Syngiwyda Askskalwyn

Syngiwyda's Backstory

Born Leeching Vulture, she was the illegitimate child of a Sea Wolf manor servant and the scion of a wealthy Hellsguard family in Ul'Dah, Magnanimous Bow. As her mother died in childbirth, Magnanimous Bow's family demanded that he send the child to an orphanage. Bow complied, eager to be rid of the evidence of his "shameful dalliance." Burdening her with a name that contained all their disdain for her and her origin, she was sent away and forgotten.

At the Happy Hearts orphanage, the adults would shame and ridicule her, telling her that like her mother she was only good for sweeping the ashes of the hearths. In response, Leeching Vulture was a hellion. She was often rude, got into fights, and violated restrictions about curfew, food in the sleeping rooms, and other "dumb rules." Her early growth spurt didn't help matters either, when she started to tower over most of the staff at 14. After a fight where she broke another teenager's arm, Happy Hearts decided enough was enough, and kicked her out. With only the clothes on her back and a threadbare knapsack of what personal belongings she had, Leeching Vulture was abandoned yet again.

Five days later as she was curled up under a broken crate on Pearl Lane, the universe granted Leeching Vulture her first mercy. A passing adventurer, a Raen Au Ra, heard her sobs and peeked inside. She introduced herself as Chiyo Tatewaki, and asked if she could hire Leeching Vulture as an assistant. Chiyo claimed that, as an Au Ra unfamiliar with Eorzea, she could use a local guide. Leeching Vulture didn't have to think before accepting; anything at all was better than trying to survive on her own. And so Chiyo took in Leeching Vulture as an apprentice.

Chiyo was a samurai, seeking cross-disciplinary lessons in fighting with a sword and shield like the gladiators of Ul'Dah. Of course though, she had to undertake various jobs to pay for room and board (and lessons), and these jobs often went smoother with two sets of hands. Leeching Vulture began to learn the trade, acting in non-combat roles like porter or lookout (or as someone tall) (or as someone of just at least average height) to assist Chiyo on jobs during the day, and undertaking grueling training in the evenings. On the days Chiyo was busy with her own training, Leeching Vulture practiced her combat drills with the striking dummies at Scorpion Crossing.

Six months in, Chiyo sat Leeching Vulture down and asked for a choice: stay in Ul'Dah and fend for herself again, or travel with Chiyo as an adventurer. The first option, Chiyo said, was understandable. The second option, she warned, was dangerous, and would put Leeching Vulture in harm's way more often than not. But Chiyo needed an answer, because this was the longest she had stayed in any single place, and she needed to move on. So Leeching Vulture picked the only option: to go with Chiyo.

And so it went. Every few months, Chiyo and Leeching Vulture would pick up their belongings and travel to a new home. Never staying in any one place for long, Leeching Vulture saw much of the world in all the seasons. Both Chiyo and Leeching Vulture would try out new combat styles and professions, become mildly adequate at them, and move on to the next locale to learn something new. They would revisit these skills on occasion, but their abilities were characterized by breadth, not depth.

But the universe was not eternally merciful. And so it all ended one fateful night.

Chiyo and Leeching Vulture were working for hire, eradicating pests near Camp Drybone. Go to the location, kill the imps, get paid. Chiyo was testing out a new massive tower shield, and Leeching Vulture was using a well-worn bow. It was going as expected, until a gigantic coeurl came crashing in. Leeching Vulture hardly had time to react before getting swatted aside by a paw into the cliff side.

Dazed and wounded, she could only watch as Chiyo defended herself with her shield from the onslaught. She could only watch as Chiyo's shield took hit after hit, denting and buckling from the impacts. And she could only watch as the shield, beaten and battered, shattered under the beast's strike, Chiyo dropping to the ground. By that time, a number of hunters tracking the coeurl arrived and began attacking the monster, but it was too late for Chiyo. Leeching Vulture crawled over to her mentor, battle behind them, and cradled her broken body. With her dying breath Chiyo gave her last instruction: "Make a name for yourself."

Leeching Vulture and Chiyo had had this conversation before. How in the Roegadyn's perspective, "Leeching Vulture" was a badge of honor, evidence of her triumph over the obstacles in her life's journey. And how from Chiyo's perspective, it was an insult to oneself to allow others to define your worth, even in just a name.

But Leeching Vulture was buried in guilt. Chiyo had died in front of her eyes, and she did nothing. She didn't know her own worth. She didn't even know what to do next. Chiyo had always made the decisions on where to go next, what to train on, when to move on. So she went back to Ul'Dah, where it all started, and began drinking and gambling her feelings away. And she kept going when she no longer had coin to spend, pawning off her gear and taking loan after loan.

Penniless, destitute, and on the run from debt collectors, Leeching Vulture slipped aboard an airship, hoping to skip town and get out of Thanalan. Instead, she found herself at the Gold Saucer, and quickly thereafter within custody there. Asked who she was, she gave a fake name: Syngiwyda Askskalwyn. Having no criminal record but clearly also no place to go, they offered to hire her on, which she readily accepted.

Remaking her life, Syngiwyda quickly learned all sorts of gambling games, including some of the more obscure variety. She found a newfound confidence in herself, and after saving a decent amount of money, set out to venture the world again, this time as both an adventurer and a gaming dealer.

On her travels, Syngiwyda met all sorts of people, and made all sorts of friends. But she kept encountering by chance one group in particular, the Free Company Poogies Pookies. Whether it was in Hawker's Alley or the Shaded Bower, they got along well, well enough that Syngiwyda pledged her allegiance with them to adventure wherever they adventured, and to shelter wherever they sheltered.

These days, Syngiwyda continues to travel from place to place, returning to rest either in her personal home in Shirogane, or at Pooki's Parlor, the Poogies Pookies tavern. On her off-time, she enjoys running gambling games, reading, and spending time with friends.

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Out of Character Bio