Yanwyyae Gios

Appearance
Yanwyyae is a stalker, first and foremost, which can be seen in thick, mostly unkempt hair, dirt under her fingernails, and scarred body. A moderately sized pair of horns sweep out from her rich brown hair, pointing up and back. Yanwyyae Gios, should she clean up her looks, would be considered very attractive with large eyes, a shapely nose, and a larger upper lip with a natural darker tone with a demure bottom lip. Her body is very athletic with very little fat content, her muscles sinewy and tight. Her chest is small, her tail and legs are longer than average, and her hands are strong with many calluses.

Armor and weapons
Yanwyyae's armor changes based on her climate, but is often seen with banded mail with large amounts of fur padding. Her armor is of lighter make, making her extremely mobile. She is almost never seen without her Crusader's Tabard. Yanwyyae is often seen with a longarm sniper rifle of draenei-make as well as a heavily modified longbow. She is rarely seen with a crossbow, but is mildly proficient in its use.

The Mark
Yanwyyae's right wrist and forearm is often covered with cloth and armor, obfuscating an icy Scourgebrand, a shadowfrost curse carved into her flesh. When despair and anger eat at her mind her breath hangs in the air as if it were a cold day.

Summary
Yanwyyae is a Draenei of many suffered hardships, one of the few survivors of the great genocide. Having lost her mother, community, father, and finally husband in the years leading up to arriving on Azuremyst Isle Yanwyyae Gios succumbed to despair. Like those of the Sargerei in another time, Yanwyyae fell to the will of the Scourge. Lost to the endless violence and hate, she was saved by the Argent Crusade before making the ultimate sacrifice.

Yanwyyae lives literally as one with new life granted to them. She casts herself against the tides of enemies her new allies with a renewed sense of purpose, but also with a heavy saddle of guilt. Everything she does is to undo her greatest failure.

Early Life (Pre-Draenor)
Yanwyyae Gios was born on Oshu'gun to novice alchemist Abyym Gios and trader-turned bowman Sheyala Gios, living in relative peace. Here Yanwyyae was regaled with tales of her mother's heroics and her father's compassion. From a young age Yanwyyae was a passionate girl, consuming all the skills she could during Genedar's travels. To find food on any world they came upon, Yanwyyae took up the bow and arrow, training during the dull hours in the nether.

Death of Draenor
Eventually Oshu'gun's travels came to an end, as did her mother's life. Thrust suddenly into an alien world Yanwyyae took up her mother's weapon and assisted in the establishment of communities such as Telaar and ultimately Shattrath City. She settled with her father on Orunai Coast, living a fairly simple life trading with Orcs and Draenei alike, their small family becoming famous for their Crescent Oil elixirs. During the last few months Yanwyyae was introduced to the Rangari, beginning her studies and training to assist the draenei in acclimating to the land. Yanwyyae was never formally inducted.

Cataclysm
When the Orcs drank the blood of Mannoroth Yanwyyae and her father Abyym rallied to assist their people. As alchemists their insight into the land and its properties were suddenly at a premium. Yanwyyae struggled to treat the dying and ailing, spending the first few weeks as a medic. As the land died and herbs succumbed to felfire in the wake of Cataclysm, Yanwyyae began to take up her mother's survivalist training to scour Draenor for the last vestiges of life. Together with a small band of hunters, scavengers, and survivors of the Rangari calling themselves the 'Seekers', Yanwyyae began to hunt orcs. One their number, Helsen, a student of Retribution, was a man she came to greatly admire.

Yanwyyae's knowledge of higher alchemy came through field tests and trial-and-error with the Seekers. She spent much of her time keeping the Orcs from finding their homes, slaying stragglers and drawing forces into traps. She drew ever closer to Helsen during this dark time, finding solace in his command of the Light and inspiration for his tireless vigil. He found her passion for her people and her fortitude, despite no gift of Light, irresistible. Lost on a dying world, the spark of love managed to flicker even for a day in which they wed.

Death of Abyym
In the final months of her time on Draenor, despite their efforts, the couple could not save everyone. Attack after attack had split the group up and Yanwyyae lost her father for several days. Those survivors they could find spoke of a last hope: the Naaru had come to deliver their people. Traversing the fetid swamps of and overcoming the ruined land now known as Blade's Edge, they eventually came upon her father with a small band of draenei. Abyym had suffered a fel wound, and the infection had festered in his leg. Yanwyyae and Helsen both worked to cut out the infection, eventually having to amputate his leg. Two days they labored over his body, but in the end, success.

