Iriah Caitrak
09-18-07, 03:03 PM
Updates are in blue.
Name: Ira of Shinkara
Age: 22
Sex: Female
Race: Calerian (Human)
Hair Colour: Soft, light purple
Eye Colour: Quicksilver (She is able to change her eye colour at will.)
Height: 5’8
Weight: 130 lbs
Occupation: Calerian warrior and Ambassador of Astaka
Appearance: A native to Fallien, Ira has a natural tan to her skin, it looks golden and sun-kissed. Used to a hot climate, she keeps her hair relatively short, though on her journeying if it becomes too long she simply ties it back out of her way. Trained from an early age, Ira is neither skinny nor overweight, she is built, yet without a weapon in her hand and dressed in her normal clothes she appears as a normal woman, if not for the white markings she has. She has two strips on each of her shoulders, more will appear the stronger she gets. Over her journeys around Althanas she’s gained a little muscles but lost weight.
When Ira defeated the corruption and received her fusion ability, a mark of that fusion appeared on her back. A set of abstract looking wings that spans from her shoulder blades to almost the small of her back. Instead of being black they are white and stand out in stark contrast to her darkly tanned skin. She also has a new scar upon her body. On the left side of her neck, close to her jaw line are two clean puncture marks where a woman bit her. An inch or so below that is a horrendous gash, that looks like an animal tore into her flesh. The scar leaves one to wonder how she could how survived such a thing and not bled to death.
The Mark of Abhrapatha (http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l167/Corvusmoore/Ira-AbhrapathasMark.jpg)
Personality:[/u] Ira’s quiet most of the time, being able to hear many things around her that other people don’t, she tends to live in her own world. She talks only when necessary or when she’s around someone she likes or even someone important. That being said, if she’s upset she can and will freely voice her feelings if ever prompted to or not in proper control of her own emotions. Otherwise she will remain silent. Ira does have a playful and fun side though at times it does need some coaxing to come out of it’s shell. Put anything new and interesting in front of her and she wants to know almost everything about it, especially if it’s a race she’s never seen before. Curiosity has yet to kill this cat.
Over past months, Ira has changed, subtly but the change is still there. She’s a little more flamboyant and a little more outspoken and outgoing, but only because she’s learned there’s no point in keeping what she thinks to herself all the time. Her emotions still get the better of her for when she feels something she has a tendency to feel it more so than the average person. Her tongue is a little sharper and at times she finds herself being a little cold.
Skills:
Swordsmanship – Though she doesn’t use swords that often, she was trained with them since her youth, being the optimal weapon for any kind of warrior. Her skills in this weapon are average, not as natural as her skills with the Naginata come.
Naginata – After training for years with the sword Ira was given a choice of a new weapon and chose the Naginata and her skills with it increased much faster than with a sword. She has a natural ability with the weapon and uses it well with her body’s own movements and agility.
· Swallow – One of the two other forms Ira uses of her Naginata. In this form the weapon has a blade on each end curved away from the other. She uses this form more often than the Naginata itself, her skills with it being advanced.
· Half Swallows – The second form of the Naginata. In this form, the Swallow is broken in half so that Ira carries half of the weapon in each hand. She is by far the more proficient with this weapon; and the recent training with Malagen has allowed her skills to grow to legendary proportions. One of her Half Swallows has been dubbed Uriahd.
Projectiles – Part of her training included using bow and arrow and throwing knives, though she tends to use these only as a last resort since her personality demands up close and personal action with her enemy. Her aim with arrows is not as good as with throwing knives but she gets better distance with the arrows.
Steady Hand Steady Mind: The days of training with Malagen to steady her body and calm her mind have paid off. Ira is now much more focused in battle. She can look at things in a new way and calculate her moves and the possible response of her enemy even before she takes a single step. She is also much more steady in battle and attacks that would normally throw her off have little effect. She still needs some work to steady her emotions though.
Abilities:
The Will to Resist – Through natural evolution of the Irenian crystal and Ira’s own strength of will she now has a resistance to forms of magic that attack the soul and the mind, dampening their effects at times.
Cast-Off – An ability that only Calerian’s can use, allows them to cast off the Physical Plane and enter the Plane of Purgatory. It is rumoured that they can further use it to enter Planes of existence beyond Purgatory, but the last Calerian who tried it never came back to tell of what lay beyond.
Fortify Me: Ira has been close to death a number of times now and has still retained the ability to hold on until the very last moment. Her will conquers the weakness of her body and allows her to push through until there is barely strength left in her and even then she may still be able to continue on only because she wants to. She can handle more wounds and more blood loss than the average person and can even push through the pain.
Cold Resistance: Naturally being from an extremely hot climate, Ira never had much resistance to the cold. Spending a few weeks on an extremely harsh mountain has changed that. Though she still hates the cold, she can endure through the harsh temperatures without her body shutting down. Her resistance would be similar to someone who was naturally born and used to a colder and harsher environment.
Weapons:
Serenmika Crystal – A crystal that Ira has been aligned with. It allows her to focus, channel and strengthen her own energy through it and thus turn that energy in a physical object, which does not always have to be a weapon. Through a recent incident in Irrakam Ira was given a present by The Jya, an upgrade to her crystal. The Ad Atmika (The Soul or Supreme Spirit) crystal was fused with the Serenna crystal to create the Serenmika giving Ira a new set of abilities with her crystal. Items formed by the Serenmika crystal have the strength of Titanium.
· Ad Atmika Enchantment – This enchantment turns the weapons a glowing blue colour and when activated allows the weapon to pass through the physical body, doing no harm, yet attacking the soul within that body. This causes extreme pain, up to two times that of any normal attack. If enough damage is done to the soul or a direct blow is taken to The Thread of Fate then the soul will be forced from the body for a period of time. If the soul continues to receive damage is may be permanently destroyed.
· A More Permanent Solution – Once again Ira’s Serenmika crystal has naturally evolved giving her more strength. She can now form permanent weapons and items, things that will not disappear without the touch of someone living. These items only have the strength of steel at the moment and they require more concentration and time to form unlike the instantaneous weapons she can create now. If a permanent weapon is given the Ad Atmika enchantment, it will dissipate a few minutes after leaving her hands.
Armour:
Physical World – Ira doesn’t do much fighting in this plane of existence so she doesn’t have much need for physical armour, however in case she ever does need it, she carries around some light armour. She has arm guards that go from her wrist to her elbow and shin guards as well. Though she previously thought it impossible, Ira has learned that she can form her Irenian armour in the physical world where it looks exactly same as it normally would in Purgatory, yet only has the strength of Steel here.
