Galia

Kiyuka (Mother) (Deceased)

Hashion (Brother) (Deceased)

Ameni (Sister) (Deceased)

Galia is the Synical, and aggressive tank of the NewTown Defenders.

## Backstory:

Galia was born a White Tiefling, possibly the most rare breed as getting one requires the union of an abyssal tiefling and a fallen aasimar. Upon her birth she and all three of her siblings were completely white from their horns to their hooves. Her mother was the tiefling, a high ranking priestess of a secret cult dedicated to the Oberyth, Pale Night, and her father was the fallen aasimar, a warrior of the same cult. Galia was the third of four children born into the cult as white tieflings, all bred to complete a specific abyssal ritual. Galia had an older brother and sister a well s a brother younger than herself.

### Rites of Passage:

All of her siblings, upon reaching the age of ten, underwent a blood magic ritual that required them to drink the diluted venom of a bebilith demon. Doing so allowed them a deeper connection to the abyss and the ability to conjure and command lesser demons. Her oldest brother, Rassahd completed the ritual first without issue and became the cult’s most prized member. The next year her older sister Ameni tried the same ritual, but in doing so, her sister accidentally caught a glimpse of Pale Night’s true form, something no mortal should ever behold. Upon glimpsing the oberyth Ameni completely lost her mind. She leapt off the altar in a frenzy, and began ripping at the throats of anyone who dared get close with her fingernails and teeth. Rassahd had to step forward and summoned his demons to stop her rampage.

### Day of the Ritual:

Galia’s turn came the next year, and on her tenth birthday she endured the ritual. She lay on the altar of the cult and drank the venom. The moment the bebilith's Venom touched her lips she began to hallucinate. She was suddenly standing in a sickly green forest littered with rotting corpses and an immense stench of decay. In front of her stood the oberyth Pale Night’s ghostly disguised form. Pale night’s ghostly form reached out and plunged her hand into Galia’s chest and ripped her heart out. Pale night squeezed it to drain the blood. Galia felt no pain from the hole in her chest, but she felt the hand squeeze her heart and she collapsed from the pain. Pale Night lifted a finger to her own lips, bit it and dropped a single drop of her own blood into Galia’s Heart before thrusting it back into her chest. Galia’s hallucination faded and she looked at herself, no hole in her chest, but her eyes, hooves, hair, horn tips and fingernails were now permanently dyed black by the Oberyth’s power.

### Time running out:

Galia was not as strong as her brother, but she too could summon nearly thirty dretches and command them. From this point on she was raised mostly by her father, as her mother spent a significant amount of her time leading the cult. Her father taught her to fight with a blade and control her abyssal powers. Within six months her cult was running out of time though, as the church of Larithon was close to finding their hideout and had already killed many of their ranking members.

Galia’s younger brother was forced to undertake the ritual early, and when he did, his body violently shriveled and imploded in on itself. He didn’t die immediately, but his body had rejected the Oberyth’s gift. Galia approached him to end his suffering and she got a good look at his deformed body. His bones were twisted and contorted sticking through his skin in several places. His skull had imploded slightly and twisted, driving one of his own horns into his neck. He couldn’t move, he just sat there staring forward, struggling to get every raspy breath out. Galia should have been scared, or feel sorry for him, but she didn't. She raised her Kopesh and severed his head from his body in one swift strike.

### Becoming a Blood Hunter:

The day came when the knights of Larithon and their allies rained down on the cult’s hideout. Galia and her only remaining brother were rushed to the forefront of the fighting to summon their demons to defend the cult, but it wasn’t enough. Their low level demons were no match and the tide quickly turned against them. Her brother summoned a vrock that carried him away from the battle. Galia’s father grabbed her and sprouted his fallen wings to try to carry her to safety, but a wizard on the knight’s side fired a ray of disintegration at the pair of them.

Galia’s father spun them around, putting himself between the ray and Galia, the first time he had shown any fatherly instincts toward her. Perhaps it was to protect her because she was his daughter, or perhaps she was more valuable to the cult than him, Galia will never know either way.

The thin green blast punched through her father’s chest and clipped her left horn on its way out. She looked back as her father disintegrated and she began to fall. The ray of disintegration had lost most of its power before hitting her, but there was enough kick left in it to cause her left horn and a good portion of the left side of her skull to crumble to ash. She screamed from the pain as she felt her flesh melt. The damage wasn’t enough to kill her, but it was enough to knock her out before she hit the ground.

She woke up suddenly, only a few minutes later in incredible pain. She felt like her blood was on fire and like her heart was trying to burrow its way out of her chest. The knights had won the battle and, being only eleven years old, they had shown mercy to her. But seeing as she had the ability to summon demons they had put jaunting shackles on her before trying to bring her back to the temple. These shackles cut her off from any other planes she could be connected to. But without a connection to the abyss, the tiny sliver of Oberyth essence she received during the blood ritual was trying to rip its way out of her.

