Ystina

Shining Knight

Ystina

## Biography

### Early Life

Ystina was born sometime before 8000 BCE. Ystina was a farmer’s daughter, but quickly became an admirer of the Knights of the Round Table. There, Ystina realized their soul was that of two spirits, and began disguising themselves in masculine clothes and tied up hair in an attempt to sneak into the city of Camelot. Whilst on this journey one day, highwaymen found Ystina. While at first they attempted to jump them, they soon saw their feminine features and attempted to rape them. Thankfully, Sir Galahad was passing by and made quick work of them.

Ystina was taken into Camelot, where Galahad dressed their wounds, and Ystina identified themself as “Justin”. While Galahad saw through this lie, he kept his mouth shut, and decided to take Justin in as his squire.

After spending years with Sir Galahad, Justin was blessed to drink the waters of Avalon from the Holy Grail, and was inducted into the Knights of the Round Table as Sir Justin of the Shining. They took a lover, Olwen, in secret. However, their time with the Knights did not last long. Olwen went missing, sending Ystina into a drunken craze that caused them to reveal their female sex.

Arthur’s Court met to debate whether to banish Ystina or not, and that is when the Sheeda invaded, they stole the Caliburn and Undry and returned into the Bleed. Ystina and Galahad gave chase. Olwen appeared through a portal, and called for Ystina. While Ystina wept, Olwen stabbed Galahad. He fell, injured, as Olwen ran. Ystina gave chase, climbing upon a steed known as Winged Victory, they took to the skies, following their lover and the Sheeda through the bleed.

Ystina found themselves in the bowels of the Castle Revolving, the Sheeda’s ship. They battled tooth-and-nail through the Sheeda’s soldiers, eventually recovering the Caliburn and Undry. However, they turned and were confronted by Queen Gloriana. Ystina unsheathed Caliburn and prepared to attack. However, Winged Victory sensed the danger and crashed through the wall and flew the two to safety and out of the Bleed.

Ystina landed in the city-state of Alba Sarum, where they entered the Kingdom of Camelot in an attempt to find Galahad, unaware that hundreds of years had passed. Instead - Ystina encountered six other “knights”, which included three women. They welcomed Ystina as the seventh member of their “Demon Knights.”

### Shining Knight

She knew one member of the Demon Knights, Sir Jason of Blood, who had been a squire in their time together. Jason had been possessed by the demon Etrigan, and now led this faction of Knights, who were attempting to overthrow the cruel reign of the dark wizard Mordru. They teamed up with Morgaine le Fey to defeat Mordru, but Morgaine betrayed the team, instead stealing Mordru’s power for herself and obliterating Camelot.

The Knights were left without a home, and thus resorted to exploring the world and pushing out the remaining Sheeda factions that remained on Earth. During this time, Ystina took up a lover in Exoristos. They became figures of myth and legend, and most regard them as the first iteration of the fabled Seven Soldiers of Victory.

One member of the Knights, by the name of Kanto, told them of his father, who was seeking to recreate Camelot. He persuaded the Knights to stay within his castle, and they all agreed. They met his “Father”, a man named Vandal Savage. Ystina trusted Savage and turned over the Undry and Holy Grail for his treasure room. While sleeping in Exoristos’ bed chambers, Ystina awoke to find Kanto, Vandal Savage, and the Apokoliptan Lord Uxas over the couple.

Ystina grabbed Caliburn from the beside and tried to fight back, but was overpowered by Kanto, Savage, and Uxas’ arriving paratroopers, who blasted through the chamber wall. Uxas had taken a liking to Exoristos and disappeared with her, ordering Kanto and Savage to kill Ystina. Ystina boarded Winged Victory, swinging by the treasure room to grab the Holy Grail on the way, and fled the castle.

They were now a nomad, unable to trust their allies, and without their lover. So, they spent years wandering the globe with Winged Victory. They found solace and peace with the world’s animals. Some she nurtured from death and let them drink from the Holy Grail. During the Wild West, she encountered the “Prairie Troubadour”. They formed an uneasy partnership. Greg brought Ystina up to speed on human development, while Ystina taught him about the ways of intrinsic magic - and inadvertently revealed Greg’s complex ancestry to him.

When Greg asked her to help his allies, the Rough Bunch, with a standoff with Vandal Savage, the man who had violently torn her away from her last team, Ystina jumped at the chance. She was blinded in her rage and sadly allowed herself to be easily defeated. As the Trigger Twins prepared to shoot Ystina, she prayed to her God, and Greg Saunders answered, taking a bullet for her.

Winged Victory got them out of that jam and allowed them to retreat to the Florida everglades, where Ystina and Greg built their own home and lived on the outskirts of society. Here, they avoided the end of the American Civil War, where they became a stop on the Saltwater Underground Railroad. While from the outside looking in, it seemed like a perfect chance for romance, both lament it was purely friendly between them.

They spent decades like this, with Ystina feeling like she could give up their sword and armor for a brief time. However, the thirst for battle struck them, and they ran away from Greg and took up the identity of Justin Arthur, where they enrolled in the U.S military for World War Two. Justin loved the comradery of the men, and waxed poetic about their farm life at home, as they began to long for it and for Greg. This earned them the nickname of Farmer Boy.

Eventually, the war ended and Ystina returned home, expecting Greg to be mad, the two instead shared a hug - and decided it was time for the world to hear from them again. Through connections with Sergeant Rock, they were connected with the JSA of the time - where Greg reunited with the souls of his ancestors, and Ystina learned of Exoristos’ true origin - which caused some clashing with Suprema.

Ystina and Greg were never full-on members, they served as allies and on the reserves. Even the JSA’s time would draw to an end thanks to political interference. Ystina and Greg stayed in Gotham this time, and saw how crime and corruption consumed the city. They spoke about their time with the Demon Knights and Rough Bunch, respectively, They decided it was time to find those to oppose the extradimensional - and their need for it only increased after Adrian Veidt’s attacks.

In the aftermath of those attacks, they also took spots at the DEO’s SHADE Division to further keep tabs on the mystical world - then the duo formed a new team, the Seven Soldiers of Victory, set to safeguard the Earth that was intrinsically weakened due to Veidt’s mass traumatic attacks. Ystina took up the armor and sword again, going by the alias of Shining Knight. Since then, the duo has remained the frontmen of the group, with a roster that has rotated into its spot in modern times.

Recently, Ystina encountered Exoristos again, now going by the identity of Myrina Black, and is tracking down the estranged daughter she had with Lord Uxas, believing her to be strong enough to either succeed Uxas, or overthrow him. Ystina has departed to other planes of existence to help Myrina on her path - and maybe rekindle their romance for old time’s sake.

## Notes

* Ystina is composited with Justin Arthur, the original Shining Knight.
* Exoristos and Myrina Black have been composited [coming soon to Earth 76].