Aksinya would not want to be remembered as the frail, horribly ill child she once was, but rather the capable hunter who wandered the wilderness with keen savoir-faire. The tireless ranger who gave a bow when needed, with no question of reward. She seeks not praises, but a life well lived—in both aiding the deserving and in being one with herself.

Though, she cannot deny wondering about the kteyat vyshkiy decorating her arms and legs. They kept her alive when she was young. But how else had it affected her?

Her tale began in desolate Beel'ekray, a village deep with the mountainous regions of cold Adnastrana. A humble place; a simple place—filled with hunters and foragers alike. Life proved harsh, but the people became stronger for it. In all respects, ‘twas peaceful.

However, when a nasty outbreak of bolezn’rebenka, a malady that only affects the young, befell Aksinya, her parents worried. True stout and brave hunters, Dalibor and Evgeniya, did not remain idle long. They took the feverish child deep within the mountains, where giants once reigned.

In the colossal caves, her parents used any herb to ease the pain and prayed that the isolation and Aksinya’s will would save her. Less than a tenday after she was taken from Beel’ekray, a tall and gnarled old man propositioned the fretful pair.

He claimed to be the last of the kteyat vyshe, and he was willing to perform a ritual that would either save Aksinya… or end her.

Dalibor and Evgeniya did not hesitate.

The old, supposed, giant chanted in a harsh language the Adnastranans did not recognize and wrote on the ill girl’s arms, with his very lifeblood, chirography much akin to the kteyat vyshkiy sagas fading on the cavernous walls.

At first, nothing changed.

But as the old man withered further, the girl’s condition stabilized. And as the last giant perished, the girl opened her eyes. Aksinya only complained that “her bones hurt.”

Overjoyed that their only child yet lived, the couple made haste for Beel’ekray. The village, however, did not share such a sentiment. Their hearts hearts mourned. Their ears disbelieved the story of the life-saving giant. Their ire fell upon Aksinya, and her outlandish—now permanent—markings on her body. For Aksinya Ignatiev was the only survivor of that plague.

Seen as both an ill-omen and the cause of the bolezn’rebenka, the young girl was cast out. Having no stomach for the heartlessness of their fellows, Dalibor and Evgeniya departed with their daughter, living in the wilds; traveling the lands; raising their heir to never turn aside a person due to mere superstition.

Aksinya grew up happy albeit anomalous. Even as petite adult—as the illness significantly stymied her growth—her bones still ache, and she keeps her markings hidden under bandages.