She kept his talent a secret of necessity, for if other merchants found that she was using a telepath in such a conniving way she would lose all trust and trade agreements, and perhaps her life. As Kasim grew older she started to take the young man (though he could have accurately been called a boy when it started) into her bed to fill the void left by the passing of her favorite bed slave. He didn't really fight against this, and definitely enjoyed it on a carnal level, but he had enough presence of mind to be disgusted by the knowledge that he was being used like an object. Vague stirrings of wishing for freedom, and hatred for his owner, swirled around his mind without being given any critical examination for years.

The minor seeds of rebellion in Kasim's mind finally and suddenly sprouted when he was 15, when the goblin Xixis Madheart's surprise attack on Kinghold sent the guards from the merchant's estate running off toward the newly made hole in the wall around the city. With the merchant woman left with nobody but her slaves to guard her, Kasim found himself drawn to the then deserted guard quarters; time blurred as if he was in a dream, and the next thing he was aware of was a bow and a few arrows clutched in his hands. He'd always been fascinated by bows, but this was the first time he ever held one. Kasim took the weapon inside the main building of the estate, up into the merchant woman's bedchamber, and found her hiding under the covers like a child. She looked hopeful for a moment, as if the slave come to protect her, but that notion was soon dismissed as he raised the bow and inexpertly nocked an arrow. It took him three of the four arrows he'd brought before he finally hit his target from a distance of no more than ten feet, during which time she sat there frozen; when the arrow struck her in the gut she finally screamed and writhed in pain, and the frozen state seemed to transfer to Kasim. He stood there for a few minutes, shocked at his own actions, before dropping the bow and walking forward. When he reached the bed the merchant woman flailed at him, screaming for him to get away from her. Upon her hand touching his arm, his telepathy gave him a flash of her thoughts: she thought of him as a traitorous wretch, scum who she had always known would betray her, a spray of mental vitriol that rocked Kasim to his core. He had only a moment of hesitation before using the last arrow gripped in his left hand to stab the woman to death.

When a troop of goblins made their way around to check the estate they found Kasim sitting with his back to the wall beside the open gates, his arms and torso caked in dried blood. When they inquired and learned that he had killed the slaver merchant and set the other slaves free, they congratulated him and told him to come celebrate his liberation with them. A night of drinking and revelry later, Kasim was initiated into the army of the Xixis Madheart alongside many other freed slaves who wished to aid their fight against the Free Holds. He stayed with them for three years, learning the way of the bow from Morilab, an orc who wielded a massive greatbow that Kasim struggled to lift using both hands. The orc's style of strength being equal to finesse in archery was picked up eagerly by the young man, who was fairly strong after a lifetime of hauling crates and loading wagons. He also learned a lot about thrown weapons, with a preference for knives, and a little about using a sword from the various goblins he befriended. Over the course of the many battles he fought as part of Emperor Xixis Madheart's army, Kasim learned how to dodge and weave to stay alive and how to spot a weakness. Lots of gambling taught him the basics of spotting a liar. After a couple years using a handed down bow, Morilab taught Kasim how to make one of his own, and so he made a heavy yew greatbow with some bits of metal added on to make it a serviceable melee weapon in a pinch; that was another trick handed down from his orc mentor, which he found rather useful at times.

Kasim parted ways with his abolitionist compatriots due to a simple realization: he'd never seen the world outside the desert lands of the Holds, and he very much wished to. He had heard of the world from campfire stories, tales of adventures and heroes round the world, but he'd never seen such things for himself. He traveled to the city of Tuleria, where he stayed for a couple years and at the age of 18 (shortly after he first arrived) discovered that women tended to find him attractive, and that he was fairly skilled at convincing them to join him for an evening of entertainment (which was a large reason why he stayed so long despite his aspirations to see the world). His time spent in Tuleria was a period of self-discovery in many ways: he found that he had a great capacity for cruelty, which he tried to suppress and bury because it frightened him; he discovered in himself a strong affinity for the weak and downtrodden of all sorts, ranging from the poor and sickly to the criminal elements of the city; he quickly picked up on the fact that these same people placed an inordinate amount of trust in him, that they seemed to view him as some kind of natural kin even without knowing his story. Long story short, Kasim ended up working for a gang of sorts that extorted money from merchants of middling wealth through threats of violence, as well as engaging in a variety of other illegal activities for profit and entertainment; Kasim specialized in using of his telepathic skill (which he kept secret from others) on carefully selected and subdued targets to gather information, which he then sold off to whoever he felt would pay the most, and once in a while he also telepathically tortured these poor bastards to let out his pent up urges to harm others. He pulled up stakes and left Tuleria after an extortion scheme went sour thanks to a trap set by the city guard, which was set up when the merchant target begged for their help, which Kasim only escaped thanks to being one of the men on lookout.

Over the course of the following five years, Kasim made his way from city to city, hiring on as a guard for merchant caravans and one ship to travel and climbing easily and familiarly into the underbelly of the cities he spent extended time in. His wandering took him back for a brief stay in the Goblin Holds (which he thinks of as his homeland) when he was 21, thenafter a short stay he headed to Port Luclin where he took a ship down to Liveria, then up into the lands that were once a unified Rheinfeld, from Veldhausen to Heiligen Stuhl before he finally headed south into Renalta at the age of 23. He found the city to be quite interesting in its differences from other places he'd visited, somehow managing to be crowded and bristling with racial tensions but remaining peaceful and quaint in its own way. Despite this genial atmosphere, Kasim quickly found his particular talents to be of lucrative use in the nebulous and volatile criminal element in the city of Renalta, which was mainly made up of smuggling operations and territorial spats between various factions that still hadn't found a comfortable balance after the massive influx of refugees.

Very recently Kasim was caught using his telepathy in very unscrupulous ways. Due to the laws being hazy about the legality of such things, and the inability of the authorities to pin any clearly illegal activities on him, they were forced to let him go with a stern warning. Some members of the Queen's Blade heard of his relatively rare talent, did a little bit of snooping to scope him out, and approached with an offer to join. Their pitch was convincing, for Kasim had been growing tired of remaining sedentary and his particular sense of justice places demons in the same hateful category as slavers.

Motivation: Kasim has a grand sense of adventure and wishes to see more of the world, from tiny villages to grand cities and all that lies between. He also has a firm hatred of demons and their ilk, so if he can work against them and also go on adventures, it's a win-win as far as he's concerned.

Traits & Equipment

General Traits
Sharp: You’ve started to notice how certain people stand, and how others try to keep certain parts of themselves out of harm’s way, or try to cover up certain not-so-good looking pieces of armour. Given more time, you could manifest this into a real talent for assassinating even the most armoured of targets. (Basics of weakness-finding and lie detecting.)
--Investigator (Rank 2): Where others might struggle to put the clues together, this character's eyes have grown used to looking for the out of place or abnormal. Chinks in the defenses are easier to locate, and things that aren't natural or off-kilter and relevant to your character's curiosity are easier to detect and find. (Increases chances of finding out of place things and detecting weaknesses in armour. There is a chance that your character will suddenly have a realization about something they didn't understand before (GM assistance).)

