View source for Hriana

{{NPC
|gender=f
|status=y
|location=Shard
|map=67
|assoc=Lyle
}}

==Appearance==
She has shoulder length auburn hair framing delicate facial features.  One milky blue eye is paired with a milky white eye, both gazing in your direction vacantly and seemingly focused on some unseen object just behind you.<br>
<br>
A thick lap-rug lays across her lap, draping down to cover her ankles and revealing only bare toes.  Her blouse is aged, the white now slightly yellowed, but otherwise in good repair.  The gentle scent of liliacs drifts from her direction.

==Dialogue==

> ask Hriana about Lyle<br>
Hriana exclaims, "Oh Lyle!" She smiles slightly.  "Lyle found me long ago when I first arrived in this city.  My village was not far from here, once upon a time.  We were a peaceful village and embraced all races to live with us in harmony.  We were simple-folk, not aspiring to great heights and not dreaming of great successes.  We simply lived for the joy of living, to laugh, to love, to keep our homes and families."<br>
Hriana says, "Summers were spent with picnics and dips within the crystal waters of the nearby lake.  Falls were spent with harvest celebrations and bonfires.  Winters were spent by warm hearths telling our favorite fables and myths.  Springs were joyous rebirths full of crop planting and springtime celebrations.  On and on it went year after year, and rarely did you find sadness or despair among our people."<br>
Hriana says, "Until one fateful spring.  The flowers were late to bloom this year -- a telltale sign of ill fates ahead.  It was rare the flowers bloomed late, but when they did, we knew nature had a shock planned for us.  Though this shock, we couldn't begin to imagine."<br>
Hriana examines the cabinets as if she were looking for something in particular.
Hriana continues, "They came at night, with horrible wispy bodies like shards of midnight sky.  Their eyes blood red and they seemed to paralyze you with only a silent gaze.  Their claws were razors sharper than any blade our men folk knew.  And silently they called, a ghost-like howl, yet strangely it seemed little more than a whisper in the wind."<br>
Hriana says, "They stole into our homes, carefully at first, as if they had no intention of calling attention to themselves.  They took the children first, the innocents, stealing their lives with a touch of an icy hand and leaving the bodies in the cradles."<br>
Hriana says, "Then they grew more voracious, coming in at all times be it day or night.  We rallied together trying desperately to save our loved ones.  But our blades were not strong enough, either passing through their bodies or shattering when met against those horrible claws.  Our magics were not powerful enough, only causing them a brief stun, long enough for a victim to blink before he or she lost their life."<br>
Hriana continues, "I remember standing on my doorstep, side by side with my husband, both of us raising our swords and fighting for our lives.  I seemed to be making progress pushing the foul creature back, back, back when suddenly I lost my footing though I hadn't stumbled, and found myself upon my back, my husband screaming with rage."<br>
Hriana adds, "When I glanced down to see what had tripped me, it was to notice that my legs were missing.  I struggled to drag myself to safety my goal to hide among the nearby bushes and simply die in peace -- for no healer in our village could mend the lack of limbs.  It simply was not a talent any had ever had the need to develop or learn."<br>
Hriana exclaims, "I saw my husband fall and then being sliced into tattered pieces!  All I knew after that was I woke deep within some forest.  I saw nothing but blackness, but the birds chirping told me clearly it was day.  I felt nothing beneath my waist, and the once-joyous sounds from my village were now silent and still."<br>
Hriana sadly continues, "I knew within the depths of my soul my village was no more.  Our people, accustomed to a life of comfort, had never acquired the talents to fight off such a foe.  For instance, our armorers and weaponsmiths were talented -- what we knew about metalworking was not something to mock.  These creatures were beyond our fighting abilities."<br>
Hriana says, "For many days I struggled in that forest unable to see, unable to move save for to crawl.  By learning the feel of the ground beneath my hands, I found a path and followed it, the path eventually turning in to some much larger dirtway.  And there I gave up.  I had no idea if I was moving in circles and I had never known so much fear before.  I lay down in the dirt, chilled and hungry, and closed my eyes longing for death."<br>
Hriana continues, "Much later, I woke to the jostling of a wagon and felt the softness of down beneath my head.  I struggled to a sitting position, and a woman's voice urged me to sit still.  She fed me some foul liquid, and there were healers attempting to mend me."<br>
Hriana says, "The journey did not last long, for soon the wagon stopped and bustling voices filled my ears.  Someone lifted me down and set me on the ground.  Someone mentioned I had the limbs again, but sadly too much time had passed for the life to function within them.  Had I not touched my legs then I would never have believed they were there."<br>
Hriana demonstrates her actions while stating, "I raised my fingers to my face and felt indeed my eyes were there, but still the world remained black as night and all that was left to me were the sounds of an unfamiliar place."<br>
Hriana says, "I roamed these streets, crawling through the back alleys and begging what I could.  I learned the town was called Shard.  I lost track of time, but at some point Lyle found me.  He brought me here, offering what he could and promised I would not ever sleep in the cold again."<br>
Hriana smiles and says, "I am grateful to him if the truth be known.  He has never been anything but a gentleman, occasionally bringing people like you to listen to my tale. Lyle has never been rich, and I have never had true greatness.  But I am thankful for the roof over my head and that at least there is some food within the cabinets."<br>
<br>
> offer bread to Hriana<br>
Hriana says kindly, "Thank you so much though it really isnt necessary, I will manage, I always have.  I should really rest now, and you might wish to tell Snow now that we have met.  She has always asked me to send my visitors to her."<br>
She pauses kindly before adding with a slight smirk, "I think perhaps she helps provide for me, but she would never admit that I suppose."<br>