Lyra

Lyra (born Mara 19th 1908 AG) served as an Agent of Nature, alongside Nova and Rynni, from 1926 to 4322 AG. They were responsible for repairing damages to the universe and went on to orchestrate the last stand against the corrupt Gods. They were also the guardian of the magical island Cressida, on which they lived a majority of their immortal life.
Lyra first appeared in November 2021 on the server QuartzCraft 1.
==Character History==
===Sheltered Youth (1908-1924 AG)===
Lyra was born in the flourishing trade town of Mirstone (MEER-stone), the sole child of wealthy land owners.
Lyra lived peacefully in Mirstone their entire childhood, receiving an extensive education as per their parents’ wishes. Their parents wished for them to join in high society, and as such included topics that ranged from etiquette to ballroom dancing. All the things a proper young socialite would need in this world.
Lyra’s parents were known for their strict and possessive parenting style, fearful of losing their sole heir. As such, they assigned guards to Lyra and attempted to keep them within the walls of the sprawling family estate. In their eyes, their child wanting for nothing and being kept under watchful eyes equaled good parenting. Lyra, however, was curious and quick witted, creating several hidden exits and tunnels dotted across the estate. They would disappear for hours on end, often while their parents were out on business or attending cocktail parties, slipping their bodyguards and mingling amongst the neighborhood children. Those were the only times Lyra felt like they could breathe.Their parents attempted to curb this behavior, enraged by Lyra’s disregard for their concerns, but gave up after a few years, conceding to Lyra’s restless nature—though they never truly accepted it. It was filed under the assumption Lyra would “grow out of it eventually.”
In these early escapades, Lyra became close friends with two children from town, Nova and Rynni, a pair of free spirited siblings in which Lyra found companionship and acceptance. The trio quickly gained a reputation. If one was in sight, you could bet the other two were just around the corner ready to stir up some hell. Some notable examples include: Trampling crops during an extended hide-an-seek marathon, Rynni setting a horse loose in the town square (accidentally or on purpose, she wouldn’t tell), Nova stealing their neighbors chicken and teaching it to swear before returning the fowl, and Lyra starting the Great Melon Massacre of 1920 AG with a runaway cart.
===A Brush with Crimson (1925 AG)===
When Lyra was 17 years old, Mirstone was swallowed by The Crimson Death, a deadly plague with little chance of survival. First, people developed a consistent, hacking cough, which within the span of around seven days would develop into hematemesis, hemoptysis, melena, internal bleeding, severe abdominal pain, and hematidrosis. Patients suffered greatly before quickly passing away from shock, blood loss, and dehydration. The mechanism of spread was unknown at the time, but in centuries since has been classified as a Respiratory Droplet Infection.
In the wake of the rising death toll, the surviving townsfolk revolted against the rich, attacking the gates of Lyra’s family home. They begged and demanded for safety within the walls. Most thought that the estates seclusion kept it safe, untouched by the ravages of illness. After many days the protesting became violent, with many villagers attacking the few remaining guards. Time was running out and it was felt everywhere. 
Lyra watched from the estate in fear, wanting to help the people of their community. However, their parents refused any negotiation and kept the gates sealed. “It’s us above all else,” Lyra’s mother said in an attempt to be comforting. “We can only take care of ourselves right now. I won’t lose you to this sickness.”
Using one of Lyra’s tunnels, Nova and Rynni snuck onto the estate. Both their parents had perished, having begged their children to flee the town and avoid infection as long as they could. The two pleaded with Lyra to join them, unwilling to leave without the final member of their trio. They’d already lost their parents and refused to leave Lyra behind to die too.
Lyra, reluctant to abandon their family, told their parents of the plan, pointing out that the town was rapidly falling apart and that they should all escape together while it was still possible. Lyra’s family, however, refused, stating that “waiting everything out” was the only way to survive. Lyra knew they truly believed that, and Lyra wanted to believe it too, but they couldn’t. The corpses in the streets told a harsher truth.
Refusing to simply stay put and wait for death, Lyra joined Rynni and Nova, escaping the now-dwindling guard and trekking into the deep forest just west of town. It was an impulsive and tragic goodbye to everything they’d known, but a necessary one.
The three spent many weeks struggling to survive the elements. They built a makeshift shelter, and Nova taught Lyra how to forage for food. Both Rynni and Nova had been taught some basic survival skills, and they both tried to bring Lyra up to speed as fast as they could. For all Lyra’s great qualities, at the end of the day they were still a pampered rich kid.
Weeks later, they made their way back to Mirstone, having run out of food. They knew it was dangerous to return, but having no other choice, the trio, cold and tired, reluctantly made the trip.
