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C H A R A C T E R S H E E T F O R

{{ Character Sheet }}

  I D E N T I T Y

N A M E
True Name: D'ialia

Nicknames: Shadow, Nightingale

  P R O F F E S S I O N A L
Tribe: Shadow-Tribe

Powers: Primary

Rank: Soldier

  D E M O G R A P H I C S
Gender: Female

Pronouns: she/her

Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual

Relationship Status: Widowed

Age: 9 years, 6 months

Height: 8 inches

  H E R I T A G E
Tribe: Rogue

Breed: Russian Blue mix

Parents: Philo and Myra (rogues)

  P E R S O N A L

  P E R S O N A L I T Y
Summary: D'ialia is cold and aloof at first glance, spending most of her time sitting apart from others. Upon further inspection, she is anything but disinterested, paying close attention to everything that happens around her. She works to accumulate knowledge and power, intensely curious about the world around her and ever-distrustful of its inhabitants. She sees weakness as a plague, finding it in everyone around her, and is determined not to be weak. She is doggedly loyal to Shadow-Tribe and holds the other Tribes with disdain, finding it hard to adjust to the new mentality of cooperation and community. While she keeps herself at a distance from other cats, those who have won her loyalty will find her fiercely protective of their lives and interests.

Alignment: True Neutral

Personality Traits:
{ Sharp }
D'ialia sees knowledge as a form of power. The more she understands about everything and everyone, the better she will be able to succeed. She craves to know everything there is to know, to observe and interact with the world and soak up as much information as she can. She doesn't like being taught, despising lectures interlaced with opinion, and prefers to learn through observation, conversation and inference. She doesn't trust the word of another cat as much as she trusts her own senses, and she wishes to see the truth of the world with clarity, devoid of bias. Having seen the Tribes change time and time again, she knows to be wary of preconceptions. Everything is subject to revision.{ Intuitive }
D'ialia likes to think on her feet, thriving in conflict and action. She makes a habit of analyzing a cat when she first meets them, sizing them up and trying to figure out whatever she can just by what she can observe. She is not quick to judge, preferring to reserve her opinion until she has found evidence to back up her observations, but she always trusts what she can infer and so her impressions of cats rarely change. She can be quite stubborn as she hands onto her observation, and she is more likely to believe that something has changed rather than admit she was wrong. When in battle, she likes to read another creature's fighting style and match it to counter their attacks; if all goes according to plan, she gains more of an advantage the longer she fights.
{ Unpredictable }
D'ialia doesn't like to be figured out. Having spent her first few months in complete isolation before discovering the tribes, she has different priorities than many cats who grew up in social settings. She acts atypically and unpredictably, though close observation will show that she does have a consistent logic behind her actions. She doesn't like to give hints as to what she will do next, and if she thinks a cat knows her too well, she might do something to throw them for a loop and keep them on their toes. Her face is always closed off, her stance carefully monitored, striving to be in perfect control over herself at all times so she may react quickly according to whatever emotion strikes her.
{ Antisocial }
She never grew up play-wrestling or bonding with friends, and she prefers her isolation to company. What few friends she had in her prime have mostly been long gone, and she is hesitant to make new ones to replace the old. While she once thought friendship was unnecessary, she has since come to realize the value in having a few cats to trust. Alas, she has also become picky in her older age, putting her old comrades on a pedestal and finding it nigh-impossible for any of the new wave to compare. She's lonely, missing the faces that she grew up with, but drawn to that sense of camaraderie in others. So she often sits and watches, wistfully looking at foolish friends and remembering the times when she, too, was foolish.
{ Loyal }
D'ialia is loyal to anything that worms its way into her heart. Shadow Tribe has won her loyalty, and she hails it as her home even after she left to wander the world beyond Tribal borders. She fiercely defends those friendships she held in the old world, striving to protect their names and reputations. She's old-fashioned, disdainful of cats of other tribes. While friendship with them is not out of the question, she would fight them as dispassionately as any other warrior should her Tribe be at odds with theirs. Having grown up in a harder time before the Tribes were strictly united, she finds it hard to adjust to the new concept of loyalty, a united loyalty to tribe culture in general rather than her own allegiance. Her bonds with individuals are few and far between, but to win D'ialia as a friend for a day is to win her as a friend for life, especially if there are no other conflicting interests that could stand in the way of her friendship. D'ialia fears dying for the sake of nothing, and as she feels age creep up on her, she looks for a cause or cat that she could go out protecting.
{ Power-Hungry }
Above all else, D'ialia craves strength. Strength in loyalty, strength in bonds, strength of will and of spirit. She wishes to become stronger physically and emotionally. She is not ambitious, not actively seeking any status or recognition for her strength, but she would not turn down a position of higher rank if it were to be offered to her. Rank is a natural reward for those who have grown in strength rather than something to be sought as an end goal. She works to find ways to have power over other cats, though secrets and the discovery of weaknesses, and is wary of allowing anyone too close, for fear of them discovering some power to hold over her. Her silence and analytical detachment are armor to wield in her conquest for power.

{ Distrustful }
D'ialia's first impression of a cat is always one of distrust. Everyone wants something, and any conversation with her is for a purpose. The game is to figure out what they want before they get it, and to turn the interaction to her advantage. This means she rarely shares her own thoughts, preferring to ask about the other, figuring out more about them before she decides how much of a threat they are to her goals, her reputation, and her person. This often leads to disdain, as she judges many cats for their weaknesses. Even those who are stronger than her have flaws, and she would scoff at the way they see the world, or the way that they choose to use their power. Hypercritical and hard to please, D'ialia seeks only the best for herself and her associates.
{ Melancholy }
D'ialia is full of sorrow, missing those who she lost in the old territories. Having outlived most of her friends who she would have been glad to die for has left her often looking back into the past, cutting against the forward-thinking nature of her youth. She will often bring up those who have long gone, desperate to keep them alive in some fashion and continue to protect and help them. The years she spent alone, believing that one day she would return and see again all those she had loved, have fostered an ache in her heart, a homesickness for a home she can never return to, even beyond the land of the old territories. The focus of her attention, the final years of her life, are on what children remain in the Tribes. Before she dies, she wants to make sure her children feel loved.

  I T E M S
Tail Gem: This gem was given to her at birth to mark her heritage. She is never seen without it, and hopes that those who share her blood will be able to recognize her as kin.

Raven Feather Bracelet: Given to her in her youth by her departed mate, she swears that it still carries his familiar scent.

Nandryxite - Imaginary Friend: A dead lump of Nandryxite now that they're through the Door.

  R E L A T I O N S H I P S
Romantic Partner:
{ Cenek | Male | Former Silver-Shadow | Deceased | Toadfoal }"I miss you, my love."
Soul Bond:
{ Stephano | Male | Shadow-Triber | ??? | skitty22 }"You came to find me. I suppose I took too long."
Best Friend:
{ None | --- }"You're all gone now, aren't you?"
  P R O F E S S I O N A L

  S K I L L S
Abilities: Primary ShadowSeeing in the Dark (Novice)

Shadow Walker (Novice)

Shadows Around Me (Novice)

Drain (Novice)

Dark Warping (Proficient)

  S T A T S
Strength: 13

Intelligence: 10

Stealth: 7

Charisma: 1

Speed: 5

Arcane: 15

Toughness: 35

C O M B A TDamage: Critical (18-20): 36 | Hit (9-17): 18 | Partial Hit (2-8): 9 | Miss (1): 0

Dodge Chance: 30%

Stealth Attack Dice: upped by 3

  H O B B I E S
Sneaking (Proficient)
  H I S T O R Y

  B L O O D - T I E S
Parents:
{ Philo | Father | Rogue | Deceased }"I have heard he had many children. I am the greatest."{ Myra | Mother | Rogue | Deceased }"I have heard she looked like me, though I care little. I am glad she left me, for it made me stronger."

