Sulye Ahaleen the Shadowed Cur of Strength, Nightreaver of Thar-Eris

Role

Chapter 8

Sulye was born near Balator to parents who worked in the Fields southeast
of that village. Her parents were freed slaves, though their status as
freedmen afforded them a lifestyle that was only barely distinguishable
from what they had known prior to being freed. Still, free was free, and
they were generally thankful and contented.

Sulye, however, was not. Happy and contented that is. Given her parents
poverty and the realities of farming life, she was forced to contribute to
the farming effort even from a young age. Whether it was picking dates,
working a wine press, or sowing seeds, even children can be helpful.
Sulye took no joy in it, though. To her, the tasks were monotonous. Was
she a beast, that she should be treated so? It was a constant source of
strife for the family.

The one bright spot for her, as she matured, was the presence of Magdan.
Magdan was a human orphan boy being raised by Jaragh in the village north
of where Sulye and her parents farmed. When he could slip away, he would
often visit the farmlands. At first Sulye merely knew him as "that odd
boy from the village", but the two soon became fast friends. Whenever
they could, they would sneak out and scour the small world they both
called home in search of some adventure or another.

Magdan, likely owing to Jaragh's influence, wanted nothing more than to be
a proper knight and perhaps become a soldier in the Fortress of Light.
Though he had endured much hardship, he was nevertheless a kind child, and
grateful for the generosity Jaragh had shown him. He was respectful of
authority, and always strove to do the right thing. In short, he was the
polar opposite of Sulye. So great was her affection for him, though, that
Magdan actually inspired Sulye to be "better" than she was. She enjoyed
infrequent success, but he nevertheless continued to be an inspiration.

Role

Chapter 7

On one occasion, the two of them had begun travelling south along the road
that led to Hamsah Mu'tazz. Scanning ahead, Sulye noticed two of the
Sultan's guards heading north towards them along the road. The guardsmen
were engaged in some sort of argument, so they did not notice the pair of
youths. In a bout of sudden poor judgment (and she was prone to these)
Sulye decided it would be humorous to play a joke on the approaching
guards. Quickly, she clambered up an embankment at the side of the road,
dragging a protesting Magdan behind her.

When the two guards neared the place where they had hidden, Sulye called
out in her best raspy, gravelly lich impersonation, "Halt you fools, in
the name of the Empire!" She had, of course, never seen a lich, and
especially not the one who currently held the Imperial Throne, but she had
been raised on stories of Ahtieli as a sort of bogeyman and in the stories
she had a raspy, gravelly voice. Apparently the guards had never heard
Ahtieli either, since they immediately stopped whatever argument they were
having and hastily tried to come to some state of attention.

Sulye, of course, found this highly comical. After giving the guards a
few seconds to stare around fearfully, wondering at the origin of the
voice, she could no longer contain herself and let out with a stream of
laughter. Magdan was furious. The guards, realizing they had been
tricked, were more furious. The larger of them demanded that the two
pranksters come down onto the road. Sulye, for her part, turned and was
ready to dash down the leeward side of the embankment, away from the road,
and off into the surrounding fields. Before she could do so, though, she
noticed that Magdan had climbed over the lip of the embankment and was
headed down towards the guards.

Reluctant to abandon her friend, and completely ignorant to the depth of
the guards' anger, Sulye scampered down after Magdan. Magdan, upon
reaching the guards, began a profuse apology. Realizing he wasn't the one
who spoke, both men promptly ignored him and turned their gaze on Sulye.
Once she reached the group, the larger man lashed out and struck her
across the face, muttering something about little fela should be seen and
not heard. This took Magdan completely by surprise. To his credit, he
immediately stopped talking and instead interposed himself between Sulye
and the two guards. This was a mistake.

Role

Chapter 6

Had Magdan not acted, the entire affair probably would have ended with a
bloody nose for Sulye and a case of wounded pride. Instead tragedy
ensued. The larger guard correctly interpreted Magdan's change in posture
as a challenge to his authority, and he was not one to have his authority
questioned. Especially not by some raggedy cur of a boy from Balator.
No, he would have to make an example of him. And so he did. Sulye was
forced to watch as her friend (her only friend, really) was murdered
before her eyes. Because of her foolishness, and because of his
ridiculous ideals.

After the initial shock of her friend's death had subsided, something
snapped inside Sulye. Something that had, perhaps, lain long dormant,
only occasionally percolating to the conscious surface of her life.
Before this she had never issued a feral growl. Her family were simple
farmers; what opportunity would she have for such a thing? She growled
now. Then, bending her body backwards, she dragged her claws across the
neck of the guard who had been restraining her and severed his jugular
vein in one swift motion. He staggered for a moment, more surprised than
anything, before falling face first on the dusty road. His companion, the
larger man who had slain Magdan, was still busy wiping his cutlass clean
(on Magdan's dead body) when Sulye pounced on him from behind. Biting,
tearing, they tumbled to the ground in a heap. When the scuffle
eventually subsided he too lay dead, face and eyes having been ravaged by
Sulye's teeth and claws.