They returned to a ghost town. Bodies littered the streets where the last survivors had fallen and given up, and a mass grave piled high with corpses sat just at the edge of town. Blackened blood stained the town’s cobblestone pathways, vultures circling the scent of death and decay. 
The trio looted what they could.
Lyra alone returned to the estate, finding the gates broken down and the front door bashed in. There were dead people strewn about everywhere, and because of that Lyra avoided entering the main house, instead circling the side and peeking through windows. It was bad enough outside, they couldn’t imagine entering a confined space.
They found their parents bodies in the dining room, faces distorted with anguish and ruined in decay. Unable to stomach the sight, Lyra retreated back to their companions.
===Agents of Nature (1926 AG)===
Returning to the woods, Lyra and their friends struggled to survive as the months slugged by. The meager supplies they looted from town came and went quickly. One cold winter night, huddled together for warmth in a cave and on the verge of death, Nature found them. 
Maybe if it was someone else, they wouldn’t have understood that the light breeze blowing leaves around the cave was a message. But it wasn’t someone else, it was Lyra, and they did understand. And they said yes.
With a touch, their hunger and their fear lifted. Cold fingers and noses warmed and frozen lungs softened. Rynni, having lost consciousness for multiple days, who was hanging onto life by a thread by that point, woke up. She was good as new. They all were.
And that’s when they learned the true history of the world.
====The True History of the World====
When the universe first formed, many, many eon ago, nature was in perfect balance and all things were as they were should be. To maintain this balance, six Gods arose from the primordial soup, fully formed, splendid, and gregarious, to act as agents of nature. Guardians of the balance. They were bestowed with numerous powers to aid in their purpose, including true immortality and complete power over space and matter. But total power… it corrupts, and the Gods eventually abandoned their purpose. Instead of protecting it, they wanted to rule the world they were meant to care for. They took control over the existing lands, abusing their vast powers to bend the universe to their will. This twisting of power skewed the natural balance and threw Nature off course. As a noncorporeal force, Nature couldn’t do anything to undo these mistakes, and so the world trucked on under the Gods and their infinite grip… until now, when three lost souls were dying in a cave. For whatever reasons, nature felt this was a chance at something that could change the trajectory of the world, and to finally restore the cosmic balance.
Lyra, Nova, and Rynni were granted immortality, with each of their powers tied to a different elemental force. Lyra, Nova, and Rynni were immortal, but not invincible like the Gods. It was the Gods invulnerability that made them what they are, so when giving powers to the trio Nature held back. They didn’t age, but could still be killed. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.
Lyra’s power drew from the Sun, their eyes glowing a molten orange.
Nova’s power drew from the Earth, his eyes gleaming a rich emerald.
Rynni’s power drew from the Water, her eyes sparkling a deep ocean blue. 
With their home destroyed and everyone they had ever known dead, they accepted the mission, thankful to be alive and excited to see where this epic journey would take them.
===Balance and Parenthood (1927-2400 AG)===
At some point after getting their powers, Lyra returned to Mirstone for a final time to bury their parents.
For the following four centuries, the trio traveled the world, taking the time to explore and master their powers while slowly soothing the distortions they came across. When completely in-tune with nature, they could feel these disturbances, like a darkness wrapped around the bones of reality. The Influence of the Gods could be seen in a ripple effect across the seas, from a town succumbing to the Crimson Death in a matter of days, to supernova-like storms desecrating the shores. The trio used their powers to heal the cracks and distortions in nature as best they could, all while trying to remain undetected. To be discovered by a God would be to court death, and the fate of the universe would fall back into jeopardy. 
In 2329 AG, with the birth of Nova and Lyra’s daughter Cari, the trio settled into the small forest town of Riveria for most of Cari’s childhood, taking many short, periodic trips to continue their mission. Cari, while the child of immortals, was fully human, and she had a childhood surrounded by magic and whimsy. Lyra did everything they could to make sure Cari had a wonderful life, and she did. Cari spent her adult life caring for the children in town and became an avid storyteller. People would come from miles around to hear one of Cari’s sprawling tales. She died in 2400 AG, at the age of 71, and the loss was so devastating that Lyra knew they should never have another child, because they wouldn’t survive that pain a second time.
===The Islands (2471 AG)===
Lyra sensed the Islands in a moment of great need. The trio traveled to them in haste, finding them to be sources of great power, and knew they were the only safe havens remaining. The Gods had been on their trail after a particularly public soothing of unstable magic that left the local’s chattering away. To avoid being found out and executed, they hid on these islands, shrouded from the outside world.