Two days their camp was attacked by a roaming orc warband and her recovering father, unable to fight, was mercilessly slain in his bed. Yanwyyae and Helsen escaped with their lives, eventually reaching the Tempest weeks later, having no time to grieve. Yanwyyae and Helsen were among those that wrested control of the Exodar away from Blood Elves upon the ship, helping the vessel flee what became known in that time as Outland.

Early Azeroth
On board the ship, Yanwyyae endeavored to maintain the failing systems with her compatriots, to no avail. Having lost track of her husband, she found him embattled with Blood Elf saboteurs. Catching them in the children's quarters, Helsen successfully fought to save them when the Exodar began to break up over Kalimdor. Helsen was taken up with the debris, vanishing.

Bounty Hunter
Her community gone, her father murdered, and now widowed, Yanwyyae attempted to take her own life. In this time she met Usion Dawnweaver, a night elf warrior, and their chance meeting saved her life. Both estranged from their previous lives, Yanwyyae picked up her bow once more and became a sellsword with her partner, taking to taming local wildlife to assist in their endeavors. Yanwyyae and Usion became very close, becoming quite a curiosity in the human lands they primarily worked in. Yanwyyae, content with living a sellsword's life, living inn-to-inn and town-to-town, began to wear on a partner that increasingly felt the call to return home. Their final contract together on a hot day in Lakeshire, would prove to be their undoing.

The Doyle Contract
Their last contact by a Regania Doyle of Duskwood, sent them hunting a pair of kidnapped children. Taking her favored beast, a bear named Banuu, Usion and Yanwyyae tracked the man over the course of several weeks. During this travel Usion received a letter from her husband asking to return home. Usion, wishing to go home, was kept by a desperate Yanwyyae requesting that they find the children first.

Their travels took them into the heart of the Plaguelands ultimately, their relationship deteriorating as Yan forced herself on. One of the Liches of the Cult of the Damned, Balzaphon, had sensed her incursion and took to poisoning her mind. He lead to her to find an artifact, and arrow from the last quiver of Sylvanas Windrunner. Guiding Yanwyyae onward with Usion in tow, the bounty hunters found Amon Doyle and the children.

Few know what occured that day. At the end of the contract Amon's body was mysteriously delivered to Light's Hope, Regania Doyle was found pierced and splayed open upon a Scourge's banner, and Yanwyyae became known as the Bleakheart, carrying with her a strange arrow. Usion Dawnweaver was also found dead, her body pierced with a single arrow through the heart. The corpse, mostly eaten, was burned and the ashes sent to Teldrassil.

Scourgebound
While many of the Draenei rallied with the Alliance and turned their gaze back to the ruined world of Outland, Yanwyyae Gios, the Scourgebranded Bleakheart, remained behind to join the ranks of the Cult of the Damned. She began a campaign against the enemies of the Scourge, becoming known as the Plaguewood Banshee. She made use of a new weapon during this time, a crossbow, abandoning her old bow to time. Dipping the points of the crossbow bolts into her Scourgebrand she infected countless persons with the undead plague.

The Scarlet Crusade was the primary target of many of her assaults, but the Bleakheart spared no one, particularly the Horde to which she hunted relentlessly. Patches of forests would choke with hanging, decayed bodies upon which the dead in the woods would feed. When the Death Knights of Acherus finally marched to complete the destruction of the Crusade it was the Bleakheart that brought untold mayhem, picking off survivors and hunting healers among their ranks.

When the Death Knights broke through to the final lines and the assault on Light's Hope began she joined them in the slaughter. However, when the Reckoning of the Light broke across the battlefield, like the Death Knights, Yanwyyae's own curse was broken and the will of the Lich, Balzaphon, was forever banished. The break weakened her body, soul, and mind. Yanwyyae was found by the Crusade, unconsious.

The Argent Crusade
Yanwyyae Gios was found by a pair of young squires and immediately shackled and detained by the Argent Dawn. Initially thought to be a Satyr by her jailors, it quickly became apparent she was not of this world. Word spread quickly of this discovery and within days a representative from Stormwind was sought to remove her from the Dawn's custody so she would be punished for her crimes.

