Venyra, the Desolator (Vuh-nigh-rah)

Summary

Not all lands or peoples are accepting of those with mixed blood, and anaxials often faced the worst prejudices of all. Like so many others, Venyra was born into a time of strife. Her parents, the human Honchi Chabei and the dragon Haranyra, scorned their powerful families by coming together. Unwilling to abide such a union, the lineage of Nyra and the Honchi family conspired. They hunted Venyra's parents for years, and finally caught them not long after her birth. In the ensuing struggle to escape, Chabei was slain, and Haranyra permanently maimed. He and his infant daughter were dragged in chains back to Votyoger where the Nyra ancestral home awaited. A lineage that arose to power during the age of the Imperium, the Nyra were rabid purists. Venyra and Haranyra were cast into the slave pits beneath the Nyra's mountain. Traitors, exiles, malformed children, and more were eternally doomed to those dark depths. There they'd mine, manufacture, and toil for the Nyra until every drop of blood had been ground out of them. No pity would be spared for Haranyra and his daughter, even as direct descendants of the Nyra matriarch, Nyranawl. It would be in those pits that Venyra grew. For her, hardship and struggle were facts of life. Where others broke, adversity only fueled her vigor. Wounds and pains that brought her down one day vanished by the next, and her all the stronger. Such unreal prowess intimidated the other children, who were sickly and always struggling. Still, seeing their hardships, Venyra would shoulder their burdens as well. More rations for them and her, in the end. Venyra's unfaltering strength grew into a local legend, enamoring newer slaves in the pits. Something of a folk heroine, she turned into an easy target for the overseers. Impossible quotas and demands led to torture and public shamings, a brutality made by dragons for dragons. Countless others broke from it, but not her. No matter how many times they pushed her to the brink of death, Venyra endured. In a few short days, she would bounce back and work harder. The overseers, increasingly livid at her stubbornness, found new ways to torment her. When everything they tried eventually failed, their hateful gazes turned upon her father next. Whether to beat or starve him, they'd finally found a weak point in Venyra's invincibility. Unable to bear her father being tortured, a newfound rage sent Venyra teeth and claw against the guards, and their savage brawl tore the pits asunder. It soon reached the ears of Nyranawl herself, and the matriarch descended with her guard. She took a liking to the opportunity before her, for Venyra had overthrown dragons countless years and centuries her better. More than that, being an anaxial, no one would think the supremacist Nyra would be responsible for her. So, Nyranawl cut a deal: destroy her chosen enemies, and so long as Venyra succeeded, she promised Haranyra would be fed and kept alive. Having no other choice, Venyra could only do as Nyranawl bid. Set to task, Venyra descended from the oppressive mountain and, for the first time in her life, beheld an open sky and verdant fields. With that illusory taste of freedom, Venyra finally understood her father's colorful stories. Bitter resentment clawed at her throat, and the burning hatred for the Nyra festered deeper within her heart. Though she could've run away, the thought never crossed Venyra's mind. So long as her father and friends remained beneath the mountain, she had to play Nyranawl's game. Vicious decrees bound her: no friends, never talk to anyone, only keep whatever she took for herself, and so on. Though she vaguely knew Nyra observers stalked after her to keep watch, they never once helped. Perhaps, in a way, Nyranawl was punishing them as well. So it was that wayward Relentless, errant dragon huntresses, and other nuisances became Venyra's 'martial practice'. Each of them very different from the overseers she'd long studied, and each encounter left her at the brink of death. Still, she survived, and by the sixth winter in Veltrona's unforgiving wildernesses, Nyranawl assigned her first target: the border trade city of Hunera, sat on a mountainous passage between Votyoger and Aerthen. Sneaking into the open-gated city, Venyra saw the wonders of others and their lives. People smiling, laughing, and struggling in all their own ways; so familiar and yet so different. But, if she was to save her father and friends, such people would all have to die. That alone gave her the strength to press on, and so her flames arose in Hunera. As the city burned, Venyra fought and slew its defenders in a ceaseless and unstoppable rampage. Not one posed a challenge, for she'd broken her hands upon dragons again and again. Such weaker species didn't even register as a threat. By the dawning of the next day, Hunera laid a smoldering ruin, its scattered survivors spreading their tales. Nyranawl, thrilled at the results, burdened Venyra with more and more orders. Be they other ill-prepared cities, villages, or the dens of hated people, Venyra destroyed them all. The telltale wake of ravenous flames sweeping across the veltron fueled the nightmares of many. As her attacks accrued, and ever greater names laid at her feet, her baleful reputation spread from Voytoger to Aerthen. Greater foes followed, and Nyranawl demanded ever more terrible enemies be slain. For the sake of her father, and her dwindling circle of friends, Venyra suffered. For every impossible thing she yet survived, she grew ever stronger. The years crawled by. In her return to the Nyra mountain after a decade long excursion, Venyra was unexpectedly dragged to the summit. There awaited Nyranawl, the many 'trueblood' Nyra, and her almost dead father. Thrown into an arena built to the purpose, Nyranawl praised and lamented Venyra's prowess. However, her penchant for surviving had built a dreadful name across the lands, and that brought attention the Nyra didn't want. Nyranawl, thusly, rewarded Venyra with the honor of becoming entertainment. Her father had failed to, after all. Jeering Nyra warriors lined the arena, each eager for bloodshed. Venyra, indifferent to them all, saw only her broken father, gasping for air. He begged her to flee, but Venyra couldn't bear leaving him behind. The deep hatred festering in her heart at last boiled over, for no chains remained to hold it back. Alight with erupting flames, she bid them to come and die by her hand. The first to answer met