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I can no longer hold back my sword hand’s anger,
The Raven Tester’s Doom of Man springs
to life.
I am the Indefatigable Sword Daughter,
With the red destiny that has no equal.
Be you slave or master,
Bow your heads and ask for mercy.
I am the dragon from the desert,
Who appears from nowhere and leaves no trace.
Today I fly over Mount Quivin,
Tommorrow I topple the Moon.
Words ripped-off from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Serenity Aelfwynsdottir of the Yanioth bloodline (she was
named by Kathera the Shrew, a notably sarcastic Kev the Visionary priestess, following the Rites of Orande).
Serenity is the daughter of Tostig Stormcaster, priest of Orlanth Rex and
tribal king of the Dundealos, and Aelfwyn Finebrow, priestess of Ernalda the Healer and retired Vingan.
She was born at Last Cast temple in Storm Season of 1600. Her hair was fire-red, and early
divinations made it clear that she was blessed by the Goddess and should become a Vingan. At her initiation it was observed
that her stature and personality bore a strong resemblance to that of Orande the Odd, an ancient Vingan heroine of the Macleod
Clan.
As the child of a tribal king she lived a privileged life, even in the troubled years following
the Lunar conquest of Sartar. It was a happy life; playing in the hills of the Macleod tula with her friends, dancing with
the wind on Poet’s Mountain, earnestly listening to the heroic stories of the skalds, the boasting of the warriors,
and tradethane Aldred’s tales of far-off lands full of wonder and adventure. It was always the Vingan stories that fascinated
her the most, an interest encouraged by her mother. She was a tomboy and competed with her male relatives with great gusto,
a habit that was exacerbated after she initiated into the Adventurer subcult of Vinga. Even when young she was known for her
quick tongue and trenchant observations.
Only Fost Longstrider knows exactly what happened during the 1618 Dundealos
rebellion (the event that prompted her to become an adventurer), she rarely speaks of those sad events following
which she joined the Avenger subcult.
Serenity adopted the name Kallyr the Red upon her arrival in
Swenstown, to honour the famous hero of the Kheldon and conceal her identity as she was on the run from the Lunars (she
also likes taking the piss out of her cult superiors). Most people know her as Kallyr TwoSwords or Kallyr the Dancer;
only her closest friends know her real identity.
Other names she has been known by or used include:
Kallyr of Pavis, Kallyr TwoSwords, BeetlePuncher, Kallyr the Dancer, Kallyr Junior, CradleDancer, Bjork Oddsong.
She is the only founder member of The Company to have served
in all battles fought under the standard, and carried it for four years (1623-1627), before handing it back to Fost
Longstrider, who had been Company standard-bearer before his disappearance in 1623 and was reappointed to the position soon
after his return.
Serenity is an experienced and professional adventurer turned
priestess and public figure. She has fought the Vomiter, the Chaos Gaggle, the Eye of Wakboth, the Lunars, sun cultists, undead,
chaos beasts, trolls, and just about everything in between. Mostly she has been victorious, mostly.
At the Battle of Iceland she slew many Lunars and made many
more run in fear. At the Troll Games she won the Unarmed Combat and Eating competitions, came third in the Beetle-riding ,
withdrew from the Throwing despite being the most skilled thrower in the party (didn’t want to hurt helpless trollkin),
and lost the Running when she started a fight with Geras so that their ally Javis Gan could do well.
She played a pivotal role in the Pavis Rebellion; many claim
she led it (a claim she denies, saying that Fost was the Marshal of the United Pavic
and Praxian Empire Topplers in charge, not her, and that claims to the contrary are slanderous). At the Battle of Notchet
she led the Orlanthi contingent and slew many Lunars, covering her name with glory. On the quest to open the seas she slew
Certament, a solar godling and took his sword.
Serenity is clever, calculating, confrontational (Lucifer reckons
that it is her height that makes her so testy), acerbic but silver-tongued. It has been said that, having charmed your pants
from you, she could then persuade you to wash them, wrap them, carry them home for her, and thank her for the privilege. Renowned
both for her generosity and ability to make money, she is wealthy, although much of her money has been invested in temple
and clan projects recently.
