Anastasia Arzellan

Anastasia Arzellan was a potter artisan working in the family business in Zweiwig. They specialised in luxury porcelain dishes, adorned with flowery art, beloved by the local nobility. For a family of potters, they were very well off, allowing Anastasia to receive noble-like education. Despite very young age, she was talented in pottery, apparently inheriting the talent from her parents. The pottery she made was unusually sturdy, like it was made of steel. Her mom Maria would tell her that she was blessed by the Schoyna, the God of Art herself, to make Anastasia’s pottery last forever. 
== The Sealing Urn ==
During the night, Maria would lock herself in her study, after which ominous noises could be heard. Little Anastasia was always worried about her mother during those hours, but Maria refused to answer any questions related to the room, since she wasn't "old enough". Anastasia first entered the room, on her 18th birthday when Maria declared she was mature to learn her secret. It was a workshop of sorts, with a big safe in the back, and on shelves stood dozens of masterwork pottery, and what could be described as a sea of pottery shards covering half of the floor. Maria reached towards the safe, and after unlocking it, she revealed the contents - a large and most beautiful urn Anastasia ever saw, adorned with a complicated flower design, stood inside. Why would such a beautiful urn be locked away for no one to see? Maria revealed the truth: father of Maria, and grandfather of Anastasia, Casimir, succumbed to Hythyr's curse turning him into a Walking Nightmare - a servant of the Daemon Lord. Insite this very urn, he was sealed, until Maria finds a way, or finds someone to cure him at last. Such sealing method was only possible because of Schoyna's blessings, so only the most intricate, most masterfully made pottery was to be used, for the God of Art made the best pieces of art indesctructible. Then, one needed to conduct a ritual to seal the nightmare, but that was outside of Anastasia's area of expertise.
== The Second Sealing Urn ==
One night, an unusual ruckus could be heard in her parents bedroom. Anastasia carefully approached the doors, and peeked through the keyhole. All she could see is darkness and within it a black creature with multiple red eyes. The doors to the family workshop were wide open, and inside stood her father Ludwig, carrying a decorative set of armor made of porcelain Anastasia was making. She understood his intentions immediately - he wanted to seal whatever creature invaded their house, and with tears in his eyes, he did just that. After this event, she never saw her mother again, and despite Ludwig's refusal to answer any questions, the answer was clear - her mother became a Walking Nightmare just like her grandfather.
== Bad Business ==
Even after losing one of her parents, the family business continued to go well. According to a certain merchant, too well. They were a threat to Bauschinger Company’s new investment in luxury pottery in the same town, and the owner of the company specifically chose the city due to its rather close proximity to Wassershloss. Ludwig, refused to cooperate with the merchant, so in fear of losing vast amounts of already invested money, Bauschinger decided planned to get rid of the uncooperative competition. At first he attempted to buy the business, but the Arzellans refused. In retaliation, The Bauschinger Company used a combination of legal loopholes, threats, and bribery to force Arzellans to sell, and so the company managed to get the pottery monopoly from the already struggling for money Mayor Kronk Nebn. Anastasia and Ludwig were fired from their own business, dooming the Arzellan family into abandoning their previous high standard of living. Ludwig to provide for the rest enlisted as a guard, which resulted in him being killed by hands of the local brute Ale “The Slayer of Ale”.
After the Ale incident, the number of guards decreased dramatically, allowing for Anastasia to go around the monopoly of Bauschinger Company due to there not being anyone to enforce it. She decided to make porcelain tools for the thieves guild, as her pottery was as hard as metal, but twice as light. This relationship additionally provided her protection from the Bauschinger Company. With her funds, she could start her scheme to take down Zweiwig Bauschinger Company, and maybe even Ale himself, but such opportunity never came, as Emberot destroyed the entirety of Zweiwig, along with Ale and Bauschinger Company. Anastasia barely survived the waves of undead by donning the porcelain armor - the very same that Ludwig used to seal her mother. Anastasia became just another refuge of the Emberot Crisis, and with nowhere to go, she devoted herself to three objectives - curing her mother, and taking down both Hythyr and Emberot in any way she could.