Purgatory – Going from the physical world to the Plane of Purgatory automatically activates the Irenian Crystal to protect her. An enchanted armour wraps itself around her, armour that would do nothing to protect against physical weapons, however they do work against spiritual weapons, weapons that any of the beings in Purgatory may have on them, magic or steel. A breastplate covers her chest and her entire left arm is encased in armour, her right arm from the elbow to the wrist is still covered though more heavily and on the outside lays a rounded, sharp edge. Her shin guards are covered more heavily as well and a piece of cloth covers her face from the bridge of her nose down to protect her identity. The armour is enchanted so that is weights practically nothing and is as strong as Titanium. In this form the Irenian crystal rests within the middle of the breastplate.
Samdham (Fusion): Ira has a special ability that allows her to use the corruption a Calerian accumulates from releasing souls, instead of just expelling it from her body. Ira uses the accumulated corruption and fuses with it, turning herself into a more evolved Calerian with completely different abilities depending on the form she picks. Fusions are also the only form Ira can use magic in. Abilities from one form cannot be used in another form and though some abilities Ira has in her normal state can be used in Fusions, Fusion abilities cannot be used without Fusing.
Fusing is extremely taxing on Ira, as she has to concentrate on both the battle and the corruption within her, which being so close to the surface will try at the most inopportune times to take over her. The longer she stays fused the more the corruption will fight against her. She also doesn’t like to fuse, as it requires she use something she was taught to fight against her entire life.
Fusions
Abhrapatha: A demon of the sky. She is a form of condensed corruption given personally, thought and feelings. She values freedom above almost everything else and has a carefree spirit but no moral standing. She kills without thought or reason and does not care whom she kills as long as it is satisfying. Entire villages have fallen to her. The mark of Abhrapatha now lies on Ira’s physical appearance. Across her shoulder blades is a symbol that looks like an abstract form of wings. This mark is pure white in colour and stands out drastically against Ira’s tanned skin.
Physical Appearance: Abhrapatha is of a athletic form, tall and well built, but her muscles are more compact giving her a somewhat slender appearance and thus making people think she’s really weaker than she it. Her skin is a deathly grey colour that human corpses often attain after many days of lying around unexposed. Her hair is short, around the same few inches in length as Ira’s is and it a pure white colour and her eyes are a bright crimson. Armour covers many areas of her body, including her torso, shins, her left upper arm and her right forearm. Though the armour is beautiful and ornate, with what looks like feathers carved into it’s surface, it is dull and worn looking. Underneath her armour she wears a simple light purple dress of sorts that’s slit all the way up her thighs to allow for easy movement. She also does not wear anything on her feet, preferring to be barefoot.
Though her right hand and arm are normal looking, Abhrapatha’s left hand is larger than her right and is more of a monstrous claw than an actual hand. The fingers look gnarled and broken, though they are perfectly capable of functioning and on the end of each one is a long and very sharp looking claw. Large feathered wings adorn her back, fully stretched out they have a span of around 7 feet. Towards the centre of them the feathers are light blue, then they become light purple and finally as they fan out the majority of the wings are a silver colour.
Abilities
Senses: Abhrapatha has very sharp senses. Her eyes sight is two times better than that of a human, allowing her see things much clearer and sharper as well as see farther. Her hearing is more sensitive and she feels things more acutely than a normal human, which is also a downside as pain is felt twice as much as well. As well as having heightened senses, she also has the ability to feel the energy of living creatures, or even undead creatures as long as they possess it. This allows her to feel for enemies that do not possess souls.
Speed: Her speed is 1.5 times that of a normal human and when she’s using her wings she can increase it to be 2 times that of a human’s normal speed. She can only increase her speed for short bursts and using it a few times in a row can quickly tire her out.
Strength: Though she has a slim look to her, Abhrapatha has twice the amount of strength as a normal human human, allowing her to easily lift up to 190 lbs and struggle up to 220 lbs.
Skills
Melee Combat: Abhrapatha prefers to use her hands and feet in combat more so than any kind of weapon, especially as her one hand in itself is a weapon. She is quick with successive punches and kicks and her wings give her an added ability to use her feet without losing her balance. She has advanced skills in art of hand-to-hand combat.
Magic
Lightning: By exciting the ions in the air around her hands, Abhrapatha can create bursts of electricity that she can send streaming towards her enemies. These electrical bursts can cause great pain in the person they hit and also interfere with their muscles movements, sending incorrect electrical pulses down their nervous system. Instead of sending the energy bursting towards her enemy, she can also charge and hold it around her fists, giving the person a ‘shocking’ touch every time one of her blows connect. This does not have as strong an effect as the electrical burst and neither have the strength to kill. This will do twice the amount of damage if the person happens to be standing in water though.
Wind: Calling the wind to her aid, the sky demon can form blades of wind that vary from four inches to one foot. The bigger they are the less she can form leaving her with two at a length of one foot and up to five at four inches. Though they look rather harmless, the blades of wind are as sharp as any finely crafted sword and can easily cut through flesh and cloth. They do however disperse upon impact with most armour.
Darkness: Imbuing the claws of her left hand with darkness, Abhrapatha will attempt to sink her claws into the flesh of her opponent. When that happens, the darkness will pour forth and into the person’s system, attacking them from within. It acts similar to a poison, making the person feel rather sickly, sluggish and muddled in the head. To a creature of light, this attack can be particularly painful and the effects will overcome them much quicker. At this point in time, the darkness is only strong enough to force an eventual unconscious state though how long the person remains conscious is depended upon them and their strength of will.
Items: Two Irenian Crystals, Serenmika Crystal, armour listed above, travel necessities (rucksack, blanket, flint, dried food…etc.)
Katasi (The Graveyard): Ira now has the ability to travel to her soul whenever she wants or needs to. Travelling to her soul allows Ira to talk to Irenia and also battle and overcome the corruption she takes within herself at any time. Irenia still has the ability to force Ira into her soul at any point in time and when this happens Ira will be forced into a state of unconsciousness reminiscent to a deep sleep and cannot be awakened. One of the many areas within her soul is in fact a graveyard that is littered with many crypts. Only one had a named carved into it though, the crypt Abhrapatha was in. These tombstones hold the power of Ira’s fusions and she must challenge the fusion and win in order to obtain its powers.
