Carolynne Yola, so named by her guardians, was the product of a fleeting romp between a young human and a handsome Water d'Havian elf from a neighboring village. The girl was being groomed to take her mother's place as grand wizardess and leader of a tribe dominated by woman. 

The high sorceress was furious when her daughter gave birth to the halfbreed and banished the infant to the care of an elderly couple who lived a secluded life in the forest outside of Rhydin.  They were never the warm and caring parents a child needed and both Hans and Katra Yola died by the time Carolynne was 12. Her curiousity drew her to the town and she immediately adapted to the lifestyle.

She has no knowledge of her lineage or why she seems to carry powerful magic in her blood and her disdain for family keeps her from being too curious about it. Carolynne's desire for knowlege was the catalyst for developing her "sticky fingers". Having learned to read easily in the forest, her thirst for knowledge pushed her to find ways to "acquire" books she found interesting. She is well read; despite her unrefined appearance, and has developed an appreciation and eye for objets d'art.

In her effort to survive, she fell in with the Rhydin underground and found it only too easy to find employment as an apprentice smuggler/thief .  The older, more seasoned smugglers would send the impulsive  girl off on the most dangerous missions and, time and time again, she would return with her assignment successfully completed. Her intelligence and unique, cat-like ability to land on her feet made her a quick study and by the time she was 16, she had her own connections and knew how to seek out assignments and plan jobs without the help of others. Her career gives her access to many worlds and she acquires languages quickly..as well as a respectful collection of..er...souvenirs.  Being a loner and having a total disregard for what people think of her, she hasn't realized that she is well-respected and admired by her peers in the underground; and, if it ever dawned on her, she would most likely find it no more than amusing.

While still an apprentice, she met a woman one night in the Red Dragon Inn.  What transpired was the start of a friendship that was as unlikely as snow on a sunny summer afternoon.  Zaleta Al'Muirnan would not have given  the scrawny, tall woman a second look  had it not been for the fact that she stood behind her when assassins came to attack her one night and  held off one of them with her whip while the guild leader dealt with the other.  Carolynne was no hero and had no misconception of it; but the sight of the small, red-haired Druid standing up to two brutes was more than she could accept.  Although the Lady Al'Muirnan's husband disapproved of the friendship and Carolynne mostly explained Zaleta as someone who bought her wares, the two look after each other to this very day.

She has never found it necessary to carry more than the whip and dagger; as fate and her ability to distract her enemies and slip away has kept her relatively out of harm's way. She has mastered many other weapons; but uses those skills only when she is able to wrest a weapon from an opponent..a tactic meant to rile and antagonize. To her detriment, her naivety of danger, fuels her attitude that nothing can hurt her.  She flirts perilously and foolishly with situations of which others would be wary simply to amuse herself. Her mastery of the whip and dagger is the outcome of her romance/partnership with a smuggler, Kardom Mandar, who recognized her abilities and, thinking to capitalize on raw talent, ended up falling in love as he trained her. When he didn't return from a jump to another world, she followed him and spent 6 weeks in Chicago; aAlmost falling for a ploy which would have had her embraced into a clan of Ventrue who had commissioned Mandar as a "recruiter".

 From that point forward, she became reckless and would take on the most dangerous and best paying jobs offered.  Her reputation as a risk taker grew in the underground network. Shortly after Madar's disappearance, she joined ARCANE, welcoming the chance to move out of the flat she had shared with him and find a distraction from the disturbing feeling of abandonment that she kept denying. Her fondness for gambling and carousing, which also originated from her relationship with Mandar, taught her that there was indeed no such thing as luck.  She was forced many times to take those risky jobs to pay off mounting gambling debts and keep the collectors from her doorstep. Still, the lure of a poker game and night of drinking drew her back repeatedly and fueled her passion for living close to the edge.

Recently, Kardom has returned to Rhydin sporting an awkward metal brace on his left leg and a locket with Carolynne's picture.  He swears amnesia kept him from knowing more than a need to return and find the girl in the locket and Carolynne has accepted his answer.  His comings and goings never surprise her and if he should be gone for long period of time, she does not think to go search for him.  A lifetime of finding and losing has taught to her put little value in relationships.

She owes Strahdd much; through him and with him she not only realized her abilities, but grew into a more sophisticated individual even while retaining a devil-may-care exterior.  Above all else, she is indebted to Strahdd for her familiar, Kyth...a minature black dragon who, at rest, resembles an obsidian statue.  The bond between drake and mistress is so strong that verbal conversation is no longer necessary; although Carolynne reverts to it to drive home a point from time to time.  Through Kyth's magic, Carolynne finds it easier to focus and control her own power, which has always seemed unrestrainable without him.  Together the two are the classic odd couple but there is no doubt of the love and devotion which makes them nearly inseparable.

Usha and the Jumping Stones

Throughout her life in Rhydin, the crazed mage, Usha, has been a regular antagonist.  From swindling her out of a large commission when she used one of his gateways many, many years ago, to placing a price on her head for stealing his "jumping stones" (aids for traveling between realms), he has popped into her life and set challenges before her.  On their last encounter, she carried him to the realm of Banquev and left him there.  She returned to Rhydin to explore his tower.  The thin 10 floor black tower with its strongholds of books and magical objects is located at the edge of the realm where reality is nothing more than a gossamer veil.  This has become her laboratory and, in her studies there, Carolynne has uncovered numerous mysteries of dark magic...many more still elude her.  Her interest in what the tower holds fluctuates; but when she spends time at the tower, she is literally unreachable.

After her break with the Legion of Shadows, she wandered aimlessly for close to a year.  Lonely beyond words and unable to shake the feeling that she was meant to go through life abandoned by anyone to whom she drew close, she antagonized the wrong man one night.  An albino drow known as Lexius who saw fit to put an end to her harrassment with a poison dart.  A woman came to her rescue.; a drow woman who gave her an antidote for the poison and nursed her back to health.  Although she had vowed to never join another group, she found herself Malla Quabban, honored advisor, to the Il'Haress Auro Dyrr in the Qu'ellar Argach Dyrr.  She returns to the underdark periodically to pay her respects; but her time is mostly devoted to studies and to her profession.

And Now?

      When she is in Rhydin, she lives in the cabin where she grew up.  She has made many changes to it since her childhood and, although small, it more than meets her and Kyth's needs for solitude and privacy.  She retains a sizable libarary of spell books from many realms.  This and her unusal collection of contraband objets d'art dominate the ground level. The loft where she sleeps resembles a hall of tried and discarded hobbies...musical instruments..odd weapons...magical items...exotic and unusal dresses from other cultures seem to form a strange synergy with the gem colored linens on her bed and the pillows strewn about.

When asked how she felt about her looks, she sarcastically replies that she is too tall and powerful for most men to feel comfortable around; but inwardly, she is very pleased with her appearance and knows how to use her unusual beauty to full advantage. Her mother's genes were so strong that the only real signs of her elven heritage are her unusual colored eyes, a penchant for trouble and a natural grace.  Living a life of hand to mouth..,sort of alley cat style, she is raw boned and lean. Her natural energy and exuberance coupled with her lineage makes her take her well toned body and remarkable strength for granted.