Anya Venari
Star Queen Tirathana VII
Source: Here. Artist unknown.
Name: Lady Liavondra or simply Lia. More properly Vondra’Lia, as their clan name comes first.
Loyalties: Formerly herself, now Firemane and Silver Sanctum Coalition.
Role: Mainly to be a puppet ruler for Firemane to install over the Xioquo when they are conquered. She also provides a cultural insight to explore the Xioquo rather than just being an enemy.
Development Threads: None.
Species: Xioquo.
Force Sensitivity: Yes, Apprentice Level. Skills and Combat Function elaborates further.
Appearance: Lia is only just physically mature for a Xioquo, about 57 years old. Thus she appears quite young to an observer. Her skin is a dark grey like all her people and her hair is white. This hair is usually tied back into a rather plain ponytail, rather than anything more elaborate. She is of average height and build for Xioquo. Across her right cheek is a sword scar from a duel earlier in her life. Lia’s eyes has a very piercing stare
Personality: Lia is rather more mature and grave than someone of her age would usually be, even for a Xioquo. Despite being aged about 18 in human terms she has been through a lot, and her experience has shaped her personality. If ever the phrase ‘good is not nice’ could ever be applied, it is to Lia. Growing up as the only Light adept in her entire race (that she knows of) she became bitter, resolved and learned that she had to harden up or else she’d never survive. Thus, the phrase ‘good is not soft’ also applies.
To strangers Lia is often downright arrogant, mistrustful and caustic. To those who know her better (usually slaves she had under her protection) she is still stern and distant. With other Xioquo she is incredibly guarded; previous experience has taught her the folly of trusting others in a race based on deception and cruelty.
The path of personal morality has taken its toll on Liavondra. Deep inside she has concerns and doubts about her choices. Is respecting and caring for others the right thing to do? With no guidance from others of her people, and only slaves to teach her of the other path she is deeply conflicted. If she relented and just did as her mother wished she would be spared all her pain. Needless to say that Lia has some issues with self-image, and a sometimes masochistic desire to suffer to show that she is not weak. These issues are hardly resolved, and drive her to seek information outside the Xioquo’s limited experiences.
Weapon of Choice: Lia carries a Xioquo Force-Imbued Blade and a smaller steel dagger. As discussed below she is also skilled in melee combat, with primitive projectile weapons, and with some Force abilities.
Wealth: The Vondra clan is one of the richest of all the Xioquo, but now she is an exile she has nothing apart from a few items she managed to scoop up.
Combat Function: Lia has only ever fought on her own, and so looks to even the odds in her favour. She is skilled at deception and is fast on her feet. Her best skills are with a sword with a dagger in the other hand. With this she can fend off enemies with one blade whilst making a strike with the other. If combat can be decided before melee, Lia will use ranged weapons and the Force to drive enemies back or disable them from a distance. Lia will not strike to kill, choosing rather to wound or stun.
Skills:
- Apprentice level Force user (self-taught) capable of:
Concealing Force aura. Her first and most important skill is to hide her true alignment as to reveal otherwise would invite destruction. A Master level Force user could overcome this concealment easily. - Telekinesis.
- Sense and empathy powers.
- Limited mind-trick abilities.
- Attuned to element of ice, but not taught in how to use it fully.
[*]Advanced skills in conventional melee weapons usage.
[*]Advanced skills in unarmed combat, especially ones to disable others.
[*]Skilled in primitive (crossbow and musket) ranged weapons.
[*]Skilled in military tactics and tactical command.
[*]Average skills with primitive (roughly 19th century equivalent) technology.
[*]Able to speak Qadiri and Vashyadi, though both are accented.
Notable Possessions: Ancient Force-Imbued Blade belonging to her family.
Other Notes:
There is always one. One person who bucks a trend, one person out of many who proves themselves different from all others. In the case of the Xioquo, a race almost entirely Dark Side in their outlook and abilities, Lady Vondra’Lia is one of the only known adepts of the Light ever to be produced by that race. Mostly those with views which run so counter to the general cultural theme are quickly disposed of or driven out by their fellows. Xioquo society is tough and those with morals rarely survive long.
Lia was born into the family of the matriarch of Clan Vondra, one of the most powerful clans in all Xioquo society. She was recognised as the daughter of the Matriarch Artaxa, though she was not the biological daughter of her. Rather, she is the biological daughter of the Matriarch’s mate and a servant woman, a common practice by the more traditional Xioquo who prefer not to interact with males at all.
