Anai

"To meet her gaze is to stare into the sun." -Unknown Through the desert wanders one with foreboding, ethereal grace. Scorching rays that peel flesh from common men are like soothing balms upon her skin, and the air around her ignites at her slightest coaxing. Anai, The Arid Viper, has suffered in the dark for many years. Never again. Heiress to a desert kingdom, Anai was relentlessly pursued by prospective suitors. They arrived in droves, dropping to their knees and filling the air with promises of eternal adoration… and were promptly rejected. Anai's heart belonged to another- one who was forbidden to own it. As the spearpoint of her father's personal guard, Rahm was sworn to defend his pharaoh to the death. Due to his position, the warrior was forbidden to marry or bear children. But, as many know, forbidden fruit is often the sweetest. Melting into the twilight of the desert, the pair fell madly in love amongst the velvet dunes. Soon, Anai was with child. When she could no longer hide her condition, the pharaoh's wrath was instantaneous. Demanding the identity of he who "defiled" his daughter, he threatened to kill her if she would not reveal the man's name. An escape was planned in haste to steal away in the night, but the pharaoh would not be deceived again. After his spies reported on the pair, Rahm was flayed alive while Anai watched in horror. The worst was oncoming: For betraying her father, the princess would be sealed in a sarcophagus, alive. On the date she was to be entombed, her loyal servant provided a tonic which promised a quick, painless death, if she were to consume it all. She made it half way through the bottle before the pharaoh's guards wrenched it from hands. Delirious from the poison, Anai was dragged to her sarcophagus, her father's eyes burning through her as he sealed it shut. Though the poison did not kill her, it raged within her like an inferno in the dark. Even more painful, she felt the cessation of life within her womb. Years past… By consuming only half the dose, Anai's figure was preserved until she became the embodiment of fire itself. After decades of torturous writhing, Anai burst from her prison, wholly changed. Gone was the beautiful princess, full of love desire. In her place stood The Arid Viper, who burned her father alive before reclaiming her birthright on the throne of her desert kingdom.