Qual'Zyanya
Xioquo Renegade
NAME: Qual'Zyanya. Clan name precedes given name. Informally she's called Zyanya.
FACTION: Shadow Knights
RANK: Dark Witch Spellweaver
SPECIES: Xioquo
AGE: 72
GENDER: Female
HEIGHT: 170cm
WEIGHT: Slender
EYES: Blue
HAIR: White
SKIN: Dark grey
FORCE SENSITIVE: Yes
FORCE ALIGNMENT: Dark Side
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES:
Strengths:
PERSONALITY: Unsurprisingly, Zyanya retains some of the most recognisable habits of her people. To be specific, she has a rather aloof manner, which is especially apparent when dealing with non-Xioquo. She is also very slow to trust and always expects betrayal. It's likely that the only person she trusted absolutely was her sister, Qual'Ixtar. She's also sexist and remains wedded to beliefs of female superiority. She is often downright arrogant, mistrustful and caustic, but also very curious. Even though the Twilight of the Xioquo has humbled her, she's still quite racist. Unsurprisingly, she feels strong antagonism against Eldorai, which became especially apparent in her interactions with
Illyria
.
It is quite evident to an outside observer that Zyanya has some anger issues. Power struggles, infighting and intrigue were common in her family, like in every Xioquo noble house and competition was often vicious. The Xioquo's subjugation shook her. She has accepted that the Xioquo Matriarchy was beaten, but was unable to integrate herself itno the new order established by the 'White Queen' Liavondra, who is a Light Sider. Thus she has thrown in her lot with the Shadow Knights. Few members of the group trust her and she returns their distrust, but she has a talent for making herself useful.
Moreover, she was only familiar with 19th and early 20th century technology, though she strove to understand the tech used by the 'sky people' so that it could be harnessed and used against them. This gives her a bit of an inferiority complex, though she tries to hide it. She has a rather cruel streak in her personality, which can override her judgement. On the positive side, she's less contemptuous of non-Force users than the average Xioquo mage. This is probably because her older sister Ixtar was blind to the Force, but was still a commanding figure and respected by Zyanya. Moreover, she's seen the power of the outsiders' weapons. She is very enthusiastic when it comes to learning about outsider tech. Prior to the coming of the sky people, the Xioquo were the most advanced race of Tygara and she seeks to build on that. This also makes her quite open-minded about artificial life, such as droids. Needless to say she views them as servitors that should obey their makers.
Skills:
Knight level Force user capable of:
Biography:
A page taken from Qual'Zyanya's journal. Written a few years after the first:
"I have had occasion to read my journal from after the Twilight. I was so...young back then. It is strange to think of myself that way. Only a few years have passed. Truly, a fraction of time for a Xioquo. But I was so full of anger. Swearing blood oaths of vengeance, consumed by fury and fire. Ixtar had died, Myrou had led us to our doom. The invaders had planted their standards upon the ruins of our civilisation and forced a puppet on us.
All because of fools and knaves. No surprise I fell prey to Sumiko Tanaka's temptations. She led me along, tossing me scraps of knowledge the way one would throw a warg a bone. I am a slow learner. It is true. But I learn. Perhaps it started on that day I accompanied that witch and her minion Ilyria to that ugly human city. Taris, I believe it's name was. The Nekghoul spoke true when it warned me about her. My quest remains the same, but I am not blinded by fury anymore. My anger must be cold, not burn white-hot.
'Hidden and patient'. Let that be my motto. It was how Ixtar and I succeeded when we took control of our house and made it ours. Lia was right in one regard: the old ways failed us. But she is so afraid of the ghosts of the past that she would place conscience over what is needed. Our sky people 'benefactors' will never allow us to rise and be anything other than vassals.
Sumiko is dead, and I am free of her. For now I walk with the Shadow Knights. They are an amusing lot. When the Eldorai and their allies stormed the Underealm, I could not fathom how...disunited they really are. In that regard they are little different from us, though many of them arrogantly see themselves as our betters. The Shadow Knights blather about freedom and unity, but the wheel still turns. Tygarans like I still have to prove ourselves. Many Eldorai, even after losing their homeworld to cataclysm, like to think of themselves as better than us. At the same time, we are courted because we can be useful and stand outside their struggles. This shall be to my advantage."
