Appearance

Physical Description

She is a thin woman well toned with muscle that is visible beneath her skin.

Identifying Characteristics

She has dark red eyes the colour of a deep red wine, A large lightning scar that runs down the left portion of her face, she also has an almost unnaturally pale skin that sets her apart from everyone else.

Mentality

Personal history

Arik Sybil Taranis, born in 558 within the city of Hesuel Ilshar, entered a world of sacrifice and manipulation. Her parents, branded Vitiates for displeasing Brother Garas Daenyr of The Scarlet Brotherhood, A man with eyes as purple as amethyst, long platinum blonde hair that spoke of his heritage as a decedent for The Suloise Empire just as loudly as his eyes and a large red scar that ran down the left side of his face, all puckered giving his face a grim cast, said to be the result of failing The Father of Obedience, something he would not do again, Arik’s parents surrendered their healthy daughter to regain favour and position in their society and with Brother Garas. Baby Arik was the price, the bribe, the blood debt, Arik's lineage as a descendant of two major bloodlines of the old Suloise nobility, so old and obscure that none but The Father of Obedience and his closest followers remembers, rendered her a valuable tool, her pure blood sought after by the Brotherhood's elite.
 
She was imbued with the ativistic spark within the first month on the Daenyr estate, Brother Garas never intending on raising the daughter he could never have but instead forging the weapon that would further the Father of Obedience's goals, each week after the imbuement, she would have blood extracted analysing the Magic content within the blood. Her upbringing consisted of relentless indoctrination, reinforcing her loyalty and love for The Father of Obedience and Brother Garas Daenyr by day and clandestine combat training by night, wielding sharpened weapons finding that the girl fought harder and stronger when blood started to flow, an obvious effect of the Atavistic spark, these instructors were tasked with finding the limits of her strength, on days where she would not perform up to expectation, she would not eat and would be left, slowly bleeding as her instructors turned in for the night. When she performed well she would be lavished with expensive healing potions, potions that made her feel happy and exotic foods. Arik, misled into believing in Brother Garas’ care, developed an unwavering devotion to her master, blinded by false notions of his intentions. She found that her surroundings were ruthlessly vetted and anyone she seemed to make a connection with that was not authorised by Brother Garas would be quickly gotten rid of, she was taught that the servants of mixed blood were beneath her, that she could do what she liked with them, no one would care and she believed them, there was no reason not to and everything she saw just reinforced this belief, she went so far as to strike one down in a fit of rage one day when she was seen as not performing even though she knew she poured in every ounce of rage and pain she could and the death of this servant did not phase her, rather it instilled in her how easy it was to take a life, that these servants were made of flesh and blood like anyone else, that they did not have the drive she had that only made her stronger when the blood began to flow. She was expected to maintain her weapons and armour and any slip up would result in a beating and sleeping outside whether it be clear or down pouring with rain. She was kept in the dark when it came to foreign information, Brother Garas instead choosing to have the girl taught about The Brotherhood and the ancient Suloise empire reinforcing the beliefs they had been working so hard to instil, a superiority complex that she was among the only people that could claim to be of the ancient blood and had a right to rule. Compulsory learning of the ancient language of Suloise ensured that she was further reinforcing such a belief all on her own, what little knowledge on the outside world was localised on the city of Monmurg, she was expected to know each and every one of the thirty nobles that made the city home, their home’s locations in the city and the best way to break into each of them as well as generalised knowledge such as the religious situation, the population number of the city on how best to destabilise the city for an invasion. Her learning was not only that of the mind but also that of the body, she often was still having her blood tested and retested all while she was expected to take beatings from others of her age all while reciting the teachings of The Father of Obedience in an effort to drive off any weakness, she was often rewarded for her participation as she had learned early that her pain would not stop the fights she was expected and only her unwavering devotion to the creed and to her master would driving her to the point where she no longer found the pain hurting her but rather as a feeling of catharsis and rapture to the point of masochism.
 
It was at her 18th year that she was finally allowed out of the confines of the Daenyr estate and at the behest of Brother Garas she attends the raucous partying going on in the streets of the capital, she, well knowledgeable of the history of The Scarlet Brotherhood, knew that this was the 1,000th year anniversary of the formation of them as a political entity. She was expected as an adoptive daughter of a high ranking Brother to wear appropriate clothes and Brother Garas provided for her, gifting her a beautiful scarlet flowing gown, on the way to the Grand Ceremonial hall in which government officials of the brotherhood and their families were expected to attend, she spied out of the enclosed carriage taverns filled to the brim many people being obnoxious and loud, drinking and partying, largely living their best lives, she saw slaves running to and fro delivering drinks and for the most part being ignored as their masters partied the night away. It was at this point Brother Garas spoke up “Your training is complete and during the feasting, you will be given an objective, you will accept and you will do me and The Father of Obedience proud, do you hear me?” With that he gave the young woman a stern glare, holding her eyes with his penetrating stare and then continued “Failure to do so will disappoint me and more to the point have the worst punishments I can imagine piled upon you. Succeed with your given task and you will earn my satisfaction and yourself great rewards and renown… The Father of Obedience will call you and twelve others like you up, you will be referred as blades of The Father and you will all have separate targets, your training has been tailored to help you succeed in this goal.” Arik for her part looked down in deference to her adoptive father and quietly spoke “Yes Brother Garas, I will not disappoint you, the blood of old Suel flows through my veins and to bring failure to your house, it would not just invite shame to me but also my ancestors and greater Suel.” Brother Garas held onto looking at the young woman and simply replied “See to it that you don't.”
 