Her warden, a dwarf woman named Agatha Boarstrum, declined the King's order claiming that she had not yet gone to trial yet for crimes against the Dawn. This was merely a front until the Warden had discovered the Draenei's true intentions. Agatha Boarstrum was known for her stubbornness and was intent on retaining Yanwyyae until she was satisfied with a conclusion. Yanwyyae remained imprisoned for days until her faculties finally returned.

Pardoned
Suspecting the Draenei's will was not her own, Agatha turned Yanwyyae into her pet project, restoring her health. She told her she was her prisoner and was tasked her over the course of several weeks with work. The tasks started menial, cleaning the stables, putting in fresh hay, sewing tabards, restringing bows, and helping in the kitchen. During this time she was introduced to Crusaders, Commanders, stableboys, and squires. For the next several weeks she came to know them and ultimately befriend them.

When it came to be known she was an archer, particularly one from Outland, she was treated with particular curiosity. She was asked to perform technical feats and won many a contest of skill. She was challenged to pick up firearms, bullets and buckshot being more effective against the undead. She developed a love of the longarm and practiced tirelessly to become the best shot in the warcamp. For the first time in many years Yanwyyae had a family to call on, and guilt crept into her heart, softening it. As winter set in and troops began mobilizing to war in Northrend Yanwyyae asked the Warden if she could join the troops in Northrend and fight the Scourge. The Warden, immeasurably pleased with her progress, took her reports and observations to Tirion Fordring himself, requesting a pardoning of her actions. To this Yanwyyae Gios was granted and the request was sent to Stormwind that she had been forgiven her transgressions and was officially a soldier of the Light. While this granted her some measure of immunity from imprisonment, the Stormwind bureaucrats still frown at her presence and continue to hinder her where possible to this day.

War on Icecrown
Yanwyyae Gios, now pardoned, joined her collective family and traveled to Northrend. Once again her missions began lowly, assisted the Kalu'ak natives and assisting the Alliance in the Grizzly Hills. When Winterguard was assaulted, she was sent as an envoy to the 7th Army to assist in their war against the encroaching Naxxramas. Perched on the frozen battlements she picked away at their forces, helping the army regroup. With the Keep secured, Yanwyyae had also secured a transfer to the Wrathgate where a showdown with the Scourge was to occur. Like many of the snipers involved in the Battle, Yanwyyae survived the tragedy all the more determined to destroy Icecrown.

Returning to the Argent Crusade's ranks she assisted in establishing the base in Icecrown as well as the secondary command of Crusader's Pinnacle. She spent most months in the icy grips of Northrend's glaciers, carrying her campaign of destruction across its many walls and through its many vaults with her brothers and sisters. When the Crusade opened the Tournament Grounds Yanwyyae was there as well, finally proving her worth to the Alliance and Crusade, after which she was finally granted the title 'Crusader'. She was offered a position amongst the Alliance forces, a group called the 107th Scourgestalkers and invited to the assault within the Citadel corridors.

Yanwyyae fought with the armies of the Light until she reached Saurfang's Landing. She remained there to secure the platform against further Scourge forces.

Yanwyyae Gios was finally granted a full pardon by the King of Stormwind, like her Death Knight compatriots over a year prior.

Cataclysm-Pandaria Wartime
The 107th Legion was not stationed in Icecrown for very long, and weeks after the conflict had quieted the world was rocked as Azeroth faced its own Cataclysm. Being part of the Stormwind Army, Yanwyyae was relocated from Northrend to the coasts of the Twilight Highlands in Highbank. Yanwyyae Gios became known as a particularly skilled sniper amongst the Wildhammer clan, and between skirmishes with the clan was often caught in bouts of revelry with the dwarves.

Yanwyyae's treatment of members of the Horde is known in her records as excessive, but any charges of warcrimes were dismissed. A particular stretch of land known as the 'Starflower Valley' became infamous among Dragonmaw orcs for its myriad fire-traps, mines, and disease. Corpses of Dragonmaw would grow so thick as to become dangerous, requiring regular cremation. Yanwyyae also became an avid hunter of dragons and Twilight Cultists, becoming lost in the field for days at a time.

The Hate War, or, the Battle for Peace
When the call to battle the Horde rose once more, Yanwyyae was the sole representing member of the 107th, having been attached to Skyfire to assault a roaming Horde force. Like many soldiers, however, the encounters with the entity only known as the Sha dampened and blunted many of their assaults. Until King Varian's fleet came to reinforce the landing at Krasarang, Yanwyyae took to the field to discover this new land.