Venyra head on. In those frightful seconds of life and death, Venyra slammed past the warrior's arms, brutish strength and savage experience her means. Dragon or not, armor or not, her fist broke through metal and scale, and flames so great even one of Nyra blood soon ignited. The clamorous audience fell silent beneath the wails of the warrior Venyra broke upon her knee. The other warriors barreled forward, arrogantly rushing Venyra with murderous eyes. They brought forth claws, spears, magics, and more; all to fail against Venyra's unfaltering scales and relentlessly devastating assault. Soon enough, the rising stars of the Nyra laid dead at her feet. The watching dragons howled in terrible fury, clambering from their seats. What should've been a grand show instead saw their many young dead, slain before their eyes. An enraged Nyranawl herself descended to the arena, Grand Armor and all, to finally put Venyra down. Thunder rung out as Venyra's fists greeted the matriarch's, the veltron underneath trembling. An elder dragon millennia old bore down, and with stunning awe, Venyra took it all and more. Fueled by her endless, erupting rage, Venyra tore apart Nyranawl and her vaunted fortitude. The other Nyra watched on, dumbstruck by the sight. It would become Venyra's final blow that not only slew Nyranawl, but split the very Nyra mountain itself. The world-shaking quake sent the Nyra's entire home falling in a calamitous landslide. It was the chance those trapped in the slave pits below long awaited. Together, they sprung a mighty uprising to finally depose the Nyra. Dragons against dragons and more overthrew their captors, slaughtering the panicking Nyra. With the help of once-kind older slaves, Venyra fought through and away from the mountain, carrying her father upon her back. The freed slaves parted in the following days, fleeing to lives once remembered. Venyra's freedom, however, came at a terrible price. Her father, mortally wounded and fading away, laughed with her in triumph even as tears fell. He yet warned her be careful, for her mother's murderers still lived. Far to the east, in the idyllic lands of Nerzin were friends of his, and they would surely help her. In his last words, he bid her to live life wonderfully, and look beyond what the Nyra had done. So Venyra buried her father in a wide, open field beneath the boundless sky. Alone, she wandered aimlessly northward into Aerthen, following old paths. Though she knew eastern Votyoger well, the peoples there only remembered the desolation she had wrought. No one believed her innocent and no end of enemies came seeking her head. Forced to fight and kill, Venyra's only solace came from her father's words. In them, the tales of her mother and those who betrayed her invigorated Venyra with newfound purpose. Through the months it took to reach the Barrier Sea, her doubts were buried beneath the singular purpose of bloody vengeance. Yet, the western lands of Nerzin, Aochen, breathed a life she'd never known into her veins. The peoples greeted her with reverence and respect, and a fear only the powerful earned. In asking for knowledge on her mother, they asked for her aide; surprisingly, just to kill beasts or other 'challenging' problems. So did she earn respect, and with it followed attention of its own. Powerful people came seeking challenge, whether to hone themselves or profit from her death. Venyra met them as she did every other foe, and her renown grew from the frightful cowards that yet escaped her. Upon their words others came, either for revenge or the same glories the first fools sought. In battle she'd lived, and through battle she'd grown. Venyra took them all on, trudging across Aochen into Tomu, one bloody conflict after another. It would be the arrival of one woman, and her bizarrely unique magic, that her world flipped upside down. Quite literally, if only for a moment. Venyra pitted her boundless strength against the mage's seemingly limitless magics, and for the first time in her life, she'd been fought to a standstill. Blow-for-blow she'd been matched, and neither side could win. It utterly befuddled her; a situation so incredible Venyra struggled to understand it at all. To her even greater surprise, her supposed-enemy took to talking to her. Thus marked her first meeting with Velandra. As their strange 'battle' dragged on, she apparently came to understand Venyra's plight, and so made an offer: in return for being her sparring partner, Velandra would help with Venyra's search. A fair trade, supposedly, as Velandra had deeply enjoyed their 'spar' thus far and wanted more. Wary of many things, but hoping to avoid bloodshed, Venyra tentatively accepted the unusual deal. The problem remained that she wasn't sure how Velandra could help at all. Velandra simply laughed and swept her hand in a welcoming bid toward the sky. There Venyra watched as the low clouds darkened and parted. A great land descended, shrouded in misty streams, adorned by an even grander castle. Upon her magic did Velandra whisk Venyra away, taking her skyward into the unbelievable world of her palace. The friendly peoples there greeted and respected Venyra, seeking conversation and honorable bouts of skill. Delicious foods both quaint and extravagant flowed freely, while libraries, forges, and workshops opened their doors for her; liberties the Nyra never allowed. It resembled everything her father once spoke of in his own daring adventures. Perhaps, in some ways, even more so. Velandra would make good upon her word, and so Venyra upon hers as well. Whisked to and fro across Nerzin, Venyra searched and listened for those responsible for her mother's death. Time's ceaseless march washed away so much, and her search turned into a long, slow affair. The longer she stayed with Velandra, the more the fantastical palace grew into a home of sorts. Peace, in a quiet and implacable way, soon welcomed her; something so fragile Venyra remained afraid of it. In a confusing and ever changing world, vengeance remained Venyra's only purpose. Yet, her father's dying words ever lingered upon her mind. He had begged her to look beyond and be more than the awful suffering he couldn't save her from. To embrace a life that she'd never seen nor lived. Endless doubts plagued her if such a thing was possible, and pursuing vengeance only quieted them so much. Whatever that sort of life would be, the her who lived in it would have to figure it out. Until then, Venyra still had enemies waiting to become ashes.

