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Jan. 24th, 2026 02:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fiendbornOverview:
Zhenya Drugaala, also known as Her Highness, Princess Zhensin Inhada, Eighth Born of Kaisin, First Born of Zhenuun, High Priestess of Irvost, is the daughter of the vicious and paranoid tyrant Kaisin Inhada. From birth, she was expected to grow up in cloistered luxury with her mother - but fate had other plans for her. Now, she is just another anonymous citizen of the great capital city of the Fiendborn Empire. But she doesn't plan to stay anonymous forever: soon, she is going to be the assassin who killed the tyrant Kaisin Inhada.
Quick Facts:
Name: Zhenya Drugaala
Age: 25
Height: 5'5" (not counting horns)
Weight: 130 lbs
Species: Fiendborn
Eye Color: Yellow
Hair Color: Black
Skin Color: Red
Horn Shape: Backswept, low
Personality:
Prior to escaping the palace in which she was born, every moment in Zhenya's life was controlled by someone else. As such, the most important thing to Zhenya is her freedom to choose. She is independent to a fault and can't abide being governed by otherss. This has sometimes lead her to become needlessly contrary, quarrelsome, or overbearing - but she is working on that aspect of herself. She understands that she is not an island and that she must cooperate with others to get things done. She is a good leader, and she is learning to be a good follower as well.
Given her past hardships, Zhenya could be forgiven for becoming a neurotic, anxious person - but as anyone who has met her could attest, she is decidedly not an anxious person. Instead, she seems to have given up on fear entirely. Zhenya always appears calm, self-possessed, perfectly turned-out and fully in control of her emotions. She is distrustful and sometimes reserved in speech and action to the point of appearing cold, but this is out of caution, not fear. For every conversation she has with you, you can be sure that she will have learned more about you than she will have let you know about her.
Finally, Zhenya's early life of luxury does not seem to have made her decadent. On the contrary, it seems to have turned her into a deeply austere person. She prefers a blanket on the floor to a plush bed, simple unprocessed food to elaborate feasts, a simple commoner's robe to the gowns of a princess. It's not that she refuses to partake in any luxury offered to her, it's just that she has decided that she doesn't need luxury to be comfortable. She occasionally goes without food or sleep for long periods, as if only to show that she is capable of living without the necessities others require.
Appearance:
Zhenya is a Fiendborn, also known as a Tiefling. As such, she looks a lot like other humanoids, except that she has a long tail like a lizard and a pair of horns like a goat on her head. Her eyes are a bright, sunny yellow from corner to corner, with no iris or pupil visible. Her hair is black and very long and thick, and she wears it tied back in a braid or bun. Her skin is dark red like brick dust, and across the bridge of her nose is a faint constellation of freckles. Her lips are thin and give the impression that she is always slightly annoyed or impatient. Her canine teeth are long and quite sharp. Her build is petite, but you'd never know that from her bearing. Her fingernails would naturally grow intro sharp claws if she let them, but no civilized person lets their claws grow out. In fact, Zhenya's nails are shorn all the way down past the edge of her skin as if she has bitten them, not that anyone has ever seen her bite them.
History:
Once upon a time, there were two brothers. They were both sons of the Emperor and his chief wife, and they were both raised to be heirs to their father's empire. The elder brother, Kaiga Inhada, grew into a man of mild temper and scholarly mind; the younger brother, Kaisin Inhada, grew into a man with a powerful body and a persuasive voice. As their father grew older, he never stated publicly which of his sons should succeed him: he only implied his choice by keeping his elder son close at hand while sending his younger son away to be a soldier. Those who were close to him said that he was grooming Kaiga to become a politician, while those on the outside of his closest circles said that he was giving Kaisin the chance to make a war hero of himself.
Eventually, the old Emperor did as all men do and left this world to live with the Fiends. Upon his death, Kaiga declared that his father had told him to take up the mantle of Emperor in his last hours. It was a peaceful transition of power: although the Empire's great army, who had indeed come to see Kaisin as their hero, was said to be dissatisfied with the old Emperor's choice of heir, no revolts were reported. If Kaisin himself felt resentful, then he hid his resentment behind his silence. The people of the Empire seemed ready to welcome and follow their new Emperor.
