Saya Diaz
Saya
"...We need to get out of this country as soon as possible. I hate it here."Saya Diaz, also known as Vyerin Vernador, is a wandering princess of Verdina, the Kingdom of North Cassel. She was to be the next monarch of the North, until she ran away from home the night her parents were killed. Ever since that day, she has resisted going back to her home country until circumstances forced her to travel through there. She is travelling with friends, Chryssa, Raini, and Myles, but she has been in a dark place over the last six months especially, and her guilt over what she did is driving her deeper into depression. Saya is the undisputed Ruler of North Cassel. She has at least three different ways to prove her power and birthright, but she wants nothing to do with it.
Personality
Saya has always been somewhat of a carefree and careless person. Her uncaring attitude and actions towards many things brought no end of amusement to her father, but also no end of headaches for her mother, who wanted Saya to behave and act like a proper heir to the throne of the North.
After her parents died, Saya's personality changed, depending on who she is at the time. When she is in her Thomas form, she is every bit the carefree person she was when she was younger. When she is in her Vyerin form, she acts very noble and protective of her friends, and there are hints of Vyerin being a competent future ruler of Cassel. But, six months ago, when Saya got to Cassel, she's been stoic and gloomy, and very little has been able to lighten her mood.
Saya sometimes has panic attacks after a nightmare involving her parents or sometimes just randomly. These have occured rarely for years after their deaths, but have increased in frequency over the last few months.
Physical description
Saya is of pretty average height for a Casselian girl and looks rather ordinary. Her faded blue eyes won't be piercing any souls like her older siblings, but there is still an ethereal quality about them. One look at Saya's pale face will tell anyone that she has an unseen contempt for herself, but it does not detract from her natural beauty.
Saya always wears about the same clothing no matter which form she takes. This clothing is somewhat dull and for traveling, which includes a flowy cotton shirt, a leather vest with chainmail sewn on the inside, pants, boots, and a water-proof blue cloak. She also normally wears leather gloves. Very rarely is Saya seen wearing more feminine clothing despite Chryssa's many attempts.
Saya's current appearance.
Full name: Vyerin vernador
Nickname: Saya Diaz
Race: Iron Human
Ethnicity: Casselian
Age: 18
Birthday: May 8th
Height: 5'7"
Gender: Female
Titles:Prince of Verdina
Rightful? Monarch of Verdina
Squire of the Order of the Abyss
Nickname: Saya Diaz
Race: Iron Human
Ethnicity: Casselian
Age: 18
Birthday: May 8th
Height: 5'7"
Gender: Female
Titles:
Children
Transformations
Saya was blessed by a fairy named Xana when she was 8 years old. After she ran away from home, she started to disassociate herself from her bloodline and name, and regularly uses powerful magic to turn into different people. Her most well known forms are below:
Saya Diaz (Current)
This is literally just a female version of Vyerin in appearance. She has taken this form many times in the past, but roughly six months ago, Saya took this form full time when she entered Cassel for the first time in years.Since then, Saya has identified as female and will not respond to Vyerin. She's been stoic, gloomy, and depressed since entering this country again.
Thomas Estman
Saya used this male form when she was 12 to 14 in the country of Ordland, and agian briefly when she was 16 in the country of Galleska. she was able to successfully fool her older sister Isabel into thinking she wasn't Vyerin, but she wasn't able to fool Renelle and Arden, who noticed the unmistakable ring she was wearing.In this form, Saya was way more carefree, aloof, and very much like she was when she was younger.
Vyerin (Base Form)
Saya does in fact spend the majority of time in her male base form. In this form Vyerin is somewhat protective of Chryssa, and is noble almost to a fault.Physically, Vyerin's base form is his strongest, and since he doesn't have to use mana to maintain a different form, he is at his most powerful magically as well.
But...it's his actual form, his actual appearance, with his actual name. He hates himself for what he did eight years ago and can't stand to see his face...