Nova chose to live on the Southernmost island, Artemsia; Rynni felt a strong connection to the smallest island, Reiddosa; and Lyra decided to stay on Cressida, the centermost island.
Lyra spent decades studying the history of these islands, exploring and learning how their immense magic worked. They eventually concluded that the magic could be redirected or “rewired” and thus harnessed as a weapon or power source. They’d spent centuries trying to undo the damage the Gods had done, but it wasn’t enough and they all knew it. The Gods had to be stopped and their new homes could be the answer. Lyra observed and spoke at length with the spirits Icky, Sticky, and Ba, and how they were bound and trapped in statue form.
The plan formed quickly: One island’s power to trap the Gods in place, another to bind the Gods’ powers, and the last to seal the spell. It would take a very long time to rewire the pure islands’ magic to aid in this purpose, but they were determined. This plan could be the only way to truly fix their world.
===Friends at the Edge of the World===
The last thing Lyra expected was to make more friends.
====Pinkbeard (3322-? AG)====
During an intense sea storm, the pirate ship The Wicked Folly crashed on the shore behind Lyra’s home in 3222 AG. Pinkbeard, an infamous pirate, was the only survivor. Having originally planned to loot the island and sail back out to sea, he was dismayed to learn his ship was damaged beyond repair.
Bitter, he resentfully set up camp on the beach beside his ship and argued with Lyra for months about wanting to leave. He wanted to go back to his pirating empire but rebutted any offers from Lyra to help him achieve this. Eventually Lyra realized that he didn’t want to go back, and that ending up here was his escape.
They spent the last decades of Pinkbeard’s life as close friends, enjoying the island and all its miracles together. He wasn’t such a bad guy in the end, and Lyra held his memory close after he was gone.
====Mirabel (3559-3611 AG)====
Mirabel washed up on the shores of Cressida in 3559 AG after her boat capsized off the mainland. Lyra sensed her presence, tracked her down, and was immediately infatuated with the awe and wonder this new person was experiencing as they explored the island.
They became fast friends and despite Lyra offering to return her to the mainland, Mirabel instead asked if she could stay. The young woman felt like there wasn’t much for her back in her old life and was excited by all the possibility here. Together they built her a small home on the western hills. Lyra was secretly happy for the company since they were still mournful over losing Casper. It’d been lonely since.
Mirabel died in her sleep in 3611 AG. Lyra buried her outside behind the chair swing, facing the ocean she loved so much.
===Abandon All Hope... (3612-4321 AG)===
For many centuries, the trio reworked the magic of their Islands, with Cressida chosen as the magical ‘Heart’ of their “God-Killing Machine” (as Rynni liked to call it). However, as the years passed by, it became increasingly hard to ignore that their plan might kill them too. There was no way to differentiate some immortals from other immortals, so when the Heart activated... it'd be a clean sweep. To save the world in this way they'll have to sacrifice themselves.
Nova and Rynni started to lose faith in their new mission because of this. Rynni began to focus on the old mission of trying to maintain balance while Nova completely gave up pretending, instead living a hedonistic lifestyle while ignoring his responsibilities. It’s not that he stopped caring, he just didn’t see any point in fighting a losing war, especially if it means killing himself.
Lyra went forward with the plan on their own, determined to make the plan work, no matter the cost to themselves.
Sometime during the 3900’s Lyra wandered through a blood-soaked battlefield and found an abandoned General’s jacket. They took the black cloth and went on to wear it for centuries as a reminder of the imbalance of the world.
===Enter the Gods (4322 AG)===
On their own, Lyra decided to do a full test of the Heart of the Islands project. They trekked to the center cavern and connected spiritually with the Heart, activating the quote-on-quote machine. It created a surge of power so strong that it bypassed Cressida’s protective Runestones entirely and alerted the Gods themselves, giving away the trio’s position and revealing the Islands to them. The shrouding that had protected them for so long had been completely destroyed.
The first God arrived on Cressida in moments, flanked by their Demigod lackies: Consol, the oldest, elusive, and most destructive of the Gods. Lyra met them on the grounds outside their home and Consol immediately snapped their fingers, causing all the Runestones on Cressida to crumble. The God laughed and taunted Lyra for their hubris. Surely they didn’t think they could hide forever?
Lyra attempted to fight. They blasted Consol with a beam of pure sunlight, but it did nothing. The God let Lyra get their blows in, all of them to no avail, before laughing once again. Lyra wanted to fly away, to run and cower and hide, but they knew there was no point. Not anymore. There was nowhere left in all the universe where the Gods couldn’t find them now.
Consol then went into a long rant about Nature and rebelling against the things that want to control you. “We fought back against Nature and its oppressive hold over this universe. We liberated you meat puppets from the primordial soup, and now you dare do Nature’s bidding? To destroy us?”
