Yelrona
Meira Yelrona
Appearance
Yelrona is a young (117) Dawn Elf, short (4'2") and compact, but muscular. She is fairly obviously an Inquisitor or some other martial religious order, but sports a mischievous smirk, dancing eyes, and a playful manner that belies the class's reputation.
Her skin is a warm coppery tone that almost seems to glow in the sun. Her dark brown hair hangs to her waist, usually in a tightly woven braid that she tucks into her tunic so it doesn't get in her way. Her eyes are light green, wide-set, and usually glancing around playfully, her expression usually amused and often laughing outright.
Her adventuring gear generally includes a longbow and breastplate. She wears a medallion around her neck, displaying a coyote's head on a field of stars, and black calf-high boots and elbow-length gloves. Her clothes typically sport a plethora of small pouches and pockets, and are well-suited for stealth.
When not adventuring she usually tops all of this off with a colorful light silk robe composed of numerous brightly-colored detachable silks of varying sizes, mostly greens and oranges, giving her a colorful and celebratory appearance. She often sports brightly colored facepaint, sometimes in relatively traditional forms like eyeshadow, other times in wild and whimsical patterns.
Summary
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(See later sections for more details.)
Yelrona is a Llyranesi from the Mythwood. She was raised to be a Seer of Eluna but due to Zykka's interference became a Rogue instead. She has since then Gotten the Joke and joined Tarien's service, retraining as a Ruffian.
She is impulsive by nature, and her time among Tarienites has exacerbated this. When fate opens a door, she steps through it. So she will basically go along with any crazy random harebrained scheme as long as it's not obviously suicidal or, you know, evil. So if you approach her with a "Hey, let's go do X!" she will more than likely agree.
She is a comedian. That's not to say she's necessarily _funny_, but she is constantly joking and poking fun at things. She usually invokes her spells by telling jokes, which Tarien seems to approve of.
She is an adventurer. Mostly she takes stealth/infiltration/spying jobs through the Adventurer's Guild and doesn't talk about them much. Sometimes she joins adventuring parties for more standard missions. She is primarily an Archer; her preferred weapon is the composite longbow. She has access to healing magic, and is skilled at scouting, infiltration and spycraft (Disguise, Bluff, Sense Motive, Perception, Stealth, Survival/tracking).
She is not a criminal, exactly, but is an active part of the Alexandria criminal underworld.
She is not an Acquisitioner, but her father was, and she learned a lot about them (including a few basic recognition signs) from him.
She is not a Liberator, but she was rescued by them as a child and remains friends with the leader of a Chapter of Liberators in the Mythwood.
She is seeking her missing father Avourel, whom she knows was in Alexandria at least 15 years ago, and she fears has been corrupted by necromancy.
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More Details
Underworld Activity
Though not a criminal herself (well, not _exactly_, anyway) she is an active part of the Alexandria criminal underworld, a de-facto member of the [:Category:Guild_of_the_Sly|Guild of the Sly], and Connected within the Warehouse District, most especially among its criminal elements. She generally knows what's going on there, and what she doesn't know she can find out about.
Although she is most closely connected with the Guild she has unofficial contacts and influence within competing organizations operating within the Warehouse District as well, such as the Sunset, the Ebon Syndicate, and even the Shrouded Wing.
She works to steer the Warehouse criminal element away from genuinely harmful activity. "If you're _going_ to rob a business' storehouse, why not steal from a business that treats its employees poorly, or whose owner is a follower of Taara, or something like that? Their money clinks just as satisfyingly, and the common folk will see this and know you're on their side. Which will come in handy when you need an alibi, or need someone to _not_ tell the Guard where you're hiding, or...?" This doesn't have a significant impact on anything, really, but she tries.
She has a Rival, R'ulq, an Arvek Nar minor crimelord in the Sunset.