Other forms
Xana - Since Saya made a bloodpact to get Xana's blessing, she can technically turn into her fairy form. Saya claims to have never done so.Parda - Saya used this female form in the country of Faeon when she was 11. Knights of the Order of the Leviathan were looking for Vyerin at the time.
Sayd - When Saya was 15, she copied the appearance of an ancient male hero to fool an Elf who thought her human love was somehow still alive.
Marion - Saya used this form in the nation of Rinea and the Elf-Country of Lyonne when she was 17. She pretended to be a young lord from Marsan (even though she actually is a young lord from Marsan...)
Equipment
Aciam Fulgriff, the Sword of the Fifth
Kren Aurdel
"Yeah, I have not just one, but two items I can't get rid of that say I'm the rightful King of Cassel...Queen, whatever. Then there's the Hall of Kings....That doesn't mean I have to take the crown. I'm just glad most people don't have any idea what these items are!"
Fruela's Self-Updating Map
Saya took this magically enchanted map when she ran away. This map is able to track the locations of everyone who has blood on the enchantment. She took it so no one else would be able to find her location. Saya doesn't actually know how to activate the map's enchantments herself, so for her it's just a normal map.
The Ring of the North
This ring signifies the wearer as the rightful ruler of North Cassel. Saya has made many attempts to get rid of this ring, but it is enchanted to always return to the owner. Set within this silver ring are two gems, an amethyst called Xonde, and the other is a sapphire called the Star of Ibora. Each of these two gems are enchanted with various different magic abilities.
Silex Model 7
A flintlock rifle of human make with an external flint and flashpan. Human rifles are mechanically simpler than intricatly made Elven guns, taking longer to reload but are more reliable and forgiving with maintenance. Saya mainly uses it for hunting as the reload times are just too long to be practical in a fight where slinging magic is often quicker and deadlier.
Relationships
Family
King Brenon
Saya's father. Brenon, having never wanted to be king himself, taught Vyerin that leaders become leaders out of necessity, not birthright... The day Brenon died, he gave Saya his ring, that now signified Saya as the rightful ruler of Verdina.
Maria
Saya's Mother. She was always annoyed with Vyerin's reluctance to be a proper heir to the throne. She was especially furious about the time the kid made a bloodpact with a demon...that turned out to be something much worse, a 'harmless' fairy.
Marla
Saya's little sister. The last time Saya saw Marla was eight years ago. Saya assumed that Marla would become Queen of Cassel in her absence, but when she got back to the country, she learned that Marla was dead, with rumors that King Eldon of the South invaded and took over.
Eldon
King Eldon of South Cassel, and Saya's Uncle. Everywhere Saya goes in Cassel, she hears rumors of Eldon being a Tyrant King that killed the Queens of the North and West, and he needs to be dealt with. Saya believes these rumors, but isn't sure she should be the one to stop him.
Larielle (Laura)
Missing Queen of West Cassel, and Saya's Aunt. Saya went to Laura for advice more than any other person. Laura was also the only person to not completely lose her mind on hearing about Vyerin making a bloodpact with a fairy.
Aerynn Vernador
Saya's 'twin' Cousin. They share the same birthday. Aerynn also made the same bloodpact with Xana as Vyerin did and the three share a link with each other. When they were younger, Aerynn hated Vyerin and always tattled on him when he did something wrong.
Half-Elven Siblings
Renelle, Arden, and Isabel moved away before Saya was even born, so she never spent very much time with them. Saya saw them for a few months when Cassel hosted the Contest of Champions, which Ren and Arden both fought in. She also briefly spent time with Ren and Arden in the years after she ran away. Even though that time was short, Ren believes that Vyerin should be the next ruler of Verdina over anyone else.
Friends
Chryssa
Saya met Chryssa seven years ago, when she spotted Chryssa crying over the death of an Olimian Troll, apparently her only family. Saya helped her bury the troll and from then Chryssa started traveling with her. The two have been romantically involved for the last two years, and Chryssa loves Saya no matter what form she decides to take.
Myles
Saya and Myles have known each other for over ten years, ever since Myles came to Cassel from Yurrimkil and started working in the Lornar palace as a servant. Myles also helped Saya run away from Cassel eight years ago, getting them on a ship out of the country.
