Ammanalyn Llywhyn was born to a middle class family of unknown name and origin, in the capital city Daedrice’s second largest country. She lived with her family only until her Daemon, the physical incantation of a Daedryn’s soul, took its iridescent, silver-white color, the rarest of Daemon shades. Out of seven billion Daedryn, only 32 others had silver-white Daemons at the time of Tampatiaen’s choice: half of them were clergy, half revered scholars, and they were all as they had always been, male.

She became a ward of the country’s University of the Ministry, and placed under the care of the Headmaster there, a man by the name of Jaereont. Jaereont, like the Headmasters of all the Universities of the Ministry, was a member of the Order of the Dust, the ruling body of the Ministry of the Authority (the planet-wide Church). Even this body of scholars and clergymen, were unsure as to what to think of her. She broke every tradition ever seen in their society, and while they could not deny she was to be part of the Order -- Tampatiaen's color choice determined that -- they were unsure what purpose she was to have.

As though her gender was not a large enough problem, the circumstances that grew from her presence in the Order further complicated things. After Tampatiaen revealed Ammanalyn as the newest member, the old men of the Order began to die without replacements. It had always been that when a Man of the Order died, a child’s Daemon would chose its color, revealing the child to be the one who would take the deceased’s place. The Order became increasingly concerned about her presence, and rumours began to circulate within the community outside the walls of the University that she was a child of chaos: someone sent to destroy the Dust and society as they knew it.

Because of this, Ammanalyn Llywhyn was forced to remain within the walls of the University for her own protection. Her contact with other children was minimal, and for most of her life, her relationships with others was stilted and bordered on abusive. The Men of the Order largely despised her existence and the women who cared for the University and the Scholars were frightened of her.

At the age of 17, Ammanalyn did something no Daedryn had ever done; she journeyed off her home world and joined Starfleet Academy. Having never had much contact with her peers, and never having had any contact with anyone not of her species, the Academy was a shock for her. Her first year was a living hell, but she adapted and settled into life on earth reasonably well. She chose to study psychology because she believed it would give her the best insight into other cultures and other people. Her emphasis was trauma counseling, believing it would be the best contribution she could make. Physically, Ammanalyn was small and unassuming, girl like in almost everyway. She made patients feel at ease and she enjoyed the work despite it being emotionally draining.

When she graduated, Captain Picard personally requested her assignment to the USS Enterprise. He had some experience with the Daedryn people before and wanted to help her make the transition into the full Fleet. Even with the revered Captain’s guidance, Ammanalyn’s first year was difficult: space was overwhelming and she was becoming increasingly homesick. After a disastrous leave to return home, Ammanalyn requested a transfer and left the Enterprise to work with soldiers from the Dominion War in the psychological wing of Starfleet Medical in San Francisco.

This was exhausting, but she was good at her job and threw herself into it headlong. She successfully lobbied Medical to institute mandatory psychological evaluations for all pilots and soldiers bi-monthly and following engagements. She also worked with several colleagues to develop ways to be able to better understand their patient’s needs including flight simulator work, briefings regarding battle events, and the like. Her work earned her recognition in her field and a promotion by the time her one-year tenure on Earth was completed and she was assigned to the USS Galaxy.

At first glance, Ammanalyn, Am for short, is small and childlike, barely appearing to be anything more than a teenage girl, and because of the Daedryn’s similarities to humans, she is often mistaken as such and has struggled to get herself taken seriously by the new society she’s found herself in. Her calm and soft-spoken demeanor often only serves to reinforce that idea of her. Her voice almost always carries a far away sound to it, as though she’s not entirely *there*.

Her attraction to trauma psychology is likely rooted in her own traumatic childhood, though she never speaks of her early years and rarely ever refers to events previous to the Academy. No one knows what occurred during the one time she had returned home in the past six and a half years. She is, however, remarkably well adjusted for someone who grew up in such a circumstance, although Ammanalyn would say of a patient that well adjusted is just another way of spelling denial.

