If you would like to read more about members of the Strain Bloodline and their stories you can go HERE!
Who Are The Strains?
The Strains are a now (mostly) extinct bloodline known for their prowess in utilizing the Lightening Aspect and masterful craft in weapons smithing. Unfortunately as the above line alludes too, they are extremely few in number. As of now the only living pureblood Strain is known to be Elenora Albistiel with 13 half blood children. Their weapons and artifacts have long since been lost to ruins, thieves, and more making their history very difficult to track... Luckily, Wyndrilth, one of Elenora's sons has taken it upon himself to collect as much of the Strain relics as he can.
The Origin
The Strain bloodline did not start out as anything immediately impressive. In fact they lived rather simple lives at first. They were first known as the Nyima, a group of nomadic browbirds traveling peacefully throughout the galaxy. It was not until Tayo, one of the younger adults of the Nyima saved and assisted the daughter of a god to safety that the Strains came into the power they were known for.
Upon Tayo and his people returning the woman to her home, a shrine in the vast mountains of the Estia valley, a God of Storms made their apperance. The god was thankful to have their daughter Strain returned to them unharmed after she had been taken. In return for this kind deed the god offered the people of the Nyima an abundance of God Steel, and access to their Sky Fire within the shrine to use the metal.
The Nyima people were grateful for this gift, but it was not the only gift they received. Upon the request of Strain herself, the god bestowed upon the Nyima people his greatest boon. The aspect of lightening and how best to harness it's power. Tayo and Strain later took an oath of love (pretty much marraige for the Nyima). The Nyima people were said to have dawned the last name Strain out of respect for the god and their daughter, thus founding the bloodline. Though it is unsure of when this specific "adopting" of the Strain title was done.
With the gift of God Steel and access to Sky Fire, the Nyima people chose to finally settle in the Estia Valley to continue communing with the God of Storms. Some remained nomadic for a short while, though only traveled through the planet before eventually settling with the others in their village at the base of the shrine's mountain.
The Shrine's Forge
The forge upon Estia's largest mountain is known as Leiptr and is housed deep within the God of Storm's shrine. The forge itself is one of the few sources of Sky Fire, a flame strong enough to make God Steel craftable.
The God Steel gifted upon the Strain people was put to good use. It became a tradition amongst them that when a child came of age and proved themself that they would receive their very own god steel. With their parent they would trek the long path up the mountain to the god's shrine to access the Sky Fire and forge. It would be here that the young Strain would forge their very own weapon to attune to their soul and harness their lightening.
When the weapon is finished it will be brought before the Shrine's altar and be presented to the God of Storms. If they do not immediately materialize to accept the weapon the pair may stay overnight. Regardless, if the god accepts the weapon it will be branded with their boon, allowing the weapon to attune to the makers soul. These weapons will be able to harness the power of lightening and shift into new forms when activated by the aspect.
In a way, this is why it is advised to the crafter to make their weapon in a way that feels best to them as it is intended to only serve the. If you look closely at the many weapons you will see pieces of their creators shown amongst the masterful crafting. Whether that is telling the personality of the weilder, their personal quirks, or even just stuff they like added upon the weapon to make it more personable.
Here you can find a collection of all the current Strain family members and their style of weapons. Follow the document's guide to see where the weapons are at!
The Fall
... So how did such a mighty bloodline dwindle to a single pureblood and her offspring? The event that caused the hunt for people carrying the Strain blood is actually well document even if severely misunderstood. The fall of the Strain people can be linked back to Jericho Strain.
Jericho himself hailed from a strand of Nyima who took the longest to settle in the Estia Valley. In fact he was very young when his family finally chose to settle into the valley with the rest of the Nyima people who had since adopted the title of Strain. There was almost an air of resentment from some of the Strains in the village towards Jericho's family and him. They were very much the black sheeps of the village... Jericho himself was especially looked down upon due to his struggles to harness his newly gifted lightening aspect.