Slippery: You are fully aware of what happens if that war hammer the size of a small child hits you square on the chin. You’ve decided to make it a priority to learn how to never let that happen, and while you’re still learning, you understand at least enough to jump back from a blow before it takes off your head. (Basics of dodging and evasion.)

Acrobatic: You understand the basics of climbing ropes, ascending walls, jumping across rooftops, and rolling when you hit the ground. On the other hand, you’ve only really grasped the basics of it, so jumping a twenty foot chasm while being shot at is not recommended. (Basics of acrobatics: Climbing, falling gracefully, etc.)

Heavy Hitter: Where some would resort to flailing their arms about in an unsophisticated manner, you’ve decided that if you can hit something hard enough the first time that it stays down, that you can end fights before they can even really begin. Though, you’re still working on that “consistent” part, and not slowing down when you swing harder than usual. In the case of a ranged weapon, it means a larger calibre firearm or larger bow, translating to greater recoil and/or slower fire rate instead. (Basics of doing more damage with each swing.)

Unique Traits
Non-Magic Telepathy: Kasim is one of the rare individuals who was born with telepathic powers. The most basic use of this allows him to communicate telepathically with others over short distances (or at a greater distance with other telepaths). He can also read surface thoughts of those he makes skin to skin contact with, or with prolonged contact he can dig for deeper thoughts and pry out their secrets. This process is rather uncomfortable for both Kasim and the one whose thoughts are being read. With this mental mining, Kasim can mentally harm and torture people and leave behind horrible nightmarish thoughts, and this can be done to the point of leaving them a drooling vegetable (if given enough time with someone with a weak enough mind). Those with strong minds are less affected by and better able to resist all uses of telepathy. Since it is a biological phenomenon rather than a magical one, use of telepathy cannot be sensed by those trained in sniffing out mages.

Subliminal Messages (Rank 2): Through a lifetime of use, Kasim subconsciously developed a less blatant use of his telepathic abilities. He has refined his telepathic skill to send out subliminal messages to those he feels a level of kinship with, urging them to like him and help him with whatever his goals may be at the time. Anyone who Kasim views as weak, downtrodden, oppressed, or part of the lower dregs of society will find themselves very much inclined to help him in any way they're able; furthermore, this subconscious communication also comes into play with people who Kasim has had prolonged contact with, once he starts to view them as friends and companions and the like. This effect cannot coerce people into doing anything that goes against their morals or beliefs, since it's just an urge to help rather than some kind of mind control.

King Braggart: Kasim has developed his bragging and bravado into something approaching an art form. His bold declarations of skill can get under the skin of even the most stalwart opponents, his abrasive confidence can assure the fearful masses of their safety even as the city burns down around them, and his tales of his own prowess on the field of battle have a way of making women (and some men) fall head over heels in lust with him. Or at least that's how he'd describe his own bragging powers, which makes for something of an infinite recursion loop of braggadocio. Kasim is a swell guy like that. (Mechanically it's just bonuses to social things whenever he brags or talks about how great he is when trying to taunt, coerce, inspire, flirt, etc.)

Achievements
Purple Ribbon: You took a hit for Queen and Country, and have learned how to better handle pain. (Minor bonus to dealing with damage, less likely to fall into shock or succumb to injuries.)
Lucky Ego: You don't care about the odds, you know you see an opportunity, and things line up just the right way to make it happen so you can justify being a braggart... (Minor bonus to spotting opportunities, such as weaknesses in enemies, or holes in the walls, etc.)

Equipment List
Self-made Yew Greatbow - Rather heavy, has some metal plates for emergency protective and offensive purposes in melee range.
Various bow-related equipment - Quiver full of arrows (holds 30), a bundle of 30 extra arrows in his pack, extra strings, wax to keep the string dry, so on and so forth.
1 shortsword
6 throwing knives
1 knife not meant for throwing
Light leather armor
Other boring stuff like food and water

Personal Section

Romance: Sure, romance is fine as long as it's not forced nonsense.
Does the Kouri Plushie exist?: Yup.

Signature: Jorick hereby agrees to all rules and regulations, and he gets style points for signing in the third person.

Biographical Section

Name: Zinnarath Corsys, goes by Zin
Age: 43, though appears mid-20's due to the perks of vampirism.
Race: Vampire of the human variety.
Sex: Female
Appearance:
Minus the weird red bits of hair. Image borrowed from Silkspinner on deviantart.
Homeland: Kingdom of Liveria

History: Zin was born to a very wealthy merchant family, the eldest daughter and second of three children. Torwen and Leilinna Corsys were devoutly religious and horribly xenophobic people and they attempted to instill those beliefs and values in their children, but they only succeded with their eldest child and only son, Alesander. From the time Zin was old enough to form her own opinions, she had seen far too much of the negative impacts of the gods to be able to place her faith in them and far too much good in the people outside of Liveria to see them as evil threats. Her younger sister, Allyria, was simply a rebel at heart and fought against anything authority figures of any kind tried to push her toward. Luckily the education of the Corsys children was not solely religious and xenophobic, and Zin learned quite a bit about the merchant business and all it entailed as she grew up.

Despite her initial apathy toward them, some pieces of the beliefs espoused by her elders managed to make an impression on Zin, though not at all in the way they would have liked. Their religion preached the standards of a glorious afterlife for the faithful and suffering for heretics, and Zin's parents were very fond of using this concept plus the notion of dying without being redeemed to try to control her with fear. She was indeed affected by fear, but not the fear of death without salvation: she feared death itself. In her mind the promises of an afterlife were a sham, there was nothing to come after death, it was just a cessation of life and nothing more, but she grew to be terrified of the idea of dying nonetheless. Most young people thought themselves invincible, but was Zin utterly aware of the frailty of mortality from her young teen years and onward. A sort of benefit of this abiding fear came in the form of Zin's peculiar outlook on life: since everyone only had their one life, life itself was precious and should be made as joyous as possible before it is ended, thus harming others in any way was a grave evil. She resolved early on to never hurt anyone, and eventually became such a pacifist that she would flee from threats to her life unless absolutely and assuredly cornered with no other way out but to fight.

As the daughter of a wealthy merchant family, Zin was taught the ways of ladylike behavior and was a frequent attendee of various social functions held by the wealthy and noble classes of Liveria. She was presented to the city as an eligible maiden from the time she was old enough to marry, but suitors tended to lose their interest in her as they learned of her markedly un-Liverian beliefs, and so she made it into her adulthood without becoming somebody's wife. This plus the common knowledge that Allyria Corsys had left home to go "adventuring" with a sleazy cargo ship captain made Zin something of a conversation piece at social gatherings. During one such dinner party when she was 24 years old, near the end of the affair, Zin wandered out into the host's garden to escape the whispering and found a woman frantically waving her hands in front of her face and staring into the water of a fountain. Upon investigating this curious sight, Zin discovered that the woman, who was a merchant and a common sight at social gatherings, had the silver eyes of a vampire. The woman panicked when she noticed Zin and turned to run, but the girl told her it was okay and that she wouldn't tell anyone what she had seen. The relieved vampire managed to use illusion magic to alter her eye color as she sat and spoke with Zin, and she seemed rather pleased to have found someone in Liveria who didn't lust after the blood of her kind.

