Zarlinda

Daughter of Iolanthe and Yule Faerondalan, one pair of a handful of rulers that achieved an acclaimed status outside of their own clan, she carried the title of princess for many years, brimming with promise as she conducted secret meetings pertaining to archery and blade skill with the other children in the village, naively thinking the adults had no idea. Taken under the wing of a well-respected, elderly sorcerer whose mental stability was admittedly questionable when he finally conceded to the fact his son held no promise, she began to blossom. Within a few years, she was brewing complex potions and performing advanced spells, eventually moving on to specialize in the elements air and water. Most of the other magic went forgotten throughout the years, with only random or basic ones remembered, though she retained her love of potion making in the form of healing poultices and medicines.

When she was seventeen, her village was raided by a tyrannical king and she was forced to flee with her best friend, Dwight, the sorcerer's son, into the woods and down the mountainside to avoid capture. Several years later she would hear word of her younger sister, living and working under the enemy's side, where Zarlinda would later be forced to kill her or risk being run through herself. For nearly 50 years, she led a band of rebelling soldiers, until the king was assassinated and a loose semblance of order restored. Dwight had become her first lover, but as he was only mortal, he passed away as all humans do. Wanting to forget bad memories, she moved on to better lands at the age of 70.

Her journey ended when she came upon a ring in the middle of a forest, with two winged men going at each other with swords, one possessing a pair of white feathers, the other one of white feathers and one of black leather. The first being was the Archangel of freedom and mercy, Zadakiel, and the second the fighting band's fierce, though very short, demon/angel second-in-command, M.M. Their leader, Cloud, and his fiance, Bailey, are taken with her, extending an invitation to join them. She accepts and by this time, Zarlinda is into her early 100's, having experienced quite a bit between her homelands and this random mercenary group.

While the king may have been defeated, the true cause for the war, the evil sorcerer possessing him, had not, following Zarlinda in rage and hate, for she had been the one to slay the King's body it occupied. She is riddled with guilt and confusion for endangering the band of friends she's made and joined up with, though they swear to fight by her side. When they face the sorcerer, Zadakiel and a demon by the name of Zage die. Before passing to heaven, Zadakiel gives M.M. cryptic instructions, which later lead him and Zarlinda on a trip into Heaven. There, they meet with Zadakiel and the Almighty, the god of everything, to discuss that it is not only the sorcerer they must worry about, but a dark force from M.M. and Zadakiel's past. As Zarlinda is not able to leave Heaven after being there, she is granted angelic privileges and properties, including a pair of white feather wings. The unfortunate part is she is forever bound to the emerald cloak she wears, risking illness and death if she leaves it off for an extended period of time, but she sees it as a small price to pay.

When they return to Earth, the band welcomes the two back with open arms, eager to hear news. Cloud is angered by the fact he was unable to attend this meeting, and he and M.M. fight. In overhearing this argument, Zarlinda learns that M.M. was first an angel, but did something to anger the Almighty and the Devil, their ill wishes mixing to create what they all saw now. Eventually, M.M. draws himself up as the better man and storms off, with many of the band coming to visit him throughout the day, though Zar is the only one allowed to stay by his side, hovering in the air and wrapped up like a cocoon in her new wings, talking to him through the appendages.

Over the years, the band experiences various triumphs and hardships, including an attack from Zarlinda's sister, reincarnated with forbidden magic by the sorcerer that haunts her steps, and the marriage of Cloud and Bailey. A descent into Hell sees her pass over and through the maze of rivers, convince Cerberus to let her in and out, and converse with the devil. Again, she is accompanied by MM, who later reveals that her connection to the Almighty prevents her from being kept in the Underworld like the other mortals of their mercenary band. They negotiate the return of Zage, whom Bailey adopts and Zarlinda takes over rearing when Cloud and Bailey desert the group a couple years later. Everyone remains, electing MM as their new leader, with Zarlinda as second-in-command. By this time, there are mixed feelings between the new leader and Zarlinda, the two having come to realize an attraction for each other. Little Zage catches onto it, and begins calling them "Mom" and "Dad," thus spilling the beans to all the members. Everyone is ecstatic. It is also during this time Zarlinda finds her wolf companion, Mariko, when he is but a pup stuck in a poacher's trap.

