.˳·˖✶𓆩 𝓩𝖆𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖆 𓆪✶˖·˳.

Art by Saturn

“Fine, you want the truth? You'll have to take it from me.”

“Suffering doesn’t make you learn, it just makes you suffer. It’s up to you to figure out the rest.”

Themes

Zarina’s story is a tale about bravery in the face of adversity, and constantly putting your best foot forward even when it seems like there’s no hope for the future. Another major theme in her story is the importance of found family & friends - people that would gladly stand by your side when no one else will

Purpose

Zarina is designed to be a foil to the main antagonist of King’s Requiem, Cordelle. While Cordelle is someone who lives in the past and makes it everyone else’s problem, Zarina is someone who fights for her future, and strives to protect others in need.

Context

The primary locations mentioned in her story are Fellnore and Savellor (wip). You can learn more about these places by clicking the links.

·˖𓆩 Beginning 𓆪˖·

The Last War began in the year 1250. It was a global war that threatened the lives of everyone in Dulora. This was the first war that the dragons had chosen to become involved in despite their long history of adamant refusal to tamper with the petty squabbles of man, to be no more than observers to war. Though the dragons sought to put an end to the darkest era, they quickly learned why the dragons of old insisted on never involving oneself with wars that were not yours.

During the Last War, every creature fought to survive in its own way. For parents of an infant child, this meant that you would have to fight not only for your life, but for the child’s life as well. Louis and Cassandra were two such parents

Orphan of Deysire

• orphan, always knew she was different (physically and mentally)

Zarina grew up on the streets of Deysire, a desert city of Elves in Fellnore. It was rare for children to become orphans here, and even rarer for them to survive. This is not caused by a lack of care and generosity, mind you; it is merely one of the countless side effects of a city with high standards, and strict enforcement of rules.

In 1954, the Year of Terror, a 6 year old child with firey red hair was appeared in town, hungry and lost with no parents to be found. No one knew where she came from. More than likely it was that she had been abandoned, but many in Deysire believed she was a devil child. Heads would turn, not in her direction but away, so as not to risk incarceration for involvement with a stray child.

No one dared to look at her. Though she tried so desperately to get anyone’s attention, people looked away in fear, kicked her if she grabbed at their clothes, or even ran to keep their distance from her. The only ones who willingly approached her were the guards who snatched her by the arm and dragged her away.

On her first day in Deysire, she was jailed.

Prisoner

• grew up in prison, fequently escaped and got arrested repeatedly
• establish some lore about the tower through some vague threat from a guard saying she’s awful close to getting sent there
• have a conversation between zarina and an inmate, showing how news gets around, but it’s a conversation about this Cassandra woman becoming Queen

This would set the course for several years to come. Zarina practically grew up in the cells, raised by guards that spat on her, and cell mates that hated her. To the guards, she was just another criminal, scum beneath even the Indigents. Time and time again she was tormented by them, being told that by the time turns 10 she would already have been reset.

Her cell mates were no kinder. If this crying child weren’t here, there would be a bit more food to go around, and they wouldn’t have to listen to her whine about her damned parents all the time. Most of the people in these cells were jailed for unjust things, so their outrage was often taken out on each other.

There was one exception, however. Ardryll Valkian was more than just a fellow inmate. He was respected in these cells for his seniority, having practically lived behind bars for most of his life.

Tower of Dreams

• dreams, called to the tower
• escapes prison again, seeks out the tower
• at tower, she finds somnis’ room, speaks to ivory

Ivory’s Contract

• ivory tells her (truth):
  • she is a dragon
• ivory tells her (lies):
  • a spell has been cast on her to prevent her from being able to transform into her dragon self (actually she simply hasn’t transformed because she was convinced her whole life that she was an elf)
• contract:
  • ivory promises to break the “spell” and grant her the “strength of many” (echo knight) in exchange for a contract
  • zarina promises to find an artifact known as the “Requiem’s Heart” in castle Lunivale and bring it back to Ivory
  • once the contract is completed, ivory will reveal to her who her parents are, and zarina can keep the power she was granted
  • while under contract, and until it is completed, zarina cannot intentionally reveal to anyone her true form
  • if the contract is broken (she intentionally reveals her identity) or ended by zarina before its completion, she will permanently lose her humanoid self (both mind and body) and effectively die
  • if the contract is broken (she brings harm to zarina or forces her identity to be revealed) or ended by ivory before its completion, zarina gains all promised rewards as if the contract had been completed

First Taste of Freedom

• immediately, zarina finds some secluded place in the desert, and tests her dragon form, which takes several days before she figures out how to do it, and even then it’s like a baby taking its first steps
• once she is capable of flight, she flies to savellor
• sometime after crossing the border she encounters a blizzard and has to land for safety
• takes shelter in a cave, and the blizzard just won’t let up, almost dies of hypothermia in that cave
• a shadowy figure joins her and conjures her a bonfire and food, making her shelter livable, saving her from the brink of death
• he talks to her, lets her vent about all her problems, befriends her until the storm subsides
• the shadow tells her that he knows she is a dragon, which freaks her out because she thinks the deal is broken already, but he just laughs and insists ivory can’t hurt her “her rules dont apply to me”

Ebony’s Contract

• he explains that ivory’s deal was most likely a trick - she does not lie, but she does hide the truth. her twist of fate likely has a catch, and he isn’t a fan of her for that. he, on the other hand, has an offer that will benefit both of them
• Ebony’s deal
  • It’s a simple task! Kill 1 person, and I will tell you who your parents are & where they are. Also, to help you complete this mission I will enhance your draconic powers and also here’s this cool axe.
  • “Why me?” Because you have nothing to lose, and no one else to turn to, and I have something to offer that would change your world for the better.
  • (she agrees)
  • cool, also that person you have to kill is the king of dulora, but you were headed to the castle anyway for that artifact so no biggie
  • (shocked pikachu)

Lunivale

• spends a few years inside the kingdom, learning its ins and outs, plotting ways to get into the castle
• basically plays Assassin’s Creed inside this town

The Castle

• she finally sneaks her way into the castle with two goals
  • find the “Requiem’s Heart”
  • kill the king

She Killed The King

• oops! someone beats her to it, kills the king for her and fucks off
• and then the feds walk in and see her alone with a dead king…
• now she’s on the run, flies to edoril, watches the sun get eaten, and convinces a group of idiots to help her hide in the chaos

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