Alka

Pyre OC

• alka is a pickpocket and thief, a common criminal; they're not particularly literate but they can sound out stuff and figure it out eventually
• alka plays more like a cur than anything, which is funny because they're a Savage 
• they just put a leg brace on for the rites and drink some shitty downside coffee
• their favorite strategy is VAULTING THE ENEMY TEAM AND JUMPING STRAIGHT INTO THE ENEMY PYRE
  
  
• alka is a war-orphan, raised primarily by their older sister; they were a traditional sort of urchin - scavenging to stay alive, punching and kicking all the way, tooth and nail. at some point that wasn't enough, though, they wanted more. they're a common thief. it wasn't too hard, to work on a difficult mark and break into the home of nobility without getting caught.  but the true prize of that raid was leather-bound paper, inscribed with marks west couldn't understand - their sister said it was literacy, it was forbidden, it was wrong - they stole more and taught themself, one painfully-enunciated syllable at a time, matching words-to-pictures - it wasn't even their library.  they just happened to be the only one there, and all the blame went to them.  (the fact they bit one of the men taking them in didn't help)
  coming to the downside they sustain a badly broken leg, and some head trauma.  they're - fundamentally a good kid, probably, but they've had to be so self-sufficient for so long that - tae kills them to look at, not only because she's proof of how young they are and they can feel their face burning as jodariel's eyes flicker between the two - they know her hair in passing, across busy streets; they know her voice, calling out about the scribes, endless joy.  they'd walked away and they could have helped her
  alka is very, very tired, and in a lot of pain all of the time, and is powered by a mixture of spite and 'alka that isn't edible' 'fuk u hedwyn'
• due to thievery being a 'lesser' crime than literacy, they had their left leg effectively shattered prior to banishment, as well as having the Reader sigil branded over their left eye - blinding it permanently
  
  
  
• alka has distant Harp ancestry. spending long enough in the Downside will cause them to develop Harp traits, alongside Demon traits
• they are fully capable of flight after spending fifteen years in the Downside.  moreso than the rest of the harps there, actually -- their wings haven't been clipped the same way.  they hover most of the time to keep weight off their legs.  demonization was... not good for their fucked up left leg.