Offspring:
{ Primus | Male | Pisciz of Shadow-Tribe | Likely Deceased }"My weakest child, what I did, I did because I loved you. I loved you so much."
{ Secundus | Male | Ktori of Light-Tribe | Likely Deceased }"I loved you so much. You were wasted on Light-Tribe, my prodigy. I wish you could have found happiness. I hope I gave you something, at the end."{ Tertius | Female | Annabelle of Fire-Tribe | Likely Deceased }"My first daughter. You hated me for not loving you. It's too late to do better, but I always watched you. Fierce and angry and strong."{ Quartus | Male | Denver of Void-Tribe | Unknown }"Inseparable from your twin, I am glad that one of my sons joined the new tribe."{ Quintus | Male | Dakota of Void-Tribe | Unknown }"You were the bane of my existence, and I loved that about you."{ Hexus | Female | Sol of Shadow-Tribe | Unknown }"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I tried to love you, I wanted to give you what you wanted. Good-bye."{ Septimus | Female | Ashling of Water Tribe | Unknown }"I do not know what became of you. I hope to see you again, happy and strong."{ Octus | Female | Wicca of Light Tribe | Living }"I don't think you liked me, but you were perfect, with a beautiful mind."{ Nonus | Female | Noctis of Shadow Tribe | Living }"You were quiet and bright, and I know you loved your father more than you loved me. I hope to see you again, to remind you that your father and I loved you."

Siblings:
{ Yossarian | Brother | Earth-Tribe | Deceased }"My surviving brother, the only one of my litter. You told me of my mother, and of what happened to me. I miss you."{ Rain | Sister | Rogue | Deceased }"I never knew you, nor do I want to. You were weak."{ Jazlyn | Half-Sister | Pink-Light | Living }"I hated you. So, so much. You were bright and friendly and stupid and... happy. I am glad I got to say good bye to you when you left. I would have regretted never calling you my sister, even once."{ Rey | Half-Brother | Silver-Earth | Deceased }"You were in such a position of power. I admired you. I'm the best of Philo's children, but you were certainly the most accomplished."{ Sullivan | Half-Brother | Green-Shadow | Deceased }"I could always show you up. I don't think we ever even spoke about our shared heritage, but I saw the gem on your tail, and I knew what it meant."{ Seren | Half-Sister | Earth-Tribe | Deceased }"I have so many siblings in Earth-Tribe. You were just another, inferior to Rey."{ Hera | Half-Sister | Air-Tribe | Deceased }"I only heard you mentioned. I don't think I ever even saw you."

  E X T E N D E D
Adopted Family:
{ Yvaine | Adopted Daughter | Light-Tribe | Deceased }"I tried so hard. I tried to be a mother to you even more than my own children. Blood is circumstantial, but what we had was chosen. And ah, my sweet star, you're gone too, and I will grow old without you."

  B A C K S T O R Y
{ Old Nandryx }
D'ialia's first memories were of snow and isolation. As a kit, she found herself entirely alone, scrounging for food, hiding from predators, snuggling in the depths of a burrow to keep warm despite the frost. She had little sense of self, with no goals or drive other than survival, never seeing any other cats or knowing what her reflection looked like. The shadows, those patches of darkness that bent and moved with the motions of the world, were safety, and she learned to walk among them, flitting between them to keep out of sight, her dappled pelt breaking up her dark form. This was how she expected to live the rest of her life, constant motion until she stopped and became food for some other creature that passed along. This world was simple and, for all its hardships, beautiful.

Then she saw others passing through her world; creatures that she came to recognize as others like her. They were moving east, some in small groups, some alone, but all unerringly in the same direction. She hid from them at first, never allowing them to see her as she stalked them from beneath the leaves of the bushes. They were all larger and stronger than she was, but spoke words to each other that faintly made sense to her, distant memories from her mother. Curious, she left her tranquil grove and followed them. They were the descendents of exiles, returning to the tribes after generations of living as traveling families, and they were accepted into the land of Nandryx, their grey tattoos flaring to life in vibrant colors. D'ialia's was among them, old tribe blood coursing through her veins and splaying a pink-and-orange grin across her dark face. While her new awareness and purpose had its advantages, it also came with downsides; nightmares of drowning, of failing, of dying in a tide of water. With power came fear, and D'ialia suffered from nightmares of drowning for much of her young life.

It took some time for D'ialia to adjust to living with the Tribes. Language was difficult, though she eventually picked it up, the roots of sound and meaning still present from her early days before she had found herself alone. She was an adolescent when she joined, her powers ripe and untested. For her first several months, she stalked her fellow Shadow-Tribers, to the amusement of some and the annoyance of others. Observing them, she thought, would be the best way to learn from them and eventually surpass them. Where before she had been content merely to survive, she was now frustrated by the things she knew, determined to figure everything and everyone out. Her greatest challenge came in the form of the Yellow-Shadow, Cenek, Shadow-Tribe's current second-in-command. When she followed him, he indulged her, spoke to her, called her strange and showed her his power. Awed by the display, D'ialia would return to him many times more for lessons, a step up from her inactive observation.

After that, she began to be a bit more social, though it was still hard for her to connect with others. Relationships were a difficult concept for her to grasp, though she tried her best to investigate and find out what they meant. While hunting in the neutral lands, she met a kit from Light-Tribe, Raine, who she hunted for, and felt the rush of gratification at the kit's awe, the same expression she wore when watching Cenek. Proud of her abilities and her tribe, she frequented the neutral grounds to test herself against the enemy tribes. One such encounter resulted in a meeting with Yossarian, an Earth-Triber who had joined the tribes in the wave of loners. He treated her differently from the others, greeting her with a delight that D'ialia found alarming. He recognized her as his kin, and told her that they were siblings.

She listened, silently, while he told her of their mother, Myra, who had for a short time loved the wandering rogue Philo, and how their father had left on the day of their birth. He showed her the charm on his tail, something that Philo gave to all his offspring, and from around his wrist procured a purple one. It was hers, the gem that had been meant to mark her as part of his dynasty, and Yossarian had kept it for her. Wordlessly, she took it, and left, thoughts clouded with discomfort at the thought of having real, living family.

Her discomfort didn't last long, however; the lands of Nandryx were falling apart, churned and broken by earthquakes. Prey died in the woods, and cats of all tribes were going hungry. On a risky hunt with her best friend Tule, D'ialia was bitten by a venemous snake and nearly died, saved in the nick of time thanks to a Light-Triber. D'ialia was quick to claim that the territory was broken and dying, and that they should move, that there were other lands out there that she had seen while she was a kit. Upon voicing her concerns to Cenek, the Yellow-Shadow always shut her down quickly, confident that the spirits and the Tribe leaders would find a solution, as they always did. It caused endless bickering between the two of them.

Eventually, a meeting was called and all the tribes gathered together. D'ialia was approved to go, but the meeting became very heated. All of the tribe leaders agreed that they weren't going to leave, and D'ialia felt a mix of expected anger and, less expected, relief. Just as the meeting was about to be adjourned, it was crashed by an unknown cat, though one who held yellow stars on her brow and chest: Jazlyn, a stranger who the spirits had chosen to be the new Yellow-Light. She claimed to have recieved a prophecy from the spirits--they had abandoned the old land and expected the tribes to move on as well. The leaders unanimously changed their minds, agreeing to move, and D'ialia finally spoke up, outraged that they made their decisions so ungrounded in reality, but at the mercy of subtle signs from the spirits. They had no assurance that Jazlyn had actually recieved such a prophecy, and openly mocked the new cat for expecting the world to suddenly run on her dramatic whims. Her angry outburst caused more cats to speak up, eventually resulting in Green-Light Ross to mock Cenek. Already wired from her rage, and disgusted to see a Light-Triber insulting her deputy, she attacked him, breaking the truce for a short period before their fight was ended by the leaders. When Cenek tried to check up on her, D'ialia shouted at him, angry at his inability to come up with an original thought, and calling him a drone for following the wishes of the leaders and spirits so blindly. She left to cool off, and didn't return to Shadow-Tribe's camp for several days.

