History
UNDER CONSTRUCTION - 04/19
If you ask the woman herself, the real story of Myara's life begins with that of a man she will never meet: Wilmund Lightstrike — a self-appointed name, to be certain. An Ala Mhigan Highlander, votary of the Destroyer, Fist of Rhalgr practitioner among the sect of light faction, Wilmund had a great many things to be proud of. It is said, as was the way of the Fist, he lived for the thrill of battle with one exception, the struggle no man can ever truly win: the war at home.
His son, Nikolas, was a sickly thing from birth, left mostly to the care of his mother Hannah. As Theodorac rose to power within Ala Mhigo, Hannah feared what awaited on the horizon. She implored Wilmund to abscond with them somewhere else, anywhere else; a place that was safer, and quieter, with better access to the medicines and healing Nikolas required.
But Wilmund would not be made to retreat, and so of her own volition, Hannah took their son and fled. Eventually, she would settle in Gridania. Eventually, one last time, she would see Wilmund if only through his words, a shakily penned letter sent mere weeks before the Fist of Rhalgr's defeat. My dear Hannah, Wilmund had written, you were right. One way or another, I will fall here beside my brothers and sisters, but the Fist of Rhalgr must rise again. Please, give this to Nikolas. And Hannah wept as she held the soul crystal in one hand and the hand of her new love in the other. The father had not yet died, but the son had long since perished.
Hannah had her doubts about the Fist, but the sun, she thought, that will surely rise again. And it did: Myara became the light of her mother's life. Sired by Hannah's second husband, a midlander native to Gridania, Myara Bannis was born a robust and hearty baby, ordinary but for the port-wine stains bespeckling her face.
Although made to endure some mockery for her facial deformity and gangling limbs, Myara had a relatively happy childhood, for better and worse known for her insatiable curiosity, pulling the other girls' hair, and her bad influence over her allegedly better behaved sister.
As Myara came of age, she opted to honor her Highlander heritage and her own mordant sense of humor, changing her surname from Bannis to Portwine. She took this name with her to Ul'dah, where she trained with the pugilist guild day in, day out. It took two years to prove to her mother her dedication was lifelong as any Fist of Rhalgrs could be; finally, Myara was handed Wilmund's soul crystal — and it reacted immediately.
"Well," said Hannah, "he did always want a daughter."
