Ilya

Name: Ilya Duvau

Race: Aarakocra (actually a cursed human)

Alignment: Chaotic Good


Class: Cleric

Domain: Life

Deity: Naralis Analor - Neutral Good god of healing, suffering, and death.

Holy Symbol: What was once a pure white dove in flight is now twisted into the form of an ink black raven. It hangs on a thin chain around his neck.

Background:

Ilya Duvau was not always an aarakocra. Originally he was just another human cleric, healing the sick and tending to the wounded. Orphaned at a very young age and taken in by a wood-elf pirate named Mazikeen and her wife Lianka, Ilya grew up with the sand between his toes and salt-spray on his face. Every time the two returned to shore the boy would rush to meet them, eager to hear tales of their travels.

Despite his fascination with the sea, his mothers refused to let him board their ship until he was of age and had completed his studies. So the boyfilled his days learning how to read, write, and fight. Eventually Ilya realized he had a fascination with humanoid bodies and how they worked. He would often look over corpses and the like from Mazikeen and Lianka's raids and dissect them to learn all he could of the creatures they had fought. Whenever someone on the ship came down with a disease or injury he would peer over the healer's shoulders and watch them splint bone, sew lesions, and lance boils.

And while religion did not come as easily for Ilya as science, he slowly found a gentle kinship with his mothers' deity, Naralis Analor. The elven god of healing, suffering, and death seemed the perfect individual to watch over a budding young doctor.

The path to being a cleric was as natural as breathing after that. After a time Ilya completed his studies and was allowed to join his mothers and learn the ways of a sailor under their tutelage. With a year he had become the ship's chief cleric and combat medic.

And life was good...

At least, until the plague came.

After eight years sailing with Mazikeen and Lianka, the family came back to port to find their hometown overrun with a plague the likes of which no one had ever seen. People were dropping dead between one heartbeat and the next, and those who did not die immediately suffered excruciating pain before their bodies finally succumbed.

Perhaps most horrifying of all...no divine magic seemed to help.

Desperate to find answers, Ilya eventually consorted with a devil of the nine hells to find a cure. He ended up selling his soul for it and was cursed into the form of a raven-like aarakocra. This caused a falling out with his deity but Ilya is determined to do great deeds and earn back not only Naralis Analor's favor, but also his very soul.

For now he roams as an avian plague doctor, too ashamed to show his face to his mothers. He is but a shell of his former self, a grim looking figure lamenting his sins.

Personality wise Ilya always finds a tavern brawl to be a great way to get to know a new city. He may not be very strong but he is dexterous and, as a result, a rather slippery boy. It's hard to hit something you can't catch. His friends can always rely on him no matter what, though his fear of dragging others down with him makes him push them away. This makes it difficult for him to accept help from others.

He finds freedom out on the open sea- there Ilya feels as if he can be anyone and do anything. Someday he hopes to buy his own ship to sail and find his destiny...if it does not find him first...

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