Journal I

Name: Artemis Task
Date of Birth: 1738
Roleplay Level: 211

Allegiances: Artemis Task has loyalties only to herself and her idea of 'family'- which now extends far from the ideals of blood alone. She works to further their goals and aims, as well as uphold the ideal of Therian freedom, or at least her own definition of it. This strays from the ideals of Theria as it is now. She cares nothing for dragons or for the rest of the Task family that is built on nothing but the lies of a dead, old man.


Magic: Being the daughter of Dun Task, and raised in his shadow, Artemis took up energy magic at a young age, as well as the art of energy weaving. Taking a departure from the footsteps of her family, she also took up lightning magic. Either by her blood or nature, it felt the art she was called most strongly to. [Energy, Unarmed, Lightning]


History:
The Task family is known for many things. For its callousness, its cruelty, and the tendency of its patriarch in taking wayward, orphaned hatchlings under his wing. The youngest, Artemis, was led to believe she was one such hatchling; told by Dun Task himself that she was left abandoned after the death of her parents in one of Theria's many insurrections. She was raised differently from her brothers. They were encouraged to fight and scrape and tear at one another for what they earned. Artemis, on the other hand, was given everything she could ever want.

Except for the truth and the traditional affection of a stable family.

At the age of sixteen she was deemed old enough to fend off most threats to her safety, allowed to travel down the mountain and on her own, away from the familiar mountain city of Theria.

Milestones:
-Discovery [https://pastebin.com/L0QmuAFZ]
Artemis is still new to the world at large, having known only the Therian peaks where she is practically a princess. She travels mostly between her home and the neighboring Osrona, where she's made fast friends with one of the local Razuka. Stavros, a member of the city's infamous 'Mischief' gang, takes it upon himself to show her more of the world. He escorts her to the desert to admire the stars at the beach.

It extends beyond more than simple sight-seeing, however, as he asks questions of a more philosophical nature. What does she want out of life? When her back is to the wall, what does she have to fight for? It becomes painfully clear that, aside from elevating her family's name, she is missing something. The Fireblooded prize finding a 'desire to burn nations for'. But what is hers?...
-Gang Initiation [https://pastebin.com/iBtZKGtS]
While ranging farther and farther out from Theria's sleepy snowdrifts, Artemis continues to find herself in the company of the Mischief's people more and more. Though they're not blood they come to welcome her as a member of their family. Of course, there is still an initiation to undergo.

The Osronan gang has her undergo a trial to find their members in the depths of the sewers, using no source of light and nothing but her beastkin abilities and her wits. She undergoes it, roots them out using instinct and senses alone, and finds herself officially among their number. Though they are rough, they are uncouth, she finds an admirable strength and willingness to adapt among the sewer folks.
-Brother's Betrayal [https://pastebin.com/yWdvcpkr]
Even though the youngest Task finds her exploration taking her away from home, she still tries to stay near to support her father and brothers. Revan, her elder sibling and Fireblooded Patriarch, takes the time to speak and bond with her while encouraging her to sharpen her claws in manual labor. Out of her three brothers, he is quite possibly the one she identifies with most.

Which makes his betrayal all the more chilling. Not long after she leaves Theria for the day, speaking of her desire to have him teach her the Fireblooded ways, Artemis hears news of her brother's coup. She returns home to do what she can for her father, if anything at all. He is there and alive, though years have now been shaved off his life by Revan's poisoning. The youngest Task is not satisfied by this alone and goes to seek the culprit out herself.

She goes right into Theria, though it is no doubt a great risk after what's transpired, to confront her brother herself. While he explains his thoughts and reasonings, he doesn't greet her as a sibling. He sees her only as a stranger and pushes her away. He becomes a traitor not only to the whole of their family, but to her specifically.
-Fireblooded Initiation [https://pastebin.com/59JrMrdS]
After Revan's betrayal, Artemis still seeks to learn the Fireblooded ways for herself. She seeks out the new Patriarch and her Rival, Pachua, for instruction on the proper beliefs and ways of the dragon worshippers. However, she grows more hesitant to commit herself to the order the more she hears of it. Much of it she can agree with and its deals resonate with her, but there's no desire to pay homage to dragon kind.

For this reason Artemis puts off the initiation. It would be an insult to their religion and their way of life if she were to commit herself to something so carelessly.
-A Father's Wishes [https://pastebin.com/ykwsis3B]
It is hard to get the ear of the Lord Dun Task. His duties in Theria are many, even if he is also her adopted father. Still, given the shortness of his remaining time, he makes time for her to ask the questions she seeks answers to; how did she come to be adopted by the Tasks? What wisdom does he have to offer? The old man obliges each with an answer.

