Cydia Myssil

“Don't give her no right to be talkin' to me like dat, dough, innit?”

BACKSTORY

Once upon a time, there was a businessman only known as "Don Gato" to most.  No one's quite sure where all his money came from, but he used it to adopt, feed, and clothe just about an entire orphanage.  One of these orphans, Cydia, turned out to be a fairly special child, with the power of a wildspeaker in her veins.  Wildspeakers use subtle applications of magic to mimic the abilities and attacks of wild animals, and even Phantoms.  These skills made it much easier for her to commit petty crimes to aid Don Gato, and find more success than her fellow orphans.

Gradually, however, Gato's correspondence dwindles down to letters, then nothing.  Cydia takes this as her cue to round up her own criminal outfit, which she comes to call the Cuprina Brigade.  She doesn't find a ton of success, typically wavering between zero and one members beside herself.  Part of this may be in part to the slipshod "hideouts" she forms in dangerous areas.  One such hideout is in the Marsh of Illusion, a confusing swamp that reeks of methane, where she meets Kyrinna and Zeltencia while they're out gathering plants for Kyrinna's potions.  A reptilian Phantom known as Dracocrepitus has also claimed the Marsh as its home, and only the three of them working together can stop it...

PERSONALITY

Cydia is a cunning and agile woman used to being self-reliant.  It's easy to see why; between her mastery of magical wands and other items, and her bevy of tricks as a wildspeaker, she seems to have an answer to every situation.  She's also a quick thinker who isn't afraid of getting her hands dirty.  It works against her, though, when she needs to stick to someone else's pace.  Instead, they usually end up falling behind as Cydia rushes through the task at hand.  It's also left her a bit stubborn and reluctant to follow the leadership of others (according to her, she just knows better).

But there's more to Cydia than her life of thievery.  Sure, the crime life means she makes a lot of enemies, but she's always glad to meet someone new, deep down.  She sees life through a nihilistic lens, but this in turn only makes her happier.  Tenesoir's eternal night is little more than one long party to Cydia, even if her idea of a party is taking whatever she wants and getting into tough fights.  She respects the Night Watch a whole lot more than the Order of Scintilla; while the church tries to woo her into giving up her ways with morality lessons and empty threats, the Night Watch simply shoos her away from merchant wagons for its own sake.  Cydia respects the honest and admires the strong, and especially takes a shining to Kyrinna and Zeltencia after the three of them battle Dracocrepitus together.  Zel ruins the moment by trying to lecture Cydia on the value of life, but nonetheless, the two have a friend in the criminal underworld of Tenesoir, whether they realize it or not.