He kept mostly to himself, only really spending time with Zenith his friend and the only person trying to help him master his handle on controlling lightening. (Zenith and Jericho would later take the oath of love in secret as adults, much to the displeasure of Zenith's family, as well as have their daughter Jupitra.) When it came time to prove himsel, he was prevented from participating by the village elders and forced to stay behind while Zenith and the other Strains who had passed their trial made their journey up the mountain. This only put more resentment and distain towards his own people into Jericho.
Years later into his adulthood and while his daughter was still young, Jericho would trek up to the Shrine on his own and steal Tayo's god steel weapon, The Storm Breaker. A bow capable of amplifying the power of lightening to a powerful degree and firing it from the heavens... Unsurprisingly this was considered a huge taboo and Jericho was forced to flee the village after refusing to return the weapon. Despite begging, Zenith did not leave with Jericho, nor allow him to take their daughter Jupitra.
What happened after that can be told in a variety of ways. What most commonfolk would believe is that, out of hate Jericho would unleash the Storm Breaker on societies around the galaxy, causing mass devastation. However the truth is hardly that cruel and instead pitiful if anything at all. Jericho had never come to master control of his lightening and sought to practice with the weapon. Unfortunately for the unaware Jericho and the surrounding civilizations, his practicing would unleash the Storm Breaker's true power after being forcefully attuned to Jericho's soul. Which, sadly caused the devestation he was blamed for causing intentionally.
The subsequent hunt for Jericho only made things worse as no one saught to question why he caused such devastation and simply attacked him on sight. Confused and panicked, Jericho sought to defend himself, but with such little control of his power and the weapon he only unleashed more chaos amongst the lands and galaxy. Scared, Jericho fled back to the Estia valley with people in pursuit of him. When word got out of his homeland and his people... It festered into mass hysteria.
Jericho was welcomed back into the village and his people upon his return, happy to relinquish the weapon back to the shrine though unaware of the target he had put on his people. He was able to reuinte with Zenith and his daughter though sadly their reunion was short. While out with his family, Jericho was killed protecting young Jupitra and Zenith from arrows,by those who had come to "deal" with the Strain people. Zenith was killed while fleeing to the village, stopping to hold off the attackers so that Jupitra could make it back safely.
What followed after Zenith's dead was the biggest tradegy the Strain Bloodline had ever faced. Attacked without warning, they were caught completely off guard and unprepared. Most lives were lost in the ensuing battle while members of the Strain bloodline scattered and did their best to flee with their families.
Realizing they were being hunted, many Strains quickly went into hiding though unfortunately it did little to halt the pursuit of people against them. They were very slowly brought to the brink of existinction and probably would have been completely wiped out if not for a small group of Strains succesffuly managing to hide out in old Astrean ruins below a lake on the planet.
The remaining Strains were Jupitra, Lutz, Palo, Bo, Iridense, and Viran. They went on to have their children Syrus, Io, Ruven, and Elderna who eventually had Chrolla and Polaris, the parents of Elenora. Chrolla and Polaris, thanks to the careful planning of their parents were able to be ignored in the Strain bloodhunt and were the only purebloods to officially make it out of the hiding period. Sadly there were no more substantial groups of Strains left, cementing the fate of the bloodline for good.
After It All
Sadly for the God of Storms, they were unaware of the attatck on their people and appeared far to late to assist them. When people were found looting the demolished village however, they were quick to step in and remove any God Steel left behind and sealed off access to Leiptr for anyone who did not have Strain blood in their veins. Devestated, the God of Storms still mourns the loss of their lives, believing that they have all been wiped out.
Polaris and Chrolla, the last two remaining pureblood Strains would leave their hiding place to found a kingdom in the Estia Valley, dubbing the kingdom Estilia. Polaris wished to leave Estilia as his legacy while hoping to bring a positive light back to his people's name sake, it was intended to be a safe haven for many... Especially for his daughter Elenora. He had desired to have many children, but Chrolla was too struct by fear of loss to have more than one child.
Estilia was a peaceful and happy kingdom up until Elenora's marraige to Stinkyman Albistiel, and shortly after the sudden death of King Polaris and Queen Chrolla. The kingdom was plunged into the constant chaos and carnage of war much to the despair of the newly crowned queen Elenora.
This very moment was the turning point for Estilia, cominng to be known as a place only of misery and pain.