Sylphariel'Lin

Sylphariel'Lin, also known as Syl or by her Yirsi-given name, Elyawari, is the bastard daughter of Vatilytan Valenar-Rezuraia, and a newly discovered member of House Rezuraia. Following her father's murder at the hands of the Heartist Cultists during the Battle of the Heart of Zeladar, Sylphariel has travelled to her ancestral home of Anglunia, to join the fray against the returned god Zeladar, and to avenge her father.
== History: ==
=== Early Years ===
Sylphariel'Lin, or Syl, as she is typically called, was born in the Cloudscraper Peaks, the home of the reclusive Dragonkin race, which lies to the far north of Mirau. Her mother died shortly after her birth, from a mysterious illness that was rampant in the Peaks at the time. As her parents were never truly married, Syl is considered to be a bastard, but when called as such, she has a tendency to react with furious violence. For her first five years of life, Syl was raised by her father, her mother, who's identity is unknown, having died shortly after her birth from the plague known as the Blightwind. However, after the start of the Anglunian Civil War, Vatilytan, who worried that his daughter would be used against him, hid the young Syl away in a orphanage, giving her a Rezuraia royal crest, with her Yirsi name, Elyawari, inscribed in its metal, as proof of her identity. Following her father's departure, Syl spent the next eleven years in a Dragonkin orphanage, raising herself, leading to her becoming increasingly self-reliant. Due to her grandmother, Sylpherniel'Elin's status as an exile, and the death of her mother, Syl was deemed one of the Clanless, a group of outcast and exiled Dragonkin, who were forced to live either in the frigid wilderness around Dragonkin cities, or in slums. Growing up, Syl built a kinship with others of the Clanless, as well as nurturing a deep hatred towards the Dragonkin who ostracized her and her peers. A savant with blade and bow, Syl taught herself how to fight, training diligently for years, using her skills to defend herself and her Clanless brethren. In the summer of 201, Vatilytan, Syl's father was killed in a sacrifice by Heartist cultists, who used his death, as well as the death of eleven other Aternians to return Zeladar, the forbidden goddess back to life. News of his death eventually made its way to the Cloudscraper Peaks, where a furious and distraught Syl made a blood oath, a ancient Dragonkin custom, to avenge her father against the Heartists who killed him, as well as the god they served. Departing immediately, Syl travelled to her father's homeland of Mirau, to join the fray against the Heartist cult.
=== Battle of Isaz: ===
Following the disappearance of the Yirsi king, Yinower Eliyawin-Nuwan, a counsel known as "The Moot" was called, in which the various peoples of Anglunia would gather to elect a temporary rule in his absence. Hoping that this meeting would result in action being taken against the Heartists, Syl attended the meeting. However, she was disgusted to find that instead of working towards defeating their foes, the assembled nobles were all plotting and scheming, fighting amongst themselves while the nation fell to ruin around them. Attempting to leave, Syl was stopped by a group of Heartists, who had arrived in Isaz, ambushing the gathered Anglunians, slaughtering many in mere moments, the few remaining guests, including Syl, fighting furiously for their survival. Despite mortally wounding several of her foes, the Heartists, empowered by their god's blessing, refused to die, defeating her with their supernatural strength. In a attempt to escape, and to aid the others who remained, fighting for their lives, Syl goaded several of the Heartists into a chase, leading them away from the other guests, using her gifts to evade capture or death. After a long chase, In which she believed that she had lost her pursuers, Syl stopped to regain her stamina, only to be ambushed from behind, a Heartist cultist plunging a dagger at her heart, mortally wounding her. Left for dead on the side of a road, Syl would be found by Torinn Delmeirev, a Draaken Onsyr, who recognized her as Dragonfolk. Taking her to Ashenvale, Syl would be tended to, before awakening in the unfamiliar city. After waking up, she would meet Torinn, conversing with the Draaken, who Syl gained a measure of respect for. In this exchange, Torinn would aid her quest, as well as offering her insightful advice, regarding her conflicted and muddled identity. Syl would grudgingly thank Torinn for saving her life, before setting out again, using the information he had given her to further her quest for vengeance
=== Meeting with Livya: ===
Following her awakening in Ashenvale, Syl would travel across the land, searching the towns that Torinn had told her of, in order to continue her quest of achieving vengeance against the Heartist Menace. She would travel to Ranniko, and Myrtle, before finally arriving back in Isaz, a city still held by the Heartists, lead by Zeladar's champion, Yinsaghal Eliyawin-Nuwan, brother to the king. Upon arriving in the outskirts of Isaz, Syl would suffer a small emotional crisis, in which she questioned if she was really capable of fulfilling her quest, and avenging her fallen father. She would eventually snap out of it, as a strange feeling would guide her further outside the city, where she would encounter the three armies of the contenders for the Frozen Throne, House Nuwan, House Blizun, and House Lochatlan. Guided by this feeling, Syl would enter the Blizun camp, where she would encounter Livya Dardellan-Lochatlan, one of the two matriarchs of house Lochatlan, who had come to negotiate with Serys Yinower-Blizun. The two would converse, and Syl would explain the circumstances of her father's death, and her quest for vengeance. Livya, blessed by the goddess Melzina, would sense a strange force encouraging her to befriend the young warrior. Livya would promise to aid Syl in her quest, in achieving vengeance, and eradicating the Heartists. Shortly after this encounter, Livya would make a truce with the two other contenders, and the Siege of Isaz would begin.
