(Archive) Nailah

*"Noooooo! Stay away danger noodle!"* -Nailah, upon encountering a common snake.

## History

Nailah was born to a poor seamstress in this city of Heliopolis. She never felt much love from her mother throughout her life. She never felt much love from many of the people she encountered as a child. She always attributed it to her appearance. Having a tail and eyes of a lizard always seemed to put people off. It wasn't until her 13th birthday that she realized the true reason for her mother's contempt.

When Nailah turned thirteen years old she was picking up some garments for her mother's trade. Four cloaked creatures cornered her in an alley. With a wave of their hands and some arcane words she dropped everything and began to follow every command they gave her. She was lead back to the group's place of worship; a darkened crypt covered in snake iconography. It was an open secret that the cult of Apep worshiped beneath the city of Heliopolis. They sought to bring the destruction of the sun and apparently needed Nailah for something.

Most of what transpired in this crypt was a blur for her. They prepared her for some occult ritual that would awaken some kind of deep dark power within her; some dark power granted to her by her father. In the dark she came to understand exactly why her mother resented her. It wasn't by some means of a defect of birth, rather her strange appearance seemed to be quite intended. Nailah's mere presence must have reminded her mother of Apep and what he did to her those months before Nailah's birth.

She still isn't quite sure how she escaped, but the first place she ran to a temple dedicated to her aunt. Here she learned the teachings of Wadjet. Her curiosity was appreciated and nurtured by the clerics of the Green Empress. Upon discovering Nailah's lineage the priests sought to keep her safe and counter the nature of her birth with the nurturing hand of the cult of Wadjet.

Nailah's curiosity helped her learn much from the cult of Wadjet. One of these things was a passion for protecting the travelers of Heliopolis. For this end she began assisting people making their way across the desert.

When Nailah reached the age of 32 she felt a calling. She wandered out into the desert, not quite knowing where it was she was meant to be. After a little over two months, she found her way into the pirate city of Tortuga.

She soon made her way through the teleportation circle towards Hope's Redoubt after an encounter with a very scared sorceress and a giant bartender (who happened to be the queen of said pirate city). There she took in the wonderful sights and sounds of the elegant city. She was informed that to live in the city she would need to pledge fealty to the crown. Not being one to willy nilly pledge loyalty to anyone, she requested an audience to get an impression of the queen. The simple response she got was to ask the town though. So Nailah made her way through the city, and after a few days she had made her decision to stay. The day she met the queen though, she was introduced to Julius and Thundag Dragonwood, who were extremely kind to the inexperienced cleric. Thundag even gave her the funds to buy her own home.

Months later, after applying her trade in the city, she was given an opportunity to learn from the prestigious Minori Saito. She attended a lecture that gave her all sorts of ideas on magic and the theory behind it. Later that night, Nailah had a dream. Wadjet came to her and presented a cross roads. Down one path, Nailah would continue to hone her combat prowess and alchemical engineering. Down the other she would gain a greater understanding of the mysteries. To Nailah, the choice was obvious.

She awoke feeling different. She could feel magic coursing through her blood. When she prayed that morning, she was given much greater divine blessings. Her formula book was no where to be found, nor were her swords. She could hardly imagine how to hold to read the arcane formula or hold the blades anymore though. Instead, she had an intuitive understanding of magic, and gave it a test.

To her own horror and amazement, she created an effect that blended the schools of magic. She was off to see Minori immediately. The master transmuter gave Nailah a quick opportunity to demonstrate what the tiefling had figured out. Upon seeing the archaic art of wordcasting, Minori gave Nailah access to one of her libraries, and her blessing for studying the theories of magical practice.

## Appearance

Nailah is a short woman in her early thirties. Her eyes look like that of a snake, except where the sclera would normally be white, hers are black. Her skin tone is a golden brown like that of most Heliolites, but her hair is the tan color of the desert. Even when freshly washed though, it is always dusty as if swept by the desert winds.

## Personality

Nailah is nothing if not curious. She often finds herself in places with scant but an idea of how she got there, but happy that she found such interesting vistas. This curiosity can only be tamed by her fear of all forms of water born dangers. Snakes, crocodiles, whirlpools, and sea monsters all cause Nailah to freeze up. They remind her far too much of her lineage, as well as the domain in which her father resides.

## Friends

Nailah counts any traveler with a love of exploration her friend. More specifically the clerics of Wadjet that helped to raise her are her family. Her oldest friend though is an intelligent suite of fullplate that she found while escaping from the cult of Apep. Bachus was created by a priest of Wadjet long ago; designed to protect followers of the Green Empress. Although stubborn, and reluctant to let Nailah wander so foolishly, he cares deeply for his new wearer and tries his best to protect her as she meanders through the desert.

## Enemies

Followers of Apep are her primary enemies. And snakes.

## Aspirations

To see all the world has to offer is Nailah's one wish.