With that they had arrived at the Grand Ceremonial Hall and she stepped out of the carriage finding a long carpet up to the front doors of the building with women and men flanking it doing traditional Suel dances telling the stories of heroes of long past and forgotten by all but the archaic dances, the building itself was grand, comparable to a castle with carvings of savage beasts, tiled roofs and thick columns supporting a high vaulted ceiling, below sat huge wooden doors made of Oak, large enough to ride a horse in, above them a huge Stained glass relief of a man in flight glancing backwards at a figure obviously depicting The Father of Obedience as a beacon of light, she recognised that art instantly as being called the Cowardice of Kai, flanking this was two banners of old Suel design no doubt belonging to noble families at the time of the fall after a moment of taking in the sight before her, she was ushered forward through the large doorway. Inside she found the floors were made of a polished stone that reflected the many hundreds of candles that dotted the room from the ironwork of the chandeliers and sconces that reminded her of serpents holding up the light of the world to the many candles that dotted the long wooden tables of an expert quality, other than candles, huge piles of food sat ready to be devoured, broken up by red bouquets of Roses that adorned the table reminding all of what they were here to celebrate, upon the walls hung tapestries that tell the story of the twin calamities and how the brotherhood got to the point where they are now. Slowly Arik and Brother Garas made their way to a smaller table at the head of the other tables, it was here they stood behind their assigned seats awaiting the coming of their master, The Father of Obedience. They did not have to wait long as a man strode into the room from a side passage wearing ornate regalia, his purple eyes shot from side to side as they examined the room and his bald head reflected the light of the room giving the faint impression of a halo encircling his head, without a word he sat in his throne and gestured to an aide who in turn bid everyone to be seated. With everyone seated the aide continued “We are gathered here today to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of the founding of The Scarlet brotherhood” With that there was a cry of celebration that chorused around the room as many voices joined the cheering ”Many of you wonder as to if it will take another 1,000 years before we start reclaiming the homelands, The Father bids you be patient, the return will come much sooner than you may think.” he continued and then with that he brought a parchment from one of his robe sleeves and broke a seal unravelling the message and he once more went on “The Father bids his blades assemble before him.” with that as if her legs were being controlled by some invisible puppeteer she arose and joined a small group of youths her age, She could feel the gaze of The Father boring into her and her companions a feeling that made her uncomfortable, after a couple seconds of deep study, the aide once more piped up and said “Each of you have been chosen because of the power of your blood and because of that and your purity, you all have been chosen to bear the ancient gift simply known as Atavism, you will use this gift to eliminate the targets on the letter you will be handed and you will work to ensure that the city that you have been assigned is ready for the coming of the true sons and daughters of The Suloise empire.” With that each of them were handed a sealed letter bearing the Father’s seal, the aide ended his address after they were handed their missions “You are dismissed, come back in victory or come back in a wooden box.” Arik tentatively returned to her place next to Brother Garas, much of the party passed her in a blur, all she could think about was the letter, who’s names could be in there? how could she be trusted with these targets? where would she be sent?
 
