Laila Casryn

Vitals: Female, Age 28~, 5’8”, 130lbs
Concept: The Atoner
Words: Night, Passion, Sun, Sword
Distinctive Features: Dark-ringed eyes, swirling golden tattoos about her right arm, and the absence of her left.

Background

As the younger daughter of an esteemed family within the Remembrancers, Laila was born into a world of ritual, study and lofty expectations. She grew up studious and introspective, moulded to to a shape desirable to her sect, but always seemed to fall a little short of things demanded of her. Certainly she was capable but never good enough – always behind her siblings. It made her easy to overlook and ignore, and in time she grew used to going forgotten. She begrudgingly accepted that she would never make her parents proud and did her best to live with that reality.

Her peace and purpose came in her relationship with Anaya. Where her family was cold and distant, the goddess presented Laila with an anchor whose love was certain and unwavering. She was closer and dearer than blood, the foundation of her world in more ways than one. And Anaya would always be there for her.

Until she wasn’t.

The goddess’ end had a profound impact on Laila. Suddenly alone and with more power than she knew what to do with, she did her best to craft a new sense of identity from the shattered pieces of the old. The new being that arose clearly bore the scars of its violent birth. This fresh godling had the charisma and will to lead, the strength and courage to strike down their myriad foes, but beneath that bright exterior lay a font of anger, fear and bitterness. Now she was the one in a position to be prideful and dismissive of others, putting her own hurt and need for validation before the needs of those around her. A gleaming golden idol with feet of clay.

This all came to a head on the Night Roads in a moment of self-sacrifice born as much of courage as rank hypocrisy. Facing down a seemingly insurmountable foe, she made a stand against the endless dark with no hope of rescue or relief. Certainly one could call it heroic but she herself had decried such a thing as idiocy mere moments earlier, for all those lives saved were bought at the cost of not only her own life but the piece of Anaya held within her. A terrible price to pay, and perhaps not a wholly necessary one.

With the great gates to the Nexus sealed at her back, Irohn’s refugees were left to go without true closure as to Laila’s fate. All logic said that she had to have met her end, trapped alone against a greater foe, but there were still those who held out hope of some miraculous escape – even victory. So long as none were there to witness her death Anaya’s blade could yet live on.

Of course such thoughts were madness. It was inconceivable that Laila would somehow survive beyond the walls; she was lost to them forever.

Until she wasn’t.

Personality

If the emergence of her gifts saw Laila cast off the shackles of who she once was, time and the realities of her new existence have seen her reconcile with her old self anew. The death of Anaya hit Laila hard in a way that nothing ever had before; it roused in her a grief that she could only voice through anger, force, and bitter pride. While that fire was enough to carry her for a time and lend a sort of purpose to her actions, untamed it ultimately led her to a death tainted by hypocrisy and hubris. Though she survived her end – her nemesis – it left a deeper impact on her still. It forced a long overdue convalescence and through it a better understanding of who and what she was. The goddess hadn’t chosen her for her anger and lust for revenge. Those feelings were only a part of her, and she couldn’t sustain herself on hate alone.

As such her time in the Walled Garden has seen her mellow significantly. Through her disempowerment and gradual acclimatisation to a wholly new world Laila has re-familiarised herself with patience and humility, remembering again how to listen and follow rather than putting her word above others. She has been forced to confront her own grief, not merely for the loss of Anaya but perhaps everything, and over time found a fresh wellspring of purpose. In this place where her strength is of limited worth she has instead come to open her palms and reach out. Rather of turning her back on these new people and pursuing her old seat and status she has instead given herself entirely to aiding them. Were it not for the arrival of her allies from Irohn she might have even come to take them as her own.