Sosen Lythan de Queft

There are rumours that Sosen may not have actually been the first person to have discovered the needle, but they were the first person that brought news of it to the world, and that is what usually counts. As a well known explorer and writer it made more of an impact coming from her anyway.

— Excerpt from Memoires of Heroes by Finn Cerubix

A dangerous expedition

Everyone knew something had landed on the mountain, but no one really knew what, and having landed on the top of the tallest mountain in the world, very few were inclined to climb up there and have a look. There were of course the years of rockslides and avalanches which followed the descending, that put most of those whio were inclined to climb up there off. The slow lava from a now activated volcano put the rest off.
Sosen had had her sights on being the first to get to the top, since whatever it was had landed on the mountain. However, although she was well known for tackling any challenge and seeking glory, she was very good at what she did, and knew that trying to climb an unstable mountain was simply suicide. A knowledge that was born true by two of her rivals who attempted just that in order to beat the great Sosen Lythan de Queft to the top. Neither of them returned.

A journey of discovery

On the morning of the 10th of March* Sosen and her party began the climb to the top of Stanvista pinnacle, her departure was accompanied by much fanfare and there were journalists from every corner of the world who came to document her journey start. It took her three months to reach the top, and another four to descend. Her descent had been noticed by the watchers and when she finally arrived at the base camp there was quite the crowd gathered to greet her.
To the gathering of dignitaries, scholars, journalists and a few lucky folk, she regaled them with the tale of her journey. When she told them what she had found at the top of the mountain she was greeted by stunned silence, then a cacophany of noise as everyone began talking and shouting at once. Sosen spent the next few days going over in explicit detail everyhing she had experienced at the top of the mountain, many times, to many different people. Eventually she begged symptoms of altitude sickness, and travelled back home, leaving those better suited to philosophy to figure out the significance of a hundred foot tall needle on the top of a mountain.

The woman herself

Sosen was born in the desert city of Hal Kapesh. Her father was an escort for trade caravans and her mother was a history teacher. She had wanted to travel and see the world for as long as she could remember. Growing up she excelled at history and geography and spent a lot of her time researching about the places she wanted to visit when she grew up. When she wasn't researching she was writing stories of the adventures she would have and all the grand things she would discover. She dreamed of becoming famous like the explorers of old, who had discovered the southern island nations, or more recently a long lost civilisation in the jungles.
Once she had finished her schooling she went off to university in the capital city to study archaelogy, botany and zoology. It took her 5 years to complete her studies, during which time she also took up a variety of extra curricular activities: rock climbing, fencing, riding, photography and cartography. Her university friends joked about how she ever found time for sleep. Sosen was a force of nature and always seemed to be on the go with a boundless energy and enthusiasm.

A successful career

Once her studies were over she signed on to a couple expeditions, organised by one of the professors at her university. After she had gained some experience she decided to organise an expedition of her own. This one was into the mountains of her homeland to see if she could find any evidence of the earlier civilisations spoken about in the legends of her people. She uncovered the ruins of a mostly buried settlement in a hidden valley in the mountains. It caused quite the sensation and there are still active archeological digs at the site to this day. She took a year long break after this expedition to write a book about her adventures and discoveries, it was a resounding success.
The next twelve years followed a career of many adventures and discoveries, each accompanied by a book, and each making her more and more of a household name. She organised a total of seven expeditions during her career, five of which led to new discoveries and two which ended in dissapointment. She didn't let the failures put her off however, and quickly bounced back each time with a new and exciting adventure. The Journey to the top of Stanvista Pinnacle and subsequent discovery of The Needle was her last expedition, and she has now settled down to a life of writing and conference talks.

Gender

Female

Eyes

Brown

Hair

Black

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Dark Brown

Height

5' 7"

Weight

140 lbs

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A first glimpse

Sosen wrote in her journal the things she had seen and experienced on the mountain top. The following is an exerpt from her journal describing the needle.
...and there, standing in the middle of the smooth crater, was a tall needle. An actual, honest to goodness needle, that stood at least a hundred feet tall. It appeared to be made from a polished, silvery metal. The eye section, however was gold and had a bright sheen to it, that hurt the eye to look at for too long. The strangest thing by far though, was the fact it was stood upright on it's tip, with no evidence of anything holding it up. It just stood there, perfectly balanced, perfectly steady, on it's point.

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A prolific author

As well as the seven books she wrote about her expeditions, she has also published two scientific journals on new flora and fauna she discovered, an auto biography, and several papers on safety methods and site preservation techniques. Her expedition books are by far her most popular and she has sold several thousand copies of each worldwide, her papers are now part of several university curriculums.

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a lifetime of discovery

During the course of her career Soesen has been credited with the following discoveries:

• 12 new species of flower
• 8 new species of plant
• 4 new species of mammal
• 6 new species of repetile
• 10 new species of insect
• Evidence of 2 lost civilisations
• Remains of 3 settlements
• A valley
• An island off the east coast of the pangea
• An isloated jungle tribe

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