She next saw Cenek while both of them were trying to catch something, anything, to eat in the crumbling territory. Cenek was trying to fish in the fast-flowing river and D'ialia decided to ignore him; however, when Cenek fell in, she froze, whirled around, and leapt in after him before she had time to think about what she was doing. The raging rapids, another sign of their corroding territory, were powerful, but D'ialia was determined to save her Yellow-Shadow even at the cost of her life. She struck out for shore, somehow managing to push him up before being swept away herself. Cenek found her downstream, unconscious and very close to death, and picked her up, carrying her to Light-Tribe and its healers. He ran into none other than Yellow-Light Jazlyn, who agreed to care for her in their camp until she was fit enough to leave.

When D'ialia awoke, she found herself in a den with Jazlyn and Cenek, aching and miserable but very much alive. Jazlyn left, proclaiming her well enough to travel, and D'ialia silently noted the tail gem she wore, a mark of their shared patronage. She and Cenek shared a quiet moment, thanking each other for their respective heroism. Cenek admitted that he was afraid to move to the new territory, and D'ialia admitted the same. Before she had joined the tribes, before she had set foot in Nandryx, she was lower than an animal, rooting to survive with no purpose or power. She feared that leaving the land would revert her to what she had been before. They reconciled and left, returning to Shadow-Tribe territory, but not before being confronted once more by Ross. Their confrontation turned into a multi-tribe skirmish, and D'ialia and Cenek slipped away, too injured and exhausted to see it through.

The tribes made their great journey north, following the will of the spirits. For the first time in D'ialia's life, the tribes did not fight, but joined as one on their way to the new lands. She traveled with Raine, the small Light-Tribe cat who had admired her hunting skills. Unfortunately, the little dame did not survive the journey, and D'ialia felt her first true stab of grief, making the rest of the journey alone and in silence.

{ New Nandryx }
The new territory was bountiful, beautiful, and everything they had hoped for. D'ialia spent many of her days exploring the beach with Cenek, speaking of power and promising each other never to fall behind as the tribes continued to expand. D'ialia had somewhat recoverecd from her fear of water, no longer suffering from her nightmares after taking her plunge into the river to save Cenek. So the two were able to swim to the rocky spires which jutted up from the ocean, climbing all the way to the top to watch the sunset. There, in the twilight, as they pressed close to one another, Cenek confessed his love to D'ialia. She threw it back in his face, spooked by the sudden commitment and the sudden change in discussion; a proposition or love, something that they had both agreed made cats do stupid, foolish, irrational things. She left, and he didn't come after her.

Terrified of seeing him again and hearing him say more promises that would further convince her he had gone mad, she ran into an old Fire-Tribe friend, Palette. Seeing how soft, feminine, and motherly the other cat looked, D'ialia asked her for some advice on love. After complaining about Cenek's foolishness, she admitted her own frustration in her inability to accept his affections. Palette patiently taught D'ialia that loving someone would not make her weaker, so long as it was a cat who she trusted, respected, and who she felt understood her. D'ialia calmed down for some time, finally thinking about how her life would change if she decided to start a family.

Cenek found her. This time, he spoke no words which would confuse her, giving her a simple gift: a bracelet of raven feathers to match the dark fur of her pelt. They danced together, calling the shadows to their paws, and the dam finally broke as D'ialia realized that she loved her Yellow-Shadow. That night led to a pregnancy, another step in their relationship that terrified D'ialia. Pregnancy, she knew, did make a cat weaker, more vulnerable, and in her fear she kept her pregnancy hidden, telling no one of her plight. She spent most of her time avoiding Cenek, despire her recent declaration of love, and instead found comfort in the friendship of an odd Tribemate named Stephano. He was as strange, awkward, and misunderstood as she was, and she found some pease in spending time with him, sure that he would never figure out her condition.

Unfortunatelly, not telling anyone of her pregnancy proved to be a fatal mistake. D'ialia traveled into the woods as she felt the kids coming too soon and miscarried them. Wracked by grief, guilt, and self-loathing, she remained there, until Stephano found Cenek to tell him that something was wrong. Despite his distaste for Stephano, Cenek follows him and finds D'ialia. The woods were dangerous; camians had declared war on the Tribe cats who had entered their land, and Stephano led the monsters away at the risk of his life while Cenek coaxed D'ialia back to camp.

D'ialia tried to recover quickly from her grief, reconciling with Cenek and spending more time with him in an attempt to mend her broken heart. She found, all too quickly, that she was pregnant again. This time, she didn't hide her pregnancy because of fear, but because she wanted to fight against the caimans to protect the world that her kits would live in. She told no cat but Stephano, asking him to fight by her side while she carved a world out for her little ones. He agreed, and the two fought valiently in the final battle against the creatures; the tribe leaders defeated Ec the caiman leader, but many of the tribe's leadership was lost as a result. Cenek took his place as the Silver-Shadow, and Jazlyn decided to leave the tribes in the wake of the battle. D'ialia meets Jazlyn just before she leaves, saying good-bye to the sister she never spoke to except in anger, and returns to tell Cenek of the news of her pregnancy. While he is initially angry that she hid it in order to fight, he is happy that they are all safe and prepares to recieve his family.

D'ialia gave birth to five kittens, who she dubbed Primus, Secundus, Tertius, Quartus, and Quintus. She tried her best to be a good mother to them, but couldn't bring herself to shower them with affection the way she had seen other mothers do for their kits. She didn't snuggle with them, her mothering prompt and to-the-point, and found that many of them, particularly Primus and Tertius, resented her for her apparent lack of love. Despite this, D'ialia was proud of all of her children, allowing them to explore the world at their own pace, answering every question they asked of her even though she gave no compliments or praise that she didn't think was deserved. Her favorite was her second-born, a bright and inquisitive tom who never seemed to mind her parenting style, and, in D'ialia's opinion, much more promising than her firstborn, who was frightened and cowardly. She quickly found that Primus quickly broke under her harsh and demanding style of parenting, and spent many nights lying awake, fretting that she was mothering them as poorly as she feared she would. While taking a break from mothering and wandering far outside of Shadow-Tribe's territory, she came across a lost kit. Determined to mother something right for once, she saved the kit from its peril and, seeing that it bore Light-Tribe markers, brought the little dame to the tribes. This kit, who would earn the name Yvaine of Light-Tribe, became D'ialia's almost adopted daughter, and she desperately took the little girl under her wing, meeting with her and training her with all the ferocity she wished she could give to her own kin.

A sandstorm hit, the first great event of the Tribes since the battle with the caimans. D'ialia spent most of her time with Stephano, whose mental afflictions had reached an unfortunate peak. She coaxed him back from the brink of insanity and, as a promise that she would never leave him alone, soulbonded with him. In the midst of the sandstorm, D'ialia and her friend Tule were both promoted to Shadow-Tribe Generals, an honor which she took very seriously. When the last traces of the sandstorm had passed, D'ialia found that Primus was missing. She went ballistic, frantic to retrieve her son, desperate to prove how much she would sacrifice for him. When a rumor spread that Fire-Tribe had stolen him, D'ialia was the first to sign up for the raid to get him back. She led the warband against the enemy tribe while most of their fighters were at the tribe meeting, slipping into the nursery to find that Primus was nowhere to be found. Catching traces of his scent, she became furious, cornering the first Fire-Tribe cat she could find, who just so happened to be her friend Palette. Using her illusion magic, she made it seem as though she had found and tortured nursery kits, some of whom were Palette's own, demanding that the dame lead her to her son before she let them go. Palette was traumatized, and told D'ialia that they had found Primus lost and dying after the sandstorm, and that she had taken him in and loved him like a son. She said that he had been brought to the Tribe meeting so he could be returned.