=== The Siege of Isaz: ===
Following the truce between the three houses, Blizun, Nuwan, and Lochatlan, the three armies would swiftly launch a siege upon the Anglunian capital Isaz, which was under occupation by the Heartists, now branded the Varaya Nei Zeladar. During the siege, Syl would fight alongside Livya's Elites, under the Lochatlan banner. The siege would begin well for the allied houses, with their army quickly securing the outer city, before converging on Isaz Keep, the seat of Anglunian power, and the resting place of the Frozen Throne. However, once they reached the Keep, the dynamic of the battle would quickly shift, as a prepared Yinsaghal would be waiting for the armies in the keep, and upon their arrival, would summon a horde of undead warriors and horrific monsters using dark magics granted to him by his goddess. A quick siege would swiftly become an all out war in the halls of Isaz Keep, with loyalist soldiers fighting desperately for their lives against a seemingly endless tide of eldritch monsters. As the battle progressed, Syl would find herself standing in defense of the Frozen Throne, as a horde of monsters rushed to attack it. All other soldiers having been cut down, or retreated, Syl and two other warriors, Cadon Ironback of the Pale, and Serys Yinower-Blizun, would be the only line of defense between the throne and the horde of monsters. Fighting to the last, they would succeed in fending off the force of undead monsters, although Syl would be wounded over the course of the battle. After a full day of fighting, the Arternaian loyalists would finally claim victory, just barely managing to drive Yinsaghal out of Isaz. 
=== Battle of the Great Ice Tree: ===
Following their costly victory at the siege of Isaz, the loyalist Arternaian forces would press forwards to Rezuraia, Syl's ancestral home, and the seat of Azeras. It would be there that the final battle of the Varayan War would take place. In this final confrontation, the Arternaian loyalists would make their stand atop Mount Arros, defending the Great Ice Tree, in which Livya Dardellan-Lochatlan would perform a ritual to summon the aid of the Arternaia. As soon as the Loyalists reached the Great Ice Tree, however, they would be attacked by the forces of Zeladar, led by Yinsaghal Eliyawin-Nuwan, and his loyal Heartist followers. Set upon by an army of eldritch monsters, the Loyalists would fight desperately, defending the ritual at all costs. Syl would fight at Livya's side during the battle, guarding her back as they climbed the great tree. However, once they reached the top, Syl would end up amid the crossfire of a duel between King Yizawan and his brother Yinsaghal. Enraged by Yinsaghal's presense, the murderer of her father, Syl would attempt to kill the man, only to be easily overpowered by Yinsaghal, and seperated from Livya. Forced off the top of the Great Ice Tree, Syl would attempt to fight her way back up the tree, felling monster after monster in her humiliated fury. Despite her rage, however, Syl would be stopped before she could reach the top, as she was attacked by a Varayan warrior, the very same who had nearly killed her during the ambush at Isaz. Despite her best efforts, she would be unable to defeat the once-human creature, who threw her backwards with supernatural strength, breaking several of her ribs. He would continue his assault, repeatedly slamming his sword into hers, in an effort to keep her down, and finally put an end to her. After one too many blows, Syl's blade, Ireseraia, would finally shatter, destroyed by the repeated supernaturally strong blows.