Ammanalyn is intensely shy around respected authority figures, particularly male authority figures. They often turn her into a shy and meek little girl, something she despises in herself but that she can’t help. Whenever she is threatened or challenged, she is not above reacting to the circumstance and can often hold her own if necessary. She can have a terrible temper when it comes to relating to other women, having been around so few when she was young. Her relationships with older women in authoritative positions are always difficult, and they often inspire frustration and almost bi-polaric emotional reactions.

She rarely tries to make friends with her patients: she finds it detrimental to the heeling process. She can be warm and nurturing despite and most of her patients are quite fond of her (though there are always the few who need her to be the bad guy). Am has an uncanny ability to see through people’s walls and secrets and to get to the heart of their issues, something that is incredibly valuable in session. She is also not beyond being blunt with her patients, finding that is often the best way to confront an issue.

Daemon: Tampatiaen "Tam
Color: Silver-White
Size: Varies
Form: Varies

Tampatiaen has a personality uniquely his, one that is who Ammanalyn would be if she could get over her shyness. He often coaxes her to come out of her shell and in many ways acts as the parents she never had. He speaks to other people more than the average Daemon, but not often. When he speaks to Ammanalyn he does so in Daedrae to keep others from understanding; speaking English he has what most closely resembles an upper-crest English accent.

  

The Planet:
The Daedryn home world Daedrice is the only inhabitable planet in a six-planet system of the same name about five light years from Alpha Centari. It is a remarkably earth-like planet: the Daedryn look exactly like human beings (though some physiology is slightly different), the atmosphere is identical, and 90% of Daedrice's flora and fauna can also be found on earth.

The Society:
The Daedryn society is politically complicated with its two continents divided into 26 countries, seven of which control a majority of the planet's wealth and often do so though the occupation of less powerful countries.

The political systems very much resemble those of a mid twentieth century Earth, and the planet is often experiencing a war between countries because of this clash. While it is a fully warp-capable society, their political and social structure does not measure up to Federation member-planet standards, and the Daedryn are in no hurry to change. While their consider themselves to be an ally of the Federation, they have no desire to join the conglomeration of planets, mostly due to their extreme xenophobia.

Off-worlders are regarded as lower beings and seen as "incomplete" peoples who are made to feel extremely unwelcome. Similarly, few Daedryn stray too far from their home world. Because of this, little if anything is known of them, and their society is veiled behind thick curtains of secrecy.

The distrust stems from the one notable difference between the Daedryn and Humans, and any being in the known universe. The Daedryn are, from birth, emotionally, physically, and spiritually joined with another life form, one which they call a Daemon.

The Daemon:
As far as anyone can tell, the Daemon is a visible, physical incantation of a Daedryn's spirit or soul that always takes on an animal's form. In early life, a Daemon is able to shift forms to assist its person during the more vulnerable times of adolescence, but by mid-puberty the Daemon 'settles' and assumes the form it will hold for the rest of its life. This form is largely indicative of the direction its person will take in life: for instance, a sea captain might have an albatross or a general's Daemon might be in the form of a bird of prey or a fierce creature. A Daemon always is the opposite sex as its person a man will have a female Daemon and a woman will have a male Daemon.

Unable to be separated from its person by any more than a scant 15 feet (though it varies; some are more closely connected than others), the Daemon shares all feeling from emotions to pain to death. Daemon and its person are bonded together form life: the Daemon rises out of the infant's chest just after birth and upon death, turns into "dust" what the Daedryn understand as the basis of existence.

A Daemon has no magical or mystical powers save its ability to shift form in early life. It is capable of speaking, though they often communicate only to their respective person unless given permission to speak to another or if it is necessary. It is capable of communicating in any language their person known as well as the anamalic-sounding language of the Daemon, one which is a mystery even to the Daedryn.

The Daemon acts as a confidant, advisor, conscience, lookout, defender, and is the closest and most intimate relationship a Daedryn can have. While a young Daemon has little qualms attacking another person should it feel greatly threatened, this instinct disappears usually by the age of five as societal standards are engrained. In Daedryn society it is considered improper to touch another's Daemon, and for a Daemon to touch another person. While they will interact and fight against one another, particularly if their people are in conflict, a mature Daemon very rarely retaliates against a person. While is will act fierce in order to deter physical violence, it will only retaliate if its person's life is in dire jeopardy. Often, the Daemon is a great weakness, particularly off Daedrice and amongst the "incomplete". If the Daemon is killed, so is its person. They exist as one.

