Aiska (prime)
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Dame Aiska Sunrider was a human warrior from the County of Seareach, active in Solhaven and abroad during the 5110s. She was invested as a knight-errant by the baron of Vornavis in 5115 for her heroic deeds during the War of Shadows.
History
Early Life
Details regarding Sunrider's early life are sparse, owing entirely to her probable status as a lowborn orphan from Brisker's Cove. She was born around 5097, and like many orphans of the day, likely spent her first ten to twelve years as a ward of the church. By her own account, her adolescent life seems to have been one of general vagrancy and poverty, with infrequent employment involving unskilled labor along the waterfront.
War of Shadows
Sunrider first appears on the historical record in 5114, during the War of Shadows. She is usually described as a Turamzzyrian loyalist and squired to Bristenn Mires of Vornavis during the Imperial campaigns in Wehnimer's Landing, Estoria, and Mestanir. In particular, she is remembered for her actions against the krolvin fleet during the Siege of Idolone, and perhaps more famously for wrangling an airborne chimera during the Fall of Mestanir.
Like many other prominent figures during the war, Sunrider was captured and corrupted by agents of Althedeus, severely impacting her health and judgement and effectively removing her from the battlefield. Through means not widely known or understood, she was apparently healed by the hand of Koar himself, who left a glowing mark on her neck as a sign of his divine favor.
Sunrider was somewhat controversially named Knight-Errant of Vornavis by Baron Malwind in 5115, at the close of the war. Her personal coat of arms was azure, a drake or and chimera gules rampant, and she was usually associated with the images of the chimera, drake, or lion. She is not known to have ever wed or taken on a squire.
Post-War
Sunrider shed most of her formal alliances during peacetime, instead working independently with Sir Thadston of Hendor and Mayor Puptilian to repair relations between the Landing and Empire.
As life returned to normal on the frontier, she set out for the war-ravaged southlands - where the occasional rumor was heard of a knight sailing among the Sparrows off the Golden Coast, training alongside peasant militias in the hinterlands, or even hunting sandspitters with the Mir'sheq.
Disputes
Many scholars contest her legacy, pointing out her involvement with questionable, heretical, or outright anti-Imperial elements. They point to her aggression against Talador during its campaigns against the Landing, her involvement in the kidnapping of Lady Cosima Chisholm, her continued involvement with mercenary bands such as the Drakes Vanguard, and her seemingly cozy relationship with the Tehir tribes. Some go as far as to assert that her legendary marking is in fact the product of Faendryl sorcery, and not divine intervention.
Description
You see Dame Aiska Sunrider the Knight-Errant. She appears to be a Human from Seareach. She is short in stature and appears to be very young. She has sleepy wintry blue eyes and tanned skin. She has long, straight pale blonde hair just visible under a crude leather hood stitched into a bleached bestial skull. She has a square face and series of freckles over her nose and across her cheeks. She has a thin, scrawny build. She has a tattoo of colorful rampaging monsters on her arm and a golden crown marking on her neck. She is wearing a bloodstone amulet, a ragged krolvin skin pinned at the left shoulder with an ivory swan, a long skirted deep blue surcoat emblazoned with a drake and chimera ensign over some mismatched plate-and-maille, a leather baldric fringed with ogre teeth slung over her shoulder, a silver signet ring, a pair of dirty bloodstained hand-wraps, a gore-stained field pack, some armor-plated leather boots with spiked steel soles, and a pair of golden spurs.
Logs & Stories
Meanwhile, on the Imperial Coast... - Aiska arrives in war-torn Idolone.
Tea With Demons - Aiska, Silvean, and a very special friend drink tea and talk magic.
Breaking Point - Sevynne bends Aiska to the will of Althedeus.
The Break of Dawn - Lylia, Cruxophim, and Aeavenne perform a necromantic ritual on Aiska, with unexpected results.
A Court Session in Vornavis - Aiska is knighted by Baron Malwind. (Geijon POV)
Dangerous Bedfellows - With the aid of Puptilian, Aiska skirts Imperial law to smuggle weapons into Landing.
The Ugly Duckling - A disillusioned Aiska comes to an agreement with Sir Thadston.