Iaria of the Merry

**Iaria of the Merry**, also known as **Iaria Kashvrn**, is one of the five members in the Unmerry Band. Originally hailing from a sequestered city-nation known as Vrangrimst, Iaria awoke in the middle of the Ochre's Grove, surrounded by an unfamiliar and hostile environment. She later embarked on a quest to awaken the Rusalka which failed drastically. Currently, she resides at the the Conclave Headquarters.

## **Biography**

### **Better Days**

#### **Departing from the World**

Born to an Elven mother and a Dragonborn father, Iaria enjoyed a rather idyllic childhood until she tried her hand at integrating into society. As it turned out, the union between her parents was a highly vilified affair and thus, Iaria was made to take the brunt of society's abuse and disapproval as a product of their forbidden love. Through her adversity as a young child, Iaria had grown thick skin and learned to smile through the troubled times. Unfortunately for Iaria and her family, their home was eventually destroyed by a group of zealous villagers and burnt to the ground, forcing them to flee civilization and seek a friendlier community.

Iaria and her parents trekked northwards, far from where they once lived in hopes of seeking out a mythical community known as Vrangrimst—a home for the forsaken. Though the three endured harrowing snowstorms, lethal blizzards, and deadly encounters with various creatures throughout several years, they had come no closer to discovering Vrangrimst than they had at the beginning of their journey. It was only after they had exhausted all leads and reached the precipice of surrender deep within the cold and bitter north that they had stumbled upon the entrance as the wards of the city welcomed them within the borders.

#### **Life in Vrangrimst**

Much of Iaria's memories were made in the tight-knit community of Vrangrimst where she learned the art of war and combat together with her father and other peers in the town. She would often shirk more rote subjects like reading and writing, but was still forced to perform such feats to a satisfactory degree by her mother. It was also in Vrangrimst that Iaria would meet her three closest friends: Aoife, Lock, and Uriah. Though the three didn't always see eye-to-eye in certain things, they were quick to make up and press forwards, never letting a grudge last for too long.

Vrangrimst's tight-knit community and collaborative nature gave Iaria a strong sense of honor and self-respect, especially when the city's values were compounded on her by her father's strict teachings. It was with these beliefs of dignity and self-sacrifice that she lived her life in Vrangrimst, always lending a hand to a fellow citizen whenever she could. As a result, Iaria and her family's reputation soared rapidly within the closed community, leading the trio to become well-known figures within months.

#### **The Merry Departure**

When Iaria grew older and felt that her training could only be furthered through true combat, she sought to leave Vrangrimst in order to journey through the world and learn of its joys as well as its sorrows. Unfortunately for her, fate was not friendly for she was caught up in an unknown entity's whims and used as a piece in some form of sick game which involved not only physical and psychological torture, but true consequences wrought upon reality. Throughout her attempt to leave Vrangrimst within whatever strange confines had been created for her, she died several times. Most notably, her final death resulted in her equally final departure from the Land of the Merry which had been crafted specifically for her journey, yet she would have no idea what exactly she was thrust in until much later.

### **The Grove of Suffering**

#### **The Rudest Awakening**

After having died, Iaria woke up in an unfamiliar swamp, the first she'd ever seen outside of a drawing in a book her mother had shown her. Initially, she was convinced that it was simply a bad dream and attempted to sleep it off, but unfortunately, reality proved to be a disappointment as usual with the appearance of a group of Croakers. It was during this brief scuffle that Iaria met the current members of the Unmerry Band: Anjo Nevado, Aureus Pax Cor, Tarhun Kimbatuul, and Winnifred Ayer. Anjo, a tall Aplantean man, had managed to negotiate a tentative alliance with the Croakers using a shovel and a promise to help defeat the "Firebringers" and the "Icebringers." The Unmerry Band was soon shown into their camp where they were given an extremely brief respite.