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Temple Activity
Yelrona was raised in the Temple of Eluna where her mother Falenas was the head Seer. She was expected to succeed Falenas in that position, but she did not pledge herself to the Elunites when the time came. Her experiences with the local Liberator Chapter had taught her a great deal about Tarien and when she was 115, she declared for his Temple instead.
Shortly thereafter she arrived in Alexandria and became a lay member of the Temple of Tarian. After a while she Got The Joke and became a Luckbringer. Before too long her newfound commitment to Tarien interfered with her earlier (unknown) connection to Zyyka; the resulting spiritual struggle stripped her of much of her abilities as both a Rogue and a Luckbringer, and she retrained as a Ruffian.
She does not lead Temple services but she attends them regularly, donates money and time, and is actively involved in both the Temple's organization and in the lives of those who attend services, frequently serving as a social worker of sorts.
She is also active in taking Tarien's message out into the larger world, spreading humor, organizing pranks (sometimes on a very large scale), and highlighting the absurdity of everyday life.
Spying
Yelrona has taken a number of stealth/infiltration/spying jobs through the Adventurer's Guild, in places like Rune and Dragonier (during the wars) and Skald and Charn. She doesn't talk about them much, but sometimes recruits assistance. These are typically not combat jobs... she gathers intelligence, obtains or plants items, delivers or retrieves messages, etc.
It was in Dragonier that she first came into contact with the Shrouded Wings.
Zyyka and the Champion Thief
(This is not widely known, but is not secret; it can be known IC with suitable Knowledge rolls. Also Yelrona will willingly talk about it if it comes up in conversation. If you'd like to hear it IC, let me know, but if you and she are friends you can also just assume that you've asked where she _went_ for the year she was gone and she told you the story off-camera.
There is a sacred grove not too far from Yles Namvadin, in the Mythwood, where Yelrona was born. The spirit of the Grove is a Nymph named Zyyka. Zyyka was bound to the Grove about 500 years ago, replacing the Grove's former spirit Waelin. How Waelin was bound there, and how the Grove itself came to exist, is lost to history. The two loathed one another at first sight, and their rivalry was legendary. The legends are vague about exactly how this happened, but somehow when the dust settled, Zyyka was bound to the grove and Waelin was free and had possession of Zyyka's Heart. The legends are even _more_ vague about the Heart, other than that it is extremely powerful and valuable, and that Waelin herself was unable to make use of it.
Knowing that Zyyka would attempt to retrieve her Heart, Waelin hid it away in a cavern that was not entirely of this world, and was accessible only one night every hundred years. So Zyyka resolved to find a champion who could retrieve her Heart for her. Four centuries, four champions, four failures.
When Yelrona was little her mother Falenas took her to the Grove and asked Zyyka to bless Yelrona, that she might excel on her destined path... which Falenas assumed would be as a Seer like herself. Instead, Zyyka blessed Yelrona with quick, clever hands and agility unknown even among the superhumanly agile Llyrinasi, and the girl grew into a Rogue rather than a Cleric, much to her mother's dismay. Of course, there would be a price to pay for Zyyka's aid, but Falenas was confident that Eluna's grace would shield her daughter when the time came to pay it. And when Yelrona left Eluna's temple to become an adventuring rogue, her mother was so furious she neglected to mention any of this.
Zyyka was not merely being capricious; she intended for Yelrona to be her fifth champion, an exceptional thief who would defeat Waelin's wards and retrieve the Heart. But then Yelrona Got The Joke and entered Tarien's service as a Luckbringer, and was no longer suitable. So Zyyka withdrew her gift, and Yelrona lost her exceptional dexterity and many of her roguish skills. More than that, the furious nymph cursed the young elf with incompetence (-5 penalty to all skill rolls).
