Description

A short (about 5' tall), wiry, tanned woman with dirty-blond hair and green eyes, appears to be in her mid-to-late twenties (she's actually early-to-mid 30s). She is normally very animated and enthusiastic, but always moves silently unless she's paying attention to making noise, and will freeze absolutely motionless if startled (or when she wants to not be seen). Outside of town, she normally dresses in sturdy clothing, often leathers, while in town she will (if she's staying more than a day or two) be careful to start wearing clothing that resembles that of the townsfolk. If she can wear them without standing out, she has a shortsword, a large knife, and a pair of pistols at her belt. Outside of town, she also carries a pair of crossbows (one that she usually leaves in the case and another that is clearly a good condition, well taken care of but unremarkable hunting crossbow) and a rifle.

History

Ylona was born in Yerrik - near the center of the Padeja to be precise. Her parents were fanatical (and high-ranking) priests of the Sun God, who raised their children (Derrin (male, eldest), Ylona, Stenrik (male), and Jessenja (female, youngest)) in the finest strict tradition of their religion. While her siblings took to it and seemed set to follow in their parents' footsteps, Ylona was always out of step, first hiding from her duties (often in the desert) and eventually running away entirely. By some miracle, Ylona managed to find her way out of the desert safely - thin, clothed in little more than the rags of the clothing she'd worn when she started, and penniless, but healthy.

To this day, she's never been back and never inquired after her family. She never wants to hear from or of them again. If she did, she might feel the need to go back - blood's blood for all the hard feelings she has for them still - so she avoids the possibility. She doesn't admit she's from the desert unless she has to. While it would have been a good idea to adopt another name (Irathi is, after all, well known), it has never occurred to her to do so. She's been lucky that no one has ever asked her about it - either no one has recognized her name, or they have not asked for their own reasons.

She found a rich land (even the war-scarred areas are richer in life than her homeland), but still one where she had to find a way to make her living. The options she could find were either day labor (which was to her mind no better than what she ran away from) or joining a mercenary company. She joined Beratha's Irregulars as an artillery loader - relatively easy to train a new person in, and dangerous work where new people are always needed. She'd never encountered anything like the guns before, and was fascinated by them, and learned everything she could about them and anything related - often incessantly questioning others until the artillery commander heard about the slip of a girl who worked as hard as the larger loaders and yet was interested in everything about them whenever there was time. Eventually Lissara took Ylona under her wing and started teaching her gun maintenance and repair beyond the basic cleaning everyone had to learn - and in the process discovered that she would often walk into a room where Ylona was waiting for her and not realize Ylona was there until she really looked or Ylona said something to draw attention to herself. Even though she was artillery, the mercenary unit was primarily irregulars, and this was enough for her to bring Ylona to the attention of the Scout commander, who promptly stole her for a Scouts unit.

During this time, Ylona found out about The Creator, and became a quiet but ardent convert - after all, one only had to look at the land to see that this was a place (and therefore religion! with her upbringing, religion is Important to both who you are and where you are) of wonders. She also came to believe that rain, far from being evil, is a thing of life and wonder.
She also learned to speak with an accent that did not immediately identify her as a desert rat, but instead as a soldier. The few people who were interested enough to ask about her past learned little more than that she "ran away from home, ended up here, and would rather not talk about that any more, thank you. The future is for the living, not the past." She'll willingly talk about her life after she joined the Irregulars, though (in fact, she has a bunch of stories...).

After a few years with the Irregulars, during which time she served all three of the warring countries (mostly Yerrik, but the Irregulars did take occasional short contracts with the other countires) - but was always in camps in or near the war zone - Ylona had enough money to "go see what's over the next hill" and left the Irregulars on good terms. What she found was the first true city she'd seen since leaving the desert - and it was very different from her birthplace! She found a place and started to explore - but quickly found out that her hard-earned money did not go as far as she expected. She eventually found work as a junior gunsmith working under a master of the trade, and set out to learn everything she could. One of her tutors realized she had no idea how the educational system worked, and helped her through the mystifying process, which ended up in Ylona receiving a scholarship to study International Relations and Languages - which, for the first two or three years, had her ecstatic with all the neat things she learned.

