"Rage of Kanaloa"[]
Zelyae's appearance from her early days of adventuering. (May or may not be the art I used before she was comissioned.)
Zelyae (picture on the right) was rather new to the babel scene. She had just gotten to the city and gotten her equipment sorted out when she heard of the news… AN ISLAND WAS GETTING ATTACKED!!! Zel couldn't take this sitting down. It must have been fate that this all was happening so soon as she arrived. There was one issue, however; She had no way to get to the island on her own. After her visit with a very nice crafter who finished her armor, She was perfectly equipped to take on some fire elementals… well, just as equipped as any other adventurer hearing the news for the first time. Going around, Zel would turn to the streets to find more info, hoping to get a destination or more information about what she can do. Zel would think about where would be the best location to learn what she needed and decides to prowl the docs (or whatever babel has) in search of a bar, hoping that some drunken sailors would have enough stories to give a clearer understanding of the task at hand.
Finding a bar was easy… finding drunk sailors and tradesmen even more so. Getting them to talk was just a matter of buying them a few more drinks. Standard adventuring stuff right? After completely fucking up the first three interactions she attempted, Zel realized that her rather uptight and instigative way of talking would do her no favors. The fourth time required a different approach. After some flirting, albeit poorly, and a few drinks later, Zel had heard what she needed. The general location of the Island known as Lalotai, and the fire elementals destroying the place. The next issue was a big one… Hitching a ride on a trading vessel in the hopes of nearing the island.
After the information was gathered, with a collection of drunken men oversharing and research into trade routes, Zel pays her way onto a ship, about 25gp for simply riding along until. The generous amount of gold (from an NPCs perspective) should be enough to convince someone to let her tag along. There, Zel would wait till the trade-vessel reached a relatively close distance to the island. There, she would conjure a small makeshift boat, leaving the larger vessel in order to sail to the island. This grew into a large issue, however, as she just then remembered that she can’t actually steer a ship with any degree of accuracy. Luckily, the boat seemed to manage well enough until the island was in sight… but the waves made it impossible to get any closer. Once Zelyae realized she couldn’t reach the island this way, she leaped into the water with no hesitation, the raft disappearing soon after she left it. The rest of the trip was rather exhausting, swimming against the island currents was no simple task, but with the ability to heal her suffrage with a simple flick of the wrist, she powered through and eventually swam to the shore. Her drive to protect innocents and end the suffering caused by the elementals fuels her determination as she swims. Once she reaches the shore, a simple utterance of an incantation is all she needs to dry herself off, and now, it was time to join the fight.
Zel would be quick to arrive at the fiery scene of carnage and destruction, going to the places that have been previously destroyed and seeking out any survivors that may be stuck or need help. She would offer first aid and transport for anyone who needs it, deciding its best to help out first and foremost. After she was sure that no harm would befall those that were left behind, she would rush to the front lines. Summoning what would be akin to a giant bow and arrow made of golden light, she would engage in battle with the flaming beasts. Her aim is mobility and cover fire, being able to shoot what were effectively ballista bolts at the giant targets. She would blanket the sky in glowing arrows of light, raining literal holy-fire and arrows the size of people into the monsters. With her over-zealous display of magic, she hoped to gain their attention, taking to run-and-gun tactics to draw the monsters away from the more habitable locations on the island, and letting those who can deal more precise damage with more effect not have to worry about being targeted.
A knight must first give their word, then fight to the bitter end. Arrow after arrow, person after person, Zel continued. Never stopping to rest or recuperate, she fought with her heart out to save the island and its people. Whenever she felt her arms grow sore and limp from shooting, or her legs wobbly and weak, she would heal herself yet again, and push harder and harder until the deed was done, or she died doing it.
"Striking the Behemoth"[]
It wasn't that she was blind to what was happening, she knew them all too well. The nomadic city is known as Behemoth, and their raiders who have destroyed, enslaved, and killed for anything they desired. Zelyae had made a habit of staying out of conflicts, mainly due to her own potential for destruction. If one side were to have her, the tides of battle would no-doubtingly be in whenever had her graces favor. She only ever liked to get involved when it was potentially world ending, or at least guaranteeing a massive loss of life. After all, with so many adventurers on Etera, she didn’t need to worry about help not arriving, simply how much help would be needed. It was unfortunate for the raiders of Behemoth… but this was personal to her. After she had left her past militia behind, Zelyae had stayed in contact with them. It was this contact that happened to inform the angelic woman of the current whereabouts and situation regarding them. After Zelyae received her most recent message, her anger and annoyance grew to new heights. Her old allies were part of the people rallied to stop this city, and unfortunate news was spilled. Some of her old platoon were slain in a conflict amongst this city, and that was the last straw. A city that holds the destruction of others in its heart needs not to exist, and Zelyae was going to make sure it didn't. It wasn't that much later that the golden woman would be seen flying over the city of babel, onto the Meita base camp.
Coasting on the winds above the clouds, Zelyae flew on her own to the camp. She could have gotten there near-instantly, but the allure of calm before the fight beckoned to her, and as such, she took her sweet time getting there. As the camp came into view, she carefully descended down to the soldiers below. Explaining who she was (not that she needed introduction), Zelyae offers her services to the individuals leading this attack. At first, offering to simply go herself and stop the issue altogether, soon enough she talked with the generals and leaders amongst them and agreed to train soldiers instead, her own militant past being the driving factor in that decision. Going amongst the troop and sectioning them off into groups, the angelic woman known only as Zelyae Mailstrum began a rather tortuous training regimen with the soldiers. She taught them how to fight better, shoot straighter, protect themselves better, and even the basics of magic theory. If they were to come up against spellcasters, they would at least not need to fear them, and possibly be able to defeat them with enough grit and ingenuity. One of these days, she managed to get a word with a delegate taking opinions of how one thinks they should attack the city. Zelyae’s own opinions were that they should take the city via siege tactics, surrounding them and cutting off their supplies, then eventually storming them after they are starved. The sudden attack after what could easily be weeks of shortage would not only take them off guard, but they would be slow to react.