I fought for my father and the others, no matter what anyone else says. They faded away until only me and him were left. Nyranawl always laughed and gloated about it. So I made sure to come back, for him and to piss her off. Harder problems always followed, but life's just hard. Or was then, anyway. It got much easier after I split her in two. Heh. But, people don't care about that. I'm the one who did the killing, so it's my fault. Haven't met one who'd do differently if they lived my life. It's not like I enjoyed it. Then there was you being weird and talking to me. The ones back in Aerthen wanted revenge or glory. I cross the sea and the ones over here want my blood for some damn reason. Everyone wants a piece of me, but you're bored and like to fight? Sure, there's your whole 'transcendence' idea. You want to be more; so do I. Your way of saying it is, uh, nicer sounding though. What am I after? Whoever killed my mother won't be an easy kill. And there's no end of people getting in my way, either. Only way to deal with both is to get stronger. Yeah, there's more to life–I'm not an idiot. That's just how things are for now. Instead of fussing over that, you think about what'll happen when I win these 'spars'. Heavens or not, I don't lose.
— Venyra, speaking to Velandra. While their first meetings proved rough and quite tumultuous, the two found common ground in their lifes' struggles. In spite of their abrasiveness, they eventually kindled a deeply loving romance.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Comfortably standing at the average of the humanoid spectrum (by some metrics), Venyra is an exemplary dragon anaxial. A harsh lifetime of labor and fighting for survival sculpted her into a thickly muscular, fit woman. A solid trunk, defined arms and legs, and the raw mass to carry weight and power in every step are defining hallmarks. Her hips are actually quite wide, though with her physique they're much smoother and sloped when seen from the outside. A large, firm bosom adorns her chest, and a shapely rear completes her beauty, the whole of her unerringly powerful. Her darkly indigo skin is much closer to being 'scaly' in nature than the smoothness of a human. As an anaxial, the two are ever at odds, some areas being smooth while others are rougher, hardy, or actual scales. In general, the fatty and warmer areas of her body are smoother, while the hardier and 'colder' portions are scalier. Where the two meet, grooves, dips, and twisting fusions of both form erratic patterns. However, the smoother portions still appear reminsicent of scales, and the scaled portions are smoother than they would be on a dragon. From her scaled skin grow hardy, erratic dragon scales in the form of solid slabs, winding branches, or jutting wings of obsidian-like scales. Lacking any uniformity, the bulkiest of growths are around the hard points of her skeleton (e.g, elbows, knees, hips, knuckles, etc). Being the descendant of a volcanic dragon, her blood veins are uniquely different. Her mana-rich blood, saturated with fire mana, glows hotter and colder as Venyra herself lives and breathes. While the smaller veins are too buried beneath the skin to see, they cast a warm glow beneath the larger, prominent veins. These magma lines criss-cross and wind across her body, bright enough to cast light even through the skin. Very much looking like an erupting volcano, the dark tapestry of her body comes alive in all kinds of differently intense ways. One way they change is by intensifying or cooling from her emotional state; being excited brightens her up, quite literally.

