Reign of Winter with Evillain

Game Master Evillain

In keeping with the death of her namesake, Nadya helps out around town where she can. It was a promise and she intends to keep it. The problem right now is that money has become so short that she's looking for work more and more to get by. Not many people, it seems, want to hire an apparent freeloader.

Whatever the case, they were there to crush her under hoof or break her with monstrous strength. They varied their assaults too, ensure her dreams were never safe from turmoil or the expectation of turmoil. One would think that waking was better. Her mother was never there. Anelisha always was drowning in her own desires. Instead she had Leistele, a constant and overwhelming shadow. Nerissa withdrew into isolation as much as she could, into her books and stories. It's no surprise she eventually discovered the power that those words held. What's more, it was her power. Not something she had to seek through pacts and cauldrons.

As she consumed this arcane knowledge she found the walls of her room and of her life too confining. She broke out of her shell and sought places and people to teach her. She learned about cruelty and sadness as an outsider. She made contacts and friends. Then Leistele taught her cruelty and sadness on a more personal level. Her sister culled her friends, released her demons upon Nerissa if she grew to bold. Nerissa Learned what it meant to be Jadwiga and she hated every minute of it.

When she met Nadya she couldn't formulate a reason as to why or how their friendship formed. They just clicked. A descendant of Morgannan, Nadya understood the pressures and perils of the Jadwiga and it made their bond even stronger. She hid the friendship from Leistele, learned to lie and maneuver. When Nerissa finally decided she couldn't take anymore of the dreams or the pressures of her life, Nadya agreed to escape with her without hesitation...

Their plan failed. Their tools failed. Their friendship failed. She was the only one to live out of their few conspirators. Even after all this time, she still hears Nadya's screams when she sleeps and the Riders come for her. The begging. The pleading. How she still ran afterwards.

Nerissa knows she deserves the punishment they'd bring, but there is one thing she learned from Old Tey as he brought her across the lands to actual freedom. "Bad things happen and sometimes we do bad things to others. All you can do is carry the guilt and try to be better."

She took those words to heart and took Nadya's name as a reminder and a promise. She'll be better or die trying. Either way, she's escaped Irrisen and her life is her own now.

Goals:
1. To escape the clutches of Irrisen. She has traveled far and seems to be in the clear, but she's still wary of any possible agents of her mother or the queen coming to claim her. Few spit in the eye of the Jadwiga and fewer survive it.
2. To create a legacy for herself. Like any Jadwiga, Nadya wants to be remembered for something. To leave her mark so, death or not, she will not be forgotten.

People:
1. The Jadwiga, collectively. They're all terrible and deserve what Great-Grandmother has in store for them. Outside of her mother and father, she (luckily) hasn't had much contact with her immediate or extended family outside of seeing them ruin the lives of others. Most were too old or too wrapped up in affairs of state to pay her much mind. Except for Leistele.
2. Leistele Sorvos Elvanna. She's always worked to keep a thumb on her little sister. Leistele saw something useful in Nadya and wanted that potential for her own. Leistele suffers from hallucinations on occassion and only finds relief in inflicting them on others.
3. Alsolvo Meid. Chelish devil-binder. His expensive charms betrayed her at the border.
4. Nadya Olik. The real one. Deceased. Her best friend.
5. Old Tey Wolf. Varisian/Kellid trader that got her from Irrisen's border all the way to Ustalav. Probably the person she respects most in the world.
6. The Three Riders. She's never met Day, Sun, or Night. She dreams of them hunting her.
7. Wyrmeer Pinion. Traveled with her from Andoran to Heldren. They're close, but Wyrmeer somehow manages to fritter away their money all the time. Nadya is sure he changed his name to sound more impressive than he actually is.

Memories, mannerisms, quirks:
1. She hates her family and dislikes most witches on principle.
2. She's proud of her mastery of magic. Though it isn't great, she did it on her own without having to rely on family or legacy.
3. The heat of summer. For the fist time in her life she felt warm.

Secrets:
1. She knows her uncle Ghrathis Elvanna is her true father and she is the product of her mother's incestuous liaisons. To be fair, it's probably the most poorly kept secret in all of Hoarwood.
2. Others were with her when she made her escape. They all perished to the border huts and the dolls. Her fear caused her to abandon them in their last moments. She carries the guilt of her cowardice.