Thalra Hylune
Character Development Questionnaire
BASICS -
1. Height? 5’2 2. Eye color? Lavender in dark lighting, lilac in bright light. She also doesn’t appear to have irises or pupils. Her eyes are just solid color. 3. Do they need glasses? No, though her eyes are slightly sensitive to sunlight. 4. Scars and birthmark?
She has an old, faded scar on her palm from childhood when she went exploring a dilapidated house on a dare. It looks like a small crescent moon and matches the one on her brother’s palm. Otherwise she’s been very careful to keep her skin unmarred.
5. Tattoos and piercings?
No tattoos but she does have her ears pierced. The other piercings she has are… concealed most of the time.
6. Right or left handed?
Ambidextrous, though she prefers her right hand. .
7. Any disabilities? Physical or mental.
When she was younger her aversion to sunlight was much worse, but after so many years on the surface it doesn’t bother her anymore. Beyond that, she has undiagnosed PTSD that she herself doesn’t recognize.
8. Do they have any allergies?
She does not.
9. Favorite color?
Purple, especially the lighter shades. It brings out her eyes.
10. Typical outfits?
While out in public she wears understated, but obviously well made dresses, low cut but not obscenely so, with boots that have a two inch heel to make her appear taller. Usually she also has a parasol with her to keep the sun out of her eyes. At home, she has a wide variety of silk robes and lingerie to lounge around in when a client is over, though when she has no company at all she doesn’t bother and has a very comfortable set of pajamas she can wear nearly all day if she has nothing to do. Occasionally she’ll also be seen in tight pants and loose, flowing shirts that expose a scandalous portion of her chest, only sometimes supported by a brassiere.
11. Do they wear any makeup?
Sometimes, but only to enhance her features and never to obscure them. She likes bright eyeshadows and dark eyeliners and deep red lipsticks.
12. What weapon do they use, if any?
She uses a hand crossbow when she’s not using a medley of instruments to channel her spells. Her fiddle is a new addition to her arsenal, relatively speaking. She only learned to play it after she met Pyrope but it’s quickly become her favorite.
PERSONALITY -
13. Are they more optimistic or pessimistic?
She has trained herself to be pessimistic about all scenarios. She plans for the worst and never hopes for the best, no matter how much she might want to.
14. Are they introverted or extroverted?
Completely extroverted, she thrives off attention.
15. What are their pet peeves?
Arrogance. Men being condescending to her.
16. What bad habits do they have?
In her building in Myrefall, on the third floor apartment that’s inaccessible except through a secret staircase, Thalra keeps a substantial stack of very tacky romance novels near her bed. All the spines are cracked and the pages dog-eared and it would be obvious on first glance they have all been read through dozens of times.
17. Do they have any phobias?
She fears the day a particular cat will learn to communicate his desire for deadly poison to a potion shop clerk and use a very specific 170 gold pieces to acquire said poison.
18. How do they display affection?
It depends on the type of affection the person she’s talking with wants to recieve. She learns what people want and then either gives it to them or withholds it. That’s the basics of manipulation. Genuine affection from her though is different and much less filtered. She’s not shy about paying the people she loves compliments or showering them with physical affection and gifts. Thalra becomes much less subtle and, oddly enough, she usually stops flirting.
19. How competitive are they?
Thalra can’t be suckered into a competition she knows she has no chance in, but if its something she’s good at, she gets incredibly competitive. Her self worth hinges on what she’s good at, so she’s very protective of those skills and doesn’t like the thought of being bested or considered lesser.
20. If they could change one thing about themselves, what would it be?
Physically, nothing, but sometimes she does wish she could carve the piece of herself that cares so much for certain people out of her chest. It would make things easier, and she wouldn’t have so many vulnerabilities.
21. Do they have any obscure hobbies or routines?
Sometimes, every few years or so, her mentor, Jelxi Silvershaper, aka the Silver Tongue of Myrefall, will run this very elaborate role playing game for some of her former and current employees. Everyone gets to make characters who get to go on adventures and fight monsters. Thalra gets really into it and she has several character sheets with pages of backstory.
BACKSTORY -
22. What are the names and ages of their close family members? Parents, siblings, etc
Rinnil Hylune is her twin brother and is currently her only living relative who doesn’t live in the Underdark. They’re both 203 years old and Thalra thought him dead until very recently. Presumably, she has grandparents or cousins or other distant family, but she’s never met them. Her parents’ names were Jastira and Vaeril.
23. Is their family alive and are they still in contact with them?
The only family Thalra is currently in contact with is Rinnil. Their parents died nearly two centuries ago after trying to escape the Underdark.
