Ayda yi Keltar

Ayda yi Keltar was born in Keltar, in the Zamyr Sultanate, on the 4th Flamerule 1375 RH, to a rich merchant and his third wife. Although named as Ayda yr Balthazar el Fahzeer yi Keltar at birth, Ayda shortened her name to just Ayda yi Keltar when she left home - a common thing for Akkadi citizens to do if they want to eschew all links to their family. Her full name translates to Ayda daughter of Balthazar of the Fahzeer family from Keltar, and simply Ayda from Keltar when shortened. Ayda ran away from home when she was only eleven and became something of a pickpocket that roamed from place to place, taking what she needed to survive. During an unpleasant prison sentence, a halfling by the name of Horricks Delaney paid for her release and took her under his wing, training her already impressive skills with a knife so that she could become a competitive knife-thrower that would bring him a lot of money. Along the way, she also became an excellent archer and one of his top athletes. After years of winning competitions with him, she met and fell in love with Kaylee Moonfire, another archer who joined Delaney's group. They left together to fight in the Battle of Mhiilamniir, settling down in the city after Kaylee's injury in the battle. They are currently married and run the Bowmaster's Commerce Ward store together, with Ayda handling much of the financial and sales side of the business.

Mental characteristics

Sexuality

Lesbian

Education

Ayda had the benefit of a decent education thanks to her father's wealth, although rather than being given a dedicated, well-respected tutor like her older siblings, she was taught by an educated slave in reading, writing, and numbers, and by her mother in etiquette. The latter lessons were particularly hard on her, not because she found them difficult, but because her mother was so overly-critical. 

Employment

Pickpocket

When Ayda first ran away from home at eleven years old, she had very little idea of what to do or where to go next, only that she knew anywhere was better than being with her family. She took the camel she had stolen from her father's caravansary and rode north-west through the desert until she reached Zaqarba, the birthplace of her mother. The city was vast and perfect for getting lost in; Ayda sold the camel for the fairest price a child could ask for and melted into the streets. Almost immediately, she was mugged by a bigger and stronger urchin. Ayda realised that she was going to have to learn to survive on the streets, and fast too. She removed and hawked anything that might have been a giveaway to her wealthy background, choosing instead to wear simple clothing and keep her ill-gotten earnings very well hidden. She bounced from district to district to avoid attracting too much attention from any one guard captain, sleeping on rooftops and inside abandoned lofts to stay out of the way of the other thugs polluting the streets below. She found that she was relatively good at cutting purses and opening belt pouches without her victims realising, although one bad turn forced her to leave the city in a hurry. She moved ever northwards, town-hopping her way across Solkaddi by cajoling favours out of strangers or outright taking what she needed, until she came to the coastal settlement of Munara. With nowhere else to run to, Ayda settled in the port for a time, taking what money she could, stealing what she didn't have the money for, and trying to keep herself safe. However, fate caught up with her and she ended up picking the pocket of a very disgruntled nobleman. Ayda ended up in prison; one of the worst places to be in Solkaddi. She spent four terrible months cooped up with thieves, thugs, and murderers, both men and women, who made her life a living hell. With no end to her sentence in sight, Ayda was surprised when a halfling man showed up to inspect the prisoners one day and bribed the guards to turn her over into his custody. Horricks Delaney was something of an agent for athletes, and he assured her that she was going to be one of the best under his wing. He was delighted to hear of her familiarity with knives (a typical weapon and tool of most street urchins) and took her from the shores of her homeland to the distant island of Anuan to train.