Facial Features

A rounded-face with a slight veering toward square, Venyra is both expressive and clearly defined at the same time. Hardier scales grow along the bony sides of her jaw, brows, and cheek bones, accentuating her normally fierce looking face. A broader nose brings it all together into a face of power, something pushed up by the deep glowing magma within. Depending on her mood, Venyra can appear quite friendly or terrifying, and her tightly drawn, narrowed eyes is something of a norm. Altogether, it builds the feeling of an imperceptible barrier she's known for. Her crimson hair is wildly out of control, even on good days when it's been combed. Flowing down her neck and across her shoulders, it's an untamed and primal sort of beauty to behold. Her cutely rounded ears tend to be swallowed up in her hair as a result. Odds and ends stick up erratically, invitingly warm or menacingly dangerous depending on how she herself is looking. Her bangs string down her face at will, sometimes resting between her eyes and over her nose more often than not. The few times she bothers to stylize, it's more to use a hairtie or band to keep it back.

Identifying Characteristics

While uniquely draconic in appearance, lacking any wings, tail, and horns immediately shows Venyra is an anaxial. Those somehow ignorant of the iconic dragon features may somewhat confuse her for other monster species with scaled skin. The persistent and varied glow of magma within her is a clear indication of some kind of fiery nature. Few beings outside of volcanic environments carry such a look, and it can be even more distinctive to those in the know.

Special abilities

Strength Beyond Heavens – Venyra ever grows in power, especially through hardship, strife, and conflict. The more she is pushed to her limits without dying, the greater she rebounds ahead. This feeds into itself, cycling between points of breaking and points of explosive growth that defy any sense of reason. Volcanic Legacy – Born of the molten blood of her father, and the great cultivated flames of her mother, Venyra is a being of fire, heat, and conflagration. Her physique and mana are leagues above normal, the inheritor of her parents great love and immense work. Fiery Arsenal – While not a traditional mage by any stretch, Venyra utilizes magical fire with an instinctual ease. Steel-melting breath attacks, a superheating aura, molten-magma claws, and more form her natural weaponry. Draconic Martial Arts – Utilizing her inborn strength and molten abilities, Venyra punches, kicks, grapples, throws, and more with devastating effect. What she lacks in elegant or methodical combat form, she makes up for with improvised, dirty, and brutishly powerful and direct techniques.

