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Yava reference sheet

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Character  Yava Sætansen

Description


Text updated: 11 October 2020
Yava was first seen by :iconriverraven: and she still has the strongest connection to Yava.

Drawings featuring Yava:
I'm ready to run with the storm
Don't mess with her
Dream of blue
Happy family

Name(s): Yava Winther Sætansen. Sometimes nicknamed Magpie (because of her fur color);
Species:
siderian (a northern, horse-sized tiger-oriental cat-lynx like feline).
Gender: female

Birthplace: The Island of Ice and Fire or short Icef/Tycef (to humans known as Iceland), near the metacluster Boiling Bay.

Birth year/date (relative to Stian’s birth year): 0 - She is born in the same year as Stian, even in the same month- the 3th of December. 
Death year: ~133, which is like 100 in human years.


Family
Mother: Malta Atheris

Father
: Axel Khean Sætansen
Brother
: Ravn Vidarr Sætansen
Mate
: Falkner Thorden
Daughter:
Winther Lærke Sætansen
Son: Falco Sætansen
Son
: Torstein Sætansen
See the family tree: Satansen Dynasty


APPEARANCE

Appearance & reputation
She comes across as stable, calm and a bit dreamy. For a Sætansen, she has a kind and gentle reputation. She’s known to be extremely tolerant, but others also know not to cross that very limit. Especially later in life, she’s seen as one of the most respected and skilled healers in the Fjordland Force. She becomes a central figure in the Force and a source of wisdom and stability for others.
Shoulder height: 1.56 m which is on the tall side for a sideress (average is 1.50 m)

Physical description
Body: rather balanced, lynx-like body type. Quite rounded feminine shapes and long legs; her hind limbs are slightly longer than her front limbs.  Rather fine forelimbs and shoulders but more pronounced hindquarters with a relatively wide pelvis for a siderian. Rather long tail -she curls the tip a bit it upwards. Proportionally large paws. Head carried rather high.

Head: triangle-shaped face and rather rounded features (chin and cheekbones). In profile, she has a clear yet subtle ‘stop’ between her eyes.  The line of her triangular shaped muzzle (front view) and top of the skull are parallel. Relatively long muzzle. Average ear size, position and direction, but they have a typical droplet shape. Rather high ‘eyebrows’ (the little circles from which the eye-whiskers originate), which makes her look very friendly. Rather high placed eyes which are aquamarine in color. Bit of a dreamy expression (she usually doesn’t look directly at fellows – as most cats do when they are being friendly) that can quickly change into an intimidating stare.  

Gait: rather light and fluent with most strength in the rear.
Coat and color: Semi-longhaired, slightly layered coat, with fur extensions all around her wrists and ankles and even on a bit on the knees. Long lynx-tips on her ears. Quite full mane and long hair on the chest and belly. Some hair tufts have the tendency to curl on in the opposite direction which gives her a playful and sometimes ‘out-of-bed’ look. Her hair structure is very soft and shiny with a very rare magpie like sheen, ranging mostly from indigo to blue to even a touch of cold green over her otherwise (light) black coat.

Jewelry & accessories
Usually she doesn’t wear any jewelry.  At a young age (before puberty), she had necklaces and bracelets with (small) gems, and she may have braided or clipped some feathers in her hair, but stopped doing that because it got tangled up too much. She still likes to collect a few gems, feathers and possibly small fossils, but she doesn’t have a huge collection. At a later age, Yava inherits small poison darts and a wrist dart-pocket from her mother (Malta). She may inherit some Sætansen jewelry/accessories, too.



PERSONALITY & CHARACTER

Personality
MBTI personality type: INFJ - A (the advocate/counsellor)

Very stable, calm and wise; intelligent and insightful. Stress-resistant and keeps her head cool – even in rather dire situations. Independent and on her own yet she strongly values family bonds. She remains close with her family throughout her life and has an intimate relationship with her mate and children. She also developed a strong bond with her cousin Stian. Yava deeply appreciates silence and serenity – alone or with others – but can also enjoy social excitement and can be jolly, but not too much. She really appreciates her goofy mate and daughter, and youngest son when he is older and discovers his more extraverted side. Yava needs some alone-time to charge (clearly introverted), during which she actively seeks the silence and serenity and can enter a meditative, spiritual or philosophical state. These moments help her to find to beauty of life, even at its worst.

 

She is very honest and open, often straightforward and to the point, but in a gentle way. She only confronts others when it is necessary and always tries to understand the other side of the story. She is absolutely not judgmental. Her tolerance level is high, and some can take advantage of it, but she strongly hates injustice and disrespect. When someone crossed her lines, she becomes silent, stern and will either avoid or confront the other with it. It really depends on the subject and how personal it is how she reacts; she will usually avoid direct conflict. In most cases she needs to think (alone) and may get back to the subject later, which can be frustrating for extroverted who want to discuss things immediately.

