Syllai
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| Syllai on the dance floor of Pocket D | |
| Syllai | |
| Player: | |
| Origin: | Magic |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Dominator |
| Security Level: | Confidential |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | éabann-Syllai |
| Known Aliases: | None |
| Species: | "Faoi choim na hoíche" |
| Age: | Over 300 years (born on October 30th, 1651) |
| Height: | 5'7 (in heels) |
| Weight: | 127 pounds |
| Eye Color: | Indeterminable, though it varies between violet and grey |
| Hair Color: | Black |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | Assumed Irish |
| Occupation: | Registered through M.A.G.I as a licensed hero in Paragon City |
| Place of Birth: | Willow's Edge, Province of Munster, Ireland |
| Base of Operations: | Atlas Park |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Unknown |
| Known Powers | |
| Welds dark magic | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Ability to deploy dark magic in the form of energy chains, fences, and blasts | |
| Equipment | |
| Blackwand staff, ensorcelled copper wristbands | |
| No additional information available. | |
Contents |
Introduction
Syllai is a dark magic fae sorceress registered by the FBSA under the Magic Origin department M.A.G.I. She is licensed to protect the people of Paragon city as a hero. She also works as a volunteer member of the Midnight Squad and a frequent patron of Pocket D.
The "Faoi choim na hoíche"
Experts at M.A.G.I. are unsure where exactly the "Faoi choim na hoíche" (Gaelic for "Under the cover of darkness") come from. Syllai claims she read some ancient scripture saying her people are decendants of the angels that chose to remain neutral during the Biblical times of the War Of Heaven. Those same angels, who chose to side neither with God nor Lucifer, fell to Ireland as punishment. Because Syllai has a reputation for being both a prankster and an embellisher of actual fact, M.A.G.I. diviners instead chose to dig deeper. They believe her people are the beneficiaries of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the magical rulers of Ireland before the Milesians forced them out. It's theorized the war between those two powers would have scattered magical energies and artifacts throughout Ireland, to be discovered later by other races of the Daoine maithe (fairies in modern language). This could have led to the creation of the "Faoi choim na hoíche".
What is certain is that the "Faoi choim na hoíche" are practitioner of dark magic. This does not mean Syllai's people are evil, but they use magic that is generally harmful to others, with no healing or soothing properties. While all members of Syllai's race have varying degrees of ability to practice dark magic, the most adept of handling the magic belong to a council of sorceresses known as "The Way Of The Dark". This group is responsible for maintaining order throughout the population, and interpreting the scripture of "The Dark Lady". According to Syllai, "The Dark Lady" is similar to a goddess the "Faoi choim na hoíche" worship, but their devotion appears to follow a more Wiccan manner than what would be found in modern religions such as Christianity.
The "Faoi choim na hoíche" appear elven in origin, having long pointed ears and pale smooth skin. However, on closer examination of Syllai's own appearance and etchings on some talismans belonging to her people, the "Faoi choim na hoíche" also have a very pronounced hawk-like nose and a wide jawbone and mouth full of small sharp teeth. These additional physical attributes, as well as the dark Gothic style her people are known to dress in, imply the possibility of goblin ancestry. When asked about this in her initial FBSA interview before her registration, Syllai put on her best poker face and coyly remarked, "we're a dog's breakfest".
Accident Magnet
Like all members of the "Faoi choim na hoíche", Syllai can weld dark magic and at a higher level of power than her peers. She also suffers from power control issues, of which one unfortunate example led to her expulsion from her home and started her three century journey to Paragon City.
In May of 1682, Syllai was tasked by the Way Of The Dark to clear a nearby marsh so her village, Willow's Edge, can expand into it and create new places to live. She was instructed to take great care of the gases around the marsh while clearing so she did not cause an explosion. Unfortunately that's exactly what happened. The pollen in the Irish springtime made her sneeze and clang her copper wristbands together. The resulting act set off a massive discharge of dark energy that ignited the gas into a magically inducted backwash towards the village. In just a few seconds, Willow's Edge was flattened, though miraculously no one was injured or killed.