Apparel & Accessories

Venyra has two layers of clothing: the underclothing, and over armor. The underclothing is a Tomu style of long, wide-sleeved shirt, voluminous pants, and the assorted underwear. Woven out of a mana-enhanced rachtoh silk, the dark red fabrics are made-to-order for her specifically. Able to resist her extreme heats and provide a modicum of protection, she wears them virtually everywhere. A purple pattern of a circular sun on the backside indicates her allegiance to Velandra (given her iconic singularity spheres), though the over armor often obscures it. Like the underclothing, the made-to-order over armor is built with resisting her heat in mind. It also fully embraces the concept of being 'ablative'–it exists to eat incoming damage, then be easily discarded. As such, great stretches of her body are covered in layered scale plates, emphasizing maximum mobility while insuring what vital protection they can. The coal-colored armor is emblazoned with gold detailing and filigree, giving it a dashing touch of splendor. Her vambraces, gauntlets, shin-guards, and boots are most notably more 'traditional', being heavily armored and crafted for direct hand-to-hand combat. They're emblazoned with a fiery red painting, each one emphasizing a terrible rendition of ocean and winds. Combined with the singed marks around the edges of the hands and feet, they have a degree of age to them the rest of her armor does not. Indeed, they've seen her through a number of battles since Velandra gifted them to her.

Mental characteristics

Gender Identity

Female

Sexuality

Bisexual

Education

Lacking in any formal education, Venyra learned first-hand from her fellow slaves in the Nyra pits. Older and wiser dragons aplenty could be found, and they imparted bits and pieces of what they knew. Haranyra himself taught his daughter what he could, imparting manners, basic arithmetic, survival guides, and more. Venyra built up practical know-how, though deprived of the broader theories and understandings that made them. By necessity, her time in war and conflict taught her firsthand the realities of fighting. Every mistake paid for in blood shed and terrible wounds, she strived to learn quick and do better than everyone else. Her talent for doing so could be called a prodigy's almost, something that paired well with her literal strengths. Having never quite learned to read or write beyond necessity, Venyra's time in the Heavenly Palace is quite profoundly changing her. Tutors and aides, if not Velandra herself, have helped to teach Venyra common writing, language, and open the world of books and scrolls. The wealth of so much knowledge at her disposal became one of her greatest pastimes. If she's not busy doing something else, she's absorbing vast amounts of anything she can read. Most of her actual reading is romantic stories involving women, dating and courtship advice, and similar things. It's a good three-fourths of what she consumes by volume.

Mental Trauma

Having been abused, enslaved, and tormented by dragons since childhood, Venyra deeply depises them. Though there are few she yet respects, she'd rather never be around them again. Or, if she was, it'd be to rip them apart and then move on. Her time as a forced weapon of destruction put her head-first into horrific conflict with other peoples. The pained howls, futile struggles, and innocent lives she took is an eternal reminder of her gruesomely powerful strength. Although she came to accept she couldn't undo the damage done, Venyra resolved to avoid pointless bloodshed. The scars she'd left behind ever continue to haunt her, sometimes literally as dragon huntresses pursue the infamous desolator. Venyra's life experiences ultimately left her uncomfortable around people and especially those she doesn't know.

Intellectual Characteristics

Attentive, a quick learner, and a willingness to shoulder doing the work herself have ever defined Venyra. The struggles of childhood left a deep impression of self-reliance, especially to make sure she and her father could eat every night. To that end, not only being confident, but thoughtful and planning became important tools. Though she lacked the normal support, Venyra built an awareness and capability to navigate a dangerous and unforgiving world. The need to fight and survive ever broke and reshaped her again and again. For when she failed, pain and suffering followed, and so Venyra worked harder to do better next time. The vicious cycle fashioned her into a hardy, capable person. Yet, such a thing was by necessity, and never something she sought out. Her goal ever remained to be free of both suffering and oppression alike. Having lived her entire life under both, their sudden departure has shaken some of her confidence. Still, she only wants for a direction, and she will do the work. Her overly serious demeanor and dry humor makes her quite standoffish. A punctual work ethic and no-nonsense approach to problems means she gets results, even if people are put off in the process. However, in the times she can be more herself, without pressures or concerns, she's energetic and playful. Overly eager, almost, to indulge and enjoy life's pleasures, but just as quickly clams up when hard times come.