 

Yava strongly values her (family) home territory but also likes to travel to new places, although she’s not the very adventurous type. For example, her mother had to push her to go world’s biggest metacluster* in their search for Stian, and she remained in contact with her family during this travel. She prefers to travel long distances together, especially with someone she loves and trusts. The journey is often as pleasurable as the destination. She is open to new experiences but likes to discover it carefully and on her own terms.

 

She is very calculated and careful yet confident in what she does. With age, she learned to be confident about her own skills and knowledge. At a younger age, she was still a bit dependent on her mother for approval and was more sensitive for the opinions of others, especially if they were close to her. She is very caring, respectful and responsible for other siderians and other living beings. This is also why she makes a good healer: she remains calm when someone is dangerously sick or wounded, and helps them with a solid but tender hand. She wants to raise her kids in the same way (respectful and responsible) but is sometimes a bit in conflict with her mate’s mischievous tendencies and his dirty words. Yava especially disapproves of the random insults that Falkner and Winther can throw around (even if it is non-personal), but she lets them. (Trusting that someone will retaliate eventually…)

 

Her stable, playful but righteous personality gives her an independent and very tolerant appearance that makes other siderians trust her very easily. She even gets her silent, ice-cold cousin Stian to share some of his deeper personal things with her – things that he may not even share with his partner. However, sometimes others confide a bit too much in her: even though she appreciates the trust they have in her, she also carries the weight. She literally becomes the classic wise, old lady.

 

Type of humor: Playful and respectful sort of humor (no gossiping or ridicule). She can enjoy some physical play and is often quite amused by her mate’s goofiness as long as he remains at least a bit decent and respectful. She understands sarcasm quickly, but is not very good at it herself.

 

Voice, manner of speaking:

Round, deep, heavy and yet feminine.
Very good reference for her is Sandra Nasic, singer of Guano Apes.
- Guano Apes - Kiss the dawn
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VAd0v…

- Apocalyptica ft Sandra Nasic - Path vol.II www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbODwq…  (Yava sounds a bit older here)

- Guano Apes – Cream over moon www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVp7d2… (here she sounds a bit younger or sensitive)
- Guano Apes – When the ships arrive
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x_NWJ…

- Guano Apes – This time www.youtube.com/watch?v=utukgd…

-Guano Apes - Dödel up www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1dxEo…

Sexuality: heterosexual, monogamous and loyal to her permanent mate Falkner.


Spirituality and philosophy:
she a fascination for and interest in the history the Sætansen dynasty. She is very spiritual and has contact with several Demons and other spirits. They help her with her healing work. Her philosophy is that all life should be treated with equal respect and that there are always several sides in a conflict.


Aesthetics: sta.sh/0vuqhkwpu8s


Fears: mass extinction of Life, dying ecosystems, and being disconnected from nature and Life. Rationally, she fears that humans are becoming so overexploiting that other species die out, and that the siderian fighting forces will lose their fight against humans. Having to raise cubs in an unsafe world with severe conflicts is a fear of hers. She mostly has rational and understandable fears, no weird phobias.


Dreams: Basically, her dream is to live a relatively peaceful life, and she hopes that for all her friends and family as well – particularly the future generation that has to deal with the siderian-human conflict. She dreams that someday the Fjordland Force is not needed anymore, and her cubs can roam free and without worries. Raising her cubs in a safe world without severe conflicts is a big wish, but sadly that doesn’t really come true.

Interests, hobbies, occupation
She likes wandering around and studying the Life, Death and in between around her – she’s a true biologist and spiritual philosopher. She has a special interest in birds (particularly corvids) and has good knowledge of animal functioning on the physiological, behavioral and even the population-level. Her mother taught her about plants and their useful compounds (such as medicine, poison), while her father taught her about population dynamics and behavioral ecology (his focus is on humans, though).

Yava is specialized in healing other siderians in several ways; physiological, spiritual, medicinal, and she can even perform (complex) surgery. She has a broad knowledge of plant compounds as medicine and she also knows a little about how to use plant toxins (towards enemies of course). The latter is what she learned from her grandfather, Fannar. However, Yava is mainly interested in the compounds that are useful for her work as a healer, and how she can recognize, harvest and store them. She’s not into gardening, but her mother is; she grows useful plants in her ‘garden’ (a.k.a. ‘Malta’s garden’).

 

Yava can be musical and has an interest in it, but due to circumstances, she never developed this potential hobby any further. If she had, she would have played some sort of siderian equivalent of a violin. To draw some parallels, she would be deeply moved by atmospheric and classical music, but could also like more heavy music like rock and even metal. The musical and creative component is important to her, as well as the emotional (spiritual?) component of music. She likes exploring many styles.


STORY – so far.


