⚔️Serberia

Torrential rain drummed in heavy drops against the rooftops of flooded houses, barely protruding above the waterline. The street lamps, tilted by the weather, were for the most part either extinguished or flickering erratically, and only small islands of safety were lit by dim artificial light. The sound of the rain was interrupted only by the periodic roars and growls of monsters lurking in the darkness that had swallowed the small settlement. The only sign of life, apart from the uninvited guests, was a group of people huddled on one of the still-lit roofs. Some of them glanced around warily, trying to make out the shapes of monsters in the almost impenetrable gloom, while others, curled up with their eyes squeezed shut, tried to convince themselves it was all just a bad dream, or else gathered in a small circle and quietly prayed to Arteria. Finally, one of the people stepped forward — he was a lizardman, no longer young but none the less tall for it, one of the local fishermen.
 — I don't know about you, but I can't sit idle any longer, — he growled irritably, running his paws over his scaly face, — there must be other survivors out there. By doing nothing we're condemning them to certain death.
 — And what can we do, Krass? — one of the men asked tiredly, lifting his head which had until then been buried in his knees, — stepping beyond the lanterns is as good as saying goodbye to life. We won't save anyone, but we'll get torn to pieces, swallowed alive, or worse.
The man fixed his gaze on his interlocutor, while, at his words, the children nearby pressed closer to their parents and even some of the other adults involuntarily shuddered.
 — You... — the lizardman frowned and carefully surveyed those present, — ... well, yes. Nothing. Humans. Too soft-bodied. Literally. Fragile. Swim slowly. Easy prey. But not me, — Krass turned his eyes to the pair of other lizardmen sitting a little further away, then gestured for them to come closer — and not Ssaz or Tar. It's easier for us to hide among the sea depths or break away from pursuit. Some of the lanterns are still working. Dangerous, but worth a try.
The conversation between the lizardmen and some of the other survivors continued for some time and, for the most part, consisted of discussing the details of the rescue plan: which route to take, where to go, and which places should be checked first. The discussion proceeded in a slightly less tense manner and, as it might have seemed, allowed those involved to shift their thoughts into a more productive channel than dwelling on the hopelessness of the situation.
When the formation of the plan was complete and the trio was already about to set off, one of the previously praying people approached the assembled group and, reciting a somewhat different prayer, blessed them before they departed.
 — Kha, — Krass was somewhat taken aback by such an outcome and, as it might have seemed, fell into thought, as if trying to remember something, — thank you for the parting blessing from your... hmm... sea goddess? But I am protected by my own personal water spirit, — the lizardman smiled broadly, although to an unaccustomed person the expression on his scaly face would rather look like a beastly grin, — and so far it has done its job well!
Nodding farewell to the survivors remaining in safety, Krass and his comrades quietly slipped into the water, soon after dissolving into the night's darkness. Sitting among the other Arterians was a mother and daughter pair, Kalenthia and Lania Krau, who in the current situation found themselves missing a father and could only helplessly watch both this scene and the earlier conversation. Watch and pray that the brave lizardmen would manage to find their father safe and sound.
One hour passed, then two, but no word came from Krass and his group. Exhausted by the long wait and the shocks she had endured during that time, Kalenthia fell into a deep but restless sleep. Only after several more hours of waiting did the situation finally change — here and there sounds of struggle began to ring out, gunshots and the clang of steel interspersed with the bloodthirsty roars of monsters. After a while everything went quiet again, but soon gave way to the voices of people, and shortly thereafter the rescuers revealed themselves — they were not the lizardmen and the settlement residents they had saved, but Amatontes who had arrived to help. As it later turned out, Krass and his squad had died trying to bring wounded residents to the main group and, except for those present, all the other townspeople had been killed by the monsters.

The events experienced deeply affected the Krau family — they lost not only their home and a considerable portion of their property, but also the father of the family. Kalenthia withdrew into herself, becoming less talkative, while Lania developed a fear bordering on paranoia that something like this would ever happen again. She used the family's remaining savings and the funds that the government of Argalia provided as support for victims to move to a calmer country where they would not be threatened by another flood or invasion of monsters inhabiting the wastes. Her choice fell upon distant Serberia, which was experiencing its heyday.
The ship that Lania and Kalenthia boarded was large and majestic, at least in their eyes. Of course, Kalenthia had never seen any ships in person before — the closest thing had been fishing boats in her native settlement, and so the massive vessel made an indelible impression on the little girl. Sailors scurried back and forth across the deck carrying out orders shouted by the captain, while passengers of the most varied appearances climbed aboard. Nothing unusual for a resident of port cities or a person accustomed to travel, but Kalenthia was captivated by such a sight.
The rest of the voyage only reinforced the positive impressions — the fresh sea air, beautiful seascapes, and abundance of new faces greatly brightened the journey and even instilled in Lania and her daughter confidence that even alone together, in a new place, they could start a new life and leave the horrors of the past behind. A stop in Marion, a sort of historical homeland of Airisufir and therefore Argalia, also went smoothly. Kalenthia delighted in seeing the sights and daily life of a country renowned for its knightly spirit. However, Lania, despite her daughter's enthusiasm, did not want to linger there too long — both financial concerns and the proximity of the wastes took their toll. And so, no more than a day later, the family boarded a new ship that was to deliver them to Serberia.