She is an exquisitely skilled fighter with swords, fighting
in a graceful style that emphasises the use of movement and technique and appears to have borrowed heavily from Vorumaini
and Kralori fighting styles. She wields paired broad swords, hence her nickname (well, one of her nicknames). Serenity
is also an accomplished martial artist (she was banned from Rowdy Djoh Lo’s for three seasons for picking fights).
Serenity is second only to Miko within The Company as a
spellcaster. During a recent heroquest she displayed considerable knowledge of draconic lore and rituals, something even her
closest friends were unaware of. She is well-educated and multi-lingual, capable of picking up the basics of almost
any language amazingly quickly ( she is fluent in ten languages). Fost believes that this is mainly so that
she can better insult her enemies (he knows her very well.). She is also an accomplished musician, singer, and poetess,
able to influence people with her singing in an almost magical fashion.
Ruthless and intensely
dedicated to her goddess, friends, clan, and the Sartarite cause, Serenity offends many who get in her way but also has
an amazing knack for making allies in the most unusual places. Disturbingly, she is frequently chosen to be the group representative
on diplomatic missions (who says Orlanthi don't have a sense of humour).
Unlike most Adventurer priestesses and many Orlanthi, she does
not revel in fame or boast; she doesn’t really care what others think of her (as it seems to make little difference
except to ensure that she can’t sucker anyone into a bar brawl nowadays).
Serenity has a not entirely undeserved reputation as a bit of a slapper; she likes to fool around and has some proclivities
that are unusual by Sartarite standards. She loves Fost Longstrider greatly however; the two have had an open relationship
for the last ten years and her closest followers noticed quite how pleased she was when he 'returned from the dead',
despite her apparently diffident attitude towards him.
She is known to have extensive and varied contacts: Pavis
trolls, Earth cults (Ernalda and Babeester Gor), thieves guilds, Uroxi, Praxians, dodgy Notchet merchants, the cult of Pavis
and the cult of Zola Fel, Yinkini, Kolatings, and many others (including the Lunars).
She has a daughter called Serendipity (aka Karsellyn,she became pregnant during a heroquest that went mildly awry), four
adopted daughters (Brangwen [ aka Trouble], Bjork,Tathwen and Kenwyn), and an adopted son (Marrai). She adopted the last three
after rescuing them from Lunar assassins in Sartar. She has a ward named Carramaena.
Serenity hopes one day to return to adventuring fulltime, but is currently kept busy by temple, clan, and children.
She is pleased that Fost and Lucifer are taking over the role of leader within The Company, a post that she was
compelled to take when the group was in its infancy but has always resented (she feels safer adventuring with people who don’t
need her advice and leadership, after all, how desperate would you have to be to ask her in the first place?).
Recently, Serenity accidentally joined the cult of Yinkin while
on heroquest, proving once more the old maxim that strange things happen if you chase strange naked women around the woods
at night. She has also become a member of the Olaront Dragonfriend subcult, again by accident, proving once more the old maxim
that large glowing crystals should not be looked at too keenly. Serenity is uncertain about these new developments; she venerates
both gods but had intended to only ever serve Vinga.
Serenity is usually accompanied by two alynxes. RedStripe (aka
Scabby Cat, an awakened alynx with a bad temper) and Other Cat (to Red Stripe, but of a sweet disposition). She is often accompanied
by a small pack of the clan's alynxes when she is at the Arm of Pavis. Recently she has been seen with a talking (and sarcastic)
boa constrictor that she imaginatively calls ‘Snake’. This has led some people to worry that she has renewed her
connections with the Babeester Gor cult, a claim that she denies (“Renewed? They never stopped mate.”). Another
occassional companion is Tarka Lunarbane, a Vingan otter.
Serenity likes fighting, partying
in all its forms, dancing, poetry, reading, training, and playing with her kids. She hates undead, Chaos, the Lunars, and
anyone who hurts women and kids.
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| Behind this smile is a deviant mind. |
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