Riyanna Sterder
From Mizahar Lore
| Race | Human | ||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Syliras | ||||||||||||
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Riyanna is the current Warden of the Prairie, one of five individuals that watch over the Testing Grounds in Sahova. She is well known for her 'bubbly' attitude, happy demeanor and quick tongue when it comes to dealing with the Wizards of Sahova. She exemplifies everything that Sahova is not: Life, good health, positive demeanor and true kindness despite the darkness of her world. Her appearance varies depending on her fancy, but more often than not her hair will be bright and colorful to match her personality. Riyanna is sure to return to her normal human form after every transformation. She is well aware of the dangers of losing ones identity in her discipline of magic, but even show she cannot help but make some modifications which she finds pleasing. Her favorite appearance to date includes short hair brilliantly colored, and a mouth full or razor teeth like those of a shark.
Due to overgiving Riyanna has one feature which remains no matter her form. From the corner of each eye falls streaks of silver that pass over her cheeks. Having grown fond of them Riyanna has made no attempt to remove these signature markings, and her Initiates tend to copy these marks on their own face as a sign of respect.
Biography
Riyanna was born into a family steeped in knightly virtues. From a young age she knew that she wanted to join their ranks, and when she came of age she became a squire without hesitation. Once there she showed a passion for her duties, and her talents with a blade aided her in rise in the ranks. Before long she was given her Knighting quest, and she passed it with the ease of one truly devoted to the way of Syliras. The day she was marked by Sylir was one of the happiest of her life, but she never could have foreseen the tragedies that happened soon after.
Not long after her knighting Riyanna stumbled upon a corruption within the knights. She discovered a knight who had passed his quest not long before her was involved in taking bribes and other shady deals within Syliras, and Riyanna took it upon herself to bring this man to justice. Her efforts ended with her slaying the corrupt knight, but as fate would have it the order already knew of these goings on prior to Riyanna's involvement. When the Knights arrived all they saw was a knight laid slain on the ground, and Riyanna with his blood on her hands. Riyanna was pinned with both the acts of corruption, as well as the death of a knight and she was sentenced to be executed for her crimes. Just before the sentence could be carried out Riyanna was aided by her one time lover and escaped, fleeing from Syliras and knowing she could never return.
Riyanna never intended to flee to Sahova, but it seemed that was the path she was destined to follow. She found herself aboard a ship heading to the Isle of the Undead, and it was there she hoped to hide herself away forever. Sahova happily took her within their care, subjecting her to many tortures along the way, though she did find herself apprenticed under a Wizard who studied the applications of morphing in other aspects of life beyond combat. Before long Riyanna took to spending more and more time in the Testing Grounds, where she was drafted by the previous Prairie Warden to become his Initiate. She showed much promise in the application of Morphing to intense combat situations, and so when the time came to choose a new Warden Riyanna stood above and beyond her fellow Initiates.
With her rise to Warden Riyanna was gifted with a new weapon by Goron Silverheart. It was called Glendir's Fang, named after an old fable. Its ability to meld with the body of its bearer, becoming an intricate tattoo running down their back, made it the perfect weapon to aid her in her struggles to keep the pace in a place that knew only death. To this day Riyanna tries to uphold the virtues of knighthood even in a place that knows no virtue at all.
For many years Riyanna was well known for her light heated and spirited personality that both inspired and amazed those around her. Prone to laughing and jokes, the Warden had an uncanny nack for making others smile and she was well liked by many of the living found on the island. This changed, however, in the Spring of 514 AV when the Warden suffered a tragic loss of a favored Initiate to a clever trap set up by Master Embalmer Amaryllis. Though it was not known except by her initiates at the time Riyanna already possessed a rather fragile psyche and this even shattered what remained of her faith in the world. After this even Riyanna withdrew more and more into herself, and now she rarely smiles or speaks unless absolutely necessary. She has grown cold, and where as her appearance used to be vibrant and colorful now she uses darker and more muted coloring in her hair and all of her features are more wild and bestial to look at.
Now very few besides her initiates dare to approach her as she carries with her an air of wildness, like at a moments notice she could snap and descend into a frenzy of uncontrollable blood lust and rampage. Even the other Wardends give her space, for her actions are unpredictable.