Alignment: The Irenian Crystal that Ira carries around her neck displays her alignment. The more corrupted she becomes the more the colour changes from the gentle blue it normally is when she is fine to the menacing red it becomes if she is completely corrupted. Cleansing souls from Purgatory and even the Physical Plane is a double-edged sword. The soul gets to go to it’s rightful resting place, but Ira must take in all the evils committed by the person after they died and all the regrets that weighed down their heart. If she takes in too much of this corruption she will become corrupted herself. To release this from herself, Ira must travel to her soul through meditation and fight the darkness within, dispelling it.
Corruption: The corruption within a Calerian only becomes extremely dangerous when the Irenian Crystal is nearly consumed in red. If this ever happens a Calerian will turn into a monster not unlike the Fallen that they fight against in Purgatory. In this state a Calerian will kill anything it comes across and once they get to this point there is apparently no way to save them. Ira has proved this theory wrong. She was corrupted during a mission in The Ruins of Kesta in which she was still able to keep her mind and travel part way back to Astaka.
Fallen: The term given to corrupted souls that have fallen from their former selves and as such have been termed Fallen. A soul with regrets is prevented from moving on to the afterlife, if they cannot overcome their regrets they will eventually be dragged in Purgatory where they will slowly be corrupted. Once that has happened they turn into monsters, their skin usually blackened and burnt looking. Their configuration varies but their bodies are almost always formed into weapons. Blades protrude from arms, claws; jagged teeth. Some have a membrane formed between their arms and their body, allowing them to glide. In the centre of a Fallen’s chest, and even the chest of any soul, is a black hole where heart and humanity lay. To release a soul from their regrets and evil deeds a weapon formed by a Calerian must pass through this space. The regrets and evils committed by the soul while corrupted are forgiven and the Calerian takes them into their own body and soul, however, evil committed before corruption cannot be forgiven.
Threads of Fate: This is what binds the soul to a still living body. If a soul is ever removed from a body for any reason, as long as the Thread of Fate remains attach the body will live. However, if it is separated the body soon dies without the presence of the soul. The Thread of Fate looks like a fragile piece of string that connects from the heart of the soul to the heart of the body. Though it looks fragile it is not that easy to break one, however, that can be done with a concentrate attack. Physical weapons have no effect on a soul or the Threads of Fate, yet magic, a specifically enchanted weapon, or a Calerian weapon will, especially a Calerian weapon since it is designed to fight against souls specifically.
History:
Ira’s tribe of people migrated centuries ago north of the Suravani’s Oasis to a place that few, if any, ever travel and so they are left in whatever kind of peace they can find there. Few in Fallien know of their existence and even fewer believe they exist, they are a tribe long since forgotten and wiped out because of their abilities to see and hear the dead as well as enter the Plane of Purgatory where no living human should ever go for fear of their life.
Not everyone in the tribe has Ira’s abilities though, in fact those who do are called Calerian’s, Clear Sighted, and few are born every generation, so they are trained and protected so that one day they may cleanse Purgatory. Of those born Calerian The Descendants of Shinkara and The Descendants of Crea produce the most and the strongest. The Physical Plane is not the only one in existence; there are in fact several other planes, Purgatory being the one closest to the physical world. Because Calerian’s do not use their abilities to enter the other Planes of existence they do not really know what lies beyond them only that there is one for what people call Hell and one for Heaven, in the tribe they are known as Abyss and Sanctuary.
When people in the Physical Plane die with major regrets in their minds that won’t allow them to pass to either Abyss or Sanctuary they are trapped in the world of Purgatory. When enough lost souls have entered Purgatory they can build up the power to rip through the Plane into the Physical world and wreak havoc on living people. The longer a soul is trapped in Purgatory the more their humanity has deteriorated and the more violent they become.
A direct blow to the black hole in the chest of a lost soul from an enchanted weapon frees them and cleanses them of any crime they may have committed in Purgatory, however is cannot cleanse them from wrong doings they committed in their physical form and for that they go to the Abyss.
Ira’s history has nothing special to it, she started training from the age of five like most Calerian’s, though her abilities were some of the strongest, in fact the only person to rival her among her generation of Calerian’s is Revor or the House of Crea and she uses their rivalry as a way to hide the fact that she might be falling in love with him. Because Calerian’s have no other way of making a living, the tribe treats their abilities as if it were a regular job and they are paid handsomely for every job they complete.
Level One
On Ira’s third mission she was sent to the Ruins of Kesta by Gereint, the tribe’s Shaman. It was supposed to be relatively easy, however, once there she ran into two very strong Fallen, Metran and Artas who were meticulously killing Calerians and taking their Irenian crystals for reasons unknown. Ira was able to defeat Artas through a bit of skill and blind luck however he carried so much evil within him that she was immediately corrupted. Unlike a normal corruption, Ira did not turn into a monster, instead she experience blinding pain and flashes of memories from those that Artas had killed. After Metran grew bored of beating her, Ira was able to get a lucky shot in, steal one of the Irenian crystals from him and use her Cast-Off to exit Purgatory.
After travelling through the desert back to Astaka, Ira eventually collapsed unable to continue and thinking herself dead she was surprised to find herself alive and healthy in her home. Revor and a few others had found her and she’d eventually recovered from the corruption a mystery even to her. However, after her recovery some of the members of the tribe looked at her differently as if fearing she would turn into a monster at any moment. Uncomfortable under that kind of scrutiny, Ira decided to leave Astaka for a time to travel around Althanas.
Her first stop was Corone. Once there she went to Concordia, amazed by how vibrant and alive it was. Being raised in a desert wasteland she’d never seen a forest, however her first trip within Concordia was not much of a pleasant one. She met up with a man name Kadarus, who at first wanted to kill her, then upon realizing, that for some reason he was unable to, broke down. After a little while he regained himself, Ira parted ways with him and left for other areas of the forest. Unfortunately, she was attacked by Centaurs and nearly died; yet Kadarus saved her and in the morning took her to Underwood. To this day she still wonders if it would have been better for her to have just killed him, she definitely hopes to never run into him again.
From there Ira went to Raiaera where she met up with an odd boy who at first introduced himself as Glen, yet she later realized he was some famous Hero by the name of Damon Kaosi who helped save Raiaera from the undead. Together, the two of them cleansed a ship full of zombies and retrieved some kind of axe that seemed to be important to him. Though it bothers her greatly that he lied about his name, Damon is definitely someone she’d call an ally and would not mind fighting alongside again.