Raini (Sera)
Seven years ago, Raini escaped from an Alluthian Bride Ship and met up with Saya, Chryssa, and Myles. They hid her from the authorities that were searching for her at the time. The four have been friends travelling together ever since.
Xana
Xana is a known ancient and super powerful fairy and everyone thinks that Xana is manipulating Vyerin for some purpose. This annoys Xana, who claims to generally care for Saya and her wellbeing! Saya can summon her at any time, but has refused to for many years now.
History
Early Life
Vyerin was born in the year 2974 I.A. in Marsan. His parents were Brenon Vernador and Maria Weber. His birth, along with the birth of his cousin Aerynn on the same day, helped to end a war between North and South Cassel as it started.
Just before their births, Cassel was split into three kingdoms and parts were given to the children of King Vernador XX, who thought that the kingdom had grown too large to manage properly. There was King Eldon Vernador XXI that recieved the South, Queen Larielle recieved the West, and King Brenon recieved the North.
Eldon and Brenon grew bitter towards the other for different reasons, and spent months making threats towards each other. The two finally declared war on each other in May 2974. The armies met on the battlefield but refused to fight, because neither king was present. The reason was that each of their wives was giving birth to their first heir. Tradition dictated they be present on that day.
Later, Queen Larielle made her two brothers sign a peace treaty that solidified Cassel's Borders. The elves were mad their kingdoms were still considered vassal states, inferior to the human kingdoms, but otherwise everything was in order.
"No deaths, injuries, major battles, prisoners taken, change in leadership, or change in territory. This had to be the most pointless war ever fought in the history of Vreathe!"
"The survival skills I learned from my dad helped keep me alive after I left Cassel. Truly running away would have been impossible otherwise"
Growing up, Vyerin knew he was destined to rule North Cassel someday, but wasn't very interested in it, and never took his future seriously. His Mother spent years drilling him in his princely duties, and made sure Vyerin always acted proper and would become a proper king someday. His father didn't want to become king himself at first, so he often looked the other way when Vyerin was bored with it all.
When Vyerin grew too bored of his future, and Brenon grew too bored of being a king, Brenon would take a few trusted knights and his son out of the city for a few days. They would travel into the forests of Marsan.
Here, Brenon taught Vyerin how to fish and camp, hunt and skin a rabbit, start a campfire and maintain weapons and tools. Brenon often told Vyerin stories of before he was a king, when he was a soldier and later general in Cassel's army.
Whenever they got back to the city, Brenon would feel recharged and ready for the burden of being king for a few more months, and Vyerin would be focused enough to not cause trouble for a while.
Even then, Vyerin often acted out in his efforts to get away from his studies. One of the most wreckless things he did in his childhood was try to summon a demon, and he convinced his cousin Aerynn to help him do it. Vyerin took the Book of Summons, found in his father's library. Every chapter was in a different language and alphabet, but one chapter seemed similar to Rethasi or Old Casselian. He knew Aerynn could speak small parts of that language and got her to read it, which summoned a terrible demon. This demon demanded tribute, and said that the plate of desserts between the two children would do. After gorging on the many delectable chocolates, they then decide to bless Vyerin and Aerynn forever with a drop of their blood. This demon turned out to be a fairy named Xana.
With the bloodpact sealed in, well, blood, Vyerin and Aerynn were bound to Xana, which means that Xana shared her power with them. Aerynn used this fairy magic to learn powerful healing spells. Vyerin used the fairy magic for other things. He got out of his studies one day by creating the illusion of a dragon flying over Marsan. This caused a city-wide panic until it disappeared. His father was pleased knowing his city guard was able to mobilize so quickly. His mother was less than pleased.
"The Book of Summons...Probably a good thing I didn't understand all the different languages and incomprehensible symbols written everywhere in this thing..."
