Zyl'thara Starweaver
Appearance:
Zyl'thara cuts a figure both alien and strangely graceful. Standing taller than the average human woman, her posture is upright yet fluid, moving with an almost liquid ease that speaks of a low-gravity upbringing. Her skin is a smooth, flawless jade green, cool to the touch like polished river stone. Her hair, a stark contrast, is the deepest black, long and straight, often cascading down her back or partially swept up in simple, functional styles.
Her most striking features are her eyes and antennae. Zyl'thara possesses large, completely black eyes, lacking pupils or sclera, reflecting the light like pools of polished obsidian. They are incredibly expressive, however, conveying a vast spectrum of emotion – wonder, confusion, joy, and a profound, almost overwhelming empathy. Sprouting delicately from just below her hairline, near her temples, are two slender, segmented antennae, a shade darker than her skin. These antennae twitch and sway subtly, almost imperceptibly, mirroring her emotional state – drooping slightly in sadness or worry, perking up with curiosity or excitement, vibrating faintly when sensing strong emotions nearby.
She typically favors the attire of her homeworld, Castrovel: flowing robes made of soft, breathable fabrics in muted blues, silvers, and greens, often adorned with subtle geometric patterns or celestial motifs. These contrast sharply with the more restrictive or utilitarian clothing common on Golarion. Since her arrival, she has acquired a few Golarion items out of curiosity or necessity, including a rather charming, wide-brimmed hat with a feather, which she wears with earnest, slightly misplaced pride, often forgetting it clashes with her robes.
Personality:
Zyl'thara embodies innocence and a profound, almost childlike naiveté. Having grown up on Castrovel, likely in a relatively sheltered or culturally distinct community, she lacks guile and struggles profoundly with Golarion's social complexities, sarcasm, deception, and hidden meanings. She tends to take statements literally and expresses her own thoughts and feelings with unfiltered honesty, sometimes leading to unintentionally blunt or awkward interactions.
Her greatest strength, and sometimes her greatest vulnerability, is her immense empathy. Likely tied to her latent Lashunta telepathy, she feels the emotions of those around her quite strongly, often mirroring their joy, sadness, or fear without fully understanding the context. This can make her seem overly sensitive or easily overwhelmed in crowds or situations fraught with negative emotions. She possesses an inherent kindness and a gentle nature, finding violence abhorrent and preferring solutions rooted in understanding, communication, and healing.
Despite her gentleness, Zyl'thara possesses a quiet determination, particularly regarding her mission to find Alessa and the prophecy surrounding her. She views her duty with solemn importance, even if the weight of it frightens her. She is deeply curious about the universe, particularly the stars and the workings of magic, approaching new experiences with wide-eyed wonder, even if she doesn't always grasp the implications. Her mistakes on Golarion stem from this innocence – offering inappropriate bartering items, misunderstanding social cues, being bewildered by concepts like monetary economies or suspicion. She sees the best in people, sometimes overlooking obvious flaws or potential dangers due to her trusting nature.
Background:
Zyl'thara was born on Castrovel, the vibrant, jungle-covered planet often called Golarion's sister world. Her mother was Lyra Moonshadow, a Lashunta mystic deeply connected to the planet's natural energies and ancient lore. Her father was Elarion Starweaver, an Elven scholar who had somehow found his way to Castrovel, fascinated by its unique magic and the cosmos beyond Golarion. Elarion shared his love of the stars with Lyra, and together they delved into the mysteries of both worlds.
Zyl'thara grew up surrounded by the lush beauty and strange wonders of Castrovel, learning the ways of the Lashunta from her mother while absorbing her father's fascination with the stars and arcane theory. However, Elarion's story is tinged with sadness. For reasons Zyl'thara doesn't fully comprehend (perhaps tied to his interplanar research or a danger he foresaw), he eventually left Castrovel, journeying back to Golarion when Zyl'thara was still relatively young. His absence left a quiet void in her life, represented perhaps by the small silver locket containing his portrait, which she keeps as a treasured memento.
As Zyl'thara grew, the Lashunta elders, keepers of ancient prophecies, began to realize the significance of a particular divination concerning Castrovel's future and a "lost star" – a child of their world, born under specific celestial alignments, destined to save them from a looming, unspecified calamity. For a time, they believed Zyl'thara might be this child, but further study revealed the prophecy pointed elsewhere – to a younger sister, born on distant Golarion, sired by Elarion Starweaver.
Tasked with a sacred duty, Zyl'thara was entrusted with the Starfire, a vessel capable of traversing the void between worlds, and sent to Golarion to find this lost sister, Alessa. The journey was perilous, pushing the Starfire to its limits. She arrived on Golarion not with a graceful landing, but with a crash, damaging the vessel and stranding her far from home. Since then, she has been cautiously exploring the immediate vicinity of her crash site, attempting rudimentary repairs, and trying, often clumsily, to understand the strange ways of Golarion while sensing the presence of her sister nearby, finally leading to their meeting outside Sandpoint.
Motivations & Goals:
Zyl'thara's primary motivation is fulfilling the mission given to her by the Lashunta elders: find Alessa and bring her back to Castrovel to avert the prophesied doom. She feels a deep sense of responsibility towards her people and an immediate, powerful connection to Alessa, the sister she never knew she had. Secondary goals include repairing the Starfire, ensuring Alessa's safety and well-being, and perhaps, on a deeper level, finding answers about her father's fate and the reasons for his departure from Castrovel. She approaches these goals with earnest determination, tempered by her inherent fear of the unknown and the dangers Golarion presents.
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