For some time, they are able to defeat and avoid the sorcerer intermittently as they try to find a way to kill him permanently, as his soul simply occupied another body once the other was killed. Through it all, the band battles beasts, wrangles sea serpents, explores caves, celebrates the engagement of Zar to M.M., and explore the depths of many lakes (just for fun). But all good things must come to an end. Things begin to go sour, the gang breaking up member by member, to the point where it is eventually just the teenage Zage, Zarlinda, and M.M. A hairline rift has come between the two lovers, certainly as a result of all the stress, and the sorcerer takes this advantageous moment of weakness to strike. After many long years of being absent, Cloud appears to save them at the end of the fight, sacrificing himself to save them. Although this act of bravery was admirable, Zar and M.M. agree to part ways, with Zage going with M.M. to learn the ways of a fighter.

Zarlinda devotes herself to studies in different areas of the world, learning various languages and cultures. During this time, Mariko is made immortal by the works of a magic harp, the same one Zarlinda now plays. It was reached through a series of riddles and mazes presented by an enchanted forest. After, she builds a log cabin outside of the disenchanted woods, right beside a hot spring. From here, she is able to transport books and scrolls from various large libraries by way of bird communication and carriage, studying from the comfort of her own home.

She is eventually ends up pretending to be a child, the daughter of two elves, using illusion magic in a village located in a country where elves are a shunned race and are quickly being eradicated. Here, she meets her dear friend, Wolf, and when their village is raided, she helps him flee into the forest. They get separated and Wolf is captured by a gang of bandits, where Zarlinda must rescue him. She strangles the leader when he isn't paying attention, killing the others with a sword and throwing knives acquired from the leader's belt, with a bit of helpful magic. Throughout it all, Wolf is asleep, thankfully sparing Zarlinda from having to explain how and why she knows such things. During the time Wolf is passed out, she wanders into an enclosed clearing where she finds a faceless, cloaked woman hunched over on a stump. Wordlessly, it has her sit, handing her a glass orb with vapor inside of it. As Zarlinda watches, the faceless woman runs a hand over the ball, turning vapor into a flower that goes from bud, bloom, death, and back to vapor. It finally speaks in a voice that comes from all angles of the clearing, telling her the orb holds many powers and will grant her the ability of transportation, so long as it remains intact. When it is broken, the energy will pass to her, either consuming her or making her stronger, depending on her own strength.

When she returns to Wolf, he is stirring, but is feverish and sweating profusely. In a panic, Zar commands him to rise, making for the nearest town. Along the way, they meet a tiger anthro by the name of Saber. By the time they reach the town, Wolf is in horrible condition, hallucinating and speaking incoherently. Stretching long hidden wings, Wolf finds Zarlinda laying atop a roof, the boy going into a mild shock from what he sees, and Zarlinda is forced to explain. After, they travel to a temple where the sorcerer is, once again, found and defeated, though this time, Saber and Wolf both die, Zarlinda herself barely escaping with her life.

Rigorous magical training is undertaken by the Elvin woman, until the fateful day she meets with the sorcerer's spirit on the road to a prominent political city. She challenges him to a duel. He accepts, with their battle leaving devastation for miles around their battle ground. When the smoke clears, Zar is down on the ground, near death as she lays in a sea of her own blood, gushing from a hole in her side that will not heal. A group can be seen in the distance, coming to examine the commotion, but Mariko saves her before she can be captured. Once on his back, she faints, waking up again in her own bed, in her cabin on the mountain, and deducts she's been asleep for at least a week. The wound is bandaged, the Elvin maiden suffering for weeks during a rigorous healing process performed by an old, old member, a family friend from a neighboring clan. At first, it appears as if she may have a permanent gaping wound left in her side, likely as a result of some poison or forbidden magic, but after much research, they are able to stitch the wound together, leaving her permanently disfigured by a garish scar. The mark remains tender, red, and sore to this day, likely for the rest of her life. She manages the pain with potions and the occasional use of alcohol or drugs.

