Peleps Aramida Valkya

Basic Information

Name: Peleps Aramida Valkya ("Kya")
Type: Dragon-Blooded Exalt
Player: Dan H.
Aspect: Water Aspect
Concept: Ambitious, pious socialite
Political Affiliation: House Peleps, the Dynsaty
Anima:
Age of Exaltation: 11
Actual Age: 25
Languages Spoken: High Realm (Native), Low Realm, River-tongue, Sky-tongue
Primary Virtue: Ambition
Secondary Virtue: Compassion
Likes:
Dislikes:
Kya: Character Sheet

Summary

The pious daughter of a proud Peleps admiral, Kya has strayed from her family's martial leanings and seeks to establish herself as an influential foreign diplomat for reasons both altruistic and self-serving.

Background

Early childhood

Note: Peleps Aramida is a canon character, but appears to be written very differently between 2e and 3e. I created Kya imagining her as the daughter of the 3e version, detailed on page 58 of the 3e DB book.

• Kya is the seventh daughter of Peleps Aramida, a pious admiral and naval hero. Her father (Aramida's husband) is Tepet Harel, a senator with a keen interest in military funding policies (for multiple reasons). Her six (Exalted) sisters all attended the House of Bells and pursued careers in the Imperial navy.
• Exposed to the highs and lows of military life throughout her childhood, Kya observed that most "society-building" happens in times of peace and was drawn to diplomacy and government from a young age.
• Like her sisters, she Exalted as a Water aspect, though she bears the snow-white hair of her Air-aspected father. Kya drew her second breath while portraying the Scarlet Empress in a primary school play. Her family considered the Exaltation auspicious, if embarrassingly on-the-nose.
• After primary school, Kya resisted the family tradition of attending the House of Bells, preferring to pursue her interest in governance at the Spiral Academy. Her mother scoffed at the idea of raising a bureaucrat, but, deeply spiritual and respectful of the Immaculate Order's martial prowess, settled on the Cloister of Wisdom as a middle ground.

The Cloister of Wisdom

• Kya took her seven years of study at the Cloister of Wisdom seriously, and graduated with high marks in all areas of scholarship, although she did not take the vows of monkhood after graduating.
• Although disappointed that she couldn't attend the Spiral Academy, Kya settled into the Cloister of Wisdom well enough, having been raised in a deeply religious family. She eventually came to appreciate the perspective the school gave her -- not many Dynasts of Kya's station were able to credibly empathize with the peasantry, but Kya had spent seven years living in poverty and working with the Realm's least fortunate.
• Respectful of the divine mandate that Dragonb-Bloods master body and soul, Kya learned Water Dragon Form and was a capable enough martial artist, although it was not her primary focus.
• To Kya's delight, she found ample opportunities to learn governance and logistics with the Breath of Daana'd (pg. 92 in the Realm book), where she clerked during her final years at the Cloister.
• Working with the Breath of Daana'd, Kya was a natural socialite and quickly proved herself equally capable of befriending peasant and noble. Because of this, she established a reputation for convincing lords and governors to devote resources to housing, healthcare, and education.
• Another observation that would stick with Kya was that far-flung communities often live and die by their faith in the small gods and spirits inhabiting in their territory. Kya retains a strong interest in integrating local spirits with the Perfected Hierarchy as a means of bringing communities into sync with (and under the influence of) the Realm.
• While working with the Breath of Daana'd, Kya befriended Aydren Teak, a God-blooded healer and now-grown ward of the Order.

After graduation

• Kya returned to life as a wealthy Dynast after graduating from the Cloister. Although she cherishes her time there, there was never any real possibility that Kya would give up her wealth. Though she'd never admit it, she thinks of her high station as a fundamental part of her identity and would be lost without it.
• While her mother and the house matriarch fretted over a marriage for their eminently-eligible daughter, Kya began to suspect herself incapable of bearing children, and Aydren (see above) was able to confirm this, though neither could pinpoint a cause. Fearing the impact of this revelation on her high standing, Kya hired Aydren as her personal physician. As Kya's condition requires no further treatment, this was more about keeping Aydren close by and her secret under wraps. Aydren and Kya are friends, and Aydren, for her part, prefers the less restricted lifestyle Kya's employment provides her.
• Kya spent the next year scheming and pursuing small philanthropic projects. Her high standing afforded her the opportunity for considerable generosity without compromising the lifestyle she was used to. This, along with her charismatic demeanor, made her a favorite of commoner and noble alike.
• Although she gives her family's military ties a wide berth, she cannot completely ignore the pending civil war. When asked to weigh in on such matters, she reluctantly admits that strengthening ties to House Cathak may be the best course of action, although she thinks of consolidating military power as a failsafe -- Kya remains (perhaps naively) hopeful that the Realm can be united under an effort to incorporate the Threshold.
• As many young Dragon-Bloods do, she decided that the Threshold would be a good place to spend some time before marriage. Specifically, Kya feels that if she can get herself to a position of satrap or ambassador, she can lay credible claim to a region's Lost Eggs, and hopes the combination of prestige and adopted children can allow her to retain her high standing even in the absence of natural offspring. Her ambitions are at least partly altruistic; she has always tried to help the poor (to the extent that she can retain her own high station) and genuinely feels that the Realm's influence and resources can improve the often-difficult lives of those in the Threshold. To her, it's a win-win that lets her keep both power and a clean conscience.