As Syl lay prone on the bloodied snow, still clinging to her last shreds of defiance, the Varayan would lift his blade and swing, attempting to finish her. However, he would be stopped by an impossible vortex of wind, which wrapped around Syl like a shield, protecting her. In this moment, Syl would discover inside of her a innate magic, a power she had always possessed, a power that had not been seen among the Dragonkin for centuries: She could feel and hear the voice of the winds, and speak to them in turn. The voice of the winds would speak in her mind, naming her The Skybreaker, a child of the ancient Dragons. Beaten down by her failures, Syl would finally voice her self-doubts, that she was too weak to fight, that she couldn't avenge her father, or protect the people she had come to care about. She didn't believe that she was worthy of the power she had been born to, that she was not truly Dragonkin or Yirsi. The wind would encourage her, whispering that she had the soul of a dragon, even if she was part Yirsi. With the voice of the winds singing in her mind, Syl would more or less come to terms with her dual nature, and choose to continue fighting, rather than give up and die. Beneath the snow where she lay, she would discover an ancient trident, a weapon of the Yirsi of the Age of Heros, made from purest diamond, as well as a dragon tooth hook at it's end. Standing defiant, with the wind swirling in a vortex around her, Syl would rejoin the fray, throwing the Varayan who had defeated her back in a whirlwind of snow and leaves. Syl would make her way up the Great Ice Tree once more, where she would continue to aid Livya, fighting off monsters in a storm of wind and blade. Finally, in a climactic turning point, Livya would complete the ritual, summoning forth the Aid of the Arternaia. Standing atop the tree, Syl would watch as Yinsahgal, freed from the control of Zeladar, would surrender. Much to Syl's fury and indignation, Yizawan would choose to spare Yinsaghal, locking him in the Rezuraia dungeons to await trial. Following Yinsaghal's imprisonment, Zeladar would manifest, bound by her fellow gods, as Yizawan smote her with Yirsi Yakki, finally putting an end to her meddling.
Following the battle, Syl would once again meet with Livya, in their shared tent. Her goal of vengeance finally fulfilled, and her anger and desire for revenge burnt out, she would be forced to acknowledge her grief. Livya, who had also seen much loss in her life, would counsel the young warrior, advising her to let go of her anger, and accept that her father was dead, but to remember that he was not truly gone. With this advice, Syl would finally be able to bid her father farewell, and to move on with her life, now free to do as she wished.
== Appearance ==
Syl is a Mixed-Blood, inheriting features from both her Dragonkin mother and Half-Blood father, and her father's Yirsi side. Being more Dragonkin than Yirsi, her draconic features are far more pronounced than her fathers had been. Unlike her father, she is able to breath fire, a gift that all dragonkin posses, although her fire is weaker than most, due to her Yirsi blood. 
=== Physical Appearance: ===
Syl is of middling height, as Dragonkin and Yirsi share a similar stature. She has a slender build, which displays her lean, lithe strength. She has grey eyes, which depending on the light (and perhaps her mood), can appear to be shades of silver, or the color of a looming thundercloud. Her hair, like her father's, is curly and raven black, a color not normally seen in Yirsi, which she wears free and unbound. From her Yirsi blood, Syl has sky blue skin, and sharp pointed ears, as well as the blue blood customary to the race. Her much more prominent Dragonkin heritage shows itself in her dragon horns, which coil elegantly from her temples, the silver scales that run in sharp, arrow like patterns across her body, and the smoke that she exhales when frustrated or distressed. Like all Dragonkin, she has a set of sharp canine teeth, and a sinuous tail, which is covered with the same white scales as the patterns across her body. Syl dislikes the finery and other such clothing nobles wear, and typically is seen wearing Dragonkin garb. She wears a wrap made of a roll of thin leather strip over her upper chest, and sturdy black leather trousers, made with unknown methods to be as soft and flexible as cloth. 
== Personality: ==
Personality wise, Syl shares many traits with her father, although she tends towards extremes. Chief among these shared traits is her instinctive defiance, particularly towards authority figures. However, unlike her father, who was capable of following orders in some circumstances, Syl adamantly refuses to be ordered about, particularly if she does not agree with the orders given. Syl is also extremely passionate, bursting with emotions, which often influence her decisions more than her rational mind. This is not to say that she is unintelligent, however, as when not ruled by her passions, Syl is keen-minded and crafty, with a wit as sharp as any sword. A extremely talented warrior with both bow and sword, she tends to be easily provoked to violence, her hot-headed temperament often leading her to confrontation. Syl is slow to forgive, and often holds grudges for years. She is also extremely loyal, to both her family, her people, and those few who she calls friends, fighting with the fury of a feral dragon on their behalf.
Category:House Rezuraia
Category:Anglunia
Category:Traveler's Era