The first tense years

Yava was born on the Island of Ice and Fire (to humans known as Iceland); on the home territory of her mother Malta (more accurately: the territory of her grandparents: Sivana and Fannar). During the first years of her life, she didn’t know her father. Her mother told her that it was too dangerous for cubs on her father’s land. Yava never really bothered to ask questions about that. There were only a few other cubs around to play with, like her three years older brother Ravn. He, however, was not so interested in playing with his little sister and was often more occupied with his own (sometimes mischievous) interests. Yava got in touch with her grandfather Fannar who showed her some exciting rare ecals* around the metacluster* Boiling Bay and taught her a little about plants (her mother’s specialism). When Yava was 3-4 old, Malta heard that it was safe enough to travel back to the Fjordlands (Norway), so Yava could finally meet their father Axel and the rest of the Sætansen family. Yava was a bit too young to understand what this meant for her, but she understood that she had to say goodbye to her grandparents, Fannar and Sivana. After a long travel by boat (siderians make small wooden sort of sailboats), Yava was excited yet a little nervous to finally meet her father, and was also curious to meet her grandparents (Matthias and Alva), aunt (Mara), uncle (Morten) and cousins (Goran and Stian). Her youngest cousin Stian was exactly her age and he was as quiet and yet curious as her. After a careful introduction, Yava and Stian developed a strong bond and loved exploring together without being overly interactive (see Perfect harmony )– they just understood each other instantly (see Stian and Yava as kittens). Yava’s mother Malta often watched over the cubs and Yava noticed that this wasn’t the case for Stian’s parents; they were mostly elsewhere and left his elder brother Goran in charge of babysitting.

 

When she was old enough, her mother brought her to the nearby metacluster MistFjord to meet other cubs and learn from other adults at what’s called the learning ground. Stian sometimes joined but with Stian’s parents being so occupied, they didn’t spend as much time together in the metacluster there as she had hoped. She sometimes asked Stian and Goran to come with them.

 

Stian’s disappearance.
When they were about 8 years old, they were both around the metacluster and one day, she searched for Stian to hang out but he was nowhere to be found.  This was unusual and the first one she found to warn was Goran (who was 17). Only after a few days, her parents, aunt and uncle had noticed his missing too and they began searching actively without any result. She heard that another cub, the granddaughter (Binna Nivalis) of the cluster coordinator (Arctodus Nivalis), had gone missing as well. Traces of human activity left them with an awful suspicion, yet Yava was barely aware of the human danger and all she felt was concern and the painful missing of her beloved cousin. Several months later, her parents told her that Stian may still be alive and that they have a clue of where he could be (thanks to her grandfather’s genius ecal-based search methods – which Ravn meticulously observed whenever possible); he was somewhere in the nearby human settlement. Yava’s parents kept her close and safe while her aunt and uncle made several rescue attempts and eventually succeeded. Stian was back and she desperately wanted to see him yet her parents didn’t let her near for several days and she didn’t understand why. When they finally let her visit him, she was shocked by his terrible state; he was skinny and severely limping. He looked fearful and detached as if he didn’t recognize her. He didn’t talk and she had to hear from her father what had happened; humans had held him captive and he was beaten by dogs.

 

In the weeks after his rescue, he recovered from the worst shock and Yava saw a bit of his old explorative nature come back. He talked to her again but never spoke about what had happened. When they were in the metacluster again, months later, she heard rumors that the other cub had not yet been found and she sensed some tension between her family and the family of the still missing cub. Over the years, Stian recovered well and so did the bond with Yava, yet something in him had changed and she couldn’t pinpoint what. He never gave her a clear answer either, but she believed that the imprisonment had been traumatic to him and he probably didn’t want to talk about it.

 

Growing distance
When they reached puberty, Yava still tried to hold on to regular contact with Stian, but he was getting more distant (see Frozen memories). He seemed to be occupied with things that he didn’t talk about, but he still wanted to hang around with her and share their common interest in birds and plants.  Meanwhile, Yava developed the same interest in medicine plants as her mother. She also went to visit other siderians specialized in healing to learn from them. She got more aware of her family’s activities and learned about the rivalry with the neighbors (the Nivalis family), who also coordinated the metacluster. Occasionally she heard of incidents with humans and she realized that if it wasn’t for her grandfather’s ecal-based detection system, they could have been in greater danger – something that Stian seems to be occupied with, yet not saying much about. Her brother, on the other hand, seemed less occupied with humans and he developed a deep interest in ecals and their functionalities.

 

When she reached her early 20ties, she still met Stian on a regular basis, but at some point he didn’t come. At the same time, her parents warned her that Bjørn Nivalis (grandson of the cluster coordinator) had been killed and that the Nivalis family had invaded the Sætansen lands (see This is our land.... )Yava was confused and mostly worried about Stian being targeted by them. Together with Goran, she searched intensively for Stian, but without any result. She resorted to grandfather Matthias who had some miraculous ecal tracking skills. He gave her some clues that Stian was still alive, but somewhere quite far away. When they learned that Bjørns father (Thalarctos Nivalis) also had left to go after Stian whom he had suspected of the murder, Goran left home as well and was determined to find his brother first. Yava stayed behind and frequently consulted her grandfather for clues and stayed in contact with Goran over ecals. As the years passed, she got some hints from Goran that Stian was probably somewhere in the Lowlands (central Europe) – yet they had no idea where exactly and what he was doing. The threat of Thalarctos remained, since he had not returned home either.  There were more territory conflicts at home but the worst had been settled and siderians had growing common concern: humans. Despite these worries, Yava tried to pick up her own life and focused on studying nature and improving her skills as a healer. She also dated with Rein, a guy who had fled from the Lowlands (central Europe). He spoke about humans as a serious threat; they had killed several siderians near his homeland and he felt no longer safe to stay there. Yava knew that Stian was  somewhere near Rein’s homeland, and she worried a bit about Stian again.

