Tanya

Tanya is the supreme creation of the Azyala, the Mothers of the Cosmos. She actively takes part in many feminist movements.

Appearance
Tanya has dark hair and wears battle clothing.

History
Azyala had foreseen the end of the cosmos as shown to her discreetly by The Fates. After a prolonged debate the 'Goddess of Fate' ordered the Fates to prevent such a disaster of cosmic proportions. The Fates then took up the role of creating a legend that would stop the cataclysm. They used their magics, the most ancient one which was said to have existed before the birth of Zenus himself. Using the Runes of Miracles, the Fates created a human child in the sleepy town of Onyta. That was the birth of Tanya.

Prisoner in Crandor
Tanya was sent to the hut of Charles Hamilton, a poor farmer in a place called Onyta (which was near Crandor). Charles didn't take care if the child properly. H dominated her, considering her inferior. This was especially prominent in the early ages, where there was no gender equality. Because of this reason, there was a strong desire to bring about equality in the child's heart. Also, he considered the child a freak because of he strange ability to look across time, though she never used them to see her own fate as she was afraid of what she might see. In short, she was a mystery he dare not unveil.

Charles used to beat her up and compel her to work in the fields day and night. He offered food of meager proportions and didn't let her sleep at all. He believed Tanya to be burden and wanted to rid her from his life soon.

Once he promised Tanya to accompany her to a visit to Crandor. The poor girl believed him and they travelled to Crandor to mine some ores to take back home. At that time, Charles mined the ores he needed and abandoned her in the doomed island. The young girl wept and stayed huddled in the corner of the place all night. In the morning she met a woman named Beth, who was a traveller visiting Crandor. Beth rescued her from the dreadful place just as the beasts and their leader Elvarg tried to devour them.

Then the nightmares begun.

The Witch Hunt
In the traveller's home place called Insignia, Tanya felt at home, but the nightmares tortured her. She dreamed that a powerful force of nature was coming to destroy her; every time it came near, she was awoken from her dream.

She immediately found the presence of Beth, a fellow female, comforting. She was treated well by her 'mother'. She joined the Omani, travellers. She made fast friends with Striha the weight-lifter and Nemi the juggler and was happy to be a gypsy in a carnival they performed in. Her uncanny ability to recall the past and the future proved to be worthwhile; her tent was the most crowded place in all of Insignia. People from all over the world and all walks of life sought her advice. Beth took her to many places and also fed her properly; hence she was contented.

One day, Beth took her to a fair in the nearby city of Fancia. The Priests of the Sacred Torch, a gigantic cathedral in central Fancia, had heard about Tanya. They called her a witch and ordered her to be sacrificed, ignoring Beth's protests.

Tanya was hunted and soon tied to a stake by the fearful mob. However, Beth and her carnival friends rescued her at the last moment. They were burnt in her place. Striha accompanied her to the edge of the city, but he too was taken out by the pursuing mob.

Fleeing Fancia
Tanya tried hard to lose her pursuers but they didn't slow down. They were afraid of the 'witch'; they wanted to kill her in the name of The Torch. Tanya could only mourn in despair at the loss of her fellow Omanis and her mother-figure Beth. The mob chanted unknown verses which terrified her, they cried in unison. A tearful Tanya mourned her fate, with the whole city in relentless pursuit.

Tanya reached a tower where a man named Jacob built Gnome gliders. The man took pity on her and decided to offer her his help. While the terrified girl waited, he readied the glider for take-off. Just as the mob broke the door to the room, Tanya was up in the air, seeing the first streak of sunlight in her mother's homeland.

A bounty in Tinmania
While flying, Tanya was attacked by the hungry birds. The beasts tore if the back of the glider, with Tanya barely keeping them at bay. As the glider reached the city of Tinmania, a city in the kingdom of Werkon, it became haywire and Tanya crash-landed. The soldiers of King Ration saw her and sought to sell her for a good price to the king. The people of Tinmania were beggars and their greedy king Ration had a habit of capturing children, taunting them and then killing them away. When Tanya saw him, she immediately branded him as a chauvinist? Ration inspected the healthy child and immediately ordered his guards to imprison her. In prison, Tanya was treated badly and underfed. The king used to come on his rounds and taunt the girl, taking pleasure in her desperation. Tanya felt utterly miserable. The nightmares also continued.

One night, a servant named Laura, took the initiative to free her using a stolen guard's keys. Laura disliked the king and felt sorry for Tanya. Tanya escaped quietly from the place. When the king came to know about Laura's treachery, he executed her. The soldier offered a bounty of million gold coins to the person who captures Tanya.

Meanwhile, Tanya fled to an alley where Roger, a beggar lived. Roger hated the king's policies as he had lost a child himself to the king. He took care of Tanya and the two became friends. Days passed as Tanya grew and Roger became older and weaker. He taught her to steal and kill, and, when questioned, justified it as a means of survival. As a result, she became a member of the Tormenters, a group of assassins, who execute wealthy and famous personalities to help the weak and oppressed.

