Appearance

Physical Description

She is surprisingly well built for a wizard with muscles.

Facial Features

Black hair, brown eyes and near flawless skin with no pocks or scars

Mentality

Personal history

Naryssa was born in the city of Enea and left on the doorstep of an orphanage, where she encountered bullying for her tall height and masculine demeanour. She quickly learned that might made right and that people would target anyone who was different. This inspired her to become strong and learn to defend herself, but only further ostracised her as she retaliated against her bullies. She felt isolated and filled with hate, wishing ill on others and seeking revenge. It was during her lowest moments that she discovered books on manipulation and found joy in the control she could exert over others. She used her newfound skills to frame many of the ringleaders who had bullied her, but found that the revenge was hollow and unsatisfying. Instead of continuing down this path, she reached out to one of her former bullies, a girl named Luciana Paterno with blonde hair and blue eyes, and their unlikely friendship flourished. By the time they were eight years old, they were both adopted by Umberto Benetti, a noble who had recently lost both of his daughters, Lorenza and Sibilla, in a tragic carriage explosion.
 
Life as a ward of Umberto was good for the two children. They wanted for nothing and it was during this time that the girls diverged, with Luciana discovering a love for the duelling sword while Naryssa discovered a book that belonged to the late Sibilla. It was opened to a page headed "Fireball." Naryssa read on and realised that this was the source of the explosion, causing her to panic and tear the page out, throwing it into the fire. A month later, inspired by Luciana's victory in her first competitive duel, Naryssa decided to learn everything she could from the book. After months of studying, she successfully produced a light, which she then shared with Luciana. The two girls decided to explore the city catacombs, but stumbled upon an illegal drug deal. The buyer panicked and ran, but the dealer advanced on the girls. In the struggle, Naryssa managed to overpower the dealer and stab him with his own knife. Both girls were wounded but thankfully alive. The event shook Naryssa to her core, as she had taken someone's life and left the body hidden in the dark catacombs. This weighed on her, leading to a return to her violent behaviour from her time at the orphanage. She became more interested in dangerous spells and even delved into the occult.
 
Her obsession with magic grew over the years and became unhealthy. Luciana often tried to cheer Naryssa up, but eventually left for an apprenticeship with a sword master without any notice. This caused Naryssa to lash out and speak with Umberto, where she learned that she was under apprenticeship with a local wizard named Dante Fraticelli. Under Dante's tutelage, Naryssa learned about responsible spellcasting and the idea that one cannot use the power of magic to impose their will on others. Naryssa grew close to Dante and saw him as a second father as the two of them travelled far and wide gathering materials and learning about the world. However, their travels came to a tragic end when they were ambushed by bandits. Dante was mortally wounded and Naryssa barely held them off, before finally running away after Naryssa killed the leader with a magic missile that destroyed the bandit’s heart, brain and throat, Naryssa carries the injured Dante for miles until she comes across a condottieri encampment. At the encampment, she finds out that Dante is wounded for life and paralyzed from the waist down. To pay for Dante's medicine and a place for him to retire, Naryssa decides to join the condottieri which she had learned were called Bartolomucci’s Bastards. Here, she learns to wear armour, march in formation, and work as part of a larger group. It is also here that she meets Maggiorino and Camelia Perilli, who help Naryssa adapt to her new life by assisting her in acquiring new gear and getting used to the harsh living conditions of living on the road.
 
All of her training led up to the first battle of Boli, where the Bastards were under contract with the Scafasans. They were lined up on the left of the army's formation, with infantry covering the casting portion of the band. Much of the band's performance was impacted by the Enkel mercenaries, as their light infantry was badly suited to holding the front lines. Their troops often moved faster than the other formations, leaving earlier and resulting in the Bastards being almost surrounded by the enemy. Naryssa spent much of the battle casting spells such as Electric Arc to support the band as best as possible. Then, all of a sudden, she was attacked by an elite soldier who put Naryssa on the back foot. After a lot of back and forth, it was revealed that this soldier was Luciana. Naryssa managed to convince Luciana to change sides, but the battle had already swung out of favour, with the army as a whole being routed and the battle lost.
 
With the loss of the battle, the two sisters felt they could never return to Biscera as they would be considered traitors and face arrest at best. They fled east to Praetorium to evaluate their options. During this lull, Naryssa decided to take up woodworking as a way to calm her troubled soul and earn some money for the sisters. They lived in a hovel, surviving on what they could earn for four months, until an opportunity presented itself. A Logres boat had docked in the port and its crew was sailing east to escort the king's ship back home. They needed some temporary crew to replace the members who were ill. In the middle of the night, Luciana woke Naryssa to take her on the voyage with little to no warning, and they boarded the ship together.
 
The journey was long and perilous, with the ship threatening to capsize on multiple occasions, but it ultimately arrived safely in port in Ashigane. The sisters were in for a culture shock, as the architecture of Ashigane was vastly different from what they were used to in the west. Instead of glass windows and thick walls, they now had to cope with paper-thin walls and even thinner windows, and they had to sleep on a floor instead of a comfortable bed. In light of this, Naryssa immediately went about crafting furniture for her and her sister to adjust to their new surroundings. The castles in Ashigane had terracotta-tiled roofs layered like a cake, and the lords wore armour that looked like that of insects and wielded swords that were curved like bananas.
 
