The Willowleafs were a noble family of Elvish lords with landholdings in the forest near a small village. When trolls attacked the town, their Elvish neighbors came to their aid, but were too late to save most of the townspeople. Those who survived had lost their homes and everything they owned, so the once-indifferent Elvish Lord benevolently offered a place in his home for them. The elves employed many of the humans as servants in their homes, and treated them quite well. In time, the eldest son of the Elvish lord became enamored with his human servant. As the lord had decreed that no romantic relations between elf and man would be tolerated in his realm, the son’s relationship with his servant would be kindled in secret. Eventually, the woman became pregnant with a half-elf child, whom she would name Viessa. She would be given her mother’s surname, as she would never disclose the identity of the elven father, lest the lord bring judgment upon her beloved. Even so, the Elvish lord commanded that she would no longer be employed in his home, and that she must take her son with her to work elsewhere in their community. Like many of mixed heritage, Viessa was shunned by her Elvish relatives. She was bullied and picked on for much of her childhood, and spent much of her time tending to livestock in the stables and fields. At the age of thirteen, Viessa’s mother became very sick with an unknown disease, and eventually passed away. By this time, the Elvish lord had heard many rumors of Viessa’s lineage, and rather than keep the girl as a reminder of his own son’s disobedience, the Elvish lord saw fit to send Viessa to serve in the army of a nearby human king.
The Elf lord had his scribe pen a letter to Commander of the Kings army stating Viessa’s predicament, and requesting that she be put into the service of the king. Commander Nerval of the King’s Army, Leader of His Majesty’s First File, was a kindly, dark-haired man of sixty-eight years. He had served in the royal army for nearly all of his life, rising to the highest rank from his beginnings in the infantry as a man-at-arms. As such, he was well-renowned throughout the realm for his bravery and dedication to the King. Upon receiving the Elvish lord’s letter, Commander Nerval asked that the half-elf youth be brought immediately to his chambers. He questioned Viessa at length about her home, her mother, and her upbringing in a way that must have seemed rather odd to an orphaned child that had been overlooked for much of her life. On that same day, Nerval swore Viessa into the service of the King. At first, the Commander would keep the half-elf girl as his personal servant. Viessa was tall and strong compared to full-blooded humans her same age, and became a great asset to Nerval in his advancing age, carrying his weapons and armor, and when needed, helping the Commander to scale the many of steps that led to up to his chambers. Commander Nerval favored the girl so much that he afforded her every opportunity to learn at his side, whether during audiences with the Royal Court or at strategic military meetings. Over two years passed for Viessa in the personal service of the Commander, and she was finally old enough to officially enter the royal army. On the morning that the half-elf was to become a soldier instead of a servant, Nerval called her into his chambers. The old man proceeded to thank Viessa for her years of unquestionable loyalty, and stated that he had been keeping a secret since the day he had received Viessa into his home.
The girl looked at him confusedly as the Commander informed her that he had been born in the same village as Viessa’s mother before he moved to the serve the Crown. In fact, Nerval said, he guessed that Viessa might be his great niece by marriage. This hypothesis would be nearly impossible to prove as their village records had been destroyed along with the rest of the town; but this did not matter to Nerval. From that day forward (and many days before), the Commander would think of Viessa as his niece, and treated her as such. At sixteen years of age, Viessa Willowleaf- Wysajor joined the Royal Infantry. In very little time, she became a skilled and shrewd fighter, in part due to years of bearing the brunt of Elvish beatings. Serving under her great-uncle had made her a quick study of tactics and formations, and her experience in the stables of the Elvish lord helped her to become one of the best mounted soldier-trainees. It wasn’t long before Viessa was promoted, and then promoted again, eventually becoming lieutenant over her own unit. She was well loved by her fellow soldiers, but looked upon derisively by those in command, who feared that one day she would rise to take over as the Commander as her uncle had. During Viessa’s service the realm was blessed with several years of peace. Much of his time was spent training with her fellow soldiers and studying combat arts and theories of war under her uncle. The Commander’s advisers took notice of the special attention she appeared to be receiving, and began to plot against her, often sending Viessa’s unit to deal with undesirable tasks, such as providing relief to flood victims, tracking goblin raiders, or rebuilding outdated outposts. lieutenant Wysajor was unfazed, however, and became skilled in maintaining the morale of her men. She could always be found working side-by-side with her soldiers, without complaint. During a peasant uprising in the farther reaches of the realm, Viessa’s unit was called upon to return order to the area. Martial law was imposed in the region, and while her soldiers began the occupation of several communities, Viessa called a meeting with the leaders of the rebellion. In doing so, she discovered that the Sub-commanders’ had been using their rank to unlawfully tax and abuse the common folk under their protection. Upon her return to the city capitol, Viessa confronted her superior officers regarding their misuse of power, and wound up in the infirmary after they overpowered her and beat her mercilessly.
While recovering from her wounds, the group of officers sent a representative to her bedside, informing her that her aging great-uncle, the Commander of the First File, would be assassinated if Viessa tried to expose their machinations. Rather than serving under a corrupt regime, Viessa fled from the infirmary barracks under the cover of night, while still recovering from her injuries. She knew that her comrades would know her as a traitor to the crown and an oathbreaker, but would not put her beloved Uncle Nerval in danger. Viessa swore that one day she would return to the city capital to bring justice to the sub-commanders. Pursued by assassins, Viessa would flee to a neighboring country, taking refuge in a temple. The priests provided her sanctuary and healed her wounds, and Viessa found herself drawn to the priestly life. She devoured holy writings zealously, applying the devotion she once held for justice and combat to the study of religion and morality. The priests were glad to offer all of the instruction she could retain, and in-turn, asked that he use his knowledge of combat to protect the nearby hamlet from predators. After a year and a half, the sub-commander’s spies finally located Viessa, and a first file squadron was sent to collect her for court martial. When they arrived, Viessa was assisting the townsfolk by hunting down a rabid wolf that had been terrorizing their flocks. The First File questioned the temple priests, who refused to provide any information regarding Viessa’s whereabouts. The temple was destroyed, and all the priests massacred for their silence. The soldiers plundered the pantry and cellar before riding on to the village to continue their search. Once again, the First File left no survivors. Seeing the smoke rising from the village from several miles away, she returned home to find the soldiers drinking sacramental wine and wiping the villagers’ blood from their weapons. Her battle instincts immediately returned to her as she breathlessly spoke a prayer to the temple god and unsheathed her sword. Viessa’s blade sliced through her former brothers in arms with ease until the entire squadron lay at her feet. Her adopted home destroyed and the temple brethren slain, Viessa retrieved a single scorched holy book from the remains of the chapel, gathered her belongings, and mounted her horse, riding southward into the woods. Viessa spent the next two years in solitude, only venturing into society when absolutely necessary, and always under cover of night. She pored over the religious text and kept her sword sharp and armor polished, while training incessantly for the impending justice she would bring upon the sub-commanders.
Viessa currently resides at the manor of Lord Darius uth Wistan as a member of his house guard as a Knight-Errant. Lord Darius knows one day she will leave his service to finish the battle fate set before her.