They became fast friends and had further conversations frequently over the next few months. Eventually, after Zin had learned of the nigh immortality of vampires and their ability to feed on non-human blood to survive, she asked her friend to share this gift and turn her into a vampire as well. It took a lot of convincing, and the woman demanded she learn the basics of illusion magic (which Zin turned out to have a natural gift for) for the purpose of disguise before she would even consider it, but eventually she gave in. All seemed well and good for a month or so after that, but then the woman's illusion powers failed her at an unfortunate time and the Liverian Witch Hunters found her and murdered her. While grieving her friend's death, Zin forgot to disguise her eyes one day and her parents saw her silver eyes. Though they were horrid bigots they loved their daughter and did not want to see her killed, so they instead forced her into something of an exile for her own good, though they made it clear they very much disapproved of her life choices and that she shouldn't expect anything in the way of support or inheritance. Zin left Liveria with a mixed bag of emotions-sadness both fresh and lingering from her parents's words and the death of her friend, exitement over the prospect of seeing what the world outside Liveria was really like-and headed west.

She eventually came upon a small town called Brecken and was accosted by bandits. They were strange bandits though, in that they demanded a specific amount of money from her and did not threaten her. She paid them and asked about the strange theft and was met with outrage; it was not theft, they said, it was the traveler's toll that the town had agreed upon and written into law. This intrigued Zin and she decided to stay a while and learn more. As it turned out, the town of Brecken was run by a group that outsiders called bandits, but the residents seemed to have no issues with them. They did indeed have a law that said travelers must pay a fee to use their lands, and a greater toll for merchants moving through the area, with greater monetary penalties for refusal to comply, which sometimes demanded that they take the money or goods by force; these fees being levied was viewed as banditry by nearby villages, somewhat understandably. Zin learned that there were many such places in the land of Renalta where there was no central authority to keep things in order, towns and villages run by bandits and raiders of all kinds, though the Brecken group was one of the few benevolent bandits to have taken over a settlement. Zin settled in and lived there for nearly a decade, and she learned that the people of the town largely didn't care that she was a vampire; they provided her with cattle blood when she needed to replenish herself from using her vampiric powers, which was not very often. She went out with toll collectors oftentimes to help cool down situations before they turned violent, and she learned a great deal about the art of stealth in these outings.

This peaceful life was interrupted by the banishment of the gods and ressurection of the Kingdom of Renalta. The bandits were non-violently removed from power by the Renaltan forces that moved out to secure their lands. Many of the people of Brecken moved closer to or into the revived city itself, and things simply were not the same in the town after that. Zin held no ill will for Renalta over these changes, not even when she returned to Liveria briefly and learned that her brother had died resising their efforts to banish the gods. Her parents had grown mildly less hateful since their last time speaking to Zin and informed her that due to the death of their only good child (Allyria had by then gotten up to all sorts of behavior that was even more shameful to their parents than being a vampire) she would by law be their heir, but that she should still get lost for her own good and shouldn't expect so much as bit of copper until they were dead in the ground. Zin took their advice and left once more, this time heading north.

She moved around Rheinfeld for a while, staying in the Republic area rather than risking run ins with templars, though that turned out to not be enough of a precaution. After having to flee for her life from some men who discovered that she was a vampire, Zin headed south to the city of Renalta. There she found the people even more accepting of her vampirism than the people of Brecken had been, and so she settled into the bustling city. She acquired work helping a minor merchant, a fellow named Corval; it started with bookkeeping to begin with, but that soon enough turned into her becoming a partner in the venture as she remembered what she was taught about the business as a young woman. This kept Zin more or less occupied for the past half a dozen years, and in that time she helped the business grow from a struggling one man startup with no focus to a moderately profitable textiles trading operation with a dozen employees. Corval and some of his employees willingly donated blood for her to drink when she needed it after using her vampire abilities, though it took them a long while to convince her that it was better for her than cow blood and that they were doing it because they cared. One of Zin's hobbies in this time was sneaking around the city to keep her skills sharp, and eventually she started breaking into buildings just for the thrill of it; she never stole any belongings, but sometimes she read through papers lying on desks and one time even found something that was of minor help to her day job and was thus able to somewhat justify her nefarious nightly activities.

About a year ago Zin caught the eye of a mage knowledgeable in the powers of Illusion, and he just so happened to be a member of the Queen's Blades. The mage noticed her casting an illusion to change her eye color and struck up a conversation in which he learned that she only knew very basic appearance altering spells. The mage took a liking to her and taught her something new and more complex, and she was able to pick it up perfectly after just a few times struggling to cast it. With further testing over the following months, he found this to be the case with any illusion spell she could manage to cast in the first place, though some spells eluded her due to their complexity and she was absolute garbage with other kinds of magic. After a little consultation with other mages, he declared that she was a savant of illusion magic and asked her to join the Queen's Blades; after hearing of their noble cause, and being assured that they weren't just a military group, Zin joined without a second thought.

Motivation: Zin doesn't like the idea of demons taking over the world and killing everyone. Though she abhors the idea of actually fighting these threats directly, she is determined to do whatever she can to stop them.

Traits & Equipment

General Traits
Apprentice: Combined with Raw Talent, you’ve learned how to harness that raw magical power into a consistent train of thought. Through studying a few tomes and, possible, learning from the Mage’s Guild, you’ve focused yourself onto a single school of magic. This will help focus your power into something consistent and tangible, but it’s only the beginning... (Basics of understanding magic. One school of magic unlocked.) -- Illusion magic
--Wizened (Rank 2): Having done some study and practice, you can now understand two schools of magic, and understand a greater amount of subtly with your first school of magic. There is now a greater chance of you casting a spell without others noticing, unless the spell is blatant and loud: Like a fire ball. ("Stealth magic" and a second school of magic.) -- Healing magic

Raw Talent: After a few (or perhaps several) failed attempts at magic, you suddenly found yourself able to bring a raw spark of power to life in your hands. After being awed by it, you found that you could consistently control and contort this power to your will. You could conjure subtle things, flashes of light or wreathing your hands in fire. (Basics of casting magic power-wise.)

Awakened Meditation: Through great discipline you have figured out how to tap into the natural magic in the air all around you. It will still take time and practice to master, but nonetheless, this has increased the amount of spells you can cast before you fatigue yourself, and increased the rate at which you regain your energy to cast more spells. (Basics of increasing your magic limitations, and recovery speed from casting magical spells.)

Stealthy: Every journey begins somewhere for the avid stealth expert, and yours is about on par with that of a cut-purse or a minor bugler. You have the basics down, but to learn more will take time and practice. (Basics of stealth-oriented tasks and escaping.)