But the reign of Kaiga Inhada did not remain peaceful. The new Emperor was fair and thoughtful, but he was also weak. He could not make the decisions needed to rule a sprawling Empire: he could not keep the nobles under control, in the cities or out on the steppe; he could not keep the common people from being robbed of food and money by their overlords. Wishing to keep the Empire isolated from outside influence, he discouraged trade and barred foreigners from entering the inner provinces. Although he allowed the army to defend the Empire's borders, he did not give his permission for them to encroach on neighboring land. In the seventh year of his reign, natural disaster hit the steppe and the people were deprived of wool. In the eighth year of his reign, natural disaster hit the inner provinces and the people were deprived of food. In the ninth year of his reign, natural disaster hit the river and the people died in droves.
During this time, Kaisin Inhada had kept himself busy. He had become more than a hero to the soliders: by now he was their official leader, the general of the great Fiendborn Army. He, the younger brother who had not complained aloud when his elder brother inherited the throne, he who had watched as the soldiers grew restive and his commanders advised him to challenge his brother, he who had watched as the people starved and his troops begged him to challenge his brother - his resolve hardened. In the tenth year of his brother's reign, he staged a coup and the great Fiendborn Army, - his army - fell upon the capital like the water of the river and overran the palace. On the steps of the palace, Kaisin Inhada paid tribute to the Fiends and cut Kaiga Inhada's throat so that his blood drenched the altar.
But Kaisin Inhada could not rule the Fiendborn Empire with the support of the army alone. He needed the support of the nobles, those in the capital and those on the steppe. The nobles had done very well under the rule of Kaiga, who refused to rein them in as they abused the people: they were not at all eager to negotiate with this new emperor. Twice Kaisin Inhada tried to reason with them, during the spring and the autumn trading seasons of the first year of his reign. But the noble families would not deign to speak with him.
And so Kaisin Inhada purged the courts.
As they had fallen upon the capital city and broken Emperor Kaiga, the great Fiendborn Army now flooded the estates and steppe settlements of the nobles, swelled like a deluge over their walls and through their doors and bore them away. In the end, all of the noble families who were loyal to Kaiga or had married their daughters to him or harbored his children were murdered. Of the fourteen ancient noble lines, only two were left with their leading families intact; the rest were decimated. Among the dead were men, women, children - the only people who could not be murdered outright were pregnant women, not for their own sake but because in the Fiendborn religion, the killing of an unborn baby for the sins of its family is the greatest sin. Even these women, though, were exiled to the farthest reaches of the steppes. It is said that as the exiled women gave birth, they and their newborns were immediately put to the sword.
Also among the dead was the entire family of Kaisin Inhada's sixth wife, Zhenuun Inhada. Zhenuun, already pregnant with her husband's child, did not complain. But like Kaisin Inhada himself, her silence belied a resentment that would grow over time. When, the next year, the baby was born, Zhenuun did not allow her husband into her quarters to see her. Although the baby's name was announced before the people of the capital as Her Highness, Princess Zhensin Inhada, Eighth Born of Kaisin, First Born of Zhenuun, High Priestess of Irvost, Zhenuun knew her by a name chosen in honor of her own family: Zhenya Drugaala.
In the meantime, Kaisin Inhada's reign, originally lauded by the people, was quickly growing unstable. Whatever plans he may have had to end the people's hunger, revitalize trade and set the army free to spread the Empire's borders again, none of them were coming to fruition. In purging the courts, Kaisin Inhada had caused the death of many common people along with their noble overlords: thus, he had lost the trust of the people. In time, Kaisin Inhada came to understand that if the people could not trust him, he could not trust them in turn. The new Emperor's beloved army was indeed given free rein again - but this time it was commanded not to make war on the Empire's neighbors, but to contain and cow the Empire's own people. The steppe camps were obliged to host battalions of soldiers; in the inner provinces the people were terrorized by secret police who answered only to the Emperor.
As the years of Kaisin Inhada's reign continued, Zhenuun Inhada, the Emperor's sixth wife, remained cloistered in her own quarters. Although she was obliged allow her daughter to attend court with the Emperor, she kept the child close to her at all other times. At Zhenuun Inhada's feet, Zhenya Inhada learned not only to be a princess, but to be an enemy of her father.
In the twelfth year of Kaisin Inhada's reign, the Emperor finally lost patience with his sixth's wife's scorn. When his secret police intercepted a message between Zhenuun and a faction of malcontents in the capital city, he sentenced her to be executed. Zhenya Inhada, Zhenuun's only child, was unable to beg her father for a reprieve: Zhenuun had her spirited out of the palace and into the labyrinthine outer districts of the city in the hours before her arrest. Days later, in the care of Zhenuun's contacts among the common people, Zhenya watched her mother executed in front of the palace.
From then on, Zhenya has been living in the capital city of the Fiendborn Empire, avoiding the eyes of her father's soldiers and policemen and plotting, always, to kill her father, the Emperor Kaisin Inhada.