Before long she was at home looking at the letter on the table side next to her bed, she tore into it and read the contents, she was being sent to Monmurg to kill The Sea Princes and suddenly it all made sense, her training focused on learning about these targets and their city, she had been sufficiently prepared and now her real test would begin, the note also went on to instruct her to board the ship called The Aquila in two weeks, the ship would take her to Monmurg to set the foundations for the assassinations and subsequent seizing of the city by forces loyal to the Scarlet Brotherhood ominously ending with the phrase “You will know when to strike'' Arik made a mental note of these targets and burned the letter as it instructed him, she would inform Brother Garas of her plans to board The Aquila in the morning, he would gift onto her a blade of black steel telling her to use it well and to make the Brotherhood and the Father proud. Throughout the week she spent much of it in the Garas estate going through mock scenarios testing her combat training and split second decision making and refine the equipment that would be taken to complete her objectives. On the days leading up to her embarking onto The Aquila, she was given a alter ego and a new life, she was to be Heather Drachen, a native of The Hold of The Sea Princes who had just completed a long shift of reaving up and down the coast of Almor on The Aquila, having earned enough money to purchase her own house in Monmurg now coming back home to earn the trust of Sea Prince Oxford 'Roaring' Bones so named for his obnoxiously loud persona for the purpose of being aloud to take command of one of his ships. On her last day in Hesuel Ilshar, she was taken into the parlour, there she was confronted by a man readying a table of needles and inks next to a reclining chair, obediently, she sat down and readied herself for whatever this individual would do, wordlessly the man with needles went to work lifting up her shirt and stabbing Arik with the needle repeatedly on the right part of her waist, while this enjoyably painful sensation was going on, Brother Garas came in and did the final confirmations that she knew who she was and what she was doing as well as what she was stated as doing, all the while referring to her as Heather Drachen. After an hour the man working the needle was done and Arik got a chance to see what he had been doing, she saw above her hip on her waist sat the emblem of The Scarlet Brotherhood, a dark red Gules, a black mullet of four points wavy sable or more simply the black sun of the brotherhood on a dark red shield with that and her small amount of packing done Brother Garas kissed her on each cheek and whispered “Do me proud my daughter.” Arik was pleased that Brother Garas acknowledged her as his daughter and was all the more determined to do him proud, she boarded the carriage arranged for her and started her journey to Taree, out of her carriage she saw many young Suel children playing, men and women working stalls and then eventually fields all blissfully ignorant that their lives were about to change, that they will be drafted to reclaim their birthright, that they will return to the pinnacle that they had so long ago, by the second night, Arik had switched to her pirate garb, her guards knew who she was and besides she had papers that also proved her use to The Father of Obedience, papers she would burn on the ship as to not lead back to her and discredit her alter ego nor lead back to the Brotherhood as a whole this was a rather unfamiliar feeling, that of rough cloth against the skin, she had been used to the fineries of a daughter of one of the Brothers, fineries that were broken up by her training, by the fifth day of travel they were well into the Tarlan Forest, near the Bilka River, this was when things got complicated, the driver hit a rope attached to two trees strung over the road at full speed decapitating him and killing him instantly, the carridge veered off to the right and into a ditch, the sounds of horses screaming, wood splintering and the start of combat was exciting, she had never been in a fight, instead having only fought in practice bouts. Eagerly she got out and found her two guards fighting for their lives as bandits set upon them, with a smile Arik drew her blade a sudden feeling of pain stopping her in her tracks as she took an arrow to the left arm, looking up she saw the archer who had been having little luck hitting the guards with her compatriots in the way, with a roar Arik charged the miscreant, arrows whizzed through the air to the left and right of her, one striking her right leg another grazing her face when finally she was within melee with her and with an almighty swing fulled by her leaking blood she cleaved through the archer’s longbow, through her arm and then decapitating her, looking back she saw that the guards had killed one of the bandits but in return they had been dealt with by the other two, sizing her up the cautiously glanced at one and other the big man reassuring his companion “We can take her, she's just a small thing and she’s bleeding out.” With that Arik barred her teeth in a rictus grin, one fueled by the pain and pleasure of her wounds and she closed in on her enemies.
 
The small man worked his blade to his advantage going low in a clumsy thrust, one easily parried by Arik while the larger one swung high, going for her head only to be stopped by the strong of her blade, a blur in the young atavist’s hands, her grin only growing more and more malicious, she landed a punch in the larger man’s gut which doubled him over but before she could finish him off the smaller man was upon her once again swinging his blade like it were a woodcutting axe, Arik tucked her blade into her body and dodged out of the way of his overhead swing bringing her pommel into his face breaking his nose and cheekbones and he fell to the ground clutching his broken face while crying like a baby, Arik once more turned to the larger man who had recovered from his gut punch and the squared up, the larger man no longer taking any chances adopted a swordsman’s stance, telling Arik that this man had formal training with the blade unlike his smaller friend, in just a couple of seconds, the two had exchanged several strikes each being parried and blocked by the other, the man was very good, better than she was and this she could tell he knew as his swordplay forced her on the defensive pushing her back one blow at a time thinking on the clash she devised a plan, ducked a blow aimed at her head and then went for an all in overhead slash baiting the larger man into stabbing her something that he was more than happy to oblige her with, the pain was exquisite, she had never been so close to death and the pain was shocking unfortunately the numbness was making it hard to feel, with a feral growl of effort she grabbed his blade by the strong forcing it to remain in her a small tug of war with the man ensued as attempted to withdraw his blade in vain, Arik was much stronger in her weakened state and with victory in her eyes and a masochistic grin on her face, she brought up her blade and brought it down on his head which cracked like and egg as the blade went deep into his forehead, the tugging ceased and he fell backwards limp and very dead. Arik knew she was close to death, darkness was clouding her vision and she could not feel the pain at all, in a slight panic, she returned to the carriage and looked through the drivers belongings, there she found what she sought a scroll of Cure wounds, with effort she recited the words written upon it as she withdrew the blade that impaled her, the words on the page flashed upon completion and the paper crumbled into ash as a blue energy surrounded Arik and her wounds closed healing her from her dire predicament, it was only then that she could feel the pain that tortured her body, the feeling of a body that had come so close to death, on that should by all reasons be dead, as for her sight, it was like a black cloth had been removed from her vision but that was only replaced by a feeling of exhaustion that threatened to close her eyes without her meaning to. Behind her she heard a sobbing, with some effort Arik rose to her feet and stumbled over to the man retrieving her blade as she went, she sank to her knees and barked at the small man she now realised was a boy “Who are you? Why did you attack us?” The boy in choked rasps said “Jandur Bashaim, we just wanted your money… Is my father dead?” Arik looked over to the other man, he was still dead and nothing other than a necromancer was going to bring him back, she then quietly said to the boy “Yes he is dead and you will be joining him for your actions here.” As soon as she spoke of his father’s death a new cavalcade of sobs were issued only to be cut short as Arik slit his throat, the boy did not even have the will or strength to attempt to fight against his culling and all of a sudden she was alone and exhausted, two arrows sticking out of her and covered in blood from no just her wounds but those she inflicted on others. With almost titanic effort she ripped up some of the clothing, pushed the arrows through her body, snapped them in half, removed them and then bandaged her wounds. She trudged into the carriage falling asleep as soon as the door was shut.
 
