Sharlea

B I O G R A P H Y

Born too early, weak and defenseless, Sharlea had to be kept alive with full-time care from both her parents, and sometimes her older siblings as well. Those first few days she remembers as being full of love, care, and attention.

And then her brother was born.

Malzahar. Even now she spits out his name like it is poison. Malzahar was born with blessed eyes, a sign from the Plaguebringer herself, and that took almost all attention away from Sharlea. She was still cared for, of course, but her young mind interpreted her parents' fawning over Malzahar as a lack of interest in her. Something that was confirmed to her a few weeks later, when the family was separated from each other in a rare storm while they were on the hunt. Sharlea lost Sanguine and Koray in the chaos, and never found them again.

Bitterly, she assumed they had abandoned her to her fate and set out on her own, traveling further and further from her home while her family searched for her for days, weeks. A misunderstanding that might not ever be resolved, they presumed her dead, and she is now truly alone in the world.

When she arrived at Falls Cove after hitchhiking (read: sneaking into Ahilya's ship at a port in Plague territory) across the Sea, she was starving and weak. Sarcora discovered her while helping unload crates of scrap metal. How such a large child hid herself in the hold, she cannot guess. Sarcora and Gypaetus happily took her in and showed her as much love as they had to offer but the distrust and fear Sharlea bears still gnaws her belly. When she was old enough, she Joined Ahilya's crew. While the two ridgebacks frequently butt heads, Ahilya is fond of the needly little youngster and cares for her like a younger sister or daughter.

Sharlea is relatively small of stature, a little gangly and with a malformed wing, but she is fast and resourceful, and although she cannot fly, she can leap great distances and is an expert climber. Young and abrasive, she demands the respect she feels she was denied by her parents and siblings. Her adoptive parents regularly remind her of her value, always leaving a light on when she disappears for a little while, so she knows that a warm hearth and a gentle hand wait for her.