Seeking guidance, Yelrona travelled to a Tarienite monastery and spent weeks in meditation and prayer and stand-up comedy, and ultimately she had a vision in which Tarien and Zyyka were haggling over her soul, eventually coming to an agreement: Zyyka would lift her curse, and when the time came Yelrona would perform the service Zyyka had originally intended for her... though how she would succeed, without the skills Zyyka had granted her, was her own problem. If she succeeded, well and good: Zyyka would quit her claim on Yelrona's soul. Otherwise, Zyyka's punishment would be merciless and terrible and not at all funny.
In her vision, Tarien agreed. (As did Yelrona, though her opinion was not exactly relevant in this particular council.)
Yelrona returned to the monastery and, over the next year or so, was retrained as a Ruffian. She also learned as much as she could about Zyyka.
The day is coming.
Avourel, Necromancy, and the Acquisitioners
Yelrona's father Avourel was a Rogue, an adventurer, and was often away from home. Known to few outside the family was Avourel's status as an Acquisitioner, whose many long journeys were in service of the Elunite church. He specialized in tracking down necromancers and safely retrieving or destroying necromantic artifacts.
Avourel last left home thirty years ago, in search of a necromantic artifact known as the Hand of Ilris, about which very little is known... at least by anyone she's talked to. When Yelrona left her hometown she decided she was going to find her father. Shortly after her arrival in Alexandria she visited the Verdanan temple in the hopes of finding clues, and Executor Arisha suggested that Avourel might have been corrupted by the necromancy he dealt with. Not long after she ran into the Lady Sandiel while evading a goblin street gang and learned that Avourel had been in Alexandria twenty years earlier, and that he was apparently not especially faithful to her mother while on his expeditions. That, in turn, led her to ask around among Alexandrian prostitutes, and she found -- to her dismay -- a high-end Mul'niessa call girl named Clarissa who remembered him. According to Clarissa, Avourel was a regular customer about fifteen years earlier who would use a Wand of Polymorph to turn her into a demon before their trysts... he was really into that, apparently.
At this point Yelrona is convinced that her father was corrupted by his exposure to necromancy, and is now up to Tarien-knows-what. She is kind of heartbroken about it, dreams of rescuing and redeeming him, and continues to look for clues.
R'ulq
R'ulq is Yelrona's Rival, a consequence of her growing Influence in the criminal underworld. Feel free to use him as an NPC as seems appropriate.
R'ulq is a minor local crimelord whom Rona met while trying to clean up the mess left after her magicite-intercepting mission in the Deluge Mines went south. (see Yelrona the Harriet 2 SS). He is a member of the Sunset, and well-regarded as someone who takes care of business and keeps things orderly.
He's an arvek nar, a former gladiator from Stone Talon in Bludgun, trained primarily as a Fighter with a dip into Rogue, but he mostly avoids getting his hands dirty these days. Cunning and clever but not well-educated. Strong and fast and tough. Large, red-skinned, black hair, black eyes. Dresses _really_ well. Is polite to a fault unless he's pissed off. Skilled at improvisational poetry (think something similar to rap). Personally he's actually a pretty decent fellow, though that doesn't interfere with his doing some pretty awful things in his professional capacity.
He dislikes Yelrona intensely, seeing her (not without justice) as a force of chaos who is screwing up his nice neat orderly universe. He tried to have her assassinated a couple of times, but his bosses have told him to cut it out. So he works more subtly now, trying to eliminate her without any clues pointing to him.
Kalniss, Mul'niessa and Liberators
Yelrona's best friend in Yles Namvadin was an older boy, Kalniss, whose family was looked down on due to rumors of Mul'niessa Sorcerors in their lineage, and whose parents managed a Mythwood trading route and were frequently away from home for long periods.
Yelrona and Kalniss spent a great deal of time together, exploring the settlement and, later, ruins around the Mythwood. She learned a great deal from him and from the friends he would sometimes introduce her to, Rogues of all races who would gather from time to time to trade stories and loot, show off skills, etc. She came to enjoy both the learning and the showing off quite a bit.
