Myria of Ar Noy
Aliceoshima
Myria was born in 4828 to a family of little standing, but has risen in her life to become the youngest sibling of a powerful noble family through adoption. Her oldest adopted brother, Gareth of Ar Noy, sits at the prince’s side on his council and is responsible for managing the great system of weirs and locks that filters the great river and provides much of the raw material that brings wealth to the city as it is used in trade. At her brother’s request, the prince has included Myria as a diplomat on the mission to Valyria, to represent the interest of Ar Noy and as well their own family.
Appearance And Character
Myria is slim with dusky skin and thick black hair, and her eyes are a similar deep brown to the point of almost looking black in the right light. She was told that her looks mirror those of her mother, but she could only take her father’s word for it as her mother died in childbirth. Although she does not have intimidating strength or stature, her arms and hands are strong, a result of spending her early years helping her father mend nets and pull lines as he fished.
She generally speaks softly, but is quick to anger and quick to laugh, having a natural ability to draw others out in conversation. She appears confident, even if that may sometimes be a front she is putting up for appearances.
She has been trained in point fighting, and is dangerous with a rapier or thin knife. She is also quite skilled with ropes and knots, and has learned to toss a lasso effectively although this has so far never been something she used in combat.
History
Early Life
Myria’s early memories are of learning at the knee of her father, Osian. Growing up in the most eastward district of Ar Noy, she never knew her mother outside of his stories, as she had died giving birth. At times the unfairness of it all hurt, and she felt the guilt but tried to assuage it by doing all she could to make her father happy. He was a fisher of the great river, and a good one, well liked by those in that neighborhood. As she grew, she took on more of the tasks and did well, and was also very good with people so aided him in haggling his catch… being cute and young she soon learned was an advantage.
Disaster came when she had just turned 12 years old, as a fast moving squall swept from the mountains and down over the river while their boat was near mid point in the river. Most of the fishers made it in safely, and a few swam as their boats overturned, but when Osian’s boat returned it was empty and capsized, with no sign of father or daughter. A search was mounted when the storm died down, both on the water and on the banks of the river, but no bodies were found, alive or dead. Nearly at sunset, a shout went out from the highest point of the river bank, and by this time quite a crowd had gathered. There! A shape made even larger by the setting sun, an old man of the river approached, its shell cutting through the water like a low ship. And on top of it something lay like a bit of flotsam. As the turtle made shore it shuddered and the flotsam rolled onto the sand. It was Myria… old women and children in the crowd sank to their knees and shouted prayers to Mother Rhoyne while men ran to the waterlogged girl. At first there was no breath, but some judicious pressing stirred her to cough out water and breathe again.
Word spread over the days she was nursed back to health. Among the common folk the tale grew with each retelling. “Mother Rhoyne has brought a maid back to life”... “This is the one prophesied that will lead our city to greatness”... “The one who has been born of the river shall command the water such as man has never seen, a mage unlike any in history”. As the tales grew, eventually the Rhoynish Conclave of water mages took notice and those in the city came to investigate. It seems unlikely they put much stock in the rumors, but to settle them down, and as she was now an orphan with no immediate family, she was taken in as a ward by the conclave and spent the next five years under their care and tutelage in a lodge they controlled in Ar Noy.
She was tested for magical aptitude, of course, but in the end she seemed quite ordinary and the mages realized she was not destined to practice magic. However, the legend of Myria would not die soon among the commoners, and the mages found that she was useful as a symbol and spokesperson when such things were needed among that class. She was bright, and was trained much as a young mage would be in history, reading and writing, languages including spoken and written low Valyrian and even some reading of high Valyrian. Where her training differed is that she was not taught the arcane skills of magic, and instead became more of a page for the order in the city.
Middle Years
Soon after she turned seventeen, things took a turn yet again.
Returning with a basket of rare herbs that she’d secured from a shop for some mystic rite, she stumbled upon a scene from a nightmare. Several guards lay in pools of blood in the narrow street, an older man who she recognized as one who came on occasion to speak to the head of mages, an important man in the city, lay below an assassin, whose blade was raised up and prepared to strike. Without thinking, Myria snatched up a spear that had fallen beside one of the guards, and as the assassin turned, she drove it through his chest… by fate or skill, she pierced his heart and the man died before he could return a blow.
A day after that grim event, the man arrived at the hall where she lived and spoke to the master of the hall, and in the end the mage told her that she was to leave with the old man. He spoke to her, telling her that he was Aled of Ar Noy, master of the locks and weirs on the river and of a rich and noble family that had sat on the princely council for generations. “You have saved my life from foul treachery, and while I may never repay such debt, I will bring you into my home and make such repayments as I can.” He was as good as his word, and over the next two years she learned much about numbers and the organizing of men and industry, as Aled not only took her in he taught her as well, and she would rarely leave his side as he dispatched his duties.
Aled’s health was failing, and as he worked he came to rely on her more and more. She was sharp and took to the task, and came to feel something she thought she might never feel again after her father was taken from her. There came a day when Aled called his two sons in… Gareth the eldest, some ten years her senior, and Elis, who was four years younger than Gareth.
Aled spoke. “My daughter, the sister to my sons, was taken from me some twenty years ago when she drowned in the Rhoyne. Mother Rohyne delivered you to the shore, reborn after your last breath, and then delivered you to my home. The mother has brought me joy and sweet comfort in my last years, and now you shall be my daughter not only in my heart, but in law as well.” He had both of his sons swear to accept their new sister, and less than a fortnight later it was done in deed, as her name and her new place as his daughter was registered in the House of Letters, and a great feast was thrown that was attended by many of the most powerful in the city. Her new brother Gareth was a serious but noble man and accepted her as his own blood, but her brother Elis chafed at it and spoke ill of her at any chance; jealous that whatever part of the inheritance he would receive would be split with this new ragamuffin commoner. A year later Aled died with Myria at his bedside. She wept but soon dried her tears and set about organizing his funeral, as she knew that is what he would want her to do.
Later years
Gareth had already been doing much of the daily work and after his father’s death, the prince made it official that he would assume his father’s duties and station. Now even busier as he sat on the prince’s council and advised him. One day he called his sister to his chambers and spoke to her.
“I know why my father valued your service as much as he valued you as a child, Myria. You are clever and not easily fooled, and know much of history and language, and the business of the city. I wish you to assist my emissary who speaks for me in negotiations with other cities along the river. Will you do this, and be, in addition, my eyes and ears while I am forced to stay and attend to matters in the city?” She agreed, and knew that it would be another point that Elis would hate her for. But she did not trust the man any more than her oldest brother did. And so she spent the next two years doing this, and learned much of the art of statecraft and negotiation.
As word spread of an embassy being sent to the city of Valyria, one which would not just be from Ar Noy but the other great Rhoynish cities along the great river, her brother summoned her again.
“Sister, I have spoken to the prince and he has granted my wish that you be included on this journey. As you have served my emissary, now you will be my emissary in Valyria. Remember that you speak for our family and you speak for me while you are there. Ar Noy shall emerge stronger should this embassy be successful, and that is the goal. Should we be best served by working together with the other Rhoynish we shall do so, but should we have to stand alone, we will do that as well. Serve our prince and those he sends well, do not let any bully you, and watch and listen carefully. Not only what is said but what is not. Will you do this?”
She swore to him that she would, and hardly a week later was stepping foot on the boat that would carry her on the first leg of her journey down the river towards Valyria.
Myria of Ar Noy
Strength
0
Dexterity
0
Intelligence
+1
Wisdom
+2
Charisma
+2
Strength
0
Dexterity
0
Intelligence
+1
Wisdom
+2
Charisma
+2