At this time, while in Raiaera and wishing to explore the schools therein, Ira was contacted by Gereint through a dream and asked to return to Astaka for The Festival of the Dead. She arrived a few weeks early and was asked to travel to Irrakam for supplies with Messia and Uriahd, two of her close friends. In Irrakam, an attack by a group known as The Coalition took place, during which Uri lost her life. After the explosion tore through the city it became apparent that they were distractions so that the group could sneak into The Keep in an attempt to kidnap The Jya. Ira was forced to team up with Letho and Myrhia—who at the time she blamed for Uri’s death—and sneak into The Keep.
They lost Captain Eagis in the maze of tunnels under The Keep and then later lost the newly appointed Captain Brye during an attack to save Jya. In the end they were able to save Jya and a great feast was held, during which, Letho, Myrhia, Alikam and Ira were all given metals for their efforts. Alikam was leading an attack on The Keep to distract the guards so they could all sneak in.
During the mission Ira came to terms with the fact that Letho wasn’t responsible for Uri’s death. It was a series of choices that led up to her demise, some of which Uri’s own. If she had anyone to blame she had The Coalition. During the ritual in which Uri’s body was burned, Ira carved her name into one of her Half Swallows, thus naming it Uriahd.
Level Two
After the incident in Irrakam, Ira returned to Astaka with Messia for the Festival of the Dead. During the festival she met a man named Storm Veritas who very quickly charmed her off her feet. Unfortunately for the both of them, the tribe was attacked during the first night by a group of Fallen and Ira was forced to fight them off with her fellow Calerians. During the battle Storm got in the way and she had to protect him, subsequently getting seriously injured by one of the creatures and corrupted at the same time.
Ira was pulled into her soul and due to Storm’s proximity he was pulled in as well. Once there she met a woman named Iren who apparently helped power the Irenian crystals through ways she would not discuss very much with Ira. During their talk, Iren told Ira that the only way to get out of her soul and stop the corruption was to fight it, beat it and take control of it, using it to her advantage. Eventually, Ira agreed and her and Storm travelled to a deeper part of her soul on the brink of being corrupted. There, Ira fought and overcame her corruption and freed the both of them from her soul. Afterwards, Storm left, the experience being too much for him.
Later on during the festival Ira met a man named Denebriel and together they went to The Valley of the Dead. There, Ira looked up the names of Iren and her partner Seren, finding out they Seren was in fact an ancestor of hers and Iren of Revor’s. After that, she travelled back to her soul in order to talk to Iren, quickly learning that she once again had to fight the corruption and take a more permanent control over it. She beat back the corruption and earned herself the ability to fuse with it and turn into the monster Abhrapatha, the name itself meaning ‘demon of the sky’.
Once Uriahd’s name was added to the list of the lost on the final day of the festival, Gereint told Ira to go on a small vacation. She went to Irrakam, the only place in Fallien she could really go. There she met Izvilvin, a Drow who could barely speak a word of Common or Fallien. He was under the employ of Jya and trying to recruit her as an Ambassador for Astaka. She refused at first, but soon enough she found herself within the Drow’s company and the two of them were travelling to Astaka with two Priestesses to discuss her tribe’s standing with The Jya.
During their journey, they were set upon by Arta and Izvilvin was poisoned by one of their blades, none of them knowing until they reached Ira’s home and he passed out the next day. Lyra was able to use a variety of herbs and medicines to draw out the poison. Ira was given her role as an Ambassador between her tribe and Irrakam, a position she did not want or cherish in any way and her and Izvilvin travelled once again back to Irrakam with Gereint, her tribe’s Shaman. There, they parted ways, but Ira had a feeling she’d be seeing her friend again.
Level Three
A few weeks after coming back from Irrakam, Ira received word from Gereint that a war was about to break out and as quickly as she could, she travelled there to assist The Jya in any way. After travelling for two days straight without sleep, Ira made it to the Capitol of Fallien, was briefed on the situation and then ordered to get some rest. During the night an assassin snuck into The Keep to try and kill off key members of the militia. The woman also attempted and failed after an extremely long battle to kill Ira as well. Instead the Calerian warrior was forced to kill her, the first time she’d ever killed a person. She was not without her injuries though, the inhuman assassin having tried to drink her blood twice and ripped open two gashes along her neck. She only survived by luck when Izvilvin found her and took her to a healer.
The next day, the war against the Cultists and Harpies began…
Level Four
The civil war that broke out in Fallien was brief but devastating to the city of Irrakam and to the people that call the region home. Ira had to watch as many people she had grown to call comrades died under the claws of the harpies and the magic of the cultists. After much struggle, her and Izvilvin eventually helped push the Harpies and Cultists out, but for how long they do not know for surely they will come back.
A few weeks after the fighting had stopped and the rebuilding was being done, Ira decided to leave Fallien for a time. With the corruption deep inside her soul and the recent events she felt like she could not stay with her people. So she headed for Corone once more. In Radsanth she met up with a strange being called J one day when she was out releasing souls. Their encounter was brief and Ira never learned much about him other than the fact that he talks to beings he called The Dark Places that may or may not be similar to Abhrapatha. She knows his sudden departure would not be the last of their encounters together though, for she seemed to be the only person to offer him help, the only person who may have answers for him.
During her time in Radasanth, Ira heard many talk of a place called The Citadel, where warriors went to sharpen their skills and test their bravery. She went one day out of curiosity and determination to become a better fighter. In a serene setting, the cold-hearted barbarian Malagen Kha’Thars was set upon her as her opponent. They battle with words almost more than they battled with their blades. Malagen had come with the intention to bed Ira more so than fight her. She unsurprisingly objected and eventually got the upper hand in the battle, defeating Malagen and leaving their battle arena.
Upon her departure, Ira was a little more than miffed at her failed attempt in the fighting arena so she went for a long walk to calm down. Unfortunately she got lost along the way and ended up in a graveyard. There Malagen slaughtered two men who were thinking of doing the unthinkable with her and proceeded to fight her outside the imaginary world. She didn’t last long before her mortally wounded her, yet instead of allowing the wound to slowly bleed her to death, he saved her and brought her to a healer. Instead of leaving the matter at that, Ira found herself tracking the barbarian down and to no surprise she found him in The Citadel. There she offered him dinner and that night they shared a bed together, the first time Ira had shared a bed with anyone.
Instead of lazing around, Ira asked Malagen to train her and together they travelled up The Jagged Mountains. In the harsh cold, Ira endured Malagen’s training as best she could, even though she had never seen ice or snow before. But Malagen pushed her and her emotions too far and Ira lost control of the demon Abhrapatha within her, nearly killing Malagen in the process. When she came back to his side, the barbarian did something she never thought he would, he confessed his love for her. Their training upon the mountain ended that day but their journey together had just begun…
Name: Ira of Shinkara
Age: 22
Sex: Female
Race: Calerian (Human)
Hair Colour: Soft, light purple
Eye Colour: Quicksilver (She is able to change her eye colour at will.)
