Leila DawnEyes

"*Destiny, so far, has only lead me to grief and
taken away everything that I've loved.*"
―**Leila** to Niacil[src]
**Leila DawnEyes** grew up an orphan out on the gang-riddled streets of Norision, constantly looking for places to sleep or enough scraps to eat. One fateful day, however, when she was on the run from a local gang, she bumped into a member of the Pašerák Guild. From there she ended up joining their ranks and taking things instead of waiting for them to be given for a change. Leila currently works for the guild by smuggling and trading goods around the town of Shinrin, the town where the guild thrives in. Leila spent most of her youth in this role, along with fellow guild members and friends Stephanos Boora, Endre Malia and her adoptive sister Cassia Vassallou who would help her on jobs when they weren't on missions of their own.

When Leila turned 16 years old, however, she was in for an unimaginable surprise. Leila was visited by an angelic being called Niacil, who revealed to her that she was an Aasimar, a being with the blood of celestials in her. Niacil told Leila she had a destiny and was purposed for more than being a thief her whole life. Leila didn't know what to make of this, and continued to work with the guild, but now with doubt in her mind and a longing to find her purpose.

## Physical Description

Leila’s golden amber eyes are a striking feature. Her unnaturally piercing gaze has been labelled as alluring by some and disconcerting by others. Leila has come to realize this feature has the potential to raise questions regarding her heritage so tends to avert her gaze as much as possible when speaking to strangers or hide her eyes in the shadow of her hood until she has gauged how they will react to it.

Likewise, her long, dark mane of hair glints with streaks of honey gold in the sunlight when loose, seemingly taking on a life of it’s own. This she also tries to hide, usually by stuffing it under her hood or braiding it into one thick, elaborate braid that hangs over her shoulder.

Being only 5’2, Leila is among the shorter of Aasimar - which has served her well in assisting her with blending into the crowd during her childhood and adolescent years. She generally wears fitted shirts and trousers of drab greys and browns with knee high, brown leather hunting boots. A hooded dark navy cape and a worn leather satchel complete her attire.

Also, she has a tattoo about 14cm in diameter between her neck and shoulder blades. She has no memory of how she came to have this tattoo or what the runes on it mean.

## Backstory

### Early Life

Living as an orphan on the the streets of Shinrin was no easy feat for Leila. All she could remember was her name and age. Not how she came to be an orphan at the tender age of eight years, who her parents were or why she was different. The answers to all these questions eluded her.

Life was dangerous for an urchin, especially a young girl with no allies. Leila had to be wary of all she came into contact with, including other urchins. She had quite a few harrowing close calls in the beginning. She quickly learnt to which taverns and alleyways to give a wide berth and what parts of the city belonged to which gangs. She tried tagging along with a few different urchin bands that didn’t outright attack her, but due to her small size and unusual features, (which, let’s face it, it does not help a band of pickpockets when someone like that is bumbling around with them) Leila usually ended up getting left behind or being told to scram.

### Hungry & Alone

Eventually, hungry and alone, she lived off of what scraps she could sneakily pilfer from rubbish and garden compost piles or beg from different shops around the city. She usually tried to avoid begging though unless desperate, as it usually only resulted in averted gazes or a sharp clap around the ears.

At night she would stealthily climb up onto the house rooftops and cautiously make her way to the tiny makeshift hut she’d pieced for herself using old planks of wood and bits of discarded canvas. It was here she met Lilac, the small house mouse she befriended and fed tiny crumbs of whatever food she’d managed to find for herself that day. Eventually Lilac was docile enough to agree to living in a pocket of Leila’s jacket with her during her wanderings.

Inevitably her hideaway was discovered and taken over by a small urchin gang. Cast out once again, Leila struggled to keep herself not only fed, but more importantly, safe. She became adept at locating hiding places that only she could twist and squeeze her small body into, thus ensuring herself a peaceful night's rest.

### Introduction to the Pašerák Guild

When Leila was about 10 years old, she was in the process of searching for a new hiding place when she was accosted by a local gang demanding her backpack. With yellowed and broken teeth they sneered and laughed at her as she fled through the narrow alleys trying to find an escape, their hunger plagued eyes devoid of all feeling except the need to survive by any means necessary. Menacingly clenched in their bony hands were handmade weapons of various kinds… an old fire poker, mangled chain on top of bloodied rags around knuckles, a plank of wood with nails poking through one end… to the experienced soldier they would have looked like a rather sad, pathetic bunch of ragamuffins… but to the inexperienced and vulnerable Leila’s eyes, they looked more like a horde of demons stalking after her.

She fled until she came to a dead end behind some old rickety shops. She rattled the door knobs and thumped frantically on the rough hewn wooden beams, pleading for succour. Just when she thought all hope was lost, a door to her right abruptly swung open. A woman dressed in simple hunters garments stepped out into the alley to face the oncoming gang - who’d slowed their pursuit upon seeing her. “Get inside little girl - quickly now!” she whispered urgently without turning to look at Leila. Leila scrambled for the door and heard a shout go up from the gang leader as they attempted to pursue. She tripped over a bundle of furs sitting on the ground inside the door as she entered. Looking up she curled up into a protective ball as giant burly man stepped over her to stand in the door. His large frame easily filled the doorway. Through his legs Leila could see glimpses of the woman who’d come to her aid. She was skillfully deflecting the attacks of the bolder gang members as they attempted to land a blow on her. “Oi!” the large bushy man bellowed, his deep gruff voice causing the fight to come to a sudden halt. He unhooked a rather large club from his belt and Leila heard the solid thuds as he tapped it sternly in the palm of his hand. “A bit of troubling going on here, is there now?” Silence and stillness answered his question. He grunted disapprovingly, “Get!” The panicked clatter and patter of feet echoed down the alley as the gang scuttled off. And that was how Leila met the Pašerák Guild.

## Individuals of Importance

* **Niacil****:** (Aasimar Guide): Female, Stern & Judgemental also Fierce & Vengeful. Niacil contacted Leila when she turned 16 years old. Niacil told a stunned Leila about her angelic heritage and how the heavens and deities of good want to offer you their blessing and protection in exchange for your service. At first Niacil wanted Leila to become a Cleric, judge and executioner of holy justice. But promptly realized that Leila's own temperament was ill suited to this. So instead this being of justice wants you to quietly work to spoil the plans of the wicked and is frequently urging you to get involved in social justice issues either directly or using subtler methods.
* **Lilac**: (Female Pet Mouse) : “Lilac” was originally a small house mouse that Leila befriended when she was a orphan urchin on the streets of Shinrin. Obviously mice only have a lifespan of 1-2 years in general so each new rodent ended up taking on the name of it’s much loved predecessor. Leila’s current “Lilac” is a very petite, light grey female deer mouse (probably about 6 weeks old) with white feet and belly.
* **Pašerák Guild**: (Translates to 'Smuggler') : Thieves guild based in the town of Shinrin. The main trading post has a crown endorsed monopoly on trade. No other shops are allowed to open or buy/sell any general goods. This leads to a premium on imported goods and many sellers earning less than they would in other towns. So the smugglers are like an 'Alternative trading post'. They general deal in exotic smaller items like spices, exotic birds, gems, indigenous artifacts, etc.

## Current Goals

* To find her place in the world. To use her ill gotten skills to aid and protect the innocent as well as learn how to use her growing Aasimar abilities.
* To find out what the tattoo on her back means.