The Matriarch’s four daughters were born to three mothers, with Lia being the youngest, born after her mother had ascended to the treasured Council of Ten position. Growing up in such a world was both dangerous and intimidating. Whilst the clan had many allies and great wealth they could not trust anyone fully. Even within the clan there were those who conspired to advance themselves either with deceit or murder.
With her hands full dealing with such matters, and her three sisters beginning their own rises to power, Lia’s raising was left to servants and slaves with the occasional tutor appointed to bring her up to speed in necessary fields. As the fourth daughter though she was not expected to fulfil any major role, and indeed it was considered unwise to give her too much training in case she conspired against her family. As such Lia was left to grow up out of the spotlight.
Lia’s life really took its unusual turn though when she was twenty, about eight in human terms, when she was appointed a Vashyada slave named Ravoya as a tutor. This slave, captured on a raid, taught the child as requested, but also secretly taught Lia about her home and about other places far away from the Underealm. She even revealed that Ravoya had some Force abilities, but not the sort which the Xioquo usually exhibited. For several years Lia curiously learned all she could, but in doing so she alerted her next oldest sister Zaria. Zaria had Ravoya removed from her position and murdered whilst Lia watched.
Concerned that her daughter might need correction, Artaxa brought in a staunch conservative tutor named Cioquos who attempted to instil Xioquo values into Lia, mainly by sadistic punishments. Lia, still young, found herself rebelling against the harshness imposed on her, and desiring to learn more about the ways of her former teacher. Swiftly though she learned to keep such opposition secret, as Ciquos found her reading forbidden manuscripts and burnt Lia’s hands with hot irons as punishment.
Lia’s resentment built, as it was supposed to, for only then could a Xioquo gain their full induction into the Dark Side. However Lia channelled her frustrations elsewhere, hiding her real feelings and studying combat, her lessons and everything else asked of her. Most of all she learned to be cunning and keep her true thoughts hidden behind a mask of casual indifference.
Satisfied that her daughter was finally showing ‘true breeding’, Artaxa and her sisters went back to ignoring Lia. When Lia offered to help supervise the household’s slaves she was indulged as none of the others wished for such a menial task. Lia talked with the slaves, and whilst she was still as arrogant and forceful as any other, she learned everything she could from her slaves. Any who tried to use this to their advantage though swiftly suffered punishment from Lia however.
Lia did not begin to force a unified, collective moral code until after she was forty, when two things happened. Firstly, her latent Force sensitivity began to emerge, triggered by a brutal duel she had become involved with as part of her training. Secondly, she found her first love, a Qadiri priestess named Jamardi. Coming upon the slave in the markets she instantly bought her and took her home. At first she probably intended only to learn from Jarmardi and to probably indulge some teen hormones with her pet. However, she found that Jarmardi was remarkably knowledgeable and was able to help Lia answer many questions she had. Most importantly, she revealed that she had abilities in the Light rather than the Dark like the other Xioquo, but that she was able to conceal her abilities. This talent was the first thing she taught Lia, and it allowed the young Xioquo to hide the strength of her abilities so she would not attract much attention. Jarmardi spoke of the Light and the Dark and offered a perspective alien to a Xioquo, where people were treated with at least some decency, and how there was a path other than that of deceit and death.
The two were very careful to conceal their activities for a number of years, making all around them believe that she was using the slave for her own personal ends. However, when she was forty-six, Lia’s second eldest sister was killed in a raid on a Qadiri settlement. As Zaria had been made a priestess, Lia was forced into greater communion with her mother and eldest sister Quios. Under this new scrutiny, Lia and Jarmardi were not able to continue forever. Quios coerced some of Lia’s slaves into spying on the pair, and then exposed it to their mother.
Artaxa, unable to understand this daughter who was so ‘soft’, decided to test Lia. She brought Lia to the dungeons where Jarmardi was awaiting execution. She ordered Lia to deliver the killing blow, but Lia would not do so and defied her mother. Enraged, Artaxa had her own daughter seized and beaten whilst Jarmardi was killed in front of her, the second of her mentors to be disposed of in this way.
Unsure what to do with this waste of a daughter, but possessed of enough maternal instinct to not kill Lia – mainly because it would be an admission of her clan’s weakness – she sent her youngest daughter off to the clan’s military.
