Her name was Aria Kahner.

Three days ago, she had been a bandit, a killer who stole to make her own life much more bearable. She had no qualms in taking the lives of those who stood in the way of her happiness, as she did it to make her brother's life more comfortable. Her twin brother, Alastor Kahner, was crippled at an early age and couldn't walk, and they were too poor to afford a doctor to come and see him, so she made it her duty to make his life pleasant... even if it meant stealing happiness away from others.

That came to an end. She had done so much wrong in the eyes of the Royal House of Koles, rulers of the Great Kingdom of Ixion, that they hired mercenaries to destroy her bandit camp. They were swift, merciless, and she lost everything... even her own brother. She managed to escape, but she now felt something inside of her that she never felt before: despair. Everything she worked for, all to make her brother happy... all of it gone in the blink of an eye. Was all her efforts to be happy useless?

Perhaps. But she wanted an answer. A definite answer. Her brother may be gone, but she was still here. She knew she had been a terrible person up to this point, but now she wanted to set it right. And she would do anything to atone for her sins in the name of her love for her brother.

But, of course, it is never that simple...

-o-

Aria stared down the cliff, breathing heavily. The mercenaries had tracked her down and they had her cornered. She was alone against a bunch of cut throats... and she began to realize just how her own victims had felt when she was about to steal away their lives. Aria smiled bitterly at the revelation. "How very fitting that I end up dying in the same manner." She said to herself.

"By order of King Kaligula Koles, of the Great Kingdom of Ixion, we, the Black Wind Mercenaries sentence you to death for your crimes against the state and crown!" The mercenary leader said, readying his bow and taking aim.

Aria didn't even so much as bat an eyelid. "I know what I did was wrong... even though I did it for my brother, I know that is no excuse. I've killed far too many people to be forgiven... so go ahead and end it now." Aria stated flatly, sad that she was going to die... not afraid, sad. Sad that she wasn't able to live out the rest of her life, giving others hope so that they wouldn't have to experience the pain of loss... she realized in that moment that it was a fool's dream.

And then the arrow went through her chest and she fell.

Down the cliff she fell, bones breaking and cracking along the way down as her body collided with the rock face, and finally fell down into the river. The current dragged her down the river, and eventually her broken and (to the eye) lifeless body washed up on the shore.

Yet, despite all of this, the arrow in her chest, her bones and body broken and bloody, and her lungs filled with water, she was for the most part alive. Her eyes opened wearily and she stared up at what appeared to be a young girl in a white dress. She blinked... was it a hallucination?

Or was she really being given a second chance to live?

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This is the story about a young girl's adventure to find out who she really is deep down inside, and find out her place in the world. She will encounter enemies and allies, and must overcome many trials before she has her answer... and within the darkness, lie seven figures who seek to subvert and corrupt, and stand as the ultimate foes of all life: the Seven Shadows, seven masters of the dark. Who are these men, and why do they stand in our heroine's way? The answer is waiting in these pages.

The planning and brainstorming page can be found here: http://www.protagonize.com/group/planning-brainstorming/topic/3728

Aria Kahner
Gender: Female
Age: About 17-18
Race: Human (or at least she seems that way)
Weapons: A thin single edged sword that looks like a mix between a katana and a rapier.
Magic: None (at least not yet)
Class: Bandit (skilled at both combat and thievery, and incredibly agile to boot... sorta like this: http://xeranad.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=24#/d35lzao)
Appearance: Aria is a very cute girl, dressed in the tattered rags of a peasant garment. Doesn't like shoes (reason being they feel constricting and she it gives her some advantages), and her clothing and skin have dirt and grime on her, but she doesn't seem to mind it. Has snow white hair and oddly beautiful white irises.
http://xeranad.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=24#/d33lpkw
http://xeranad.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=0#/d3epmsq
Personality: On the outside, Aria is a fun loving and sweet girl, but deep down, she is a very sad young lady. Somewhat selfish and self serving at times, she nonetheless knows the difference between right and wrong and tries hard to do the right thing. Also something of a hopeless romantic.
Bio: Aria Kahner lived most of her life up to this point as a bandit, killing others in order to keep herself alive (and her brother Alastor, who was crippled at an early age). However, that all changed when a mercenary band hired by the royal family of Ixion, the Koles, wiped out her bandit camp and apparently killed her brother. Realizing that she had no one else to look after and love, she fell into despair, knowing then that her life up to this point had been a mistake: regardless of how you try to justify it, thieving and murder were wrong. So now she is on a quest to understand who she is as a person, in an effort to redeem herself from her bloodsoaked past, she intends to remake her identity. And maybe find out who her family really is.
Author: Xeranad