 

More pressure from humans
In the years after Stian’s disappearance, she had picked up news about severe conflicts between siderians and humans in different locations, first in the Lakelands and then in the Lowlands. Some rumors described siderians attacking human villages. The human problem came so close to home that her grandfather even collaborated with the rivaling Nivalis family to find a common solution. Her father, Axel, seemed obsessed by the weird tools that humans used to take down trees near their homeland. Together with Ravn and possibly other family members he tried to disable deforestation machines (and succeeded a few times). Although Yava did not participate (she kept out of danger zones), she dearly wanted the deforestation to stop.

 

Her mother Malta was equally careful but got shot when she was hunting. She escaped and was not critically hit but it came as a shock for Yava. Around the same time, they got news from Goran again. He was on his way back home since all evidence suggested that Stian was dead, presumably killed by Thalarctos. Yava had gotten used to a life without her beloved cousin, yet this news hit her hard. The relation with Rein was not going smoothly either. Yava felt trapped in stress from all sides: the loss of Stian, the deforestation, the personal danger from humans, and her failing relationship with Rein.


A little more than a year after Goran’s return, her grandfather told her to check the ecal channels connected to the far away metacluster called Mimicry (Himalayas). Yava and Goran found something published about humans that reminded them so much of Stian that Goran immediately left to travel there and see if he could indeed find Stian and figure out what was going on with him. Yava’s spark of hope was fainter, but when Goran contacted her again with news that he had found several indications of Stian having been in Mimicry, she got her hopes up again. Meanwhile, the pressing situation around her homelands was worsening. Humans had killed several siderians and they began expanding their settlement even further into siderian territories through intense logging and building roads. Yava and a friend of hers once got their kill poisoned as well and it was her mother’s knowledge that saved them in time.

 

A long travel and new adventure
Yava’s relation with her boyfriend Rein still didn’t work out. She felt that they didn’t have much in common and wanted to end the relation, yet he kept coming back to her, asking for another chance. Four years after Goran had left for his searching mission to Mimicry, he messaged Yava that Stian had probably been in world’s largest siderian metacluster called Mystery Mountain* (in Alaska) and that he may reappear there. Yava was 34 years old now and after the stranded relation with Rein, she wanted a fresh start in her life. Her mother Malta pushed her over the threshold to go to Goran and take this opportunity to explore the world. Indeed, Mystery Mountain was a place that many siderians want to have seen at least once in their lifetime. It was a several months long travel that was worth it, especially with her friend.

 

She was around 35 when she arrived in Mystery Mountain and met Goran there yet they found no sign of Stian and her hopes diminished again. However, Goran believed that Stian may come back here and they stayed around for another year, exploring the surroundings, learning about the local culture, and meeting local siderians. Apparently, there were clashes between siderians and a related siderian species (arctians). She and Goran stayed out of conflict zones but the big battle on the plateau didn’t go unnoticed and many siderians spoke about it in the weeks after. As Yava passed different areas of the cluster to get in contact with other healers to learn more, she spotted a tall guy who was loudly talking with friends about the battle in which he had participated. It sounded as if he had great fun in it. Yava found him a bit odd and his large yet joyful appearance puzzled her. He had spotted her stare at him and she quickly walked away, not aware that this guy was suddenly silent.

 

Old and new contacts
One day, the tall guy approached her asking where she came from as she didn’t look like a local. They talked and she really liked this odd looking dude. She learned that his name was Falkner and that he was the cluster coordinator’s son – which he said he didn’t like. She explained that she was looking for her cousin; a white Fjordland guy. Falkner had indeed seen someone who matched the description and gave her some directions. At the same time, someone in Mystery Mountain had published news about humans again and Yava suspected that Stian was behind it. Falkner’s hints got her and Goran on track and indeed, Goran had finally spotted Stian in the periphery of the cluster. They were incredibly glad yet hesitant to approach him after such a long time. Both were unsure why he had left and how Stian had changed. Yava took the first step and walked up to Stian as he was drinking from a mountain lake. He acted cold as if he didn’t want to know her, yet Yava persisted (see here: Don't mess with her). The meeting with Goran was tenser and even led to a fight between the brothers, leaving Yava confused about what had happened to Stian in all these years. Eventually, he came to his senses and Yava’s patience and persistence to talk with him paid off. He eventually told her about his worldwide journey to collect evidence for the human problem and that he wanted to stop humans from spreading more destruction. Both Goran and Yava supported his ideas and intense discussions led Stian to the first plans to establish a fighting group and find recruits in Mystery Mountain.

