Auya Trueheart
Race: Immortal, formerly Aukari
Gender: Female
Date of Birth: Ymiden 12, 688
Date of Immortal Ascension: Ashan 122, 719
Marks: None, formerly favored of Faldrun
Magic: None
Business: None, formerly owned Auya's Metalworks in Rharne
Housing: None, traveling, formerly house in Mistral Village
Jobs: None, formerly blacksmith and barmaid
Factions Joined: None
Languages Spoken: Common (Fluent), Vauni (Broken)
Partners: Varlum
Renown: 65 - here
Wealth: Tier 5 - here
Physical Appearance
Auyaree is a bit taller for women of the Aukari race, standing about 5'10". She's thin and lanky, with muscular arms from arcs of working in the forge. Her hair is usually tied up in some varieties of buns, to keep it out of her face while she works. Her face is often dirty from soot and smoke in the forge. Her fingers are long and strong and calloused, perfect for swinging a hammer. Her bust is small and hips narrow, not helped by the leathers those of her race often wear.
Personality
Auya is quiet, preferring to listen instead of speaking. She keeps her head down and her mind focused on her work. She actively avoids conflict and rarely socializes outside of her small circle of friends coworkers. She tends to never speak about herself, and when she does, it is either heavily downplayed or an outright lie. When she speaks, she often tries to direct the conversation to be about others and off of herself. The limelight is the last place she wishes to ever be.
History
Mortal History
Auya had a fairly normal upbringing in Sirothelle, the only daughter of a pair of blacksmiths. She worked under her father, learning the craft, and throwing herself into it. She was always the quiet girl in the roving gang of children she grew up. She played the games, participated in everything, but she was always on the fringe, watching and listening. She grew taller than a lot of the other children, and was able to use that to her advantage of being left alone.
Faldrun Mark Story
When Auya was 18 arcs old, she met a man of her race, Keeyarik. He was a consistent customer at her father's shop, for he was a miner, and often brought his ores to sell. It didn't take him long to begin bringing her small gifts, accompanied by compliments and lingering glances. First there was a stone with the shape of a long dead creature trapped inside. Soon, Auya began to actually feel pretty and desirable under this man's gaze, instead of her slender, boyish figure she'd always been told she had. This was later followed by a variety of lesser gemstones, shiny metals, and other oddities from the mines. And then one day he arrived with a poorly crafted ring. He'd said he made it himself, from the same piece of silver he'd found in the mines the day they'd met. She accepted his proposal, and the pair enjoyed their engagement.
Keeya continued to work in the mines, Auya in the forge. Her father's forge was growing, becoming well known in their neighborhood, and was the place everyone went to for a weapon or repairing a door hinge. The engaged lovers bought a house just down the road from her father's forge. After a two arcs of engagement, they finally married. Auya was truly in love with Keeya, he was everything she'd ever wanted from a man. He was strong, quiet, kind, and loved her dearly.
For a few arcs, they spent much of their time trying to have a child, to build their family. Eventually, Auya built her own forge, and started her own business. Her father's was absolutely flourishing, and he was proud that his daughter had set out on her own. But her husband seemed less than pleased in the endeavor. Even though business was fine, he constantly seemed to want her to return to working for her father. Auya didn't understand why it made him so upset.
But eventually she relented. She sold her forge, sobbing heavily as she returned to her father's forge. Whatever it took to make Keeya happy. For a couple arcs, her passion seemed to wane in her work. A child still never came, and the spark seemed to be gone in the relationship. She was still mechanically able to do the work, but she lacked that smile she used to wear, and her father knew it. It eventually culminated into her father calling out her husband in the street, yelling at the man in public. Her father jammed a finger into the man's chest, only for Keeya to react faster than Auya's eyes could follower.
She couldn't understand what she was seeing, her father, a bigger, stronger man was on the ground, with Keeya's knife at his throat. Auya never knew he had a knife, she'd always just seen him with his pickaxe. After that, the relationship continued to be further and further strained. When Auya turned 27 arcs, she finally learned why Keeya wanted her occupied in her father's shop. She learned it when she found a journal hidden in her father's shop, marking him as a traitor to Sirothelle. He was a hidden follower of Ilaren. He'd never once mentioned the immortal to Auya in her life.
She returned to her marital home, and hid the journal, unable to comprehend what she'd discovered. How could her father worship anyone other than Faldrun and his allies? It made no sense to her. Her father was a good, honorable man, how could he follow a drunken, misguided excuse for a god? Everyone knew Ilaren was the whore of the pantheon. She showed the journal to Keeya, and he nodded, saying he had his suspicions.
The following trial, her father was found with his throat slit, stuffed into his own furnace. Auya knew she'd gotten her father killed. She didn't want that to have happened, she didn't think Keeya was capable of such a thing. When she confronted him about, he told her that he wasn't a miner. He was a spy, working for the Sirothelle government to find heretics, deserters, and other traitors. Auya couldn't believe it. Her entire life had been a lie.
The distance never closed between the married couple. Auya continued to work at her father's forge, until her previously lost passion grew into a bitter, white hot rage. If this man hadn't convinced her to return to her father, she never would've discovered the awful truth. And so, she turned her passion to crafting a single dagger that was perfectly suited to her. She slaved over it, making and remaking it many times until it perfectly fit her hands and felt right.
One night, while making love, she slashed open Keeya's throat, bathing herself and her bed in blood. She shoved him off of her and onto the floor. She washed, dressed, and prepared to go turn herself in for the crime of murder. She opened the door, only to see a man there with a teasing grin. He had the flaming red hair and white hot eyes. He leaned against a spear in hand, toying with a blue gem necklace, staring at Auya.
"What a mess you've made little Auyaree."
He pushed his way into her home, shutting the door behind him. "Don't bother calling for the authorities. They work for me. And now, so do you. I see the confusion in your soul, not knowing who to love, not knowing who to trust, not knowing truth from lie. The turmoil within you is great. Which is why you will do as I command. Your husband is not at fault for this tragedy that has befallen you. Your father is not at fault. Nor are you at fault. The Great Whore is the one to blame. Ilaren. You will go to her city, make yourself useful there, learn what you can. We will make her pay, for the crimes against you, against everyone. When the time comes, people will present themselves to you to aid in this mission."
Faldrun stepped closer to the stunned woman, waiting. She slowly understood what he was saying, and who was saying it. Her eyes grew wide. And then the grew hard, determined. She nodded. He took her gently by the chin, leaned down, and pressed his lips to her own, kissing her with an intense ferocity. She felt a burning on the back of her neck as he bestowed his blessing upon her, a smoldering coal. When their lips parted, his white hot eyes locked on hers, "You will not fail me Auya."
She immediately left Sirothelle with what little belongings she had, and went to Rharne. She opened up a small forge at the end of a dark alley, isolated, and began her mission to bring Ilaren and Rharne to their knees, so that Lord Faldrun could deal the killing blow.