Name: Ray Hartly
Gender: Boy
Age: 168 but looks 16/17
Race: AniVamp (animal crossed with vampire) -- wolf
Weapons: throwing daggers, sythe carried on back
Magic: can turn into a wolf at any point, when a wolf: has very sharp senses, can run faster than a cheater, can beat almost anything mentally and physically.
Appearance: Just below shoulder length jet black wavy hair, with high tufts at the front, bright green eyes, very muscular but quite slim, high cheekbones, looks very intimidation but is actually quite gentle. Wears hunter green cut-off shorts with rips in them, and a plain white vest top (if he's wearing any top at all). If it gets cold, he'll wear a black leather jacket.
Personality: sarcastic, confident, kind, loyal, hates arguments, a surprisingly gentle person, gets angry easily but it goes down just as fast, would put his life on the line for someone he loves, can be very devious.
Bio: was orphaned aged 6, joined the circus aged 9 (didn't perform though), quit circus aged 16 when he "turned". Has had anything he loves taken away do gives no mercy.
Author: dancingshoes14

Name: Evie St.Rose
Gender: Female
Age: She looks around... fifteen but has been alive much longer than that. (412)
Race: Sprite
Weapons: None!
Magic: Healing, wholesome gifts such as growing plants and bringing in good weather, luck and other niceties. Pretty adept and charms and stuff as well.
Class: err... sprite! Woodland?
Appearance: She looks like a rather malnourished child and carries a small leather slingbag from which she pulls an assortment of weird stuff that shouldn't fit in there in the first place. She wears a simple white shift dress and no shoes. She doesn't have wings and looks very much like a human. She has long thin brown hair and green eyes. She wears a wreath of flowers in her hair, which wilt and bloom depending on her mood. She's kind of short say... 4 feet but is proportionate to someone taller, so if there were no markers you would think she were 5 ft3 or something. Oh, by the way she doesn't wear shoes because her feet never touch the ground. She does make walking motions though.
Personality: Rather cynical and pedantic actually, but in the distant third person way. As in, she will be polite but its rather obvious she's being disagreeable. She intentionally provokes the others and is rather possessive of Aria. She'll resort to being horrible to grab attention but feels rather lost amidst everything. Due to her age, she's sometimes condescending to younger less experienced creatures and will express it in said polite/condescending manner. Behaves like a queen and needs everything (white dress, hair, wreath) to be kept clean and immaculate for her princess personality. If made to feel important, she'll definitely pay it back by the truckloads
Bio: She's the sixth child out of nine and could never compete with her siblings. After turning of age, she left the coop and went to find her place in the world but after much wandering, still hasn't found it.
Author: lena-lou

Name:Tsir (pronounced - Seer)
Gender: Male
Age: Looks around 20 (actually is 3,693 years old now) Was born in 2591 B.C
Race:Cursed Egyptian, Death Bringer for the Egyptian god Anubis
Weapons: Carries a silver Egyptian khopesh with beautiful engravings of long ago battles on the blade, it's handle is a bronze/gold mix and is wrapped with black silk. It hangs in a sheath, that is hooked to his belt (which is under his trench coat.) He also carries an ornate Egyptian Dagger
Appearance: Short black hair that is slightly spiked, sharp silver eyes with black flecks in the iris, olive tan skin. He stands at 6ft. tall is skinny with a toned build. Has a scar on his face that extends across his left cheek. Usually wear a long tan-brown trench coat with dull brass buttons and a hat with a black scarf around his mouth. Has dark, almost black, cargo pants. Wears a golden Ankh around his neck, under his shirt, on a small golden chain. (symbolizes eternal life). He has a tattoo of Anubis on his right shoulder blade, another tattoo rests on his lower forearm (mostly covered by his coat though) It reads: "No man. No god. No elder. No prince. What is the claim of age for ones who are immortal? What is a claim of power for ones who defy death? Call me your damnable hunter. We shall see whom I drag screaming to hell with me..."
Personality:His mind revolves around ideas and strategic planning. He values intelligence, knowledge, and competence; expecting the same of others. He often observes the world, his mind constantly gathers information and makes associations about it. Is tremendously insightful and quick to understand new ideas. It is not easy for Tsir to express his internal images, insights, and abstractions. The internal form of the his thoughts/concepts is highly individualized, and are not readily translatable into a form that others will understand. He spends a lot of time inside his own minds, and has little interest in the other people's thoughts or feelings. He has problems connecting with people, often seeming apathetic, aloof, cynical, and distant.
Bio: He was a young servant, serving within the family of the fourth dynasty, the Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu was currently ruling and had started on his ambitious project known as the Pyramid of Giza. (This occurs around 2571 B.C) Tsir grew jealous of all the attention that the Pharaoh was getting, he and the other servants around the palace received little to no reward for their work. This angered him, so he ran off to the mummification room, where Khufu's bandages were being prepared for the time of his death. The priests, who were supposed to be guarding the room, were out gathering the dead of any royal for the mummification process. In the room, Tsir desecrated the Pharaoh's royal bandages and embalming fluid. This enraged the god Anubis (god of death and mummification). The god cursed Tsir to walk the earth, giving a just and fair death to anyone that crossed his path (or he deemed deserved death). Thus he was marked (with the tattoos) and will only be able to die and leave the god's services when he finds a way to redeem and absolve himself of his sins. He never ages, looking the same age as the day he was cursed, making him look about 20 years old.
Author: Anna_Devlin

