Isonade, Formerly D'Arveth

[*Kari_Shadowfox]

Basic Information
Name: Isonade
Aliases: N/A
Gender: Female
Race: Drow
Age: Somewhere around 113-ish
Profession: Hunting & Enchanting with a bit of merchanting on the side.
Languages: Drow, Common, ?, ?
Accent: None. She speaks like a well-bred Torilian.

Physical Information
Height: 5'0"
Weight: around 120lbs
Body build: Petite, yet muscular
Skin type: Smooth for the most part.
Hair style: If you ever see her minus the hood, it would be in a long ponytail tied up with a purple ribbon, with shorter bangs framing each side of her face.
Scars: A number of scars criss-cross her back, and there are a few light ones on her fingers and left arm.
Tattoos: None.
Colouring:

[b]Hair:[/b] White [b]Eyes:[/b] Icy blue [b]Skin:[/b] Obsidian [/li]

Mental Information
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Philosophy: "You be civil, I'll be civil, we'll get what we want, and go our separate ways. You don't have to like me. All I need is some common respect."
Deity/Beliefs: No specific Deity, but has faith in higher Powers than herself.
Was a Member of the Red Death.
Personality:

[u]Sarcastic[/u] [i]Has a darker, wittier sense of humor, that she enjoys using in many of her conversations.[/i] [u]Efficient[/u] [i]Gets what she needs done with as few resources as possible.[/i] [u]Polite[/u] [i]She'll show you common courtesy as long as you give it in return.[/i] [u]Fair[/u] [i] Tries to make informed decisions and to treat everyone with the same equanimity at first meetings.[/i] [u]Paranoid[/u] [i] She's always watching for betrayal or threats to herself or her family.[/i] [/li]

Additional Information
Gear: Typically wears two scimitars at her waist, has a darkwood bow over one shoulder, a black cloak, hood, and facemask. Tends to wear purple.
Jewelry: Wears a silver and moonstone pendant underneath her outer garb.
Habbits/hobbies: Zoning out, watching people, reading, learning arcane or planar lore.
General Health: Generally in good health, if a bit sleep deprived at times.
Favorite Drink: Red Wine
Weaknesses: Fears her House returning to either drag her back, or kill her.

[*Kari_Shadowfox]

How long has it been since dear Aogail disappeared, taking all my responsibilities to that chaotic, arbitrary, and cruel House Diamryllzarveth with her? A few months? A year? More? All my memories seem to blend together until that point, a place of clarity amidst a storm of color and feeling.

The clack of metal boots against a wood floor echoes in my ears as I watch my twin pace our room at the Foul Spirit. Her crimson eyes flash, and she grips the latest message from our "home" tightly in her metal-plated fist.
I sit against one of the bare walls, out of the way and utterly silent, not wanting her to unleash her obvious discontent onto me. Eventually, she starts muttering in a language I haven't heard since we were both very small- Twin. Our private language.

"So that's what Mother was doing....sending me out of the way while she tried to dig herself out of her hole of failure!" she snarls, lashing at the air in front of her, her hands formed into claws. "She knew she was weak...she feared me! Us! She would not have lived much longer had she not sent us here on this, "mission of utmost importance." Feh!" She kicks out at a chair next, causing it to clatter loudly to the ground. "She has a right to be afriad...." Here her eyes dart to me, narrowing in thought. For as long as I can remember, I've been Aogail's shadow. Her protector. The only drow she can trust, because my entire existence depends on her goodwill... and because I still care for her. My other half. My twin.

"The time has come for me to leave this place....Mother's support will crumble when I return, more powerful than she ever dreamed I would be!" A smug grin. "....I no longer have need of a bodyguard." Her face went blank, save for a slight glimmer in her eyes....a glimmer I thought had died when she'd been sent off to study as a cleric of the Spider Queen.
I did not dare to believe it. Was my sister truly going to do what I imagined? Would she abandon me here? My own face remained free of emotion, but I could sense that my own eyes said it all. "Set me free. You'll have your power, your House, your glory- Set. Me. Free."

The only response I garnered was a slight weakening in her eyes, the glimmer shining a bit brighter, before she turned, quickly gathering her personal effects and gear. The last thing she grabbed was a piece of Underdark rock that had been pried from the wall of our House's chapel; it was enchanted to send us to and from Sigil.
A single look was all she gave as the portal opened in the room, the swirling vortex of color behind her making it hard to see her expression. Then she took a single step, and both her and the portal, were gone.