Arik awoke early in the morning in pitch blackness, outside was silent, the only sounds that could be heard were the wind blowing through the leaves, bats flying overhead and the hooting of owls seeking out prey. Arik for her part was heavily pained from her earlier ordeal and she was ravenously hungry, quietly she gave a prayer to Kord for his aid in combat, disembarked and then searched through the packs for food and light, finding cheese and a torch, within the hour she had eaten, lit the torch, dumped the corpse of the driver and got the carriage back on the road with the horses ready to go. Slowly she got the horses to move and they made their way up the road weary for the possibility that there are other bandits ready and waiting, eventually she reached the Bilka River and in a moment of self consciousness she realised that she was covered in dried blood, she pulled the carriage to the side and dismounted taking this opportunity to bathe, clean her wounds and change clothes, at this point dawn was upon her and she could see in the distance the settlement of Ris and the safety that could provide. Within the hour she was in the settlement and tracked down the guard commander reporting that the road to Ilgov had bandits on it and a rope is dangerously strung up, that someone else might die because it, the guard commander simply nodded and grunted muttering to himself about “Damn bandits causing trouble…” or something to that effect but this report did galvanise him and his troops into action as they prepared to move south-east. Finding nothing else to do in town, Arik decided to continue on the road to Taree as she had a ship to catch and it leaves at midnight and within the hour she was back on the road. By the time she arrived in Taree night had once again fallen and Arik was on her last legs pulling up to The Aquila, the ship was made of dark wood with intricate carvings depicting mythical sea creatures and naval battles of times long passed, upon the prow was a large figurehead of an eagle wings spread making up the front barriers of the ship, the sails were of a deep blue with rigging meticulously arranged ready to use, below the deck sat gunports with one cannon on each side and the rest filled with ballistae. Arik dismounted and stood on the gangplank shouting up to the ship “Permission to board!” replied from somewhere on the deck “Permission granted!” With that Arik boarded and came face to face with the captain Paula 'Splinter' Lucifer a haggard woman with long grey hair, one grey eye which peered at Arik and an eyepatch with a painted on red eye that gave a permanent glare, she also had deep wrinkles that along with her hair spoke of her advanced age at making her in the very least in her fifties. Arik opened up to the captain “Hi I am Heather Drachen, I have been tasked with boarding your ship at the express orders of the Father of Obedience.” The captain gave her a stern look over and nodded to herself replying “At least they provided me someone who can work, get your gear aboard and then get some rest in one of the cots.” She then turned back to some arcane contraption that Arik reasoned had something to do with navigation, with a quiet sigh she followed the Captain’s orders and lay down to sleep before they set off. The next few weeks were filled with hard work to better feed into her alter ego of having worked aboard the ship, the captain treating her no differently than any other member of the crew. Arik’s days were filled with hard work while the nights she felt she was so exhausted and not having the energy to partake in the gaming that many of the other crew members would do.
 
