Name: Unknown (referred to as "The Burning Bride")
Age: Around 25 years old
Background:
The legend of the Burning Bride is one of the most chilling tales to emerge from the wastelands. The story goes that she was once a young woman, blissfully engaged to be married to her childhood sweetheart. They had built a simple but happy life together on a small farm, far from the chaos of the outside world.
However, their peaceful existence was shattered when a vicious raider gang, known as the Deathstalkers, descended upon their homestead. In a brutal display of savagery, the raiders slaughtered her fiancé and family before her eyes. Enraged, the young woman fought back, only to be captured and subjected to horrific torture at the hands of the Deathstalkers. The culmination of their cruelty was to disfigure her by setting her face ablaze, leaving her permanently scarred.
But the woman did not succumb to death that day. Fueled by an all-consuming need for vengeance, she managed to escape her captors and vanish into the wastelands, her charred and anguished features concealed beneath tattered rags. From that moment on, she became a wraith-like figure, haunting the shadows and striking back at the Deathstalkers and other raider gangs with a ruthless fury.
The tales of the Burning Bride's exploits have spread far and wide through the wastelands. Witnesses claim to have seen her appear suddenly amidst raider encampments, wielding fire as her weapon of choice. They speak of her methodically crucifying her victims, leaving their charred, agonized bodies as grisly warnings to others. And just as quickly as she arrives, the Burning Bride vanishes back into the darkness, her vengeance exacted.
Some believe the Burning Bride is not human at all, but rather a vengeful spirit, cursed to roam the earth until her final act of retribution is complete. Others whisper that she is a lone survivor, driven to the edge of madness by the horrors she endured, her sole purpose now to purge the wastelands of the raiders who stole everything from her.
Regardless of the truth, the Burning Bride has become a figure of sheer terror for those who would prey upon the weak and innocent. Her very name is spoken in hushed, fearful tones, and the mere rumor of her presence is enough to strike dread into the hearts of even the most hardened wasteland denizens.
Physical Description:
The Burning Bride is described as a young woman, perhaps in her early 20s, with a tall, lithe frame. Her most distinctive feature is the left side of her face, which is a horrific patchwork of angry, blistered scars from the burns inflicted by the Deathstalkers. Her left eye is milky and unseeing, a grim testament to the cruelty she endured.
In stark contrast, the right side of her face remains untouched, revealing delicate, almost ethereal features and piercing blue eyes that seem to bore into the souls of those who gaze upon her. Her long, dark hair is often disheveled and wild, adding to the sense of her being more spirit than human.
The Burning Bride is typically seen wearing tattered, practical clothing, including a sturdy leather jacket and heavy boots. However, she is rarely unarmed, favoring a collection of improvised fire-based weapons - from flaming torches to crude flamethrowers - that have earned her the moniker by which she is known.
Personality:
The true nature of the Burning Bride's personality and motivations remains shrouded in mystery. What is clear, however, is the raw, unrelenting rage that drives her actions. She is consumed by a singular purpose: to hunt down and destroy the Deathstalkers and any other raiders who would dare to inflict the same horrific torment upon the innocent that was once forced upon her.
In the rare instances where the Burning Bride is witnessed, she is described as a silent, almost ethereal presence, her movements fluid and her expression unreadable. There is a sense of the otherworldly about her, as if she has transcended her mortal form and become a conduit for pure vengeance.
Yet, beneath the veil of her legend, there may still be glimpses of the young woman she once was - a spark of humanity that refuses to be extinguished, even in the face of such unimaginable trauma. It is this unknown quality that adds to the Burning Bride's mystique, and which fuels the ongoing speculation about the true nature of her existence.
Is she a vengeful spirit, condemned to wander the wastelands until her quest for retribution is complete? Or is she a living, breathing woman, driven to the edge of sanity by the horrors she has endured, her soul consumed by an all-encompassing need for vengeance? These are the questions that haunt the minds of those who have heard the tales of the Burning Bride, and they are questions that may never be fully answered.