PCs:Kitiara Maelstrom
Name: Kitiara Maelstrom
Kitiara was the first and last born of her family who took residence in a small farming village just outside Nagritch, a city in the lands of Hala. At that time, she bore her family's original last name: Northumberland. The first 10 or so years of her life went on as normally as any child's would have: she played with other children her age in the village, helped her parents with chores around the cottage, and ran errands to the city for food and other supplies. She learned to handle herself alone in the city of Nagritch mostly by not being seen when she wished, a result of her incredible agility and speed. The shadows seem to welcome her and blind mortal eyes from her appearance. She payed more attention to the evil and chaos that resides in the city of Nangritch than what good there is in the place: watching as people were robbed and killed on the streets, daring not to intervine and resenting the fact that she did not have the power to do so.
In Kitiara's early teens, as her strength grew in time from the physical labor she was burdened with every day, so did her interest in learning to fight and defend herself. So, she became a student of a great sword master that lived in her village. She was one of his best students and even learned to handle very large and exotic weapons, some of which are difficlt even for men to master. Her favorite of these is the double-bladed sword because the combat techniques involved utilize her agility and resemble more of a dance than anything. Finding that she was more experienced in combat and even stronger than some of the other children around her, including males, Kitiara began bullying other children into submission and formed somewhat of a hierarchy of followers. Through this method, she found an immunity to fear of being harrased by others as she had seen happen to people in the city of Nagritch.
However, one day rumor came to her village of a warlord raping the farmlands near nagritch in an attempt to lay seige to the city itself and gain ultimate power over the arcane presance that lies within. During the waning hours of that day, when the sun had set itself on the horizon and darkness crept across the land, an even greater unnatural darkness approached the city. It was the warlord, a necromancer that came to be know by the nickname "Inferioinus," which is loosly translated from the old tongue to mean "dead one." He layed waste to the city, accompanied by an army of living dead. Fire spewed forth from his hands and scorched all the cottages and farms, reducing them to ash and dust. However, as the people of the village were slain, shortly after their deaths their corpses rose again and joined in the slaughter. He was building his army for an attack on the city, an army of the dead at his command. After the darkness of night had moved through the city and the fires had consumed all they could, snuffing themselves out, there was one survivor that remained alive who had somehow been spared from the darkness and destruction: Kitiara. Although she had seen most of what had happened, while remaining hidden amoung the shadows, death had not come for her.
At the age of about 14, Kitiara was lost, confused, full of despair, and raging with hatred. However, there was another feeling she couldnt quite grasp or make sense of at first. She later found out that it was a feeling of admiration and a respect for the power she had witnessed. This feeling drives her now, as she seeks the power that necromancer weilded, and perhaps take it from him herself. In doing so, not only will she revenge her loss and hatred, but command a force to gain respect through submission of those that oppose her. Her new last name, Maelstrom, was given to her when she became older because of the twirling combat technique she uses with her weapons and also because of her strong, turbulent feelings of violence and destruction.