I can't be sure what I saw of that last look... but I like to believe she had smiled at me... for the second, and last, time.

[*Kari_Shadowfox]

A few simply spoken words, harsh and haughty in tone, reach my ears one day in Khazeet's bar. Somehow, though the words were not directed at me, a memory was sparked of dark caverns and spider-motifed decor. I knew this voice. And I had known it well in time I never wished to return to.

A half glance was all I could spare of the elven figure; female, either my height or shorter, and wearing a red-violet cloak and hood. She had come with a male companion, wholly unknown to me, and they bantered with an unsual amount of leeway given to the male. I began to doubt my first assumption, but my survival instincts told me not to take the chance. I slipped away on to the planes, allowing myself to get lost admist the fog of the Ethereal.

A few days later, brief sightings were had of the woman, but I never dared approach too close, for fear of recognition. Luckily, my friend had no such concerns guiding his actions - he was able to tell me she was examining portal diagrams (the purpose of such currently indeterminable), and that she appeared to be on edge.

More doubts came to the forefront of my mind. If she is from my House, is she even here for me? Is she here to escape Aogail? or did Aogail fail, and this was one of her co-conspiritors, hiding from the Matron in Sigil, as I do? And something far more important....How will I find out the answers to these questions, without putting myself in undue danger?

[*Kari_Shadowfox]

I am an unmitigated idiot. How could I have let that slip out? And that utter fool of a bystander! If I were more like my kin, he would be dead by now- and the jury is still out on the final decision about that.

I'Mordraug. That his name. The second elf to mistake me for an Orshan in the past few weeks.... And the second elf I've met from a world that no longer exists. I admit, his question startled me, far more than it should have in a place like Sigil- everything is possible here - and I said far more than was prudent.

"Excuse me- Are you Orshan?" he had whispered.
In a state of partial shock, I replied, "No... but you are not the first to mistake me for such."

And then the pestering began. Who mistook you? Where can I find them? What do they look like?

Some elf was my reply to the first inquiry. And "around here" the second. Pale and hooded, the third. I contemplated not answering any- but that would have been far more suspicious. Then that bystander blurts out, "Do you mean Darremar?" And I thought I'd snap and put a blazing arrow right between his eyes. Luckily, I managed not to draw attention to him, and his words became lost in the Bazaar crowds....at least I hope they did.

Darremar told me of his rather fervent wish to never again meet one of his kind- and I practically handed this nobody my *there's a pause, as if searching for the right word* friend on a platter! The only course of action I could think of was a note explaining he was being sought. Maybe then he could lay low a while and avoid this "I'Mordraug" character altogether. My familiar, a small, slightly clumsy bat, was the chosen method of delivery.

Later that night, I found Darremar (or more precisely, he found me - I was playing merchant) in the Bazaar. As predicted, he was less than pleased- but he accepted my apologies, and appreciated the efforts I went through to mitigate the damage, note inculded. I was just relieved he was still willing to talk to me. I enjoy our talks. It's been such a long time since I had a real friend....well, a real, humaniod, friend. Lilith doesn't count - even if she can play checkers better than me.

[*Kari_Shadowfox]

I've come upon a windfall of oppurtunities....not only have I aquired an extremely large amount of new merchandise (with a properly enchanted bag to keep it in) but I have also recently traveled to a number of the more exciting planes (and lived to tell the tale.)

The smell of brimstone, the sound of my arrows whistling through the air, the screams and battle cries of friend and fiendish foe alike - it was glorious. Myself, Darremar, the bardess Amelia and her large friend Khu had taken a chance in deciding to tempt Fate in the Abyss.

We did far better than ever expected. The fiends were easily distracted by each other, and not even the Erynies cold match my bowwork - we plowed through wave after wave, barely scratched, though the near constant battle drained our reserves of energy after some time.

During a break in the melee, Darremar calls out to me, his voice containing that amused yet sarcastic tone I find rather familiar now.
"If you don't mind me saying, Lady Isonade...you have a way of making my days quite interesting."

"I'll take that as a compliment." I respond with an eager grin, my adrenaline rush lifting my spirits as I take aim at a Cambion's left eye, burning a gaping hole through his skull.

