WEAPON PROFICIENCIES:

Stiletto

NON-WEAPON PROFICIENCIES:

Astrology, Dark Sense, Disguise, Forgery, Reading Lips, Local History, Voice Mimicry, Religion, Etiquette, Observation, Dancing, Heraldry, Swimming, Grooming, Teaching, Shopping, Seduction, Read/Write Common

CLERIC ABILITIES:

Shape change form: A litle grey mouse; Languages: Spoken: Elven, Minotaur, Sailor's Slang, Harati, Nymph, Satyr. Read/Write: Ancient Elven, Dwarven, Titan, Middle Harati. For other cleric abilities, see information on priests of Torodin.

DESCRIPTION:

Nikita is an exceptionally lovely and alluring woman of twenty-one. She is 5´6"; and weighs 115 pounds. She has a dark complexion, as if she has a permanent tan, long dark hair and big blue eyes. Though not very strong, Nikita is very fit from years of dancing. Voluptuous, beautiful and graceful, Nikita tends to turn heads wherever she goes.

PERSONALITY:

Nikita is very loving, gentle, fun-loving, and insatiably curious by nature. She has always lacked self-confidence, and her feelings of inferiority have grown due to the abuse and trauma she has suffered. Torn between wanting to be with the man she loves and loyalty to her faith, Nikita is often depressed and withdrawn. Nikita craves affection and acceptance above all things, and being separated from, or worse, losing the love of her friends and adopted family is her greatest fear. Though she continues to wonder why Torodin chose her as a priest, Nikita´s faith is very strong, and this plus her selfless desire to help others helps Nikita to survive.

Admirable Traits:	kind, loving, intelligent, sensitive, gentle, curious
Negative Traits:	low self esteem, insecure, meddlesome, indecisive, curious
Embarrass/Uncomfortable:	violence, arguments, being stared at
Sense of Humor:	enjoys witty reparté, teasing and being teased, funny stories
Fears:	failure, being alone, losing Rhavin, disappointing Donar, being captured by Nicco
Interests:	Dancing, myths, other people's personal affairs, romance. Fast-paced activites like horseback riding, flying, & skiing. Developing an interest in ancient history & languages.
Favorite Place:	The lake in Fort Coralis where Rhavin kissed her and professed his love.
Most Admired:	1) Donar Greylock 2) Kariya Frazier
Most Loved:	Rhavin Harkness
Greatest Achievements:	saving Rhavin from the Ogre Magi
Greatest Regret:	Past mistakes, especially the ones that made Donar & Silvio angry with her. Making a deal with Nicco to help Guildenstern. Failing to save Guildenstern.
Personal Goals:	solve the prophecy, help her friends and keep them safe, make Donar proud of her, make Rhavin happy (even if it's with somebody else), find a way to save Gil, become a better priestess and a better person in general
Favorite Food:	baked pears, fresh vegetables, smoked salmon
Favorite Sayings/Pet words:	I'm sorry

BACKGROUND:

Nikita was born the only child of Francesca, a daughter of the Kryszka clan of Hurvan gypsies. Her mother´s unwed status, combined with Nikita´s astonishing blue eyes that could never have come from any gypsy father, made Nikita an object of scorn and ridicule by many in her clan. Francesca loved her daughter dearly and sheltered her as much as possible, but she became ill and died when Nikita was only six years old. This left Nikita in the less than tender care of Francesca´s brother Carlos and his wife Sophia.

In some ways, growing up among the gypsies was a delightful experience for the adventuresome Nikita. Inheriting the loving nature and exuberant spirit of her mother, Nikita´s lust for life found an outlet in the dance. Graceful and naturally artistic, she learned the steps with surprising ease. Her great beauty and talent soon made her a favorite among audiences and the envy of other dancers.

The wandering lifestyle of the gypsies also suited Nikita. She loved to visit new places and meet new people, especially since strangers often treated her more kindly than her own family. Nikita especially enjoyed meeting those who lived on the fringe of society, existing in a world of shadows and intrigue that fascinated the young Nikita. She had been born with the insatiable desire to uncover mysteries, even those that might be forbidden or dangerous. In the back alleys of Hurva, Nikita made many friends who shared her love of intrigue.

From the beginning, she felt a kinship to the thieves, vagabonds and outcasts of Hurvan society, for was she not an outcast among her own people? But for Nikita, living among her gypsy clan was not without its price. She had no close friends among the gypsies, and grew up craving love and affection that she never received. Carlos and Sophia were cruel to her - Carlos beat the child for the slightest fault, and Sophia constantly criticized and ridiculed Nikita, diminishing the child´s self worth and blaming her for everything, even her own mother´s death. Nikita tried to please them, but they only grew more abusive as she grew older. Eventually realizing that her life was in danger, Nikita began to look for an opportunity to escape. Her chance came one night when Nikita, then nearly fifteen, and her clan traveled to the city of Istur. Nikita loved Istur from the start. Here was a place where intrigue and mystery were bread and water, the law knew its place, and the shadows were long. Long enough, she hoped, to hide her from her family. Nikita hoped that if she disappeared into a city this size, Carlos would never find her.