Professional Archer and Knife-Thrower

By now a teenager, Ayda joined Delaney and the rest of his eclectic group of athletes to train for competitions. Compared to her old life, she found this new one to be almost a luxury, even if Delaney could be something of slave-driver. He made her practice from dawn until dusk in knife-throwing, first getting her to hit targets without missing, then to hit them without looking, and finally to hit them with flair. In addition, he encouraged her to pick up another weapon and learn how to use it, with Ayda choosing the shortbow. Despite this rigorous routine and the constant moving from place to place, she was afforded luxuries that the streets and even her family had denied to her; a steady source of income, access to food, drink, and a roof over her head, as well as a sense of belonging. For the first time in her life, Ayda felt as if she was among people who understood and respected her; not necessarily for who she was, but for her skills. This was fine with her. Ayda's confidence grew, as did a selfish streak that was perhaps fostered a little too much by Delaney, who was greedy for the money she could earn him in tournaments. In time, Ayda became one of his best athletes, often taking first place in archery and knife-throwing competitions from as young as fifteen. She gathered something of a fanbase across Anuan, becoming a hero and personality among her many admirers. This was supplanted somewhat when Kaylee Moonfire, another archer, joined Delaney's group. At first Ayda saw the half-elf woman as a threat to her position, outwardly expressing her dislike of her and going so far as to try and sabotage her on numerous occasions. Delaney was delighted with this and turned their rivalry into a money-making ploy to attract more spectators to tournaments. Both women were very equally-matched with a bow and their struggle to outdo each other kept fans on the edge of their seats. This backfired on Delaney however when both women settled their differences, becoming close friends and, eventually, lovers. They kept up the pretense of being at each other's throats in public, if anything to quell Delaney's fears, but it became increasingly difficult for the both of them over time. When Kaylee was called home for the Battle of Mhiilamniir, Ayda decided to go with her against Delaney's wishes. She fought in the battle alongside the archer section Kaylee was leading, saving her lover's life when she took a poisoned arrow to the shoulder. The injury was severe enough that when Kaylee returned to competitive archery, she found that it was too painful to draw a bow. Ayda made the choice to stay with Delaney when Kaylee returned home again, even if it greatly upset the both of them. Delaney tried to convince Ayda that she owed him for saving her from prison when she was a child, but she refused to accept his reasoning, stating to him that she had won a hundred times the amount of money he had paid for her release, and that he had benefitted from her enough. After a month, Ayda left without informing Delaney in the night, returning to Mhiilamniir to be with Kaylee again.

Bowmaster

When the couple happily reunited, Ayda stayed with Kaylee in her guild-subsidised lodgings for much of her apprenticeship with the Bowmasters of Mhiilamniir, taking a job at the market by helping to set up and mind stalls for the vendors. It was work that, only a few short years ago, Ayda would have most likely scoffed at the prospect of doing, but she had changed drastically into a more thoughtful, caring woman over that time. Kaylee's influence had much to do with this, and by the time she had finished her apprenticeship, they were both given the opportunity to run the Bowmaster's Commerce Ward store together. Ayda was made an honourary member of the guild (a privilege given to those who worked with the guild, but were not skilled in the trade) due to her expertise with bows and her head for business. She and Kaylee proved to be an excellent team, with Ayda running the store and keeping tabs on finances, and Kaylee keeping the store in stock. Shortly after their appointment to the position, they married, and have been living and working in the place ever since.

Personality Characteristics

Likes & Dislikes

Likes:

• Archery - From when she first picked up a bow training with Delaney, Ayda has loved archery and found that she is very good at it.
• Money - One of the few selfish streaks left in her, Ayda is still very attracted to coin and would do a lot of things to attain more of it. Despite growing up in a wealthy household, the years she spent on the streets struggling to survive made her idolise money to be one of the most important things in the world. Even now, she sees it as what makes the world go round, and she harbours an envious bitterness towards those who are extremely wealthy and horde their treasures.
• Cooking - Despite being one of the skills taught to her as a child in preparation for being married off, Ayda genuinely enjoys cooking and loves good food. She is fond of spicy dishes from her homeland, often going to the market in Mhiilamniir to stock up on imported condiments from Solkaddi. She is happy that her wife enjoys her cooking as well, even if their cultures have vastly different culinary tastes.

Dislikes:

• Swimming - Ayda cannot swim and is terrified of water that is out of her depth, making it clear to everyone who questions her that she grew up in a place where the only water source was infested with crocodiles. Despite that being true, she is also deeply scarred after her eldest brother found her practicing with a knife and threw her down a well to 'cleanse the shame from the family'. Ayda cried for help for an hour before realising that no one was going to come to her aid; she managed to climb out only to find that her brother had been standing there for hours waiting to see if she would emerge or not. He told her that the lesson had been learned and walked off like nothing had happened. Since then, Ayda has hated swimming, hated wells...and hated her brother.
• Talking about her past - No one knows all the details about Ayda's troubled past, save perhaps Kaylee, who she has often confided in. Much of it she prefers to keep a secret, not only because she would rather forget about it, but also because she is afraid what people might think of her if they knew the truth. Probing questions regarding it make her hostile towards whoever is asking, and she is generally suspicious of them from there on out.  

Hygiene

Like most Akkadi, Ayda has had it ingrained in her since birth that she must remain clean and immaculate-looking whenever possible. She spends a good deal of time caring for her appearance, washing her skin and hair regularly, keeping her hair trimmed and styled, and her nails manicured. Although she doesn't expect other people to do the same, at least not on the level that she does, she does have somewhat of an aversion to people that are very dirty or unkempt, finding them instinctively repulsive. Ayda tries to play down how obvious her distaste for such people are, mostly by awkwardly apologising to them and declaring that she's "an Akkadi", as if that explains everything.

