Vestele Wysaris

Vestele Wysaris was born near the port town of Lawcrane to a family of merchants. The Docks area of Lawcrane is known to be a rough part of the city, with many criminal elements basing their operations there. While the Royal Guard Of Orsholon maintain a hefty presence, nefarious activity still holds sway.

The Wysaris family’s shop was often plagued by one group or another offering “protection” from harm, with the implicit threat that if they did not pay for such “protection” harm might come to the shop or the Wysaris family themselves. On one occasion, Vestele’s father was unable to make his payment to the group demanding it, and was beaten severely by the thugs. Vestele was witness to the attack, watching from the back room as her father took the blows.

In that moment, 13-year-old Vestele decided that this would have to end. She would do whatever she could to thwart these criminals and make them pay. But how?

The only way she could conceive of achieving this was to become one of them. To assimilate into their world. To learn their ways. And to make them pay.

So, between going to school and working in the shop, Vestele began learning about the criminal world. While she told her parents she was “playing with friends”, she began watching the streets. As she watched, she began to see more; how the pickpockets lifted the coin purses of unsuspecting passersby, or how the thugs organized themselves before going into a business. She observed how they collected “protection” money, and where they went with it.

Her skills at hiding in the shows and observing grew every day. She had a knack for hiding in plain sight, disappearing into crowds or open doorways. She thought she had what she needed to take on some of these thugs, until a voice whispered in her ear one day.

“I see you.”

The voice startled her. She turned to see a young man, tall yet with Elven features, standing in the shadows behind her, “I see you,” he repeated.

She turned to see a young man cloaked in dark clothes and wearing a sly grin. “You been watching very carefully, young lady,” he said. “Why?”

She was frozen for a moment. She had been spotted and called out. How would she handle it?

“I want to learn how people do things, so to speak,” she replied.

“You’ll never learn it by watching. You have to actually do it. If you have the guts…” It was a challenge.

Vestele decided that this young man could be her gateway to the more unsavory individuals, and their techniques. She struck up a friendship with the young man, who went by the nickname Vicar. She convinved him she was unhappy in her home and wanted to learn enough to be able to support herself on the streets.

Over time, he showed her many of the skills she needed: Lockpicking, sleight of hand, pickpocketing, and even some self-defense. But she was learning much more than he was aware. He gave her access to many of the criminals, including the ones who assaulted her father. And she set her sights on extracting revenge.

She realized, however, that she would not be able to simply walk in and make them pay a price. They knew her face, they had seen her. She would have to hide her identity, if for no other reason than to protect her family. She had been lying to them about what she was doing away from home. They would be devastated if they knew what she was doing, and fearfu of her life if she was caught. No, she would have to insulate them from all of the dangers she would be facing.

And so was born Black Cat. Her dress became intrgral to her plan. A hooded cloak, a face wrap alloing only her eyes to show through. Her shits loose enough to hide her physical shape. She wanted to be as nebulous as possible.

In the process, however, she learned that not all those in the underbelly of Lawcrane were “criminals” with evil intent. Some learned their skills as a means to survive. They learned to poacha loaf of bread or some produce from a stand simply to feed their family. Some worked to pay off a debt. This realization gave Vestele a further purpose – she would use the skills she was learning to not only exact revenge on the thigs and their organization, but would work to help those who were being bullied, shaken down, or threatened.

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