Cyielra

Information

Player: Etmosril

Character Full Name: Cyielra Haelsyth, formerly Serynzheri.

Character In-Game Name: Cyielra.

Nickname(s): Try it. Just try it.

Association(s): House Serynzheri, Silvermoon, and Dalaran.

Race: Blood Elf.

Class: Mage.

Skills and Abilities: Power Surge. When pressed, she can use more magic than her mana supply would normally permit - but not for long.

Iron Mind. She breaks or sees through mental effects (even beneficial ones) more easily than most.

Age: 211.

Sex: Female.

Hair: Long dark-gold hair, worn loose and draped to her back unless the occasion warrants it.

Eyes: Fel green-glowing. Her actual eyes are sky-blue.

Weight: 127 lbs.

Height: 5'11".

Appearance

Usual Garments/Armor: Gowns or mage-robes in a never-ending array, all with the crest of House Serynzheri sewn into bodice and skirt. She favors blue, purple and silver, and may often be seen wearing long blue gloves with jewels sewn into their backs.

Other: She was considered a beauty amongst elves in her youth, and this remains unchanged. Either she's lucky, or she's spending a lot on alchemical treatments on the sly.

Her mage's staff appears to have been made entirely of crystal: segmented for assembly, and somewhat cracked. The surfaces are smoothed by age and wear.

Personality

What you see depends on who you are. Peers of the nobility generally find her to be charismatic and entertaining company, the Serynzheri servants are intimidated by her, and members of the family consider her aloof and somewhat devious. The last probably has the most truth to it: like most nobles, Cyielra is prone to manipulating events. She rarely shows her true 'hand', and the facade (if it is one) of cool elegance she maintains is even more rarely broken.

Like all Serynzheris (and elves, for that matter), her appreciation for art knows no bounds. She takes great pains in keeping the House as it originated: in the niche of artisan crafts and away from the struggle of power. The House hires mages, artists, and guards by contract, and the artists are later hired out to those who can afford to pay Serynzheri for the privilege. This probably accounts for their inordinate financial success; Serynzheri is marvelously wealthy for such a small House.

She's very reclusive for someone so favored. When her duties are complete, it's difficult to find her anywhere. She most often withdraws to the library, her quarters, or the gardens, and makes it plain that she wants no company. Since the Siege, she's also become less involved in raising her son Kaei'tos, more often entrusting him to his tutor and caretaker for reasons unknown.

Her interest in magic is constant. She reads about it, practices it, and authors papers on it, never seeming to tire of it even though she has little skill. It's become a sort of relief. And after using it, she seems unreasonably tired in both mind and body.

She's achieved much in her lifetime. But to her, what defines her are failings. The qualities which once made her the pride of her family - of the entire House - are gone. So too with the amnesty from the curse. And yet, what disgusts her is that she never defeated it while she could. That and so many other important things seem beyond her reach to accomplish now.

To other all races she is indifferent, if not snobbish. They are too insignificant, too young for her to be concerned with.

History

Few could claim a more ancient lineage than the daughters and sons of Serynzheri. The House of Serynzheri is known to date back many centuries; to the arrival of the Highborne in Tirisfal.

According to legend, the family loved Silverpine Forest. When the other Highborne were driven out of Tirisfal by the maddening whispers beneath the earth, they stayed on in Silverpine. They became known as artisans in Quel'thalas, chiefly for the fine crystal art they sent out from Tirisfal. In honor of their new home and their craft, they became known as Serynzheri; meaning 'crystal pine' in Thalassian.

The lingering in Tirisfal had its price. They hadn't fallen ill or gone insane as the other Highborne had, but it was said that they'd been cursed by the presence there. From that point onward, one person in each generation of the ennobled Serynzheri was destined to insanity.

Hundreds of years passed. Upon the discovery of Crystalsong Forest, the Serynzheris withdrew their mining operations from Tirisfal and Silverpine, laying claim to a small portion of the land in Northrend instead. This new crystal grew in larger deposits than the last, and it became rare to find the old crystal of Tirisfal anywhere in the Serynzheri collections.

All except for one piece. A staff of crystal had been made in antiquity, and passed down through the family as a symbol of Headship. But as the superstition grew stronger, the Tirisfal crystal became a symbol of their curse - and the staff was the catalyst. The House heads stopped carrying it with them. Being granted the staff took on a new meaning. To receive it meant you were the sacrificial one; the one the family was willing to give up to protect the others.