Unique Traits
Vampire of Diana's Brood: Vampirism makes a person immortal, in a cruse sense, and causes their eyes to turn silver (among other possible changes). Diana's brood is subtle and cunning, they are injured by sunlight and killed by it within minutes of exposure, and cannot heal in sunlight either, though clothing which covers their skin, interiors of buildings, or shadows cast by large objects can protect them from sunlight. They wield potent mind control and illusion powers to remain out of sight to all but those they wish. (description ripped from Brovo's explanation of Diana's Brood in original LoR 2's traits stuff)
--Vampire of Diana's Brood (Rank 2): The next stage of Vampirism grants this character a greater sphere of influence over others: Hypnotic eyes. Yes, that classic vampire power, that allows you to entrance victims into willing servitude. There are limitations, but you will have to figure them out. The only thing you know thus far about it is it, like all vampire powers, does cost you blood to use it. (Your character's body consumes blood and expends it to fuel powers.)

Illusion Savant: Zin has firm the potential to become a master of illusion, though she currently suffers from a lack of training. She was until very recently unaware of her own gift in this area and mainly used appearance altering illusion magic on herself, as that was the only magic she knew and she did not have any reason to seek out more knowledge. As it turns out, she is so naturally gifted with the powers of illusion that she need only successfully cast an illusion spell a few of times to learn it so thoroughly that she is able to cast it perfectly every single time when experiencing little or no distraction, and she is much less affected by moderate or severe distractions than a normal mage would be when casting these familiar spells. Zin's speed of casting and the toll such efforts take on her body are unaffected by her affinity for illusion.

Entry Artist: Being an escape artist is all well and good, but getting into locked and secured places is far more fun and potentially more rewarding. Zin has a knack for getting into such places, be they buildings or safes or small locked containers or anything else that is clearly meant to keep people out. She is quite good at spotting exploitable weaknesses like unlocked windows or rusty hinges or holes in a guard perimeter, and she's also very skilled at lockpicking and even breaking locks open while leaving the rest of the mechanism in working order when push comes to shove. She tries her best to keep quiet and unnoticed when sneaking into places or opening locks, and she's had a lot of practice at that too, but it's never a sure thing. (Mechanically it's bonuses to getting into secured places and lockpicking and such, also minor stealth bonus only when she's doing the aforementioned breaking and/or entering).

Achievements
Inspirational Speaker: You've convinced NPC's to do something for you, and as such, you've figured out that talking is sometimes superior to just genocidally killing everything. Neat! (Minor bonus to convincing NPC's to do as you wish.)
Bullshit Detector: "That is not a Ghost! That is an illusion! Also, God is dead, Santa Claus isn't real, the tooth fairy is actually a pedophile, and keep your children away from candy dealers!" Needless to say, you have an uncanny ability to tell when a con artist is performing their trade. (Minor bonus to detecting lies and illusions.)

Equipment List
Basic set of lockpicks and other burglary implements
1 knife used for cutting food and such
A book on basic Illusion magic
A book on basic Healing magic
Other boring stuff like food and water

Personal Section

Romance: Romance is cool as long as it makes sense given previous character interaction and such.
Does the Kouri Plushie exist?: Yup.

Signature: I, Jorick, hereby agree to abide by the rules and not complain like a little bitch should I do somethign stupid and get my character killed.

You know, some would say that the world is a dark, or even dreary place. Not Draza! In her eyes, the world is getting better every day.

When she was but a young sprite, she was taught the ways of Lada, the beautiful goddess of youth, merriment, and festivities. She grew up in a simple peasant village, that her family was new to migrate into for a few generations back from some of the lesser incorporated regions of the Kingdom. She was a bit picked on for her stature by the other kids, as they would grow taller than her, and here life gave her an opportunity to be glum. She refused it, knowing that the best way to win people was not with revenge, but by being their friend.

Working hard at school and in the fields, she realized she couldn’t do the great tasks of strength needed to help, but there was something she could do that was a blessing for others regardless. She could sing, she could dance. She picked up a lute, and would sing, dance, and play, brightening the days of those around her, and they worked harder, they worked longer, and it was less of a chore. At school she began to make friends, and began to be invited to most parties for her merrymaking.

But that was not all that she would do, when others were troubled, she’d approach them, and listen to their problems, learning about them and their confidence, and she’d tailor entire events to make them feel better. She knew she couldn’t make everyone happy immediately, and sometimes her joyous intrusions had to wait due to tact. It was interesting learning when to be a solace, and when to be a surprise, and learning how to bake so many cakes and pies and desserts like you’d never know!

As her skills grew with age, she began to work as the head baker of her home, Inerinich. She began to serve those who lived there and was the go to girl for festivities, and her connections to brewers and farmers made sure that her parties were always home-grown affairs. One day, a travelling band of crusaders made their rest at her home, and she treated them all nicely and made sure they were rested and made happy! So grateful for her efforts, they invited her to go with them on their journeys, as their personal aid and chef. Very much so flattered, she accepted when it was mentioned that if she travelled with them, she could also help those that they visited.

Her ability to make quick friends was indispensable during her travels, as she always wanted to make sure the best was brought to bear for her get-togethers. She began to learn a little bit of mundane medicine skills at this time as well, helping treat the wounds to the best of her ability. She was almost the mascot for the group. After their stint on the frontlines, the group was assigned to be transferred to a new station, and before they could even arrive there, new orders came through. The entire group was being split up, some going to new chapters and others getting an honourable discharge. Draza and the others were dearly heartbroken. She did her best to hold their colours high when they went to a place she couldn’t believe she had the honour of seeing in person, the capital, Heiligen Stuhl! It was for their last time together, and there were many tearful goodbyes to be had, as they were given their new orders, and ceremonies were held for the older members who were to retire. She arranged things for a final party for them all. Little did she know how much attention her festival would catch.

After the specially wondrous party she helped put into motion for the clergy and visiting dignitaries, and a farewell to her templar group, she was given an offer, to become under the employ of the government there! So it came that she was courtier among the Papacy, a helper with planning of parties and festivities for foreign parties, to make them feel happy, and more at home, so renowned were her skills at merriment, both the orchestrating, and the execution. She’d have been a travelling minstrel if she could, share the joy, but she felt that it was more important to help the nation appease dignitaries. The smile on the face of a child was priceless, but the smile on the face of a noble child could mean a lucrative trade agreement that puts smiles on many families as they have more to eat, and more to get toys and the like!

But everything changed when the gods were banished. Oddly enough, due to the particulars of her faith, she didn’t see this as a bad thing, and knew it was in the best interests of mortals, for the brother in law to her patron goddess had decreed it as such so long ago! But when the Papacy began to lose the right to rule, and things began to get heavy, she felt she needed to take a leave of absence, as the Papacy was becoming more isolated from the people they were supposed to be helping as their sovereign. Making her escape due to a network of favours, she arrived back home to her family, and her old village home.

Things were changing so fast now, and she would first use all her skills at peace and love to make everyone in just her village be good and happy, but various others began to talk of a republic, for the good of all! Needless to say, she was immediately smitten by the idea, and went off to go and help this movement, fully joining the ranks of the Rheinfeld Republic! She was able to easily convince her homeland to join under their banner as well, and despite the chaos she was able to make quite the living trying to mitigate the issues of a poorly united leadership, or the sometimes lack of one.