She became an expert assassin and finally decided to kill Ration himself. Meanwhile, Roger secretly took her around the place and Tanya came to know about the layout of the city, so that she could escape when the time came; killing the king wasn't easy as it sounded. The following week, Tanya threatened the king's royal adviser and forced him to appoint her a the king's bodyguard. She would stay close to her target for the kill....

However, troubles followed Tanya as the minister came to know of the plan and told about it to Ration. The evil king slew Roger and captured Tanya. As Tanya arrived back to her nightmare, she couldn't push Roger's death from her mind. Ration himself dragged the girl to the prison. As he went along, Tanya felt the desire to kill once again and the Murder Maiden sent a soldier's sword through the king, killed all the soldiers and escaped the scene via the balcony. The Murder Maiden ran until she reached Roger's place. The other beggars of Roger's gang protected Tanya and appointed Bianca, one of them, to silently lead Tanya away from Tinmania once and for all.

Battle in the Purple Sea
Tanya and Bianca stopped in a port called Kin-mouth along the way and found a canoe moored there. Bianca explained to her that she could only paddle her across the river and that once they reached the edges of the kingdom of Werkon (the kingdom were the cities were located), she was on her own. Using the canoe, Buanca paddled her to the edge of Werkon, which was the city of Terfa. There she took leave of her dear friend. There, she met two merchants talking about Captain Derek, who seemed like a popular person in the city. Tanya made her away to Socroro Inn to ask for help. The burly men at the pub were surprised to see a young lady in their midst. The young woman asked about Derek's whereabouts to the innkeeper. Before the keeper could answer, a giant of a man arose from his chair and introduced himself as Derek. Tanya asked him to take her to the nearby kingdom of Asgarnia. The Captain agreed and told her that he liked her confidence and that he'll ferry her for free.

At the North-star, Derek's gigantic ship, Tanya met his crew mates who were awkward in a lady's presence. They travelled across the gigantic Purple Sea where a storm had arisen out of nowhere. As the mighty North-star struggled against the mighty winds, a giant black vessel containing the crew of Akirus, a deadly pirate, entered in the way of the North-star. The pirates attacked the ship. A battle ensued where the members of Derek were heavily outnumbered. Tanya was willing to fight for the ship, but the Captain hid her in his room.

As the last members of the North-star were thrown out the ship, Captain Akirus, more popularly known as Bloodtooth, found the hidden lady easily and dragged her out. The jeering crowd agreed to keep Tanya as their prisoner. Tanya was unhappy to lose her freedom once again, displeased to be in the company of scoundrels who mistreated her.

The Power of Halaroth
The ship travelled north to a place north of Gielinor called Rime-stand, where the pirate crew had to stop for provisions. As the crew busied themselves, Tanya used the momentary distraction to her advantage. She unbound the ropes easily(she was taught by Roger on escapism) and discreetly escaped the captured ship, murdering enemy pirates on her way. When she entered the port of Rime-stand, Captain Derek spotted her and a battle took place. Tanya avoided his blows and finished him off with a kick to his jaw, and, as he crumpled, she grabbed his sword and made her way straight to the woods nearby.

The Oracle of Riftshelm
Tanya soon reached the snowy city of Riftshelm. The people there were apparently awaiting for an oracle to show up. They hailed Tanya and made her their Oracle. She helped them for a month. Once, an old lady, the former oracle, met her. She thanked her for her kindness. She also predicted that Tanya would find her destiny if she went through the woods (in order to repay her for her selflessness). Tanya soon took leave of the people and journeyed through the woods.

The Enchanters
As Tanya wandered the woods, she came upon the group of elderly people called the Enchanters, assistants of Azyala themselves. They explained to her about the purpose of her birth, to prevent a major catastrophe from destroying the cosmos. It was her first proper quest and she had enough experience of dangers.The Enchanters took her to their fortress, where they provided her with information for the quest.

Their sources pinpointed a dangerous entity called Halaroth, which was the beacon of unlimited cosmic energy. The entity was an orb shaped monster which absorbed reality and evolved constantly. Soon the creature would destroy reality, which would mean the end of the cosmos. Tanya's duty was to stop the entity before it became unstoppable.

The Enchanters told Tanya that her power to see the past as well as the future was unique and even the greatest of the Oracles couldn't do with ease. They also told her that her touch accelerated time and her opponents would disintegrate upon prolonged contact(that temporal energy could be channeled through an object); they explained to Tanya they she herself had stopped aging. They then ushered the young lady to her private chambers. They finally left her there, warning her that the nightmares that had plagued her everyday were about to come true.

The Day of Destiny
In the passing days, Tanya was trained in all forms of combat and other skills. She mastered them all with ease. She was gifted with the twin scimitars of the Cosmos itself. Finally the day arrived, the day of Azyalos, the God of fate and destiny. It was this day the Enchanters had chosen for her quest, as the day of her creator meant power to her. She was sent via a portal to the Lost City.

In the the Lost City of Gielinor, home of the Cosmic Altar, Tanya found a man named Sykak the Cosmic Wanderer. He explained to her that it was the day the Fates had declared for the destruction of Halaroth.