In her eighth decade, the two youths stumbled across a group of slavers operating in a Mythwood ruin. They decided to intervene, setting up traps and distracting the slavers until they could free the slaves. It worked for a while, but eventually they got caught. Eventually they were rescued by an adventuring party that included Kalniss' parents, and their injuries healed. Yelrona learned that Kalniss' father was a Luckbringer, but he preferred that this not be widely known, and that his family had been rescued from Mul'niessa slavers by a party of Liberators before he was born and he had, to honor that, founded his own chapter of Liberators among the Mul'niessa of Mythwood.
Yelrona agreed to keep all of this to herself, but she began to spend more time with Kalniss' family. She is not a Liberator but she knows a good deal about them and remains a friend to the Mythwood chapter.
Yles Namvadin
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Yelrona was born and raised in a small elven settlement named Yles Namvadin, in the Mythwood.
It is politically unimportant, but you might know of it anyway because of an exceptionally pure freshwater spring located nearby (the name means "Sweet Spring"), or because of a nearby sacred grove inhabited by the spirit Zyyka.
The Meira clan was (and still is) a classic big fish in a small pond... one of the most respected families in Yles Namvadin, though in a settlement of twenty or thirty families or so that's not really saying a lot. Her mother Falenas had been the Elunite high priestess for nearly two centuries and known as a skilled healer and teacher, and Yelrona grew up the beneficiary of considerable respect from locals because of her lineage.
The wider area around Yles Namvadin is mostly populated by Sildanyar and Halflings.
Detailed RP History
- Yelrona's Arrival - Yelrona arrives at the Alexandros Gates after a long journey, is greeted by two local elves, and learns disquieting news about demonic activity that just might be connected to her quest to find her father.
- Demon in the Garden! - Yelrona and Velothin are faced with a demonic foe, and they bravely run away.
- Hare we Go! - Bunnies, Bunnies, it must be bunnies!.... Or maybe ettins?
- 'The Increasingly Inaccurately Named Archives Trilogy' - A surprisingly engaging set of grid RP scenes involving Yelrona and Diemma looking things up in the Ithildinian medical journals, searching for clues to her father's whereabouts. Includes The Coming of the Bindroot! (in which Yelrona meets Diemma, a local nun who who offers to help her search the journals, while also learning about demons and invasive plant life), Approaching the Archives (in which Yelrona takes Diemma up on her offer), To the Archives! (in which Yelrona picks her first lock in Alexandros, and is caught by a priest and a temple guard, neither of whom seem to mind terribly much), and Back to the Archives (in which our heroes discuss philosophy, politics, Sith cooking habits, and the sexual predilections of gentis medica)
- Fates worse than death - Yelrona worries that perhaps the power of necromancy may have corrupted her father.
- And the Rain Crashed Down on the Roof... - Yelrona and Sorscha have an emotional argument in the pouring rain, and 'rona reveals some things about her past.
- A clue! - Sandy rescues Yelrona from a street gang and reveals a clue to the fate of Yelrona's father.
- Away, You Rolling River - Yelrona practices her tumbling, disturbs a couple of rangers at rest, learns some things about Sith-makar mating habits, and skinny-dips with Ga'Elian.
- Take me to the River - Balance practice becomes acrobatics training becomes reminiscing about parties.
- Gotta Catch 'Em All - It begins with MAYHEM!!!, when the demons attack the Alexandria junkyard and the golems who make it their home away from homes. Then it gets weird, as Rona encounters a series of spontaneously organizing artifice creatures: a duck, a snake, a rabbit she pursues extensively before finally capturing, and a racoon.
- [Junk and Dreams] - Yelrona helps clean up the junkyard.
- Two Dawn Elves and a Wild Elf walk into a bar - After spending the day working through the Illithinide archives searching for records of her father, a bedraggled Yelrona avoids the site of her earlier demonic encounter, makes her way back to the Fernwood, and gets cooking lessons from Sorscha. Their meal is briefly interrupted by Ga'Elian, fresh from battling two wraiths.