During her early years with the Republic, one she was part of since near its birth, she worked at making sure people who wanted to join or move into the republic had an easier time moving in. There were many families, but one of them while in transit seemed a bit special to her, they were those who behaved a bit structured, reminiscent of her days with the templars and they had with them a young girl, aged 11, and soon to be 12. Seeing as they would still be within her region for that birthday, she wanted to give a dollop of sunshine to the girl. She approached her father about a surprise party, but he rejected it. Instead, she decided she’d do the best she could, and with a few favours, she got a special birthday cupcake baked up and delivered to her for her to wake up with. She doesn’t know if the little girl ever got to see it, or if her father got to it first, but she likes to think she got it and was happy before she moved on to other parts of the Republic.

Continuing her work, she became more and more important to trying to keep things from falling apart, dealing with dignitaries who dared to brazenly grace the Republic instead of the Papacy… and it was around this time when things got a bit messy. The revolutionary nature of the republic meant that it sometimes had to do unsavoury things, and it had to work with criminals, people that she never really thought about working with before! Assassins, thugs, smugglers, and the like. But this was really no problem for Draza, she could make friends with anyone if she tried hard enough, and she could make the criminal underworld love her too if she wanted! She just needed to know what type of cake to bake…

As time went on, she began to forge all sorts of pleasant agreements with the newly needed branch of activities of the republic! Where others may keep ties through force of will and coin and fear, she did it strictly through pleasantries, parties, and fun. Even the most cold hearted assassin could open up to her after she found out what meal his mother used to make for him before she tragically passed, and she replicate it for him. The joyous tears and comforting hugs reminded her that deep down, everyone’s still a person, and everyone still loves hugs.

Her services were invaluable to the Rheinfeld Republic, but she made it clear, if she could do more good for everyone, she would have to go. Her loyalties were to everyone, not just family, criminals, and countrymen! So when it came pass that the Kingdom of Renalta came to her of all people, asking her to join their cause, be part of the Queen’s Blades, to help save the whole entire world? How on earth could she say no? It was sad to say goodbye to her mother and father again, and the weight of responsibility hung over her. She would do her best, or she would die trying.

Armed with a lute, a recipe book, her finest dresses, and a cheeky little smile, she heads off to save the world. She can’t wait to see if her new friends like parties as much as she does.

General Traits
--Slippery: While Alotha is loath to admit it, she can’t take a hit as well as the guys in the ring usually can. The only way to really stay in the fight was to avoid the hits until she could land a good one.
----Dodge!: And part of that is being able to react fast enough to avoid the hit and get a counter punch in.
--Charger: Alotha isn’t a ranged fighter. Closing that gap and getting in on someone is part of how she kicks ass.
--Endurance Training: No one is perfect at dodging. If you can’t make it whiff completely, best to be able to take what does hit you.
--Fortitude: Same as above. Only with magic. Yeah.

Unique Traits
--Consistent Punches: Her punches aren’t the fastest. Her punches aren’t the hardest. You know what they are? Reliable. ( Improved Accuracy; Weak Punches do more damage to line them up with stronger ones. )
--Projectile Deflection: Using the smooth strong surface on the backs of her hand and along her wrist and forearm, Alotha may deflect projectiles that are coming her way with her cestuses while she gets close enough to make those ranged attacks useless. She’s able to deflect physical and magical attacks to some degree in this way. ( Able to deflect projectiles to the sides semi-randomly. )
----Projectile Reflection: Instead of just knocking the projectile aside, Alotha may meet it more directly. Usually, punching arrows and bullets still sends them off to the side, and she can’t reflect attacks as fast as she can deflect them. But that fireball? Yeah, she’s going to hit that bitch back at you. ( Able to choose the direction of the projectile’s reflection. )
--Close Quarters Combat: Alotha specialized in not just normal pugilism, but battle against both armed opponents and lizards with natural weapons. She’s become adept at fighting at a close range in general, but knows when to dodge and parry for her own sake against those with weapons. ( Bonus at close range fighting, further bonuses against armed foes. )

General Traits
--Slippery: While Alotha is loath to admit it, she can’t take a hit as well as the guys in the ring usually can. The only way to really stay in the fight was to avoid the hits until she could land a good one.
----Dodge!: And part of that is being able to react fast enough to avoid the hit and get a counter punch in.
--Charger: Alotha isn’t a ranged fighter. Closing that gap and getting in on someone is part of how she kicks ass.
--Endurance Training: No one is perfect at dodging. If you can’t make it whiff completely, best to be able to take what does hit you.
--Adrenaline: Out numbered, and outmatched, Alotha fights stronger than ever.

Unique Traits
--Consistent Punches: Her punches aren’t the fastest. Her punches aren’t the hardest. You know what they are? Reliable. ( Improved Accuracy; Weak Punches do more damage to line them up with stronger ones. )
--Projectile Deflection: Using the smooth strong surface on the backs of her hand and along her wrist and forearm, Alotha may deflect projectiles that are coming her way with her cestuses while she gets close enough to make those ranged attacks useless. She’s able to deflect physical and magical attacks to some degree in this way. ( Able to deflect projectiles to the sides semi-randomly. )
--Close Quarters Combat: Alotha specialized in not just normal pugilism, but battle against both armed opponents and lizards with natural weapons. She’s become adept at fighting at a close range in general, but knows when to dodge and parry for her own sake against those with weapons. ( Bonus at close range fighting, further bonuses against armed foes. )
----Underdog's Victory: Alotha's fought in not exactly fair circumstances, but more than that, she thrives in them, to a point. The more the odds are stacked against her, the harder she'll fight. ( Bonus to combat and survivability when fighting greater odds, be they from numbers, equipment, or skills )

In short, Ynari was born to a travelling group of dwarven traders, where she learned the art of blacksmithing from her father. However, slavers attacked their caravan, and killed or captured most of her family, enslaving and moving them around. She does not know what came of them, although it is very likely they’re all dead. She became a slave as a helper to gladiators under Haidar el-Hashem, who used her skills in magic and smithing to cheat for profit and status, and to fortify his hold against outsiders. Under his ownership, she forgot her real last name, and became Ynari the Nameless as she’d be later known.

When the liberation of the hold occurred, she was found amongst many dead slaves, horribly injured and requiring medical attention. After being liberated, she began to work with the Goblin Holds for some time during their conquests before going off on her own private ventures. She rose to monetary power through a secret method of creating high quality and illustrious steel, both useful in practical applications and ceremonial. With this rise to wealth and prestige, she adopted a new surname becoming Ynari el-Haddad.

Recently she uncovered an ancient tomb that may or may not be religious, hellish, or otherwise. The tomb is within land considered hers, although she permits others to enter for a fee if they do so under close watch. There are rumours that she lusts for more ancient power and secrets, as she continues scouring the desert for more things beneath the sand. However, with fate, destiny, providence, or fortune apparently blessing her rise from being a slave, and her mighty smithing skills, she was chosen to be a member of the Queens’ Blades, supplying them with armours and weapons in return for coin to fund more expeditions around the continent in search for her prize.

Ynari was born with another name, and has changed it multiple times since. Born Yasae Kawru, she lived with her family, travelling smiths and artisans, until she was separated from them. Earning her way through what little she knew of smithing and her skill at forgecraft, she took the name Yasae Ajam for she was a foreigner of the cities. When the holding that she called home came under attack by the Goblin Holds, she took on the name of a recently dead slave, Ynari the Nameless, and used this to keep herself alive when she turned sides to the liberators. Within the Goblin Holds she gained another new surname, el-Haddad, in honour of her great smithing skills that she learned from Jabir al-Ebheredem.