Eventually she saw it on the horizon a grand city that’s buildings reached to the sky, the extensive docks was filled with all different kinds of ships of all sizes and classifications, around the city that they are sailing through sat a ship graveyard, the remains sitting there vacated and more than likely stripped of anything of value. It took a few hours but eventually they started to pull up to the docks and captain Lucifer came up to Arik saying “Ms Drachen, this is where we part way, I thank you for your service, in fact You have served in such a capacity that I will gift you the Shark’s respite, you will find it on the Smuggler’s Alley, thank you for your service.” with that she shook Arik’s hand very obviously playing into the alter ego that had been built for Arik. The building in question was in a dark alley, making it easy to slip in and out without being spotted, inside she found that much of the outside noise was dampened to the point of being inaudible, the roof had pigeon coops for sending messages back to the homeland, the birds Arik recognised were native to The Tilvanot Peninsula, a room for the organisation and planning of her assassinations and destabilisation project, the basement had a room filled with alchemical substances perfect for the production of poisons and venoms and inside that same room there was a door that led straight into the maze like sewer system, the perfect base for her clandestine work. First thing Arik did was use one of the pigeons to send a message back home, detailing that she had arrived at Monmurg and that she was beginning operations in the city. On that rooftop was the first time she had been able to get a good view of her surroundings since being aboard the ship and what had impressed her from a distance did not live up to expectations in person, the buildings were ramshackle, many of the buildings being built out of wood salvaged from wrecks out at sea, there was no uniform building style very obviously being built how the owner liked and damn anyone who does not like it on the streets there could be heard raucous laughter and the singing of sea shanties, locating the source of the sounds, Arik saw a tavern with patrons drinking their sorrows away, the more energetic of customers dedicated themselves to brawling over some imagined slight or the other, this was rather unimpressive to Arik who had been more used to the more civilised air that Hesuel Ilshar provided but that seemed like a good place to start her infiltration into Monmurg society. The next day Arik found herself in said tavern, called The Suckling Pig, the drinks on offer being a choice of Rum or Gin, Arik went for the Gin and sat there listening in on the conversations happening on other tables gathering information things such as Sea Prince Golding 'The Sparrow' Digby going missing around The Tilvanot Peninsula having run ashore, Mysterious rituals being done by Sea prince Afton 'The Fierce' Balo to a secret alliance between Sea Princes and an eventual ambitious plan that no one had any idea what it could mean. Having grown tired of the idle speculation of these oafs, Arik decided now was the time to make her introduction to Sea Prince Oxford 'Roaring' Bones, she would need to make sure that she could earn his trust to get close to him. It was outside the Bones manor that what her mission would entail bore its weight down upon her, the guards challenged her asking “What is your business here?” To which Arik simply replied “I am here for work from your employer Sea Prince Oxford, I hear he has been in need of a captain for one of his ships and would like to prove my worth and devotion to his cause.” The two guards looked at one another, the one on the right nodded his head to his right. “Go on in then, he’s on the right, in the parlour, you will need to surrender your arms though.” Arik happily gave the guard her blade and strode on inside, the room was opulent with much of the walls consisting of wooden panelling of lacquered mahogany wood with carvings of fish mid leaping from the wooden sea, from the next room Arik heard a booming voice “If you feel so insulted then you can take your best shot, I’m here but if you miss then I will kill you, otherwise get out of my house you snivelling wretch.” A moment of silence and then the sounds of boots and the door in front of Arik opened. The man in front of her was a weedy man all thin and weak with deep inset eyes with beady brown eyes, short grey hair, a big bushy beard and a hat that could only be described as wizardly, the man had a start and took a second before moving to the outside door “Excuse me milady, I’ll just be out of your way.” A moment of inspiration came over Arik, this is a possible asset that could be used against the Sea Princes “Excuse me, you seem like a wizard of some description, I have a rat problem at my house and I am in need of someone with magical talents to dispose of them.” The man looked a bit aback, he had just been chewed out and then offered a job, a moment of thinking and then he seemingly decided on it “Fine, who are you and where is your home, I’ll be there tomorrow.” Arik smiled, the man had confirmed he was a wizard and with this she had arranged a private conversation with him “My name is Heather Drachen, I live at the Shark’s respite, I thank you for this, the smell from the basement is terrible.” With that the wizard nodded and quietly left the building, from the next room, the booming voice started up again “Are you coming in or are you here just to leave a draft and have a natter to Eric?” Arik entered the room making sure to close the door, Arik stood in front of this man she could only presume was Sea Prince Oxford 'Roaring' Bones a large man with old faded sailing clothes, greying hairs and beard and bright blue eyes “Sea Prince Oxford 'Roaring' Bones, I am Heather Drachen I have served with distinction on the sea ship The Aquila, that has been raiding up and down the Almor coast, captain Paula 'Splinter' Lucifer can vouch for me. I am here to offer my services with the intention to eventually command one of your ships in your name” There was a moment where Oxford was seemingly stunned by this revelation when he spoke up “You? You are young enough to be my daughter, you have never killed anyone in your life, Get out before I throw you out.” Rage overcame Arik as she roared at the Sea Prince “Listen here you fat prince, I have killed several people, I have fought for my life, I have killed for money and for pleasure, you really think I cannot kill just because I am young? I am more than happy to prove you wrong!” The situation ratcheted with that only to be deflated when the Sea Prince let out a guffawing laughter “Finally someone with balls, someone who will finally not stand on eggshells just because of my position. I will have use of you yet Ms Drachen. Come by on Monday, I will have a task that will test your mettle.” All of the air had been taken out of Arik’s sails, she had been prepared to go to town on him only to find that the Sea Prince wanted to see what she was made of and with slight embarrassment, Arik made her way out and then home after retrieving her weapon victory and triumph slowly setting in to her bearing. Along the way home, Arik made sure to buy a small amount of rats which she would set free into the basement before she went to bed.
 
