Needless to say, Kerter’s wife, Entona, an original, was displeased with these events. Still, Kerter forced his wife to take Elyna in and raise her. Unfortunately, the reminder of Kerter’s infidelity was too much for Entona, who took it out on the innocent Elyna. Even worse, Elyna’s stepmother instructed her three sons, Elyna’s half-brothers Laree, Menta, and Neru to torment the poor girl as well. What Elyna can remember of her childhood is unhappy — she blocked out the worst of it — but she did learn how to escape from danger when she could and fight when she couldn’t. She lost, of course, but each time made her a little tougher and a little better.

Entona was a laundress, and as soon as Elyna was old enough, she was forced to work, scrubbing for hours at a time until her hands bled and stung from the soap and her back and muscles ached. It was a tough life, especially for a young girl, and eventually, at the age of just thirteen Elyna snapped, though it happened in secret. At night, she began to sneak out, searching for salvation until one day she found it in an unlikely location: at a local training grounds with a young man named Lancel Olidair. She literally ran into him as he was in the middle of an exercise; he’d stayed late to master it, as he was training to be in the Army one day and wanted to be an officer. Once she’d explained who she was and what she was looking for, he reluctantly agreed to show her a few tips. She returned the next night as promised, and the night after that, and ever night she could, and he was finally won over by her determination.

Lancel, a scion of a local blueblood family taught her unarmed combat as well as the weapons he was most skilled with, which happened to be polearms. He personally favored the simple spear, but she was drawn to a strange weapon, the naginata. They spent many nights together, working on Elyna’s abilities and she grew to idolize him. Then, one day, when she was sixteen, it went horribly wrong. It had started innocently enough — Lancel had brought a bottle of something alcoholic with him and had invited her to stay after training for a few drinks— but where the night ended, Elyna refused to talk about. All people knew was that Lancel was found the next morning, beaten up, and when he was able to talk, he’d blamed for his injuries.

The trouble this brought upon the Lecie’s was immediate and absolute, since the word of a blueblood trumped that of any commoner. Kerter was recalled from the war; Entona lost her job; and criminal charges were even being considered. Whether or not those went through, plans were immediately discussed to marry Elyna off to whoever would take her, even with the trouble looming over her. Kerter, a father she barely knew, turned out to be as bad as the rest of Elyna’s family. Scared, isolated, and in trouble on too many fronts, Elyna did what she’d done so many times before; fled in the middle of the night. Only this time, she didn’t go back the next morning.

Not having anywhere else to turn, Elyna desperately decided to enroll in the Storm Army, using the fake surname Ariez. Once she’d demonstrated her skills, she’d been accepted, though given the state of the war, they were taking basically anyone who was able bodied and not looking too closely at them. Elyna took care to be an exemplary and scandal-free soldier, not wanting anyone to be asking too many questions about her for fear they’d dredge up her past. Though she didn’t exactly rise up through the ranks, she made it through several tough battles during her time and people took notice. Perhaps that was why, when she’d heard of the need for soldiers to explore a brave new world and had applied, she’d been accepted to go through with the first wave.

In Northaven, as it eventually became known, Elyna continued to serve diligently, though she remained closed off, even to her fellow Guards. After trying and failing to get her to open up and perhaps even take a lover or a husband, people generally left her alone; what they didn’t know was that Elyna had sworn off making attachments in general and getting close to men specifically. That was why, when the order was given from above that people needed to start getting married and produce children and eyes had pressure had started to come Elyna’s way, she made a decision.

At that point, she was 32, had been in Northaven for five years, and had shown no signs of complying. The rumors were starting to turn ugly. One particularly nasty comment made her conclude there was only one option before her: Elyna planned to seek out Mihka Darkheart , her Lieutenant, and asked to be turned. Around the same time, however, Northaven was thrown into upheaval by an attack that destroyed the very walls around them and the decision to create a jungle outpost. Elyna had decided to delay her transformation in order to not be down a soldier during this most trying of times, but the day had finally arrived. Now Elyna, 33, was ready for her own new adventure.

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