Morality & Philosophy

Thrown face-first into the worst of what civilization can offer, Venyra's only guidance was her father's timeless wisdom. Between his lofty ideals and harsh reality, she built for herself answers that worked. Perhaps not the greatest, nor ones that'd stand to a scholar's snobbish scrutiny, but answers nonetheless. If someone wronged her, she exacted revenge in return. If one needed help she could give, she would to some degree or another. For those who sought to use her, she would ever spite and seek their ruin. Such nascent ideas were formed, forged, and sharpened in the slave pits of the Nyra lineage. They have ever served well, even after being thrown out to become Nyranawl's disposable huntress. Still, the blood of innocents challenged even Venyra's self-confidence. Destruction beyond description followed by her hand upon lives that never deserved it. She recognized the injustice of it all, but between their lives or her father's, a decision was made. Freed from Nyranawl's yoke, those terrible years made her value life all the more. While vengeance for her mother's murder guides her in purpose, her father's stories yet keep some dreams alive: lands of endless plains and deep forests, oceans so vast as to be endless, and the myriad different peoples across the world. Life's wondrous bounties yet await her, but the veil of the ugliness of people is ever difficult to shake. A deep seated, burning hatred nests in her heart, ever eager to lash upon dragonkind and wicked souls alike. Running into Velandra threw Venyra's worldly views upside down. Meeting friendly, amiable souls who treated her as a person and not a weapon was a novel experience. More so, to be respected and treated as an equal only proved many of her father's fanciful tales. In many ways, it only showed how wronged she'd been by the Nyra, and her hate of them only deepened. Woe be to those who murdered her mother, for calamity will find them one day. Yet, a wonderful world, too awaits her, and Venyra is finding all kinds of new experiences changing her.

Social

Family Ties

Her parents are the dragon Haranyra, and the human Honchi Chabei.

Relationships

Venyra, the Desolator

Lover (Important)

Towards Velandra, Sovereign of the Heavens

Honest

Velandra, Sovereign of the Heavens

Lover (Important)

Towards Venyra, the Desolator

Honest

Trivia

On Dragons and Anaxials

Dragon anaxials are at the best of times uncommon, and downright rare existences otherwise. Ignoring the politics for a moment, their conception is one of great and arduous effort. It takes considerable work for the parents to make it, well, work, and so often is a measure of accomplishment in and of itself. On this, the dragons who do not mind their existences tend to respect anaxials, if anything. Much has gone into bringing them into the world, and so they are expected to do great things because of it. The unfortunate reality surrounding Venyra's circumstances is that her parents' families were terrible racists.

Spicy hot spiciness

Venyra loves spicy food but has absolutely no resilience to it at all. Mild peppers can make her mouth buzz and hotter stuff will quickly make her start crying. Despite this, she stubbornly refuses to give up eating it, much to Velandra's bewilderment. Perhaps on its own it would be nothing notable, but her nature as a volcanic anaxial makes everyone scrunch their faces in confusion. It does become a problem if she starts coughing and hot embers spit out because of that same volcanic nature.

Design Notes

These notes are from the meta-perspective of development, so anyone interested in the design logic, creator intentions, or other 'out of the world' information can find them here. Please be aware some of the information may pose spoilers to the narrative of the character, so avoid this area if that is a concern.

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Ultimate Might and Boundless Growth

Venyra's ability, Strength Beyond Heavens, is intended to give her what is functionally an infinite growth ability. The more she is challenged and survives, the more powerful she becomes again and again. For all the barriers or problems she runs into, she is never of the mindset that these things can fully stop her–only delay her, at best. That said, she is keenly aware of dangers that are too great to immediately overcome, and so errs toward caution more often than not. In a sense, she's very aware of what she can do, and plays toward the long game when it's appropriate to do so. This sort of far-sighted craftiness is critical to a lot of her machinations, and how many people often end up underestimating her. That she is not obvious about what she does is a talent she learned to deal with the Nyra dragons. Think of her growth as exponential–a value of 1 when starting out becomes 2, then 4, then 8, then 16, then 32, etcetra. Indeed, her rate of growth is limited by the challenges she faces, and her willingness to pursue them. This makes her relationship with Velandra particularly important: the two constantly challenge each other. Velandra is one of the few people who can conceivably keep pace with Venyra, letting the anaxial spar and grow with impunity. In turn, this challenges Velandra to utilize her ultimate power even more to keep pace. One feeds into the other, something their enemies would be horrified to learn about, I'm sure.