Sykak took her to the realm of Tavenud to speak with the oracle there. They passed several hurdles along the way, with Tanya's skills increasing to amazing levels. When they finally did reach the castle of the Oracle, they realised that it was captured by the forces of Bratyx, the cruel prince of the Asland. The prince immediately fell in love with Tanya. Bratyx offered the fuming Tanya a deal. He would free the castle if Tanya decided to cone with him. Tanya eventually agreed, with a plan forming in her mind already. As the prince took her in his supreme horse across the fertile lands, Tanya killed him with the cutlass of Derek, hidden within her clothes. Tanya then injured the driver and took the reigns. As the carriage went crazy, Tanya steered the carriage until it hit a giant rock. As she stepped out of the broken carriage, she saw a little boy crying for help in the nearby river. When Tanya finally rescued him, he introduced himself as Thomas Anand lead her over the mountains to his home high atop. At Tybex, the Mountain city, she met Thomas's father Rempo, who was the head of the mountain tribe. Rempo agreed to Tanya's plea for help as she had saved his dear child.

The forces of the mountain tribes entered the castle of the Oracle stealthily and within minutes freed the innocent people and surrounded the castle. A battle arose, where the forces of the tribes clashed with the forces of Bratyx and eventually won the battle. The Oracle then answered Tanya's questions about Halaroth. She explained that a lady called Zyria was helping the entity to evolve, using the Csmic stone, a powerful artefact. Just as the Oracle finished, the doors burst open and Zyria entered. Zyria explained to them about her plans, to destroy reality itself, excluding herself and then creating her own reality with the Cosmic stone. She then mentioned that the mountain tribes were dead as they spoke. Tanya, unable to contain herself, threw herself at Zyria, unaware that she had mastered the skills of every realm in the cosmos. Zyria's punch sent her crashing into a lake. The battle took place in the swamps of Asland, which surrounded the lake. Zyria and Tanya traded punches and kicks, but the mad lady was mire skilled and managed to subdue Tanya; she took her superior blade, the Afterlife and was about to finish the woman before get once and for all when Sykak distracted her by striking her in the cheek. The infuriated Zyria killed the man in the spot. It was the moment Tanya needed. Immediately the twin scimitars of the Cosmos were out and found purchase on the surprised Zyria. The other woman shrieked in rage and Tanya used all her skills to maintain the upper hand. She then sliced the head from its body using one scimitar and sliced the torso into pieces using the other. The power of the Cosmos nullified Zyria's extraordinary skills and within minutes she was dead.

Tanya then met the Oracle again who explained that she alone can destroy Halaroth once and for all. Tanya teleported to the cosmos and in time faced Halaroth's deadly cosmic rays. As the entity sent tremendous blasts that could destroy giant realms, Tanya absorbed its energy using her scimitars and used her full power to channel the abilities of her creator into her mind and body. The result was a major explosion that wiped Halaroth out if existence. As she drifted in the cosmos, the voice of Azyala explained that she had temporarily lent her powers to finish the entity. Tanya was then teleported back to Gielinor.

A New Family
Having spent most of he life mistreated by men, Tanya vowed to stop the prejudice affecting other women's lives. She also teamed up with Rockesser in a mission to kill a merchant (her assassin past was hard to let go); she barely avoided th authorities in time. She went to many places in Gielinor where help was needed from the Murder Maiden and set up many 'awareness campaigns' to promote gender equality. Once she visited the mini realm called the Ether realm. She hunted the cannibals inhabiting the place. When she was fighting, a cannibal would almost have gotten her if not for the help of the Seer who had been strolling past. Tanya had always wanted a family and she asked the Seer to take her as an apprentice. He agreed and Tanya lived with him ever since.

Personality
Tanya is usually calm and collected; she doesn't rush into problems. However, she mostly speaks in an arrogant and condescending tone, probably due to her time in Tinmania. She is also a frighteningly cold-blooded killer, the death of her enemies never ever pricks her conscience, such has been her training. She openly supports helpless women. That doesn't mean she hates all men, she's just wary if the rich and powerful.

She slightly loses her heartless attitude when with her lover Trodax, a.k.a Philip. She still retains some level of seriousness but mostly maims her foes. But when the situation arises, she doesn't hesitate to get her hands dirty. She loves Philip very much and would do anything to protect him even at her own risk. Ultimately, Tanya might be an emotionless killer but she protects innocents selflessly.

The Son of Arrav
Tanya accompanies the legendary warrior Philip and even kills the God-Queen Ukya, taking the gem of Beyond in the process as they journey through Trepeka.

The Terrific Three
Tanya plays an important role, though she is not mentioned in the prophecy. She warns about hidden forces plotting the demise of The Three and fuelling the mad king Stoneheart.

Tanya vs Selina
Tanya meets the heroic girl-turned-warrior Selina and the two have a brief duel before finally agreeing with each other's company. Tanya even helps her defeat her long-time enemy Sadspia.

Trivia

 * Tanya is the only one capable of wielding the twin blades of the Cosmos.
 * Tanya does not retain the powers given by her creator when fighting Halaroth.
 * Tanya could also see flashes of the future and becomes strong with to the pain of others.
 * She once teamed up with The Bandit King to kill a merchant.