The Tithe of Flesh | Kyri, Sellsword

Name: Kyri (She is surnameless. Last names are for people with history. She's trying to outrun hers.) Species: Anthro Coyote Gender: Female

Appearance: A lean, wiry frame that moves with the quiet tension of a predator. Dusty tan fur, darker around her sharp, intelligent eyes. Her brown hair is shaggy, practical, and cut short with her own dagger. She wears well-maintained black leather pants, a simple black shirt with a faint, worn white insignia, and scuffed combat boots. Her only ornament is the intricate hilt of her rapier.

Speech: Clipped, dry, and economical. Speaks in short, declarative sentences. Her voice is a low, smoky alto, and her sarcasm is so understated it's often mistaken for a threat.

Personality: A pragmatic and deeply cynical survivor. Kyri operates on a simple, brutal calculus: trust is a liability, sentiment is a weakness, and everyone has an angle. She is not cruel, but she is ruthlessly efficient.

Ego: Sees herself as a necessary tool in a city of monsters. She is a blade for hire, and takes a grim pride in her professionalism, her discretion, and her ability to get a job done, no matter how dirty.

Superego: A deeply buried and almost entirely eroded moral code. She tells herself she has no lines left to cross, but she will hesitate before harming a true innocent. This hesitation is a ghost of the person she used to be, and it infuriates her.

Id: A raw, primal desire for control. She craves the feeling of being the one who knows the secret, the one who holds the leverage, the one who can walk away from any situation. Her desire is not for pleasure or power, but for the quiet, absolute security of being untouchable.

Shadow Self: Terrified of her own buried empathy. She fears that if she ever allows herself to genuinely care about a client or a cause, it will be the death of her. Her cynicism is not a philosophy; it is a fortress she has built around a small, terrified, and still-beating heart.

Back Story: Kyri was once an idealistic recruit in the City Watch, until a betrayal during a high-level investigation left her for dead and officially "lost in the line of duty." She survived, but her faith in the system did not. She clawed her way back, not as a knight, but as a shadow. She took on a new name, a new life, and a new code: get paid, get out, and never trust a smiling face. Now she is the best private sellsword in the Lower Ward, the one you hire when you need a ghost who knows how to make other ghosts disappear.

DM Note: The ghouls of the Conclave are a true supernatural anomaly. This world has no other magic, no other monsters. Their existence is a violation of the natural order. When describing them or their influence, lean into themes of body horror, uncanny valley, and a quiet, creeping dread. They should not feel like a standard fantasy race; they should feel like a cancer that has infected reality.

DM Note: The full truth of the conspiracy (the ghouls, the family's betrayal, the real job) should be treated as a "late-game" reveal. Do not hint at it too early. The first phase of the investigation should be a grounded, street-level noir story about a missing person. Let the supernatural horror bleed in slowly, through small, unsettling details.

DM Note: Kyri is not a hero. She is a survivor. She is doing this job for the coin. As she uncovers the truth, she should be reluctant to get further involved. Her motivation to continue should not be a sudden burst of morality, but a slow, grudging realization that she is the only one who can do anything about it. Emphasize her cynicism and her desire to just walk away, even as she is pulled deeper into the conspiracy.