Much of their first month in Sei no Kusunoki was spent touring the city. Naryssa spent much of her time in the gardens, sketching the plants and learning the local language from the gardeners. Luciana, on the other hand, went to the sword schools to compare their fighting styles to her own. After a month of rest and relaxation, they decided that it would be a good start to their journey in this new land to learn about the local nobility and gain their favour. Naryssa immediately went to the city's libraries to study the region's history and learn about Lord Kumagaya Morikazu. Meanwhile, Luciana set out to make a lasting first impression on the lord, one that would be so impressive that the two sisters would become the guests of honour at the upcoming feast in two nights.
 
Before the feast, Naryssa shared what she had learned with Luciana, informing her that Lord Kumagaya Morikazu was a fearsome soldier trained by the Shogun of Ashigane, known as the Shogun of the Storm's End, and that he welcomed all challengers. At the feast, the sisters spoke directly with Morikazu and learned of his difficulties in identifying magic items in his treasury. Seeing the possibility of easy money, Naryssa volunteered to help the Daimyo with this issue. The meal went on, with the highlight being the sisters' difficulty using chopsticks and mistaking noodles for spaghetti. As the night came to a close, Luciana seized the opportunity and challenged the Daimyo to a friendly duel. Despite putting up a good fight, Luciana was ultimately defeated by the more experienced and older lord. Morikazu was impressed with her skills and offered her a proposition she could not refuse: to travel to Ashigane with his seal of approval and seek the Shogun's tutelage. Luciana eagerly accepted and left her sister within the week, promising to write often and return before she knew it.
 
The coming month was quite dull for Naryssa, as she spent most of it sorting through the vault and separating valuables from magic items, then identifying what each magic item did. As she was finishing up with the last item, a cry arose. She rushed to the window beside the vault guards and saw that the city was in flames and a massive army was surrounding it, preparing to assault the fortifications. The first attack was fierce, with the garrison barely holding off the larger army. Naryssa took it upon herself to defend the gatehouse with a unit of samurai retainers. Although the garrison’s actions were heroic, they were short-lived. After three days, the enemy had made a breach and was pouring into the castle. Lord Kumagaya Morikazu personally found Naryssa and led her to a secret escape passage. He made her promise one thing: "Avenge me." With that, he closed the passage behind Naryssa and stayed to defend the exit himself.
 
The tunnel led out of the castle and the city, bridging across a gorge and coming out on an overgrown observation balcony. As she stepped out of the passageway, it collapsed as part of a failsafe for the outside door being opened. From the balcony, she looked out towards the castle and saw an individual wearing solid gold yoroi (armor) staring right at her. Later, she learned that this individual was named Yoshida Hisakage. After seeing him, she fled south and eventually arrived in the capital city of Shinkoshi. It was there that she received a message from Luciana, stating that they both had a job and that they would meet at the fanciest tea parlour in the city in one month's time. How Luciana knew Naryssa would be in Shinkoshi before Naryssa even knew she would be there was a mystery to her, but ultimately she held on tightly in the city until the appointed date.
 
Naryssa waited with bated breath for her sister to arrive. When she finally did, it was obvious that she had been through a lot, as she was covered in bruises and cuts on her face. Naryssa breathlessly recounted out the events of the past few weeks. Upon hearing this, Luciana went pale. She had also seen Hisakage at the Ashigane court the day before the attack, which made it impossible for him to have been there through conventional means.
 
Luciana then hit Naryssa with another incredible piece of news: they had been hired by Shogun Oriana Yashina to go to the island of Ichibotsu to learn what had happened to an expedition that was sent there 50 years prior. The Shogun had preempted the negotiation by promising to pay double the amount of the assembled party, with a base payment of 300 gold as "pay befitting a mercenary." She also warned Naryssa to send a letter to Shinkoshi to prepare to meet up with Luciana again.
 
With that, the sisters set about preparing for their voyage. They gathered funds to pay for passage on a ship called the M.V. Azumi, and everything was going well until they heard about the mysterious man in gold. One morning, before they were set to depart, Naryssa awoke to find a letter on her pillow that read: "Sister, I have found a quicker ship and I am going to scout out the contact. I am worried about this Yoshida Hisakage and I would prefer to find out if it's a trap before you get there. Much love, Luciana."
 
This struck Naryssa as odd and completely out of character for Luciana. It worried her so much that she considered not taking the ship, but ultimately, she decided to board. What if her sister was there? What if she is in trouble?

Education

Basic education taken out as a part of the orphanage of Enea.
More advanced education performed by personal tutors hired by Umberto Benetti.
Magical education under the tutelage of Dante Fraticelli

Employment

-Employed as a mercenary in the Bartolomucci’s Bastards (Formerly).
-Employed to identify magic items under Kumagaya Morikazu (Formerly)
-Employed as a mercenary under Shogun Oriana Yashina.

Known Languages

English, Japanese, Italian, Dwarven, Elven

Personality

Motivation

-Look for her missing sister.
-Look for a safe place of her and her sister to live.
-Earn enough money to live off of and send money to Dante Fraticelli for his medical aid.
-Deal with the mysterious individual in gold named Yoshida Hisakage

Social

Birthplace

Enea, Biscera

Contacts & Relations

Umberto Benetti - Noble of Biscera
Dante Fraticelli - Wizard Mentor
Maggiorino Perilli - member of Bartolomucci’s Bastards
Camelia Perilli - member of Bartolomucci’s Bastards

Family Ties

Umberto Benetti (adopted father)
Luciana Paterno (adopted sister)