Iliria Vale

Iliria Vale was a Dunmer woman, and assassin who served one of the mages of the Great House Telvanni, though she was no mage herself. When on a job, she was captured and tortured by a rival mage within the house. Though she didn't reveal her employers name, her mind was broken through magical torture.

She escaped her imprisonment, and made her way onto a ship leaving Morrowind. She abandoned the vessel near Skyrim, and was discovered by Caiden Sorius, an Imperial vampire of the Bloodlet throne. He pitied her emaciated form and turned her, bringing her to the Bloodlet throne. He was either ignorant or uncaring of Ilirias state of mind when he turned her.

She later became a feared and deadly assassin under Salthars' command. Though the Dunmer often ignored his orders, or killed those she wasn't supposed to in sudden fits of rage. Many of her fellow coven members regarded her with disdain.

Early years 4E 176-4E 201
Iliria Vale was born in the Telvanni city of Sadrith Mora. She was orphaned at a young age, as her parents were slaughtered by a pack of Corprus stalkers while travelling to another Dunmer city. She was taken in by a powerful mage of house Telvanni, who rose her as his own daughter.

In her late teen years, Iliria was apprenticed to another member of house Telvanni. Despite her lack of magical proficiency, she was not cast out. Instead, she was taught in the ways of the assassin. She was extremely grateful both to her master and her adoptive father. Because of this, she was willing to do whatever was asked of her.

She became one of the best assassins in the house, eliminating her marks, and slipping away before anyone discovered her victim. Due to her excellent work, her master rose quickly in the ranks of the house, and came to value her services. However, many of her masters colleagues became suspicious of his rapid ascension through the ranks.

Capture and escape
While working a job, to take down her masters immediate superior, she was deceived into believing that he would be alone in his quarters. When she slipped into the mages quarters, she was ambushed by half a dozen mages, and the target himself. Though they suspected her master was behind the assassinations, they had no real proof.

They used their magic on her, attempting to wrench her masters name from her. Despite the torturous hours she spent confined, she refused to give away any information. Eventually, her captors pushed too hard, and shattered her mind. Knowing they would get no further information out of her, they threw her into a dungeon, to be forgotten and waste away.

Somehow, whether through sheer perseverance or fortune, she managed to escape captivity. Though she was hunted by her captors, she made her way to the coast. She snuck onto a boat, and hid in the cargo hold, leaving the ship near the Skyrim border.

The Civil War 4E 201-4E 202
"I don't understand. Why kill, if not for the pleasure of it?"- Iliria Vale, to Caiden Sorius.

Iliria Vale was found just over the Skyrim border, near the city of Riften, starving and raving. The man who found her was a Caiden Sorius. An Imperial vampire, and a member of the Bloodlet throne coven. Caiden took pity on the woman, and turned her. Either Sorius didn't recognize her mental instability or hoped vampirism would stabilize her condition.

He took her to the Bloodlet throne, and presented her to Salthar Vivarian and other members of his court. Though the other vampires recognized Vales obvious mental instabilities. Many of them believed Vale would be uncontrollable, and should be destroyed. Caiden protested, suggesting that he could mentor the Dunmer vampire. Salthar was agreeable to the idea, and dispatched the pair of them to the Rift, to cut down the bandit population there.

Under Sorius' teachings, Ilirias mind seemed to heal, at least slightly. The Imperial taught her of Salthars vision of a new order replacing the current strife and chaos. She quickly learned the ways of the coven, and grew to respect Caiden as a mentor and friend. After several months, the pair became known for removing bandits from the region, and even recruiting several vampires.

Mentors' fall
Sometime during the month of Hearthfire, in the year 4E 201, Caiden and Iliria were sent to eliminate an influential and powerful bandit chief. The chiefs base of operations was slightly south of Riften, and well guarded. Though the guards outside the base posed no real danger to the pair, the light resistance was all part of a trap to lure them deeper into the cave system that the bandits inhabited.

Once well inside, the pair were ambushed by a large force of surprisingly well disciplined bandits. The two vampires fought well, killing many of their opponents. Unfortunately, Caiden was cut down near the closing stages of the battle. Iliria flew into a rage, and slaughtered the remaining bandits, including the chief. After mourning her friend and mentor, she returned to the Bloodlet throne.

End of the war
After the death of her mentor, Vale returned to the Bloodlet throne. Though she'd lost what sanity she'd regained during her time with Caiden, she maintained her skills. Because of this, Salthar didn't consider her a complete loss. He sent her on several missions, mostly to eliminate Imperial and Stormcloak officers shortly before he revealed the covens existence. She gained Salthars favor when she disguised herself as a Dunmer survivor of one of the battles between the coven and an Imperial force.

