Valeriya's page

About Valeriya

History:
Valeriya is a Changeling which means she is born of a hag and the hapless man that she ensorcelled. Like most victims of the hag, Valeriya’s father was killed soon afterwards. As soon as Valeriya no longer needed her mother for sustenance, she was placed on the doorstep of a couple in the nearest city.

Out of the kindness of their hearts, the couple took Valeriya in and raised her as their own alongside their own child. They were herbalists who owned their own shop in town. Valeriya grew up learning their trade so that she may one day take over. She knew was different than other kids. Her nails were hard as stone and sharp as a dagger. Her eyes were fully heterochromatic which is rare in humans. She could see in darkness as though it were daylight. But she never knew exactly what she was. Despite her uncertain heritage, life passed by uneventfully until she was 15.

It was then her adoptive parents died under mysterious circumstances. Valeriya blamed the Thieves’ Guild that operated a protection racket in the city. In truth, it was her biological mother who killed them in order to remove the positive influence in her life.

Valeriya took over the shop and ran it as best she could. She had a hard time keeping the shop afloat with the Thieves’ Guild demanding increasing protection fees and ingredients at or below cost. The man who collected the fees and placed the orders was a thug named Rhys. Despite being well into his 40s, he took an interest in Valeriya. At first, he was nice. He gave her compliments, sometimes even gifts, and always remembered her birthday. Over the next three years, he became increasingly impatient and mean. Things came to a head when he tried to do something…untoward. She tried to back away but he cornered her. In fear, she used her secret weapon: her nails. She drove them deep into his neck until he died.

Valeriya knew that the Thieves’ Guild would not take kindly to a dead enforcer so she thought up a plan in desperation. She wrote a note explaining everything and left it on his corpse. She knew they wouldn’t just accept that so she packed only what gold and ingredients she could carry and left them the rest along with the deed to the shop. She then ran out of the city as fast as she could. The Thieves’ Guild decided to accept her self-imposed exile as long as she doesn’t ever set foot in the city again.

It was only after she had gotten 5 miles out of the city and in the middle of a thick forest that she realized that she had no idea where she was or what she was doing. After hearing a roar in the distance, she became scared. It then she heard a rustling from the undergrowth. Figuring that it might attack, she readied her nails and held her breath. And then, the mysterious rustling bust forth from the undergrowth and revealed the form of a red fox. She breathed a sigh of relief and lowered her hands. The fox stared up at her and she relaxed.

And then, a cascade of visions flooded her mind. She saw herself placed on her parents’ doorstep. She saw the time when she was bullied for being adopted. She saw the night of her adoptive parents’ death. And then, she saw something she couldn’t recognize: the face of a woman she had never met. This woman was unnaturally ugly with pasty green skin, motley hair, and ratty clothes. Valeriya had seen many races while in the city but not the one that this woman belonged to.

The visions then stopped as soon as they had appeared. She realized that the visions were not visions at all but memories, memories of the fox. She knew something was wrong with the fox, something unnatural. But, strangely, she felt a sense of calm when around it. She tried to ask it questions but it couldn’t understand her completely. She gave up and decided to give it a name so she could refer to him as something other than “fox.” She cycled through names: Damir, Ilik, Viktor, and finally Viska. It perked up and yipped at Viska.

Viska then motioned with his head for Valeriya to follow. He led her to a small cave with enough water and plants to sustain her before she fell into a restful sleep. When she awoke, Viska stared into her eyes and she fell into a trance.

A voice, vague and distant, called out to her by name. Valeriya asked for its name but it refused to answer. It identified itself as her protector and the master of Viska. Valeriya asked why it came to her, why it had watched all her life. The voice told Valeriya that she was special and could host great power if she accepted the power within her. It gave her a choice: either Viska would lead her to the nearest city and she would lead a plain, ordinary life or she could accept the gift of magic and possibly become extraordinary. She didn’t even have to think about it for one second; she took the chance to be someone great without hesitation or reservation. The deal was sealed and Valeriya became a witch.

After that fateful morning, Valeriya and Viska have been inseparable. They travel the world experiencing everything that they possibly can. They never stay in one place for too long but they never leave on bad terms.

Deception vs. The Hag
Since she has no knowledge of her race and her past, she doesn’t know about the “call,” a mysterious force that manifests at puberty and pulls changelings towards their past and their heritage. The “call” is the changeling’s mother using magic to draw them into the swamps of their birth. Valeriya occasionally felt the call especially when she was lonely or when she was bullied for her race but she never felt it as strongly as other changelings. This is because her patron, Deception, protected her by diverting her mother’s attempts to scry on and communicate with her. Deception will continue to protect Valeriya until she is ready to face her mother and prove her mastery over her power.

Alignment: CN
Though Deception can divert the hag somewhat, it is not all-powerful and cannot stop her completely. As such, Valeriya has always felt dark impulses. She is not evil but she has short temper, holds grudges well past the point of reason, and is obsessed with revenge. Her natural affinity for tricks and practical jokes can be fun and harmless to those she likes but cruel to those on her bad side.

Religion: Calistria
She worships Calistria not as a goddess of lust or elves but as a deity of revenge and deception.

Profession: Herbalist
She can create various herbal remedies with local plants but it is no substitute for magic. She mainly deals with pain relief, night tea, virility drugs, and cold remedies.

Dramatis Personae

Hendri - Valeriya’s biological father
Evelina - Valeriya’s biological mother, hag
Leskov Ilyinishna - Valeriya’s adoptive father, herbalist, potion brewer
Yuliya Ilyinishna - Valeriya’s adoptive mother, herbalist, salesman
Viktor Ilyinishna - Valeriya’s adoptive brother, reluctant herbalist
Valeriya Ilyinishna - Our heroine
Anya Dernova - Viktor’s girlfriend, weaver
Rhys David - Enforcer for the Thieves’ Guild
Llewelyn Pritchard - Boss of the Thieves’ Guild

*stats assume lvl 1 and 20 point-buy*

Character Sheet Level 3