Sirah Itusi

Info
Sirah Itusi is an Asuran Guardian, the first Protectrix and founder of the Securitorium, as well as the 2nd First Flier of the Aerial Observatology Krewe. She's a skilled healer and defender with expertise in tactics and leadership. While she lacks the capacity for complex scientific knowledge, she is rich in emotional and spiritual understanding, subscribing herself to a lifestyle she calls the "Way of the Guardian."

Early Life
The daughter of Itusi and Hapa, Sirah spent her early childhood in Rata Sum, isolated from her peers. When she ran away from home, she traveled the length of the length of the Metrica Province and braved a portion of the Brisban Wildlands to reach Kessex Hills, where she was picked up by a travelling caravan. When the kind merchants who had given her shelter for the night fell under Centaur attack the next afternoon, she fled even further northeast, eventually succumbing to the elements in the wilderness of the Shiverpeaks.

She was saved from the brink of death by an exiled Guardian named Bjornolf Spiritblade, who would later become her mentor. For the next decade, she trained and lived with Bjornolf, learning the ways of the Guardian. Here, she learned to handle a sword and shield, how to use her spirit to harness the power of light magic, and how to live her life with peace and virtue. When members of the Sons of Svanir came to challenge Bjornolf, Sirah stood against them and saved her mentor from an early death; not by defeating them in battle, but by inspiring her mentor to continue fighting, so that he could ward off his foes with her by his side.

Adulthood
Eventually Bjornolf quietly passed away, enabling Sirah to venture out into the world on her own. Without much direction, she clung tightly to the nomadic lifestyle, travelling from place to place as a shield-for-hire willing to protect anyone regardless of profit. In her travels, she got to put her teachings in the Shiverpeaks to use, beginning to expand her knowledge of combat beyond simple martial arts and into the science of tactics. This natural Asuran touch, along with her kindhearted and spiritual nature, is what often made her bodyguard services so unique.

Sirah became fast friends with one Mia Stonehart after they met during the tail end of a marketplace brawl in Lion's Arch. Mia introduced Sirah to the Lion's Shadow, a mercenary group she'd recently inherited from the previous leader who'd been jailed and executed a short while ago. Sirah, longing for purpose and belonging, accepted the offer and ran with the Lion's Shadow as Mia's partner in crime. As things gradually became less innocent and rambunctious, Sirah began to question her decision to align herself with the gang, opting to leave the family after having to bail a group of people out of a barn fire started by her fellow mercenaries.

Her escape from the Lion's Shadow was an exhausting battle against the unified force of the entire group, but she managed to escape the den without causing a single casualty, a feat that's whispered about among the ranks to this day. In her final battle against Mia, Sirah renounced her as a sister, sparing her life.

After a time of wandering as she had in the beginning, she eventually found herself back in Rata Sum, catching a recruitment speech being given by Venny, then the First Flier of the Aerial Observatology Krewe, and decided then to pursue her heritage and try her luck at finding a family once again among the Asura.

The Aerial Observatology Krewe
Sirah first joined the krewe as a bodyguard, overseeing the safety of her fellow krewemates alongside another armored protector named Cartographer Lynnka. The adventures of krewe life proved to be the perfect challenge for Sirah as she continued to learn and grow as a Guardian with each admittedly stressful excursion. Eventually, her sense of belonging and love for her new family flourished into a desire for leadership. Noting the lack of an organized security structure, she proposed the Securitorium, a hub for dealing in the defense of the krewe and all the planning and strategy involved with the undertaking. Venny responded by creating a brand new position within the krewe ranks, the Protectrix, and promoting Sirah into it. She was still serving as the chief defender and the First Flier's personal security assistant when Venny went missing. Blaming herself for this mysterious incident, and the first dissolving of the krewe thereafter, she felt a heavy obligation to stay behind and tend to the Hall in case he someday returned. Living in complete solitude for a few years, she kept the systems running, the facilities clean, and the equipment together and polished.Exhausted by her grief, and weary of being consumed by guilt, she reconnected with Beth Feywind, who gave her the last bit of convincing she needed to officiate herself as the second First Flier of the Aerial Observatology Krewe. Bearing the new title, she reconnected with her scattered krewemates, uniting those she could find under the banner once more, where she now does her best to make this era of krewe history a prosperous and joyful one.

Abilities
Healing Hands: Sirah is a skilled healer with the ability to mend wounds, but not cure diseases. The healing process varies in length depending on the severity of the wound, but she can reliably seal nearly any damage without leaving marks behind. However, a rushed job will leave a scar behind.

Shieldsmanship: She's as skilled with a shield as she is with a blade, and can fight with the guard alone if forced to. Her ability to protect herself and others is masterful, as it is the central basis of her martial training.

Hard Light: The ability to extend her shield's protective radius or strengthen its absorption of damage lies within her fluid mastery over the Guardian's light magic. She can project a magical aegis over the face of her shield, or shape the magical barrier however she wants, such as in a bubble, though the wider the aegis is cast, the more difficult it is to maintain when struck.

Mending Cuts: A special ability taught to Sirah by her late mentor, she can project healing magic onto her sword, causing it to immediately heal the damage it inflicts, leaving behind no physical damage beyond the sensation of pain. This technique is often used in efforts to pacify aggressors or create more realistic scenarios in training.

Novice Archery: While not yet an expert at the craft, she did learn the basics of archery from her mentor, followed by a more advanced series of lessons given by Beth Feywind during the early days of Sirah's time in the Aerial Observatology Krewe.

Trivia

 * Sirah's "Surname" was inspired by her late mother and Bjornolf Spiritblade's insistence on her adopting a family name.
 * The name of Sirah's sword, Durendal, is inspired by the real life blade of the legendary paladin Roland.