#### **Meeting the Canine Cunts**

Upon waking up, the Unmerry Band found themselves surrounded by Croakers, all of which had weapons pointed in their direction. After solving a brief misunderstanding regarding the location at which the Unmerry Band slept at, the group headed off to meet with the leader of the Croakers, His Ribbins. However, the group was distracted by a lone scream echoing forth from the bowels of the swampy forest, urging them to investigate especially as Winnifred was nowhere to be found. While they traversed the hostile environment, the Unmerry Band was alerted to the presence of several animals which they assumed to be wolves, but chose to ignore the sounds of growling and press on into the depths of the forest. Unfortunately, they were soon cornered and surrounded once more by massive wolf-like plant creatures known as Mossdogs, forcing them to make a haphazard exchange with the Mossdogs which resulted in the Unmerry Band being bound to deliver an adequate amount of food to the Mossdogs within five days.

#### **How the Merry Fall**

After dealing with the Mossdogs, the Unmerry Band managed to rendezvous with Winnifred who revealed that she had awakened inside one of many hanging cages. Despite her escape though, Winnifred stated that she would like to rescue a group of Croakers who had also been imprisoned inside of the other cages. Seeking to aid Winnifred in her benevolent quest, Iaria managed to scale the tree and nearly reach one of the cages until a branch snapped under her strength, causing her to plummet over a hundred feet towards the ground below. Although the other members of the Unmerry Band attempted save her from her plight, it was all useless as not only did Iaria perish, but Winnifred with her. And so the tale of suffering and pain began.

#### **Foray Into Despair**

Instead of falling into the final sleep, Iaria awoke in another dimension which was quickly referred to as the "Land of the Merry", a place similar to the loops that she experienced before haphazardly appearing in the Ochre's Grove yet fraught with far more trials and punishments than before. Greeted by a massive assortment of gear towers and an all too familiar heavy storm beneath them, Iaria had already lost all hope the instant she reappeared in this place as it confirmed that not only was the "dream" reality, but an even worse truth: Vrangrimst had been destroyed, and she was the only survivor. Although this would be her first meeting with Stuxven Dhennyal, a Drow who was positioned before her in an unconscious state, she did not care and instead attempted to commit suicide at the first chance that she was given.

Unfortunately for Iaria, plunging Naedutyr through her chest did not end her life, but ended what little sliver of motivation that she still possessed. Leaving Winnifred to her own devices, Iaria sat upon one of the gears, allowing Winnifred to subject herself to Merriment's whims while she awaited eventual death. However, as the situation grew worse, some form of otherworldy entity wrested control of Iaria's mind and body in order to aid Winnifred. The two of them then endured a rigorous trial in the Land of the Merry, finding an important tome before the world collapsed around them, sending the two back to "reality."

#### **Blooming Pain**

When Iaria finally returned to her senses, she found herself stuck in some form of bog which weighed her down heavily and was only freed once Tarhun reattached what appeared to be her missing finger. It was only after this that she was able to assess the situation and witness Winnifred's neck expanding at a rapid rate, bloating like a croaking frog. It was then that the feeling of hopelessness and despair truly set into Iaria, reducing her to nothing more than a soulless husk as she witnessed Winnifred's suffering and was made to cut open what appeared to be her neck. Although Winnifred survived and the excess flesh was done away with, the blow had already been dealt to Iaria's mind and morale. Following her emergence from the Land of the Merry, Iaria grew silent and withdrawn, listening only to Winnifred's requests and wallowing in her own pain.

#### **The Swarm of Sorrow**

The Unmerry Band soon journeyed towards the Western Pond of Youth where they would encounter two Giants engaging in combat above the pond's frozen surface as well as a group of three humanoids. Unfortunately for them, they only realized that both the Giants and the humanoids were simply extremely complex and intricate illusions after it was too late when Winnifred destroyed the ice, causing a massive burst of freezing water to erupt from the lake and assault the Unmerry Band. Although most of the group managed to come out either slightly bruised or unscathed, Aureus was rendered unconscious after the wave caused two large shards of ice to pierce through his abdomen. Although the Unmerry Band attempted to aid Aureus, it only made matters worse as a large swarm of Grim Spiders made their way out of Aureus' body, assaulting Tarhun and Anjo. Tarhun was quickly taken over by the spiders which exhibited the ability to control his neural network, causing him to jump into the water and begin drowning. Anjo soon followed as a result of the party attempting to combat these creatures.