When Imperial reinforcements arrived, they discovered the 'wounded' Vale, and took her to their camp. When questioned as to where the coven forces had gone after the battle, she gave them false information, which lead to the coven being able to take several Imperial and Stormcloak outposts in the area. After the main Imperial force left the camp, Iliria killed the wounded soldiers and officers left behind, before rejoining the coven army.

She was present at the battle of Karthspire, cutting her way through the allied Imperial, Stormcloak, and Dawnguard forces. After Salthar was presumably slain, she took command of a small group of Black Guard, and fled into the mountains of the Reach.

After the War
During the year the Salthar was presumed dead, Iliria haunted the mountain passes of the Reach. She ambushed Imperial and guard patrols, mutating the bodies, and leaving them where they'd be easily discovered. The Black Guard that had followed her from the battle of Karthspire left her, having little respect for the insane vampiress.

When whispers of Salthars' return reached her, she immediately left for the Bloodlet throne. Salthar was not pleased with her attacks on the people of the Reach, though he made no attempt to discipline her. Instead, he tasked her with hunting members of the Dawnguard, along with Volkihar vampires who were searching for Auriels bow.

She was successful at hunting down many minor members of the Dawnguard who were scouting near Falkreath hold. She also managed to capture the Dawnguard mage, Horas Underfrar, and tortured him to death attempting to find out the location of fort Dawnguard before Duros Kaast, whom she considered a rival, could do so.

Years later, she worked with the Khajiit assassin, Karsh, to eliminate commanding officers of the newly formed Order of the Silver Suns. She achieved success in several instances, and fought Allanna Starsong, though she was unable to defeat her.

During the search for the Soul Reaver artifact, Iliria was hunting members of both the Order of the Silver Suns, and the Circle of Nine. In an attempt to gain favour with Salthar Vivarian, she attacked the merchant and information broker, Jeth Laralle, who she saw speaking with members of the Order. She was ambushed by Veridas Ashheart, who defeated her. She was then imprisoned in the city of Whiterun.

Personality and traits
"What a pretty face you have. I look forwards to carving it up."- Iliria Vale to Allanna Starsong

Iliria Vale was a loyal and dedicated assassin while mortal. However, the extremes her captors went to in order to wrench information from her broke her mind. Caiden Sorius had a stabilizing element on the woman, and she became an efficient assassin for the Bloodlet throne coven. Though she served the coven loyally, she didn't entirely understand Salthars' vision of a new order. She preferred to kill for the pleasure of it, rather than out of necessity. This attitude often got her in trouble with her superiors.

After Caidens' death, Iliria became a sadistic and cruel individual. She enjoyed slaughtering mortals, and would often stop to feed during battles. She had no qualms about using her body to get close to her prey.She took pleasure in not only killing, but causing pain to her victims, and her reputation ensured that even the mention of her name caused the most stalwart commander to shudder with fear. She often disobeyed orders, though she never actually went rogue. She held a certain hatred of the coven, feeling that they'd abandoned Caiden. However, her loyalty ensured she remained with the coven. She considered herself a rival of both Duros Kaast and Karsh.

Abilities
Chill- Mortals near Iliria felt an unnatural chill

Shadow Form- Iliria was capable of turning into a mist-like shadow form, though she lacked the concentration to maintain the form for very long. She used the ability to 'blink' away from harm, confusing her opponents, and setting them up for a fatal strike.

Quell- Iliria had the ability to diminish, if not outright extinguish most flames.

Swordsmanship- Iliria was a capable swordswoman, She preferred to dance around her opponents, striking them with a series of painful, but non lethal blows, until they were too weak or frustrated to defend themselves. However, she was likely to fly into a fit of rage if she grew angry or stymied by superior foes. In this state, she became a maelstrom of unfocused fury. Skilled swordsmen and women could take advantage of this to land an incapacitating blow. Against less skilled opponents, she was lethal, cutting them apart in mere seconds.

Ebony blade- A black bladed weapon, slightly shorter and more curved than the traditional ebony swords of the Bloodlet throne.

Enchanted snake bracelet- An enchanted bracelet, in the form of an scarlet serpent, with obsidian eyes. At a command from her, the serpent came alive, launching itself from her wrist to blind or strangle a victim.

Black leather bodysuit- Though it offers little protection against any weapons, the bodysuit is skintight, and leaves very little to the imagination. Iliria often leaves it open to her navel, a tactic to distract foes of the opposite sex.

Physical appearance
Iliria is tall for a Dunmer woman, almost standing as tall as a typical Altmer female. She has a slim, muscular figure, with moderately large breasts, black hair that falls to her shoulders, but is almost always contained with a leather strap into a long ponytail down her back. She has medium cheekbones, cupids bow lips, a thin nose, and the typical red eyes of Dunmer. Her skin is a pale grey, and marked with many scars along her wrists and back. She has filed the top and bottom rows of her teeth into points. A bite from Iliria is, understandably, unique.