One of the mercenaries the knights of Larithon had hired said he had a way to save her. The knights had only seconds to decide before whatever was inside her would burst out, and they agreed to the mercenary’s offer. He pulled a vial from his belt and poured it into her mouth. The moment she swallowed it, a gout of black blood shot from the open wound in her head and she began to calm down. Her heart stopped feeling like it would explode, and her burning blood began to calm enough that she fell back into unconsciousness.

### Reformation years:

The vial the mercenary fed her contained a concoction called “Hunter’s bane,” a poisonous alchemical concoction that alters the drinker’s life blood, forever binding them to the dark energies of the universe. The concoction had given her body the ability to control the dark essence enough to be able to properly expel the oberyth’s essence before it took form, but it permanently changed her into a blood hunter. She was now able to use her own life essence to damage or control others, and it left her with an unquenchable desire to obliterate darkness wherever she found it.

The knights took her back, healed her and removed any dark magic that remained on her as best they could. When she woke, she was being held in a temple of Merolius where she could be healed and they could remove the conditioning the cult had put her through. At first she tried everything to get away and would attack anyone who tried to get close to her. But a priest of Merolius named Rotis was put in charge of reconditioning her to live a normal life, and Rotis was good at his job. He was kind to her and for the first time she had an authoritative figure in her life who could show her compassion. He’s even the one who gave Galia her last name of Barvenom, meaning “One who repels Venom” as a way to cement her separation from the bebilith venom she had drank during the ritual.

Over the next ten years Galia lived at the temple of Merolius and slowly she began to accept and even enjoy her life there. She performed chores and various tasks to earn her keep and learned a variety of skills other than fighting that would help her live a more normal life. But Galia’s blood hunter powers were difficult for her to understand, and they often clashed with her inherited abyssal powers. Rotis was there for her though, and he taught Galia to to focus on her aasimar blood and purify it back from it’s fallen state. He taught her how to summon Radiant energy with her Heavenly Rebuke ability, and to cast light instead of darkness with her ancestral powers.

But despite Rotis' efforts to steer her away from a life of battle, the Hunter’s bane had permanently tuned her blood to hone in on darkness and desire to destroy it, so a peaceful life at a temple of Merolius was out of the question for her. She saw her father disintegrate, and her mother was also killed during that battle ten years ago, but her brother was never found. She knows he’s still out there somewhere and she wants to destroy him.

### Odyssey:

When she turned 22 she wanted to leave the temple of Merolius to seek out her brother and rid the world of his darkness. Rotis tried she try to become a paladin of Larithon, but the church of Larithon rejected her request, saying the tennants of Larithon were more likely to confuse someone of her chaotic disposition than provide clarity and purpose to her. Galia was discouraged by this and took up a mercenary position as security on a cargo ship.

It was her first time on her own, and despite her incredible combat abilities, she found being alone far more frightening than she had anticipated. Being alone wasn't something she was prepared for and it began to take a toll on her. She began to become increasingly paranoid and irritable.

One night she had a dream. In her dream she stood in a gray wasteland of Ash and wind with sharp mountains jutting up on the horizon. In front of her stood a figure, a woman in a black cloak. Her face was hidden, but the skin on her hands was a dark purple. She stood with her fingers laced across the pommel of Galia's khopesh and her boot on the head of a humanoid male figure lying in the dirt.

Galia stepped forward and the strange woman held up a hand to stop her. The woman spoke and told Galia she was here to answer her call. Galia responded that she hadn't called for anyone. The woman laughed and tossed Galia her khopesh. The moment Galia caught it the blade began to drip with blood. The woman said she could not appear unless she was called, and Galia had indeed called her from across the planes.

Galia asked who the woman was and the woman replied that her name was Restitution. She also said that she was the only one who could give Galia the power she needed to hunt down her brother. Galia looked down at the figure being held under Restitution's foot, and it was indeed her brother. Not what he would look like today but what he looked like all those years ago when she had last seen him.

Restitution told Galia that all she would ever need is to do is call her name, and she would be there to grant Galia power when she needed it most. With that, Restitution vanished in a puff of Ash. When Galia awoke, she found her blanket covered in cold ashes.

### Flouna:

It wasn’t long after that that, one of the ships Galia was guarding was attacked by pirates. Galia found herself cornered by three attackers and she decided it was now or never. She spoke the word “Restitution” and suddenly she was blanketed in a coat of frost that solidified into icy armor, and her Kopesh was bathed in green flames. When an enemy struck her the icy armor would lash back at her attacker, and with it she was able to fend off her enemies.

Galia sailed for a long time after that. Restitution never appeared to her again, but she could feel her presence from that day forward, and every time Galia invoked her name, Restitution's power would return to her and give her strength.