The next morning she awoke to the sounds of knocking, groggily Arik let the man in, it was the Wizard from yesterday, he introduced himself to her “Hello I am Eric Strold, I am… I was under the employ of The Sea Prince… We had a disagreement.” With that Arik closed the door behind Eric and gestured to a table at the centre of the kitchen “Take a seat, I’ll make you a cup of tea.” Arik said to the Wizard, Eric exhaustedly slumped into one of the chairs, Arik continued “It was quite the conversation I came in on, what was that about?” Eric seemingly held his face in his hands and sighed before replying “The good Sea Prince and I had a disagreement, he joked about taking on my dear Veronica on one of his raids, she’s never held a weapon and I dread what would be asked of her, needless to say I took offence and that’s when you heard the last of it.” Arik thought on this, the plan coming together in her head as she poured the tea into a cup for Eric and handed it to him, in a soft voice she said to him “I’m sorry to hear about that, did you know him long? I presume so considering he knew of your daughter.” Eric sadly nodded and then spoke up after having a sip of his tea “I knew him for years, we were childhood friends, well that's over I guess. He’s always been vindictive so no doubt he will follow through with his sick joke…” Arik sympathetically nodded and then went on “I guess I should show you through to my rodent guests.” Within the hour the infestation was cleared up, Arik asked Eric before he left “Eric where could I find you if the rodents return?” Eric thought for a second before replying "You can find me at the building known as The Wheelhouse, opposite the black market Bazaar, I’m there after 4.00pm.” and with that he left into the dark of the alleyway. Arik returned inside with a devious smile on her face and a plan on her mind.
 
A couple days after her meeting with Eric, Arik met with Sea Prince Madeline 'Shrew' Nibley at her estate, a famously young woman with long brown hair tied up in a braid bun, almost coal black eyes and a facial tattoo of a Black Dragon underneath her left eye said to be a ruthless captain that takes no jip from anyone, The Sea Prince met with Arik in her study, a room filled from all kinds of curios and knick knacks from across the seven seas, not to mention the incredible collection of tomes, the size of which Arik had never seen before, her desk had intricate engravings of leaping dolphins and lurking sharks. “Thank you for seeing me on such notice Ms Drachen, I have a proposition for you, I have heard that you are thinking of throwing in your lot with Ol’ 'Roaring' Bones, you could do much better in my employ.” An interesting prospect Arik had not considered but it opened up avenues for a conflict between the Sea Princes, Arik smiled at this prospect and replied to her “I thank you for the proposition, I am most honoured while I am hesitant to pursue such a venture with your house due to the prestige and wealth of Sea Prince Bones though I would not say no to earning a little on the side if you would be interested?” Sea Prince Nibley thought for a second before saying “Well what do you have in mind? If those are your concerns I would be happy to pay for information on my rival so long as you don’t work against my interests then you can come and go as you please as a friend of the house of Nibley'' Arik feigned thoughtfulness even though she already knew her reply, after a small pause Arik replied to her “Such and agreement while to some may seem dishonourable, we both know it is just a normal part of life in Monmurg, being a small fish in a big pond if you will.” Such an analogy made Arik internally smile knowing the designs that The Scarlet Brotherhood had on The Hold of The Sea Princes. Unaware Sea Prince Nibley smiled and called in a servant with a pigeon “When you get some interesting information, send it to me, until then, we are done here, I thank you for a most profitable venture.” With that they were done and Arik had one more chore to do before she had the rest of the day off. After returning to her home for the foreseeable future, Arik rose to the pigeon coop, placed her new pigeon as well as receiving a message from the bird she sent out when she arrived in the city, the message read “Most excellent work operative, your brothers and sisters have also entered the city and are readying themselves for the mission, meet them at The Deranged Nightingale, a tavern in the old town district.” With that Arik had her orders and she headed down to the Tavern listed, once she was there she found a dilapidated building that looked like it had not been open for years. Once inside she was confronted by a dark room with a crowded table with people she recognised from the feast, each and every one of them with traits similar to her own weather that be pale skin, dark hair or red eyes of some description, Arik being one of two to have all the traits of the Atavistic spark, she took her seat and each of them detailed what they had been doing each of them working to get close to one Sea Prince or the other, a chorus of satisfied murmuring after making it plain she was one of the few working on multiple Sea Princes. Arik presumed that all of her compatriots were being spread across the Azure sea but hearing that she was not working alone, made the job ahead all the less daunting, Arik went from having to kill all thirty nobles somehow, a herculean task that she did not know how to fulfil her objective without causing a massive civil war, with this large group of conspirators she only needed to pick off two or three of the Sea Princes, with everyone pitching in, the realm would be delivered to The Scarlet Brotherhood her musings were cut short when a question was posed her way “Do you know when the time to strike will be?” said Mazer Lothodred, a atavist with pale red eyes, even paler skin and ginger hair Arik felt all eyes turn to her and she thought carefully on this question “I don’t have much of an idea but whatever will herald our attack, it will be an overt call to arms.” Lothodred thought on it for a second and then nodded “I suppose that’s all we have to speak about tonight, we should meet here, the first Full moon of each month and stockpile information, enough information from the Sea Princes gathered can make the jobs of each and every one of us all the easier.” With that it was over, people started leaving having made agreements to attend monthly meetings, Arik for her own part decided to take the Sewers after all what good was having a sewer entrance if you don’t get to use it.
 
