Background[]
"Everything we know is wrong..." ~Hellina
"Its a pretty big world." ~ Hellina
Originally from a small village in Paraton, Hellina is a cleric trained by the United Clergy of Orun. She left home at the age of 10 to join the Clergy in an attempt to have a better life. Brought up in a chaste environment, she experienced little of the outside world or teachings beyond those of the church until she was brought to Alivast as part of an envoy seeking a rogue member of the United Clergy of Orun.
By her own account, she was handpicked by Viantius Apastrophi and Ragis Cade from a group of thirty female clerics based on her appearance alone, as a means of enticing others to join the United Clergy whilst on their mission to apprehend Solliandris.
After the envoy group encountered The Unexpectables and the meeting turned violent, Hellina was burned and injured by Panic Grimtongue. She was taken to be healed afterwards by the guards, but when the United Clergy of Orun arrived to collect Hellina and leave Alivast, she fled and hid in the Lower Crafting District of the city. Living in alleyways and evading capture for several days, Hellina was found by The Unexpectables, who were able to peacefully apprehend her. After some questioning, the group took her to The Sweet Dragon to feed and care for her and contacted the guards. Hellina appeared heavily conflicted regarding what she saw in Alivast and what she was taught by the United Clergy of Orun. After some consideration, she was allowed to stay in Alivast by accepting to work for the city guard under Doros. She currently lives at the Orun Temple in the Lower Clergy District.
Through a chance meeting with the gnoll musician Xarv, Hellina was invited to join the Musical Menagerie where she practices singing under the stage name "Glossolalia."
Hellina has recently begun taking part-time jobs around the city alongside her position in the city guard. In the 5 months since the Unexpectables left the Realm of Discord, she was officially made a full-time guard of the city, under Doros' command, but then temporarily lost that job as Icarus and Viantius Apastrophi made their appearance seemingly at the Clergy's behest, as she was under investigation for possibly being a mole for the UCO. She later returned when she was declared safe. She however did not stay in this position for long, as she was seemingly compelled to go to the broken down Orun temple outside of the city to sanctify it and to connect it more formally to the Undersun, as per Solly's wishes.
Appearance[]
A large burn scar covers the left side of Hellina's face that persists even after she was healed. Despite the injury, she is still quite beautiful, and has been described having a busty physique. She has dark hair, green eyes, and fair skin.
Personality[]
Hellina was raised to be a simple minded follower of the United Clergy of Orun, being taught that their leaders were infallible, would always protect her, and have her best interests in mind. That all changed when she was gravely wounded by Panic and her leaders failed to help her in her time of need. This experience left her previously unchallenged world view in tatters.
Originally following her injury, she was fairly withdrawn as she dealt with the internal conflict between her upbringing and her new experiences in Alivast. She struggled with her self-image since her scarring, on top of having a crisis of faith regarding many of the United Clergy of Orun's teachings appearing to be either exaggerations of the truth, or outright falsehoods. As she has grown in self-confidence and finding her own identity, she has shown that she is a very polite and thoughtful person, even when dealing with people that some consider terrifying. She has been making new friends that have been helping her work through this uncertain time, notably Doros, Xarv, and especially a guardsman named Cole. She has also been helped by the local (non-UCoO) temple of Orun.
Even without the ethical questions she deals with, Hellina still appears to be socially awkward and introverted. The result of her sheltered upbringing, she sometimes has trouble understanding slang or other informal situations, and is surprisingly naïve sometimes.
Relationships[]
Hellina fan art by @Boo_Rad13y
The United Clergy of Orun[]
"I was chosen. I thought I was so lucky..." ~Hellina
Hellina served the United Clergy of Orun, showing great respect and awe for individuals such as Viantius, Ragis Cade, and Diella. Recent events however shook her faith in the United Clergy of Orun due to the distant and aloof nature of her superiors, in comparison to the apparent happiness of the people of Alivast, despite the unsavory view Viantius took of the city. Hellina was also distressed by the way Viantius and Ragis silenced Diella every time she tried to speak, often disregarding her own questions and concerns.
Hellina's indoctrination to the UCoO's narrow teachings led her to believe that her beneficial magic would not work on certain races, such as Tieflings, Drow, or Kobolds. Hellina is deeply conflicted about the clergy and her status as a former member, lamenting how the people who raised her are the real monsters, and expressing confusion about being happy with where her life has taken her.
Panic Grimtongue[]
"I forgive you and I hope you can forgive me." ~Panic Grimtongue to Hellina
When chasing the Unexpectables, Panic badly burned Hellina with a magical attack after she attacked him. When the party found her again, she responded by fleeing in terror. Panic managed to chase her down, calming her long enough to take her to The Sweet Dragon. The Bard spoke with her at length and gave her some degree of comfort while Hellina dealt with her inner turmoil and fear. He expertly sang for her a song called "The Light That Cascades the Peaks", which she greatly enjoyed. Even though it was a well-known song for Orun worshipers, she had never heard it before, as her sect was not known to sing. Panic showed her an abundance of compassion, ultimately extending forgiveness, and asked her to forgive him for scarring her. The two shared a hug, with Hellina asking how the embrace could be so warm.
Hellina waited in line for hours to get a signed poster of the popular gnoll musician, Xarv. A very shy Hellina later summoned up the courage to give Panic the poster, which he promptly sold to Scarbles for 7 gold pieces. Panic would later give Hellina a ticket to the Romansion spa, as a means of further apologizing for maiming her. Hellina would end up having a wonderful time at the Romansion, paying the kindness back by introducing Panic to the Musical Menagerie. There, Panic met many musicians such as Xarv, Scratch, and Desirée, the latter of whom had information about Panic's mother.
