Tatianna

Character Profile
(Please be advised that most of this information is OOC knowledge!)

HISTORY

Tatianna was born to House Milankal, a ruling noble house in the politically chaotic country of Teria, located on the Northeastern continent.  House Milankal had great power, and even greater enemies, and
in a land where seiges were commonplace, it was only a matter of time before House Milankal fell.  Although her father was not an evil man, he was not a competent ruler, either, and incurred rebellion from his subjects.  When Yana was 4, a dissident group, led by a malicious, sadistic man called Roltan, finally attacked Yana's family, killing all of them except her.  She had been hiding under the stairs and had seen her mother, brother, and finally her father murdered in front of her young eyes.

Moments later, a man reached under the stairwell and grabbed her hair, dragging her out into the open.  Though she'd screamed and kicked, the larger men had held her down easily.  One of Roltan's men, Tethyn, had stepped in before Roltan could have her killed as well, begging his leader for the young girl's life.  Perhaps because he'd been happy with the day's work, Roltan agreed.

Yana was kept as a slave to the group; though she was one of several that the men had, she was treated the worst.  Roltan took over rule of the area, and he was an even more incompetent leader than her father had been.  For four years, Yana struggled to survive under their strict control.  Kept under tight supervision, and having nowhere else to go in the desolate wilds of Teria, Yana rarely left the large keep, wasting away as she labored for them.  Though only four when they first set her to work, she was forced into heavy cleaning and cooking, until her hands grew old with callouses.

Still, she was a only a child, and one born with a mischevious and willful spirt that got her into frequent trouble.  Roltan's punishments were always beatings of some sort, often given for no reason at all, although Tethyn protected her as best as he could.  Many times he saved her from no worse than a severe tongue lashing.  Until one day when she was seven, and he couldn't save her from a true lashing.  Yana was caught stealing from Roltan and she receieved four lashes to the back, deep scars which she still bears to this day.

Finally, when she was eight years old, Yana was cleaning in the kitchen when she heard a commotion outside.  The neighboring lord, Lord Brey, had finally gotten together an army, and had attacked.  Roltan's men were lazy and unprepared and Tethyn helped Yana pack food and escape the clutches of the keep.  She had begged him to come with her, and though he'd promised he would follow later, she knew even as he said it that he was lying.  His final words, "Better to be alone, than hurt by another," followed her as she ran east.

Days later, passed out on the road and near death, a small caravan of poor performers, called y'kesh, found her.  The group took her in, brought her back to health and fed her, bathed her, and gave her clothing.  They agreed to take care of her if she would join the group, doing whatever she could. She hesitantly agreed to at least clean for them, and a few of the members promised they would teach her some tricks.  Yana traveled with Kirell's y'kesh around Teria for several years, learning how to juggle knives, do backflips, and put on a performance.  Her young body, recovered from her earlier ordeal, adapted easily to the difficult gymnastics and dexterity required.  She was best when she was on stage, acting in a silly play or as the lead in a romantic drama. Thought not beautiful, the years of hard work had added a couple of years to her apparent age and the experience in her eyes could convince even cynical nobles.

After three years of training and performing, Yana, still scheming, came up with the idea of scamming money out of people, instead of earning a pittance through hard work.  The y'kesh, thoroughly dissatisfied with their meager wages, agreed to her plan.  She would pretend to be a Goddess (of Love, of course) and they would travel to small towns with ignorant townsfolk and wheedle money and goods from them, promising that the Goddess would grant them fertility, love, and happiness for the rest of their days. They practiced the routine for a month, and she even learned a few simple magic tricks to impress the audience.  They also went to a Terian magician, a kigothka, or 'dragon servant,' who turned Yana's hair a deep, rich purple to top off the illusion.  Though, as with all things in this harsh country, the color came with a price: it would stay the same startling purple for ten years, and then slowly start to drain away until her hair returned to its original color.

Finally, the day arrived to use the scam for the first time and it worked beautifully.  The group left their first town loaded down with supplies, leaving behind people on their knees in the wake of their purple-painted
wagon's (The 'Chariot of Love' as it was called) dust.

The first performance was when she was 11, her last was when she was 13. And the last performance was what drove her from Teria forever.  The y'kesh had traveled to a small town they thought they hadn't been to before, only to find out they were wrong.  When they rode in, an older farmer was walking out of the general store, and he screamed in anger as he saw them. Shouting "Thieves! Destroyers! Everyone, quickly!", he ran back into the store, and others flooded out of the nearby buildings. Although a few people didn't recognize the 'Chariot', the majority did, and they were very, very angry.