Syllai has a reputation amongst her people of being an odd-ball. She was clumsy in the use of her magic, absent-minded, somewhat rude, and a bit of a troublemaker and mischief maker. While the official command of the Way Of The Dark was to avoid contact with the new race called "humans" at all cost, Syllai found them fascinating, seeing they were able to do things without magic, and would watch them unseen. In some cases she would play tricks on the humans by knocking over a fence with a low-charged blast or inducting temporary but harmless paralysis on those human who walked alone. The latter action would be later known in Irish lore as being "fairy-struck". When the humans attempted to appease the mysterious "little people" who tormented them -- Syllai specifically -- by leaving gifts of bounty, Syllai gleefully accepted them, but left them alone in the end. The ignition of the marsh gas, on top of her past pranking and defiance of the order from The Way Of The Dark to keep away from humans, was the straw that broke the back of patience. Syllai was tried and found guilty of negligence by The Way Of The Dark, and asked to leave the village in discommendation. When Syllai pleaded for a second chance, the angry people of the now destroyed village "Willow's Edge" chased her into the forests of Munster. To this day, she has never seen her people since, and wonders if they were able to recover from the horrendous mishap she caused.
Seeking Redemption
Syllai walked the forests and fields of Ireland for the next few years, continuing to observe and play tricks on the humans in the nearby towns they lived in, to help her forget the shame and the sadness she felt for what she had done. It was one day during harvesting season on a human family's farm did Syllai finally get the message that she needed to be more responsible and careful with her powers. Disguised as a shadow near a tree, she watched the family harvest their wheat, charmed and touched by the laughing and singing as they worked. The youngest boy suddenly tripped, his dropped hoe sparking some flintrock and setting the dry grass aflame. The boy soon found himself surrounded by a growing wall of flame while the family screamed for help, frantically trying to reach him. Syllai raced out from under her cover and used her power to save the boy from the fire, vapourizing the ground around it to create a firewall. After seeing Syllai, the young boy fled to his father. He slowly approached her, looking at her in wonderment and shock. Syllai realized she was no longer invisible and assumed she was going to be attacked by the father out of fear. Instead, the man picked up a bushel of wheat, and placed it near her. With tears in his eyes and a grateful smile, he said, "Go raibh maith agat" (thank you). An equally surprised and teary Syllai responded, "Tá fáilte romhat" (you're welcome), and vanished in a crackle of dark energy with her gift.
From that moment on, Syllai knew what she had to do. She had to use her powers not for her own amusement, but to help others less fortunate. She hoped this in part would atone for her carelessness at Willow's Edge. Perhaps if her people learned of her actions, she would finally be forgiven.
The first 100 years
Syllai continued her trek throughout Ireland, using her powers to help people in secrecy when not using those same powers to carve out a niche for herself. In addition to watching the humans closely to learn some of their non-magic abilities, such as weaving, simple farming, and hut-building, she managed to live fairly comfortably and never hungry nor sick.
She was, however, lonely. Very lonely. She encountered no other members of the Faoi choim na hoíche since her exile, and she felt she could not risk going to the humans to ask for help. While the family she saved showed gratitude for saving their son, she knows the humans are generally frightened of the magical and supernatural world. With the humans' past actions during the days of the Witchcraft Act, she likely would be considered a witch herself and burned alive. This mindset would later change, and for the better.
Copper is commonly used amongst the Faoi choim na hoíche to help focus the usage of dark magic powers, just like a magnfying glas would help focus the sun into a single point of light in order to burn leaves. Syllai's copper bands on her wrists were starting to wear down and she knew she needed to learn how to forge new bands of copper. She knew of a human who was a blacksmith for many towns nearby. She planned on hiding in the shadows of his work area to watch and learn his craft through observation.