Sickened, horrified of her actions, D'ialia backed away and called for the retreat, dismissing the illusion and leaving Palette, her friend who had given Primus more motherly love than D'ialia had ever been able to, sobbing on the ground.

D'ialia never quite recovered from the emotions of that night. At that very Tribe meeting, her kits were assigned to different tribes. Light-Tribe stole away Secundus, giving him the name Ktori. Tertius, named Anabelle, was sent to Fire-Tribe where her hatred of her mother festered, especially seeing the after-effects of her psychological torment on Palette. Primu, named Piszis, was marked for Shadow-Tribe, but after the night's events he couldn't stand to look at his mother, and left the tribes for good. Quartus and Quintus, the lastborn twins with less-than-noble tendencies, went to Air-Tribe together with the new names Dakota and Denver and never spoke to their mother again. She never made up with her friend Palette, the two crossing paths every so often and leaving even more angry and hurt than they had started.

It was a lonely time for D'ialia, standing in the wreckage of her family. Her bond with Cenek was as strong as ever, but she had lost the love of all of her children except Ktori. She met with the Light-Tribe tom over and over again, doting over him, constantly fretting over him. She celebrated with him when he fell in love, cried with him when he was met with tragedy, and she loved him fiercely with all the devotion she could find. For a time, things were alright again, and D'ialia had Yvaine and Ktori to love. But when the new Golden Butterflies ran rampant through the tribes, Ktori was taken and tortured mercilessly, and D'ialia was unable to go after him, both because of her own duties as a General at war with the Goldens and her own fear that another rescue attempt headed by her would lead to the same tragedy as last time. Ktori was finally rescued, a broken tom and a shadow of what he had once been, his life with his mate falling apart as his anger festered further and further. Yvaine, too, perished in the wake of that war. D'ialia never knew how it happened, though the rumors that the Light-Triber had taken her own life sent D'ialia spiraling back into guilt. Perhaps her children were cursed, never to find happiness and meaning.

She and Cenek decided to try for one last litter. She was a more experienced mother to her second set of kits, who she named Hexus, Septimus, Octus, and Nonus. She became more and more distant from them, allowing Cenek to do the majority of the parenting while she focused instead on mentoring her apprentice, Tsu. She felt the love for these children growing, but found more and more that the same patterns were repeating themselves again; her harsh mothering caused them to resent her, especially Hexus, who reminded her so much of fiery Anabelle. This led her to withdraw from them even further. She was afraid that these children, like the last, would grow and perish and that it would somehow be her fault. She spent more and more time at the edges of New Nandryx' territory, staring off into the distance, wondering what it would be like if she left. How her children would feel abandoned for a time, but would eventually grow and find other cats to love them, others to impress. She wanted to travel the world, to see and learn new things, to grow in a place where she couldn't hurt her children with her callousness.

She said a quick farewell to Cenek, her love, but no one else. Then left.
{ Corondryx }
D'ialia's travels led her far and wide. She would wake, eat, travel, see the sights, climb wherever she wanted and live at her own whims rather than along the march of logical action. Everything she did, she tried to do to strengthen her resolve, her commitment. In her heart, she held the ache of longing for her friends and family, fostering the ache until it became unbearable. The more she missed the cats she loved, she reasoned, the stronger her love would be for them when she returned. She hoped to return to four strong, healthy, and happy kits. Even if they hated her for leaving, she could love them and know that they could be happy. The years stretched longer and longer, and every day that D'ialia wished to return, she fought against it, determined to wait until she could no longer be away from them. The longing was never unbearable, and she could always quiet it if she tried hard enough. Saddened, she eventually realized that perhaps she didn't have what it took to truly love her children, and perhaps she would not return at all.

To her surprise, she stumbled across her son Ktori miles from her homeland. He was broken, barely sane, and accompanied by a bright young female: his daughter Hermione. She explained that Ktori's life had fallen apart and he had decided to leave, and not wanting his father to perish while he was weak and broken, she had accompanied him. D'ialia stayed with them and had a new goal in mind, invigorating her. She would find a new home for her son and granddaughter, somewhere that they could be safe and happy for the end of their days. She set off to find it.

They were joined some time later by Stephano, D'ialia's precious soulbond. After waiting at the border for her to come home, he had finally decided to leave and go to her. She was ecstatic to see her friend, and found that her heart was filled with joy at being around those she loved. Together, she and Stephano found a beautiful grove in a hidden valley, with plentiful prey and a crisp waterfall that sparkled in the light. She and Stephano helped Ktori and Hermione settle down, then D'ialia left with her friend for more adventures.

They journeyed far. D'ialia wanted to show Stephano all the places she'd been, all the beautiful things she'd seen, and when they were finished, they would return to Shadow-Tribe. He followed her loyally, and they saw the world together; D'ialia was the happiest she had ever been. But as they reaveled, D'ialia started seeing signs that the world was falling apart. It sent a prickle down her spine as she remembered the destruction of Old Nandryx in her youth. It was the same pattern as it had been then; the ground splitting and degrating, plague and famine sweeping through the land, the earth itself dying. It was time to return, to rejoin with the tribes and aid them while she still had some youthful strength left in her body.

She and Stephano returned to the place they had left Ktori and Hermione and found it destroyed. D'ialia searched for a short time before moving on, speaking nothing of their demise. When they returned, D'ialia found that the tribelands had been destroyed, all the cats there gone. She wandered over the old paths that she had once walked, slipping into the tunnels of Shadow-Tribe's territory. She did not let Stephano come with her. When she emerged, she looked to be more at peace, and told her soulbond only that she was saying one last good-bye to Cenek.

They found the Door. Shaped like a star, and glittering with light full of hope. D'ialia felt her paws prickle as she smelled the scents of the tribes leading right up to it and vanishing. On the other side, perhaps her children lived. Warriors. Leaders. Heroes and legends. For one brief moment, she considered leaving, embracing her own destruction in the land she had grown up, perhaps retreating to the tunnels so her bones could rest with the bones of her mate.

Instead, she turned to Stephano, gave him a nervous but resolute smile, and stepped through to Corondryx.

E X T R A

  L I T E R A C Y - L E V E L S
Script: Open

Short response: Open

Mid-length response: Open

Good god why are we writing novels?: Open

  R P - M E T H O D S
Discord: Open (preferred)

Notes: Open

Comments: Closed (except for events)

Other: Likely closed, but feel free to ask!

  A V A I L A B I L I T Y
Time Zone: EST

  R P - S A M P L E
Source: OfStarsAndClans

Sample: Hopflight had been presiding over one of the competitions, but turned when he heard his name quietly spoken off to the side. He was surprised to see Missy approaching him; the gist he had gotten was that she generally kept her head down around cats of authority and the only time he had ever really spoken to her was when he had been the one approaching. He'd been fairly certain that rainy night would be the last he really saw of her in a personal setting.

"Hello, Missy!" he said, genuine delight crossing his features. Aah, perhaps she wanted something from him. Not wanting to scare her off, he decided to open the possibility first. "Is there something you need? I'm at your service, of course!"

