Character Introduction
Demon #0000: Syria
Age: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Gender: Female
Blood Type: AB
Race: Unknown
Associated With: Kyan, Lilita, Zilvya
Known Capabilities: Approach with caution. Evidence of morality remains unconfirmed. Wanted for murder in Orbat. Practitioner of the forbidden blood magic and capable of manipulating distance, the primal elements, and longsword. Rumored to be more powerful at night.
World Description: Though she has been placed in many settings, Syria is most often found in an alternate fantasy setting where magic is common and technology is low. No matter the variation, Syria originates from a people who have since died out. She acts as a grand observer, incapable of physically aging, and interferes in the lives of mortals only when she feels that abstaining would do more harm than good.
Story Arc: As an entity who has outlived or lost everyone close to her, she has grown distant from the simple pleasures of life. Living a lifestyle that requires strict discipline of her emotions and a code of ethics that is frighteningly black and white, she is viewed as cold and uncaring to those who come in contact with her. When she is forced to put her life in another's hands and relinquish control of her own destiny, Syria is forced to acknowledge her weaknesses.
Demon #0000: Syria
Age: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Gender: Female
Blood Type: AB
Race: Unknown
Associated With: Kyan, Lilita, Zilvya
Known Capabilities: Approach with caution. Evidence of morality remains unconfirmed. Wanted for murder in Orbat. Practitioner of the forbidden blood magic and capable of manipulating distance, the primal elements, and longsword. Rumored to be more powerful at night.
World Description: Though she has been placed in many settings, Syria is most often found in an alternate fantasy setting where magic is common and technology is low. No matter the variation, Syria originates from a people who have since died out. She acts as a grand observer, incapable of physically aging, and interferes in the lives of mortals only when she feels that abstaining would do more harm than good.
Story Arc: As an entity who has outlived or lost everyone close to her, she has grown distant from the simple pleasures of life. Living a lifestyle that requires strict discipline of her emotions and a code of ethics that is frighteningly black and white, she is viewed as cold and uncaring to those who come in contact with her. When she is forced to put her life in another's hands and relinquish control of her own destiny, Syria is forced to acknowledge her weaknesses.
Story Excerpt
A Weapon of War
It takes one flash of desire, and he is standing half a dozen paces from the imposing figure. She is tall, as tall as he, with hair darker than any night he has seen. A part of his mind notes the paleness of her skin and the harsh planes of her face. Does she ever smile? He wonders what it might look like, and if her smile would reach her eyes. This is what holds him. When she turns about, he does not even see the sword. Her gaze arrests him so completely, air constricts from his lungs and he staggers under the weight.
She is older than ancient, older than the land that accepts him. Only the dragons that nest in the Diamond Ridge come close to matching her in wisdom. All at once, envy and wonder consume him and he is slow to recover. When he does, he notes that she is examining him, trails of her curiosity running icy tendrils across his surface thoughts. Polite, but probing. He does not hesitate to return the courtesy, extending a small shaft of his own power to retrieve what he can.
What he feels is power incarnate, a living will composed of magic. She is chaos and order, but above all destruction. She is a weapon, designed for killing and conquering. He can feel the lives that have fallen to her hands, can almost smell the blood that clings to her. There is little remorse in her gaze and a cold shiver twists down his spine. This is no one to trifle with.
What's With that Name?
The History of "Syria"
Everything that I thought was cool, Syria had. She was everything that I ever wanted to be when I was little. Consequently, she has grown up with a shifting past and a mutable range of powers.
Over time, I invested conscious effort into scaling her into something resembling a character, complete with realistic limitations and weaknesses.
Unfortunately, the name has been something I have had difficulty changing as easily. When young, I knew that the name was vaguely familiar, but I could never place it. This was well before the days of Google, so I couldn't confirm just how widely used the name was.
Admittedly, I will have to modify her name at some point and the compromise has been to use "Seria." I do not think it looks as pretty, but has a similar sound to what I wanted.
To somehow portray Syria physically was a large challenge in this project. I settled on the cover art for The Witchfire Trilogy, Book 2: Shadow of the Exile by Privateer Press © 2001. The defiant stance and tall stature of their rogue sorceress, Alexia Ciannor, bore an uncanny resemblance to the Syria that I had in mind.