Our group was a strange one, but we fought surprisingly well together. Khu was predictably a force of utter destruction, tearing through the demons lines like they were made of paper, crushing skulls with a single quick fist to the head. Amelia's songs, though odd, boosted our spirits tremendously, and her fine blade work allowed her to cut her own swath of destruction through the ranks. Darremar and I worked as a unit, myself pulling in foes with teasing shots through their limbs, and he hacking them off once they came closer in.

At one point, I noticed that Darremar cuts a striking figure in his plate- far better than I, at least. Red and black have never been my color combination of choice, and certainly not in metal. I also breifly wondered if his student had noticed it too. That brought a small grin to my face.

It was quite a while before we attempted to work our way back to the portal, and the weariness in our bones made the return trip a little more lethal. Luckily, Darremar and another who had joined our group, a hin named Raff, were prepared to bring the rest of us back from the brink of death - multiple times.

I can only hope to have another expedition like that....truly, I had never felt so alive as when I was fighting beside such skilled beings against hordes of chaos and wanton destruction. It was a hunt to remember. Both for the experience, and the comrades it brought.

[*Kari_Shadowfox]

"Innanity, thy voice is Ethical Debates." The drow mutters as she exits the bustling Bazaar, shoving her stall signs into one of her many pouches. She'd had enough of the mob at Khazeet's re-hashing the same statements over and over, making less sense as they went on. She needed something to do other than stand around waiting for customers.

Striding confidently down the Hive's alleyways, she passes the Tattoo parlor and Mortuary that mark the transition from the Hive to the Lower Ward, heading for a smoke-belching point in the distance.

The Great Foundry was hot and humid, as expected, the sounds of smithing hammers and orders of "Hotter, you twit!" far more welcome than those of the Bazaars inhabitants. No one looked twice at her here, none asked her name, and most importantly, no one bothered her once she began her own works at the Forge.

She'd had a few people express interest in newly made weapons, so she decided to get a head start, the repetative "tingtingting" of her hammer soothing her and placing her in a zone of calm creativity.


After many long hours, sweet soaking her plain purple tunic, she holds aloft three rapiers, all of different metals, and a beautifully shaped longbow. She nods, proud of the work, before comencing the finalizing touches with file and carving knife.

[*Kari_Shadowfox]

Recently, many of my conversations have centered around beliefs, morals, and choices. Those ideas (or ideals as the case may be) have been a fog-covered area of my consciousness. I know what they are when faced with a dilemma, but to ask me to put them into words, to explain myself and the reasons for my actions? 'Tis like asking the rock why it resists the blowing of the wind. I'm not entirely sure why I do things the way I do; it is part of my nature. I act a certain way because I am me- there's no other way to explain without sounding like I am justifying myself to someone, or trying to convert them to my way of thinking - neither of which I wish to do.

No one is entitled to knowing the ins and outs of my soul - just as I am not entitled to know that of anyone else. Actions speak louder that any words that may be passed between friends. If you truly wish to know of me, watch me, interact with me, engage me- all these will show your interest, and your character, just as mine will reveal itself. Friends need only to be who they are to be friends.

It's sad when I think of Darremar's student, Lyra. She and I hold many of the same interests and demeanor, according to him. However, her prejudice against those of my race (which is probably well-founded), prevents me from pursuing any sort of contact. I already have one set of people hunting me- I don't need to have anyone else joining them.

I'm very curious about her, I'll admit. Darremar speaks highly of her as a friend. I can only hope that with time, some passions will ease. Maybe I'll be able to meet her one day, and we can gain an understanding of each other.

//

"Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me..."
~Emily Dickinson

[*Kari_Shadowfox]

Speaking of friends... I've been wondering what has become of Fate, one of my very first friends after Aogail left me.

She was Drow, yet not a Moon-Dancer or a Spider-Worshipper - she just was.
Intelligent and far more socially adept than I in those early days, she was the one to inspire me to learn the enchanter's rites. I still carry examples of her work in my armor and my weapons. She spoke of seeking power and knowledge, so I can only guess that she may have left Sigil to pursue such - I should really ask Vara for the details. Fate was her apprentice after all.

Fate was (and still is) important to me for many reasons. In the time directly after Aogail's leaving, I was without direction. I had known that I wanted my freedom, ad I had known that I needed to solidify a network of friends and connections to stay that way - but I had no clue how to do so. I'd never been the one to speak when I was acting as Aogail's bodyguard. I was the watcher, the listener, not the socializer. On top of that, I didn't really know what to do with myself jobwise. Aogail (and protecting her) had been the center of my universe for so long. Now that she was gone, I was left floundering for a new place, a new purpose -like a fish out of water.