To refuse it was unthinkable.

It was into this House that Cyielra Serynzheri was born; one of four in her generation, and the only daughter. She and her siblings led lives of cultured idleness, with a focus on education, politics and the arts rather than more practical pursuits. Although only her elder brother Arrian was expected to attain the title of House headship, they were all expected to cultivate the skills necessary - after all, there was no telling where the curse would strike.

Cyielra also had some talent for magic. She and her youngest brother Taldeimos (who possessed the same) were sent to Dalaran to complete their studies. It was there that she remained for many years, learning the craft and trying to overcome the limitations of her ability.

When she had finished, she returned to the House in Silvermoon. Things had changed in her absence, and not for the better. Her brother Arrian was becoming difficult to get along with: arrogant, scheming, and suspicious that one of his younger siblings would try to usurp the leadership by ingratiating themselves to their father.

With the help of her second-youngest and most level-headed brother, Ansrael, she persuaded him otherwise. She left after that, out of concern for the peace of the House.

It wouldn't be out of place to say that the years following that were the happiest of her life. Wealth, she had, prestige, beauty, wisdom, skill - there was nothing she lacked for and no worries in her life. She was fawned over by the circles of nobility. The slightest efforts put forth by her yielded marvelous results.

And as with any noblewoman with the good fortune of beauty, she had her share of admirers. Most proposals were from the Houses with which Serynzheri was closest, and an alliance between them would have been fortuitous. But Cyielra the ever-proud declined them all.

Then the staff was passed on to her hands. The ancient crystal staff, believed to mark the holder with the curse of the Serynzheris. Whatever she felt over the incident was suppressed, and she continued on as always: defying the assigned fate. Never succumbing to it, and never showing the least bit of strain. It was something that had never happened before in the history of the House. She had been well-admired before.. but now? She had surpassed all others in her lineage.

Perhaps it was also her charmed life which led her to meet Aerindel Haelsyth at a public function. She took more kindly to him than she had most others. Polite knowledge led to friendship, which led to a greater friendship, and eventually a romance lasting almost a decade. They were betrothed by the time she entered her hundredth year.

Many of their years passed together, and the ring which had once belonged to Aerindel never left her finger. Even those who'd been skeptical of her ability to withstand the curse had ceased to fear. The curse had ended with Cyielra. Never did the Serynzheris or the Haelsyths encounter trouble within their Houses, and even the relations with Cyielra's siblings had been smoothed over.

In time, she and Aerindel had a son whom they named Kaei'tos, A healthy, happy, and clever child - but Cyielra, accustomed to perfection, expected no less. He was doted on and raised by both parents, unlike many scions of noble houses who were taken care of by others.

Then the Siege of Silvermoon came. Cyielra and Kaei'tos survived, but it seemed everyone else had died around them. Her father, mother, all of her siblings, and - most unforgivably - Aerindel.

She took control of the House while still in mourning, and summoned forth her nephew Artairis - son of her brother Ansrael. It was under her guidance that he learned to maintain their House, though she never told him why. The truth was that the curse had caught up with her at last.

Even then, she persisted in fighting it in every manifestation. To give up the staff would be to put Kaei'tos and Artairis in danger. When Taldeimos and Taiga - her elder brother's illegitimate child, believed dead - returned to the House in Silvermoon as Death Knights, they brought other Death Knights with them. Each family member had their own agenda. Namely, reclaiming the House for themselves and their respective consorts.

Taldeimos died again during the power struggle, and not by violent means. It is believed by most that he somehow acquired the curse from Cyielra. Or, more accurately, she had found a way to curse him with it.

Taiga was luckier. She was the daughter of the eldest brother, Arrian. By this fortune (and the foresight of her father) she found enough to stabilize her claim to House Serynzheri. Cyielra and Artairis were removed from power. Then Taiga fell prey to the curse as well. Except she didn't die.

Both challenges to the leadership of Cyielra had been eliminated by the curse. It didn't look like a coincidence. If people thought Cyielra had overpowered the curse before, now they believed that it did her bidding.

It will not be long now. Every one of her senses tells her so, and she feels it getting closer. In the bloom of her power, she could have destroyed it. But that's no longer true. It's too late.