Ynari as a child travelled with her family, beyond just her mother, father, and older brother. There were aunts, uncles, and more cousins than she could count. The caravan included a several wagons and many animals to draw them across the sands, as her kin roamed to sell their goods across the lands. There was a small selection of stone laden carts, that were used as various types of forges for their more lucrative wares. Her father’s, a man named Arun Kawru, was a smithy within he produced great weapons and armours. While her brother was more interested in using the blades and warhammers, Ynari took an interest in the creation aspect of it. She apprenticed under her father when she was still young, at roughly twenty years old, much to her mother’s, a fine weaver named Isra Kawru, annoyance. Isra wanted her daughter to take up her craft and not Arun’s.

She learned for thirteen years under her father, helping him provide arms for others and make money for her kin. Her first weapon made entirely by herself was after a decade under her father’s apprenticeship, and was a mace that would go on to serve her older brother, Mardic Kawru, as one of the defenders of the family’s many caravans. It was thought an impressive piece… for one who was still so new to the craft, and was little compared to the works of her father. However, it was still celebrated for her skills upon the metals they had on hand. In particular, she had learned from her father how to take shoddy materials and still refine them to make higher quality goods. It was far cheaper, although more labour intensive, to make them. However, it had less overhead than attempting to secure high quality material as nomads.

Her thirteenth year of apprenticeship was her last under her father, and her most eventful. For years she had begun to learn how to take the bones of the dead and forge weapons and armours out of those as well, a skill she was able to quickly put to use. It was but twelve days after her thirty and third birthday when their journeys further south had earned their family ill attention, as handfuls of bandit ‘liberators’ attacked their caravan one evening for ‘trading with the slavers’. She was familiar with these sorts, and how they were truly no better than those they opposed. They raped, pillaged, and burned until they were crushed again only to rise months or years later. A terribly dark cycle of the lands. The attack was brutal, but the advance of the banditry was held at bay, and from their corpses she and her father worked to make new supplies, specifically as a sign of defiance against the banditry. They would not falter to their assaults, and their attempts would only strengthen them, and arm them.

However, the message was not well met. A fortnight after their first raid, a great sandstorm rose supernaturally around their caravan, and the clans rode into battle with bloodstained banners with the intent to kill them all, or worse, for their stand against them. Ynari does not know what came of her family during the ensuing battle, the storm served as a means to split them apart, and distract them while they were slaughtered. But, she knows she was able to get out of it alive, and she was armed only with a hammer she had used at the forge. Her father was stronger still, her mother wily, and her brother a fiery warrior. There were many others in the caravan, and there couldn’t have been as many bandits as she recalls. So, to this day, she is unsure of their fate. If they had survived. If they had escaped.

Her time wandering the desert alone was arduous until she did finally stumble upon a small holding. The tall standing sandstone walls first appeared in her worn down mind as just stretching dunes into the horizon. However, when she did find that they were real, she found a small hole in them and crawled into it for a rest. There was still standing water, probably not sanitary, but she was so thirsty that she didn’t mind drinking some of the stagnant fluid before she slept. Her nap was not a long one, as the watch upon the walls had spotted her, and woke her at the point of a blade, thinking her an escaped slave at first. Quickly, however, she lied to them. She told them that she and her family were smiths from another holding, and their home was attacked by bandits. That they were dead and she had been wandering the lands in search of a shelter, and that her slaves had been liberated and turned against her. Such lies they did believe, but that did not necessarily earn their compassion. The bandits had been at their door before, and they gained little for offering this girl kindness, when instead she could be a new, young slave, right?

She tried to fight them, and one of the men at the apparent leader’s side tried to slice into her with his scimitar. However, Ynari stuck her hands out to try to block it from hitting her in the face, and a spark of magic surged from her and into the blade before it could strike her. It rusted and, of all things, fell from its handle to the ground impotently. This certainly caught the attentions of those around her. The leader of the guard around her, a man named Haidar el-Hashem, told them to stay their blades and spoke to Ynari, expressing a new interest in her now that she had demonstrated magic that even she didn’t know she had. He mused out loud that he couldn’t keep one like her in chains, she could rust them away. No, instead, he offered her a deal, one that she couldn’t refuse. Work with him under watch, or die. He didn’t know if she had more magic, but knew she couldn’t do it forever. She knew this too, and accepted his offer, introducing herself as Yasae Ajam when he asked for her name, simply calling herself a foreigner instead of him knowing her true name.

Her duties with Haidar were not so much akin to enslavement after some time, and if it were, it was perhaps the most gilded of cages she had ever seen. Haidar had a gambling addiction, namely linked to gladiatorial and arena combat, an addiction that she would help satisfy. She would go with his entourage as a smith, a seat that she did earn with her skills, and cheat for him. Weaken the arms of the others, and bolster magically those of his own slaves. She would get a cut of the profits, albeit small. It was strange, being under the man’s employ. After years of working with him and getting stronger at her magic, and better at her physical craft, she merged them quite well and resulted in Haidar’s local power rising, specifically when she put her skills to help arm the guard and militia against the bandits. Whether they were the ones who struck her family or not was something she could only wonder. Upon her fortieth birthday, in thanks for her efforts, Haidar offered her a selection of bed slaves of which he had now accrued many, of variety of ages, races, and even genders. You’d think there’d only be two genders in that variety, but you’d be wrong. While they were not her own slaves, she did partake in them, securing her position of power in her own eyes. After all, it was only the powerful that had slaves here, therefore she was powerful to use them, correct?

She would be a friend and confidant of Haidar for sixteen years in total. During these times she would accrue her own powers, although he always made sure to keep her just weaker. She was his mage and a cash fountain, and he couldn’t let her be too well known in that regard. His cheating wouldn’t be well seen. Instead, she was a background figure, holding no official title in the holding, and was seen a slave by many, and even was titled as one despite her pleasant and comfortable accommodations, and her influence. With his favour she was able to go on expeditions for ‘treasure’ and ‘power’ for his holding while she remained under watch of his own troops. In truth these were attempts to find her family again, and in both regards were mostly fruitless save for some small caches of gold found in few caves.

These expeditions were cut short after roughly six years of trying, when more than mere banditry began to organize and rise. Goblins under a powerful mage began to wage wars of liberation, and she was sequestered back to the holding of Haidar to make arms for him and his men, so that they could hold off this stronger invasion after it became clear that stronger holdings still were falling. Ill omens indeed for Haidar, and even for Ynari whom thought that these invaders were just as barbarous as Haidar on a bad day, or worse, responsible for the fate and presumed doom of her family, even if they were a revolution in power thirteen years after she last saw any of her kin.

