LYRA ALDEN is a 92 year old HETEROSEXUAL, CISFEMALE, SHE/HER, here in Firebrand City. People say they look a lot like SOPHIA DI MARTINO. They are CALCULATING but can be AGGRESSIVE. They are an EARTH WITCH TRAITOR in Firebrand and they work as a JANITOR AT BLOOD SWEAT & TEARS.
TW: noncon, abuse, miscarriage, mental torture, thoughts of suicide
Lyra Alden was the niece of her coven’s Supreme. As her aunt had never had children, Lyra was practically seen as the woman’s daughter, and as thus, was always treated with respect. Was treated as someone important.
When she was just twenty though, her coven was attacked by humans, hunters, and her aunt was murdered by them, sacrificing herself to allow her coven the time they needed to escape. The only other coven around though just happened to be one with whom they fought for years. And often. But they were the safest bet. After all, without a Supreme, Lyra’s coven had nothing to truly tie them together- or keep them safe from another attack. To secure the joining of the two covens, Lyra was promised to marry the son of their Supreme, a witch named Asriel. And she hated it. From the moment they met, she thought he was arrogant, spoiled. Never knew what it was like to be scared or to want (or need), never knew loss. She cursed the day with every fiber of her being.
But slowly, reluctantly, Lyra learned he wasn’t as horrible as she thought. They still argued, of course, but...they had things in common too.
And one day when he saved her from a rabid pack of werewolves, she realized not only was he tolerable but...he was good. And slowly, inevitably, they fell for each other.
After all those years, things with Asriel finally felt...nice, easy. They showed each other their magic, taught each other, grew as witches and as a couple. It was ten years ago that Asriel proposed to her (properly)— ten years ago that she soon after found out she was pregnant. Their lives, for all intents and purposes, were perfect.
It was also ten years ago that the war broke out though. Lyra was the one that convinced him they should go. She didn’t want their child growing up hidden and in fear, potentially going through the same pain and loss she did. So they went to America to fight in the war—for their species and for their family.
And that was the last time Lyra saw Asriel.
She’d expected humans fighting back of course...but she didn’t expect other Supernaturals. During the fighting she got separated from Asriel and Lyra ended up captured by a group of vampires. When she came to she wasn’t on the battleground anymore. In fact, she wasn’t on ground at all. Instead she was being held captive in some sort of underground bunker--surrounded by cement instead of earth, rendering her powerless.
That was just the beginning of her nightmare.
The nest of vampires that had captured her had decided to use her--not only for her blood, but for her magic, forcing her to cast protection spells over their bunker so they wouldn’t be found and would ride out the war. Lyra lost her baby soon after that. And with the vampires continuously feeding from her, using her, and using their powers of persuasion and glamouring, they slowly but surely broke her, making her see visions of Asriel, of their baby, hearing their screams, making her feel powerless--and completely wracked with heartache and guilt. They’d convinced her Asriel was as dead as her child and it was all her fault.
For years, she was just a ragdoll for them. A blood bag. A warm body. More than once she wasn’t even sure why they kept her alive--and more than once she tried to end it all herself. They only allowed her outside every once in a while--always with her eyes covered and her hands bound, not allowing her any chance of using her powers. Slowly though throughout her imprisonment, she started realizing something: less and less vampires were around her.
They were being plucked off, one by one. Either by hunters, or just disappearing off to go live a real life in Firebrand. And the ones left behind were scared. She’d even coerced one into saying as much in bed. And it was that same coercion that helped her escape. The younger vampire had become infatuated with her--and Lyra used that to her advantage. She convinced him that she loved him, they could run away together...he just needed to get her out of the bunker.
Everything was a blur after that.
He got her out, and she could have just run, but as soon as she saw trees around them, ground, earth, she finally attacked. She killed the boy first, hurling a tree limb through his heart and using another to decapitate him for good measure. Her powers were rusty, volatile, and she was weak but she was angry.
She’d killed two more before the rest even knew what was going on. Killed another that tried attacking her, but three others tried running and Lyra refused to let that happen. None of them were going to make it out of this alive if she had anything to say about it, no matter how weak she was.
Lyra chased after them as fast as she could--unbeknownst to her, getting closer and closer to the Firebrand force field. She knocked down branches, pulled limbs from trees and roots from the ground to slow them down, and finally, finally killed almost all of them. There was just one left.....
Before she could stake his heart, end it all, she was suddenly being grabbed, hauled away from him before she could land the killing blow. Her screams of protest went unheard as she was manhandled, wrestled down. Her powers went a bit haywire, trees toppling, rocks and boulders flying around. The men who held her down were hissing words she didn’t quite understand within the context of every. Traitor. Dangerous. Murderer. Red collar.
Next thing she knew something was choking her, being wrapped around her neck, and as soon as the knee on her back was lifted, she suddenly felt.....off. Different. Maybe even worse than she did in the basement.
She was so caught off guard she didn’t realize everything around them had settled down. So overwhelmed she didn’t realize what was happening until it was already done. They’d hauled her through the forcefield- into Firebrand.
It’s only been a few days since that. She was still weak, clearly malnourished, and yet again was being treated like she was nothing. They called her traitor, labeled her worse than the rest because of what she’d done. But what about what had been done to her?
Clearly, it didn’t matter to these people, these..Superiors. But no matter. She’d lasted ten years in captivity...she’d just have to do it again. And if she couldn’t, well, at least here they might not stop her from ending things. And at least then finally be reunited with the little family she’d been so excited for all those years ago.
