Ciara

Ciara’s early life was characterized by an absurd mix of privilege as a member of the nobility and powerlessness as a woman living under the highly patriarchal society of the Hirschbuck Empire. As Ciara noted with bitter irony, commoner imperials and peasantfolk were often blessed with freer, more independent lives than the relative highborn. She came to appreciate this fact through the loveless marriage forced upon her mother and the tragic death of her betrothed sister. Ciara knew that any hope of relieving her plight would have to come through magic – the ultimate meritocracy that allowed spell casters of any background to transcend their circumstances. Ciara spent long nights obsessively studying the magical arts, building a powerful skill set that could realistically grant her an independent life within the harsh Imperial society. Ciara’s drive and determination did not go unnoticed by High Priestess Valeria, who took the most unusual step of seeking a private audience with Ciara in her chambers at the Academy. Valeria revealed the full extent of the power she could access simply by bending the knee to the Dark One, an offer the desperate and somewhat ruthless young noblewoman was only too eager to accept. Her father’s ham-fisted attempt to cement the family’s fortunes by marrying Ciara off to the same cruel prince whose disrespect had been the original cause of her older sister’s death became the grim occasion by which the public learned of Ciara’s frightening new powers. Ciara played the part of an obedient aristocrat by attending the engagement banquet. She chose her acceptance speech as the moment to reveal her newly acquired skills, unleashing a hellfire of fire magic against her betrothed’s family which the royal house guards were powerless to prevent. This infamous massacre forever cut Ciara off from the society of her birth. She fled the Imperial Enforcer Mages under cover of night and threw herself upon Valeria, who took the aspiring but rather bloodthirsty young mage under her wing. Ciara has pledged herself to Valeria and to the Dark, and even now works in the shadows on behalf of Nicklaus and his grand plan.