A page taken from Qual'Zyanya's journal. Written at the time of the fall of the Underealm. The cover is made of elf skin:
'The war is over. We've lost and are now at the mercy of the sky people and their Qadiri pawns. Denying this will do us no good. When I was a child I was taught that our people had a goddess-given destiny to conquer all of Tygara and that one day our Queen would return to lead us to victory. Our people got their queen back, but she was a mad goddess who cared naught for us. Underealm is no more. The invaders plant their standards upon the ruins, the sheep, the weak and cowardly flock to them and their promises of 'freedom' without dignity. Some of the best and most noble of our race have perished on the field of battle or been slaughtered by slaves.
I remember the time when House Qual stood tall and proud. We grew rich through shipping, the slave trade and construction. The grand citadels that protected our city were built by us. So were the war machines that proved so vital in repulsing the Qadiri's first invasion. It was a glorious day, but now it seems like it belongs to another time.
I also remember how my sister and I seized power in the clan. We cast aside the old guard and made our own destiny. If my unlamented mother had had her way, we would have been fodder for the warg. She tried her best to separate us, sow distrust and to have me banished. In the end, we removed her name from the annals. I do not miss her - not after what she did to my Anahita. Yet I cannot help but wonder what see would think of this cataclysm. She was cruel, but had no tolerance for the nonsensical schemes the Council so often induldged in. They were foolish to ignore her visions. It's ironic, really. When my sister and I took her down, we used her visions of the coming doom as a pretense to brand her a traitor...yet look at what has happened now. I do not forgive her for how she treated us, but every act of punishment hardened us and made us stronger.
The invaders' purge was good for one thing: It rid us of the incompetent and insanely bloodthirsty leaders who dragged our people down. It was they who awakened the Queen, deluding themselves into thinking that she would care about her people because they were too proud to admit that the war was lost. Thousands of our people were pointlessly sacrificed in futile death charges or upon the obsidian altars to feed her.
Good riddance. Their deaths were far too quick and painless. If we are to rise again, we cannot rely on myths and false deities. The outsiders won because they were united behind one cause, one leader and had technology far beyond ours. It is not magic, but technology that can be understood and adapted. There is a whole new world outside the confines of ours. I wish to see it for myself. There is so much the elder matriarchs denied us out of fear. I wish to see the fortresses they build in the stars and the ships that traverse the vastness of the endless voidI wish to unlock the secret of their flaming swords. One day their power will be mine. Ixtar will be avenged, and all those who shamed their race will be brought to justice.'
FACTION: Shadow Knights
RANK: Dark Witch Spellweaver
SPECIES: Xioquo
AGE: 72
GENDER: Female
HEIGHT: 170cm
WEIGHT: Slender
EYES: Blue
HAIR: White
SKIN: Dark grey
FORCE SENSITIVE: Yes
FORCE ALIGNMENT: Dark Side
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES:
Strengths:
- Force Potential: Though Zyanya is still learning, she is a skilled user of the Force in certain areas and has potential for growth. Her aptitude is especially pronounced in applications of the Force dealing with misdirection, subterfuge, deception and manipulation. This is probably no surprise since she grew up in a cutthroat environment. So she learned from an early age to shield her thoughts from others because her life depended on it.
- Xioquo Strengths: Qual'Zyanya is a Xioquo and thus has the inherent strengths and weaknesses of her race. Xioquo are exceptionally agile and quick. They also have excellent coordination. She is more nimble and dexterous than the average human.
- Darkvision: Zyanya grew up in the Underealm far beneath Tygara's surface. No sunlight ever touched this dark realm. Thus she is able to see much further in the darkness than humans or Eldorai. Her dark skin allows her to blend into the shadows. She has also excellent hearing and sense of smell.
- Blue and Orange morality: Though exposure to the outside world has tempered her, Zyanya is ruthless. The Dark Side was the glue that held Xioquo society together. The noble families viciously competed with one another and treat the common people like chattle. This was the sort of society she grew up in. Thus it is no surprise that she will do anything to get her way, and feels neither moral nor philosophical constraints in the way she acts. She feels hates the foreign invaders who subjugated the Xioquo, but at the same time loathes her people's leaders for leading them to their doom. She is more than capable of using and disposing of people as required.
- Devoted: Zyanya is amoral and has a cruel streak, but she is very dedicated to her cause and what she considers to be her people. She wants to see the Xioquo rise from the ashes. This is the cause that drives her. It's probably both a great strength and a weakness.
- Wheels of Bureaucracy: Despite her youth, Zyanya is very intelligent and quite adept at both strategic and bureaucratic administration. Of course, she is less skilled in areas in the tactical field and personnel. Although she is constrained by her ideology, the drow witch has a sharp, analytical mind.
