Name: Raewyn Nylamar, the Moon's Kiss

Occupation: Agent of the Shadowed Sands/Thief and Assassin for Hire ("Grown" Orphan)

Actual Age/Apparent Age: 93/25

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Raewyn is flexible, though has a tendency to fall passionately for females.

Race/Species: Half Dark Elf/Half Human

Appearance: The first things you notice about Raewyn are her long silvery platinum hair the color of moonlight, her elven features and grace, and the intensity in her large, lavender eyes. Standing at around 5'9" tall, she is not physically intimidating. Were it not for the power of her presence and force of her bearing she might seem fragile and delicate. And yet, it’s hard not to notice her when she enters a room.  She has a look about her that lets you know she’s confident and in charge, even when around others much more physically imposing than she is.

Raewyn is feminine and pretty, lithe and athletic. Her human side has softened some of her sharper elven features, and her mixed ancestry makes her exotic and wonderful. Her skin is pale and ever so slightly grey, betraying her dark elf ancestry, though some might mistake her for one of the moon elves instead. Her long, almost white hair cascades down her slim shoulders and back like a moonlit waterfall. Her features are soft and young, her cheeks full and unblemished, her lips lush and red--her obvious femininity is an obstacle she feels she must overcome, or exploit in the right situation.

Although not physically powerful, she is actually stronger than she looks. Years of training and actual work has made her wiry and flexible, and she has surprising muscles under that soft exterior. In addition, she moves like someone in completely control of her every gesture. She is. Again, the training.

Raewyn dresses for the occasion. She is equally comfortable in a noble's dress as in the hood and leathers she wears when on the job. When laying about she prefers to be comfortable: A loose fitting top, comfortable if stylish pants, and boots (or barefoot, if given the option).

Personality: It is often said among those in high society that the silver-haired half-elf Raewyn Nylamar enters a room with the force of a gale. That is not to say inelegantly or with lack of grace; rather it describes her energy, which is often felt by others in the intensity of her personality and the reactions to it experienced by others. Other times, when she chooses, she can be more subtle, for discretion is often the better part of valor in her profession, but this is an act rather than her nature.

To say that Raewyn has a strong and assertive personality is something of an understatement. Forceful and direct, the half-elf knows what she wants and isn't afraid to seek it from those around her. She is never shy, though she can be introverted and closed around those she does not know. Thus, Raewyn can seem aloof. She takes a long time to come around to strangers and will take her time checking people out before she trusts them. Years of living on the streets and among criminal organizations has made her cautious.

Raewyn is also fun loving and can be sweet when she wants to. When she's in a good mood she tends to laugh and giggle, which definitely goes against what some might expect of her. Although in truth this is at the heart of her nature more than most think. It should also be noted that Raewyn is extremely loyal and altruistic to those she considers family, which to her has a very different meaning than to most people. Family is those who you can trust and who you care for and who care for you. She isn't really worried about blood.

Her persona as Raewyn the socialite is very different than her professional demeaner. Raewyn as Raewyn is social and fun, excitable, giggly, and seeks pleasure for pleasure's sake while just generally enjoying life. Raewyn as Moon's Kiss is calm, quiet, thoughtful and serious.

In the end , though, Raewyn is a passionate creature, hedonistic and thrill-seeking. She likes living dangerously, and her work is as much of a game to her as it is a job. She likes the challenge, and often finds simple jobs boring. The same goes for when she isn't working. She likes people and things that challenge her, and that she can't control. Without those things she feels empty, and constantly seeks out the next thrill to keep her long-life alone from getting dull or lifeless.
Abilities/Skills:

• Agility. Elves are known for being swift and agile. Raewyn is no exception. She inherited the preciseness of her elven brethren. She is lithe and nimble and moves with a grace unknown among humans. Her balance is amazing. She is also impossibly flexible, can climb just about anything almost as quickly as she can run.
  
  
  
• Charm and Etiquette. The Shadowed Sands saw potential in Raewyn as more than just a cutpurse. Her beauty and charm, and her half-human softness, made her an ideal candidate to be used in ways where some other dark elves might have trouble. Upon taking her in, they set about training her in the ways of the upper classes. In addition to the skills she learned begging on the streets, they taught her how to move about in high society and how saying and doing just the right thing can grant you access to places and wealth well beyond what just a regular thief might achieve.
  
  
  
• Legerdemain and Thieves Tricks. Picking pockets, picking locks, slight of hand, misdirection; these are skills Raewyn has picked up after living life on the streets as one of the "Orphans." She is quite good at getting into places where she isn't allowed.
  
  
  
• Magic Affinity. Raewyn has never been trained in the magic of her elven relatives, but she has at least a natural affinity for it. She is attuned to magic and can feel it around her, even if she herself cannot use it or understand it. Furthermore, her natural abilities are often, unbeknownst to herself, enhanced by magic. When she moves silently through the darkness, the shadows cloak her movement, almost as if they are drawn to her. When she employs her charms on others, they seem more smitten than they might otherwise be. These effects are subtle and only the most magically aware would notice this. She herself has not.
  
