Flora "The Viper"

Background

Flora “the Viper” was born among the alleys and spice-markets of Helenon lower quarter, where survival depended more on speed and cunning than on strength. Her father was a failed dockworker, her mother a healer with debts she could never repay. From childhood, Flora learned to fight with whatever she could grasp—knife, stick, or stone. She was quick, ruthless, and fiercely independent. By sixteen, she’d already gained a reputation as a brawler and debt collector for the city’s rougher merchants.

Her temper was infamous, her patience short. Flora’s tongue was as sharp as her blade, earning her both fear and resentment from comrades. Yet for all her venom, she had a soldier’s instinct. She could read the rhythm of battle like a gambler reads cards, striking fast and retreating before the enemy could recover. Her commander once said she fought like “a serpent cornered, striking to kill or die trying.”

Her ambition, however, was her curse. Flora sought glory, not service, and it often led her into needless duels and reckless defiance of authority. More than once she faced demotion or dismissal.

But fate turned when she saved a diplomat’s life during an ambush on the road to the capital, cutting down three bandits before reinforcements arrived. Her daring caught the attention of Ambassador Justinian Aquilar , nephew to the Sultan, who admired her ferocity. He petitioned for her transfer to his personal guard, saying, “A viper at my side is better than a snake at my back.”

Now, Flora serves as his shield—a dangerous ally, loyal only to those who earn her respect.