- Her pragmatic stance is both a strength and a weakness. It means she is not shackled by moral concerns, but also means she has few genuine friends or people who trust her. By the standards of her people she's what could be considered a progressive, which was why she played a leading role in a coup to remove the suicidal, insane regime dragging the Xioquo to their doom. She realises that Xioquo society was self-destructive and that the constant infighting between the small crust of nobles and priestesses weakened it and left it vulnerable to outside assault, but she doesn't see trampling on the freedom of others as evil.
- Glass Cannon: This is the flip side of her race's inherent strengths. Though they are faster than humans or the other two cultures of Tygara they are physically weaker. As with all Eldorai cultures they also require more sustenance than humans to keep up with their rapid metabolisms.
- It Burns! Living in the darkness so long has made the sun and other bright lights painful for her. This means she has to wear thick, covering clothing such as a robe and a hood to shield herself in daylight. She also often wears sunglasses during long operations. Her skin can blister in the sun if left exposed. This obviously also makes her vulnerable to pyromancy. Her sensitive eyes do not well against flashbangs.
- Ideological Dissonance: As described above, Zyanya realises that her people - or rather their leaders - dug their own grave, but at the same time she's wedded to many of their traditions and is a product of her environment. Her people are brought up to revere the 'goddess' Mystra, but she strayed from the faith a long time before the Queen was awakened.
- Vengeful: Before the fall of the Underealm, the Quals were one of the most powerful noble houses in the Xioquo matriarchy. But the Xioquo's armies were defeated by the combined forces of Firemane, the Eldorai and the Qadiri. When House Qual tried to launch a coup to topple the council and prevent them from awakening their mad goddess, they were defeated and purged. Zyanya's elder sister was killed and she herself was branded a traitor. Suffice to say she wants revenge. She has the unfortunate habit of wanting to humiliate her enemies and make them suffer. She is vicious, cruel and mean.
- Guilt: Her own plot inadverently hastened Mystra's return and led to her older sister's death. She feels guilty about it...though not enough to change her ways.
PERSONALITY: Unsurprisingly, Zyanya retains some of the most recognisable habits of her people. To be specific, she has a rather aloof manner, which is especially apparent when dealing with non-Xioquo. She is also very slow to trust and always expects betrayal. It's likely that the only person she trusted absolutely was her sister, Qual'Ixtar. She's also sexist and remains wedded to beliefs of female superiority. She is often downright arrogant, mistrustful and caustic, but also very curious. Even though the Twilight of the Xioquo has humbled her, she's still quite racist. Unsurprisingly, she feels strong antagonism against Eldorai, which became especially apparent in her interactions with
Illyria
.It is quite evident to an outside observer that Zyanya has some anger issues. Power struggles, infighting and intrigue were common in her family, like in every Xioquo noble house and competition was often vicious. The Xioquo's subjugation shook her. She has accepted that the Xioquo Matriarchy was beaten, but was unable to integrate herself itno the new order established by the 'White Queen' Liavondra, who is a Light Sider. Thus she has thrown in her lot with the Shadow Knights. Few members of the group trust her and she returns their distrust, but she has a talent for making herself useful.
Moreover, she was only familiar with 19th and early 20th century technology, though she strove to understand the tech used by the 'sky people' so that it could be harnessed and used against them. This gives her a bit of an inferiority complex, though she tries to hide it. She has a rather cruel streak in her personality, which can override her judgement. On the positive side, she's less contemptuous of non-Force users than the average Xioquo mage. This is probably because her older sister Ixtar was blind to the Force, but was still a commanding figure and respected by Zyanya. Moreover, she's seen the power of the outsiders' weapons. She is very enthusiastic when it comes to learning about outsider tech. Prior to the coming of the sky people, the Xioquo were the most advanced race of Tygara and she seeks to build on that. This also makes her quite open-minded about artificial life, such as droids. Needless to say she views them as servitors that should obey their makers.
Skills:
Knight level Force user capable of:
- Thought shield. Her first and most important skill is to shield her mind. This was a necessity in a court of backstabbers.
- Force Stealth.
- Telekinesis.
- Sense and empathic powers.
- Mind-trick abilities.
- Cryomancer. Attuned to the element of ice and water.
- Force Drain.
- Crucitorn and Control Pain.
- Drain Knowledge.
- Advanced skills in conventional melee weapons usage.
- Advanced skills in unarmed combat, especially ones to disable others.
- Skilled in primitive (crossbow and musket) as well as modern ranged weapons.
- Skilled in logistics and bureaucratic management.