Zhenya Drugaala, also known as Her Highness, Princess Zhensin Inhada, Eighth Born of Kaisin, First Born of Zhenuun, High Priestess of Irvost, is the daughter of the vicious and paranoid tyrant Kaisin Inhada. From birth, she was expected to grow up in cloistered luxury with her mother - but fate had other plans for her. Now, she is just another anonymous citizen of the great capital city of the Fiendborn Empire. But she doesn't plan to stay anonymous forever: soon, she is going to be the assassin who killed the tyrant Kaisin Inhada.
Quick Facts:
Name: Zhenya Drugaala
Age: 25
Height: 5'5" (not counting horns)
Weight: 130 lbs
Species: Fiendborn
Eye Color: Yellow
Hair Color: Black
Skin Color: Red
Horn Shape: Backswept, low
Personality:
Prior to escaping the palace in which she was born, every moment in Zhenya's life was controlled by someone else. As such, the most important thing to Zhenya is her freedom to choose. She is independent to a fault and can't abide being governed by otherss. This has sometimes lead her to become needlessly contrary, quarrelsome, or overbearing - but she is working on that aspect of herself. She understands that she is not an island and that she must cooperate with others to get things done. She is a good leader, and she is learning to be a good follower as well.
Given her past hardships, Zhenya could be forgiven for becoming a neurotic, anxious person - but as anyone who has met her could attest, she is decidedly not an anxious person. Instead, she seems to have given up on fear entirely. Zhenya always appears calm, self-possessed, perfectly turned-out and fully in control of her emotions. She is distrustful and sometimes reserved in speech and action to the point of appearing cold, but this is out of caution, not fear. For every conversation she has with you, you can be sure that she will have learned more about you than she will have let you know about her.
Finally, Zhenya's early life of luxury does not seem to have made her decadent. On the contrary, it seems to have turned her into a deeply austere person. She prefers a blanket on the floor to a plush bed, simple unprocessed food to elaborate feasts, a simple commoner's robe to the gowns of a princess. It's not that she refuses to partake in any luxury offered to her, it's just that she has decided that she doesn't need luxury to be comfortable. She occasionally goes without food or sleep for long periods, as if only to show that she is capable of living without the necessities others require.
Appearance:
Zhenya is a Fiendborn, also known as a Tiefling. As such, she looks a lot like other humanoids, except that she has a long tail like a lizard and a pair of horns like a goat on her head. Her eyes are a bright, sunny yellow from corner to corner, with no iris or pupil visible. Her hair is black and very long and thick, and she wears it tied back in a braid or bun. Her skin is dark red like brick dust, and across the bridge of her nose is a faint constellation of freckles. Her lips are thin and give the impression that she is always slightly annoyed or impatient. Her canine teeth are long and quite sharp. Her build is petite, but you'd never know that from her bearing. Her fingernails would naturally grow intro sharp claws if she let them, but no civilized person lets their claws grow out. In fact, Zhenya's nails are shorn all the way down past the edge of her skin as if she has bitten them, not that anyone has ever seen her bite them.
History:
Once upon a time, there were two brothers. They were both sons of the Emperor and his chief wife, and they were both raised to be heirs to their father's empire. The elder brother, Kaiga Inhada, grew into a man of mild temper and scholarly mind; the younger brother, Kaisin Inhada, grew into a man with a powerful body and a persuasive voice. As their father grew older, he never stated publicly which of his sons should succeed him: he only implied his choice by keeping his elder son close at hand while sending his younger son away to be a soldier. Those who were close to him said that he was grooming Kaiga to become a politician, while those on the outside of his closest circles said that he was giving Kaisin the chance to make a war hero of himself.
Eventually, the old Emperor did as all men do and left this world to live with the Fiends. Upon his death, Kaiga declared that his father had told him to take up the mantle of Emperor in his last hours. It was a peaceful transition of power: although the Empire's great army, who had indeed come to see Kaisin as their hero, was said to be dissatisfied with the old Emperor's choice of heir, no revolts were reported. If Kaisin himself felt resentful, then he hid his resentment behind his silence. The people of the Empire seemed ready to welcome and follow their new Emperor.
But the reign of Kaiga Inhada did not remain peaceful. The new Emperor was fair and thoughtful, but he was also weak. He could not make the decisions needed to rule a sprawling Empire: he could not keep the nobles under control, in the cities or out on the steppe; he could not keep the common people from being robbed of food and money by their overlords. Wishing to keep the Empire isolated from outside influence, he discouraged trade and barred foreigners from entering the inner provinces. Although he allowed the army to defend the Empire's borders, he did not give his permission for them to encroach on neighboring land. In the seventh year of his reign, natural disaster hit the steppe and the people were deprived of wool. In the eighth year of his reign, natural disaster hit the inner provinces and the people were deprived of food. In the ninth year of his reign, natural disaster hit the river and the people died in droves.