The group was surrounded by the furious mob.  Though everyone in the y'kesh struggled to calm the villagers, it was too little, too late.  The mob grew to a frenzy and attacked.  Yana tried to flee on her horse, though it was almost impossible to wade through the grabbing hands of the villagers. When weapons were drawn, she had to fight her way free, killing a man to finally make her escape.

Panicked and horrified, Yana rode south fast and far.  She finally hit the lower coast of the continent four days later.  Hitching a ride with a female pirate captain's ship, the woman agreed to ferry her safely to
another part of the continent if she would do the cooking and cleaning for awhile.  After several months voyage, the captain got caught in a sudden storm and the ship was wrecked close to the shores of Uen, where Yana washed up a few miles from Aedalfar, so far as she knows, the only survivor.

Her arrival in the town a few days later erupted into chaos when she realized she had no idea what these people were saying to her.  Paranoid and scared, Yana tried to escape but only succeeded in the end in
destroying one of the most famed glassmaker's shops in Aedalfar and burning down the two buildings next to it.  Luckily for her, a group of new Roug arrived the next day and the Aedalfar Lieutenant, at the end of her rope, sent three of them back with the young stranger.  Marien and her bondmate Meadow, Navon and his bonded Escapade, and the Wyn Regwin were told to take Yana back to the Academy.  They were warned that she didn't speak any Uenese and were given a scrap of a map that obviously was not any part of Uen.

After a long and eventful journey back to the Academy, the group arrived. So it was that in 100 ADT, Yana began her long tenure.  At first, once she learned to speak the language, they were hesitant to let her join, for she refused to tell them what had happened in her past.  Finally, the Commander agreed for Yana to tell him alone, and he would decide whether to let her stay.  After a rocky start, Yana told the Commander everything.  Sensing an honest attempt to redeem herself, he allowed Yana to enter the Academy as a
student, and not as a subject of study.

It has taken Yana 10 years to finally get her act together and eventually become Bonded.  The first couple of years she was constantly in trouble, for she played tricks on nearly everyone. No one left the Acadamy during those years without having at least one practical joke played on them by Yana.  And though the other Elders wanted her out, the Commander would say no and take her aside and punish her and urge her to continue to change. When Amaris became Commander, she pushed Yana even harder to succeed.

Yana has never spoken of her past to anyone else, and in fact has only recently started to become friends with others. She is a mysterious woman to nearly everyone, and can be a troublemaker at times. She tries to hide the scars on her back when bathing or changing, and if anyone sees them and asks, she either ignores the person, changes the subject, or tells them that they're 'Old War wounds' and smiles mysteriously.  Although much better than when she first entered the Acadamy, she still has that lingering streak of mischief running through her.  She tries to be polite with others and is usually very closed, not wanting to get close to anyone. She is independent but not a good leader.

APPEARANCE and GENERAL PERSONALITY

Yana is quiet, but not timid; smart, but did not do well in classes; confident, but has few friends.  In fact, the only people she's been seen with are Angeli (they were roommates), Caira (they were also roommates and
later on the trip to Sieta, became close friends), Bando (she appeared in a few of his plays), and Emily (Rainshadow and Winter got them together).  No one seems to know anything about her history, and she doesn't answer any questions about it.  Most people think she's either mysterious or just plain rude.  Take your pick, she agrees with both.

Her hair was once dark purple, but it's been lightening over the years and is now its original blonde.  Her eyes have always been golden.  She is neither pretty nor ugly, just plain, although there is in something in the way she looks that suggests she might have been attractive if the history that aged her hadn't happened.  Or, maybe it's that she might have been ugly if her history hadn't given her strength.  She's about 5'7", solid and athletically built, and is usually in her Roug uniform.  Barring that, she wears plain, serviceable clothes.

[Portrait by Debbie Sutherlin]
 

Winter

Winter is young, charming, innocent, and above all mischievious! A coy trickster, Winter is the baby of the Bonded unicorns, but is clever enough for a filly five times her age. Breathtakingly beautiful and child-like, Winter is fiercely loyal, and throws herself and her passion into anything that she takes a fancy to. Enjoys physical activity and is a swift runner, suitable fo courier work and message bearing. A valiant but still inexperienced fighter, Winter's power, as her name suggests, is "frost": she can freeze things to a certain extent, and change the general temperature of an area for at least a short while. Bouncy and exuberant,
Winter can be quite a handful but also charms all she meets. A free spirit.

STATS: 14 3/4h, female, violet grey, age 3 years, born @ Academy

Other Portraits

[Portrait by Debbie Sutherlin]

[image by Amber McNett]
 

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