Narrative Arcs

"A normal woman who had everything taken from her, and her determination to overcome life's adversity against her". Venyra had her early life taken from her, along with her mother and most of her father. Forced into slavery as early as she could remember, she endured horrific treatment for the sake of her father. Still, the Nyra pressured and tortured her, and it instilled a deep-seated hatred. To her, it seemed the world itself was against everything she was, and so she sought to overcome it in return. Though she eventually freed herself from the Nyra, this perspective of 'her against the world' was never fully addressed. Indeed, bounty huntresses, glory seekers, and other challengers coming after her head only reinforced this belief further. The only real reprieve she would encounter came in the form of Velandra, who offered a place of relative safety and comfort she'd otherwise not had the luxury of before. That said, access to such is what only started a possible healing process, not even solving one problem at that. It let Venyra see life from a different perspective, which framed her own in return. For Venyra, her narrative arcs are less dealing with how to find justice against her once-oppressors, and more dealing with the lifelong ramifications after the fact. She is an ageless immortal who endured great and terrible trauma from as early as she could remember. The lasting effects thereof, and how it shaped her, forms the core struggle she has to reconcile. In a sense, finding a meaning to life outside the pains she endured. In many ways, how Venyra challenges her own assumptions and builds her own answers is the essence of what she does. How she deals with this herself, how those around her help or impede, and the relationships thereof that are affected by her are all important details to consider. Ideas like the consequences of her own actions, the perception of events that went on, and how to handle the social ecosystem are also important to consider. The nurturing path forward is largely one shaped by Velandra's presence–she sees the potential in Venyra, and spares no effort in challenging her to realize it. So, although Venyra did not turn her eyes toward the Heavens initially, it has slowly started to shape a path she feels she can take on her own terms. What it ultimately means she has no idea, but it provides a trajectory of purpose she'd otherwise not have found yet. What will become of it remains to be seen.

Easy Going and Unflinchingly Decisive

Venyra loves creature comforts and luxuries, particularly ones that are not high maintenance or too demanding to entertain. It fills a range of needs she'd spent most of her life thus far lacking, and so greatly enjoys them. In the times when she isn't being pressured or challenged, she's quite easy going and unbothered by most anything. However, things that set her off will see them resolved with an unflinching, purpose-clear resolution no matter the amount of brutality involved. Life's hardships have honed her well toward making hard decisions with utmost ease, something that can often be profoundly disturbing to those around her. That is not to say she is amoral, only that when she finds a path toward resolution, she'll destroy everything in between her and that destination if needed.

Venyra leans toward Fire and Mountainous metaphors

With her ultimate might and boundless growth potential, a lot of Venyra's thinking is rooted in fire and veltron (mountain) metaphors of choice. Transformation from one state to another, such as hard trainining and struggles that in turn elevate one further. The structured way of doing things, and understanding when stability is the better option over everything else. The means by which she breaks structure to transform, and transforms to create structure, as she needs. Hence, when writing her, these ideas are strongly reflective of her mindset, though she can make use of other inspirations as they seem useful.

Venyra and Velandra Foil and Compliment Each Other

The two idiots are intended to be 'harmonious opposites' of each other, not unlike the yin and yang. In many ways they are similar, in many ways they are different, and how they express both informs both who they are as a person, and who they are together. Velandra was born with ultimate power, but needs to train for it. Venyra was born with ultimate growth, but needs to train to realize it. Velandra was abandoned by her family; Venyra's died for her sake. Velandra is particular and calculating; Venyra favors easiness and going with the flow. They're both incredibly vindictive, vengeful people: Velandra is precise and cutting, while Venyra leaves scorched desolation. They're both insular and guarded, preferring very controlled encounters that don't offend or trouble them. It is important to think of how similar they are, rather than dissimilar. A common conceptual mistake is to emphasize how two 'opposites' characters are different, often in a puzzling and contradictory manner. It can feel like such otherwise disagreeable people are together because the story said so, not because it feels as if they should be. By looking at their similiarities, the differences they do have stand out that much more. In doing so, their distinctive natures maintain their uniqueness, while still having a harmony to work together. Hence, the two are never intended to be apart or 'broken up' or whatever. Normal relationship squabbles or otherwise aside, they're built that way, and it would diminish both their stories to change that. Where there is one, there will invariably be the other.

Species

Dragon Anaxial

Current Location

Nerzin

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Venyra's destructive capability earned her a dreadful reputation in Aerthen, Votyoger, and eventually Nerzin. Worse, her superheated flames can ignite conflagrations, burning even larger swathes of land. Hence, she is seen as a bringer of desolation and woe to many. To fight her is to invite a cataclysm in return.

Year of Birth

2363 TD 72 Years old

Birthplace

Votyoger

Spouses

Siblings

Children

Current Residence