During this time, Kaisin Inhada had kept himself busy. He had become more than a hero to the soliders: by now he was their official leader, the general of the great Fiendborn Army. He, the younger brother who had not complained aloud when his elder brother inherited the throne, he who had watched as the soldiers grew restive and his commanders advised him to challenge his brother, he who had watched as the people starved and his troops begged him to challenge his brother - his resolve hardened. In the tenth year of his brother's reign, he staged a coup and the great Fiendborn Army, - his army - fell upon the capital like the water of the river and overran the palace. On the steps of the palace, Kaisin Inhada paid tribute to the Fiends and cut Kaiga Inhada's throat so that his blood drenched the altar.
But Kaisin Inhada could not rule the Fiendborn Empire with the support of the army alone. He needed the support of the nobles, those in the capital and those on the steppe. The nobles had done very well under the rule of Kaiga, who refused to rein them in as they abused the people: they were not at all eager to negotiate with this new emperor. Twice Kaisin Inhada tried to reason with them, during the spring and the autumn trading seasons of the first year of his reign. But the noble families would not deign to speak with him.
And so Kaisin Inhada purged the courts.
As they had fallen upon the capital city and broken Emperor Kaiga, the great Fiendborn Army now flooded the estates and steppe settlements of the nobles, swelled like a deluge over their walls and through their doors and bore them away. In the end, all of the noble families who were loyal to Kaiga or had married their daughters to him or harbored his children were murdered. Of the fourteen ancient noble lines, only two were left with their leading families intact; the rest were decimated. Among the dead were men, women, children - the only people who could not be murdered outright were pregnant women, not for their own sake but because in the Fiendborn religion, the killing of an unborn baby for the sins of its family is the greatest sin. Even these women, though, were exiled to the farthest reaches of the steppes. It is said that as the exiled women gave birth, they and their newborns were immediately put to the sword.
Also among the dead was the entire family of Kaisin Inhada's sixth wife, Zhenuun Inhada. Zhenuun, already pregnant with her husband's child, did not complain. But like Kaisin Inhada himself, her silence belied a resentment that would grow over time. When, the next year, the baby was born, Zhenuun did not allow her husband into her quarters to see her. Although the baby's name was announced before the people of the capital as Her Highness, Princess Zhensin Inhada, Eighth Born of Kaisin, First Born of Zhenuun, High Priestess of Irvost, Zhenuun knew her by a name chosen in honor of her own family: Zhenya Drugaala.
In the meantime, Kaisin Inhada's reign, originally lauded by the people, was quickly growing unstable. Whatever plans he may have had to end the people's hunger, revitalize trade and set the army free to spread the Empire's borders again, none of them were coming to fruition. In purging the courts, Kaisin Inhada had caused the death of many common people along with their noble overlords: thus, he had lost the trust of the people. In time, Kaisin Inhada came to understand that if the people could not trust him, he could not trust them in turn. The new Emperor's beloved army was indeed given free rein again - but this time it was commanded not to make war on the Empire's neighbors, but to contain and cow the Empire's own people. The steppe camps were obliged to host battalions of soldiers; in the inner provinces the people were terrorized by secret police who answered only to the Emperor.
As the years of Kaisin Inhada's reign continued, Zhenuun Inhada, the Emperor's sixth wife, remained cloistered in her own quarters. Although she was obliged allow her daughter to attend court with the Emperor, she kept the child close to her at all other times. At Zhenuun Inhada's feet, Zhenya Inhada learned not only to be a princess, but to be an enemy of her father.
In the twelfth year of Kaisin Inhada's reign, the Emperor finally lost patience with his sixth's wife's scorn. When his secret police intercepted a message between Zhenuun and a faction of malcontents in the capital city, he sentenced her to be executed. Zhenya Inhada, Zhenuun's only child, was unable to beg her father for a reprieve: Zhenuun had her spirited out of the palace and into the labyrinthine outer districts of the city in the hours before her arrest. Days later, in the care of Zhenuun's contacts among the common people, Zhenya watched her mother executed in front of the palace.
From then on, Zhenya has been living in the capital city of the Fiendborn Empire, avoiding the eyes of her father's soldiers and policemen and plotting, always, to kill her father, the Emperor Kaisin Inhada.