There, finally given something to do outside the Byzantine politics of family, Lia trained her already proficient skills. However, her reputation had unfortunately proceeded her, and so when a fellow member of the clan tried to intimidate and bully her, Lia beat her, though did not inflict permanent damage.
Here her ideas came to form her new and enduring beliefs; she would defend herself ruthlessly, but would not kill or maim another. She would fight in battle, but would not participate in slaughter. She would continue to serve her family, but would not be bullied by them.
In her first campaign Lia was the youngest warrior, and many expected her to perish. Indeed, her mother probably intended for her to as that would be an acceptable end for an unacceptable daughter. However, despite being a child still, Lia survived and thrived. Here there was less moral constraints, and her undoubted bravery could be given free reign with almost suicidal heroism. Very soon, in skirmishes and raids on the Qadiri she started to make a name for herself.
Whilst she would not kill an opponent, she did not stop those under her command doing it to combatants. This was war after all. However, she strictly prevented murder of civilians, and preferred enslavement. No one on Tygara was an abolitionist after all, slavery was part of every culture.
After six years of annual campaigns she finally returned home an adult and with a strong reputation. This reputation was enhanced when her cousin Valrix challenged her to a duel for imagined slights. Lia attempted to prevent the fight, but defended herself capably, disarming her opponent. Valtrix drew a knife and slashed Lia across the face, to which Lia gave her opponent a severe beating. Standing over her with her sword she barely controlled the impulse to kill her, but instead ordered her banished. Though she did not know it, Lia’s mother had been watching the fight and regained a small measure of respect for her wayward daughter. If Lia would not kill then she would leave her in the army where she was at least being useful.
These years were probably the happiest of Lia’s life as she spent four more years leading raids against the Qadiri. Battle and discipline kept her from being part of politics, and her soldiers came to respect her. She was fair in her judgements, but ruthless in the exact enforcement of discipline. She was also not above using corporal punishment to punish those who broke her rules. Her morality here, as ever, was on a generally good alignment, but she was by no means weak. She was her own moral compass, and through the lens of her own people she was pretty much a paragon.
Matters changed just a year before the current day when the fleet returned from another raid to find the situation had changed. Artaxa, Lia’s mother, was dead. Rumours that Quios had poisoned her abounded, and Quios did nothing to dispel them. She also had no time for her youngest sister, or indulge her in her pacifist fantasies. She gave her an ultimatum at a religious service; perform a sacrifice of a slave or else.
Lia refused, so her sister had her stripped of all her rank and titles and imprisoned for treason.
Though tempted to simply take the martyr’s way out, Lia decided that she would seek her own destiny. Fortunately, her sister had rapidly alienated many clients and allies and several of those were imprisoned with Lia. Working quickly with some friendly slaves she managed to coordinate a breakout with the aid of her priestess sister Zaria who had also fallen afoul of Quios.
The plan went off well, with the prisoners being freed and the guards in the Vondra clan defecting to the younger sisters. Zaria had her older sister murdered and took her place in charge. In order to secure Lia’s assistance she had befriended her younger sister, but in the moment of victory she turned on Lia as a threat. When her women tried to kill Lia she fought back, disabling each in turn before facing off against Zaria. In the ensuing melee Zaria’s potent Dark Side powers almost overcame Lia until she showed the power of the Light to counter, and disarmed her sister. However, Zaria attempted to stab her in the back, and Lia was saved from death by her armour, but her return blow killed her last remaining sister – the only intentional death she ever caused.
For Lia this betrayal was too much, and she decided that she would seek her own fate, so in the confusion as her nieces began to squabble for power in the clan, she escaped and began a long trek across the seas and overland, finally coming to a Xioquo fortress. There she claimed that she was the survivor of a shipwreck, and since she was known there she was aided by the garrison. Just hours before the Coalition attack though word arrived from the Underealm of what had happened and Lia was imprisoned, slated to be sent back for ritual execution.
And so in a dungeon of the Black Citadel Lia waits either for death or for deliverance….
Intent: To create a Xioquo character to be rescued in the Tygara dominion. She is very much on the model of Drizzt, the one ‘good’ person of her race forced into exile. Other than being a way to explain the Xioquo and be an interesting character study, Lia is not especially powerful or strong in the modern galaxy.
