Jirael
¶ Overview
- Full Name: Jirael
- Species: Lyndri
- Nationality: Lyndri Empire
- Born: ~2495
- Gender: Female
- Sex: Female
- Faction: Lyndri Empire (publicly), Monarchy in Exile (secretly)
Jirael is the Head Lyndri Ambassador to the League, known publicly for her fiery speeches and legendary rivalry with the NorAellian Ambassador Kashk. What the galaxy doesn't know is that this rivalry is an elaborate masquerade—the two are secretly married. She is one of the few Lyndri in millennia to serve the Monarchy in Exile, and dedicates her life to the eventual restoration of her people.
¶ Physical Description
Jirael is short for a Lyndri, standing at only 150cm compared to the typical 175cm. She was the el'cean (runt) of her litter, a fact she remains sensitive about. Despite her small stature, she carries herself with the elegant grace characteristic of her people, with slender features and the typical Lyndri coloring of blue to purple fur.
¶ Personality
Jirael is a study in contradictions. She is a master diplomat capable of making allies with ease, yet she's also prone to dramatic outbursts and shockingly vulgar language when provoked. Her rivalry with Kashk in the ISC chambers is legendary, with her creative insults becoming the stuff of diplomatic folklore. Behind closed doors, she is deeply attached to those she loves, fiercely loyal to her people, and worn down by decades of playing political games she despises.
¶ History
¶ Early Life
Jirael was born into a New Horizons family, one of the privileged few Lyndri who know the truth about their people's history. Unlike the galaxy at large, she grew up knowing that the Lyndri were once a proud spacefaring civilization brought low by the Sooni, not the "backwards race" everyone believes them to be.
Her family included her father—one of New Horizons' secret males, either naturally resistant to the pandemic virus or kept in specially maintained clean areas—her mother, and several sisters. She trained with the Zy'ruhsh, New Horizons' elite security force, learning combat skills that would serve her well throughout her life.
¶ Leaving New Horizons
Jirael's family wanted to dictate the course of her life, but she refused to be controlled. She left New Horizons against their will, estranging herself from her parents and sisters. One of her sisters still works for the Zy'ruhsh; the details of their estrangement and whether reconciliation is possible remain unclear.
¶ Kingsguard and Breeding
After leaving New Horizons, Jirael became a Kingsguard—a prestigious position in Lyndri society. She fulfilled the minimum breeding duty required, bearing two children for the Kings before moving on to the diplomatic corps. The combination of her Zy'ruhsh training and Kingsguard service makes her one of the most formidable fighters among her people—a fact that surprises those who see only a diplomat.
¶ Diplomatic Career
Jirael arguing in the ISC chambers
Jirael rose quickly through the diplomatic ranks, eventually becoming the Head Ambassador to the League. When events led to the rediscovery of ancient Lyndri fleets and technology, she was positioned to help coordinate the response—playing her assigned role as anti-NorAellian firebrand while secretly working with the very people she claimed to hate.
¶ The Rivalry
Jirael first met Kashk when she was a junior ambassador. The NorAellian was then Head of the Council of Allies, and he made the mistake of confusing her for an aide. She immediately moved for a motion of censure, citing specist behavior. For the first time in League history, the Head of the CoA was officially censured.
From that moment, the two were bitter rivals—or so the galaxy believed. Their public feuding became legendary, with Jirael making it a point to personally win over each of Kashk's allies. But as the years passed, their rivalry transformed into something neither expected: genuine love.
¶ Serving the Queen
Jirael is one of the few Lyndri in millennia to serve a Queen. When she learned that her bitter rival was also the keeper of her people's most precious secret—the Monarchy in Exile—she dedicated her life to him and to the Queen's cause. Their marriage remains one of the galaxy's best-kept secrets.
She now operates an underground network for freeing Lyndri slaves, coordinating the largest such effort in the galaxy. To the outside world, she is a firebrand ambassador who hates NorAellians. In truth, she is working toward the day her people can be whole again.
¶ Motherhood
(See main article: Velraan)
Jirael became obsessed with having a child with Kashk, despite the biological impossibility. Through years of work by the Queen's Scientists—and helped by the fact that she herself is "infected" with the pandemic virus, which makes genetics easier to manipulate—she gave birth to Velraan, the first Lyndri-NorAellian hybrid. She insisted on carrying her daughter to term herself, despite the significant risks.
Unlike the two children she bore for the Kings as her minimum duty, Velraan she kept. She raised her with an awareness of her unique heritage and the need for secrecy, teaching her breathing exercises, martial training, and diplomatic skills. She keeps sketches of her daughter, a tender expression of maternal love.
¶ Major Associations
¶ Her Family
- Relation: Estranged
Jirael is estranged from her New Horizons family—her father, mother, and sisters. They wanted to control her life; she refused. One sister still works for the Zy'ruhsh. The specifics of their estrangement and whether reconciliation is possible remain unclear.
¶ Alastair McKenzie
- Relation: Close Friend (former romantic interest)
Jirael met McKenzie early in her diplomatic career and developed romantic feelings for him. He made his disinterest clear, and she moved on. They now share a relationship of mutual respect and deep platonic love—she calls him "Al'sev'tir." She and Kashk wish they could tell him the truth about the Sooni, but keep him in the dark for his own protection.
¶ Kashk
- Relation: Husband (secret)
The galaxy knows Jirael and Kashk as bitter rivals. In truth, they are secretly married—their love story began as genuine animosity, transformed over the years into something neither expected. Jirael met Kashk after her feelings for McKenzie were resolved. She struggles with the necessary deception—particularly when Kashk must maintain a "fake mate" named Raelth for public appearances.
¶ Velraan
- Relation: Daughter
Velraan is the product of Jirael's obsession with having a child with the man she loves. Their relationship is close, though they sometimes clash over Velraan's dedication to her work over her own safety.
¶ The Queen
- Relation: Liege
Jirael serves the Queen of the Monarchy in Exile, one of the few Lyndri to do so in a millennia. She has pledged her loyalty to the restoration of her people, even if it means playing political games she despises.