  
  
• Poisons. Raewyn has been taught to make various poisons, which she uses to coat her weapons or to spike a drink when she is called upon to do so.
  
  
  
• Stealth.As she did with agility, Raewyn has inherited the dark elven affinity for stealth and moving silently. She is attuned to the light and the dark, and knows how to use shadows for maximum affect. Moreover, her movements are nearly perfectly silent. Unless you have supernatural hearing that transcends even those of the elves, you are very unlikely to ever hear her coming if she doesn't want you to.
  
  
  
• Swordsmanship/Duel Wielding/Hand Crossbows. Raewyn's preferred weapons are two long, curved daggers that are almost short swords. She has trained in their use for decades. Combined with her agility, dexterity and quickness, she is deadly in combat. She is also not above using poisons, and coats her weapons in such when necessary. She is also skilled in the use of the small hand crossbows that are commonly used by the dark elves.
  
  
  
• Wisdom of the Streets. Raewyn knows her way about. She knows all the back alleys and secret ways through Al-Jalasa. She knows where to find safety when she's in trouble, where she can find a fence, who might have information she needs, who is in charge of various areas, etc.
  
  
• Enchanted Object: Dragon Anklet. Raewyn has come into possession of a magical anklet of significant power. It consists of a small silver chain with a black stone dangling from one ringlet. Though seemingly delicate, the chain is unbreakable. When she wills it, she can call a small black creature from within, which at first appears as a wisp of inky black smoke before settling into the shape of a reptile that is vaguely dragon-like. The magical creature, which she calls Onyx, is telepathically linked to her, fairly intelligent, and can enter places even she can't manage to get. She keeps it for its uselessness, but also for its companionship.

History: Raewyn was born on the streets of Al-Jalasa. Or, she thinks she was. She has no memory of her mother or father, and couldn't tell you who they were or why she was left on her own. Her earliest memories are of running with a gang of "Orphans" when she was less than five years old. Her natural charm and innocence made her especially good at begging, or an excellent distraction the older children used in order to lift food or money from the unwary.

Raewyn spent most of her early life fending for herself, though she was never truly alone. The Orphans were a family, after all, even if her brothers and sisters counted in the thousands and she never really knew them all. Of course there were those among them with whom she associated more than others--Jasper, Elspeth, Crib and Spider, among others--some who looked after her when she was young and others whom she herself looked after when she was older. But they were mostly human or at least non-elven, and she eventually outlived them all. And so in her early adulthood she grew to understand that even surrounded by family she was destined to live and survive on her own.

Due to Raewyn's natural agility and precise nature, her skills as a thief eventually outpaced those of the other orphans. She naturally took on more and more sophisticated jobs, moving from simple pickpocketing to breaking and entering and more. She became something of a minor legend among the Orphans at the time, for she always shared what she stole. It was never really about the wealth so much as simply helping as many of her family survive as she could. They even called her the Moon Kissed Child, because of her silvery white hair and the way it reflected in the moonlight.

When Raewyn was approaching the age of 14 and her special rights as an Orphan were due to expire in a couple years, a more sophisticated creature took note of her. Valerys Ellondiir, an elder dark elf of the desert lineage who would go on to found the Shadowed Sands organization in later years, discovered the young and burgeoning thief that was Raewyn and saw potential in this young upstart half-breed. She possessed many of the dark elven skills and talents (if not their culture) and was uniquely gifted. At the same time, she could pass among the humans more easily than he could without drawing suspicion.

And so Valerys began to recruit Raewyn, promising gifts and food for her family if she would do this or that for him. Of course he didn't really need her to do any of these jobs, which mostly amounted to petty theft or smuggling or delivery of stolen items. He was testing her and drawing her further and further in, so that he could begin to train her.

From her early teens into her twenties, Valerys trained her to be a perfect agent for him. He and his dark elven associates taught her stealth and dexterity, combat and swordsmanship. They taught her to mix poisons and how to apply them just right so they would make her weapons more deadly. They taught her how to kill a man, through direct combat or through more subtle means. And they taught her how to move among the elite of society, not only so she wouldn't arouse suspicion but also so she could get places she wouldn't otherwise be able to go.

When Raewyn was 16 Valerys also introduced her to his tribe, taking her out into the desert for the first time in her life to stay for a year among the desert clan dark elves. They embraced her as a long-lost child, and taught her their ways and their language. She was surprised and amazed by these strange desert people, but came to love them like she loved the Orphans. She would treat them as family from that day forward.

When she returned from the desert, for she loved the elves and the desert but the city was part of her soul, Valerys began to pay Raewyn more directly, and while she still gave to the Orphans she knew fewer of them and so kept more of the wealth for herself. She set herself up in various apartments (though she never stayed anywhere too long), and found she very much enjoyed the finer things in life: foods and wines, expensive silks and clothing, spices and various intoxicants, as well as more carnal pursuits. She had several torrid affairs with some of her instructors and dark elven contacts, as well as with humans and others, including with Valerys himself. Nothing was ever serious, although many of them lasted years and were often overlapping.