A week had passed since Arik’s last meeting with Sea Prince Oxford 'Roaring' Bones but she found herself outside his manor once again, this time she was walking through his estate, the sun shining and the smell of sea spray on the air Oxford being uncharacteristically quiet and after ten minutes of walking with Arik, he finally spoke “You wish to prove your worth, I have a ship departing to the Amedio Jungle on a slave raid, I want you on there, come back alive, prove you are more than a pretty face and then I may just take you under my wing.” Arik continued down the path next to Sea Prince Oxford, thinking about how she may play this to her advantage before answering the Sea Prince “I would be honoured to carry out your will in those Jungles, when do I leave?” A hint of a smile crossed Sea Prince Oxford’s face and he almost bellowed “I was having bets with my captain of the guard if you would take the job, seems I will be ten gold wealthier, you will be on The Kraken, later tonight.” The suddenness of this caught Arik out, she expected a dangerous task but not one so soon but she quickly recovered “I will be there Sea Prince, I will earn you great profit there.” With that the Sea Prince simply nodded and Arik knew this to be a dismissal, after all the clock was ticking. By midnight, she was aboard The Kraken, a steel buckler on her back, her fathers longsword buckled at her hip and a brand new Breastplate equipped, ready for combat, she knew the travel would take a while and she would have to prove herself competent aboard a ship but a low level of excitement ran through Arik, she had only recently fully recovered from her last bout, she would relish to see the blood flow once battle is joined though first of all Arik wished to sate a curiosity she had. Over the next few days Arik would prove her usefulness putting to work knowledge she had learned from her home’s library on oceangoing and shipcraft having at one point saved a sailor from going overboard, she would also make a point of learning all of the crew's names and one of them was someone she was hoping to find, Veronica Strold, daughter to the Wizard back in Monmurg, The Sea Prince had almost made it too easy, two days out from the Jungle Arik approached her once again “Veronica Strold was it? I know your father Eric, if you want, you can stay near me, I’ll keep you safe.” Arik lied, Veronica looked genuinely relieved and quietly whispered to Arik “Thank Rao, father said to find someone tough and make sure to stay behind them.” Arik gave a friendly smile at this “You are a Rao worshipper? Life must be hard for a follower of peace in times like these.” Arik asked, Veronica for her own part grimly nodded. One day out from the Jungle the captain shouted to the crew “Alright you good for nothings, we are capturing slaves, you that are good with your weapons fight off their warriors, while the rest of us take as many of the unarmed as captive” a chuckle rose from the big man and then he continued “Any of you that go missing, we are not coming to look for you so be back at the landing boats when it is time to leave and any that don’t make it… Well, let's just say the natives will be eating well!” The sailing was tough and Arik was feeling the start of a fatigue settling into her bones due to them really pushing both their bodies and the ship itself to the limits, The Kraken only spent two days floating at anchor off the coast as the crew watched the skies for any signs of habitation when suddenly “Captain, I see a column of smoke!”
 