Kalenthia slowly opened her eyes, awakened by an incomprehensible loud noise. A brief pause and the sound repeated, followed shortly after by what sounded like something heavy falling into the water. And then again. These were the sounds of cannon fire. Listening closely, the girl heard shouts from sailors rushing about the deck. Someone was attacking the ship. Her drowsiness was blown away as if by the wind and, rising from bed, Kalenthia cast a worried glance toward her mother. She seemed beside herself — pale, nervously swaying back and forth, tightly clutching the symbol of Arteria in both hands while muttering a prayer under her breath. Clearly, what she had endured before was taking its toll.
Leaping out of bed, the girl hurried toward her mother to try somehow to calm her down, but the sound of another shot disrupted her plans. In the blink of an eye the cabin wall burst into countless fragments, several of which, to Kalenthia's horror, embedded themselves in her mother's body. The Argalian watched in terror as her mother, having dropped the holy symbol and breathing heavily, lay on the blood-soaked floor of the cabin. It felt as though she wanted to say something but lacked the strength to do so. Having somewhat recovered from the shock, the girl rushed out of the cabin, hoping to find someone who could help Lania.
 — P-please help, m-mom she's... — Kalenthia cried, trying to draw the attention of the bustling and panicking people, — ...she needs... needs a doctor!
Her cries drowned amid a host of other voices, but she did not give up her attempts. Tears streamed from her eyes, her faltering breath increasingly hindered her ability to speak, but the girl kept searching for anyone willing to help. And, eventually, her pleas for help were heard — upon learning that another passenger was currently in critical condition, one of the doctors aboard the ship followed the Argalian. And although her mother was still clinging to life, her wounds were not the kind that could be treated under field conditions. Lania's life faded before her daughter's eyes and neither of them could do anything about it. The last thing the woman did before dying was extend her amulet to her daughter. If she could not protect Kalenthia herself, then at least Arteria would.
The girl had no strength to rise; after her mother died she simply sat nearby, clutching the received symbol, and wept quietly. Gradually, the sounds of battle subsided, and the Argalian, utterly exhausted, drifted into the world of dreams. As it later turned out, one of the ship's passengers was an acquaintance of Baron von Brekkendorf, who handed the orphaned girl over to his friend's guardianship.

After losing her mother, Kalenthia became very quiet and initially spent most of her free time alone in her room. But gradually she began to pay attention to the training sessions conducted by the baron, which she ultimately joined herself. And after that, little by little, she began to recover — although Gunnir, as it might have seemed, spared no mercy on his charges, weapons training helped the Argalian put her thoughts in order. Moreover, studying the martial craft helped her fight both her sense of helplessness and the need to rely too much on others. It gave her the feeling that, if necessary, she could stand up for herself instead of cowering in a corner awaiting the inevitable.
Relationships with the other wards also moved off dead center. Although Kalenthia never told how or why she ended up in the orphanage, she quite actively shared stories with curious children about life in Argalia, including tales of the lizardmen. Some were fascinated by these stories, others frightened. Such reactions could not help but amuse the Argalian herself, since for her there was nothing particularly strange or unusual in what she recounted — it was merely her childhood. At the same time, Kalenthia began to earn a reputation that was, to some extent, frightening to those around her. Partly this was due to her ability to eat even the spiciest dishes without changing her expression at all, though it didn't end there — even Gulveig's deadly culinary experiments were within her reach. But it wasn't only that, but also if not the persistence the girl showed during sparring, then the stubbornness. She fought to the end and often remained standing by the time the other wards had already collapsed from exhaustion.
Gradually, life at the orphanage became something ordinary, and it got to the point that after reaching adulthood Kalenthia did not immediately move out. Instead, she stayed for a little over a year, now helping the baron with the other wards. For the younger generation this only worsened her fearsome reputation, as the Argalian was now known as a monster lying in wait in the nighttime darkness for anyone who decided to sneak around at night to pull some prank or pilfer sweets from the buffet. This extended to training as well, as she was now not only an extremely stubborn opponent but also someone who actively assisted Gunnir in his draconian drills. But Kalenthia herself cared little about this — perhaps she was strict, but she was also fair.
Spending long days at the estate and helping the baron with the children made it easy to lose oneself, but at a certain point the girl began to catch herself thinking that things couldn't continue this way forever. Not that such a life was bad in itself — it was simply an abuse of Gunnir's kindness and something that, by Kalenthia's own estimation, harmed her. Sooner or later she needed to move out and learn to live on her own, relying primarily on herself.

Origin: Argalia (7:7:6:5:4:5:3:3:3:4, immunity to poison, weakness, and lethargy)
Date of birth: 09.06.760 (+5 to stealth, +5% chance of dealing critical damage, +2 to strength, +1 to endurance, +1 to intellect, +3 to faith, +1 to beauty)
Belief: Church of Arteria (The character survives one mortal wound per game cycle. +3 to faith, +1 to beauty, +1 to spirit.)
Characteristics:
Strength: 9
Endurance: 8
Agility: 6
Perception: 5
Speed: 4
Intellect: 6
Spirit: 4
Faith: 9
Charisma: 3
Beauty: 6
Mentor: Gunnir
Equipment: two-handed spear, light armor, amulet of Arteria, food, book "Chronicle of the Valkyries", money