In addition, as she asks about his faith with the Fireblooded, her ailing father makes a request of her. He makes clear his desire to see her become a member of their order, to grow and strengthen their ranks. While Artemis is not personally invested, she sees it her duty as a grateful adopted daughter to submit to his wishes. She owes so much to the man who took her in as an orphan.
-A Battle of Wills [https://pastebin.com/XZWy7fYS]
After Revan's betrayal, Artemis has hungered for some sort of satisfaction, some manner of revenge. Pachua has made his intentions of challenging the exiled Task to an honor duel, and offered her to land the killing blow when he was victorious. The young Task, of course, accepts and eagerly awaits her opportunity to see the ingrate's end.

Or rather, that was the idea. Valero hears this and comes to call, not out of brotherly concern or love. He meets with her to make his own claim on Revan's life clear to her. His satisfaction, according to him, has higher priority. The two Task's clash in the Authority's library where they spoke, a dangerous battle of wills where she refuses to submit. The elder brother emerges victorious and threatens her life if she gets in the way of his goals.
-Plotting with Pachua [https://pastebin.com/7gCiGcPR]
Barsburg has come to Osrona, and they have come to stay. Their occupation was swift and without so much as a voice openly against it. The newly minted City of Rust has also displayed some terrifying technology- the ability to control and quell demons with specially crafted collars. This, naturally, makes some of the City of Freedom uneasy.

Pachua and Artemis both speak with one of the many Barsburgian superiors, trying to sway them away from targetting Theria. Later, behind closed doors, they speak of what steps the city can take to secure its future. Artemis may be no Warlord, but she's intent on moving Theria forward as is surely only right for a Task to do.
-A Final Lesson [https://pastebin.com/wUUNFt71]
News comes to Theria of the outcome of Pachua and Revan's honor duel. Two go up the mountain, and only the traitor descends. He makes a new challenge now to another brother, Valero. Artemis comes to grips with the passing of the Drakan- the one that had become a rival and a mentor in the absence of her own kin. Now she will never have a chance to prove her worth by defeating him.

Her father arrives in an effort to console her, while also bringing more ill news. With his death swiftly approaching, he offers her one last lesson in energy magic to pass on his legacy and afford her a weapon in the years to come. It is their last true bonding moment before all Hel breaks loose.
-Death of a Family [https://pastebin.com/wLBjReLY]
The day of Valero's honor duel with Revan comes. While the duel is intended to be private, and Artemis tries to respect this, she seeks to go up the mountain to see the aftermath. The outcome is uncertain, whether it be the prodigal Overlord son or the exiled one, but what she bears witness to is hardly expected. When she arrives to see blood on the snow, it is the fallen Valero's she sees. The carnage doesn't end there as her other brother, Hades, pushes himself into the fray next.

It ends with two of her siblings dead, and an indifferent Theria watching. Even her father, dispirited and broken, doesn't lift a hand against Revan as he ascends to Overlord. Artemis, wounded, rants and rails against those who don't so much as shed a tear for the passing of a family who served Theria so faithfully. Revan tries to console her with an embrace; her teeth find his neck and she takes a chunk out of his flesh. It will not be enough penance for his sins.

Artemis takes note of every single face there that supports her disgraced brother. Their names are seared into her mind.
-A Last Laugh [https://pastebin.com/ygs4f98m]
As if the death of a mentor and two brothers weren't enough, news soon reaches the populace that Dun Task has fallen on his final mission for the great Therian gate project. With her family shattered, her reality swiftly turned on its head, Artemis is not herself. Nonetheless, she finds it in her to pay her last respects to all the departed.

Walter Docro the Imperator shows up to challenge Revan, narrowly taking plotted satisfaction from her clutches. The new Overlord falls and so many come to his aid, many more than ever came to Hades' or Valero's. Fresh names and faces are marked in her mind.

And yet as the pyres grow dim the suffering doesn't end. Urist, a short and stout man that was there when her father passed, comes to find her for her inheritance. Artemis is gifted with his Nyeshk plate, the Task manor...and is left with a letter that she finds later folded within the armor.
[A Letter to a Little Huntress - https://pastebin.com/0dJ1Fztu]

All her family and childhood has been built upon lies. Her duty to her father's last wishes is undone. Artemis has found the desire she would burn nations for, and it's to do just that; starting with Theria, she will leave the mountain glass and ash in her wake.

Plans:
-Use the gate that Dun Task left her in charge of completing in his final will to not only destroy Theria, but to make Revan and all his kith and kin suffer. Death alone is not enough.
-To hunt and take whatever she pleases, giving herself and her newfound family in the Mischief only the finest they deserve- eventually even helping them overthrow Barsburgian oppression
-Learning more of her beastkin ancestry and tapping into her instincts for strength