  C R E D I T S
Havensake © HS Admin team

D'ialia © Riveriia

Description

C H A R A C T E R S H E E T F O R

{{ Character Sheet }}

  I D E N T I T Y

N A M E
True Name: D'ialia

Nicknames: Shadow, Nightingale

  P R O F F E S S I O N A L
Tribe: Shadow-Tribe

Powers: Primary

Rank: Soldier

  D E M O G R A P H I C S
Gender: Female

Pronouns: she/her

Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual

Relationship Status: Widowed

Age: 9 years, 6 months

Height: 8 inches

  H E R I T A G E
Tribe: Rogue

Breed: Russian Blue mix

Parents: Philo and Myra (rogues)

  P E R S O N A L

  P E R S O N A L I T Y
Summary: D'ialia is cold and aloof at first glance, spending most of her time sitting apart from others. Upon further inspection, she is anything but disinterested, paying close attention to everything that happens around her. She works to accumulate knowledge and power, intensely curious about the world around her and ever-distrustful of its inhabitants. She sees weakness as a plague, finding it in everyone around her, and is determined not to be weak. She is doggedly loyal to Shadow-Tribe and holds the other Tribes with disdain, finding it hard to adjust to the new mentality of cooperation and community. While she keeps herself at a distance from other cats, those who have won her loyalty will find her fiercely protective of their lives and interests.

Alignment: True Neutral

Personality Traits:
{ Sharp }
D'ialia sees knowledge as a form of power. The more she understands about everything and everyone, the better she will be able to succeed. She craves to know everything there is to know, to observe and interact with the world and soak up as much information as she can. She doesn't like being taught, despising lectures interlaced with opinion, and prefers to learn through observation, conversation and inference. She doesn't trust the word of another cat as much as she trusts her own senses, and she wishes to see the truth of the world with clarity, devoid of bias. Having seen the Tribes change time and time again, she knows to be wary of preconceptions. Everything is subject to revision.{ Intuitive }
D'ialia likes to think on her feet, thriving in conflict and action. She makes a habit of analyzing a cat when she first meets them, sizing them up and trying to figure out whatever she can just by what she can observe. She is not quick to judge, preferring to reserve her opinion until she has found evidence to back up her observations, but she always trusts what she can infer and so her impressions of cats rarely change. She can be quite stubborn as she hands onto her observation, and she is more likely to believe that something has changed rather than admit she was wrong. When in battle, she likes to read another creature's fighting style and match it to counter their attacks; if all goes according to plan, she gains more of an advantage the longer she fights.
{ Unpredictable }
D'ialia doesn't like to be figured out. Having spent her first few months in complete isolation before discovering the tribes, she has different priorities than many cats who grew up in social settings. She acts atypically and unpredictably, though close observation will show that she does have a consistent logic behind her actions. She doesn't like to give hints as to what she will do next, and if she thinks a cat knows her too well, she might do something to throw them for a loop and keep them on their toes. Her face is always closed off, her stance carefully monitored, striving to be in perfect control over herself at all times so she may react quickly according to whatever emotion strikes her.
{ Antisocial }
She never grew up play-wrestling or bonding with friends, and she prefers her isolation to company. What few friends she had in her prime have mostly been long gone, and she is hesitant to make new ones to replace the old. While she once thought friendship was unnecessary, she has since come to realize the value in having a few cats to trust. Alas, she has also become picky in her older age, putting her old comrades on a pedestal and finding it nigh-impossible for any of the new wave to compare. She's lonely, missing the faces that she grew up with, but drawn to that sense of camaraderie in others. So she often sits and watches, wistfully looking at foolish friends and remembering the times when she, too, was foolish.
{ Loyal }
D'ialia is loyal to anything that worms its way into her heart. Shadow Tribe has won her loyalty, and she hails it as her home even after she left to wander the world beyond Tribal borders. She fiercely defends those friendships she held in the old world, striving to protect their names and reputations. She's old-fashioned, disdainful of cats of other tribes. While friendship with them is not out of the question, she would fight them as dispassionately as any other warrior should her Tribe be at odds with theirs. Having grown up in a harder time before the Tribes were strictly united, she finds it hard to adjust to the new concept of loyalty, a united loyalty to tribe culture in general rather than her own allegiance. Her bonds with individuals are few and far between, but to win D'ialia as a friend for a day is to win her as a friend for life, especially if there are no other conflicting interests that could stand in the way of her friendship. D'ialia fears dying for the sake of nothing, and as she feels age creep up on her, she looks for a cause or cat that she could go out protecting.
{ Power-Hungry }
Above all else, D'ialia craves strength. Strength in loyalty, strength in bonds, strength of will and of spirit. She wishes to become stronger physically and emotionally. She is not ambitious, not actively seeking any status or recognition for her strength, but she would not turn down a position of higher rank if it were to be offered to her. Rank is a natural reward for those who have grown in strength rather than something to be sought as an end goal. She works to find ways to have power over other cats, though secrets and the discovery of weaknesses, and is wary of allowing anyone too close, for fear of them discovering some power to hold over her. Her silence and analytical detachment are armor to wield in her conquest for power.

{ Distrustful }
D'ialia's first impression of a cat is always one of distrust. Everyone wants something, and any conversation with her is for a purpose. The game is to figure out what they want before they get it, and to turn the interaction to her advantage. This means she rarely shares her own thoughts, preferring to ask about the other, figuring out more about them before she decides how much of a threat they are to her goals, her reputation, and her person. This often leads to disdain, as she judges many cats for their weaknesses. Even those who are stronger than her have flaws, and she would scoff at the way they see the world, or the way that they choose to use their power. Hypercritical and hard to please, D'ialia seeks only the best for herself and her associates.
{ Melancholy }
D'ialia is full of sorrow, missing those who she lost in the old territories. Having outlived most of her friends who she would have been glad to die for has left her often looking back into the past, cutting against the forward-thinking nature of her youth. She will often bring up those who have long gone, desperate to keep them alive in some fashion and continue to protect and help them. The years she spent alone, believing that one day she would return and see again all those she had loved, have fostered an ache in her heart, a homesickness for a home she can never return to, even beyond the land of the old territories. The focus of her attention, the final years of her life, are on what children remain in the Tribes. Before she dies, she wants to make sure her children feel loved.

  I T E M S
Tail Gem: This gem was given to her at birth to mark her heritage. She is never seen without it, and hopes that those who share her blood will be able to recognize her as kin.

Raven Feather Bracelet: Given to her in her youth by her departed mate, she swears that it still carries his familiar scent.

Nandryxite - Imaginary Friend: A dead lump of Nandryxite now that they're through the Door.

  R E L A T I O N S H I P S
Romantic Partner:
{ Cenek | Male | Former Silver-Shadow | Deceased | Toadfoal }"I miss you, my love."
Soul Bond:
{ Stephano | Male | Shadow-Triber | ??? | skitty22 }"You came to find me. I suppose I took too long."
Best Friend:
{ None | --- }"You're all gone now, aren't you?"
  P R O F E S S I O N A L

  S K I L L S
Abilities: Primary ShadowSeeing in the Dark (Novice)

Shadow Walker (Novice)

Shadows Around Me (Novice)

Drain (Novice)

Dark Warping (Proficient)

  S T A T S
Strength: 13

Intelligence: 10

Stealth: 7

Charisma: 1

Speed: 5

Arcane: 15

Toughness: 35

C O M B A TDamage: Critical (18-20): 36 | Hit (9-17): 18 | Partial Hit (2-8): 9 | Miss (1): 0

Dodge Chance: 30%

Stealth Attack Dice: upped by 3

  H O B B I E S
Sneaking (Proficient)
  H I S T O R Y

  B L O O D - T I E S
Parents:
{ Philo | Father | Rogue | Deceased }"I have heard he had many children. I am the greatest."{ Myra | Mother | Rogue | Deceased }"I have heard she looked like me, though I care little. I am glad she left me, for it made me stronger."