- Fishing in the Tornmawr - Nicolai goes spear-fishing, almost skewering Yelrona as she searches for sunken treasure and Un'eth as she travels along the water. Fortunately, Ga'Elian and his gryphon are in the air, safe from errant spears unless Nicolai's aim is particularly bad.
- [Giants and Clowns] - Rona recruits Sigrid into her act.
- The fur doesn't fly - Rona gets re-acquainted with Erithamiel and is introduced to Iadoth of the Vast, who is selling furs in the market. At first Rona is hopeful that Iadoth might have some memory of her father, but this turns out to lead nowhere. Still, Iadoth has useful advice on where to look next... and any day that includes a visit with a griffin is a good day!
- The Goblin Job - A graveyard investigation turns into a flesh golem attack.
- [Cheating at cards] - Yelrona notices a group of ne'er-do-wells at Steel von IronBrew's fleecing a local merchant at cards. She joins the game, figuring to cheat them in turn, but her card-chicanery is spotted. (Rolled a 2!!!) Ga'Elian wanders in in time to back her up, and they successfully intimidate the foursome and retrieve the merchant's coin.
- The No Good Oxleys Horrible Secret Anniversary Party for Sandy and Myrana Anniversary Party - Rona meets a lot of locals and becomes acquainted with the Ox-Strength.
- [Prelude to a Vision] - Rona gets better acquainted with Sandy and Myrana.
- Falling into the Sea - Rona's morning meditations on top of the Sea Wall are interrupted by Ga'Elian arrival. They end up egging each other on to dive into the ocean from the top of the wall, which they manage to not die while doing. Swimming and horseplay ensue, along with somewhat macabre discussions about underwater demons. Un'eth joins them.
- That's-a some spicy meatball! - Yelrona is performing in front of the Temple of Tarien, encouraging donations from the crowd. The audience includes Hun'rar from the Temple of Gilead, Sorscha from the temple of Daeus, and Svarshan with some spicy meatballs. Things get a little heated when Svarshan throws his dinner at Hun'rar, leading to challenge and counterchallenge and culminating in some fierce noogying.
- Mothers, daughters, and gods - A discussion of the previous evening's food-fight and the unexpected frivolity of certain paladins leads to Sorscha's recounting of how she received the Call to serve as a Sunblade, which leads in turn to Yelrona's account of how she came to follow Tarien while living with an Elunite priestess. Sorscha and Aya suggest that ultimately it's less about gods and more about parenting.
- [Lamplighting Ceremony] - Rona joins a group of locals to commemorate the lighting of Fazahd's mana lamps.
- Balance - Yelrona's balance practice on the railing of the Northern Bridge turns into an acrobatics lesson from a giant acrobat, who ultimately introduces herself as a monk of the Order of Righteous Battle. Discussion ensues of the relative merits of boots vs. bare feet, lockpicks vs smashing doors into kindling, and other classic adventurer's dilemmas. Kira and Aldean join them along the way, as do Ga'Elian and Erithamiel. Yelrona's involvement ends when her footing slips and she dives into the Tornmawr, not for the first time.
- [Ox Dwarves] - A gathering at the Ox-Strength.
- Candy and Combat - Yelrona's stealthy trip to Butterscotch and Creams (SOTD!) to pick up a birthday gift for a Runian refugee turns into a search for the perfect first-date confection for Ranik, which is approximately completed when the bedraggled tail end of Dranian band of scavengers appears and is challenged by some Runian locals. Combat ensues and the surviving scavengers are chased off.
- Candy and Combat, Redux - Evening finds Yelrona back at Butterscotch and Cream's, part of a private Adventurer's Guild assignment to stealthily check out the current state of Rune after the Dranian invasion. She runs into two familiar faces from Alexandria there: Jacob and Shierra. Not too long after, the shop is invaded by four Dranien raiders, and attempts at diplomacy fail. The threesome defeats the raiders and returns to Alexandria.
