CHARACTERS OF KALANDAR:

DERNA LYFFORDYN

Far from the main village of Ghastal, up on a hill and surrounded by a deep and intricate wood, stands the Palace of the Lyffordyns.

On Coruscant the Lyffordyn family enjoys a relative prestige: at the times of the Republic it was one of the most renowned and respected noble houses, whose members were rarely seen in an activity of any kind other than enjoying the riches that many centuries of high lineage had accumulated for them and appearing at the most mundane social events on the planet. When Palpatine took the power, the Lyffordyns did not wait too much to side with the rising government, ready to ensure for their house protection and tranquillity before anything else. And when the emperor ordered the "race" to Kalandar, the Lyffordyns were among the first to buy a palace in the region, acting as a model for many other nobles anxious to show themselves "in". Similarly, when Palpatine was satisfied of Kalandar's corruption, the Lyffordyns migrated again, once again ready to follow the fashion orders the Imperial court would dictate. The palace they had cleaned and reordered was empty once again... except for one person: Derna Lyffordyn.

Derna's family had claimed for themselves one of the biggest and most ancient palaces in the region, the one marked in archeological maps with the name of Mandalore Castle, thus called because of the sculptures on the inside walls that seem to recall nomadic warriors coming from the Harkul system more than 4000 years ago. The Lyffordyns had the Castle undergoing the usual, brutal procedure of restructuring and Derna, at those time nothing more than a teenager, took little or no care about that.

Soon, though, Derna Lyffordyn found out that Mandalore Castle had one intersting attraction: a young member of the forest guards of Kalandar, Dek Greemar: a young soldier enjoying his work and with a deep passion for the woods and the ruins of the region that used to patrol the zone around Mandalore Castle. A round of patrol for him, a boring promenade in the family park for her, and it was love at first sight.

For some times the two young people managed to keep their love secret and to meet in the woods, but soon tragedy struck. Derna's formal fianc?e, Afyon Tion, a member from another powerful house in Coruscant's nobility, found out the illicit love between the two young people by following them from a distance. Derna and Dek were to meet in the Temple of War, a stone structure half-buried in the ground far from the body of the main palace. Here, under the cold stone eyes of ancient warriors and forgotten divinities carved in the walls Afyon, mad with jealousy, jumped on Dek and under Derna's terrified cry, furiously brawled with him. With a traitor's blow, Afyon overcome his opponent. A heavy blow with a cornerstone on Dek's head and the young guard was on the ground amid a pool of blood.

It was as if Derna herself was killed in that moment: other secuirty guards, coming on the place too late, arrested Afyon with the charge of murder, and took him away.

Derna found out with even greater pain that Dek was not dead, but in an even worse situation: with a part of his cerebral tissue damaged beyond repair, his body could still be saved, but he would forever remain unconscious and in suspended animation. No donation or cybernetic implant could save him.

Even if good sense would suggest putting an end to the young man's pain, Derna could not force herself to. After obtaining legal responsibility for him (the boy had no family) and upset with anguish, Derna transformed the same Temple of War were Dek had fallen into a medical center and, after sealing the body of his lover into a self-preserving cylinder, she chose to keep her lover alive.

That was not the end of Derna's tragedies, though: her family, outraged for the scandal the girl had provoked to the family with her illicit love, repudiated her, canceled every right to the family's properties and abandoned her. Even though Derna had enough riches of her own not to fear for her future, she was forever banished from the family's resources and contacts. Soon after that the Lyffordyns abandoned Kalandar to return at the Imperial Court: Derna was left with the empty halls of Mandalore Castle and the painful host of the Temple of War.

Each day Derna visits the Temple with the hope that a miracle might give her lover back to her, each day Derna leaves the Temple with one more tear. She can do nothing for him, but she refuses to be responsible for her final death, so she honors his memory by fighting for the woods and the lands of Kalandar that Dek loved so much. Derna Lyffordyn is one of the few Kalandar denizens who actually cares about the health of the land and struggles to defend the region from those who would want to devastate it: all her remaining resources are employed to lend assistance to the most unfortunate zones or to oppose the many unscrupulous initiatives who are dealing Kalandar its final blow, although it is sadly evident that her resources are nothing compared to those she owned.

In the last months, finally, a new threat looms over the last Lyffordyn of Kaladar: Lord Vladius Tion, the current firstborn of the House, has been nominated First Imperial Dignitary of the imperial Court. It is useless saying that the sudden and quick ascent in power and influence the Tion house has achieved has been more than enough to set Afyon Tion free and cleared of any charge. Derna's old suitor has walked Kalandar's streets many times recently, and he approached the girl at least once. The spite and the ice in the eyes of Derna were her only answer, but Afyon will not surrender easily. Even darker times await Derna Lyffordyn...

Derna is a young woman barely beyond her twenties, ebony black hair and deep blue eyes that shine of a feeble purple light from time to time. Her manners, her clothes and her language reveal her noble origins very soon, but only unwillingly. The rich and spoiled child of yesterday has grown through her sudden tragedy and now is a sad and melancholic woman. Derna is polite and friendly to everybody, but almost impossible to cheer and relax. She is forever ensconced in her tragic love story, and can often be met in Kalandar's wildest regions while she helps trees and wildlife, or simply walking and rimembering her visits with Dek in the same place.

Derna is, understandably, terrified by Afyon Tion and by his unexpected return. Although she is lonely and reserved, the fear of any action by Afyon would be enough to lead her out of her isolation and ask for help.

And, of course, deep inside her heart, Derna still hopes to save Dek. With the limited means she is left she is always looking for new healing methods, unknown disciplines or alien cures that might give her lover back to life. Till now, unfortunately, Derna has never faound a lead worth following. It remains to be seen, on the contrary, if the body resting in the temple of war is effectively lost and remains in suspended animation only in name of a love that refuses to die...

Derna Lyffordyn
Type: Arrogant Noble

DEX 3D+1
Dodge 4D
Running 5D

KNO 3D+1
Alien Species 4D+2
Bureaucracy 5D
Business 5D+2
Cultures 6D
Intimidation 4D
Languages 6D
Law Enforcement 5D
Planetary Systems 5D
Scholar: Coruscant etiquette 7D
Value 4D
Willpower 7D+2

MEC 3D+1
Beast Riding 5D+1
Communications 4D
Repulsorlift Operation 5D

PER 2D+2
Bargain 4D
Command 6D
Con 5D+2
Forgery 4D
Gambling 5D
Hide 5D+2
Investigation 6D
Persuasion 5D
Search 5D
Sneak 4D+2

STR 2D+2
Climbing/Jumping 4D
Swimming 3D+2

TEC 2D+2
Capital ship weapon repair 4D
Computer program/repair 5D
First aid 5D
Medicine (A) 6D
Security 5D

Force sensitive? No
Character points: 10
Force points: 7
A Quote: "My heart's in these woods..."

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