If anything could be said of the raid, it was that they came in the night like wolves stalking a herd of unaware Elk. It was pitch black with only the moon for light, even at night it was still muggy and hot especially so in her breastplate though her light issue was solved when from behind her she was passed a potion of Darkvision, all of a sudden her surroundings came into focus, it was amazing, like daylight just everything was in black and white and she could see the grim faces of each of her companions ready to go to work, looking at their destination she could see tribal huts and what could only be described as a bonfire, colour that was quite frankly blinding. Silently the row boats ran aground and they dismounted, they took positions along the coast and awaited the signal. Arik’s heart was pounding, this was always her favourite part, as much as the pain was an enjoyable experience, the anticipation, the feeling, the wondering if this time, she will go too far and loose too much blood with a suppressed grin she glanced back to Veronica who was making sure to keep close to Arik, looking back at the village Arik picked out a guard right on the outskirts and waited for the sign. It came with a bellow “For the Sea Prince!” as one they charged out of the undergrowth each man or woman picking someone out and engaging them. Arik for her own part rushed the man who had brought his spear up in time only for it to plink off her shield as she body tackled him, they both went down in a jumble of limbs but Arik was on top and she brought her shield down on his neck crushing his windpipe and ending his pitiful existence, a thud from her back alerted her to a blow dart attempting to breach her armour, she turned to find Veronica huddled watching with scared eyes and another foe behind her cover, with a bellow of rage and excitement Arik jumped to her feet and charged her assailant keeping her shield high covering her face, the woman with the blow dart fell backwards as Arik rounded her cover pleading in whatever heathen language she spoke right up until steel ended her cries. A growling could be heard slowly getting louder, Arik momentarily confused looked around finding a huge warrior with a two handed warhammer bringing his weapon to bear, the hammer went under her shield denting the breastplate and sending her flying a couple of feet, Arik was sure that blow had broken ribs and all she wanted to do was nurse her winded self but she knew that the hammerman would not leave it at that and she rolled to her right narrowly avoiding a blow meant for her head, a grunt of frustration could be heard from the man as his hammer got momentarily stuck in the undergrowth. His attempts to get his weapon back took long enough for Arik to rise from her prone position and she gave the man a toothy grin, he had wounded her, this was where she was at her most dangerous, Arik wove around his hammer as if a fly avoiding certain death, landing scoring hit after scoring hit, the man was looking worse than Arik after a minute of fighting but it was plain to see Arik was in a much worse condition, the blow from earlier making her breaths be shallow pained gasps, coupled with the exertion of combat, she could not keep this up much longer. An almighty roar left her lips as she swung with all her might at the man who confounded her by simply living, he blocked the blow with the haft of his hammer but the blade bit through the wood sending splinters of wood everywhere, Arik had overcommitted to the blow and for what, she had destroyed his weapon but not managed to hit him, the man said something in his guttural language as his huge hands grasped around Arik’s throat, in shock Arik dropped her arms and grasped at the huge mans hands trying to break his grip, trying to breath, her eyes were bulging from their sockets, the darkness was setting in rapidly, her feet had left the ground and all she could think of was how she would be in someone's stew soon when suddenly the grip broke, Arik fell to the ground and she gasped a mighty gulp of air, colour, what little of it there was quickly returning, she looked at the warrior who was also on the floor clutching his legs and Veronica was knelt there Arik’s sword in both hands after one last gulp Arik said to the woman “Thanks… I would have been a gonner there.” Arik took the weapon from Veronica, it was then she noticed two more coming after them and more importantly, the fact that this village was much bigger than anyone had thought, stone pyramids were set into the trees and hundreds of huts could be seen on the river. Disregarding that for the moment Arik took up her shield as one of the savages threw a spear at her which sliced a neat furrow into the flesh of her cheek as it narrowly missed, while the blow did not land home, Arik could feel that it was different, the stinging from her wound told her that they were probably envenomed, wasting no time Arik parried the other man’s spear with her shield while first man fumbled with some kind of wooden club with black blades, Arik swung for this second man who barely got his club in the way, chips of these glass blades dug deep into Arik and her opponent’s skins and the blade bit deep into the wood itself cutting cleanly and easily parting from the weapon, the first man came at her once more with the spear which Arik broke with a flick of her blade, unfortunately the man with the club got it under her guard and the weapon bit deep into her left leg, all that left Arik other than blood was a slight grunt, she hit the weapon out of her leg with her shield giving her a deep furrow of a wound while her blade found the clubman’s throat. Readying herself Arik turned on her other assailant who was backing off and then darted to the right grabbing Veronica from her hiding place, the woman was sobbing “Help me please, please… Don’t let them take me, you know what they do to people like us.” Arik for her part did not give chase, she certainly could have and it was plain for Veronica to see as Arik instead of chasing after them grabbed the big man by what little hair he had and dragged him back to the boat, the tears and the revelation that this “friend” did not care for her even after she had saved her sent Veronica into wailing cries, cries that Arik heard while she rendezvoused with the rest of the expedition, cries that she could swear she could hear on the boat back to the ship while getting patched up from her wounds, cries she could swear she could hear in her nightmares. It took a few days longer than the trip out due to the loss of manpower and the increase of weight on board, Arik herself was lauded for the amount of natives she took down and the man she managed to capture who turned out to be the largest and strongest of those taken. Eventually the city of Monmurg loomed in the distance but instead of heading into the city itself, the ship made way for the private docks of Sea Prince Oxford 'Roaring' Bones.

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