Lyal Bel-Moliria - The Living Crucible
Character Information
- Name: Sera Lyal Amanar Bel-Moliria
- Race: Highborn Solvaan
- Age: 44
- Born Sex: Female
- Gender: Female (She/Her)
- Sexuality: Bisexual
- Eye Colour: Orange iris, black sclera
- Occult: Eldertide Godborn
- Organization: Great Oak Bloodcast
Core Concept
- Idea: Lyal is a Solvaan who has experienced a lot in her young life (by Nelfin standards), and as such many see her as a secretive, sarcastic and self-depreciative person, focusing on the mission and her duties over everything else. This likely stems from how much she hates herself and where she came from, seeing her life as one big joke at best, and an insult to nature at worst. Now she focuses her life to pay back all the pain her sire, his servants and those like herself have caused through loyalty and service to justice, the Empire and to the common peoples who would be most likely to be hurt by the Eldertides fel works. But from her past she did at least learn to be sceptical, especially those in authority, even if she holds out hope that not all people are monsters and even, secretly, not all monsters are monsters. Nonetheless, her nature and her work keeps her on her toes, preferring to stay on the backlines of social conflict, only joining in politics to back things up, instead taking the fight head on to the more physically monstrous and dangerous enemies of the people.
- Religion: Lyal is predominantly agnostic, instead focusing on ideology than any actual prayer or lording of "deities" due to her sceptical nature. As such, she finds her respect and kinship predominantly for the Dragons and Draconism, of which seek to keep the land safe and uncorrupted by the evils of monsters and other dimensions. She also finds a kinship with Estelley due to Elion's help and her blood family despising it, and also some parts of Unionism due to it espousing redemption and a purpose beyond one's own. But, despite her hatred of it, the Eldertide's concept that all things are monsters and hold a dark side she believes…slightly. Lyal does believe that everything indeed hold a dark side, but she also believes that doesn't mean everything is a lie and corrupt. It just means it has its merits and its flaws. And that doesn't even mean that the truth is much better. Everything works in shades of grey, and it is up to mortals to decide what that means to them, at least in Lyal's eyes.
Appearance Details
- Mutations, Scars, Tattoos and Unique Features: In terms of unique features, Lyal has a number, predominantly scars from all sorts of creatures and other foes, as well as her own experimentation with alchemy on herself. Most notable are her tattoos that cover her body, which each symbolise and literally show her promise to the Great Oak Chapter and the Empire as a whole. In addition to this she also has a large serpentine tattoo running up the middle of her chest, the same as her Mentor, to honour what he taught her. Lyal also, of course, has Eldertide Godborn eyes (glowing orange irises and black sclera).
- General Appearance: Lyal, in her Solvaan form, is a blue Solvaan with even lighter blue long hair that flows with the wind (even when it's not windy). Her hair is tied up into a messy bun when fighting or getting ready for combat. She also stands at 5'6, with a toned, athletic build, with little body fat. In terms of clothing, she often can be seen wearing black or neutral cloth and leather clothes, featuring boots and gauntlets as well. This is adorned with hints of red as well, to mark her as a member of the Bloodcast. These clothes often show off her arms and midriff to both show off her muscles as well as her tattoos. She has two wraps around her forearms too that are made of a similar material, which accentuate her biceps also. Included with this padded clothing is also a long red scarf for cold weather, which holds many rips and tears through it that have been repaired with stitching.
- Alternative Forms: In Lyal's true form, she is a being of thick black mist, like moving black clouds in a relatively humanoid form with drifting hair-like strands coming from behind them. It comes with no visible features like a nose, eyes, ears or otherwise, though in place of this is a central glowing orb of orange, with occasional satellite orbs drifting around it. The form, while not baring a traditional mouth, can also grow one, which is also made of cloud and having strands flowing in it. This form bears a number of limbs, be they arms, legs, wings or more. When touching the form (or harming it), the cloud-like forms feel slick, sticky and wet, like a more solid form of tar. In addition to this, when bleeding, they rain and leak an oil-like slurry instead of blood.
Proficiencies
Combat Style:
- Attack: Dexterity
- Defense: Wisdom
Language:
- Common
- Altalar
- Shalota
Hobbies:
- Athletics
- Medical
- Alchemy
Strength: 0
- Building Scale (Solvaan)
Constitution: 0
- Debuff Endurance (Solvaan)
Intelligence: 3
- Safeguard Adaptation
- Wardrobe Adaptation
- Oceanic Adaptation
Wisdom: 4
- Chem Mend
- Chem Purge
- Chem Bloodboil
- Technique Parry
Dexterity: 7
- Fleet Footed
- Soft Landing
- Sharp Reflexes
- Escape Artist
- Dirty Fighter
- Ranger Trap
- Ranger Bola
Faith: 0
Magic: 0
Backstory
- On a hidden peak and set of caverns in the Lands of Forever Autumn lurked small community of Eldertide worshipping Solvaan called Moliria, who saw their monstrous form as a gift and their true self and, by proxy, they saw the Eldertide as their patron as it would offer them boons for revelling in their truth. The most monstrous of Moliria, a Solvaan named Lassai, was blessed with the Eldertide's presence, as it came to her in her dreams in the form of a living, black cloud filled with glowing orange starlight and writhing with things hidden within it. And after the tryst was done and dawn broke upon thunderous skies, Lassai found Lyal in her arms. A Eldertide Godborn. The babe was treated as a miracle and blessing to Moliria despite Lassai dying shortly after Lyal's birth, and she was treated with the reverence deserving of a Demi-God of the only truth that mattered.