All Lyra could do was let out a shaky breath, feeling as though all they had done was for nothing. They were a failure, all because of some hail mary plan that clearly was never going to work. If Lyra had just focused on the original mission, followed Rynni’s lead, then maybe they wouldn’t be about to die.
The first ripple from Artemsia forced Lyra to their knees. Nova landed beside them in a flash and apologized for his lateness. Lyra embraced him, overcome with joy at not being alone. “You shouldn’t have done the test without us,” he chastised. Lyra shrugged in reply, “would you have come if I asked?” They both knew the answer, but it no longer mattered. What mattered was that he was there now.
Consol attempted to snap their fingers, but they couldn’t. Their body unable to move, held in place by the magic flowing from Artemsia. Consol and the Demigods squirmed, all failing to break through the magic holding them still. As if on cue, all the other Gods started appearing around Consol: Cas, Stru, Lear, the Conductor—all of them, even some Lyra wasn't aware of! Every God was on their way… the Heart was doing its job!
Nova stood beside Lyra as the last Gods appeared, one by one dragged to Cressida by the magical Heart and locked into place. In seconds all seven Gods were trapped. A rumble from the North alerted them to the activation of Reiddosa. Rynni floated down and smiled at Lyra and her brother as the magic from the second island swirled around the Gods and their children, forcing them to their knees as their immense power was finally bound, stripping them of their titles.
Lyra took Nova and Rynni’s hands as Cressida sprung to life. The Heart went into its final phase and the entire ocean was consumed in a blinding white light, unlike anything that would ever be seen again.
===Valhalla===
When the light fades, much to everyone’s surprise, they’re all still alive. The Gods immediately try to use their powers, but there’s no powers left to use. It’s all gone. The Gods and their children are just regular old humans now; left to live and die in total obscurity, as nature intended.
The trio are also human again. With their purpose fulfilled, Nature gifted them with their mortality. They can go forward living their lives however they choose, unburdened by an endless life. One island to trap the gods, one island to bind them, and one to free the world… and them, it turns out. 
===Is This What Time Feels Like? (Onward)===
After everything, Lyra and the others decided to stay on the islands. No longer being able to fly to the mainland, Lyra built boats so the trio could travel again. They named theirs The Wicked Folly II, a homage to their long-gone friend.
After the Gods were gone, the world slowly began to heal itself. This resulted in some chaotic times, especially when it came to weather. In 4323 AG, Lyra and Nova were attending The Farewell Festival in a very prominent town. It was one of their first excursions from the Islands since the Binding. As things truly kicked off, the entire city was engulfed in a sudden flood that filled the whole valley. The flood was devastating and the city never truly recovered from the damage. It was one of many catastrophes that occurred as nature slowly returned itself to balance.
Lyra met Edric Everhart, an artist, while on a trip to Mycelia. The two married months later, and he moved to Cressida to be with them. Together they had three children, triplets named Reza, Vella, and Bosco, who had magical childhoods on the island and were very close to Aunt Rynni and Uncle Nova.
==Powers and Abilities==
Lyra's gifts were returned to Nature after the binding of the Gods, and are therefore their former powers.
*Ultraviolet Energy Projection: With their powers drawing from sunlight, Lyra could project incredibly powerful bright energy from their hands. Their energy attacks produced both thermal energy and highly explosive results on contact.
*Flight: Lyra had the ability to fly and harnessed it to make daily life more convenient.
*Enhanced Strength: Lyra was at least doubly as strong as a regular human, a gift they used often when redirecting the magic on Cressida.
*Immortality: Lyra didn't age, and has lived for two thousand+ years. Unchecked they could've reasonably gone on forever.
*Energybending: Lyra had the ability to attune into the fabric of nature and heal the energies of the universe that had been twisted and corrupted by the Gods. This also gave them the power to manipulate magic at its core.
===Weaknesses===
*Vulnerability: When Nature granted Lyra and her friends their powers, they were allowed to live immortally but were still left vulnerable to injury and death. This meant if they were to suffer from a mortal wound, they could still perish from it.
==Trivia==
*The music that played (according to me lol) when Consol first arrived on Cressida was White Diamond from the Steven Universe soundtrack, because of it's unnatural and tinny tones.
*Edric Everhart is a descendant of Casper Branning aka Pinkbeard, having the pirate's infamous pink hair that was in turn passed down to Reza.
*Credits: Lyra was drawn by Reese. Nova and Rynni were drawn by Zkye. Cari was drawn by Eve. Pinkbeard was drawn by avoidghost. The triplets were drawn by uchizen. Additional text was written by Preet.