Iliskra the Callous
 Art by Nerva1 on DeviantArt.___________________________________ P R O F I L E Age 22 Years Old (Born in 1350 DR.) Race Half-Elf Sex Female Height 5’10” (177.8 cm) Weight 125 lbs (56.699 kg) ___________________________________ I N V E N T O R Y (Notable Items) - Bag of Holding - Camping Supplies & Rations - Potions of Invisibility - Potions of Cat’s Grace - Philters of Love - Potions of Sleep - Antidote - Potions of Cleansing ____________________________________ E Q U I P M E N T ____________________________________ | ____________________________________________________________________________ APPEARANCE Iliskra is a half-elf of Chondathan human and wood elf parentage, her features heavily favoring those of her father - a dark-haired wood elf with “deep olive” skin, Iliskra’s own flesh tone being slightly lighter due to her Chondathan mother. Iliskra is lithe and notably curvaceous in form with sharp features typical of elf-bloods. While not brutish she is athletic in build with fine cords of muscle gracing her body from years of survival and combat training. Her eyes are emerald green and her firm brow and chiseled visage give her a look of sincerity with a glaze of “impish” intent - the half-elf able to freeze or melt hearts with a single expression. ____________________________________________________________________________ BACKSTORY The bastard half-elf daughter of a promiscuous Cormyrean noblewoman and a wood-elf mercenary, Iliskra came into the world disadvantaged and quite unwanted - her birth both a direct inconvenience to her mother and a stain on the noble houses’ honor as Iliskra’s mother was already betrothed to a Cormyrean Purple Dragon Knight of great merit and esteem. A betrothal that was called off the very day Iliskra was born. While her “family” could not find it in themselves to heartlessly kill or otherwise do away with Iliskra it was a general consensus she was illegitimate and a mistake. Iliskra was placed in the care of a midwife at the estate and treated as a ward up until her sixth birthday when her mothers’ father finally snapped and had the half-elf child sent away as the very sight of her was a constant reminder of his own daughters’ foolish, lustful actions. Dignitaries and other visiting nobles would often query on and spread gossip about the presence of Iliskra which naturally worsened things. A week after turning six years old Iliskra was sent to the great city of Arabel in northern Cormyr where she would spend the next twelve years of her life. Sadly, life in Arabel was even worse for Iliskra. She was placed in a small orphanage run by a disgraced priest of Ilmater with a drinking problem. He more often than not turned away those who would come to adopt and would fly into drunken rages and beat the children to serious injury and threaten them to stay silent when anyone came calling. At age ten Iliskra ran away from the orphanage and took to the streets, surviving off of handouts from the temple of Tymora, begging on the corners, and in time stealing. On occasion she would run with groups of other street urchins to raid food stalls and storehouses, though usually Iliskra had to fend for herself as most of these groups of adolescent thieves were locals and cared little for the half-elf outsider. As the years passed by Iliskra’s streetwise savviness grew to serve her well. At sixteen years of age she would become a swift cutpurse and shoplifter while also performing various menial jobs around the city of Arabel from letter couriering to working as a scullery maid at an inn. One night at the inn where she worked Iliskra’s life would change drastically when she made the mistake of trying to cut the wrong man’s purse under a table - said man being a member of a thieves guild from another city. The thief wrested Iliskra away and out of sight much to her terror as she feared he would knife her then and there. However, the thief was quite impressed that the young half-elf nearly got away with robbing him and instead of killing Iliskra he offered to take her away from Arabel and back to his city where she might join his guild. Iliskra agreed in short order and the following morning she and the thief left Arabel for the city of Tilverton. Iliskra would be taken by her shadowy new friend to the man known as Artur “the Fat Man” Grossman - a morbidly overweight and lecherous crime lord that ran the Rogues of Tilverton, the cities’ guild of thieves and other shadowy miscreants. Despite Artur’s glaringly misogynistic attitude towards women and doubt in their ability as thieves and fighters Iliskra was allowed to join the Rogues of Tilverton - in part because of the appeal made by Frostur, the man who recruited Iliskra back in Arabel, and also because of Artur being rather entranced by the pretty, young half-elf. Artur’s daughter Lharae would take a particular interest in Iliskra and take the latter under her wing seeing potential in her. Lharae would teach Iliskra how to infiltrate, gather information, and pick up leads on marks and how to use her good looks and proper charms to her advantage. Frostur meanwhile would take the time to tutor Iliskra in both melee fighting and the use of arcane magics as a