- Even as a young child, Lyal was shared in the word of the Eldertide. She was taught that other religions were lies, and everyone other than those that embraced the Eldertide were corrupt. She joined them on their abhorrent raids on the lands below, which often found them in the sea. As far as she saw, they were right to worship the Eldertide. Others seeing her wraith-like appearance alongside other monsters (even if not fighting) drove outsiders to fear or hatred of her and the only ones who ever treated her with love were those of Moliria. But, even despite all this, and truly loving her family, seeing the same faces and doing the same things day in day out can grow boring and overwhelming. She felt like she never got a moment's peace and, as such, she would often sneak off to see the world beyond, despite being treated as a holy child. There she gained a love for nature and quiet, as well as animals, who wouldn't pester her for anything more than love, curiosity and food.
- During her teens, Lyal felt great pressure as her age became of note. Her constant going off began to be seen as a spit in the face of Moliria's people, their religion and her sire, wanting to risk her life which was a gift to them for their faith and which had nearly cost them one of their own to bring into the world. This led her to be punished in an attempt to teach her to embrace their life, with the punishments growing more and more ferocious with every new rule broken. Where once she felt safe and accepted by her community and people, she now flinched at their presence, submitting to their power. But in pain she learned her lesson, and was rightfully punished for her corruption. She stayed in town serving it's every whim and praying to the Eldertide every night to give them strength. She often served as an alchemist, healer and poison-maker during this time, learning the craft and offering her works to the raiders and warriors of Moliria to give back to them for her penance.
- Eventually she re-earned their trust enough again to head on a raid with the others. On this raid, her group had a run-in with some people moving through to settle in a nearby town here in the lowlands. Children walked with them, as well as an old looking Maraya protecting them as they travelled. Lyal, during the fighting that ensued, was given a chance to execute the children and the knight, having been sent to focus on killing them, but seeing the fear on them and the innocence, she refused, allowing the Maraya Bloodcast to live only as he could protect them. Seeing this as yet another betrayal, when she got back to camp, she was tied to a post to be punished once more. There she sat, starved, dehydrated and hurt. She no longer knew who to trust or what to do with herself. She constantly hurt the village and the people that did so much for her with her weakness. So, upon being freed once her penance was up, she left to live on her own, no longer an insult or weakness to her sire and her people.
- Shortly into her exile she nearly died due to a corrupted Elysian, visibly touched by the Eldertide, if not being saved by the same old Maraya that she had spared. Sihn-Elion "The Serpent" Mavrahk, a retired Bloodcast of the Great Oak slew the beast and focused on healing the young woman despite her form and her former people. He treated her with kind words and slowly helped her grow back to strength. And alongside Elion, she learned much of the wider world as they travelled into town. Of its complexity, and its curiosity. And, by extension, Moliria's corruption. On the flora, fauna, and the people around it using their magic and monstrous deeds. And, with time, Lyal began to realise all the pain she had caused herself through inaction and through her very being. That, while the Eldertide had some merit, it in itself and its servants was just as corrupt if not more so than other beings. And, with this, she wanted redemption…and revenge.
- Lyal began training with Elion to fight in between learning of the wider world and its complexity as soon as she could. Eventually, after growing skilled enough, Lyal then began going out hunting monsters with Elion as a sellsword, and eventually even got to the point of doing other mercenary work too. Of course she did most of the fighting as Elion was an old man, but still she learned well from what he showed her and from where he took her. And, seeing such remorse within her and a need to prove herself, Elion vouched for her when she sought to join the Great Oaks. There Lyal was kept on a short leash with constant threats of death should she turn or even for a moment take on the body of a monster, but she kept herself on an even shorter leash. She knew what she was, after all, and she would not let others purer than her die when she could take the hits for them. As such she even began using her own alchemy on herself to buff her up to take damage, and deal damage on the front lines, while also knowing well the damage it would do to her own body internally.
- Eventually, after many years with the Bloodcast and Elion passing from old age, she returned with a host of other Great Oaks to Moliria, clearing the village out and purging its corruption from the world, even slaying her mother. And, using the knowledge the village had gathered, they were able to track down other servants of the Eldertide elsewhere too. This earned her at least a little more respect in the guild, as it was now clear that she hated monsters as much as they, but she did still "betray her own" in some description so the leesh was kept at it's usual length. With vengeance regained, but redemption a lifelong goal, Lyal then ventured to Regalia to continue her vigil there. The Archipelago held monsters both hidden and revealed, and corruption spanned its shores, all of which she as a Bloodcast and her in general would want to face. And, she did so going forward, aiding the Bloodcast in facing Bone Horrors, Clickers, corrupted Dragons, Arken, Bralona, Vampires and more. And she remains stalwart to this day.
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