Zayda

Picture the scene: elegant dresses, glittering jewelry, yet another never-ending society ball for the realm's noble houses. But when her Aunt Polly turns around, she is shocked to find that Zayda is nowhere to be seen. From a young age, Zayda devised countless strategies to escape from such events, but it was never difficult to find her. If she wasn't at the stables, the young Zayda would be at the archery grounds, or even pestering a Halfling to teach her how to operate a ballista. At the age of 15, she slipped away from yet another ball without her family's knowledge, and signed up to join the army. Now, she can dart across the battlefield with lightning speed—a skill most likely gained from years of slipping away from ballrooms unnoticed.

Zayda always idolized her mother, a high-ranking commander. Her strongest memories are of her in full armor, ready to ride off to battle. On her 17th birthday, she was given a birthday present, a token of thanks for her mother's brave deeds—the crossbow Starfall. The news spread across Tamaris, and the weapon soon came to be seen as a symbol of friendship between settlers and Dwarves. It was deeply important to Zayda too, for she knew that she would only be worthy of the gift on the day that she could join her mother on the battlefield.

A glittering light, intense pain, and dead comrades all around. During the battle for Dawnwatch Bay, this was all that many Dwarven soldiers knew of Zayda. Only the Copperbrew Clan soldiers knew better: the crossbow bolts that flew like shooting stars came from the young Human girl who had trained with them five years before. Those five years were the happiest time of Zayda's life. She ate, drank, rode, and practiced archery with them, and gave them fine silk handkerchiefs as a token of thanks. It was on a Dwarven training ground that Zayda's mentor Solen discovered the weapon that suited her most: the crossbow.

Zayda would never forget the breeze that day. She had always been skilled in gauging its speed and direction. And it meant that she knew one thing clearly: her crossbow bolt was heading straight for Solen's eye. It is a Dwarven tradition for two commanders to duel in front of their amassed armies; during the Settler War, she and Solen experienced it first hand. In their first duel, her hesitation led to her army forfeiting a key stronghold, leaving the city on the brink of a Dwarven assault. In their second, she knew that she had to pay Solen back with all that she had... When the adrenaline of the heated battle had passed, she saw Solen kneeling upon the ground, one hand over his bloodied eye. His voice trembled as he spoke: "Thou has beaten me at last, little squirrel."