She decided to make her escape during the dance, when the usually vigilant Carlos had too many customers to steal from to worry about his niece. Purposefully ripping her costume just when she was about to perform, Nikita stoically endured her uncle´s slap on the face and ran back to one of the wagons, ostensibly to change and return after her replacement had finished dancing. Instead, Nikita ran.

She soon found herself hopelessly lost in the back alleys of Istur. But she was not concerned. For if she did not know where she was, then how could Carlos ever find her? Reveling in her new freedom, the young girl wandered the city streets, fascinated rather than frightened by the beggars and miscreants who passed her. Eventually, she wandered down to the docks, watching the ships for hours and learning the sounds and smells of her new home.

When night came, bringing the threat of rain, Nikita began to search for a doorway to sleep in. Tired, cold and hungry, she had left all thoughts of her family behind, until she ran straight into her Uncle Carlos. Typically, he began to beat her, and as the pain went on and on, Nikita began to realize that this time he would not stop until she was dead. She looked up into her Uncle´s furious eyes, begging for mercy, but Carlos would not listen to her plea.

Suddenly, his eyes widened in pain, and Carlos slumped over dead. Nikita found herself faced with an angry young woman who held a dripping dagger in her hand. The woman, who could not have been much older than Nikita, was petite and innocent-looking. But she had an aura of strength and self-sufficiency that Nikita at once envied and admired. And she had saved Nikita´s life. The young gypsy girl tried to thank her savior, but she was weak, and collapsed.

Nikita woke some time later in a strange room. She sat up carefully; she was sore and bruised, but very much alive. And her uncle would trouble her no more. From now on, Nikita´s destiny was her own to make.

Nikita´s savior introduced herself as Gina, and took Nikita to meet her brother Mario and his best friend, Sam. They were very kind to Nikita, and helped her while she recovered from her injuries. Nikita was very grateful. These were the first friends she had ever known, and she quickly developed her first crush on the charming and handsome Mario.

After Nikita had recovered, her new friends offered to help her find a job and a place to live. They all decided that the pretty Nikita could easily get a job as a dancer. Sam took Nikita to a rowdy bar called the Port ´o Call and introduced her to his good friend, Sal Salvatore, who owned the tavern. Nikita was very nervous, because she wanted this job desperately and did not want to fail her new friends. But the handsome, self-assured tavern owner soon put the young girl at ease. Sal was impressed with Nikita and her dancing, giving her a job with the stage name of Kitten and a room of her own. Grateful and happy, Nikita hugged her new boss, who took the young girl to her new room and seduced her.

Nikita was very happy in her new life, because she finally had the love and affection she had been longing for. Eventually, Sal and Nikita´s new friends revealed themselves as members of the Organization, Istur´s famous brotherhood of thieves, and at their urging Nikita eagerly joined. She made many new friends, and began to feel that the Organization was her new family. The curious Nikita began to learn the ways of a spy and a forger, becoming more and more useful to her new friends. In addition to Sal, Sammy, Gino and Mario, Nikita formed a special friendship with Bento, who along with Sal was Nikita's immediate superior in the Organization. Bento was a kindly and talkative older man who worked as a scribe and gave Nikita her forgery assignments. Nikita had many a pleasant lunch with Bento and his wife Penelopa.

Nikita became very fond of Sal, who encouraged her to develop her sensual nature and the confidence she had been lacking. Nikita, whose greatest wish had always been to have a family, would have married Sal if he´d asked, but he preferred his independence and encouraged Nikita to take additional lovers. Reluctantly, Nikita accepted that, while she and Sal would always be fond of each other, theirs was not the everlasting love of which she´d always dreamed.

Then one day, Gina was stabbed while she and Nikita were out shopping. Nikita could only scream in horror as the culprit ran off. She tried to tend to her friend, but Gina was quickly dying, and they were all alone.

"Please!"; Nikita called desperately. "Someone save her!"

For a moment, the only sound was Gina´s ragged breathing. But then, from out of the shadows, a voice answered Nikita´s plea.

"I am Torodin,"; spoke the mysterious voice. "Serve me, and I will reveal to you many mysteries. I will give you the power to save your brethren.";

Nikita hesitated. She was a spy and a dancer. She wasn´t cut out to be a priest. But Gina cried out in pain, and Nikita realized that saving her friend´s life was all that mattered. She accepted Torodin´s offer, promising to serve him with undying devotion. Suddenly, she felt new power within her, and she healed her friend.

Sal and her other friends were delighted at Nikita´s new status. At their urging, a very nervous Nikita went to Strand´s Shadows, the temple of Torodin. Nikita worried that she was too young and inexperienced to be a priest, and feared that they would turn her away. But the priests at Strand´s Shadows welcomed her with open arms. They indulged her curiosity by teaching her many new things, and helped her to grow in her new abilities. They soon became like a family to Nikita, but none more so than Donar, high priest of the mage´s sect, whom Nikita came to love like a father.

For the next three years Nikita was very happy, and she vowed that she would never leave Istur. But then one day, soon after her twenty-first birthday, Nikita had a very unsettling vision that changed everything...

(Nikita´s story is continued in her journals.)