Stealing and smuggling always came naturally to her, and she never had any compunctions about either, but killing was harder at first. The first time--Valerys had orchestrated the whole thing, leaving her with no choice--left her reeling for weeks. But over time even the art of assassination began to become second nature. Most of her targets were scumbags anyway; their hands as dirty as any in the city. The worst were the politicians, for they were silver tongued and pretended at being generous and kind. But in the end they were as corrupt as any, and Raewyn found she had no compunctions about ending their lives if the payment was right.

As Raewyn became more established, she was granted more and more autonomy. By the time Valerys established the Shadowed Sands organization about 50 years ago, Raewyn was already well established and a force onto herself. She now operates mostly on her own, accepting jobs from the Shadowed Sands or others as she sees fit. She is officially a member of the Shadowed Sands, but is not part of its inner circle. She exists on its edge, though is considered one of its best agents. She's lived decades this way, operating under the name the Moon's Kiss in memory of her time as an Orphan. No one knows who the Moon's Kiss truly is, other than a few members of Shadowed Sands and a few trusted allies and friends. They only know how to contact her. She maintains a life of hedonism and luxury as a socialite while she isn't working, keeping her two identities separate while moving about in high society as well as the underbelly of the city in equal measure. But she always acts within the bounds of the Shadowed Sands rules in terms of how to interact with the leadership of the city.

Over the years Raewyn's also maintained contacts among the Orphans.
Most of the Orphans today would only know Raewyn as "that nice lady who brings us stuff sometimes" or "the Grown who puts extra coins in the fountain." It's been over 75 years since Raewyn was an Orphan herself, after all. But there are those among them who know more, and she stays connected to a network who act as informants and spies. Orphans in the know know she was one of them in the past, and that she's quick with a coin or a bite to eat if you know what's what in the city.

On thing Raewyn's been struggling with of late, however, is how alone she always is. The humans are too short lived. She's finding she's feeling a bit empty and, in the back of her mind, she's struggling a bit with how she ultimately fits into the world. This has led her to pursue several longer term relationships with more serious partners, though she is still hedonistic and often has various bedfellows at any given time. One such serious relationship that occurred over three decades ago was with Lia'el Nashan, of the Nashan Estate. At first she had worked for the exiled woman as Moon's Kiss, but Raewyn became somewhat infatuated and so made sure that Lia met her as Raewyn as well. Thus began a passionate relationship that lasted almost two years. It didn't last beyond that, but as their romance burned itself out it was replaced by a deep and lasting friendship. Lia is one of the only people in the city who know Moon's Kiss' true identity, and Raewyn trusts her absolutely with this secret. Raewyn is entirely loyal to the Nashans, the way she is with the Shadowed Sands and the Orphans.
Raewyn the socialite. When Raewyn isn't working, which is more often than not, she maintains a life of wealth and luxury. Living opulently in her rooms at the Blue Sands Oasis, which she inherited/purchased from its previous owner, Masarru, she is often seen at parties and other social engagements, crossing paths with the city's elite. Her natural beauty and grace, vibrant personality, and the training she received from Valerys often make her the center of attention and the life of a party. None would suspect the lowly place from whence she came nor the true source of her wealth. They know only that she is beautiful, fun, and sharp, and therefore something to be desired. She usually has her pick of suitors--a fact that she takes full advantage of.

Other information: For more on the Dark Elves, see Valerys Ellondiir's profile page at: link to another game=

Hire the Moon's Kiss. The Moon's Kiss is an infamous name in Al-Jalasa, especially among the political class and the wealthy. A notorious thief and assassin, it is said she has plied her trade for the better part of a century, although some say she has been here as long as the city itself. There are countless rumors concerning her, many of them at odds with one another. The most common story is that she is a disgraced Sanctum Mediator, exiled for some horrible atrocity and forced into a life of crime. Some others argue that she is and will always be an agent of the Black Dog. Still others say she is one of the desert elves and an agent of the Shadowed Sands, though perhaps one of the most skilled. Others claim she is simply an Orphan, with a new one assuming the mantle when the previous one grows up. And still others believe that she is not a living being at all, and that she is in fact a spirit or djinn able to take on some form in the corporeal world in order to carry out its master's wishes.

What all legends agree on, however, is that the Moon's Kiss takes the form of a lithe female, armed with two deadly curved blades and with hair that seems kissed by moonlight. And they all agree that she is deadly and impossible to catch. And she always gets the job done.

Although no one knows who the Moon's Kiss might be, or indeed if its even a single person, the legends are clear on how to hire her services. The simplest avenue is to approach the Shadowed Sands. How they know how to contact her is unknown, although perhaps this lends credence to the idea that she is their agent or perhaps a djinn under their control. They will work with a potential client and arrange a meeting, as well as take payment on the Moon's Kiss' behalf.

Another avenue, and one commonly sought out by those who fear the Shadowed Sands or can't afford to pay them, is to approach the Orphans, make offerings and promises to them, and appeal to them for aid. Whatever the reason, the Orphans definitely seem to have some way to reach Moon's Kiss. Taking this approach sometimes works, though much less frequently, and only if the offerings/promises are worthy or the cause is extremely just.