24. Where are they from? City, nation?
She was born in the Underdark but only lived there until age twelve when her parents tried to flee due to religious persecution and their criticism of the government. She has lived in Myrefall for most of her life.
25. Did they have a childhood best friend?
Just Rinnil. She was a very quiet and antisocial child and didn’t make much of an effort to make friends at the orphanage they were raised in. For a few years she was practically non-verbal if not speaking to her brother.
26. Have they had any pets?
No. She doesn’t see a purpose in getting attached to an animal who will live for such a short fraction of her life.
27. Did they grow up rich or poor? What were their living conditions like?
Thalra didn’t become wealthy until much later on in life. Even in the Underdark her parents were poor, though her mother came from a noble family, she had left it all behind to be with Thalra’s father. Resources were scarce, but Thalra’s parents were much kinder than some drow elves are known to be and never ate a meal without first ensuring Thalra and Rinnil had eaten. After the Underdark, Thalra and Rinnil were taken in by an orphanage where conditions weren’t much better. This is where Thalra learned what actual hunger felt like, the kind that claws at your insides like an animal begging to be released.
28. What is their educational background?
Her education was better than most drow children who didn’t come from nobility thanks to her mother’s formal education. Her father was also a religious man who worshipped Berronar Truesilver, a dwarven goddess that Vaeril had come to worship after he’d fled the Underdark many years ago, ending up in Khaggon. He taught his children all about the goddess of truth and safety, but Thalra had was skeptical even then. Education at the orphanage was nearly non-existant except for their preachings of the goddess of misfortune, Beshaba, who seemed to be the exact opposite of her father’s goddess.
29. As a child, what did they want to be when they grew up?
Powerful. It didn’t matter what else she was, as long as she wasn’t helpless.
30. What advice would they give to their younger self?
“Don’t let him leave.”
31. Growing up, were they ever bullied or were they the bully?
For the first few months after arriving at the orphanage, the other children ostracized Thalra and her brother because they were different. Drow elves are an uncommon sight and the twins’ sunlight sensitivity was an easy target. This didn’t last long however, as Thalra quickly made it clear she and Rinnil were not to be messed with. They were never outright threats, as she would stay silent and dull eyed during most abuse, but terrible things would always befall the children who were cruel to her or her brother. Dead, bloodied rats in their beds, hair cut off while they slept, proof of crimes they didn’t commit showing up where the priests could find it. Thalra was merciless.
32. Who do they look up to/who is their role model?
Jelxi Silvershaper runs the brothel that bought Thalra when the orphanage sold her and Rinnil, and ever since she’s been like a second mother to Thalra. She too is a whisper bard and taught Thalra most of the magic she knows now.
PRESENT -
33. Do they currently have a place of residence?
Yes. She owns an entire building in Myrefall though she’s currently abandoned it now that she’s on the run from a shadowy order of assassins who know where she lives.
34. What is their most treasured possession?
Currently: a parasol and a sending stone, both from Efrain and a dagger made by The Order of Shadows.
35. What is their drink of choice?
Red wine, but only the expensive stuff.
36. Which king/queen are they loyal to, if any?
None, but she thinks Ivana is the hottest among the siblings.
37. Have they ever killed anyone?
Of course. Unrelated, but when a particularly possessive client oversteps they occasionally have unfortunate accidents or become terminally ill or go on trips they never come back from. It’s all very unfortunate.
38. What was their last promise and did they keep it?
She promised her brother they’d have time to have an honest conversation later. It was never a promise she intended to keep.
LOVE -
39. What was their first kiss like, if they’ve had one?
It when she was still young, around fourteen, with another girl who had recently come to stay at the orphanage. It was pretty terrible and more of a headbutt than a kiss because she had done it so suddenly and without warning. She then immediately ran away to find Nil and cry.
40. Are they in a relationship/have a love interest?
Thalra has been courted before and been on dates, but it’s all been with people who are paying her in one form or another. It’s always a transaction, so it’s never actually been a romantic relationship.
41. Have they ever been in love?
She doesn’t think she’s capable of falling in love, and even if she was what would it matter? She doesn’t need more tragedy in her life. But objectively speaking, yes, she’s been in love. Parts of her fall in love with numerous people all the time.
42. Have they ever had their heart broken?
Yes. And not just in the romantic sense. Her heart never fully recovered after her brother left.
SPIRITUALITY -
43. Do they follow a god, if so who?
No, but she likes Mask. She used to send little prayers to him when Nil would go out on jobs for the Thieves Guild.
44. What do they think happens to them after death?
She knows the pantheon exists so she knows the afterlife exists as well, she’s just overly concerned with where she ends up. Death is a far away concept that she won’t have to consider for a very long time.