By her fourth year, as she was coming up on gaining her Bachelor's (and when she needed to work on the process if she wanted to get a subsequent scholarship), she found herself with itchy feet again - she wanted to SEE these places she'd been learning about, and USE the languages she'd learned! So she put off applying, and put off applying .. it wasn't too late, but ... and then the rumors she had been hearing from her old friends from the Irregulars came true: the war was NOT going well for Yerrik, and a massive attack had captured all of the disputed territory Yerrik claimed and actually started pushing within the bounds of the country proper!

Yerrik's military suddenly started expanding quickly, accepting anyone who would serve, no questions asked, and pushing people out to the front lines with minimal training. The day after receiving her degree, Ylona walked into a recruiting station and was rushed through inprocessing. In the fine tradition of militaries, the Scout-trained undersized Ylona was placed as a front-line swordsman. She learned as much as she could (and had some minimal prior training), but never became more than "marginally competent" with a sword (which still put her well above the skill level of her fellow recruits, who were closer to "pitiful"). After surviving several bloody clashes, Ylona was severely injured (multiple broken ribs and significant blood loss) and sent to a medical camp to recover. The massive infusion of badly-trained soldiers had, by then, pushed the enemy out of Yerrik and back into the war zone (while taking tremendous casualties).

While she was in the camp, the unit she'd been with was first transferred to another part of the line, and then merged with other units that had also suffered extreme casualties. This left the camp commandant with an issue (which was common to about a third of the casualties who would be sent back to combat when they recovered) - when she was ready to go, there wouldn't be anywhere to send her. Most were fairly easy to place, simply by sending them to a unit which needed people and was the same sort as the one they had come from, but he was conscientous and tried to take the time to confirm that each person would be sent back to somewhere they would be useful - and as far as he was concerned, Ylona simply didn't have the size to be good in the front lines. When he talked to her, he found out about her time with Beratha's Irregulars and swore at the idiot recruiter who had ignored it because it didn't fit cleanly as prior service because it wasn't with Yerrik's military. He also found out about her degree, and added it to her record - which would later come back to haunt her in the form of a commission and force her to spend a great deal of effort to continue to be allowed to stay in the small groups of a scout/sniper unit.

Once she was recovered enough, he arranged for her to spend time with a sniper who was recovering from a broken leg (received falling out of a tree - the enemy hadn't even realized he was there until the limb he was balancing on gave under his weight). The sniper taught her what he considered the *proper* use of a crossbow, and evaluated her, reporting back to the camp commandant that "he'd be happy to have her in his old unit any time; with a little polish, she'll be a top scout-sniper". As it happened, that's exactly where she went - to the 173rd Infantry 3rd Scout Group, known as the "Dayowls", who claimed they were as hard to find during the day as an owl is silent in the flight.

She spent several happy years in the Dayowls, and did very well. Her fellows generally liked her (while they found her habit of ending up in either a library or fancy foreign restaurant instead of a bar odd, it gave them something to tease her about whenever they headed on leave ... and anyway, snipers are supposed to be odd, and her oddity was less offputting than many). By the time the war fell apart, she had been promoted several times and was quietly but stubbornly resisting another promotion (which would have meant a near-immediate rotation to a training camp as a sniper instructor). After the war was officially declared over and the army started disbanding, she was shuffled several times and eventually offered the opportunity to finally take the promotion and be placed on "inactive reserve" status, releasing her from current obligation but with the stipulation that she could be called up again at any time. The alternative was taking her promotion ... and a nice, steady, easy position as a sniper instructor. She didn't have to think about it for long to realize that "inactive reserve" status would let her travel as she'd always wanted to, and she wasn't really needed anymore ... so she accepted the promotion and entered the civilian world again (at least theoretically).

The person behind the options Ylona was given didn't expect a long-lasting peace and wanted to be able to get her back as an instructor - because the young soldiers sent to the Dayowls who were willing to listen often went on to be some of the best scouts and snipers in Yerrik's forces. At five years, the peace has lasted far longer than he expected.

