character Sister Azura, Paladin and wannabe Bard

[madMonk]

Sister Azura

Origins

Years ago, a girl of Common birth bore a monster. Like many towns in Golarian, the populace of Sandpoint had a less than stellar opinion of Tieflings. Perhaps that was why, as soon as she was able, the girl abandoned her child on the steps of the Sandpoint Cathedral. Perhaps she feared that she would face persecution if the populace found out that she had sired one of the Pit-born; perhaps she hoped that the church could give her daughter a good life, one that she could not provide. Perhaps we will never know the truth.

Sister Azura was raised by a human priestess of Shelyn, by the name of Lynda. Her mother doted on her and treated the Tiefling as though she were her true daughter, and opportunity rarely afforded to such creatures. As Azura grew, Lynda allowed and encouraged her to explore her interests, providing her with any texts she wished for. It was in one such text, an old holy text, that Azura heard of Iomedae, a god of justice, of honour, who rose from humble beginnings and joined Heaven’s cohort. Something drew the Tiefling to Iomedae, and with her mother’s blessing, Azura began to venerate the Inheritor. When the Late Unpleasantness took place, Azura learnt that simply have a true heart was not enough- she needed the power to protect those who could not, and destroy those who would do harm to the innocent. She needed to learn to fight.

Though life within the Church was good, the world beyond its walls was as cruel to tieflings as ever. Whenever Azura left to run an errand for the Church, she would face thinly veiled hostility by many of the townsfolk. They knew better than to show blatant hostility to a girl backed by the Church, but that didn’t mean they had to make life pleasant for her. It was on one such errand that the then teenaged Azura first met Ameiko. The Tian girl treated the Tiefling with kindness, not because of any doctrine, or godly decree (after all, a cynical part of Azura’s mind always whispered to her, why else would Lynda care for a creature such as her?)- Ameiko simply did. Something about this was intoxicating to Azura, and she found herself constantly making excuses to leave the Church and spend time with Ameiko. Now, Ameiko has made a name for herself and owns a successful establishment, while Azura is still where she has always been- locked in the gilded cage that is the Church, desperate to leave and make a name for herself like the woman she so admired, but unsure of how.

Personality

Azura has a strong sense of loyalty to her friends and the people who took her in, but aside from that, she is not what one might think of when they hear “paladin.” She can be brash but is well meaning, and is no more knowledgeable about religion than most lay people. She can be sometimes be oblivious to what is going on around her, and to her own feelings. In fact, Azura hasn’t quite come to terms with her feelings for Ameiko- this stems from a deep sense in insecurity, borne from her abandonment.
Azura worries that Ameiko is only kind to her out of pity, and that Lynda, the priestess who raised her, only does so because it is part of Shelyn’s Doctrine. Azura is unsure if she wants to meet her birth mother, and doesn’t know how either of them would react, so she has not put any energy towards finding her.

Role

Azura doesn’t play like a classic paladin. She focuses on buffing the party with bardic performance, and at level 5 will have a griffon Mount to help dish out damage. Lay on Hands will help her survive on the front lines despite her lower con, and she can still hit quite hard.

 

 

 

Edited February 8, 2023 by madMonk (see edit history)

[madMonk]

About Azura:

Strangers to Sandpoint

A blue tiefling is sometimes seem walking the streets of Sandpoint in broad daylight, wearing the garb of a shelynite priest, dyed in the colours of Iomedae. Some of the populace seems to be hostile or fearful towards her. Whether or not this is deserved or simply due to her race cannot be said.

Rusty Dragon Regulars

A blue tiefling is sometimes seem walking the streets of Sandpoint in broad daylight, wearing the garb of a shelynite priest, dyed in the colours of Iomedae. Some of the populace seems to be hostile or fearful towards her.

Regulars at the Rusty Dragon may have overheard her name, as Azura too is a regular at Ameiko's Inn. Her every interaction seems polite, and she is a big fan of Ameiko's performances. The tiefling can sometimes be a little too talkative, which some quieter souls may find intimidating (or tiring), but she seems to mean well. Occasionally she tries to convince Ameiko to teach her the words to her songs, so the two can duet. From Azura's occasional drunken accompaniment she is an unremarkable, if enthusiastic, singer.

Locals

A blue tiefling is sometimes seem walking the streets of Sandpoint in broad daylight, wearing the garb of a shelynite priest, dyed in the colours of Iomedae. Some of the populace seems to be hostile or fearful towards her, though those people tend to be the older members of the populace, who are known to have strong opinions and stronger prejudices. She is sometimes accompanied by, or running errands for, a priestess of Shelyn named Lynda, who has cared for the tiefling since she was abandoned on the steps of the Cathedral eighteen years ago.

After the late unpleasantness, she started to pester them for training, until they finally acquiesced and gave her some basic pointers, more to get her off their back than anything else. Azura is also more than happy to help around town, even stopping to help those people who like to throw disparaging comments her way if they need a hand. Whether this is out of the goodness of her heart or because she is too unwise to recognise the comments for what they are is up in the air. Regardless, aside from her race, few citizens would have a reason to dislike Azura.

Cathedral Goers

Azura was essentially adopted by a priestess of Shelyn named Lynda after being abandoned on the steps of the Cathedral 18 years ago. She is helpful to a fault, though she does not venerate any of the main deities worshipped in the temple. Instead, it would be known that she worships Iomedae.

She does her best to help the Cathedral and its visitors, whether it be offering to guide them to the shrine of the deity they worship, or scrubbing the floors. For someone who grew up in the Cathedral, however, she knows very little about religion. Certain members of the clergy can sometimes act aggressively towards Azura, though never ever comes of it.

Members of the Clergy

Some members of the clergy think it typical that a war-like creature such as Azura would worship a god of war- her collection of weapons and armour she keeps in her chambers do nothing to calm their fears about her nature.

Whatever the case, the church of Shelyn is united behind Azura, and prevents other factions from doing more than send disparaging comments her way. However, this protection does little more than allow Azura to live a relatively normal life- if she were to break the law (an event her detractors eagerly await), she would be tried as any other. Shelyn's clergy will protect her from prejudice, but not the consequences of her actions.

 

Edited February 9, 2023 by madMonk (see edit history)