Information

Vyrn has a minion!

Aloryn the Firefox

Vyrn
Legacy Name: Vyrn

The

Nightmare Irion
Owner:

Joker

Age: 4 years, 8 months, 3 weeks

Born: August 29th, 2019

Adopted: 4 years, 8 months, 3 weeks ago

Adopted: August 29th, 2019

Statistics

Level: 1
Strength: 10
Defense: 14
Speed: 10
Health: 10
HP: 10/10
Intelligence: 0
Books Read: 0
Food Eaten: 0
Job: Unemployed

Vyrn never knew suffering in the days of her youth, before her innocence was stripped and her personality forever altered. As a member of the Lionett clan, she could explore the village with her friends and peruse the family scrolls at her leisure, all while studying the powers of light that were her inheritance. In those days, there were few topics that couldn't spark the young witch's imagination and her desire to discover new lands and strange people was topped only by her goal of mastering the Seven Spears of Light, a spell each woman in her family line had perfected and built upon for several generations.

It was her passion for continuing this tradition that first caused her to stumble upon the Grimoire of Askavar.

She'd been doing research, thrilled at the prospect of being entrusted in the room that held her father's private collection without the usual supervision.

The book had an invisible aura that was almost tangible. Vyrn could feel it as a quickening of the pulse, a stirring in her blood. She placed trembling fingers on the cover. The crunch of autumn leaves was in her ears; the bittersweet tang of apple wine on her tongue. What was this tome that could lie dormant for decades, only to wake in a thrum of energy at the autumn equinox? (Little did she know it was her youthful energy that activated the ancient curse spoken over the book's brittle pages.) She held her breath as she carefully peeled back the cover.

The pages flipped of their own accord, settling in the center of a chapter in the middle of the book. The text described a magical artifact called The Equinox Stone, a device of such undiluted power that entire civilizations had fought and fallen in hopes of possessing it. Hungry for more information, Vyrn combed through the rest of her father's private collection, finding casual references that contradicted the stone's last location. It had changed hands from year to year - sometimes even from day to day as wars were fought, betrayals were made and heroes and villains alike were brought to madness in hopes of a power greater than that possessed by many gods.

For this stone had the power to perfect any magical recipe regardless of the skills of the casting witch or warlock. A tear from the "eye" of the stone was greater even than the Elixir of Life. (Vyrn also discovered that this was a cousin to the famed Philosopher’s Stone.)

The private collection had a multitude of information but there was still so much she didn't know. She begged her parents to give her leave to visit the Enlightenment of Dawn Library. Oblivious to the true nature of her quest, they granted her three days and a pair of servants to aid her in her travels.

She finally found the answers she sought in the journal of a dragonborn. A shadow seemed to pass over her heart as the dark and bloodied history of the stone became clearer. Her natural affection for light and life whispered a warning. It was the gentle voice of Sul, her patron god and protector, trying to turn her feet from the path she'd set.

The lure of glory proved stronger. She took careful notes, determined to make the finding of the stone the greatest adventure of her life.

Little did she know her actions had not gone unobserved. The Cult of Eternal Equinox had eyes and ears everywhere...and they watched jealously for anyone who would dare take an interest in that critical journal penned by one of their own members gone rogue.

She barely made it outside of the library before they struck. The cloth clapped over her nose and mouth was soaked in a berry brew with a special numbing effect on members of the aasimar race. Her servants never even saw what happened, so efficient were the skills of the CoEE.

She woke in a haze of pain. CoEE didn't believe in wasting time...or showing mercy. They questioned her, wringing every detail of her limited knowledge until they were satisfied that she hadn't made it far enough in her quest to have any idea of where the stone resided. She still knew far too much but her family was too influential to kill her outright. They needed to make her forget her own name and all the details of the stone. They brought in a wizard in their employment. His memory wipe spell was of the highest quality...but not entirely effective against an aasimar witch.

Vyrn woke beneath the roots of a great mangrove tree, wearing only a thin cloak of leaves despite the moaning wind. She shivered and peered at the sickly orange sky thick with carrion birds that swopped and cried in harsh tones. Her return to life was a great disappointment to the flock. They screamed curses. She covered her ears and cowered, whispering the only name that hadn't been wiped from her mind.

"Sul. Come to me, my healer and protector. Please, Sul. Come to me."

The warm presence that had been with her since birth was gone, replaced by a black emptiness that filled her with despair.

"Forget him, Child. His like cannot reach you in this dark place. I know what you really need."

Vyrn shivered violently. "Who...who said that?"

"My name hardly matters...but you can call me Iertha, if you like. I am eldritch, a witch of earth and stone."

Stone. The word sent a lightning bolt through her temples. Something about a stone of immense power...

"What is it you want of me?"

Iertha's harsh chuckle made all the birds take flight. "You want revenge, though it will take you time to re-discover your enemies. There are rules in magic, as you well know. They are my enemy too, and I will drink their blood and spit on the remnants of their bones. I need a vessel and you stand only to gain by agreeing to this alliance."

As an innocent girl, she would have hesitated over such a choice...but she was no longer innocent.

"Yes...I'll help you."

"Wise, Child. You will know the powers of earth and sand and how to speak to the trees. Nature herself will respect your commands and the little animals of the forest...they will line themselves up and be grateful for the killing blow. You will be to them as the hawk to the songbird or the wolf to the rabbit, a keeper of the balance. Look to the west. Your new familiar will aid you in the transformation."

Aloryn parted the roots with a frosty breath, his thick white coat unmarked despite the clinging mud. Vyrn reached out to stroke the luxuriant fur, earning a look of affection from her new companion and partner.

Back in the house of her parents, her old familiar, a tawny owl named Sunblade, fell from his perch with a cry of despair and expired. Vyrn's parents had kept hope alive that their daughter would be returned. They would willingly pay a king's ransom to have her back safe. That hope was now crushed.

Vyrn emerged from her shelter at Iertha's command, unafraid now of the murder of crows wheeling over her head. All it took was a show of Aloryn's teeth to turn them all craven and send them hurrying back to their perches among the dead trees.

They walked the soupy trail until they came to a crossroads. Vyrn shrank back at the sound of approaching voices. The group was not large and they seemed friendly enough but bitter experience had taught her caution. Trust should be valued more highly than gold as it's a commodity even demi-gods can't afford in large amounts.

She would trail the group for days as Iertha began to teach her the wonders of a whole new set of powers. The time had not yet come for her to reclaim the adventure that treachery had stolen.

Story by Pureflower