HILDDAZ

Pronounced: HILL-daz • The Last Daughter

Backstory:

Born Hilders, though she always preferred to be called Daz, she was a seven-foot-tall, free-spirited young warrior with tremendous natural strength, little patience for rules, and a habit of treating life less seriously than those around her thought she should. At twenty years old, she still wore braids only across the top of her head, having not yet earned the traditional side braids of an accomplished warrior. Everything changed aboard the Valkyra during a mission to transport the ancient sentient weapon AETHERIVA to Sanctuary Veyra. The transport was shot down, killing everyone aboard except Daz and leaving her catastrophically injured, with her left eye destroyed, her right arm severed below the elbow, her right leg lost at the knee, three fingers missing from her left hand, and devastating wounds across the rest of her body. Somehow, AETHERIVA chose her. The weapon re-formed her shattered body and gave her a second chance at life, but Daz understood that the woman who emerged was no longer quite the same person who had entered the wreckage. She combined the name she was born with and the name she had chosen for herself, becoming HILDDAZ, a new identity for the warrior she now intended to become.

Unique Artifact:

AETHERIVA
AETHERIVA is an ancient sentient weapon capable of collapsing its entire blade into a compact hilt containing a glowing orb, then reforming when called upon. Beyond its sword form, AETHERIVA can reshape itself into simple weapons, tools, and functional objects as circumstances demand. It possesses an intelligence and will of its own, making Hilddaz its bearer rather than simply its owner.

AETHERIVA also produces a mysterious and potentially dangerous reaction when males approach it. Electronic systems begin experiencing interference at approximately thirty feet, with the disturbance becoming increasingly severe as the distance closes. Within roughly ten feet, the reaction can become violent. Women can approach, handle, and transport AETHERIVA without triggering the same phenomenon.

Moral Compass:

Chaotic Good – Hilddaz genuinely wants to protect others and do what she believes is right, but obedience has never been one of her strengths. She follows instinct before protocol and has little hesitation about ignoring rules, traditions, or authority when she believes there is a better way.

Weakness/Failing:

Impulsiveness – Hilddaz often acts before she has fully considered the consequences. With the strength to move nearly twenty tons and the confidence to throw herself directly into danger, a bad decision can become catastrophic very quickly.

She also has a tendency to hide fear, grief, and vulnerability behind humor, bravado, flirtation, and reckless behavior. Surviving the destruction of the Valkyra forces her to become more responsible, but the carefree Daz she once was never completely disappears.

Profession:

Warrior / AETHERIVA Bearer – Once an inexperienced young warrior aboard the Valkyra, Hilddaz becomes the sole surviving bearer of AETHERIVA after the destruction of the transport. Exceptionally strong yet surprisingly agile for her seven-foot frame, she relies on speed, instinct, improvisation, and overwhelming physical power rather than rigid combat doctrine. Her new role carries a responsibility she never expected to inherit, and one she must gradually prove herself worthy of carrying.