Name: Elian
Gender: Male
Age: 4500
Race: Elven
Weapons: Long-bow and arrows, Short bladed Rapier, small hidden dagger.
Magic: Minor healing techniques
Class: Hunter
Appearance: 5 foot tall. His pointed ears protrude from within his long, sleek black hair. Elian has a slight build, very slim. However, being elven he possesses unnatural strength and speed. Elian wears a brown tunic beneath a green hunting cloak, along with boots made from the hide of a boar.
Personality: Elian prefers a solitary existence, travelling the land alone with his horse Mera. He has a fierce temper, and is an extremely viscous fighter. However, Elian will not give up on those he forms bonds with, he is incredibly loyal and will go to all ends to ensure their safety.
Bio: 2000 years ago, Elian was branded an outcast by his people and thrown from his city. Soon after he succumbed to memory loss and forgot the reason for his exile. Elian can no longer remember anything of his family or former friends. It has been so long since he was exiled that he no longer recalls the name of his city. He is aware of the fact that he is elven and knows some of the history of his people, such as the fact that the elves have lost most of their magic over the years and now only retain their healing powers.
Author: Colm

Name: Shard Decloak
Gender: Male
Age: 25
Race: Dimensional traveler
Weapons: A gaint sword( five feet long 10 inches from edge to edge) capable of storing elemental/ magic energys and releasing them. Is obsidian black light to shard heavy to all other who try to wield it. Has strange cryptic writing on it.
Magic: Elementa if it could be considered magic, dimensional space manipulation ( knows very little of his powers, and beleives its a form of magic limiting its true power.
Class: The guy who runs in head first and miracoulously pulls through
Appearance: Is six feet tall pale orange hair, has orange eyes with a fifteen under his eyes which is not a tattoo below his eyes. Is very muscular, wears red jacket that he never does up and reaches to his ankles. The jacket also has a fifteen printed on the back and on his right arm. Has a belt hanging from his left shoulder to his right hip that holds his huge sword. wears lightly armoured pants with two interesting knives on strapped to them. Sorta looks like this http://chimerakiller2.deviantart.com/#/d3bte53
Personality: Brave, can be smart but would rather just charge in. Lacks patience and is a hands on learner.stands up for those in need,is very lucky. Happy and condfident, charismatic yet seems to hold something back. can be relatively calm even though is very hot headed.
Bio: Was found on the road after a very stange night and was brought up by a family of 15 farmers. By the age 6 the family knew he was something else with his obsurd strength and the way the elements reacted to him as much as they loved him the could not help but to treat him differently. when he was 8 at battle took place killing his family leaving only his younger adoptive brother that he saved. Together they searched for a way to get revenge and learn to fight. At the age of twelve after being taught by variose soldiers, and stranger he lead a band of kids against the servants of darkness only to lose his adoptive brother two years later. He has learend that revenge will not lead to no good end but still wishes to fight only this time refuses to lead and push anyone.
Author: chimerakiller2

updated Apr 29 '11 by Xeranad