Iomestria's page

Iomestria has the bright crimson hair and purple eyes that were so common in Ancient Azlant, with the widow's peak that comes with it. Her skin is pale, as is common in Cheliax, but she tans quickly. While she has not led a life of hard labour, she has had basic combat training and a lot of dancing-lessons, which have left her slender and fit.

Once upon a time, a young man and a young woman met each other on a beautiful beach, near a glorious city. Their eyes met, he smiled, she smiled -- and she wound up sneaking him onto her ship before it sailed away.
The name of the island was Hermea. The young man was one of the children born of Mengkare's Glorious Endeavour, and the young woman was a daughter of one of the branches of Cheliax' wealthy Jeggare family, come to gain a little experience of the world on one of her father's trading vessels.

Once upon a time, there was a house with a beautiful garden. This house stood in Westcrown, once the capitol of devil-ridden Cheliax. It was a happy house, built with wealth given by the family of the lady of the manor, and maintained and expanded with the cunning and business acumen provided by the lord of the manor.
It was a house with several happy, beautiful, gifted children, who would be sure to have wonderful lives in one way or another. Except, perhaps, the youngest daughter. She was beautiful and gifted in her own way, but her appearance was startling; crimson hair with a widow's peak, eyes with purple irises -- all classic traits of the lost nation of Azlant.
This was Iomestria, and although her parents and siblings loved her, she was rarely allowed outside the house -- and then only with her hair and face covered by veils.
Still, she was happy - until that night. If she wasn't allowed outside on her own, then at least she did not go wanting for social stimulation. Her parents paid for her to have a fine education, with teachers brought in from abroad, and her siblings and parents were always there, bringing stories from the outside world she was not allowed to see so much. There were books, there was music and dance, there were beautiful clothes and jewels, and with the onset of puberty she discovered magic in herself, bubbling up with her blood. Life passed like a beautiful dream, a delirium of distant discovery and self-discovery - until that night.

She awoke to screams, her father and mother bursting into her room and hustling her outside with her siblings. The house was on fire, the servants Iomestria had known since birth dead or fighting against silent, ruthlessly skilled invaders.
"They found me," she heard her father say, his voice terrified and - worse - resigned. "They'll take me and the children. They'll kill everyone else."
"They're not getting anyone," her mother replied. "I've been getting ready for this for years. Everyone hold your hand out! Take these" - small satchels, pressed into the hands of every child - "and head for the harbour! Everyone take a different road. We'll all meet up at the address on the ticket, and then we're... going on a family vacation. Go! Go! Go!"
Refusing to obey mother when she used that tone of voice was unthinkable. Barefoot, dressed in her nightshirt and a blanket she tugged over her head as if it were a cape, Iomestria ran as fast as she could, taking the direct, brightly-lit routes because she feared the dark alleys. She had to open the satchel to discover the ticket mother had mentioned, and after asking a friendly guardsman she discovered it was the address of the office of the harbourmaster. Besides the ticket, which told her she had a full passage to Sargava, the satchel held money.
Iomestria arrived at the harbourmaster's office, escorted by the guardsman and a few friends of his when she mentioned she needed directions and that she was outside on her own for the first time. She tipped them in gratitude. She also tipped the harbourmaster, who made sure she got a secure berth on the ship named on her ticket. Iomestria waited until dawn for her family to join her. They did not come. She waited on deck while the sailors bustled about, getting ready for departure, staring at the docks. Her family did not come. The guardsmen were still there, keeping an eye out for Iomestria's family, and they waved to her - but they hadn't heard anything about her family.
A man did come just before the ship sailed, one who resembled her father somehow, and he stood staring back at her, his mouth a hard line and his eyes full of a blood-chilling anger.
Iomestria stood there, watching the man, who looked back at her, while the ship sailed out to sea. She did not see her family again.

Iomestria is sheltered, fun-loving and somewhat naive, but well-educated and friendly. She has wide interests and is quick to adapt to new situations. Currently, she is deeply concerned about her family, and afraid that she may be the only one left both alive and free out of the lot of them, but she tries to keep the fear at bay so she can maintain her freedom.

Unknown to Iomestria, she is the carrier of several potent bloodlines. Her father was born on Hermea, the product of one of the breeding programs meant to reinforce lingering elements of the Azlanti genetic code. As her appearance shows, that attempt has come to fruition due to her father's coupling with Iomestria's Chelaxian mother, which makes her a valuable mixture of Azlanti and Hermean.
Unknown to the Jeggare family, however, some ancient ancestor of Iomestria's mother was a favoured servant of the Serpentfolk who ruled the Age of Worms, and this taint has travelled down the generations in the blood. Some quirk of genetics activated it when the Jeggare bloodline and the Hermean bloodline mixed, and Iomestria is her parents' first child to display the Serpentine bloodline. As her power matures, the signs will become clear...

7 gp bonus
8 sp

Antiplague
Antitoxin
Backpack
Bayonet
Bedroll
Belt pouch
Cold iron dagger
Crossbow bolts (10)
Detailed Map of Mwangi Expanse
Ink (vial, 8 oz.)
Inkpen
Journal
Light crossbow
Morningstar
Potion of Cure Light Wounds x2
Rope (silk, 50 ft.)
Silver dagger
Spell component pouch
Waterskin