Sikeen/Ayastrii

Name: Sikeen (no surname) but goes by Ayastrii Eyulia among strangers.

Race: Elf, Silvanesti

Gender/gender identity: Cis female

Age: Approx. 130; improvising because I can't remember the exact dates of the War/Legends...

Class: Mage, black robes

Languages: Silvanesti, Common

Personality: Sikeen is very much a self-serving individual and has a habit of getting catty at every given opportunity. She tends to be a perfectionist and relatively closed-off from others until she’s allowed at least several months to grow accustomed to their presence. Secretly harboring a lust for adventure, she sometimes gets herself into risky or unfavorable situations. Above all, she considers herself a goal-oriented individual who will achieve her chosen endgame, if only after utilizing several roundabout and morally ambiguous methods. She is extremely proud of her appearance, having come to love it after facing persecution from her people, and usually seems vain or self-absorbed to others.

Beneath the thorny exterior, Sikeen is a fiercely protective, almost possessive friend, who is willing to risk most anything for the people she loves. It just takes some time to see that side of her.

Appearance: Very dry, very black hair that falls to just above her elbows. Exceptionally pale. Approximately 5’ 1". Blue eyes and a generally pissed-off looking countenance.

Main Magical Focus: Glamour, illusions, alchemical science (who doesn’t love fine jewelry? Creating gemstones, anyone?) and scrying (more of an intense interest than a true talent… She’s working on it.)

Ridiculously long and detailed backstory: Sikeen was born in Silvanost in 259 AC into House Protector, but found at a young age that she had arcane abilities, but her heart lay with training in the art of weaponry. Who wanted to spend hours learning and re-learning spells? Her pale, gaunt appearance was considered a mark of racial impurity, which caused her to feel alienated among her kinsmen. She found the solitary nature of target practice more gratifying than spending time with other elves. Subduing her magical skills, she honed her other talents with her two weapons of choice, a stiletto-esque dagger and short throwing knives. During her time in Silvanost, she was acquainted with Dalamar the Dark, but did not know him well.

When she wasn’t training with her mentors of House Protector, Sikeen spent much of her time in the woods outside Silvanost, starting upon the highway at dawn with her hood pulled low over her eyes. In a private sanctuary she’d fashioned for herself were various camouflaged targets and whetstones. Here, she attained near-mastery of her skills, overcoming her natural physical weakness by learning agility and stealth. Sure she was able to serve in the military, she attempted to pursue a position but was found unfit for the job due to continuous persecution due to her looks.

Shortly thereafter, she accidentally struck a member of a group of passing thieves. The head of the party, a human man who went only by ‘Rowan,’ elected not to kill her in retaliation and instead forcibly escorted her to his higher-ups in an extensive crime ring called the Advocates of Keroessa. There, she was given an ultimatum: either work as a thief, or die. Sikeen chose to take the first job they gave her, hoping to take her payment and flee.

However, tempted by the gold, she ended up remaining in this line of work for many years. Eventually, she was asked to carry out assassinations as well, and she attempted to refuse this demand at first. The ultimatum returned: either become an assassin, or be hunted down and executed. Slowly, she grew accustomed to the horror. During a joint assassination-grand heist operation against a white-robed mage, she was finally caught and ended up at the mercy of the Conclave.

They sent her to serve a life sentence in the Tower of High Sorcery at Palanthas, a decision which had more to do with irritating Raistlin Majere than actually punishing her. It was here that she realized the true power of the arcane. Trapped in a setting where her knives were essentially useless, she became inspired to pursue magical arts for the first time in her life. At first she thought impressing Raistlin could help her escape the Tower, but he seemed to have no interest in her presence or her escape. Over the course of a year and a half, the two became amicable; he was willing to help her learn basic spells. Through a bit of snooping, she learned of his plans to usurp Takhisis’ status as a divinity and became fascinated with his ambitions, which brought them somewhat closer. He coined her nickname, the Brat Queen, which she considers a compliment. The Conclave eventually sent Dalamar to the Tower, who she then reconnected with before finally convincing Raistlin to allow her to leave (soon enough, he wouldn’t be there either). With her, Raistlin sent a charmed amulet, which she wore as an anklet to get her through the Grove, and two sets of his robes, which she had grown attached to over the months.

Over the next few years, she changed her name to Arastrii Eyulia (one of her victims in a neighboring village who had been studying magic), and pursued further education under a neutral mage named Hatha V’erao. Hatha, aware of her situation, was supportive of Sikeen breaking free of her reputation and helped her use powerful magic to glamour her appearance. Under her alias, Sikeen took her Test a decade later and completely abandoned her life of crime and pledged herself to Nuitari, a decision greatly influenced by her relationship with Raistlin.

After Dalamar became Master of the Tower in Palanthas, he invited her to visit several times. Here, Sikeen met Jenna; the two were fast friends. Now, she spends her days lurking around the Tower and Palanthas, going by her old name among friends. When it was decreed that mages would be allowed to carry weapons, she took up knife combat again, but maintains a focus on magic.

Some headcanons: Jenna is her BFF. She had Raistlin’s robes tailored to her size and wears them to this day. She likes to charm her hair into curling but it’s naturally straight. She loves card games, fine wine, and maintains a secret affinity for the hunt. She often feels alienated from both elves and humans, since she’s very effectively obliterated much of the elven ideals of her childhood (beauty is goodness, value for life, etc.) but she can be elitist when faced with humans (some elf habits never die?). I also like to think that the Conclave knew it was Sikeen taking the Test, but decided her dedication earned her a pass of some kind. It was probably a very narrow vote.

{ooc: I apologize in advance for everything I write being stupid long. I'm used to ridiculously detailed profiles and posts and such, coming from Gaia Online's Barton Town forum. Please feel free to yell at me, and I'll try my best to pare things down.}