For three years, the holding was at war with the goblins, and it was through her arms that they fought so well, metal slicing through metal when it shouldn’t be capable of so, pushing back the invaders time and again, until they pulled back for some time to focus on other holdings. Such was a temporary reprieve as when they turned their eyes upon the holding, there was nothing they could do. Her magic was nothing compared to theirs. The siege lasted months before they broke in and began to tear the place apart, freeing slaves and the like. Most slaves and others thought she was a slave too, but there were those that knew she wasn’t. For fear of her life, she had to hide who she was. If they knew, they would kill her. She burned and melted and destroyed any sign of her status however hidden it was. She knew she didn’t get everything, but more so couldn’t, she kept for certain the one memory she truly had attached to her family; the hammer for working heated metals… that, unlike the others, she hid within the some of the empty slave quarters. Later, with knife in hand, she stalked to the cells that held the slaves that knew who she really was. She sent the guards away telling them that they were needed elsewhere… and went in, and killed each slave there before piling their corpses upon each other, disposing of the blade, and in the end tore her clothes asunder and threw herself against the walls and ground to make her look beaten, tearing chunks of her own hair out through tears and screams. She was broken, bloody, beaten, half naked, and truly afraid of her life. Despite this all, she felt she would survive this. She crawled into the corpse pile, and waited.

When the liberators did arrive, and saw the sight, there were few words that they could say. They had already killed most of the slave owners, guards, and warriors there. No one was left alive that they could find who knew who she was, other than knowing her as a slave. The liberators came to her, and liberated. They took this girl, obviously violated and thought dead from the pile, so afraid of everything, and they saved her. How useful it was that she had some skills, apparently enslaved to make things at the forge as a smith, but how horrible they had treated her. No, they’d treat her right. This girl, Ynari, they would treat her right, and they would find her former master, the lord of the holding who had managed to escape.

They tended to her wounds, to her pain, and were far nicer than Ynari was actually expecting. Having been so close to a slave and a slave owner, Ynari didn't have a natural vitriol against slavery as they did, but beyond that they were no worse or better than other people. In her mind, slavery was just a thing, ultimately not good nor evil, it was just a part of life here, not a right, just a symbol of power. But these people, these liberators? They were remarkably good, for invaders. The slaves so freed were genuinely free. They weren’t forced then to join the army, they weren’t forced into work. They were free, and more than that they were helped onto what or where they wanted to go. She was suspicious, didn’t leave when others did. No, she’d stay behind and watch what they would do in their war, and also to regain the hammer from hiding. If they were violent and marauding, she’d take them apart from, the inside if she had to. But, no. They were about as good of people as she had ever seen, second only to her family. Wishful in thinking, but wanting to be sure to remain hidden her true self from them, after some months with them she asked them if they knew of any desert dwarves. She told them that before she was enslaved that she and her family were nomadic traders. Unfortunately, while there were those that could recall the traders from decades ago, they hadn’t seen them in years. They were sorry that they couldn’t help more.

Instead, seeing these people as a force of good if not slightly worse, she took to using her skills to help them after some months. With her aid, however little it was in the end, they secured more and more land, and she was handsomely paid for her help. When things slowed down, she moved into one of the larger holds and made a name for herself for her skills at the forge and anvil. She made more tools for the craftsmen, weapons for the guards, and armours for the nobles of afar, trading with Tuleria some. From there, more and more of the world opened up to her, and yet she remained in the Goblin Holds. They held land that last had her family, and so if they were still surface dwellers then they would likely be there, and if they were dead she could still find and honour them with a proper burial.

Yet, at this point she was not capable of affording such searches for too long. She despite this went on a journey to look for herself, eventually arriving by herself at the shore of the Blood Sea. There she met a man, Jabir al-Ebheredem, who claimed to have been a mighty smith in his youth, but his now wrinkled and old form could hardly lift the hammer necessary to pound metal into shape. The sickly decrepit man pulled at Ynari’s empathy, for she as a smith would hate losing this craft from her father. She told him that she is strong, and that she can still use a hammer as he once could. She offered to to take him back to one of the holdings where he can be well and taken care of. Jabir, however, denied this kindness, saying that he couldn’t leave these shores, he only wished he could again forge upon an anvil as proper.

Ynari felt such sorrow for this man that she returned home to acquire as much of her tools as she could travel with, and visited him again. He was still there, feet in the shallows of the blood as when she first saw him. She set up the anvil, and built a kiln and offered her body as his tool to forge something, refraining from acting in a way against what he said. By his words, she produced first a work of her own, camping out there for weeks as the iron ore became ingots became steel. The bar she produced brought a smile to Jabir’s face, and he offered to teach her one of his own techniques. One of the blood.

The technique of coagulation, charring, burning, and refining were unlike those she had seen before, or nary even thought of before. It wasn’t like she never thought of using the blood before in the process, but this technique was special. It tied into her magic, her Forgecraft just as it did Jabir’s. He was a mage as she was. Through the weeks that followed she practised the technique under his eternally watching eyes. Some part of her was sure this man was not just old, but the way he never stepped from the blood… he was dead.

And when she had finally been able to produce the blood steel on her own, he was gone.

Using the techniques from this, she began to amass some wealth, and make a name for herself, even going so far as to change her name once more, from Ynari the Nameless to Ynari el-Haddad, for she was a talented smith. And with her finances on the rise, she sought out with her own full expeditions to find her family, now fifty and two years old, having been within the Goblin Holds for nearly three years, and it having been now almost twenty years since she last saw any of her family. While she did not know where exactly they were when attacked, she did know where she ended up, and so could corner off where they were likely to have been. Fortunately for her, all the lands that she was to search through were under Goblin Holds, and still a ways from the border with the existing Free Holds.

A full year is invested in combing the desert for any sign of her family, their corpses beneath the sand, or any paths to the Underdark that they may have taken to get away. Her efforts were seemingly for naught, until she did discover, almost half buried beneath the sand what appeared to be a massive door. Far larger than would be necessary for a man, for a giant, or even a full dragon. No, this seemed to be a gate that a legion could march out with banners flying, hundreds by hundreds in blocks moving through. The door was stone, and heavy; it was not perfectly safe from their attempts to mine through, despite the strange ancient and eldritch runes that adorned it. Perhaps there was some connection between this door and the recently banished gods? Or perhaps it was more likened to the hells below.

Was it Destiny, Fate, Providence, or simply chance that she found it, and got within? She doesn’t know who could say for certain, but she did know that as soon as the wall was breached that the servants she had hired to help her get in were not to be the ones to go in. She swore she could feel a call from within, and so she descended a precariously hung ladder down deep into the chamber. With her torch she lit a contraption upon the wall that set the flames spiralling across the walls, lighting the massive stone chamber she found herself in.

She does not know what the name of the chamber is, but to her it became the Vaulted Reliquary. A place that she would mention in her writings and notes as she explored it alone in the flickering light that engulfed it. She was sure that while she descended quite a distance, that the height was still less than what she could see within the chamber. Was it bigger on the inside, or were her eyes playing tricks on her within this subterranean shelter? In either case, there was a simple, lonely tomb in the centre of it, atop a small alter. Curiosity pushing her forward, she opened the stone coffin, and found but few bones and dust within it. Whomever was laid here had been long dead, and while she could not tell for certain, she was sure that she wasn’t the first to be here after it was sealed, and with all the strange eldritch symbols about it it wasn’t certain if it was of the banished gods, or if it was tied to the hells, some ancient magic, or whatever.