Offspring:
{ Primus | Male | Pisciz of Shadow-Tribe | Likely Deceased }"My weakest child, what I did, I did because I loved you. I loved you so much."
{ Secundus | Male | Ktori of Light-Tribe | Likely Deceased }"I loved you so much. You were wasted on Light-Tribe, my prodigy. I wish you could have found happiness. I hope I gave you something, at the end."{ Tertius | Female | Annabelle of Fire-Tribe | Likely Deceased }"My first daughter. You hated me for not loving you. It's too late to do better, but I always watched you. Fierce and angry and strong."{ Quartus | Male | Denver of Void-Tribe | Unknown }"Inseparable from your twin, I am glad that one of my sons joined the new tribe."{ Quintus | Male | Dakota of Void-Tribe | Unknown }"You were the bane of my existence, and I loved that about you."{ Hexus | Female | Sol of Shadow-Tribe | Unknown }"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I tried to love you, I wanted to give you what you wanted. Good-bye."{ Septimus | Female | Ashling of Water Tribe | Unknown }"I do not know what became of you. I hope to see you again, happy and strong."{ Octus | Female | Wicca of Light Tribe | Living }"I don't think you liked me, but you were perfect, with a beautiful mind."{ Nonus | Female | Noctis of Shadow Tribe | Living }"You were quiet and bright, and I know you loved your father more than you loved me. I hope to see you again, to remind you that your father and I loved you."

Siblings:
{ Yossarian | Brother | Earth-Tribe | Deceased }"My surviving brother, the only one of my litter. You told me of my mother, and of what happened to me. I miss you."{ Rain | Sister | Rogue | Deceased }"I never knew you, nor do I want to. You were weak."{ Jazlyn | Half-Sister | Pink-Light | Living }"I hated you. So, so much. You were bright and friendly and stupid and... happy. I am glad I got to say good bye to you when you left. I would have regretted never calling you my sister, even once."{ Rey | Half-Brother | Silver-Earth | Deceased }"You were in such a position of power. I admired you. I'm the best of Philo's children, but you were certainly the most accomplished."{ Sullivan | Half-Brother | Green-Shadow | Deceased }"I could always show you up. I don't think we ever even spoke about our shared heritage, but I saw the gem on your tail, and I knew what it meant."{ Seren | Half-Sister | Earth-Tribe | Deceased }"I have so many siblings in Earth-Tribe. You were just another, inferior to Rey."{ Hera | Half-Sister | Air-Tribe | Deceased }"I only heard you mentioned. I don't think I ever even saw you."

  E X T E N D E D
Adopted Family:
{ Yvaine | Adopted Daughter | Light-Tribe | Deceased }"I tried so hard. I tried to be a mother to you even more than my own children. Blood is circumstantial, but what we had was chosen. And ah, my sweet star, you're gone too, and I will grow old without you."

  B A C K S T O R Y
{ Old Nandryx }
D'ialia's first memories were of snow and isolation. As a kit, she found herself entirely alone, scrounging for food, hiding from predators, snuggling in the depths of a burrow to keep warm despite the frost. She had little sense of self, with no goals or drive other than survival, never seeing any other cats or knowing what her reflection looked like. The shadows, those patches of darkness that bent and moved with the motions of the world, were safety, and she learned to walk among them, flitting between them to keep out of sight, her dappled pelt breaking up her dark form. This was how she expected to live the rest of her life, constant motion until she stopped and became food for some other creature that passed along. This world was simple and, for all its hardships, beautiful.

Then she saw others passing through her world; creatures that she came to recognize as others like her. They were moving east, some in small groups, some alone, but all unerringly in the same direction. She hid from them at first, never allowing them to see her as she stalked them from beneath the leaves of the bushes. They were all larger and stronger than she was, but spoke words to each other that faintly made sense to her, distant memories from her mother. Curious, she left her tranquil grove and followed them. They were the descendents of exiles, returning to the tribes after generations of living as traveling families, and they were accepted into the land of Nandryx, their grey tattoos flaring to life in vibrant colors. D'ialia's was among them, old tribe blood coursing through her veins and splaying a pink-and-orange grin across her dark face. While her new awareness and purpose had its advantages, it also came with downsides; nightmares of drowning, of failing, of dying in a tide of water. With power came fear, and D'ialia suffered from nightmares of drowning for much of her young life.

It took some time for D'ialia to adjust to living with the Tribes. Language was difficult, though she eventually picked it up, the roots of sound and meaning still present from her early days before she had found herself alone. She was an adolescent when she joined, her powers ripe and untested. For her first several months, she stalked her fellow Shadow-Tribers, to the amusement of some and the annoyance of others. Observing them, she thought, would be the best way to learn from them and eventually surpass them. Where before she had been content merely to survive, she was now frustrated by the things she knew, determined to figure everything and everyone out. Her greatest challenge came in the form of the Yellow-Shadow, Cenek, Shadow-Tribe's current second-in-command. When she followed him, he indulged her, spoke to her, called her strange and showed her his power. Awed by the display, D'ialia would return to him many times more for lessons, a step up from her inactive observation.

After that, she began to be a bit more social, though it was still hard for her to connect with others. Relationships were a difficult concept for her to grasp, though she tried her best to investigate and find out what they meant. While hunting in the neutral lands, she met a kit from Light-Tribe, Raine, who she hunted for, and felt the rush of gratification at the kit's awe, the same expression she wore when watching Cenek. Proud of her abilities and her tribe, she frequented the neutral grounds to test herself against the enemy tribes. One such encounter resulted in a meeting with Yossarian, an Earth-Triber who had joined the tribes in the wave of loners. He treated her differently from the others, greeting her with a delight that D'ialia found alarming. He recognized her as his kin, and told her that they were siblings.

She listened, silently, while he told her of their mother, Myra, who had for a short time loved the wandering rogue Philo, and how their father had left on the day of their birth. He showed her the charm on his tail, something that Philo gave to all his offspring, and from around his wrist procured a purple one. It was hers, the gem that had been meant to mark her as part of his dynasty, and Yossarian had kept it for her. Wordlessly, she took it, and left, thoughts clouded with discomfort at the thought of having real, living family.

Her discomfort didn't last long, however; the lands of Nandryx were falling apart, churned and broken by earthquakes. Prey died in the woods, and cats of all tribes were going hungry. On a risky hunt with her best friend Tule, D'ialia was bitten by a venemous snake and nearly died, saved in the nick of time thanks to a Light-Triber. D'ialia was quick to claim that the territory was broken and dying, and that they should move, that there were other lands out there that she had seen while she was a kit. Upon voicing her concerns to Cenek, the Yellow-Shadow always shut her down quickly, confident that the spirits and the Tribe leaders would find a solution, as they always did. It caused endless bickering between the two of them.

Eventually, a meeting was called and all the tribes gathered together. D'ialia was approved to go, but the meeting became very heated. All of the tribe leaders agreed that they weren't going to leave, and D'ialia felt a mix of expected anger and, less expected, relief. Just as the meeting was about to be adjourned, it was crashed by an unknown cat, though one who held yellow stars on her brow and chest: Jazlyn, a stranger who the spirits had chosen to be the new Yellow-Light. She claimed to have recieved a prophecy from the spirits--they had abandoned the old land and expected the tribes to move on as well. The leaders unanimously changed their minds, agreeing to move, and D'ialia finally spoke up, outraged that they made their decisions so ungrounded in reality, but at the mercy of subtle signs from the spirits. They had no assurance that Jazlyn had actually recieved such a prophecy, and openly mocked the new cat for expecting the world to suddenly run on her dramatic whims. Her angry outburst caused more cats to speak up, eventually resulting in Green-Light Ross to mock Cenek. Already wired from her rage, and disgusted to see a Light-Triber insulting her deputy, she attacked him, breaking the truce for a short period before their fight was ended by the leaders. When Cenek tried to check up on her, D'ialia shouted at him, angry at his inability to come up with an original thought, and calling him a drone for following the wishes of the leaders and spirits so blindly. She left to cool off, and didn't return to Shadow-Tribe's camp for several days.

