Cyanocitta

Cyan (full name Cyanocitta) is a Dhampir Druid operating out of the Greedy Green.

Cyanocitta

History

Early Years

The being who became Cyanocitta (Cyan) was born in a small human/half-elf farming community. Sadly, Cyan's mother died during her birth and her father blamed loosing the love of his life on Cyan. Cyan's father never let a day go by in which he did not remind her that her mother's death was her fault. His physical abuse began around the time she was four. What her father did to her was widely known in the community, but was not talked about in polite contexts. Cyan was alone most of the time and developed a deep understanding of plants and animals as they were, mostly, the only ones she had. She became quite skilled at growing things, but was even more impressive with her ability to understand and bond with animals. She had even befriended a wild Least Weasel, which after a time would ride around in her clothing. At least until her father snapped its neck in front of her.

Of the sentient population, only two people showed Cyan any true kindness - an elderly couple who had never had children and operated the town's livery. They fostered her connection with animals, which proved to be helpful with calming nervous horses. On days she could manage it, Cyan would go help them with their choirs. They would also allow her to read the only couple of books available in the town. The bond between Cyan and the couple grew to the point that one day the three of them approached Cyan's father about letting them adopt her. This enraged Cyan's father, as it was his right to do with her as he saw fit until she was of age. And if he was going to lose her, he was going to make sure it would be profitable.

Among the Vampire Army

The 'men' came one morning, paid a paltry sum, and left with a eleven year old Cyan. At first she had hoped that being removed from her father would improve her life. This idea was soon dashed when she learned that she had been bought by recruiters for an army loyal to an overly ambitious vampire prince (likely a rouge member of the LaCroix bloodline). All recruits were subjected to brutal magical rituals over their first four months, and Cyan was no different. The rituals left her stronger, swifter, and more durable, but also with a hunger for blood that burnt like fire when not routinely indulged. The hunger could never be sated, but with practice one could dampen the inferno to smoldering coals for a time. Many did not survive the rituals. The majority of those who did became slaves to their hunger and lost all sense of who they had been. These bestial creations where known as bloodlusters. Cyan was in the lucky minority of ritual survivors who maintained their mental faculties after the transformation. These people became low ranking officers within the vampiric army.

Despite the position, Cyan's duties mostly consisted of pointing her bloodlusters at whoever her Captain said was an enemy and letting them loose. Most of the time she didn't even have to participate personally. However, Cyan found that she could call upon her hunger to enter a controlled frenzy when she needed to fight.

Enemies typically were guardsmen of towns or small cities, as well as the civilians. Most settlements that Cyan was unfortunate enough to visit were left as ghost towns with the population either consumed or dragged away to have the transformation rituals performed on them. But while there was some thrill to the 'hunt', Cyan despised all of the vampires around her for what they were doing. But she mostly hated herself for not having the strength to end her own life. The legacy of her father meant that every person she watched gurgle their last as they were being feasted upon left a scar on her heart. She knew that it wasn't her hunger for blood that made her a monster.

The vampiric army was very successful in its early years. After several years, Cyan caught wind of rumors of other officers within the army sharing similar disgusts as herself – or at the very least believing that slaughtering everyone in their path was a monumental lost opportunity to gain power. After months of searching, Cyan made contact with this group of dissident officers who not long afterward rebelled against the vampire prince. This rebellion happened to coincide with international coalition of religiously minded neighboring kingdoms who become nervous of the vampire prince's actions and power. The vampire prince loyalists crushed their rebelling brethren. But the surviving forces were no match again the international coalition and the vampire prince's army was destroyed. Cyan barely escaped with her neck.

Isolation and Healing

Knowing she would be hunted by religious inquisitors as well as any surviving members of the vampire prince's loyalist faction, Cyan decided to literally fall off the map, fleeing the continent of Osugbo for Isonhound. As much as possible she traveled away from major travel routes and large populations centers. The ocean voyage was a challenge as she had to learn to feed without drawing attention to herself. Deciding to remain paranoid, Cyan continued her travels 'off the beaten' path on the new continent – as there were sure to still be vampire hunters about.

One day, while traversing a swamp along the banks of a mighty river, she found a dilapidated ruins of a stone watchtower. Something made her decide to stay, and she fixed up the ruins and made them her home. It was during this time that she began referring to herself as Cyanocitta. Cyan spent the first few years there in seclusion, learning that despite what she had been made into, there was still a deep connection to the natural world within her. The swamp was the perfect place for her to observe and learn from the natural processes of birth, life, death, decay, which ultimately leads to new life.

During this time, she also made contact with an ancient spirit locked in a cursed torpor. At first the connection was a distorted image of something within her dreams. Over time, the connection grew from sharing one or two word thoughts to sharing short sentences. In their interactions, Cyan painstakingly pieced together that the spirit had once been a mighty guardian of rivers called Tlayohualcoatl, and in their curiosity they had discovered secrets forbidden by the gods and had been cursed with eternal slumber. In additions to her own lessons about life, death, and rebirth, the spirit guided her in how to use these forces of nature to heal, harm, and if need be manipulate the dead. It even managed, only once, to manifest a full image of itself in a dream. The spirit has the body of a gigantic snake with brightly colored feathered wings and two massive black pointed horns protruding from above its eyes.

Initially Cyan's swamp and tower were weeks of travel away from the nearest one horse town. However, after a few years a group of pioneers settled along the river, just a few hours walk away. Despite the dangers, Cyan established mostly friendly relations with the new arrivals and she help to teach them of to live of the land as well as provide medical assistance when needed. Things were well for several years and Cyan began to view herself to be something of a guardian to the villagepeople. However, when her vampirism became known many of the village folk quickly turned against her. Learning that hunters would soon be after her, Cyan abandoned her home. Despite her fears, this did not sever her connection with Tlayohualcoatl.

With no other place to go and nothing else to do, Cyan has taken up the quest to find the physical body of Tlayohualcoatl and see if anything could be done to break the curse and reawaken them. This has meant exposing herself again to the wider world as she fears that there is no place that will ever accept her.