 

Yava was still dating Falkner and their spark had ignited. He was very different from her, yet they completed each other perfectly. She felt an intense love for Falkner that she had never felt for Rein – it felt more natural and real.  Meanwhile, Stian’s attempts to recruit other siderians weren’t successful and he wanted to return to the Fjordlands to try it there. Falkner was determined to join Yava to her home and had to say farewell to his family and friends. Together with a few other siderians, they traveled back to the Fjordlands.

 

Start of the Fjordland Force and a new life
Once arrived, Stian gathered many more siderians for the fighting group that he now called the Fjordland Force (FF). Since the human problem was much worse back home, many Fjordland siderians were motivated to do something about it. At first, Yava wasn’t keen on Stian’s violent methods. Especially since she was pregnant and expecting her first kitten, she and Falkner decided to stay on the Sætansen family land while Stian moved North to establish the Force’s Headquarter there. She had an intense labour and gave birth to a twin, Winther and Falco. A few months later, she heard that Stian had been shot on his new territory. Fortunately, his life was not in danger but the severity of the human problem had made her and Falkner decide to move to the Headquarter in the North as well (along with her parents, uncle and aunt) to offer support to the Fjordland Force. Yava and her family established their new home territory right next to Stian’s new territory. Despite her young cubs, she decided to assist as a healer in every one of Stian’s missions. The initial turbulence between Stian and Yava had passed and the bond between them was restored. In the last few months, Stian had even told her more about his 17 years long travel, how it changed him and how this human problem concerned and affected him – something he rarely, if ever, shared with anyone else.

 

Missions intensified
The Fjordland Force was rapidly growing, and they carried out the first serious missions. Yava had now taken the role as lead-healer, together with her mother, and got intensely involved in each mission. Her mate Falkner took the role as teacher and introducer of newcomers and thrived in this social environment. They both shared responsibilities for their kids Winther and Falco. Yava tried to provide a safe environment for her cubs while they followed the Force to the different locations. Falkner really flourished as the kids grew up and he was particularly fond of Winther, who was as bold and naughty as him. Sometimes, Yava had to pull the brakes on him as she noticed that little Falco didn’t always like the bombastic, mischievous behavior of his father and sister.

 

The first missions in the North were intense yet relatively successful. However, Stian’s father Morten (Yava’s uncle) got severely injured and Stian lowered the mission-intensity a bit in the following years. That allowed Yava and Falkner to go back to their northern homelands more often and spend more quality time together. Their third son Torstein was born soon, 6 years after the twins were born. Little Torstein was initially a bit shy but found good company in his elder brother Falco, who took the baby sitting very serious. Winther was more a playful and teasing companion to her new, small brother. However, it warmed Yava’s heart to see the close bond between Winther and Stian’s daughter Ekster. She also noticed how much her mate Falkner had changed; she had awakened a serenity and appreciation for Nature in him that she didn’t know was there behind his goofiness.

 

Despite the good family time, stress was never far. Her uncle Morten had not recovered from his injuries and had gotten seriously ill. He had retreated himself to the ancient Sætansen lands in the central Fjordlands and was dying.


Not enough resources

After Morten’s passing, Stian picked up the missions again and Yava lined up as lead-healer too. The following missions were tense and Stian discovered that they had not enough resources to attack the problematic human settlement near the cluster MistFjord and the ancient Sætansen family lands. He gathered a subdivision of the Force to travel to another metacluster, Notochord (Ural Mountains). Yava joined him but wanted her kids to stay behind on their homelands with Falkner. She was mostly concerned about Torstein (now 7) who was still quite shy and very clearly mama’s kid. Yet she trusted Falkner to take well care of their youngest son. The expedition was not without problems. Stian initially planned to collaborate with Notochord’s coordinator Ferrus. Yet nobody had expected what a tyrant Ferrus had become and his mistake to harass Stian’s mate Vivanna costed him his life in a deadly fight with Stian. Fortunately, Ferrus’ more collaborative son Adler took over the lead and provided the Force with the necessary ecal supplies and knowledge.

 

Battles for MistFjord
Yava’s family – particularly little Torstein - was happy to see her back after the trip. Falkner admitted that he didn’t know how to comfort their youngest son during Yava’s absence. Rather soon after her return, they went on the mission for which they needed the supplies. It wasn’t successful and several siderians had died. Also Stian crept through the eye of the needle. Humans followed up with an attack on the siderian metacluster MistFjord, which the Fjordland Force barely managed to protect (see here We defend what is ours). After all this stress, Stian expressed to Yava just how much the fighting and the responsibility wore him down.  They retreated to their home territories and the headquarter in North to reconsider the strategies and to intercept humans that tried to invade the Northern Fjordlands. At least Yava’s kids dealt with the situation well and focused on their own lives. Winther had found a mate (Kieran) and Falco, who had come out as gay, was also dating someone. Even Torstein had become more confident as he reached puberty. After two years with only smaller missions in the North, Stian gathered the entire force again to try another attack on the human settlement near MistFjord. Yava lined up as always.