Eventually, she ended up at the Golden Tether, a large building that is the heart of an island called Guildereim. Here, to her great shock, she finds Wolf in the harem pens, where she promptly purchases him and takes him back to her cabin. After long conversation, it is found that he was saved by M.M. This leads to the lost fiance she'd thought to be dead making an appearance, where they share each other's company in front of the fire, exchanging gifts and talking about what happened over all these years apart. The next morning, when Zarlinda wakes up, the halfling is gone, along with Wolf, but the necklace she wears around her neck, and the absence of the gift she gave him, is proof that it happened. The necklace is still worn at all times, though hidden beneath her clothes, as if she hopes the halfling will one day return. Perhaps it is also the reason she sporadically visits the Golden Tether now, hoping beyond hope he will come to her again.

One stormy night, she stumbles upon a village in a valley that's popped up on the other side of her mountain. Curious, she sees a single light flickering inside the apothecary and decides to pay the store a visit. The woman that answers has pointy ears, horns, is tall and dark skinned, and when the water hits her arm, it evaporates into steam. Intrigued, Zar requests to spend some time talking to the woman, and for whatever reason, she agrees, allowing Zar into the small store and inviting her upstairs to her chambers. They spend many hours exchanging stories and spells, the woman revealing that she recognized Zar's magical abilities, revealing herself to be a dragon simply looking for a way to return to her home planet and hoping that the Elvin maiden might be able to help her. Taking pity on the youthful dragoness, Zar fashions a crystal imbued with some of the magic from her teleportation orb, granting the fellow sorceress the ability to travel short distances through time. She hopes that this allows the dragoness to find answers to her questions, though is clear that she is not so powerful as to open portals to other realms or planets. Zar quickly departs without ever learning the dragon's name.

Some time later, she finds herself in the dark alleys of a city, where she comes across her now grown demon son, Zage, who is following in the footsteps of his parents and running his own mercenary group. He welcomes her with open arms and gives her a position of honor at his side inside the mansion they've acquired for themselves. The group is a rowdy one that brings back memories of her earlier days, but she can't bring herself to get into the festivities like she once could. Giving her son a kiss and a hug of good will, she leaves him a necklace, linking it to the one that MM gave her years ago, that he can use to contact her at any time and then departs. The device works almost like a telephone, though in conveying thoughts and images from the wearer when the spell is activated. He 'calls' her often and she visits from time to time.

Restless, Zarlinda travels the world over looking for a trace of MM, and eventually abandons her quest when she is visited by Zadakiel in her dreams. He takes mercy on her and soothes her broken heart, mending it and soothing her undying hope, easing it though not erasing it completely. Upon waking, she doesn't recall the encounter, but her lips are red and swollen as though just passionately kissed. While she wishes to find renewed vigor in her search, believing her nightly visitor to actually be MM, her body simply won't allow it, growing terribly fatigued and disoriented whenever she attempts a search for the angel-demon hybrid.

Lost and confused, Zadakiel's meddling backfires and she falls into a depression that nearly consumes her. As a result, she visits her son and joins his band of raggamuffins, deciding that the best cure for melancholy is a return to the past. Zage welcomes her warmly and offers her a place of honor as one of his officers. She declines, falling into line with the other subordinates, lecturing her son on the dangers of playing favorites. Her first few contracts are seamless, including the assassination of a few dangerous criminals and a couple rogue supernaturals. After several contracts, she is promoted to the rank of Officer originally offered to her, demanding the respect the title deserved.

Attending one of their meetings, she meets the mayor of the city, who offers her a position in his office as a bodyguard. She accepts, finding that she enjoys the skill, tact, and fashion changes that come with her new position. The arrangement includes her staying in his home where she is threatened by the mayor's wife, who she soothes with the offer to wear a camera. While the wife declines, she seems reassured by Zarlinda's openness and despite their rocky beginning, they become close friends by the time the arrangement comes to an end.

Whispers behind hands and closed doors about her lack of aging causes Zarlinda to invest time in studying illusion magic, employing tactics that slowly begin to age her, adding wrinkles and grey hairs. This magic is particularly taxing at the scale required and after several months of overtaxing herself, she falls ill for some weeks, where Zage demands that she be moved to the group's infirmary. He protects her secrets and personally nurses her back to health, worrying over her to the point she has to remind him of his position more than once. Before he returns her to the mayor's service, she trains with another sorcerer in the group, strengthening her skills and learning tricks to enhance her illusions without wearing her out so badly.

Some time later, she finds herself returning to the Tether, looking to find new entertainment on the shores of Guildereim.