With little oversight the Draenei took to hunting Saurok and interacting with the Pandaren natives. Her life of war and battle began to turn into a life of experience, peace, and relative calm. Eventually purchasing a plot of land near Halfhill, Yanwyyae met a Pandaren named Xuanli with whom she shared living space. The Pandaren introduced new concepts of alchemy to her, including experimental food and drink. For a time, Yanwyyae was content.

Such peace was disrupted with the landing of the King's Fleet, and Yanwyyae picked up her rifle once more. Yanwyyae was torn with feelings of protecting her peace, yet sacrificing the same peace for war. Rumors of her vicious, brutal fighting style turned into respect and admiration among the rank and file. Yanwyyae abandoned all sense of wanton violence and cruelty, instead tempering her warfare with swift mercy. Yanwyyae remained on the Krasarang coasts for the majority of the conflict, leaving only when the call to siege Orgrimmar began. Joining the fleet at the shores of Durotar, Yanwyyae assisted in securing the landing and hunting wandering Kor'kron snipers on Ogrimmar's ramparts. When forces were pulled back to Alliance territory, Yanwyyae was livid, siding with Jaina Proudmoore's opinion.

Circle and the Iron Horde
When Iron Legions arrived to batter the broken shores of the Blasted Lands, Yanwyyae and the remaining 107th waged war with righteous fervor. Casualties among the 107th were heavy, leaving only a few members to traverse Draenor's wilds. During this time Yanwyyae Gios was attached to an invading guild known as Circle under the Draenei shaman Rin'ara. Initially only attached until Alliance forces could be consolidated on the planet, Yanwyyae soon found camaraderie and friendship, officially joining the guild.

Yanwyyae's fervor in waging war against this Horde was great. She took great pains to kill any Iron Horde she could find, particularly the Shadowmoon Clan, all non-green orcs were kill-on-sight. Yanwyyae gained much renown for the Defense of Karabor in which she slogged through the tides of iron and participated in its culmination. With the securing of Karabor, Yanwyyae joined the assault on Ner'zhul, hoping to vanquish the lasting curse in her wrist. The battle lasted for days, corridors of void and shadow slowing the advancing military, but Yanwyyae remained steadfast. Even at the end, when Ner'zhul finally succumbed, the curse in her arm remained.

Returning home for R&R during Winter's Veil, she visited the famed Ironforge for the festival when she came upon a young Draenei man, Almachai Suruuna. Lost in the rush of the season, and greatly inebriated, she spent the evening with the young Paladin. Afterward Yanwyyae suffered a minor crisis of conscience. Having succumbed to despair, and living a life suppressing the past, the pain of Helsen's death came afresh.

The Battle for Shattrath
The Paladin Almachai had roused several lingering doubts in Yanwyyae's mind, coupled with the inundation with the society she had lost so long ago. Her war on the Orcs had left her feeling empty, drained, and dazed. Her ultimate wish had been granted, namely, the ability to obliterate the Orcs before they could decimate the Draenei. Like a glass, her sniper scope was always filled and her artillery sighters always had a target. The war turned into a meat grinder and Yanwyyae struggled against her actions.

Almachai had sympathy for the Orcs, and to this Yanwyyae could not stand. Over time, however, his comments ate at her and her hard-handed tactics. The warrior Asrula, another friend with whom Yanwyyae confided, had also begun to return to her studies of the Light. Feeling the need for change, Yanwyyae joined with the Sha'tari, a long-time childhood dream. Those that join the Sha'tari were tested in Shattrath. Yanwyyae packed her things, disappearing into the city's outskirts for several weeks. Working with the Sha'tari, she began hunting the Shadow Council and the fallen Sargerei. Seeing herself and her own failures among the fallen in their ranks she waged a guerrilla war to break their ranks. The true enemy became apparent... the Legion.

The Fel Horde
Yanwyyae attained the rank of Peacekeeper in the Sha'tari shortly before the rise of the Fel Horde. When Gul'dan cast open the gates of Tanaan Yanwyyae joined the battle with Circle. The news of what occurred within Hellfire Citadel had given the Archmage Khadgar suspicions the Legion would return. Yanwyyae was pulled from the front, the Stormwind Military agreeing with his assessments. The 107th Scourgestalkers were formally disbanded and Yanwyyae was officially attached to the 11th Legion, branded the Legionstalkers.