Height: 5’8
Weight: 130 lbs
Occupation: Calerian warrior and Ambassador of Astaka
Appearance: A native to Fallien, Ira has a natural tan to her skin, it looks golden and sun-kissed. Used to a hot climate, she keeps her hair relatively short, though on her journeying if it becomes too long she simply ties it back out of her way. Trained from an early age, Ira is neither skinny nor overweight, she is built, yet without a weapon in her hand and dressed in her normal clothes she appears as a normal woman, if not for the white markings she has. She has two strips on each of her shoulders, more will appear the stronger she gets. Over her journeys around Althanas she’s gained a little muscles but lost weight.
When Ira defeated the corruption and received her fusion ability, a mark of that fusion appeared on her back. A set of abstract looking wings that spans from her shoulder blades to almost the small of her back. Instead of being black they are white and stand out in stark contrast to her darkly tanned skin. She also has a new scar upon her body. On the left side of her neck, close to her jaw line are two clean puncture marks where a woman bit her. An inch or so below that is a horrendous gash, that looks like an animal tore into her flesh. The scar leaves one to wonder how she could how survived such a thing and not bled to death.
The Mark of Abhrapatha (http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l167/Corvusmoore/Ira-AbhrapathasMark.jpg)
Personality:[/u] Ira’s quiet most of the time, being able to hear many things around her that other people don’t, she tends to live in her own world. She talks only when necessary or when she’s around someone she likes or even someone important. That being said, if she’s upset she can and will freely voice her feelings if ever prompted to or not in proper control of her own emotions. Otherwise she will remain silent. Ira does have a playful and fun side though at times it does need some coaxing to come out of it’s shell. Put anything new and interesting in front of her and she wants to know almost everything about it, especially if it’s a race she’s never seen before. Curiosity has yet to kill this cat.
Over past months, Ira has changed, subtly but the change is still there. She’s a little more flamboyant and a little more outspoken and outgoing, but only because she’s learned there’s no point in keeping what she thinks to herself all the time. Her emotions still get the better of her for when she feels something she has a tendency to feel it more so than the average person. Her tongue is a little sharper and at times she finds herself being a little cold.
Skills:
Swordsmanship – Though she doesn’t use swords that often, she was trained with them since her youth, being the optimal weapon for any kind of warrior. Her skills in this weapon are average, not as natural as her skills with the Naginata come.
Naginata – After training for years with the sword Ira was given a choice of a new weapon and chose the Naginata and her skills with it increased much faster than with a sword. She has a natural ability with the weapon and uses it well with her body’s own movements and agility.
· Swallow – One of the two other forms Ira uses of her Naginata. In this form the weapon has a blade on each end curved away from the other. She uses this form more often than the Naginata itself, her skills with it being advanced.
· Half Swallows – The second form of the Naginata. In this form, the Swallow is broken in half so that Ira carries half of the weapon in each hand. She is by far the more proficient with this weapon; and the recent training with Malagen has allowed her skills to grow to legendary proportions. One of her Half Swallows has been dubbed Uriahd.
Projectiles – Part of her training included using bow and arrow and throwing knives, though she tends to use these only as a last resort since her personality demands up close and personal action with her enemy. Her aim with arrows is not as good as with throwing knives but she gets better distance with the arrows.
Steady Hand Steady Mind: The days of training with Malagen to steady her body and calm her mind have paid off. Ira is now much more focused in battle. She can look at things in a new way and calculate her moves and the possible response of her enemy even before she takes a single step. She is also much more steady in battle and attacks that would normally throw her off have little effect. She still needs some work to steady her emotions though.
Abilities:
The Will to Resist – Through natural evolution of the Irenian crystal and Ira’s own strength of will she now has a resistance to forms of magic that attack the soul and the mind, dampening their effects at times.
Cast-Off – An ability that only Calerian’s can use, allows them to cast off the Physical Plane and enter the Plane of Purgatory. It is rumoured that they can further use it to enter Planes of existence beyond Purgatory, but the last Calerian who tried it never came back to tell of what lay beyond.
Fortify Me: Ira has been close to death a number of times now and has still retained the ability to hold on until the very last moment. Her will conquers the weakness of her body and allows her to push through until there is barely strength left in her and even then she may still be able to continue on only because she wants to. She can handle more wounds and more blood loss than the average person and can even push through the pain.
Cold Resistance: Naturally being from an extremely hot climate, Ira never had much resistance to the cold. Spending a few weeks on an extremely harsh mountain has changed that. Though she still hates the cold, she can endure through the harsh temperatures without her body shutting down. Her resistance would be similar to someone who was naturally born and used to a colder and harsher environment.
Weapons:
Serenmika Crystal – A crystal that Ira has been aligned with. It allows her to focus, channel and strengthen her own energy through it and thus turn that energy in a physical object, which does not always have to be a weapon. Through a recent incident in Irrakam Ira was given a present by The Jya, an upgrade to her crystal. The Ad Atmika (The Soul or Supreme Spirit) crystal was fused with the Serenna crystal to create the Serenmika giving Ira a new set of abilities with her crystal. Items formed by the Serenmika crystal have the strength of Titanium.
· Ad Atmika Enchantment – This enchantment turns the weapons a glowing blue colour and when activated allows the weapon to pass through the physical body, doing no harm, yet attacking the soul within that body. This causes extreme pain, up to two times that of any normal attack. If enough damage is done to the soul or a direct blow is taken to The Thread of Fate then the soul will be forced from the body for a period of time. If the soul continues to receive damage is may be permanently destroyed.
· A More Permanent Solution – Once again Ira’s Serenmika crystal has naturally evolved giving her more strength. She can now form permanent weapons and items, things that will not disappear without the touch of someone living. These items only have the strength of steel at the moment and they require more concentration and time to form unlike the instantaneous weapons she can create now. If a permanent weapon is given the Ad Atmika enchantment, it will dissipate a few minutes after leaving her hands.
Armour:
Physical World – Ira doesn’t do much fighting in this plane of existence so she doesn’t have much need for physical armour, however in case she ever does need it, she carries around some light armour. She has arm guards that go from her wrist to her elbow and shin guards as well. Though she previously thought it impossible, Ira has learned that she can form her Irenian armour in the physical world where it looks exactly same as it normally would in Purgatory, yet only has the strength of Steel here.
