Katya de Lamore

- Katya was not much more than 8 or 9 years old when she was an apprentice cartographer and reader of the stars for her parent’s ship, hoping to bring her into an occupation that doesn’t see the meat of combat in the world of pirates. However, on one of their many journeys across the seas, they had come across a gloomy-looking island, by the name of Kanidor. It housed an exiled Magus of the same name -- the island created to house him and is excruciating magical prowess. However, Kanidor had developed methods of siphoning power from the barriers after studying the magicks used to create it. By the time he was ready to finally escape, he had a pool of siphoned power to summon a great Hydra under his command.
	They had a fleet with them, but even 3 or 4 ships were not match for a beast of that magnitude with an Archmage behind it. The Hydra fell, but it even in a weakened state became thralled as Katya’s father’s ship became the last of the fleet. Kanidor boarded the ship, stepping forward to her father, who was squirming underneath unknown magic squeezing at his throat, stealing the air from the pirate captain’s lungs. He felt as if he was drowning. Kanidor had felt another presence in the room, one that unsettled him - a child? He called out, and soon Katya had crawled out from behind a box of parchments and stood trembling before the mage. Kanidor smirked, holding her father higher off of the ground in front of her, as the tears continued to streak her cheeks.
	“It only takes one to tell a tale. It was almost this one,” Kanidor turned to her father, before laying his soldering white eyes on her again. “But why not give it many more years to grow. More time for ears to hear it. An old man can only tell so many people in his lifetime.. but a girl…” The wild expression of power crept on his face before the man’s head tilted back, letting out a meaty laugh as his arm swung out to the side, the sleeves of his robe making a swift noise on the wind.
	It all happened so fast. Before Katya’s eyes can even move towards him, her father’s shape had flown over the side of the ship into the water. The splash snapped Katya’s attention off of the wizard, and she raced towards the banister of the ship, leaning over it only to see rings of foam flowing out from where he landed, only a shadow sinking to melt into the blackness of the deep.
	Katya hastily turned back toward the wizard, and in some moment of rage and grief and breaking she rush towards him, only for the man to return her effort with a chuckle and step to the side, the girl hitting the deck with a small thud. Her face had felt so hot as she hunched over, barely propping herself up on her arms to get up; she almost didn’t have the strength to move.
	“Child.. I spare your life. Accept this blessing. I see potential in you, if only to serve the purpose to telling my tale.” Kanidor looked out over the ocean, sensing the girl’s inability to react. “Tell the world who I am. Kanidor, the exiled Archmagus who broke the unbreakable. I conquered a fleet. I can control the sea and her monsters. The ones who thought they were smarter to imprison me in exile, only gave me the power I needed to get to their throats.” His hands slowly moved behind his back, by now Katya had barely rolled onto her side, feeling her bruised knees and hands from falling. His robes were such a dulled shade of dark blue, like the night sky had grown old, trimmed with silver and gold that lost their luster.
	“And don’t let them tell you it’s nothing to worry about, child. I assure you, and that worthless magi-state, I am not a mage to be trifled with.” His eyes became visible behind the fabric of his hood as his head turned towards her. Kanidor reached up to let down his hood, revealing that his face has remained fairly young - he was a Drow, so his years were far beyond hers at any rate. His eyes were no longer the piercing luminescent white, they were an intimidating golden shade, piercing against his gentle expression. His Hydra had resurfaced, still bloodstained down its necks from the sailors it had devoured and mauled. He had stepped over the side of the ship along the beasts tail before taking one more look at Katya.
	“Besides, one doesn’t show their power by killing a child, what fun would that be?” Kanidor gave a nod and a smirk before raising his hood again, walking up the beast’s tail onto the arc of its back. Soon the Hydra sank quickly underwater, diving until it and the wizard no longer could be seen.