She next saw Cenek while both of them were trying to catch something, anything, to eat in the crumbling territory. Cenek was trying to fish in the fast-flowing river and D'ialia decided to ignore him; however, when Cenek fell in, she froze, whirled around, and leapt in after him before she had time to think about what she was doing. The raging rapids, another sign of their corroding territory, were powerful, but D'ialia was determined to save her Yellow-Shadow even at the cost of her life. She struck out for shore, somehow managing to push him up before being swept away herself. Cenek found her downstream, unconscious and very close to death, and picked her up, carrying her to Light-Tribe and its healers. He ran into none other than Yellow-Light Jazlyn, who agreed to care for her in their camp until she was fit enough to leave.

When D'ialia awoke, she found herself in a den with Jazlyn and Cenek, aching and miserable but very much alive. Jazlyn left, proclaiming her well enough to travel, and D'ialia silently noted the tail gem she wore, a mark of their shared patronage. She and Cenek shared a quiet moment, thanking each other for their respective heroism. Cenek admitted that he was afraid to move to the new territory, and D'ialia admitted the same. Before she had joined the tribes, before she had set foot in Nandryx, she was lower than an animal, rooting to survive with no purpose or power. She feared that leaving the land would revert her to what she had been before. They reconciled and left, returning to Shadow-Tribe territory, but not before being confronted once more by Ross. Their confrontation turned into a multi-tribe skirmish, and D'ialia and Cenek slipped away, too injured and exhausted to see it through.

The tribes made their great journey north, following the will of the spirits. For the first time in D'ialia's life, the tribes did not fight, but joined as one on their way to the new lands. She traveled with Raine, the small Light-Tribe cat who had admired her hunting skills. Unfortunately, the little dame did not survive the journey, and D'ialia felt her first true stab of grief, making the rest of the journey alone and in silence.

{ New Nandryx }
The new territory was bountiful, beautiful, and everything they had hoped for. D'ialia spent many of her days exploring the beach with Cenek, speaking of power and promising each other never to fall behind as the tribes continued to expand. D'ialia had somewhat recoverecd from her fear of water, no longer suffering from her nightmares after taking her plunge into the river to save Cenek. So the two were able to swim to the rocky spires which jutted up from the ocean, climbing all the way to the top to watch the sunset. There, in the twilight, as they pressed close to one another, Cenek confessed his love to D'ialia. She threw it back in his face, spooked by the sudden commitment and the sudden change in discussion; a proposition or love, something that they had both agreed made cats do stupid, foolish, irrational things. She left, and he didn't come after her.

Terrified of seeing him again and hearing him say more promises that would further convince her he had gone mad, she ran into an old Fire-Tribe friend, Palette. Seeing how soft, feminine, and motherly the other cat looked, D'ialia asked her for some advice on love. After complaining about Cenek's foolishness, she admitted her own frustration in her inability to accept his affections. Palette patiently taught D'ialia that loving someone would not make her weaker, so long as it was a cat who she trusted, respected, and who she felt understood her. D'ialia calmed down for some time, finally thinking about how her life would change if she decided to start a family.

Cenek found her. This time, he spoke no words which would confuse her, giving her a simple gift: a bracelet of raven feathers to match the dark fur of her pelt. They danced together, calling the shadows to their paws, and the dam finally broke as D'ialia realized that she loved her Yellow-Shadow. That night led to a pregnancy, another step in their relationship that terrified D'ialia. Pregnancy, she knew, did make a cat weaker, more vulnerable, and in her fear she kept her pregnancy hidden, telling no one of her plight. She spent most of her time avoiding Cenek, despire her recent declaration of love, and instead found comfort in the friendship of an odd Tribemate named Stephano. He was as strange, awkward, and misunderstood as she was, and she found some pease in spending time with him, sure that he would never figure out her condition.

Unfortunatelly, not telling anyone of her pregnancy proved to be a fatal mistake. D'ialia traveled into the woods as she felt the kids coming too soon and miscarried them. Wracked by grief, guilt, and self-loathing, she remained there, until Stephano found Cenek to tell him that something was wrong. Despite his distaste for Stephano, Cenek follows him and finds D'ialia. The woods were dangerous; camians had declared war on the Tribe cats who had entered their land, and Stephano led the monsters away at the risk of his life while Cenek coaxed D'ialia back to camp.

D'ialia tried to recover quickly from her grief, reconciling with Cenek and spending more time with him in an attempt to mend her broken heart. She found, all too quickly, that she was pregnant again. This time, she didn't hide her pregnancy because of fear, but because she wanted to fight against the caimans to protect the world that her kits would live in. She told no cat but Stephano, asking him to fight by her side while she carved a world out for her little ones. He agreed, and the two fought valiently in the final battle against the creatures; the tribe leaders defeated Ec the caiman leader, but many of the tribe's leadership was lost as a result. Cenek took his place as the Silver-Shadow, and Jazlyn decided to leave the tribes in the wake of the battle. D'ialia meets Jazlyn just before she leaves, saying good-bye to the sister she never spoke to except in anger, and returns to tell Cenek of the news of her pregnancy. While he is initially angry that she hid it in order to fight, he is happy that they are all safe and prepares to recieve his family.

D'ialia gave birth to five kittens, who she dubbed Primus, Secundus, Tertius, Quartus, and Quintus. She tried her best to be a good mother to them, but couldn't bring herself to shower them with affection the way she had seen other mothers do for their kits. She didn't snuggle with them, her mothering prompt and to-the-point, and found that many of them, particularly Primus and Tertius, resented her for her apparent lack of love. Despite this, D'ialia was proud of all of her children, allowing them to explore the world at their own pace, answering every question they asked of her even though she gave no compliments or praise that she didn't think was deserved. Her favorite was her second-born, a bright and inquisitive tom who never seemed to mind her parenting style, and, in D'ialia's opinion, much more promising than her firstborn, who was frightened and cowardly. She quickly found that Primus quickly broke under her harsh and demanding style of parenting, and spent many nights lying awake, fretting that she was mothering them as poorly as she feared she would. While taking a break from mothering and wandering far outside of Shadow-Tribe's territory, she came across a lost kit. Determined to mother something right for once, she saved the kit from its peril and, seeing that it bore Light-Tribe markers, brought the little dame to the tribes. This kit, who would earn the name Yvaine of Light-Tribe, became D'ialia's almost adopted daughter, and she desperately took the little girl under her wing, meeting with her and training her with all the ferocity she wished she could give to her own kin.

A sandstorm hit, the first great event of the Tribes since the battle with the caimans. D'ialia spent most of her time with Stephano, whose mental afflictions had reached an unfortunate peak. She coaxed him back from the brink of insanity and, as a promise that she would never leave him alone, soulbonded with him. In the midst of the sandstorm, D'ialia and her friend Tule were both promoted to Shadow-Tribe Generals, an honor which she took very seriously. When the last traces of the sandstorm had passed, D'ialia found that Primus was missing. She went ballistic, frantic to retrieve her son, desperate to prove how much she would sacrifice for him. When a rumor spread that Fire-Tribe had stolen him, D'ialia was the first to sign up for the raid to get him back. She led the warband against the enemy tribe while most of their fighters were at the tribe meeting, slipping into the nursery to find that Primus was nowhere to be found. Catching traces of his scent, she became furious, cornering the first Fire-Tribe cat she could find, who just so happened to be her friend Palette. Using her illusion magic, she made it seem as though she had found and tortured nursery kits, some of whom were Palette's own, demanding that the dame lead her to her son before she let them go. Palette was traumatized, and told D'ialia that they had found Primus lost and dying after the sandstorm, and that she had taken him in and loved him like a son. She said that he had been brought to the Tribe meeting so he could be returned.