Out of a desire to revisit the Romansion, Hellina began taking part time work to save up for a second ticket. This goal led to her taking a job as a server at the ball held to welcome The Silver King. While working, Borky, not knowing proper social etiquette and unaware she was present, embarrassed her by wiping his mouth on her sleeve, causing her to retreat from the ballroom in a huff. After returning, Borky took her tray of drinks from her despite her protests, taking over her duties as an apology on his behalf, whilst also allowing Panic the chance to offer her a dance. She accepted, albeit hesitantly. During their dance, Hellina opened up about how she was slated for an arranged marriage prior to her desertion of the clergy. She went on to describe how she's had mixed feelings, feeling conflicted in the choice she now has in how her life plays out, and how much having that choice scared her. Panic encouraged Hellina to make the most of the freedom she had found.
Since then, Panic and Hellina have hung out on occasions when the two of them had spare time. Hellina has confessed that she's had difficulty at times adjusting to her new life, but Panic has been supportive of her every step of the way. When the Unexpectables disappeared for five months after their adventure to the Underdark, Hellina was among the first to meet them upon their return, and was particularly overjoyed that Panic was still alive.
Doros[]
Doros got Hellina ice cream after her emotionally explosive mission in the Sewers with Tiengo and the Unexpectables. Fan art by @hargoliphstudio
Even after working for Doros for several weeks, Hellina did not understand what he was, as she had no knowledge of Goliaths prior to coming to Alivast. She is also too embarrassed to ask, as it has been so long and nobody has thought to tell her. For his part, Doros has been supportive of her efforts to improve herself, and treats her as part of the team. Doros and Welch even once got her ice cream after her mission in the sewers.
Tiengo[]
Tiengo took a near immediate liking to Hellina, not just on account of her beauty, but also because he found her scar particularly endearing. During their time on a mission in the sewers, he flirted with her in a clumsy and not-so-subtle fashion, culminating with a blunt and crude proposition for sex. The normally demure Hellina exploded in a tirade of anger, frustration, and grief as she rejected him outright, expressing how her entire worldview and sense of identity had been destroyed with her experience in Alivast, along with the experience of being disfigured by Panic's magic. Tiengo retreated from the scene in shame as a result, making Hellina one of the few people to rebuke the Red Death and live to tell the tale.
Hellina later felt terrible about her treatment of Tiengo, and in a rather hilarious display of her sheltered views, she gave him a trashy romance novel titled "Forbidden Horns" that featured Tieflings, as a token of apology. Oddly enough, Tiengo not only accepted the gift, but read the book with an unusual level of interest. He has since become an avid reader of many romance novels.
Xarv and the Musical Menagerie[]
Hellina ran into Xarv at one of his concerts and quickly became a fan of his. As the two interacted and struck up a friendship, Xarv decided to invite her to the Musical Menagerie. As the United Clergy of Orun did not practice music, it took her a while to find her footing in the new environment. She practices singing there under the pseudonym "Glossolalia," the name of a phenomena where the religiously moved start speaking in unknown tongues, and the closest thing to music her clergy allowed. Xarv believes Glossolalia is making excellent progress, and encouraged her to perform for The Unexpectables during their visit.
Solly[]
Solly and Hellina met while she was waiting tables at the Silver King's ball. Hellina asked Solly if Viantius and Ragis Cade were really the monstrous individuals she was told they are, which Solly confirmed. The two seem to have interacted little since the ball.
Hellina has since been a part of Solliandris' efforts to connect the Undersun and the topside world, working diligently to sanctify the old, broken-down temple. They get along, however Solly believes her to be a bit quiet.
Cole[]
A guard with Stendin's squad who as been helping Hellina work through some of her developing thoughts on her new environment. He has helped her come to terms with her scarring, using his own perspective and experience of surviving his own life-changing injury.
Leonel[]
Hellina was formerly Leonel's Cleric prior to her desertion. He was slated to marry her and presumably sire children, a common practice among UCO clerics and Paladins. How close their relationship actually was in the past is unknown, but Hellina eventually came to the realization that she did not want to be married, at least not right away. Leonel, still very much devoted to the Clergy, assumed that Hellina needed him, and would welcome their reunification. This was not to be, as upon their reunion he brought insult upon her traumatic injury, the ensuing fight severing their relationship for good.
Trivia[]
- The song Panic played for her is alternatively known as "Sunrise over the Cascade Peak"
- Much to Doros' dismay, Hellina has learned some dirty words due to Welch's potty mouth.
- Hellina first saw Xarv performing at the Twelve Dwarves Tankard, which apparently has a basement performance area. She noted that she could easily see over most of the crowd.
- Hellina is a pure cinnamon roll that feels uncomfortable seeing men's bare chests outside the confines of marriage, likely a result of her religious upbringing.
- Hellina was unaware her escorts and bedroom at the Romansion were meant for sexual pleasure, instead gleefully enjoying their company and taking a well-deserved rest. The workers couldn't bear to tell her the truth of the establishment, and Zeus made sure to scold Panic for neglecting to mention it to her.
- Hellina was originally intended to be a simple one-off character with only the most basic backstory. However, when she was knocked out by the Panic, MontyGlu felt that it was impossible to leave her in the dirt unmoved by the experience, and decided had to have Hellina go through an amazing moment of character development. In that single instance, she would become an incredibly complex and recurring character.
- Hellina was raised in the same temple as Honoré, Evelina, and Maria.
- Hellina was supposed to play at the Romansion lounge with Xarv, Scratch, and Sage, but apparently got cold feet when she saw Panic and Doros in the audience.