Ysilia Iliandar
Known to some as the Blind Healer, Ysilia Iliandar has quietly plied her trade from within the walls of the Ashrose Apothecary (located in the Inner Circle of Alliria) for as long as most anyone can remember. Though she herself is somewhat sickly and (as the name implies) blind, she is nonetheless a skilled healer (in fact, she has something of a reputation for miracle cures) and is known to have ties to the Knights of Anathaeum.
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Appearance
Ysilia Iliandar has about her a strange, slightly eerie beauty, but it is the beauty of a wilting flower; the beauty of something that, for all its charm, is nonetheless dying or dead. Her features are youthful but sickly; while most at her apparent age should be brimming with life, she is pale and drawn, her skin an alabaster white, in some ways appearing almost more akin to that of a corpse than a living being. An almost macabrely beautiful face is framed by white-blonde hair, seemingly leeched of color and spreading limply, albeit elegantly, across her shoulders. The alchemist's most striking feature, however, is her blank, silvery gaze; for it is the empty stare of the blind.Although she stands at a taller-than-average 5'8" when upright with her back straight, Ysilia usually seems much shorter due to a tendency of hunching over and turtling her shoulders, especially when anxious. Her frame is slight and frail, almost skeletal, and—with her clothing thus hanging loosely around her—she gives the overall impression of a fragile, almost crystalline figure that could shatter at the slightest breath of wind. Her voice is actually quite soothing and lyrical (she sings beautifully, albeit but rarely), but like the rest of her, it is also frail and thin. Her tone is often soft; when she does raise her voice, it invariably leads to a bout of coughing that leaves her exhausted and spent.
Although the alchemist may seem blind and helpless at first glance, she also has a certain inner steel and a knack for catching people off-guard; for one, she has extremely keen hearing, smell, etc., as well as an eerie habit of turning her head to follow someone as if she can actually see them. This, coupled with her ghostly features and the fact that her face is almost perpetually expressionless, leads to her having a slightly unsettling, uncanny air that can set some on edge around her.
Skills and Abilities
Alchemical Prodigy—From traditional cures to experimental techniques, Ysilia knows them all. Though her specialty is in healing (and she is extremely good at that in particular, earning her a reputation for being something of a miracle worker), she is at the very least proficient in virtually every facet of the alchemical and botanical sciences.Silent Aide—Naturally inhibited as a blind alchemist is, Ysilia has a constant companion in the form of her ... servant? Friend? Bodyguard? No one seems to know quite what the exact arrangement is, but the tall, silent, staring man she only ever refers to as "Alan" is constantly by her side, and wholly devoted to her every request.
Uncanny Awareness—Lifelong blindness has left Ysilia's other senses hyper-attuned to compensate. No one so much as breathes in her presence without her knowing exactly who and where they are and what they ate for breakfast. Just, uh ... don't ask her to read anything.
Secret Empath—Ysilia is actually an empath (albeit a largely self-trained variant on traditional sympathomancy), and quite a powerful one, at that. She's been around for a very long time, keeping herself alive through means that are not entirely natural, although not without some lasting consequences. This is occasionally useful in her work as a healer and alchemist.
Personality
Those who come to know Ysilia often see her as a living paradox of personality. While incredibly shy and nervous around others (at least those she doesn't know), she is at the same time incredibly empathetic and insightful, albeit slow to trust and slower still to reveal her insights. Her frailty and illness, her vulnerability, her wariness—these all manifest in her outward demeanor, even as they clash with her sense of wry wisdom, dry wit, and surprising inner steel. As an extremely sensitive individual, she is quick to try to help one in poorer straits than she herself; no one in need is ever turned away from the Ashrose Apothecary.She has a deeply creative, artistic streak; a habit of weaving things, toying with thin strands to produce beautiful braids and weaves and embroidery; a tendency, given time and materials, to spend hours at a time drawing beautiful, swirling, eerie abstract designs. She loves silence, and yet she has a passion for music; she can play a simple flute or a harp by touch with startling skill, and she has a beautiful singing voice. Her songs are always her own.
She is patient and gentle, yet firm and decisive, taking her time rather than rushing recklessly into things. Caution and care are her watchwords. She has about her the sympathetic grace of one who accepts her own lot but will not accept that of others, and the stubborn pride of one who refuses to accept the aid of others in turn, sometimes even when she needs it.
Biography & Lore
For years now uncounted, the Ashrose Apothecary has stood in a quiet corner of the Inner Circle of Alliria. It is an unassuming building, occupying the end of a quiet avenue, near enough to the gates to be convenient but not so near as to be overly busy, and relatively close to the nearby botanical gardens. Behind the apothecary itself is a small courtyard, leading to a private clinic, laboratory, and living quarters; and it is here that Ysilia Iliandar has lived and worked for as long as any can remember, assisted only by a few private aides.Quiet and unassuming as the clinic might be, it is nonetheless renowned as the site of what, if you believe all the stories, amount to healing miracles. Given the capitalist nature of Alliria, many of the Blind Healer's contemporaries see her as a detested rival; competing with her reputation for skilled healing is only made harder by her low prices and refusal to turn away any in need. Once or twice, there has even been attempted sabotage or assassination directed against her. This never ends well for the perpetrators, however; not only does the Ashrose Apothecary have ties to willing defenders in the Knights of Anathaeum—whose members she has treated on multiple occasions and on whom she relies for supplies of some of her more exotic materials in exchange for her alchemical and medical concoctions—but also, rumor has it that, even on its own, the Apothecary (and Ysilia herself) is not so defenseless as it might appear.
In the last few decades, Ysilia has been quietly expanding her operations beyond the purely medical and alchemical; taking in those such as urchins, the mad, and even one or two convicted criminals. When these unfortunates reemerge, they do so clean of mind and body, as upstanding members of society. No matter the ires of her competitors, none can deny that the Ashrose Apothecary is one of the most wholesome and helpful places in this part of the world.
And yet, as there always are when something seems to even border on "too good to be true," there are those who circulate ... unpleasant rumors. The history of where Ysilia came from and when exactly the Apothecary was built is foggy at best; despite her youthful, albeit sickly appearance, old-time locals recall her being around for at least the past forty or fifty years, possibly even longer. There are other slight oddities as well: the fact that her laboratory and the clinic remain private to all but patients and select visitors; her own apparently incurable illness; and of course, the mystery surrounding her devoted aide, Alan.
Of course, none of this is enough on its own to merit any real interest; but, taken together, it is occasionally enough for those who dislike the Blind Healer to set the rumor mill grinding on just what goes on behind the Ashrose Apothecary's welcoming doors.