Sickened, horrified of her actions, D'ialia backed away and called for the retreat, dismissing the illusion and leaving Palette, her friend who had given Primus more motherly love than D'ialia had ever been able to, sobbing on the ground.

D'ialia never quite recovered from the emotions of that night. At that very Tribe meeting, her kits were assigned to different tribes. Light-Tribe stole away Secundus, giving him the name Ktori. Tertius, named Anabelle, was sent to Fire-Tribe where her hatred of her mother festered, especially seeing the after-effects of her psychological torment on Palette. Primu, named Piszis, was marked for Shadow-Tribe, but after the night's events he couldn't stand to look at his mother, and left the tribes for good. Quartus and Quintus, the lastborn twins with less-than-noble tendencies, went to Air-Tribe together with the new names Dakota and Denver and never spoke to their mother again. She never made up with her friend Palette, the two crossing paths every so often and leaving even more angry and hurt than they had started.

It was a lonely time for D'ialia, standing in the wreckage of her family. Her bond with Cenek was as strong as ever, but she had lost the love of all of her children except Ktori. She met with the Light-Tribe tom over and over again, doting over him, constantly fretting over him. She celebrated with him when he fell in love, cried with him when he was met with tragedy, and she loved him fiercely with all the devotion she could find. For a time, things were alright again, and D'ialia had Yvaine and Ktori to love. But when the new Golden Butterflies ran rampant through the tribes, Ktori was taken and tortured mercilessly, and D'ialia was unable to go after him, both because of her own duties as a General at war with the Goldens and her own fear that another rescue attempt headed by her would lead to the same tragedy as last time. Ktori was finally rescued, a broken tom and a shadow of what he had once been, his life with his mate falling apart as his anger festered further and further. Yvaine, too, perished in the wake of that war. D'ialia never knew how it happened, though the rumors that the Light-Triber had taken her own life sent D'ialia spiraling back into guilt. Perhaps her children were cursed, never to find happiness and meaning.

She and Cenek decided to try for one last litter. She was a more experienced mother to her second set of kits, who she named Hexus, Septimus, Octus, and Nonus. She became more and more distant from them, allowing Cenek to do the majority of the parenting while she focused instead on mentoring her apprentice, Tsu. She felt the love for these children growing, but found more and more that the same patterns were repeating themselves again; her harsh mothering caused them to resent her, especially Hexus, who reminded her so much of fiery Anabelle. This led her to withdraw from them even further. She was afraid that these children, like the last, would grow and perish and that it would somehow be her fault. She spent more and more time at the edges of New Nandryx' territory, staring off into the distance, wondering what it would be like if she left. How her children would feel abandoned for a time, but would eventually grow and find other cats to love them, others to impress. She wanted to travel the world, to see and learn new things, to grow in a place where she couldn't hurt her children with her callousness.

She said a quick farewell to Cenek, her love, but no one else. Then left.
{ Corondryx }
D'ialia's travels led her far and wide. She would wake, eat, travel, see the sights, climb wherever she wanted and live at her own whims rather than along the march of logical action. Everything she did, she tried to do to strengthen her resolve, her commitment. In her heart, she held the ache of longing for her friends and family, fostering the ache until it became unbearable. The more she missed the cats she loved, she reasoned, the stronger her love would be for them when she returned. She hoped to return to four strong, healthy, and happy kits. Even if they hated her for leaving, she could love them and know that they could be happy. The years stretched longer and longer, and every day that D'ialia wished to return, she fought against it, determined to wait until she could no longer be away from them. The longing was never unbearable, and she could always quiet it if she tried hard enough. Saddened, she eventually realized that perhaps she didn't have what it took to truly love her children, and perhaps she would not return at all.

To her surprise, she stumbled across her son Ktori miles from her homeland. He was broken, barely sane, and accompanied by a bright young female: his daughter Hermione. She explained that Ktori's life had fallen apart and he had decided to leave, and not wanting his father to perish while he was weak and broken, she had accompanied him. D'ialia stayed with them and had a new goal in mind, invigorating her. She would find a new home for her son and granddaughter, somewhere that they could be safe and happy for the end of their days. She set off to find it.

They were joined some time later by Stephano, D'ialia's precious soulbond. After waiting at the border for her to come home, he had finally decided to leave and go to her. She was ecstatic to see her friend, and found that her heart was filled with joy at being around those she loved. Together, she and Stephano found a beautiful grove in a hidden valley, with plentiful prey and a crisp waterfall that sparkled in the light. She and Stephano helped Ktori and Hermione settle down, then D'ialia left with her friend for more adventures.

They journeyed far. D'ialia wanted to show Stephano all the places she'd been, all the beautiful things she'd seen, and when they were finished, they would return to Shadow-Tribe. He followed her loyally, and they saw the world together; D'ialia was the happiest she had ever been. But as they reaveled, D'ialia started seeing signs that the world was falling apart. It sent a prickle down her spine as she remembered the destruction of Old Nandryx in her youth. It was the same pattern as it had been then; the ground splitting and degrating, plague and famine sweeping through the land, the earth itself dying. It was time to return, to rejoin with the tribes and aid them while she still had some youthful strength left in her body.

She and Stephano returned to the place they had left Ktori and Hermione and found it destroyed. D'ialia searched for a short time before moving on, speaking nothing of their demise. When they returned, D'ialia found that the tribelands had been destroyed, all the cats there gone. She wandered over the old paths that she had once walked, slipping into the tunnels of Shadow-Tribe's territory. She did not let Stephano come with her. When she emerged, she looked to be more at peace, and told her soulbond only that she was saying one last good-bye to Cenek.

They found the Door. Shaped like a star, and glittering with light full of hope. D'ialia felt her paws prickle as she smelled the scents of the tribes leading right up to it and vanishing. On the other side, perhaps her children lived. Warriors. Leaders. Heroes and legends. For one brief moment, she considered leaving, embracing her own destruction in the land she had grown up, perhaps retreating to the tunnels so her bones could rest with the bones of her mate.

Instead, she turned to Stephano, gave him a nervous but resolute smile, and stepped through to Corondryx.

E X T R A

  L I T E R A C Y - L E V E L S
Script: Open

Short response: Open

Mid-length response: Open

Good god why are we writing novels?: Open

  R P - M E T H O D S
Discord: Open (preferred)

Notes: Open

Comments: Closed (except for events)

Other: Likely closed, but feel free to ask!

  A V A I L A B I L I T Y
Time Zone: EST

  R P - S A M P L E
Source: OfStarsAndClans

Sample: Hopflight had been presiding over one of the competitions, but turned when he heard his name quietly spoken off to the side. He was surprised to see Missy approaching him; the gist he had gotten was that she generally kept her head down around cats of authority and the only time he had ever really spoken to her was when he had been the one approaching. He'd been fairly certain that rainy night would be the last he really saw of her in a personal setting.

"Hello, Missy!" he said, genuine delight crossing his features. Aah, perhaps she wanted something from him. Not wanting to scare her off, he decided to open the possibility first. "Is there something you need? I'm at your service, of course!"

  C R E D I T S
Havensake © HS Admin team

D'ialia © Riveriia