Character Profile: Alyndra Vallis

Chibi Alyndra, Art by Kurama-chan

The daughter of renowned members of Lashunta society, Alyndra’s entire life has been marked by study, exploration and scholarship.

Her father Guldin Vallis, a poised and keen Damaya, and her mother Mereshe Vallis, a short and strong Korasha, instilled a deep-set passion for science and exploration in each of their three children, giving their brood a natural curiosity about the world around them and what lay in wait beyond the stars.

While her siblings pursued more traditional fields and methods of study, Alyndra always held a particular fascination for astronomy; from a young age, she can remember looking up at the stars and making up stories for her own constellations. When she came of age, she had tattooed on her arm her favorite made up cosmology, a symbol of space she called “The Gateway.” Although she and her eldest sister Kreari are separated by several years, they enjoy a close relationship despite their differences. Her brother Aureous, on the other hand, often ridiculed her sense of reverence in the star charts she studied. He saw the world in a more orderly fashion, and took greatly after their father.

Alyndra Vallis, Character Art Courtesy ArtGian

But while Alyndra enjoyed a mostly safe, comfortable childhood, the highly respected Vallises have a mysterious past. Before she was born, her father headed the research division of the university’s Xenobiology department, while her mother acted as a member of the State Exploration Unit. Together, they and their two older children embarked on a three-year mission into the far reaches of the universe. While her parents don’t speak much of that time, Alyndra is keenly aware that it was a dangerous mission during which they lost many friends and comrades to the terrors of the foreign planet.

Castrovel Planet, © Paizo, Inc.

By the time the Vallis family returned to the City-State of Qabarat on Castrovel, the infant Alyndra had been born on that alien planet. Their life returned to relative normalcy once they were all at home in the Pact World, and her father rose in the ranks of Academia, while her mother became a long-blade instructor for the arena.

A passionate but focused student, Alyndra pursued her studies in astronomy whenever she had the chance. When the option arose after university to travel on an expedition through an apprenticeship, Alyndra leapt at the opportunity to finally get off-world.

She was handpicked to study under Master Esquiel Pasalar, the famous and reclusive theoretical astrophysicist, on a distant planet called Calathu-7. During her apprenticeship, Alyndra drew and studied maps of the stars, observing and recording the birth and death of countless stellar bodies. Since Master Pasalar would often send Alyndra away while he studied for days on end, she was left to solitary reflection. The excitement of her adventure wore down into an ennui in a matter of months. She took to long walks on the planet’s rocky surface, mostly at night when she could best see the stars in the darkened sky.

It was on one such walk that it happened. A strange bright blue light burnt across the sky, unfolding in ribbons and consuming the vast sea of stars. Her eyes began to lose focus as she struggled to watch the stellar event; although she had no idea what it was or if she was even in her right mind, she knew she had to keep her eyes open.

She steeled herself and looked into the astral flames, and within it, she could see something — though she could not put a name to it. Shaken to her core, the world was lit ablaze. It became deafeningly loud around her, and Alyndra was at once terrified and ecstatic. Her body sang and resonated with this strange energy, and she felt weightless, feeling as if she was lifted from the ground. The light, she realized, was within her as well, and began to explosively scorch the terrain around her, flung from her fingertips and eyes.

And as suddenly as it had appeared it was gone. Alyndra fell to the ground, and a deep darkness enveloped her.

Castrovel, © Paizo, Inc.

Knowing how Master Pasalar may react, ever the skeptic, Alyndra kept her experience a secret from him. But she simply couldn’t shake her curiosity, so she began to probe the old scholar’s mind and ask questions of him. She gathered that the powers she had exhibited were often tied to a sect known as Solarians.

Stealing away for hours in their ship’s computer library, she soaked in every word about the mysterious Solarians, but her access to information was limited on Calathu-7, and she eagerly awaited the day she could return to Pact Space.

Alyndra completed her apprenticeship and travels now to Absalom Station to request information from the Starfinder Society. Within their leagues and libraries she hopes to find the key to her abilities and how she fits into the world of balance that is the path of the Solarian.