(Archive) The Sheerfangs

*~Barking, yipping, and growling followed by a commoner cowering.~ "I'm sorry about that sir, but my associate here seems to like your hat." -Alise-Sophie Sheerfang.*

## History

Aryava was once a powerful leader of her peoples; the gnoll tribes of the Great Northern Wastes.  She frequently attacked towns and villages for glory and gold alike.  There wasn't much that she was above doing.  Despite her ruthless tactics, there was nothing that could prepare her for the horrors of global war.  She had heard rumors that the Black Empire was going to war with their old enemies the Golden Kingdom.  To her, she thought this would be an excellent time to step up their raids.  Her tribesmen hunted farther and farther south, where the Imperial Guard would have once protected, but now left abandoned to deal with the greater threats to the east.  What few guards that remained faced near annihilation from her tribe.  She wouldn't be able to deal the final blow to their numbers herself though.  When the Golden King marshaled his forces under his new found control of the dreaded Tarasques (that's right, multiple godspawn) Aryava saw the true destructive might of chaotic evil.  The tarasques made little work of the Imperial Guard that was left.  But instead of running in fear, the guard did everything they could to save not only the towns they were meant to protect, but Aryava and her raiders as well.  When she asked one of them why they would do this for their enemy one guard replied simply, "You're a citizen of the Empire no?  I give my life to protect her and all of her citizens.  Now run you damned fool!"

This shocking act of service immediately caused Aryava to reconsider many of her life choices.  Following the war, she made her way south and met with a member of the Imperial Guard.  She wished to repay her debts.  There she met with Alise-Sophie Sheerfang, a full plated ratfolk that road a tiger.  Alise-Sophie taught Aryava the ways of knighthood.

Although Aryava was completely knew to the Order of the Shield, she had a large amount of combat training already.  The one thing that she couldn't manage to get down was riding horses.  She couldn't adapt from riding dire hyenas.  Many times her thoughts would go back to her childhood.  Dreams of riding around on her mother's mount Lloial would plague her.  One day though, her day dreams became real.  She couldn't believe it at first, since Lloial died when she was young, but sure enough, his spirit had found her.

Alise-Sophie Sheerfang grew up on the mean streets of Nels.  She learned quickly to survive was to fight, and to fight was to survive.  She learned how to carefully watch her opponents and cut them at just the right time.  Because of this, she was adopted by House Galos quite quickly.  She became a fairly accomplished assassin for them.  As House Galos does from time to time, she was sold to the Imperial Army.  There she learned to fight on horseback.  She wasn't quite fond the trained horses that they kept in the stalls.  When a young tiger got lose one day, it immediately bonded with her... after trying to eat her of course.

Alise-Sophie was stationed north of the Imperial City during the war.  Some called it war with the Golden Kingdom.  Others called it a war on all fronts.  A few (Alise-Sophie included) knew that this was a world war; the likes of which Celaphage had never seen before.  She saw the horrors of the Golden King's armies.  So many nights since have been spent in a restless fit, reliving those awful nights of fire and blood.

Soon after the war she met a gnoll raider that had a story for her.  The gnoll told her of how she was saved by imperial guards that she once tried to kill. The gnoll told her of how it shattered her world view.  The gnoll told her of how she wanted to repay her debts to the Empire.  So Alise-Sophie took her to her captain who placed Aryava under Alise-Sophie's charge.  She would train the gnoll warrior in the ways of knighthood.

The gnoll had a hard time learning the ways of the Order of the Shield.  Alise-Sophie has to still tend to Aryava's mount or help her with her armor to this day.  Thankfully Aryava's previous combat skill as a marauder was easily transferred to the ways of the Order of the Shield.

## Appearance

Aryava is a strong gnoll with a relatively standard gnoll build. She is strong and short, with common brown hair, a long snout, and pointed ears. Llolai, her mount, is a translucent pale green dire hyena with darker green spots.

Alise-Sophie has a slightly lighter brown coloration to her fur. Often nick-named 'the Mousefolk Knight' by her peers due to her size. She isn't strong (a trait she shares with her other ratfolk kin) but she is extremely nimble, which she uses to deadly effect with her one-handed scythe. Her tiger, Kitty, looks like many other tiger with orange and black stripes, and a white underbelly. Kitty's blue eyes always seem to be curious.

## Personality

The two are often diametrically opposites. Aryava is gruff and aggressive, while Alise-Sophie is far more shy. Alise-Sophie has dedicated herself to trying to take care of whatever communities she is in, and help those in need. Aryava on the other hand simply wishes to ensure the enforcement of laws, regardless of if they help or hurt others.

What the two share though is a scarred past. The two often times forget where they are, caught in a nightmare of The War. Aryava is more likely to find act out these memories, falling into a rage and proving to be a danger to herself and those she can't help but see as enemies. Alise-Sophie on the other hand is much more likely to become locked in something akin to a trance, unable to help the memories of her friends and comrades who fell so long ago.

## Friends

Alise-Sophie and Aryava have each other and their animal companions as friends (although Alise-Sophie's relationship with Kitty is less than friendly). They haven't made many friends in the Reach, as they've spent most of their time putting their experiences with war to good use, fighting the ratwere incursion beneath the streets.

## Enemies

Any enemies that they once had are long dead on the battlefields of the Great Northern Wastes.

## Aspirations

Beyond just protecting those of the city, Alise-Sophie and Aryava have few goals. They've lived so much of their lives not knowing if there would be a world to wake up in the following day, let alone the next week. If they were back home, they would certainly become career soldiers, as neither have much when it comes to plans otherwise.