Fate changed that. Being a mage, she was not really suited for physical tasks. She needed someone to accompany her on trips to the planes for money and materials. Once we had gotten to know each other better, I began to instinctively pick up that job. Though Fate was far more reasonable and kinder than Aogail, she became my new "center." She gave me the direction and purpose I dearly needed, and helped me out of the shell forced on me by my old culture, introducing me to Vara and other aquaintences of hers. She was my real sister, I'd thought. The way my twin was supposed to be.

Now that I've grown, both mentally and physically, Fate's absence doesn't perturb me as much as it may have a few months ago. I can live without her, though sometimes I wish she were here, to share in the triumphs and successes I've recieved. There's some truth in the phrase "everything happens for a reason" - and I keep seeing more proof of that as I meet others around this strange Cage of a city.

[*Kari_Shadowfox]

There's a delicious irony in my life - sure, that red-eyed, bipolar elf with possesion issues nearly caused both myself and Darremar untold heartache and maybe even severe bodily harm (he through being my friend at all, myself by being drow, and his significant other having... intense feelings toward such) - but, lo and behold, after I finally write about her, Fate returns to Sigil! I thought I was hallucinating when I saw her standing beside Vara at Khazeet's. She was no worse for wear after her accidental escapade to Toril.

Still as lovely and clever as I remember, once I took a place beside her at the bar, it was almost like she never left. My own voice receded to the background, while her tones filled the space left over....I sincerely enjoyed it. I have said before, and will say again: I am happiest as a listener, not as a talker. Prompting her with questions, I was allowed to listen to her story, reaquaint myself with her mannerisms and idiosyncracies - and just sit back and enjoy the return of a dear friend.

I think Darremar found it odd, the exchange that happened - myself speaking less, and Fate more. And he most certainly found her offer to me to be rather strange (at least the part about the House symbol). Fate has made me her personal guardsmen, and as a result, has also given me a medallion with her house symbol upon it. It basically makes our informal arrangement more official - and also demonstrates how much she truly trusts me, which brings me great pride and happiness. But overall, I feel he finds Fate as interesting as I do. She may not become of his closest friends, but they could most certainly be friendly.

//

Tell me, did you sail across the su-un?
Did you make it to the Milky Way
to see the lights all faded,
And that Heaven is overrated?
Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star?
One without a permanent scar?
And did you miss me,
While you were looking for yourself out there?

- Judy Collins, "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)"

[*Kari_Shadowfox]

Truly, Karasuthra's a marvelous plane. Nice, quiet, dark - and nearly completely unpopulated. While we allowed our heads to clear, we figured the best person to go to for help was Hildmor (apparently, he owed Ym a favor.) So, we trekked back to the Bazaar where coincidentally, Hildmor was waiting for Ym.

After giving Hildmor a brief rundown of the situation, he luckily knew just how to cure us. A scroll and a rather odd hug later - we had to be rather close for the spell to work- and we were ourselves again. To clarify, I have no problem hugging Ymerion. Hugging my own body while in Ymerion's? Strange is the only way to put it.

I was actually glad (for the first time ever) to be having "my time of the month." It was so nice being back in my body! All my arms and legs the right length, my hair nice and long, and my center of gravity back to normal....I confess I just stood there enjoying it for a while.

Hildmor tried to quicken mine and Ymmy's celebration (he had an auction to get up and running, and Ym was one of the guards), but Ym stalled him a few moments to pull me aside. He apologized for acting like himself while we were switched. He actually thought I hated him for the way he acted in my body! Now, I admit I was a little angry about him almost getting my body sacrificed (read: fear, which I expressed as anger - I like living. And I like Ymerion living.) But I can't hate him for being himself. I like Ymerion. Powers' know why, but I do. I just wasn't as appreciative of him forgetting that my body can't do what his can.

So an easy reassurance that no, I didn't hate him, and a quick hug on my part (still a bit clueless as to why I did that), and he was off to look menacing to potential thieves at the big auction. Vorg came and started demanding sweets from Darremar for some reason or another soon after that. As things looked like they'd get out of hand, I decided attending the auction would be kinder to my health.

There wasn't much on the block that was worth bidding on, but I came in a few times just to create a bit of competition. I did get an interesting blade though.

Things slowed down after that....but then, night fell, and a dozen other bags of lunacy were opened.