As Syllai in her shadowy form watched this human, a young man named Douglas Murphy, bang away on the anvil to bend super-heated iron into the shape for a fence, she realized this was going to be harder than she thought. Her ears were hurting from the repeated ringing of the hammer against the anvil, the fires were making her uncomfortably hot, and that hammer he was swinging looked much too heavy for her to lift. She moved closer, still disguised as a shadow, in the hope of figuring out how to adapt the process somewhat for her use if she had a better look. Ever clumsy, Syllai's sorceress gown snagged on a tool rack, and brought the whole mess down with a crash. Startled, she leaped, one foot landing into a bucket that in turn sent her tumbling head-first into a rainbarrow full of water. Murphy turned to see what the commotion was, and saw a very drenched and frightened Syllai quivering on the granite floor in terror. Murphy soothingly assured Syllai that he was not going to hurt her: he explained he is a friend to many of the little people near his home and they help him in getting the iron and copper for his work, in exchange for his help in fashioning wands and staffs.
Syllai was flabbergasted. A human working with the Daoine Maithe?
After he gave her a place to dry off, Syllai learned he was telling the truth. A leprechaun came to him later in the night for some new buckles for his belt and shoes. Murphy explained, ever since he was a child, he believed in the magic people like Syllai and the leprechaun and never lost that ability to relate to that part of the unseen world most humans missed after he grew up.
Murphy offered Syllai a room in his place downstairs to stay in case she was tired of wandering. At first she used it as a temporary stopover between her treks, but as she grew to trust...and like....Murphy, she finally made it her place to stay. For a short while anyways, she stopped her treks and stayed in Murphy's home.
The deal they worked out was simple. Syllai would help heat the metal using her magic, using new wristbands Murphy crafted out of the best smelted copper, to help Murphy complete his orders from the small towns and villages nearby. All she needed to do was keep out of sight until the nighttime where she was allowed to go out for some fresh air.
The business deal became a friendship, and as the months grew on, that friendship became closer and more tender. Soon, human and Daoine Maithe fell in love, and on the night both sat down to declare their affections as true, they also discussed the boundaries that had to be set.
Syllai heard of stories of humans and fae falling in love, with either good or bad consequences depending on which story she read. A halfling with the powers of a fae and the innovation and intelligence of a human would either be a godsend or a destroyer of the land. In the end, after a lengthy discussion, it was decided their love would be platonic. They would sleep in separate beds and resist all temptation to take their relationship to more carnal levels.
As the years passed, they enjoyed both the fruits of their labors as partners in Murphy's blacksmithing and as lovers enjoying each other's company in their secret relationship. Murphy also grew older over the years, while Syllai remained largely unaged by time. When Murphy retired from blacksmithing because he was too old and infirm to continue, they lived off the savings of their successful venture. When Murphy finally passed away due to pneumonia with Syllai at his side, she cried for a week after she buried him in the field behind his house. By the time the townspeople learned of his passing, Syllai was long gone, leaving only behind her words on his tombstone....
Douglas: A chuisle mo chroí (O love of my heart)
Personality Characteristics
While members of Syllai's race can live very long lives, no one knows what their life expectancy is. Syllai has mentioned on a few occasions the oldest Faoi choim na hoíche, a Way Of the Dark member, died at the age of 2000, but under accidental circumstances.
Even though Syllai has taken better responsibility for handling her powers, she is still a noted prankster. For fun, she sometimes charges the knives and swords at the Midnight Squad with a low-yield dark magic spell in order to give their owners a gentle zap. When confronted by said owner, she'll blame someone else or make up a story.
Syllai will sometimes attempt to find people's "buttons" to push in order to reveal their true personality, be it a backhanded comment or a flirty innuendo. She doesn't do this to be mean or cruel, but to learn about the true nature of the person. She has found that humans in particular put on airs to hide their true face. She has mentioned to those she talks to that she tries to put a crack in that veneer to let the real person shine through, good or bad.