 

The mission was again unsuccessful and Yava’s and Stian’s grandfather Matthias got shot. Despite Yava’s efforts to save him, he died a few days later. His wisdom and genius mind was a great loss for the Force and Yava noticed how it affected Stian’s stress levels severely. The guy that her son Falco was dating had also disappeared and whatever she did, she couldn’t comfort Falco. After another year of scouting and considering strategies, Stian intensified the attack missions again. Meanwhile, Winther and Falco had decided to leave the Fjordlands to go to the Balkan region (I still don’t know what siderians call these lands), where Winther’s mate Kieran came from. Yava was pleased to see her kids reach independence but her mate Falkner would have liked to have them closer. Fortunately, Torstein (now 16) stayed close with his parents – yet he was still experiencing some frictions with his father.

 

A little break
The attacks of the Force went on, some finally more successful. Stian was gaining ground and the Force had grown into a formidable organization consisting of many siderians. They had now finally defeated the human settlement near MistFjord and were entering a calmer period again. Yava, Falkner and Torstein took that chance to travel to the Balkan to visit Winther and Falco and the recently born kids of Winther (Kjeld and Khean). Now that Torstein had reached adulthood (21), he got much better along with Falkner and he had also discovered just how much he liked being with cubs (see here: Youthful spirits). He really flourished as he played with his little cousins. Unfortunately, they couldn’t spend as much time with Winther and Falco as they wanted; the Force had planned more large-scaled missions and Yava, Falkner and Torstein had to return.

 

Victory against steep costs
The following few years were intense and these big missions in the Southern Fjordlands weren’t without costs. The load on Yava as a healer was heavy as she (her team) couldn’t save everybody who had fallen in battle. Despite the occasional siderian deaths, the Force was still growing and still gaining more ground. During these years, Yava stayed in contact with Winther and Falco, who were still in the Balkan region. The human problem had become intense there too. They tried to persist, yet the death of Kieran’s mother Senka (thus Winther’s mother-in-law) hit them hard and they considered returning to the Fjordlands. Meanwhile Yava lined up for the biggest mission ever organized; they were to take the largest human settlement in the Fjordlands. The mission was successful but came against high costs. Yava tried her best to help the injured siderians but she couldn’t save Stian’s daughter Siri and her mate Tiber. These deaths hit her and Stian hard. After this big, still successful mission, Stian retreated the Force and Yava followed to their Northern homelands as well. She was delighted to hear that Winther, Falco and their families were heading back to the Fjordlands again. Particularly Falkner and Torstein were happy to see them back and play with Winther’s cubs Kjeld and Khean, who were now 8 and 6 years old.

 

Yava still participated as a healer in every Fjordland Force activity, even in the smaller scouting missions that Stian still carried out in the North. These missions were considered less dangerous yet Stian got unexpectedly shot with a shotgun through a weak point in his armor. If it wasn’t for Yava’s, Goran’s and Vivanna’s quick acting, Stian could have died of blood loss.  However, he felt that he was in control himself and didn’t appreciate their forced help. He recovered reasonably well but oddly enough, this had affected Yava’s deep bond with Stian quite negatively- although the worst tension passed after a while and he confided in her again. Stian kept the Fjordland Force activities low, leaving them more time to focus on their own lives. 

 

Family time
In the two calmer years that followed, Yava could spend more quality time with Falkner on their home territory. Torstein was also less clingy to her and Falkner now that his siblings Winther and Falco had returned. Since her territory bordered with Stian’s, his kids and the nearby metacluster (the Carnassial, northern Norway), she could stay in touch with many and enjoy the births of the next generation. The period of relaxing got interrupted when Yava and her family joined Stian on a mission near the southern metacluster MistFjord again, to prevent humans from re-establishing. Falco’s mate Raldimir got injured during this mission but quick handling of Yava and other healers had saved his life and he recovered well. The mission was relatively quick and successful so Yava could allow herself some more relaxing time on her homelands afterwards. She was pleased to see that a pretty and feisty sideress named Zita had finally managed to hook her youngest son Torstein on. He was over 30 now and had so far been quite sticky to Yava and Falkner and had not been very interested in ‘adult life’. It was about time for him to become more independent and Yava subtly facilitated the coupling between him and Zita. However, in the same time, she had to say farewell to her father Axel who was dying of old age.

 

A few years later, Torstein and Zita got their first daughter named Lydia and the family welcomed the new life. Winther’s sons Kjeld and Khean had become adolescents now and Khean (12) was already growing an interest Yava’s work as a healer.

  

What she always feared
Despite the relatively calm period with the Fjordland Force, Stian still carried out some scouting missions in the Northern regions, close to their homelands – mostly to prevent any humans from returning to their former settlements. Yava attended in most missions and so did she this time. It was late autumn and a small subdivision of the Force was checking out one of the first settlements that Stian had ever attacked.