Rising Tensions
When Vyerin was 10, there was trouble brewing in Cassel. Tensions between the elves and humans was reaching levels not seen in thousands of years. His father no longer had time to spend with him and his mother was as strict as ever. Almost on a daily basis, envoys from all sorts of nations were entering and leaving the palace, causing many disagreements between them and Vyerin's father.
His older sister Ren was staying in town for a time and became a captain of the North's army. She spent some time with Vyerin, teaching him the basics of swordsmanship, though Ren was as strict as Vyerin's mother was, criticizing him for his form and drilling him in proper stances for days until he could do it properly. Vyerin eventually became quite good with longswords and sabers thanks to her instruction.
"I didn't know it at the time, but all this tension between elves and humans was because of a kingdom I never even heard of until a few years ago: Iruakint, the Diamond Kingdom."
A few nights before Vyerin ran away, all seven kings and queens of every kingdom of Cassel, as well as envoys from various surrounding kingdoms, were all gathered in the Fortress City of Lornar. The summit was to discuss issues plaguing eastern Vreathe. During the first day of the three day meeting, Brenon was to present Vyerin as his heir and the future king, make it so everyone knew his face for the future.
Vyerin tried to get out of this responsibility in several ways, including turning into Saya for the first time. Maria was furious as usual. A few years ago before the political situation got so dire, Brenon might have had a laugh or two about attempts to avoid responsibility, but not this time. His anger was equal to Maria's in scolding Vyerin and he made it clear that Vyerin was going to rule North Cassel some day, there is no avoiding it.
Vyerin was quiet for the next few days, playing the part of the prince as well as he could, meeting all the envoys, kings, and queens, listening to the long drawn out speeches from various parties, hearing of the many grievances between elves and humans, sitting through the reading of several trade deals and peace treaties, almost sleeping through even more long drawn out speeches. He didn't misbehave once.
The Death of Brenon and Maria
The next night, Brenon and Maria were assassinated. Few details of that night are known. What is known is that they were riding in a wagon from the World Tree Theatre back to the palace and that Vyerin and Marla were with them.
Some time during this trip, Brenon shot a distress flare bearing his signet which caused nearly every guard and soldier in the town to converge on his location but when they got there, Brenon and Maria were shot full of arrows and bolts. The Royal Guard was nowhere to be found and it is unknown if they were even escorting the king like they should have been. Marla was safe, covered by her parents' blood but unharmed. Vyerin was missing.
Vyerin was already in the eastern part of the city, at the docks. He found his friend, Myles, and told him to get him out of Cassel immediately. Myles took him to his ship captain Noe. Noe already knew the whole city was looking for him. He was about to turn Vyerin over to two knights that looked like the Royal Guard, but noticed something off about them. The Royal Guard of North Cassel has no elves in it, but those two were... Noe then agreed to take Vyerin out of the country on his next voyage to the Country of Faeon.
King Brenon's Funeral.
"What did actually happen that night? So, when we were riding back to the palace, I was bored, so I..uhm...It's...It's not important! What matters is that I was able to get away!"
"Take vengance on my paren't deaths? For what and on who? Masked assassins shot them full of arrows! They could have been anyone! What? You think my uncle Eldon is responsible or something? What would that cowardly bastard have done?!?"
"Take vengance on my paren't deaths? For what and on who? Masked assassins shot them full of arrows! They could have been anyone! What? You think my uncle Eldon is responsible or something? What would that cowardly bastard have done?!?"
Author's Note: Vyerin's history will continue in a future article with the following characters: Chryssa Sil, Myles Pireson, and Raini Moontrace. The reason is that nearly all of the next eight years of their lives is spent traveling together, so it makes more sense to just write it all at once in a linked article. I might add a shorter summarized version here that is strictly about Saya later.
Not only is this article beautiful, but it's about an amazingly in-depth character! I love the self-updating map (like a video game, kinda) and all the pictures depicting the relationships with other characters. I also have a soft spot for shapeshifters. I definitely want to find out more about Saya and her companions.
Thankyou for reading and leaving this comment! Writing more about my major characters is a focus for this year so you will definitely be seeing more of Saya.