One long term voyage Galia was on took her to Flouna. She never intended to stay, just to guard the ship there and back, but when the ship docked in NewHarbor, her blood hunter senses dialed up to eleven. She could feel that some darkness was hidden nearby. Restitution’s voice came to her in her mind. Restitution said that there was something on this continent she needed to kill. Galia stepped off the ship and hasn't looked back since. Her blood hunter senses took her to Newtown, and while she has no idea what it is she’s supposed to kill here, she feels its presence strongest there.

She joined the NewTown defenders to support herself financially and to hone her skills for her inevitable showdown with whatever darkness lurks here.

### Shadows Over Flouna

During the Shadows over Flouna arc, Galia was hired, along with 3 other NewTown defenders, by Cassandra to defend Alfenheim during the Githyanki invasion. During the Battle of Alfenheim she, Adjjet, Kelle and Adexia were stranded in the Astral plane when the Githyanki ship retreated in its final moments with them still aboard. With no way home they commandeered the small ship and attempted to run from the larger mother ship. Galia took the armor of the ship's previous captain for herself. They were unsuccessful in escaping, but they managed to kill the pet Pyroclastic dragon of the Githyanki Commander before being hurdled into the astral plane without transport.

Eventually, after gaining a sword of swiftness from an abandoned tower, floating in the astral sea, she and her companions found a portal to Ysgarde. Galia met another Orcish adventurer who she thought was attractive, named Grugdungo. Grugs and his friend, Lander were able to team up with the stranded party and together they took down the primal giant, Hjorfsgaldur, with Galia scoring the final blow against him with her blood rite of mutual suffering. Dislocating both her shoulders to deal the blow.

Galia also took part in the battle of Astazia and helped defend the Wahda guild from the Ghoul army during the battle with the Atropal, Shkiga.

## Relationships:

### Dolan:

Galia follows Dolan’s orders, but she sees him as weak. He tries too hard to please everyone and spreads himself too thin in her eyes. She thinks he could be much stronger if he would try to just focus on one thing instead of doing a bit of everything. Despite this though, she wouldn’t want Dolan on her bad side and considers him one of the few Defenders who could actually pose a threat to her.

### Whirl:

Whirl is a ditz who spends most of her time goofing off or partying like a teenager. Galia doesn’t respect Whirl but despite herself she enjoys Whirl’s company. The two of them balance each other in a strange way. Whirl has enough energy to make up for Galia’s dulcet tones, and Galia’s grounded enough to keep Whirl from trying to do anything too foolish.

### Zenmaer:

Galia doesn’t pay attention to Zenmaer. She doesn’t even consider him a defender. He is only on Flouna because one of Dolan’s investors sent him to make sure Dolan doesn't embezzle any money. He’s more like Dolan’s (now Jai-Nao’s) chaperone than a real comrade.

### Yugo:

Galia has some respect for Yugo. He dedicates himself to his practice of sharpshooting and while he and Whirl can be obnoxiously loud when they interact, he does give Galia a welcome break from Whirl whenever she needs it.

### Adjjet:

Adjjet is the only other Defender Galia considers to be her equal in combat. After the two of them barely survived a skirmish with some Orcs Adjjet told her about the day he was killed by Igjugarjuk. He recounted the battle as his village fought a fight they knew they would lose. In return she told him about her life growing up in the cult of Pale Night. It was probably the alcohol in the painkiller he gave her that made her so open, but she's glad she told him. Somehow he seemed to understand her, without judging her or trying to "fix it" for her like everyone else she told. From that day on Galia had respect for Adjjet’s tenacity and understanding and the two of them have a mutual respect for each other as warriors.

### Horus:

Horus is impressive in two ways. Impressively smart, and impressively dull. His weapons are deadly, and he would be too if he was willing to use them to help out the defenders. Horus is far too confined to his work to interest Galia.

### Jai-Nao:

Of all the Defenders, Jai-Nao certainly favors Galia, giving her preferential treatment and always allowing her to pick her own assignments. Galia’s not sure if Jai-Nao just recognizes her as the best warrior or if she’s scared of her, but either way, Galia sees Jai-Nao as a weak and untrustworthy leader and wants Dolan back as soon as possible.

## Abilities:

Most of Galia’s power comes from her first attack. Galia will most often cast armor of Agathys on herself before charging into battle and go for the biggest enemy first. The biggest enemy will usually hit her which is what she wants. She will use her bonus action to use her blood curse to force her attacker to take the damage he deals too, that combined with Armor of agathys and her hellish rebuke, not a lot of fighters survive their first hit on her.

## Notes:

* Galia has a pretty good control over her demonic blood in most situations so she doesn’t lose her temper very often. But there are times when she will get mad and start shouting: Specifically if she feels unexpected physical pain, or if she feels she is being ignored.
* The ray of disintegration that hit Galia left significant scarring on her. It is the reason she has no left horn, cannot grow hair on the left side of her head and caused her to permanently lose the vision in her left eye.