When Stian and the other scouts were out, Yava stayed behind in the main camp, ready to tend to any injured siderians while she stayed in contact (through ecals) with the ones in the field. Humans had been spotted but the situation was deemed under control, yet sounds of gunshots alarmed her. She tried not to worry since this was not unusual. However, Winther (who was a patrol on missions) brought the news that Yava had always feared for: Stian was shot dead. Also Ekster got severely injured in an attempt to save her father. When the situation was cleared, Yava immediately rushed to the place where Stian was killed. Several siderians, including Goran and Jay (Stian’s son) surrounded Stian’s blood-covered body when she arrived. She touched the head of her fallen cousin with her nose before Goran and Jay carried him away to the main camp. The bond between her and Stian had been close since childhood, and this loss left a gaping hole inside her. She and Stian’s mate Vivanna cleaned his wounds and prepared him for the last ceremony a few days later. Many siderians of the Force had come to pay their last tribute to the fallen General. In the months after Stian’s death, Toro took over the lead. Yava found a lot of support from Falkner and Goran. When Ekster had recovered, she was chosen as the new General and she was determined to follow in her father’s footsteps. Not long after Stian’s death her mother Malta died of old age as well. That was quite another blow for Yava, but also for her sons.

 

Ekster leading the Fjordland Force
Ekster’s strategy was much more dangerous and risky than Stian’s yet Yava remained active in every mission that followed. She was determined to participate in the fight for her species and save as many siderian lives as she could. She started to focus more on tutoring and supervising healers, which before was mainly done by her mother Malta. Her mate Falkner, her daughter Winther and her son Torstein also joined her wherever she went. Also her son Falco and his mate Raldimir were still active in the bigger missions. Just after Stian’s death, Torstein’s mate Zita got soon pregnant of her second cub (Shali) and in the following years, the third (Hazeli) and fourth (Torben) were born too. Since Torstein still stayed close with Yava, she got to enjoy the growing up of her grandkids up close and she loved showing them all sides of her healing work. It warmed her heart to see just how gentle and playful her son was with his kids. Falkner was still goofy and playful despite his age and he got quite a close bond with them as they grew up.

 

After several years since Ekster was the General, she expanded the areas in which the Force operated outside the Fjordlands and Lakelands. She collaborated with several other fighting Forces in the Lowlands and was now organizing an expedition with a subdivision of the Fjordland Force to the Balkan region. The local force there had gained some ground and Ekster offered them support. Yava, Falkner and their kids joined –which gave Kieran and Raldimir the opportunity to see their families again. However, Ekster lacked the fear for humans that her father had, which made her more reckless - to the point that Goran once jumped in front of her to save her from a potentially fatal hit during a mission. Yava and the other healers helped him recover but his age was creeping up with him.

 

Falkner was not doing well
When they returned from the Balkan, she learned that Stian’s mate Vivanna had recently passed away of old age. She also noticed that her mate Falkner (now 101/102) was not as energetic as he used to be anymore and occasionally mentioned some discomforts that bothered him. They first thought that it was just due to his age. This dragged on for about year before it got so serious that Yava did some blood tests and simple checks on him to find out what the problems were.  She found that it could be tumor, which made them both seriously concerned. They decided to go to another healer (in the metacluster close to their home territory) since both found it too emotionally heavy if Yava would do more invasive and unpleasant tests on him herself. Further diagnostics confirmed that he suffered from cancer and they started the treatment that siderians had currently available for this cancer form (siderians do have some advanced disease treatment but it is limited). They may have tried to surgically remove/reduce some tumors and Falkner improved a bit. However, it was only short lasting, and his condition worsened again; he got skinnier, lost some of his ornamental fur and he was in quite some pain. All their three kids (and grandkids) stayed on their homelands to offer support and they tried to cheer their usually so joyful dad up. Treatments didn’t work, even painkillers weren’t as effective, and over the course of a year, he became barely more than skin and bone. When he felt his end drawing near, he said one last time just how grateful he was to have had such a wonderful partner and such wonderful kids. He passed away shortly after, leaving Yava and their children in deep grief. In the weeks after his passing, they stayed closely together to mourn the loss and find support in each other. Still, Yava felt very alone in the months to come.

 

Risky strategies
Yava eventually resumed her activities as a healer in the Fjordland Force. The violent missions led by Ekster had been successful and many siderian lands were now safer and cleared from invading humans, yet her strategies were not without risk. Several siderians had complained about safety issues and some even called her reckless. When her closest counselors Goran and Toro had retired from the Force, her violence increased even more. She recruited more patrols into the fighting groups and further deprioritized camp safety.  Winther and Falco, who both worked as patrols, had already expressed their concerns about the change in strategy, without any result. Even Torstein, who mostly took care of cubs in the Force and stayed out of the danger zones, had expressed his concerns to Yava. He had even openly confronted Ekster about the problem that cubs and healers were no longer safe in the main camp. Still, Ekster didn’t change her strategy and even Yava’s advice as a respected elder didn’t influence Ekster’s decisions to invest more in fighters and scouts rather than in the camp and the patrols. Some siderians took the initiative to patrol more themselves but they were not enough to cover up all the gaps, especially when they relocated the camp to a new place.