Ylona found a civilian world far, far different from the one she had left only a few years before, and not simply - or even mostly - because of changes in her. Her skill as a gunsmith would not be enough to get her by, and if she wanted to use her language skills to earn her way, she'd have to stay in one place long enough for people to get to know her - but what she wanted to do was travel! She has ended up falling back on the skills she learned as a Scout and before that in the desert, and earns much of her money (and food) by hunting and trapping in unclaimed land, using her gunsmithing and language abilities as the opportunity arises. Even so, the past five years have been some of the best years of her life; she's traveled to all three local kingdoms, and seen all sorts of wonders, both natural and manmade. She wants to travel to other countries across the sea, but has not been able to get passage fare together (whenever she has enough, something comes up and she spends it - like the year the family of one of her soldier friends came down with the coughing fever while she was visiting and she took care of them until they recovered, or the time...).

She still has not deliberately spoken to anyone from the Padeja since she ran away. She doesn't want the memories - and she particularly doesn't want them to recognize her. This is more of a threat than she'd credit, because though she doesn't realize it, she looks almost exactly like her mother did when her mother was her age.

So begins...

Ylona Irathi's Story

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#2012-08-09 01:19:43, as written by Aelthai

(Ylona steps through the door and shakes the rain off her cloak as she looks around the inn. Mutters) Fuller than last time ... 'course, last time wasn't the week before Fair.

(Walks over to the less populated part of the room, near the stage) -Oh, there's a singer. Perfect. Maybe she'll know it- (tosses a coin in the hat set at the end of the stage) Do you know Spring Rain?

(Ylona steps over to the nearest table and snags a chair, dragging it a couple of feet so that it'll be easier to see - and hear! - the stage.)

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#2012-08-10 01:53:53, as written by Aelthai

(Looking at Edward and speaking just loud enough to be heard over the crowd noise and the music) Arses? She's gotten more polite in her old age, then. 'Twasn't arses the last time I heard that from her! Made me glad I wasn't the late arrival for sure.

I'll have food, of course, whatever the menu is today. And I hope Cap'n Caesar hasn't run out of that nutty rich ale she gets from Kreiss? She turned me on to it, and I always start with that when I drop by.

(Ylona pauses before continuing) ...Oh, and would you tell her Ylona finally made it here? I think it took a year for her message to catch up with me, and then I had to travel - well, anyway, if you'll let her know I'm here, I'd appreciate it.

Edward: (Grins) Well, she's in a good mood. Y'see, she's wearing a duck. Kreissish ale and shepherd's pie coming up (listens) Ylona? Yeah, I'll let her know. Back in a jiff.

(Having ordered and sent her own message, Ylona looks back at the singer, who is just finishing the song. She shakes her head, tosses another small coin in the hat which softly clinks against the only other coin there, and walks a little closer so she can she heard without shouting)
Yes, that's the song. M'dear, it's clear you know the words and tune, but are you sure you know the song? 'Tis what's behind it all that matters, and that's the water of life itself from the Creator's kind hands ... (snorts softly at herself) ... and here I am, preaching in a barroom! How about something with a little more pep and action - I know, a dance tune! Not really enough room here to dance, true, but get people's attention and it's more'n a couple bits of copper you should have in your hat by evening's end. Plus, I could use the distraction from my thoughts, a good dance tune's always good for that.

(steps back to her chair, snagging it just before another new arrival does) Nu'uh, this'un's mine. Find yer own spot or stand. -I hope that wasn't too much from the boonies to be believed. I can't afford to talk too nice here, now that no one knows me here anymore....-

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#2012-10-03 01:05:41, as written by Aelthai

(Ylona takes a large drink from her mug, looking contentedly at the remains of her meal.) Indeed it does. Though there are plenty of the bad sort ... and simply the desperate sort, as well. I remember ....

Ah, no. That story is ... sad, more than anything. (Ylona shakes her head.) We were talking about Ikrane City. I think I am curious enough to go see what's there - fairies, or simply something mistaken for them? I've never seen such a thing, and it sounds like something worth seeing ... if indeed it's real. So I'll be looking into that after Faire, I think. How about you two, any plans?

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Ylona Irathi

0 · 215 views · located in The Duke's Drake Inn and Pub

a character in “The Song of Sheathed Swords and Scarred Souls”, as played by Aelthai

Description

History

So begins...

Ylona Irathi's Story

Setting

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