- Demon Stew - Yelrona, Sandy and Svarshan meet in Sandy's shop, where Svarshan has brought a pot of stew he claims is made of glabrazou meat. Apparently, Myrana makes chili out of it, but with the recent destruction at the Ox-Blood, Svarshan is just carrying it around. He spills some on Sandy's inventory. It's all very sad.
- Green-Eyed Jason - Yelrona and Jacob return to Rune to gather more information about the occupation force. They encounter two clerical types at the Wizard's Pub, and Yelrona spends some time surreptitiously copying a map they are arguing over, while Jacob charms their waitress and asks her about Dranei strong-points. She doesn't know much, but informs them of a regular customer known as Green-Eyed Jason, who knows a lot about such things... but is unlikely to show up while the Dranei are here. Jacob manages to get the two to leave purely by telling them the truth.
- Shopping - Rona's stealthy intel-gathering missions into Rune have been growing more dangerous since the Dranei invaded. She attempts to distract herself by shopping, ending up at the Prestigous Moon, which some vandal has puzzlingly repainted the sign of. Still, war is much on her mind, and the discussion with Sandy turns quickly from scarves and fashion sense to the grim realities of war and the possibility of similar chaos in Alexandrian streets.
- Streetlights and Shady Deals - After exchanging some secret papers with a mysterious burly redhead, Rona joins Fazahd, Silmeria and Jokul for a meal at Fazahd's new restaurant. This leads to a discussion of the local prostitute trade and the best way for Fazahd to eliminate an abusive local madam, the value of streetlights, and Rona's shady deals.
- Getting to know Esme - Rona returns to the Flightwright, intending to 'get back on the horse that threw her' after being nearly strangled to death by an invisible stalker the last time she'd been there, and is surprised and pleased to notice Esmaudalein's name on a bill. She interrupts the gnome in her dressing room while she's putting on her makeup and they get to know each other better, though she _still_ doesn't get an autograph!
- Busted! - Rona is spotted as she sneaks out of a warehouse in the aptly named warehouse district by Fiore, a giantborn several times her size whom she's actually met before, doing acrobatics on the bridge, but has forgotten. Fiore does not seem to pay much attention to her point of origin, and they walk together in the rain, discussing magical tattoos, Angoron worship, and the state of the war in Rune.
- Dirty Pistol - Yelrona returned to the Fernwood from a covert Guild mission, from which she emerged with nothing to show for it but a bloody arm. She should have gone straight to Tarien's temple for healing, probably, but fatigue and hunger and frustration overcame good sense, as it so often does for her. Fortunately, she encountered Jinx there, who healed her. They explored the strange earth-related enchantment surrounding Jinx's pistol, and then discussed the strange roaring from the night before.
- Wilderness Pointe - While attempting to find clues as to the source of that godawful howling the night before, Rona finds herself at Wilderness Pointe, where she meets Ga'Elian and the Sith-Makars... no, not a new band, just Durrankar and Svarshan and Un'eth and Svarshan's daughter Ohtli. They chat for a time about bugs.
- Deep Feelings - Rona is perched just inside the Northern Gate, waiting for a "business associate" with some crucial information. While she waits she is joined by Jinx and Ga'Elian. Their conversation takes an unexpected turn as Ga'Elian somewhat awkwardly declares his admiration and affection for her, and Rona agrees to a picnic in the woods later.
- [Tend to your knitting] - A covert mission to Rune involves assistance from a couple of locals.
- [Gullible is in the Dictionary] - Rona explains to Ga'Elian that he has once again been taken for a ride by a local con-woman. Tarien works through her to prank the elf. Fazahd, Arisha, and Astaren join them.
- [Taking it to the Streets] - Rona recruits a new pair of eyes on the street, courtesy of Mel and his unidentified meat cart.