Purgatory – Going from the physical world to the Plane of Purgatory automatically activates the Irenian Crystal to protect her. An enchanted armour wraps itself around her, armour that would do nothing to protect against physical weapons, however they do work against spiritual weapons, weapons that any of the beings in Purgatory may have on them, magic or steel. A breastplate covers her chest and her entire left arm is encased in armour, her right arm from the elbow to the wrist is still covered though more heavily and on the outside lays a rounded, sharp edge. Her shin guards are covered more heavily as well and a piece of cloth covers her face from the bridge of her nose down to protect her identity. The armour is enchanted so that is weights practically nothing and is as strong as Titanium. In this form the Irenian crystal rests within the middle of the breastplate.
Samdham (Fusion): Ira has a special ability that allows her to use the corruption a Calerian accumulates from releasing souls, instead of just expelling it from her body. Ira uses the accumulated corruption and fuses with it, turning herself into a more evolved Calerian with completely different abilities depending on the form she picks. Fusions are also the only form Ira can use magic in. Abilities from one form cannot be used in another form and though some abilities Ira has in her normal state can be used in Fusions, Fusion abilities cannot be used without Fusing.
Fusing is extremely taxing on Ira, as she has to concentrate on both the battle and the corruption within her, which being so close to the surface will try at the most inopportune times to take over her. The longer she stays fused the more the corruption will fight against her. She also doesn’t like to fuse, as it requires she use something she was taught to fight against her entire life.
Fusions
Abhrapatha: A demon of the sky. She is a form of condensed corruption given personally, thought and feelings. She values freedom above almost everything else and has a carefree spirit but no moral standing. She kills without thought or reason and does not care whom she kills as long as it is satisfying. Entire villages have fallen to her. The mark of Abhrapatha now lies on Ira’s physical appearance. Across her shoulder blades is a symbol that looks like an abstract form of wings. This mark is pure white in colour and stands out drastically against Ira’s tanned skin.
Physical Appearance: Abhrapatha is of a athletic form, tall and well built, but her muscles are more compact giving her a somewhat slender appearance and thus making people think she’s really weaker than she it. Her skin is a deathly grey colour that human corpses often attain after many days of lying around unexposed. Her hair is short, around the same few inches in length as Ira’s is and it a pure white colour and her eyes are a bright crimson. Armour covers many areas of her body, including her torso, shins, her left upper arm and her right forearm. Though the armour is beautiful and ornate, with what looks like feathers carved into it’s surface, it is dull and worn looking. Underneath her armour she wears a simple light purple dress of sorts that’s slit all the way up her thighs to allow for easy movement. She also does not wear anything on her feet, preferring to be barefoot.
Though her right hand and arm are normal looking, Abhrapatha’s left hand is larger than her right and is more of a monstrous claw than an actual hand. The fingers look gnarled and broken, though they are perfectly capable of functioning and on the end of each one is a long and very sharp looking claw. Large feathered wings adorn her back, fully stretched out they have a span of around 7 feet. Towards the centre of them the feathers are light blue, then they become light purple and finally as they fan out the majority of the wings are a silver colour.
Abilities
Senses: Abhrapatha has very sharp senses. Her eyes sight is two times better than that of a human, allowing her see things much clearer and sharper as well as see farther. Her hearing is more sensitive and she feels things more acutely than a normal human, which is also a downside as pain is felt twice as much as well. As well as having heightened senses, she also has the ability to feel the energy of living creatures, or even undead creatures as long as they possess it. This allows her to feel for enemies that do not possess souls.
Speed: Her speed is 1.5 times that of a normal human and when she’s using her wings she can increase it to be 2 times that of a human’s normal speed. She can only increase her speed for short bursts and using it a few times in a row can quickly tire her out.
Strength: Though she has a slim look to her, Abhrapatha has twice the amount of strength as a normal human human, allowing her to easily lift up to 190 lbs and struggle up to 220 lbs.
Skills
Melee Combat: Abhrapatha prefers to use her hands and feet in combat more so than any kind of weapon, especially as her one hand in itself is a weapon. She is quick with successive punches and kicks and her wings give her an added ability to use her feet without losing her balance. She has advanced skills in art of hand-to-hand combat.
Magic
Lightning: By exciting the ions in the air around her hands, Abhrapatha can create bursts of electricity that she can send streaming towards her enemies. These electrical bursts can cause great pain in the person they hit and also interfere with their muscles movements, sending incorrect electrical pulses down their nervous system. Instead of sending the energy bursting towards her enemy, she can also charge and hold it around her fists, giving the person a ‘shocking’ touch every time one of her blows connect. This does not have as strong an effect as the electrical burst and neither have the strength to kill. This will do twice the amount of damage if the person happens to be standing in water though.
Wind: Calling the wind to her aid, the sky demon can form blades of wind that vary from four inches to one foot. The bigger they are the less she can form leaving her with two at a length of one foot and up to five at four inches. Though they look rather harmless, the blades of wind are as sharp as any finely crafted sword and can easily cut through flesh and cloth. They do however disperse upon impact with most armour.
Darkness: Imbuing the claws of her left hand with darkness, Abhrapatha will attempt to sink her claws into the flesh of her opponent. When that happens, the darkness will pour forth and into the person’s system, attacking them from within. It acts similar to a poison, making the person feel rather sickly, sluggish and muddled in the head. To a creature of light, this attack can be particularly painful and the effects will overcome them much quicker. At this point in time, the darkness is only strong enough to force an eventual unconscious state though how long the person remains conscious is depended upon them and their strength of will.
Items: Two Irenian Crystals, Serenmika Crystal, armour listed above, travel necessities (rucksack, blanket, flint, dried food…etc.)
Katasi (The Graveyard): Ira now has the ability to travel to her soul whenever she wants or needs to. Travelling to her soul allows Ira to talk to Irenia and also battle and overcome the corruption she takes within herself at any time. Irenia still has the ability to force Ira into her soul at any point in time and when this happens Ira will be forced into a state of unconsciousness reminiscent to a deep sleep and cannot be awakened. One of the many areas within her soul is in fact a graveyard that is littered with many crypts. Only one had a named carved into it though, the crypt Abhrapatha was in. These tombstones hold the power of Ira’s fusions and she must challenge the fusion and win in order to obtain its powers.