She ran, then. Not back to the farm lands, but southeast. Blindly.
At last she collapsed and, when she finally woke, found herself in the
company of some sort of woodsman. She had not known there to be any woods
near the area, but apparently there were. The man had prepared a camp
site while she slept and now offered her some of his food. She was
suspicious, even more so given all she had just been through, but
something about this man told her he was no friend to the Sultan's
guards. He listened without speaking as she spilled forth the events of
the previous day. Then, when she had finished, he began to speak. Of
trees, and imps, and ancient gods. Of the wilds, and towns; things long
past, and things to come. It was music to her young ears...

Role

Chapter 5

Sulye is naturally sociopathic, and has been since birth. This manifested
itself in her unwillingness to partner with her parents in the tasks of
farm life, and the ease with which she abruptly abandoned their household
once Magdan was killed. She is not unnecessarily cruel, but she does
delight in the hunt and in the death of her quarry (be it man or beast).

She is also highly impulsive, as evidenced in the events that led up to
Magdan's death. Since that day, however, Sulye has taken great pains to
learn patience and self-restraint. This has proven especially important
given the nature of the hunt, and her newfound guild affiliation.

Morally speaking, where once she was inspired by Magdan's example, his
death brought about radical change. Sulye now rejects everything he stood
for: kindness, chivalry, knighthood and respect for authority. She
blames his death on weakness, and so in all things, she endeavors to
embody strength.

While Sulye always had a healthy disrespect for authority and a distaste
for domesticity, the fact that it was guardsmen who killed her friend,
along with the mysterious woodsman's teachings, have engendered in Sulye
a full-fledged hatred for civilized society in general. She may not yet
fully comprehend the philosophical and theological ramifications of the
woodsman's teachings, but she knows enough to seek out more.

Role

Chapter 4

One of the side effects of Sulye "going feral" was that she acquired a
certain distaste for the polite niceties and conventions of civilized
society, including but not limited to grammar and correct speech. When
she reverted to a more natural mode of existence, her speech also reverted
to something more primitive than what she had previously employed. This
was further reinforced by the many years she spent alone on the hunt,
prior to joining the Outlanders. Totally without conversation for so long
a time, her language skills atrophied even further.

Now that she is again in regular contact with other sentient beings,
however, it occurrs to Sulye that her crude speech may in fact be an
impediment. For one, it may cause others to view her as stupid or
ignorant. She is not so concerned about what others think, per se, except
insofar as their view of her may carry concrete consequences. To be seen
as mentally deficient is to be considered weak, and she is all too aware
of what happens to weak members of a pack. They are culled.

Consequently, Sulye has begun to undertake an effort to regain some
portion of the eloquence she once possessed. Remember, this is a fela who
managed to trick two guardsmen into thinking she was Ahtieli, even if only
for a short time. She will surely relapse back to her feral patois from
time to time, but for the most part she intends to make a concerted effort
to speak in a manner more indicative of her true mental abilities.

Role

Chapter 3

After some time it has become apparent that the degredation of Sulye's
language skills is more serious than she originally thought. While still
able, with great effort, to access her former vocabulary for brief periods
of time, the negative effects of her years spent in isolation seem to be
permanent. She is fine with that, though, in a way she wasn't before.

Previously she was concerned that her rudimentary speech might brand her
as weak and unfit, and cause the other reavers to turn on her. Now,
however, she is confident enough in her own abilities and position within
the branch that being "culled" is no longer a great concern. Also, it
seems she's not the only one with speech problems, given the many cloud
and fire giants who struggle mightily with the common tongue.

Henceforth Sulye will speak in whatever manner she sees fit, without
concern for anyone else's opinion. Free, as is fit for one of the free
folk. Besides, if anyone hassles her over it...she can just kill them.

Role

Chapter 2

As she gets old, Sulye has become more introspective. This isn't saying
much since she has never been the most contemplative or introspective
person to begin with, but she is at least moving in that direction. In
particular she has begun to question the nature of "strength", an concept
around which so much of her life has cenetered thus far. Sulye endeavors
always to be "strong" and hates "weakness". But what does it mean to be
"strong"? What does it mean to be "weak"?

"Strength" cannot refer solely to physical strength, or else Sulye would
have to admit she's one of the weakest people on the face of Thera. Felar
are not known for their ability to lift heavy objects. And yet, it also
cannot merely refer to cunning either. Many there are who plan and scheme
and yet are utterly without the means to carry through on their plots.

Is "strength" primarily strength of "spirit"? Remaining stoic in defeat?
The willingness to face overwheling odds? Many there are among the maran
who are "powerful", and yet restrain that power in ways Sulye considers
foolish and moralistic. Does this mean they are weak, or does
self-restraint have nothing to do with the idea of strength? Or is it
perhaps even an aspect of strength?

And so Sulye has decided to seek the input of others. Specifically, those
who have at their disposal such great power that they could extinguish her
without a second thought, like the smallest, most insignificant candle.
Some might even relish the thought. Surely these, whose experiences span
countless eons stretching back before her own birth, are in a unique
position to comment on the nature of strength.

The main question, then, is: at what cost will this knowledge come?

Role

Chapter 1

"Wretched cur". That's what Baerinika called her. Sulye had known she
would not be received warmly; in fact she was prepared for the worst.
But the last thing she expected was to be ignored. Undaunted, though,
she continues in her quest. The blacksmith and the tyrant have yet to
answer her, but she trusts they will in time. Their power is ephemeral
and will pass away when the Ancients rise, but Sulye recognizes that in
the mean time they might have some insight into the nature of strength.

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