Social

Family Ties

"My mother was an exceptionally beautiful woman; celestial, even... but she was also a viper. She spoke venomous words as easily and eagerly as she breathed." - Ayda yi Keltar

Ayda has been estranged from her family since she ran away from home at eleven years old and has had no contact with them since. Her father was a rich merchant by the name of Balthazar yn Kalil el Fahzeer yi Keltar, a man with great influence over the trade going in and out of the town of Keltar. Her mother was his third and most favoured wife, Zasheida yr Asfora el Fahzeer yi Zaqarba. Ayda did not have a good relationship with her parents. From an early age, her father took no heed of her whatsoever and her mother scorned and tormented her for not being a boy and not living up to the standards expected of her. Ayda herself remembers only having a handful of one-line 'conversations' with her father at important events (he did not wish to see his daughter otherwise), and her mother being an exceptionally beautiful woman but full of hate and paranoid to stay the centre of her husband's attention. Ayda has sixteen siblings in all, most of which are half-siblings. Being the youngest daughter of ten, she was treated as something of a 'spare' and raised mostly by slaves. Her younger brother, Hakim, became very much the centre of her mother's world when he was born, and Ayda openly admitted later in life to being 'likely to have smothered him in his sleep' if she had stayed with her family any longer. She never did feel close to any of her siblings; in fact, her eldest brothers and sisters, most of them grown and already married, were spiteful towards her or practically unaware of her existence. She saw and spoke little to the others as they were kept in different parts of the expansive family estate. Apart from that, there was a mutual distrust entrenched between them anyway, fostered by a need to compete for their father's attention.

"We can be your parents, if you want us to. We will always be there for you, like we always have been for our own children." - Tristan of Argive, to Ayda

Ayda was initially wary of Kaylee's family, after having had a whole childhood of bad experiences with her own. When she was first introduced to them, she came across as somewhat cold and distant, although she was not actively trying to be rude. She found Kaylee's many siblings overbearing and intimidating, even if they were showing her nothing but friendship. The only one she could somewhat tolerate was Ember, the youngest at only eight years old, who looked up to the older woman much the same way she looked up to her sister: with childlike awe. Beyond that, Ayda tended to try and keep her distance from them as much as possible. This caused some tension between her and Kaylee's parents in particular, who understandably wanted to know more about their daughter's partner, especially seeing as Ayda seemed so tight-lipped about everything. They were eventually able to coax her to visit them alone one day when Kaylee was busy with her apprenticeship. Although initially hostile as they ambushed her with difficult questions, Ayda eventually opened up to Tristan and Neera about what her life had been like with her family, and why she was so reluctant to become involved with another one. Seeing the hurt that she was facing, Tristan and Neera sympathised with the Akkadi woman, telling her that they would welcome her like she was their own child and always be there for her if she needed them. From this point onwards, Ayda's relationship with the Moonfire family went from strength to strength; she took to calling Tristan 'baba' (Dad) and Neera 'mama' (Mum), especially after she and Kaylee were married.       

Religious Views

Ayda has never been particularly religious, turning to the Gods only when she absolutely has to. In the past, she has been a patron of Kord, God of athletics and sport, as a requirement to her time as a professional tournament archer. After each tournament, she would donate a portion of her winnings to the priests overseeing the competitions, out of respect for Kord's influence on her result. Like her partner Kaylee, however, Ayda resented having to do this, feeling that it was her own skill rather than the appreciative eye of a distant God that got her to where she was. However, since she has married, Ayda leans towards the words of Sune, Goddess of beauty and love. She has found solace and understanding in the words of her local High Priestess, Celestine Illyria, and both she and Kaylee have gone to her for all of their medicinal and healing needs since then.   

Relationships

Ayda yi Keltar

Wife (Vital)

Towards Kaylee Alaya Moonfire

5

Honest

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Kaylee Alaya Moonfire

Wife (Vital)

Towards Ayda yi Keltar

5

Honest

---

Legal Status

Married

Alignment

Chaotic Good (formerly Chaotic Neutral)

Current Location

Mhiilamniir

Ethnicity

Akkadi

Date of Birth

4th Flamerule

Year of Birth

1375 RH 26 Years old

Birthplace

Keltar, The Zamyr Sultanate

Spouses

Kaylee Alaya Moonfire (Wife)

Siblings

Current Residence

Commerce Ward, Mhiilamniir

Gender

Female

Eyes

Bright Amber

Hair

Long, raven black

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Dusky brown

Height

5' 4" (1.62m)

Weight

137 lbs. (62kg)

Aligned Organization

Bowmasters of Mhiilamniir

Known Languages

Ayda can speak Common and Akkad, although she often mixes words from both languages whilst speaking, both accidentally and deliberately.