Lurancy Dryden
Lurancy was aware from a young age that something was different about her. She grew up in an orphanage in the countryside, where the other children reacted strangely to her, no matter how friendly she tried to be to the. Even the matrons always kept her at arm’s length, which resulted in a rather lonely and isolated childhood. When she was twelve, a man arrived at the orphanage and said that he was going to adopt her. His name was Nestor Dryden, and once she had gotten over the shock that someone actually wanted her, he explained to her that she was the same as him - a tiefling, the offspring of a demon-human mating. The only outward sign of her heritage was her strange yellow eyes, but Nestor could sense her true nature.
He took her back to Diablotin and raised her as his own daughter, instructing her in the ways of the city as well as in matters of religion and the denizens of the outer planes who walk unseen among mortals. Nestor had once been a priest of Owl, and Treasurer of the Empire, but had been dismissed from his post and expelled from the church when his heritage was revealed, and so Lurancy always knew the price that she might have to pay if her true parentage became public knowledge. So far she has managed to keep it a secret, passing herself off as Houseless. When she reached adulthood, she turned to the newly reborn faith of Serpent, a religion that has many detractors but also increasing numbers of adherents because of the challenges it poses to the traditional Way of the Wheel. Although it is an ancient faith, its public side is only about thirty years old and it is still factionalized between a more secretive mystical side and a more public, welcoming side that is trying to become recognized alongside the mainstream church and legitimized within its cosmology.
When Lurancy was nineteen, her foster-father was murdered. The killer or killers were never caught, and this has haunted her ever since. An odd symbol was painted on the wall near his body when Lurancy found him, concentric circles with a vertical line through them. Since the murder, she has been drifting - the church of Serpent can provide moral support, but financial support requires other methods. The Corriveau crime family always needs extra hands, particularly those who are skilled at magic or have other useful talents.
Lurancy is not unattractive, but odd-looking - her eyes are yellow, set a bit too wide, her hair is honey-blonde and frizzy. She is on the tall side for a woman, and thin. She has a tendency to become lost in her own thoughts, or to speak inappropriately for the setting - not a complete lack of social skills, but a lack of understanding of appropriate context and tone. She has few close friends, and almost none outside the church of Serpent, which since her foster father’s death has been her main source of companionship and support. She’s aware of the more illicit faction of the faith, but considers them misguided at best, malicious at worst.
