Yelrona
Meira Yelrona
Appearance
What first strikes you about Yelrona is her extraordinary grace (DEX 23). She moves lightly, swiftly, elegantly.
She is a young (116 years old) and slightly built (STR 10, CON 10, 4'2", 95#) Dawn Elf. She's attractive enough (CHA 14), though really it's due more her manner than her appearance... mischievous smirk and dancing eyes and a playful manner.
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.
While adventuring she wears gray leathers, a variety of small pouches and pockets, and a belt with a cat-shaped buckle. She carries a masterfully made rapier and buckler, a longbow and quiver, and a snug-fitting backpack. A medallion hangs from her neck displaying a coyote's head on a field of stars. Black calf-high boots and elbow-length gloves complete her adventuring garb.
When not adventuring she also wears a 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, in no consistent pattern.
Capabilities
Although not a criminal, Yelrona is trained as a thief: she can find and disarm traps, slip bonds, avoid perception, is clever with her hands, the usual sort of thing. She has contacts within
She is +very+ good with a rapier, especially when flanking opponents, but can't take much damage.
She is a Luckbringer who mostly uses Divine Magic for buffing.
She is fluent in several languages, both the mundane (Goblin-Talk, Sildanyari, Tradespeech, Halfling) and the obscure (Celestial, Hand-Speech, Mynsandraal, Sylvan).
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.
Current History
Since arriving in Alexandria, Yelrona has become actively involved with the Temple of Tarien. More recently she has, somewhat to her own surprise, found herself blessed by Tarien as one of his Luckbringers.
She has also started taking quiet jobs through the Explorer's Guild... gathering intelligence, obtaining or planting items, etc. rather than fighting (insofar as she can, anyway). In the process she's made influential connections within the Sunset, the Guild of the Sly, and the Ebon Syndicate.
Past History
The Meira clan was (and still is) a classic big fish in a small pond... one of the most respected families in Yles Namvadin ("Sweet Spring," named after a freshwater spring nearby renowned for exceptionally pure water), a small elven settlement in the Mythwood.
Yelrona grew up the beneficiary of considerable respect from locals because of her lineage, though in a settlement of twenty or thirty families or so that wasn't really saying a lot. Her mother Falenas had been the Elunite priestess for nearly two centuries and known as a skilled healer and teacher. Ylena's father Avourel was a Rogue, an adventurer, and often away from the settlement. Known to few 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.
Shortly after her birth, Yelrona's parents and several others from the Temple of Eluna took the infant on a pilgrimage to a sacred grove in the Mythwood, where Falenas prayed over her that the gods might grant her a boon, that as she grew she might exemplify the talents that she inherited from her lineage. When they returned to Yles Namvadin, Falenas was content that her prayer had been answered... and indeed it was, but not the way she'd intended. As Yelrona grew older it became clear that she was not rising up to take her mother's place in the temple... though clever and wise, she lacked the discipline for a cleric's life. Far more importantly, as she grew she came to revel in the arts of the body far more than in those of the mind or spirit. She was well-known in the settlement as exceptionally quick and light-fingered and agile, and would often entertain the adults with displays of gymnastics and prestidigitation... often when she was _supposed_ to be studying in the Temple library. Eventually her father acceded to the inevitable and began training her in stealth, quickness, and evasiveness... the tools of roguery. Her mother never did, and grew increasingly exasperated with her.
Her 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 a Liberator party that included Kalniss' parents, and their injuries healed. Yelrona learned that Kalniss' father was a Tarienite Cleric, but he preferred that this not be widely known, and that his family had been rescued from Mul'niessa slavers before he was born and had later joined the Liberators. Yelrona agreed to keep all of this to herself, but she began to spend more time with them, which in turn led to conflicts with her mother... especially as she began to question some elements of the Elunite doctrine. Tensions at home only grew as her father's return from his latest adventure grew later and later.
This all got much worse on her hundredth birthday, when she was officially declared an adult and invited to declare her allegiance to a Deity in her own name, rather than as an extension of her parents. The Elunite church expected her to pledge herself to Eluna, but she didn't. Her mother was deeply hurt, and over the next decade or so Yelrona spent less and less time at home, and more and more time with the Tarienites, until finally she declared allegience to Tarien at the age of 115. This was the last straw for her mother, who refused any further contact with her. In response Yelrona left Yles Namvadin, declaring she was going to find her father, although in fact she had no idea how to even begin doing that, or even any reason to expect he's still alive after all these years.
In the year or so since then, she has learned that her father was looking for a necromantic artifact known as the Hand of Ilris, about which very little is known... at least by anyone she's talked to. She has ended up in Alexandria, figuring that it's as good a place as any and better than most to continue her search. And while she takes this seriously, she is also embracing the teachings of Tarien to seek humor and laughter and embrace the unexpected turns of fate as they arise.
Something Yelrona does not know, because nobody ever told her, is that the sacred grove whose boon she received as an infant is not an entirely unmixed blessing... there is a price to be paid, though the specific price varies. Falenas knew this, but figured there was plenty of time to take care of the problem once Yelrona had come into her maturity as a Cleric... and then her pride prevented her from bringing it up once it became clear that was never going to happen. She will warn her daughter eventually, of course, but there's no hurry, right? (Plot hook for later.)
Roleplay Hooks
- Random adventures - Rona is a Tarienite, and this is increasingly influencing her thinking. Her understanding of Tarien's nature means that 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.
- The search for Avourel - Feel free to have your character have some connection to Avourel's fate over the last few decades. This can be as minor as having met the guy once over coffee, or more substantial.
Don't worry about how you tie into "the actual plot", I haven't decided what that is yet anyway, and in any case I really like the idea of having this trail be weird and convoluted and nonlinear, so whatever you come up with is fine. Whatever it is, as long as she finds out you're connected she'll hound you to find out what you know. Feel free to make stuff up, as long as at the end of the day you don't close off further steps on that story... like, don't decide your character saw Avourel die or anything like that. If you're unsure, ask me first. But honestly, I like the idea of making her through-line quest subject to whatever whims y'all have. Note that Avourel's appearance (as of thirty years ago) and Yelrona's search have appeared in the Tribune, so recognizing him is easy.
- Spying and criminal activity and stuff - Rona is doing Guild jobs that involve stealth rather than combat... scouting for intel, monitoring individuals, listening in on private meetings, stealing items, planting fake evidence, that sort of thing. She also has Influence among the various criminal organizations of Alexandria. So if your char is at all involved in that sort of thing, we should chat!
- Acquisitioners and Liberators - If you're an Acquisitioner, or a Liberator, she wants to hear about your experiences. She isn't a member of either group (yet) but she's fond of them and knows enough from her childhood friends/family to recognize a general recognition symbol, like a sign/countersign or a secret handshake or something like that.
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.
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