Alignment: The Irenian Crystal that Ira carries around her neck displays her alignment. The more corrupted she becomes the more the colour changes from the gentle blue it normally is when she is fine to the menacing red it becomes if she is completely corrupted. Cleansing souls from Purgatory and even the Physical Plane is a double-edged sword. The soul gets to go to it’s rightful resting place, but Ira must take in all the evils committed by the person after they died and all the regrets that weighed down their heart. If she takes in too much of this corruption she will become corrupted herself. To release this from herself, Ira must travel to her soul through meditation and fight the darkness within, dispelling it.
Corruption: The corruption within a Calerian only becomes extremely dangerous when the Irenian Crystal is nearly consumed in red. If this ever happens a Calerian will turn into a monster not unlike the Fallen that they fight against in Purgatory. In this state a Calerian will kill anything it comes across and once they get to this point there is apparently no way to save them. Ira has proved this theory wrong. She was corrupted during a mission in The Ruins of Kesta in which she was still able to keep her mind and travel part way back to Astaka.
Fallen: The term given to corrupted souls that have fallen from their former selves and as such have been termed Fallen. A soul with regrets is prevented from moving on to the afterlife, if they cannot overcome their regrets they will eventually be dragged in Purgatory where they will slowly be corrupted. Once that has happened they turn into monsters, their skin usually blackened and burnt looking. Their configuration varies but their bodies are almost always formed into weapons. Blades protrude from arms, claws; jagged teeth. Some have a membrane formed between their arms and their body, allowing them to glide. In the centre of a Fallen’s chest, and even the chest of any soul, is a black hole where heart and humanity lay. To release a soul from their regrets and evil deeds a weapon formed by a Calerian must pass through this space. The regrets and evils committed by the soul while corrupted are forgiven and the Calerian takes them into their own body and soul, however, evil committed before corruption cannot be forgiven.
Threads of Fate: This is what binds the soul to a still living body. If a soul is ever removed from a body for any reason, as long as the Thread of Fate remains attach the body will live. However, if it is separated the body soon dies without the presence of the soul. The Thread of Fate looks like a fragile piece of string that connects from the heart of the soul to the heart of the body. Though it looks fragile it is not that easy to break one, however, that can be done with a concentrate attack. Physical weapons have no effect on a soul or the Threads of Fate, yet magic, a specifically enchanted weapon, or a Calerian weapon will, especially a Calerian weapon since it is designed to fight against souls specifically.
History:
Ira’s tribe of people migrated centuries ago north of the Suravani’s Oasis to a place that few, if any, ever travel and so they are left in whatever kind of peace they can find there. Few in Fallien know of their existence and even fewer believe they exist, they are a tribe long since forgotten and wiped out because of their abilities to see and hear the dead as well as enter the Plane of Purgatory where no living human should ever go for fear of their life.
Not everyone in the tribe has Ira’s abilities though, in fact those who do are called Calerian’s, Clear Sighted, and few are born every generation, so they are trained and protected so that one day they may cleanse Purgatory. Of those born Calerian The Descendants of Shinkara and The Descendants of Crea produce the most and the strongest. The Physical Plane is not the only one in existence; there are in fact several other planes, Purgatory being the one closest to the physical world. Because Calerian’s do not use their abilities to enter the other Planes of existence they do not really know what lies beyond them only that there is one for what people call Hell and one for Heaven, in the tribe they are known as Abyss and Sanctuary.
When people in the Physical Plane die with major regrets in their minds that won’t allow them to pass to either Abyss or Sanctuary they are trapped in the world of Purgatory. When enough lost souls have entered Purgatory they can build up the power to rip through the Plane into the Physical world and wreak havoc on living people. The longer a soul is trapped in Purgatory the more their humanity has deteriorated and the more violent they become.
A direct blow to the black hole in the chest of a lost soul from an enchanted weapon frees them and cleanses them of any crime they may have committed in Purgatory, however is cannot cleanse them from wrong doings they committed in their physical form and for that they go to the Abyss.
Ira’s history has nothing special to it, she started training from the age of five like most Calerian’s, though her abilities were some of the strongest, in fact the only person to rival her among her generation of Calerian’s is Revor or the House of Crea and she uses their rivalry as a way to hide the fact that she might be falling in love with him. Because Calerian’s have no other way of making a living, the tribe treats their abilities as if it were a regular job and they are paid handsomely for every job they complete.
Level One
On Ira’s third mission she was sent to the Ruins of Kesta by Gereint, the tribe’s Shaman. It was supposed to be relatively easy, however, once there she ran into two very strong Fallen, Metran and Artas who were meticulously killing Calerians and taking their Irenian crystals for reasons unknown. Ira was able to defeat Artas through a bit of skill and blind luck however he carried so much evil within him that she was immediately corrupted. Unlike a normal corruption, Ira did not turn into a monster, instead she experience blinding pain and flashes of memories from those that Artas had killed. After Metran grew bored of beating her, Ira was able to get a lucky shot in, steal one of the Irenian crystals from him and use her Cast-Off to exit Purgatory.
After travelling through the desert back to Astaka, Ira eventually collapsed unable to continue and thinking herself dead she was surprised to find herself alive and healthy in her home. Revor and a few others had found her and she’d eventually recovered from the corruption a mystery even to her. However, after her recovery some of the members of the tribe looked at her differently as if fearing she would turn into a monster at any moment. Uncomfortable under that kind of scrutiny, Ira decided to leave Astaka for a time to travel around Althanas.
Her first stop was Corone. Once there she went to Concordia, amazed by how vibrant and alive it was. Being raised in a desert wasteland she’d never seen a forest, however her first trip within Concordia was not much of a pleasant one. She met up with a man name Kadarus, who at first wanted to kill her, then upon realizing, that for some reason he was unable to, broke down. After a little while he regained himself, Ira parted ways with him and left for other areas of the forest. Unfortunately, she was attacked by Centaurs and nearly died; yet Kadarus saved her and in the morning took her to Underwood. To this day she still wonders if it would have been better for her to have just killed him, she definitely hopes to never run into him again.
From there Ira went to Raiaera where she met up with an odd boy who at first introduced himself as Glen, yet she later realized he was some famous Hero by the name of Damon Kaosi who helped save Raiaera from the undead. Together, the two of them cleansed a ship full of zombies and retrieved some kind of axe that seemed to be important to him. Though it bothers her greatly that he lied about his name, Damon is definitely someone she’d call an ally and would not mind fighting alongside again.
