Adara

Name: Adara

Age: 19

Gender: Female

Species/Race: Ianni (pronounced EE-uh-nye, a race of desert elves)

Ability: Foresight

Personality: soft-spoken | gentle | compassionate | observant | naive | curious | loyal

Relationships: 

Sekh-ra - 

 Issa - 

Asychis - 

Un - 

King Atheris -

Phanis - 

Neema -

Zahid - 

Gahiji -

Background: Adara is the princess of the kingdom of Iannibys, daughter of King Atheris, and third in line to the throne after her elder brothers Asychis and Phanis. 

19 years ago, King Atheris and his queen Neferra learned that they were expecting their third child, and they couldn't have been happier. However, the months that followed her conception were the darkest times the kingdom had ever seen, plagued with war, drought, and disease. The rivers and lakes had all run dry, the crops withered, and the livestock all lay dead or dying. The skies had darkened by the fires of war, and the cries of the people echoed in the night as they begged the gods to show mercy. Then one day, despite her sick and weakened physical state, the queen went into labor, and Adara was born. 

Upon her birth, Adara’s cries echoed through the palace as the queen drew her last breath. Looking upon the child, the doctors and midwives were horrified by her appearance, believing Adara’s porcelain complexion and pure white hair to be a message from the gods, an omen of the kingdom's impending downfall. ‘An abomination’, they called her. His advisers implored that the king sacrifice the child in order to appease the gods and bring an end to the people’s suffering. With a heavy heart and broken spirit, the king reluctantly agreed and took the crying child to the temple of the gods, much to the outrage and protests of his eldest son Asychis. 

The eve of that very day, the temple priests and their acolytes prepared for the sacrificial ritual, and the king’s most trusted advisor placed a ceremonial dagger in his hand. However, just before the king could plunge the dagger through the heart of this frail, crying child, lightning struck the temple grounds, and the first rain in nine months fell from the heavens. To his amazement, the child stopped crying, and when he looked down upon her, his gaze was met by two shimmering blue eyes, eyes that mirrored those of his deceased wife. The king then lifted her into his arms and cradled his daughter for the first time.

The rain fell for three days and three nights, and on the morning of the fourth day, the king saw that the once barren lakes had been replenished and rivers flowed through the kingdom once more. Within a fortnight, the fields of withered crops flourished, and the once diseased livestock began to breed and produce healthy offspring. The once dead land had been filled with the breath of life, and a new hope burned within the hearts of its people. The war ended, and peace returned to the realm. 

A celebration was held throughout the kingdom in honor of the late queen’s passing and the miracle child she had brought into the world. Extravagant feasts and the finest entertainment the kingdom had to offer lasted days, and the people who had once thought Adara to be an abomination and harbinger of death now called out her name in the streets, revering her as a gift from the gods. Given the name meaning “beauty”, Adara's beauty only grew as she did and not only in her physical appearance; she grew to be kind, fair, and pure of heart. The Ianni race were known for their bronzed complexions and dark, straight hair, so it was only natural that some still whispered of the princess’ abnormal ivory skin and wavy white hair. Nonetheless, she was the happiest, most adored child in the land who loved to play with her brothers, and she got along especially well with Asychis, who taught her how to read and doted on her every chance he had between his studies. 

Then, at the age of 5, she perceived her first vision; masses of ominous dark shadows towered over her and dissipated to reveal one of the temple priests and a number of his acolytes, their eyes filled with rage as they proceeded to drown her in a pool of blood. Waking with a start, Adara thought it to be a nightmare and rushed to seek the comfort of elder brother. She confided the events of the nightmare to Asychis, who told her he would take care of it and not to fret, allowing her to sleep with him for the night. The following evening, two of the acolytes from her dream stole into the princess' bath chamber and attempted to drown the child. Little did they know that the eldest prince had taken precautionary measures in advance for such treachery, and the acolytes were struck down by members of the king's guard.

Upon examination by the head priest, he concluded that the child had been truly blessed by the gods, born with the gift of foresight. Granted permission by the king, the high priest brought Adara into the temple, where she was  subjected to rigorous experimentation and forced to undergo various rituals, as the priests sought a way to trigger her visions in order to foresee the kingdom's future and ultimately turn the princess into the kingdom's greatest weapon. However, with each new vision, the toll taken on Adara's body worsened depending on the nature of the vision, often to the point of unconsciousness. The more violent the vision, the worse the physical toll. The longer the vision, the worse the mental toll. King Atheris became more and more concerned for his daughter's well-being, and at the age of 10, her father called off the experiments. He also had an entire wing of the palace renovated to accommodate anything she might need but forbade her to leave it, fearful that one of his many enemies would learn of his daughter's gift and attempt to use it for themselves. Left under constant supervision by members of the guard, these new living quarters now served as an elaborate cage, and wishing to please her father, Adara obeyed his every command.

Adara has spent the better parts of the following 9 years immersed in her studies with Un and her brother Asychis, playing with her furry companion Issa, a fiercely loyal white liger, and dreaming of the freedom to be had in the world beyond her walls. She read of the world's wonders and legends and far-off lands in the books her brother brought her from his travels, but she longed to see them for herself. All the while, the princess remained a caged bird with broken wings, treated like a frail doll and always under the close watch of her guardsmen. Adara continued to receive visions from the gods as well, each helping to steer the kingdom from famine or involvement in war. Unfortunately, the steps taken to prevent the impending war have brought her to the threshold of betrothal.