The entire Daedryn society is based around the Daemon anomaly as it is believed the Daemon is a direct reflection of the person to whom it is linked. It will take its color by five years of age, at which time the child's schooling will begin. Upon the Choice, a child is sorted into a school depending upon the chosen color. This system is 99% effective, the only flaw coming with an unsortable Daemon. This occurs in less than .5% of the population when a Daemon takes an unusual color: gold, turquoise, or a strange silvery-white (which is nearly non-existent).

A Daemon is capable of changing its shape until around the age of 17. Some settle earlier, few do so later. Their forms-- always in the shape of animals-- relates to the course which will be taken in life and reflects a prominent characteristic of the person to whom it is attached. For instance, a military commander often has a Daemon in the form of a wolf or bird-of-prey, while doctors in the shape of songbirds, and politicians and lawyers are often reptilian or scavengers.

The Religion:
The Daedryn exist on three levels: body, ghost, and Daemon. The body is physical, the ghost emotional and the Daemon spiritual. When a person dies, the body is buried in the ground. There, it rots and gives back to the world. But the ghost and Daemon move together into another plane of existence. The Daemon disappears immediately with death, breaking into the fine, silvery particles of Dust and disappears into the air. The ghost rises unseen from the body, much like the Daemon did at birth, and lingers shortly before dissipating the same way its lifelong companion had: into Dust. And like the body gave back to the world, the ghost and Daemon give back to society: the Dust created by death allows for new knowledge, discoveries and people.

There is no other religion on Daedrice. The Daedryn religion is a knowledge rather than a faith: every Daedryn is born literally knowing the story of their creation, their being, and what would happen when they died. A Speaker of the Authority had, several hundred years ago, explained that a person's Daemon whispered this secret while they were still in the womb and with one glance into their Daemon's eyes, each person knew it was true. It was the same way that they knew who their Daemon was before they knew their parents, the same way every Daedryn child's first word was the name of their Daemon. No Daedryn has ever denied their religion, or as they would call it, their superior knowledge.

According to tradition, the Authority created the heavens and the earth, the universe around it and the animals within it. And He loved the animals. And He loved one species the most of all because He created them to be like Him: conscious and aware. He created them to know and love and be productive. And this species was the people. But at the last minute, The Authority became afraid of them and denied them consciousness and knowledge.

He denied them their Daemons and instead, He kept them in small glass jars on a belt around his waist. And so for centuries, He watched what He made, and the beings all grew and changed: they evolved and became more than they were, and that made The Authority proud.

One day, He was walking His creation and got tired. He lay and fell asleep under a tree. Two people, a male and a female, found Him and the female was curious, so she approached while the male sat by and watched. His animal instincts told him this was a bad thing and he tried to stop it by bellowing at his mate, but that only made her more determined to examine this strange creature she had never seen before. She found two small jars on The Authority's belt: the jars that contained their denied Daemons. The female watched these things glowing, for they had no shape then. The Authority moved and He started to wake and this startled her. She dropped the jars and they fell and shattered. The male Daemon went to her and the female Daemon rushed to the male's side and, as a dog, licked his face affectionately.

The people were suddenly covered in the Dust of Creation. They were filled with such love for the creatures now with them that it took a moment to realize they knew. They thought. They felt. They were conscious. They looked to where The Authority had lain, but He had disappeared the moment He realized what happened.

The Daemons of the First People were the color of Dust: the pure, silver-white color of that which made conscious thought possible. Because of this tradition, the planet-wide Church Body (which sits above all government), called the Ministry of the Authority, was governed by The Order of the Dust, a body of men who had a silver-white Daemon were therefore linked closer to the Authority Himself. These people, brilliant scholars and priests, were always men because The Authority trusted men more than He trusted women because women had led them to their Fall.