Kyrinna "Syrup" Strauss

"Shut up, nerd, it'll work."

BACKSTORY

Kyrinna has been an inquisitive, scientific young mind for as long as she can remember.  Unfortunately for her, this has led her down a road of experimenting on live animals, and sometimes even humans.  She barely remembers the reason why she got started, but it involves her hometown of Irae being doomed by a plague.  At first, she'd sought a cure, but as the death toll climbed, she began seeking ways to bring people back from the dead, or simply to never die in the first place.  The closest she comes to a breakthrough is a creature she calls "The Invincible", though it's hard to imagine the sort that wouldn't think of it as some abomination.

It's no surprise, then, that the Order of Scintilla becomes resolute in hunting her down.  However, their raid on her mansion laboratory is ruined somewhat by an upstart templar named Eyron, who charges in alone.  This gives Kyrinna time to burn the mansion down, and all the evidence within along with it, and escape through a secret tunnel.  On the other side, she runs into Zeltencia von Trepe, a survivalist with the Night Watch.  Kyrinna quickly decides to operate under her grandmother's name, Syrup, and join the Night Watch, to better cover her tracks from the prying eyes of the church.  But even so, she earns her keep by turning to her grandma's potion recipes, making healing balm and other concoctions to keep the brave folks of the Night Watch in top form.

PERSONALITY

Despite living by her lonesome for so long, Kyrinna is a shrewd liar and manipulator.  She's careful to avoid outright falsehoods as much as she can; that way, she can blame other people for making assumptions, rather than herself for playing into them.  Kyrinna approaches science with a lack of any morality.  With the disaster of Irae long behind her, she's motivated primarily by sheer curiosity, though she's far from averse to turning a profit from her work.  The simple act of learning and knowing things is a joy for her, especially in the presence of those with less knowledge on the subject at hand.  The only time her work's really been subject to some morality judgment is by the Order of Scintilla, which Kyrinna hated beforehand, after they sentenced her grandmother to death on charges of witchcraft.

However, there is a softer side to Kyrinna that begins coming out as she works with the Night Watch under her alias.  "Syrup" finds fulfillment in seeing the Night Watch make use of her brews.  While some members rub her the wrong way, she does strike up genuine friendships within the organization, especially with Zeltencia, who's fascinated by the potion-making process.  If she's not out hunting for ingredients, or assisting directly in Night Watch fieldwork, chances are Kyrinna's in her "hut", as she calls it.  Truth be told, it's a storage shed half-cleaned out, cluttered anew with Kyrinna's instruments and ingredients.  In the end, her skills as a fen witch aid the Night Watch, which in turn aids all of Tenesoir in staying safe out in the wilderness.  She'd tell you it's just so the Night Watch would come to her aid if she were ever arrested by the church, but is that really all there is to it...?