She took to securing the spot of the Vaulted Reliquary for herself, keeping it mostly a secret, but such things do not really exist in the world when it comes to something so powerful. The location was eventually revealed to the rest of the Goblin Holds after she had only two years to study within it. While it was more rumour than fact, others did manage to come and look through it as well, but her long stance and influence around it made sure that only those she approved of could get through lest they had to use force against her. Word of her find and fortune spread, of course, and when the time for the Queens’ Blades came, she was both an impressive blacksmith, a skill Forgecraft mage, and one who had shown some aptitude or connection to the great powers of the world. Surely, she could help them, although she did insist on payment, and ultimately, help finding her family.

Fafnir the Father
Bound Spirit: Dragon
Description: Here
Upgrades:
--Slot 1 - Leather Wings:Fafnir is now made with leather wings enabling him the ability to fly. This in turn also grants him higher agility and movement speed, at the expense of some of his protective capabilities.
--Slot 2 - Protected Fuel Lines: Fafnir now has protected fuse lines. He is less likely to be disabled due to leaking fuel. This grants a moderate bonus to defense against high damage.
--Slot 3 - Mouth Extended Torch:{/i] Maeven has found a chemical she can spark temporarily to create a fire-breathing effect for Fafnir. This, for brief periods of time can be used as a fire breath attack by him. Extended use could risk doing damage to his own structure or heating those upon his metal surface as it heats up.

Unequipped Augmentations
[i]--Augmented Voicecaster: Fafnir has a terrifying roar. In fact, Maeven has attempted to make it even more terror inducing. Fafnir has a chance to fear his enemies when he begins roaring.

Gem Slot: Bloom can have different gems fixed into place. The effects this can have will change as Maeven discovers new crystals.
Barrel: Bloom has interchangeable barrels that can be swapped out between combat.
--Wide-mouthed: Adds a cone-damage effect.
--Rifle: Adds an accuracy bonus
--Short: Faster reload

Dragon - An ancient spirit capable of powering massive constructs. It has a strong will of its own. Fixed
Fire Mage - A mortal spirit capable of powering larger things. Adds a fire based element to whatever it is socketed to.
Golem - A mortal spirit capable of powering larger things. In a weapon, it tends to add more knockback.
Animal - An animal spirit capable of powering simple things. In a weapon, it tends to silence it.

Born and raised in the seas, near an uninhabitated northern archipelago, she learned the ways of survival both above and below sea-level. Her shoal was not large, but tight-knit, and had regular gatherings with other nearby shoals, selkie, merfolk, or otherwise. So far out at sea, there was very little in the way of interference from the landborne races. However, still young, a merchant convoy from the Free Holds happened upon her archipelago and decided to spend some time there resting, restocking, and taking note of the isles' resources and location for future voyages. Finding the selkies residing there, they offered some trade in exchange for some of the precious ores surrounding a dormant volcano. Not valuing the ores themselves, the selkies readily agreed to the trade.

A couple years later, when she was sixteen years old, a new, larger, and better-armed convoy arrived at their archipelago. These new men made no efforts for trade, and went straight to mining the ores and cutting down trees for lumber.

The selkies approached the merchants and their guards demanding they leave their isles alone, but they refused, threatening the selkies if they interfered. Powerless, the selkies could do nothing but observe as their land was pilfered. In hiding, they eagerly awaited the day when the men would leave them to their peace, but when that day came, they were in for an even worse fate than before. A small troop was sent out to find the selkie hideout and capture some of them as slaves. Once found, they attacked and ruthlessly killed six, capturing two girls and one man.

On the ship, they were chained to the deck and not allowed into the water. Drying up to the sun, it was not long before the three of them had shed their coats. The man, most adept in the use of magic, managed to break himself free of the bonds, but was slain before he could escape with the others. And so it was that they were shipped through Teluria to the Free Holds and sold into the slavery of a brothel in the city of SouthBlood. Trained both physically and mentally, given strict workout regiments and diets—though hers tailored to her amphibious nature—she quickly became one of the many skilled prostitutes of the establishment, often using her empathetic nature to take advantage of her consumers' desires.

Though she, as the years passed, came to accept the hard life fate had given her, her constant companion Eüchia, the selkie two years her younger who'd been captured alongside Aëyr, had fallen into a deep depression. As such, she resolved to break her out. They made it halfway through the city before being caught. To make an example of them to the other slaves and prostitutes, they strung Eüchia at the end of a dock, gave Aëyr a dagger and three options: slit Eüchia's throat, and keep her own life; cut Eüchia loose into the water, and be banished to the desert; or do nothing and spare Eüchia, but be herself flogged to death on display.

Taking the dagger in her hands, she cut Eüchia loose.

They abandoned her naked in the desert, far from other settlements, with no knowledge of where she was. Knowing not what else she could do, she ran in one direction, sleeping during the day and absorbing any moisture she could from the air, with a little help from her meager magical abilities to keep the heat at bay. After three days, she arrived—starved, dehydrated, largely sleep-deprived, and burnt from the sun, at Goblin Hold. They cleaned her up and brought her back to a decent level of health, astounded by her trek across the desert. When she was fit enough to leave, she gratefully took her leave of the Goblin Holds, and with rations to last, she went first to the Imperium, then to the other side of the Blood Sea, and has been wandering since, constantly moving.

Slippery: You are fully aware of what happens if that war hammer the size of a small child hits you square on the chin. You’ve decided to make it a priority to learn how to never let that happen, and while you’re still learning, you understand at least enough to jump back from a blow before it takes off your head.

Dodge!: [Rank 2] As you've refined your instincts, your ability to avoid harm has also grown, and as such whenever an enemy swings at you, there's a solid chance you've already figured out not to be there by the time the swing would connect.

Stealthy: Every journey begins somewhere for the avid stealth expert, and yours is about on par with that of a cut-purse or a minor bugler. You have the basics down, but to learn more will take time and practice.

Endurance Training: After training out in the field for hours and hours on ending, you have come to realize the value of being able to simply last longer than your opponent. This translates into taking a couple more hits before you will go down, and having a higher tolerance to pain... Though, getting hit still hurts, quite a bit actually, and you’re no god.

Acrobatic: You understand the basics of climbing ropes, ascending walls, jumping across rooftops, and rolling when you hit the ground. On the other hand, you’ve only really grasped the basics of it, so jumping a twenty foot chasm while being shot at is not recommended.

Selkie: Selkies are amphibious creatures, living both on land and in the sea. As such, Aëyr has partially webbed appendages that aid her in swimming, and can hold her breath underwater for about an hour. She can handle great pressure so as to dive deep, and can see well both above and below water. Their physiology is also designed to allow them to support the cold of the sea.

---

Going the Distance: A skilled runner, she is both fast and enduring, able to make long treks with great speed and little sustenance.

Burning Fast on an Empty Tank: Even after exhausting herself completely, she can push herself to the same speeds with but a moment's rest.

Teamwork I: You work well with others, and are growing accustomed to doing so. You have a greater chance of success in any action if you perform it with an ally, rather than alone.

Sharpshooter: You've become accustomed to aiming, then firing. Nifty.