It was then that Iaria and Winnifred realized that there was no other option than to dive straight down into the lake where they believed that the spiders could not follow without a host. The two of them entered into the freezing depths and somehow managed to retrieve a Rusalka by the name of Peeves Chaac. After surfacing, Peeves managed to undo the effects of the Grim Spiders and allow the Unmerry Band a brief period of time to recuperate as the Pond of Youth became similar to a hot spring. The Unmerry Band then underwent a brief trial together with Winnifred in order to gain a bracelet which bestowed a feathered bracelet which gave her several boons.

#### **The Big Blue Bastard**

After a short stint which consisted of meeting Tarhun's heartthrob—Miss Vexy—and a little bit of experimentation regarding certain magical auras around Iaria's head and Tarhun's collar, the Unmerry Band decided to take a break in some sort of makeshift camp. However, during the final watch, Iaria and Aureus were captured by a surprisingly stealthy big blue giant named Hax K'nar. After disarming the giant of his weapon, a mysterious entity had once again taken over Iaria's mind and caused the three to form a truce. The Unmerry Band and Hax K'nar spoke over a cup of terribly brewed tea which resulted in the mysterious entity being returned to their origin and causing Iaria to regain control of her body once more. Though Iaria had an adverse reaction to the gathering, the Unmerry Band managed to learn rather important information pertaining to the Giants, their plan for the Collopsia, and their lord Chasoc Rhost as well as the Giants currently having a civil war due to Chasoc's broken marriage.

#### **Loosening the Teeth of Giants**

Hax K'nar had proposed that the Unmerry Band accompany him to a fortress in which his lord, Chasoc Rhost, supposedly resided in order to help him resolve whatever emotional problems he was dealing with and initiate the Collopsia. After lengthy discussion, the group agreed with Hax's proposition; however, not without their own twist on Hax's plan. The Unmerry Band planned to pose as Kord, the God which the Giants worshipped, and make Chasoc lead the giants far, far away. As they headed off, most of the Unmerry Band was accosted by Hax K'nar and forcefully transported along with the giant, causing their frustration to rise. The group took a brief rest within a cave that Peeves led them to, eventually waking up to meet Hax K'nar in battle after finally having reached the end of their patience. Engaging Hax K'nar in a melee, the Unmerry Band was assisted by a group of humanoid fungal sporelings which allowed them to score a victory against the giant. Quickly thereafter, they met the "mother" of these sporelings, Noel Mycota.

#### **The False Siege**

During the night, Iaria experienced a strangely realistic dream where she was assaulted by a wolf and urged by Merriment to fight back, yet in an act of defiance, refused to do so and was instead killed by the wolf within the dream. Awakening, Iaria explained the situation to the rest of the Unmerry Band while they discussed their personal situations briefly and discovered that they were somehow from different time periods. The group then journeyed forth to the northern Pool of Wisdom, yet found a massive tower built upon its frozen surface. It was then that they realized it was none other than the fortress which Hax K'nar was hoping to lead the group towards.

Faced with what felt like insurmountable odds, the Unmerry Band discussed their options away from the fortress before finally deciding to observe their patrols and formulate a plan. Unfortunately, as Anjo and Winnifred attempt to break the ice and create an alternative entrance into the fortress, the two are detected by the giants' patrols, alerting the tower to the presence of the Unmerry Band. As battle broke out, the rest of the group attempted to make a hasty retreat while Iaria struggled to stay in the fight, refusing to retreat once again as they had done every time a confrontation broke out asides from the ambush against Hax K'nar. As the wolves began to near the party, Tarhun suddenly unleashed some form of power which allowed him to shoot rapidly. Simultaneously, Aureus experienced the same thing as his form duplicated, spurring Tarhun on and forcing him to shoot even faster until all of the wolves in pursuit were cut down, forming a mountain of canine corpses. The Unmerry Band then finally made their retreat, only to end up in some sort of large cavernous hole after killing a large number of giant insects barring their way.