 

Paying the price
When Yava was 116 years old (which corresponds to 86 in humans), she was still ‘active’ as supervising healer in the Force and was supported by her kids whenever she needed. They had just moved the camp to a new location on a mountain plateau. It was summer and the vegetation was high, providing good cover for siderians. Everybody was busy setting up the camp and the activities carried on until far into the day. Yava was also occupied with getting the healing center set up and getting all the supplies in place. General Ekster had already taken most of the members (including Winther) out for a scouting mission to the nearby human settlement. Falco and Raldimir patrolled the camp, and Torstein was watching over the cubs in the main camp as their parents were busy with their tasks. Yava tried to keep an overview over the activities and noticed that Torstein took two cubs, Kirten (11) and Bynkah (3), out to the nearby pond as the two kids were restless and wanted to drink a bit. Their mother Rose (the daughter of Mineuh and Morthian. Morthian was Torstein's best friend and Stian's son) was a healer as well and she was still busy like Yava, leaving her kids under Torstein’s supervision. Not long after he had left, Kirten came running back, closely followed by Torstein who was carrying little Bynkah in his mouth. Their shocked expression immediately alarmed Yava and before her son had reached the camp he had slowed down as he struggled to keep his balance. He bent over to put little Bynkah on the ground but tumbled over his front paws and fell beside the cub. Two arrows stuck out of his chest, dangerously close to his heart and Yava rushed forward, along with Rose. Torstein got on his paws again and Yava pressed herself against him to offer support. However, he was too panicky and still tried to run to the camp, only to fall over again. Despite his frantic attempts, he failed to get up and Yava tried to calm him down, yet his eyes were wide open of panic. He coughed up blood and struggled to breathe. Yava held his head with her paws to free his airways as much as possible while Rose tried to stop the bleeding from his chest, but the damage was too much. The panic passed and only minutes later, he died in Yava’s paws, leaving her in shock. She had barely realized what just happened when Falco rushed towards her and his fallen brother – he had abandoned his patrolling duty. When Winther and Torstein’s mate Zita returned from the mission, they were also shocked to hear about his sudden death. They were inconsolable and angry with Ekster whom they deemed responsible. Yet many wondered why the human used arrows rather than bullets. Torstein’s death left a painful emptiness in the Force and the cubs for whom he used to take care, were already missing him. They huddled against his body during the last ceremony and didn’t want to let their beloved buddy go. Yava heavily leaned on Winther and Falco, and pressed everyone to be cautious at all times. She thought of Stian, and wondered what he would have done.

Well-deserved retirement
Yava was heartbroken but she stayed in the Force for a few more years. Her brother had also passed away of old age and when she was over 120 years old, she felt that it was time to fully retire as well. Hunting for herself had become nearly impossible (she made traps for smaller prey), but she had good support from Winther and Kieran who stayed closely with her on her homelands. Also Falco and Raldimir frequently visited her and helped her. Despite old-age related problems, she enjoyed her last years and looked back at her life with a feeling of fulfillment. She still missed the loved ones whom she had lost but also remembered just how many siderian lives that she had saved. When she had reached an age of around 133 years (~100 in human years), her heart was beating still.  One day, she lied down in a cave entrance to watch the sunset together with Winther before she fell asleep. This was the last sunset she saw in this life and her sleep led her to the stars, back to Stian, Falkner, Torstein and the many others whom she loved.

 

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*Metaclusters: are places where crystallized underground pathways come together and where large metaphysical crystals (ecals)  reach the surface. Siderians made use of them as energy sources to build their own communication and energy network around these crystal clusters. The population density around metaclusters is usually much higher than elsewhere and they have more facilities (places where they come together to teach each other, give medical care or trade)- although it’s often really small scaled compared to human settlements.
*Ecals are ‘metaphysical’ crystals that naturally grow in Earth’s crust and form long fibers that connect to living organisms like to trees and fungi in some sort of global nervous system. They conduct ‘Life energy’ and siderians use can use this network to communicate over vast distances and store information (quite like internet). Some ecals can convert energy and siderians have some ‘technology’ with them. I call these crystals metaphysical but they are not to be considered as ‘magical’.
*Mystery Mountain: world’s largest siderian metacluster. I had heard this name and seen the cluster 20 years ago but I want to change the name at some point. It is too easy to mix it up with MistFjord and the name is quite cliché.

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DON'T COPY/USE ANYTHING OF THIS!

Don’t use these any siderians as avatar or whatever to represent some other character in role play games. They are who they are and they will not represent someone else.

 

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chawarriorscha's avatar
i love her big paws and strong legs great job!!!