At this time, while in Raiaera and wishing to explore the schools therein, Ira was contacted by Gereint through a dream and asked to return to Astaka for The Festival of the Dead. She arrived a few weeks early and was asked to travel to Irrakam for supplies with Messia and Uriahd, two of her close friends. In Irrakam, an attack by a group known as The Coalition took place, during which Uri lost her life. After the explosion tore through the city it became apparent that they were distractions so that the group could sneak into The Keep in an attempt to kidnap The Jya. Ira was forced to team up with Letho and Myrhia—who at the time she blamed for Uri’s death—and sneak into The Keep.
They lost Captain Eagis in the maze of tunnels under The Keep and then later lost the newly appointed Captain Brye during an attack to save Jya. In the end they were able to save Jya and a great feast was held, during which, Letho, Myrhia, Alikam and Ira were all given metals for their efforts. Alikam was leading an attack on The Keep to distract the guards so they could all sneak in.
During the mission Ira came to terms with the fact that Letho wasn’t responsible for Uri’s death. It was a series of choices that led up to her demise, some of which Uri’s own. If she had anyone to blame she had The Coalition. During the ritual in which Uri’s body was burned, Ira carved her name into one of her Half Swallows, thus naming it Uriahd.
Level Two
After the incident in Irrakam, Ira returned to Astaka with Messia for the Festival of the Dead. During the festival she met a man named Storm Veritas who very quickly charmed her off her feet. Unfortunately for the both of them, the tribe was attacked during the first night by a group of Fallen and Ira was forced to fight them off with her fellow Calerians. During the battle Storm got in the way and she had to protect him, subsequently getting seriously injured by one of the creatures and corrupted at the same time.
Ira was pulled into her soul and due to Storm’s proximity he was pulled in as well. Once there she met a woman named Iren who apparently helped power the Irenian crystals through ways she would not discuss very much with Ira. During their talk, Iren told Ira that the only way to get out of her soul and stop the corruption was to fight it, beat it and take control of it, using it to her advantage. Eventually, Ira agreed and her and Storm travelled to a deeper part of her soul on the brink of being corrupted. There, Ira fought and overcame her corruption and freed the both of them from her soul. Afterwards, Storm left, the experience being too much for him.
Later on during the festival Ira met a man named Denebriel and together they went to The Valley of the Dead. There, Ira looked up the names of Iren and her partner Seren, finding out they Seren was in fact an ancestor of hers and Iren of Revor’s. After that, she travelled back to her soul in order to talk to Iren, quickly learning that she once again had to fight the corruption and take a more permanent control over it. She beat back the corruption and earned herself the ability to fuse with it and turn into the monster Abhrapatha, the name itself meaning ‘demon of the sky’.
Once Uriahd’s name was added to the list of the lost on the final day of the festival, Gereint told Ira to go on a small vacation. She went to Irrakam, the only place in Fallien she could really go. There she met Izvilvin, a Drow who could barely speak a word of Common or Fallien. He was under the employ of Jya and trying to recruit her as an Ambassador for Astaka. She refused at first, but soon enough she found herself within the Drow’s company and the two of them were travelling to Astaka with two Priestesses to discuss her tribe’s standing with The Jya.
During their journey, they were set upon by Arta and Izvilvin was poisoned by one of their blades, none of them knowing until they reached Ira’s home and he passed out the next day. Lyra was able to use a variety of herbs and medicines to draw out the poison. Ira was given her role as an Ambassador between her tribe and Irrakam, a position she did not want or cherish in any way and her and Izvilvin travelled once again back to Irrakam with Gereint, her tribe’s Shaman. There, they parted ways, but Ira had a feeling she’d be seeing her friend again.
Level Three
A few weeks after coming back from Irrakam, Ira received word from Gereint that a war was about to break out and as quickly as she could, she travelled there to assist The Jya in any way. After travelling for two days straight without sleep, Ira made it to the Capitol of Fallien, was briefed on the situation and then ordered to get some rest. During the night an assassin snuck into The Keep to try and kill off key members of the militia. The woman also attempted and failed after an extremely long battle to kill Ira as well. Instead the Calerian warrior was forced to kill her, the first time she’d ever killed a person. She was not without her injuries though, the inhuman assassin having tried to drink her blood twice and ripped open two gashes along her neck. She only survived by luck when Izvilvin found her and took her to a healer.
The next day, the war against the Cultists and Harpies began…
Level Four
The civil war that broke out in Fallien was brief but devastating to the city of Irrakam and to the people that call the region home. Ira had to watch as many people she had grown to call comrades died under the claws of the harpies and the magic of the cultists. After much struggle, her and Izvilvin eventually helped push the Harpies and Cultists out, but for how long they do not know for surely they will come back.
A few weeks after the fighting had stopped and the rebuilding was being done, Ira decided to leave Fallien for a time. With the corruption deep inside her soul and the recent events she felt like she could not stay with her people. So she headed for Corone once more. In Radsanth she met up with a strange being called J one day when she was out releasing souls. Their encounter was brief and Ira never learned much about him other than the fact that he talks to beings he called The Dark Places that may or may not be similar to Abhrapatha. She knows his sudden departure would not be the last of their encounters together though, for she seemed to be the only person to offer him help, the only person who may have answers for him.
During her time in Radasanth, Ira heard many talk of a place called The Citadel, where warriors went to sharpen their skills and test their bravery. She went one day out of curiosity and determination to become a better fighter. In a serene setting, the cold-hearted barbarian Malagen Kha’Thars was set upon her as her opponent. They battle with words almost more than they battled with their blades. Malagen had come with the intention to bed Ira more so than fight her. She unsurprisingly objected and eventually got the upper hand in the battle, defeating Malagen and leaving their battle arena.
Upon her departure, Ira was a little more than miffed at her failed attempt in the fighting arena so she went for a long walk to calm down. Unfortunately she got lost along the way and ended up in a graveyard. There Malagen slaughtered two men who were thinking of doing the unthinkable with her and proceeded to fight her outside the imaginary world. She didn’t last long before her mortally wounded her, yet instead of allowing the wound to slowly bleed her to death, he saved her and brought her to a healer. Instead of leaving the matter at that, Ira found herself tracking the barbarian down and to no surprise she found him in The Citadel. There she offered him dinner and that night they shared a bed together, the first time Ira had shared a bed with anyone.
Instead of lazing around, Ira asked Malagen to train her and together they travelled up The Jagged Mountains. In the harsh cold, Ira endured Malagen’s training as best she could, even though she had never seen ice or snow before. But Malagen pushed her and her emotions too far and Ira lost control of the demon Abhrapatha within her, nearly killing Malagen in the process. When she came back to his side, the barbarian did something she never thought he would, he confessed his love for her. Their training upon the mountain ended that day but their journey together had just begun…