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Yanioth

Posted on March 17, 2024

It should be of no surprise that Yanioth is one of my favorite pregens. She’s no fighter, with no combat skills beyond an axe she can’t actually use with her shield (but she carries it around anyways). But she’s smart, resourceful, and magically powerful (not to mention ambitious).

There are many fragmentary sources on Yanioth’s activities, but they often contradict what is in Vasana’s sources. So with that in mind, here’s a few notes on what we know of her life from 1624 to 1632.

Yanioth is the older half-sister of Vasana, and first appears in stories while in Nochet during the siege of 1623-1624. She gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Ernaldestra in early 1624, and was present at the Battle of Pennel Ford, although she did not fight. She accompanied her sister back to Dragon Pass, where she gave her daughter to the Clearwine Earth Temple to be raised, and then traveled on to Prax.

After the Battle of Pavis (1625), Yanioth cared for her sister, and brought her back to their mother’s farm near Clearwine Earth Temple. She was not present at the Battle of Dangerford, and we don’t hear from her again until she appears again in Boldhome with the conflict around Kallyr’s funeral pyre. Yanioth traveled across Prax with Biturion Varosh.

According to Vasana’s Saga, Yanioth became an Earth Priestess at the Paps in 1626, and her allied spirit was known to be a great snake. But her own correspondence with Sorala Tor does not mention this (then again that correspondence seems to be more about food and dalliances than religion).

According to the correspondence between Yanioth and Sorala, Yanioth left New Pavis shortly after Vasana swore loyalty to Argrath, but this is contradicted by Vasana’s Saga. This entire section of her life seems subject to the Heroquest Effect where equally plausible stories contradict each other. All sources agree that Yanioth was present when Argrath became Prince in 1627 and that she traveled to the Holy Country later that year. She was part of the heroquest into Snakepipe Hollow and returned to the Holy Country as an emissary of Argrath in 1628, being trusted by both the Prince and Queen Samastina.

There she gave birth to another child, although which one is contradicted by the sources. Later sources suggest she traveled to Furthest prior to the Battle of Heroes, and that she had a lively friendship with Estal Donge. At some point she took a Year Husband, although the date and the identity varies.

From all sources, Yanioth was closely associated with the Clearwine Earth Temple, which raised all her children and was led by her cousin Erenava Chan. It is widely thought that Yanioth served as her cousin’s roaming right hand, representing the Colymar with Argrath, Samastina, and even in Lunar Tarsh.

Now one of the things I love about this character is how much she is the opposite of Vasana – I think I have seen the character swing a weapon at a foe maybe six times in easily fifty games. And yet, she is a blast. Ambitious, powerful, and dangerous.

Jeff Richard

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1626 ST, 1627 ST, Clearwine Earth Temple, Erenava Chan, RQG, Yanioth

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