Zacyra

Zacyra is a D&D 5e Feral Tiefling Eldritch Knight Sage and I love her.

Her parents are two human nobles; there is a dormant infernal bloodline on both sides of the family that they were unaware of. When she was born it was immediately apparent that she had non-human features, including a tail that got longer as she grew and horns on her head, and they didn’t know what to do with their Feral Tiefling daughter. They chose not to name her, and she eventually chose her own name after learning about her race and reading texts in Infernal. As she grew into a child, her parents decided to isolate her to hide the transgression in their family. They tried to have another child, but a wizard detected the curse early on in the pregnancy and they terminated it.

Though her parents were resentful and didn’t interact with her much, they did give her full access to their library (and only the library) and she educated herself on all manner of topics, which is why her background is Sage. She learned the languages of her heritage, Infernal and Abyssal, as well as Elvish to help her understand more texts. Her proficiency in History comes from this time, as well as an interest in Arcana that led to further research, though she did not learn any magic until later.

She was not allowed to leave her parents’ home even just to get some fresh air, or be in any public area when they had guests. Only a single servant was allowed to see her, and they were sworn to secrecy. She did not develop a relationship with them, because they were terrified of her. Because of this she is not great at socializing and has low Charisma, as she missed a lot of her formative experiences. Even though she has had some time as an adult to learn to converse and interact with others she may still speak out of turn or blurt out ideas or observations, even when it is impolite.

Since no one had ever seen her despite knowing of her existence, her parents concocted a story about a childhood illness to explain her absence. It was deemed contagious and her one servant was touted as a nurse. Once she “recovered” a marriage was arranged for her with another noble’s son, her parents hoping to seal the deal and get her out of their home before her husband discovered her race. This backfired not because the betrothed found out, but because she did. Taking her agency in her own hands, she ran away at age 16 and intended to make a life for herself.

She knew that if she followed her path as a Researcher or academic she would find hardship due to cultural bias. As a feral tiefling, her heritage was more apparent than others, and she would never be able to pass for human. It was also clear that if anyone who was looking for her (be it her parents for the way she tarnished their reputation, or her betrothed to get what was due to him) they could find her easily, as she would stand out and be where she was expected to be. So, instead, she turned to the exact opposite and offered her services as a Soldier in an army.

At first, she was weak and was often tormented by her comrades. Her proficiency in Animal Handling comes from her time doing scut work taking care of horses for other soldiers. However, after brutal months of exhaustion as she attempted to get into shape, it was discovered that she showed an actual aptitude for some weapons, especially those focused on Dexterity. Her main choices for weapons are two short swords, which allows her to use finesse and two handed attacks that suit her lithe build and quick movement.

She chose the path of the Eldritch Knight to complement her high Intelligence and learned spells along with it, as well as bonding with a longbow and a longsword so she would not have to carry them with her. Enemies are often confused to see her wear a quiver, discounting the equipment until she summons her bow to bear on them. She chooses to wear studded leather armor to allow range of movement and avoid the negatives of heavier options, and her fighting style is Defense to afford her extra armor. She developed her proficiency in Acrobatics to aid herself in defense as well, often avoiding attacks rather than trying to tank hits.

Fighting with an army was in the end distasteful to her. There were few other women, and the men would pillage after a battle, which she had no interest in. The army’s goals were also often less than savory, and she didn’t see a point to fighting when it didn’t accomplish a goal or bring justice to anyone. Though a tiefling is often predisposed to chaos, her alignment is Lawful Neutral owing to her need to set her own compass growing up and wanting stability in a cruel world. She likes order and standards, but will put herself first when doing so doesn’t cause harm. She has trouble understanding how to help others, even if she wants to.

Today, she stands 66 inches tall and weighs about 150 pounds, which is mostly lean muscle and some of which is tail. Her skin is dark with a ruddy cast and her long hair (which she keeps braided to avoid giving opponents an advantage in a fight) is a deep purple, almost black. She has horns on her head and her eyes are solid gold. She has black claws on her hands and feet. She does not attempt to hide her heritage and often looks for others who seem misfit or outcast when choosing travelling companions. She is a knight errant for hire, using her funds to sustain herself in the off times where she holes up in a library and devours new knowledge.