thief as well as how to better survive in the city streets and the wilderness. While she suffered no shortage of growing pains so to speak Iliskra would prove to be an attentive student and fast learner much to the approval of her two mentors and the guild as a whole. Iliskra would become one of the finest of the Rogues of Tilverton, a top “earner” that would develop a reputation as a skilled shadow and a trustworthy informant. - Or at least as trustworthy as a thief could be. Iliskra became a natural at using stealth to hit a mark, and when her sneaking talents were not enough her employ of potions, magic, and even seduction would finish the job. Iliskra would serve her guild perhaps not faithfully but “acceptably well”. She was never shy about taking extra for herself and filching items or gold that she thought she could get away with. While she did raise the suspicion of her fellows more than once she was never caught or otherwise proven to be “off the level” and thus remained with the Guild, at least for a time. In 1372 DR, Iliskra’s fourth year with the Rogues of Tilverton, the Realms would be shaken to the core by the return of the Netherese - the Archwizards and their Shadovar launching an invasion of Faerûn. By this time Lharae Grossman had taken over the guild after the disappearance of her father and the Rogues looked to her for guidance amid this uncertain crisis. The Rogues went about their business, continuing their usual affairs in Tilverton as Lharae did not believe the Netherese would focus on a small city. However, in the month of Mirtul the Shadovar would in fact descend upon Tilverton forcing the population to hastily evacuate while Cormyr and the Dalelanders rallied a desperate defense against the brutal Netherese. In the confusion of the flight from Tilverton, Iliskra would be separated from her guild - later learning that many of her fellows were apprehended on the road and imprisoned in Arabel and Suzail farther to the south. Iliskra did not know what became of Lharae or Frostur, searching for them when she could not reach the others. After Tilverton was ultimately destroyed during the struggle for the city Iliskra was forced to accept the harsh reality that the Rogues were no more. Those that had not been executed or jailed had scattered to the winds and sought new refuge and employment, and it was time for her to do the same. After one last failed search for Lharae and Frostur in the surrounding region Iliskra headed eastward into the Dalelands to start anew - however that might be done. ____________________________________________________________________________ PERSONALITY As a child Iliskra was filled with turmoil and a bitterness that grew with her. Between the disdain and abuse she suffered from her mothers’ family and the head of the orphanage she was sent to - as well as from the other children - Iliskra did not experience warmth or affection as a young girl. After finally running away from the orphanage living in the streets hardened her young heart even more and taught her to be wary and watchful of all around her. Iliskra’s self and survival were foremost, no one and nothing else mattered. This outlook stuck with her well into her late adolescence, helping shape her into the young lawbreaker that she would become - stealing from shopkeepers after delivering letters to them and picking the pockets of priests that offered her a hug after handing her a loaf of bread. When Iliskra met Frostur and was taken in by the Rogues of Tilverton she would become more disciplined - the bitterness and seething of a troubled young life chiseled away and replaced with a sharp, cold, analytical sense. While she no longer clung so tightly to the grudge that came with the struggles of her childhood she retained the lessons they taught her. She retained her outlook that herself came first, even when offering her service to the Rogues of Tilverton. She sees all things in a light of how much value is offered to her. Every relationship, every alliance, every partnership - all are weighed in their benefits and risks. Though not sadistic and deliberately cruel, Iliskra is not above acts that many would call cruel to achieve her goals and get what she wants. She always prefers that matters be kept clean and easy moving but when necessary she is willing to do less than commendable things, be it slitting throats or blackmailing a source of information with the lives of loved ones. Exteriorly Iliskra comes off at first as very pointed, no-nonsense, and harshly distant. Though in time when she develops a more positive connection or “working relationship” with someone she opens up, engaging in friendly banter and making the offhand joke. Despite this she is always mindful of those around her, of their interests and worries, their strengths and weaknesses. “Always know your own cards and the cards that others hold.” Lharae had taught her. Even when in apparent closeness with someone else Iliskra always has a knife up her sleeve, sometimes figuratively and always literally. It is this that earned her the nickname “the Callous”. ____________________________________________________________________________ MISC (OOC) Notable Adventures : NA/TBA |