- Able to speak Zandri and Prosabia, though both are very accented. She picked up some Basic and Eldarai from captured Eldorai prisoners. Her travels with Sumiko and then with the Shadow Knights gave her incentive to become fluent in both.
Biography:
A page taken from Qual'Zyanya's journal. Written a few years after the first:
"I have had occasion to read my journal from after the Twilight. I was so...young back then. It is strange to think of myself that way. Only a few years have passed. Truly, a fraction of time for a Xioquo. But I was so full of anger. Swearing blood oaths of vengeance, consumed by fury and fire. Ixtar had died, Myrou had led us to our doom. The invaders had planted their standards upon the ruins of our civilisation and forced a puppet on us.
All because of fools and knaves. No surprise I fell prey to Sumiko Tanaka's temptations. She led me along, tossing me scraps of knowledge the way one would throw a warg a bone. I am a slow learner. It is true. But I learn. Perhaps it started on that day I accompanied that witch and her minion Ilyria to that ugly human city. Taris, I believe it's name was. The Nekghoul spoke true when it warned me about her. My quest remains the same, but I am not blinded by fury anymore. My anger must be cold, not burn white-hot.
'Hidden and patient'. Let that be my motto. It was how Ixtar and I succeeded when we took control of our house and made it ours. Lia was right in one regard: the old ways failed us. But she is so afraid of the ghosts of the past that she would place conscience over what is needed. Our sky people 'benefactors' will never allow us to rise and be anything other than vassals.
Sumiko is dead, and I am free of her. For now I walk with the Shadow Knights. They are an amusing lot. When the Eldorai and their allies stormed the Underealm, I could not fathom how...disunited they really are. In that regard they are little different from us, though many of them arrogantly see themselves as our betters. The Shadow Knights blather about freedom and unity, but the wheel still turns. Tygarans like I still have to prove ourselves. Many Eldorai, even after losing their homeworld to cataclysm, like to think of themselves as better than us. At the same time, we are courted because we can be useful and stand outside their struggles. This shall be to my advantage."
A page taken from Qual'Zyanya's journal. Written at the time of the fall of the Underealm. The cover is made of elf skin:
'The war is over. We've lost and are now at the mercy of the sky people and their Qadiri pawns. Denying this will do us no good. When I was a child I was taught that our people had a goddess-given destiny to conquer all of Tygara and that one day our Queen would return to lead us to victory. Our people got their queen back, but she was a mad goddess who cared naught for us. Underealm is no more. The invaders plant their standards upon the ruins, the sheep, the weak and cowardly flock to them and their promises of 'freedom' without dignity. Some of the best and most noble of our race have perished on the field of battle or been slaughtered by slaves.
I remember the time when House Qual stood tall and proud. We grew rich through shipping, the slave trade and construction. The grand citadels that protected our city were built by us. So were the war machines that proved so vital in repulsing the Qadiri's first invasion. It was a glorious day, but now it seems like it belongs to another time.
I also remember how my sister and I seized power in the clan. We cast aside the old guard and made our own destiny. If my unlamented mother had had her way, we would have been fodder for the warg. She tried her best to separate us, sow distrust and to have me banished. In the end, we removed her name from the annals. I do not miss her - not after what she did to my Anahita. Yet I cannot help but wonder what see would think of this cataclysm. She was cruel, but had no tolerance for the nonsensical schemes the Council so often induldged in. They were foolish to ignore her visions. It's ironic, really. When my sister and I took her down, we used her visions of the coming doom as a pretense to brand her a traitor...yet look at what has happened now. I do not forgive her for how she treated us, but every act of punishment hardened us and made us stronger.
The invaders' purge was good for one thing: It rid us of the incompetent and insanely bloodthirsty leaders who dragged our people down. It was they who awakened the Queen, deluding themselves into thinking that she would care about her people because they were too proud to admit that the war was lost. Thousands of our people were pointlessly sacrificed in futile death charges or upon the obsidian altars to feed her.
Good riddance. Their deaths were far too quick and painless. If we are to rise again, we cannot rely on myths and false deities. The outsiders won because they were united behind one cause, one leader and had technology far beyond ours. It is not magic, but technology that can be understood and adapted. There is a whole new world outside the confines of ours. I wish to see it for myself. There is so much the elder matriarchs denied us out of fear. I wish to see the fortresses they build in the stars and the ships that traverse the vastness of the endless voidI wish to unlock the secret of their flaming swords. One day their power will be mine. Ixtar will be avenged, and all those who shamed their race will be brought to justice.'
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