Spotlight on: Airi Sorela

Full Name: Airi Isli Hieldin Sorela
Birthday: February 21, 1950
Method of Creation: #3- She was born from my mind as Dr. Sorela took form!

First sketch of Airi done 27 June, 2011

Creation Story
Oh, my dear Airi (that's EYE-ree, thanks!). Where do I begin? A long time ago, when SRS was still a barely-tangible cloud of darkness, I realized that he must have a family. Up until that point, he had sort of lived nebulously, without any connections to other people. As much as I liked the idea of him being solitary I realized that it wasn't practical and that I would have to jump out of the rut I had created. His wife would be more important than anyone else and although the initial creation of Airi was slow, she eventually gained speed and is now such an important part of the SRS story that I can't think of the time before her.

I always envisioned someone tall and dark to be his wife. She would be pure, having the two colored eyes, and would have one of the Jadali crests. She ended up being a Hieldin, although she isn't from the province. Her name is popular in Catin and Keòen alike and every time I would think of her with her beautiful name, I always saw a dancer. As SRS evolved so did Airi, going from a random other person that had to be there but was still pretty detached to his other half- a musical master who taught just like him. It wasn't until the summer of 2011 that Airi took on her full form and her history became mostly complete. Once I drew her I began to put a personality to her and before long she became one of my favorites.

While Airi isn't based off anyone specifically, she does have several personality traits similar to a couple professors I have at school. She is like her husband in her mannerisms- smooth, poetic, crisp, and gentle. She has the body of a dancer and is unusually tall for a Jadali woman (5'10''). Though she is in her 60's she is still as limber and fit as someone half her age, being blessed with long life by Osai and Terabi. Unlike her husband, however, Airi is very outspoken and has a unique way of getting her opinions of people across tactfully and in a way that she can't get in trouble for. She is the kind of teacher that students would love to go to dinner with just to hear her funny stories and the completely unexpected things that she comes up with. Most of her humor is in the presentation of the things she says.

Airi is less introverted than her husband but is still quiet, speaking slowly and crisply. She is among the darker colored Jadali, having shoulder-length, wavy, jet black hair that she either wears naturally or tied over her left shoulder and skin about as dark as her husband with his beautiful tan Catin skin. She prefers traditional Jadali dress to the dressy clothes that her colleagues wear; her favorites are the lovely and light linen skirts to the knee, light-colored tops, and light sandals, handmade from the valleys of Hieldin. She loves pendants and anklets, wearing her usual favorites along with new pieces.

Airi can be found at school on Tuesdays and Thursdays where she teaches upper level Ear Training, gives voice lessons to a handful of students, and directs Women's Chorus. Her PhD and Double Mastery is in vocal performance but she also possesses a master's degree in piano accompaniment and is actually very talented as a pianist. She enthusiastically accompanies her husband and his studio in all of their musical endeavors and when solo festival season comes around in the spring she also accompanies Dr. Nihael's studio. In addition, she is highly involved in the Pathreeah City Chorale and performs various roles in the operas that the KSB puts on.

A Short Bio (Sprinkled with Narratives)
Airi Isli Hieldin was born on February 21, 1950, in the Jadali capital city of Leena. She lived along a quaint, dirt road southwest of Cothrey Dahsir lined with trees and outlined by the cavernous black cliffs. She was the first and only child (for 17 years) of Danil Hieldin and Tahra Balthòr, a very young couple who had just finished high school in Taleah and had barely moved into an old stone house that was shared between Danil and his brother. Danil had gotten a job as a Jadali-Kiillaana relations worker and would have to move back and forth between the two countries several times as the needs of the people changed.

Just down the road lived a very interesting family. As Airi grew older she became more and more aware of the oddity of this older couple and their young son. The mother was a tall woman, Anwyn Ardin, who had gone to school in Taleah and who now was an agriculture teacher at University of Leena. The father, Rada Sorela, was an old Catin man, completely in love with the Jadali culture. He was from the Catin capital of Rihanu and had a lot of ties to Andaradd (the Catin equivalent of Dahhod). He knew the Keòen language well and from the meetings at the inn Airi learned that he wanted nothing more than to someday live in Jadali, the home of such a beautiful language and culture. This couple lived in Leena for several years before moving to Taleah for a while so that Rada could teach Catin at the high school. After the birth of their son when they were in their early 40's they became aware of an immense and unusual power emanating from him and felt it necessary to have him seen by the Eldin.

Their son was quite an unusual person, for sure. He was a year ahead of Airi in school and spent much of his time alone, wandering the coastline and forests, seeking out darkness. Upon being given his Eldin's Blessing it was discovered that he was a Man of Osai. This had only happened once in the history of Jadali, where another Man of Osai, not destined to become the Eldin, was born of their race. Airi knew him well. His name was Silanu and he was very misunderstood because in addition to being a Man of Osai, he was stricken with the Curse of the Realm. Out of the numerous serious curses that took hold of people he had the very worst of them all. Airi would often watch from her balcony as this boy would wander seemingly aimlessly around the grounds of his house, his whole body twitchy; unable to keep still. His eyes were wide and his breathing was fast and heavy, and he often wrung his hands or gripped them nervously around his arms, as if to try and shield himself from the curse which had somehow befallen him.

Most of the neighborhood was afraid of him, for the curse attacked him hard and often, throwing him to the ground in an agony only he could comprehend. He attended school under the watchful eye of a Terabikai a couple years older than him named Meiro Freloch. It seemed that his only relief from the pains of his curse came in his presence. Airi, however, always felt a deep compassion for the boy. During the times when Silanu would be lying stiffly in his bed Airi would sometimes sneak by, holding his hand, unafraid of how the curse had twisted his body. She knew that music was one of the only ways to ward off the evils of the Realm and would sing softly to him. He loved this and had a special friendship with her.

Airi moved to Taleah a handful of times and received schooling from both countries. Her family moved there for good in 1962 when Airi was 12 and would spend their summers in Leena. Airi always looked forward to seeing her cursed friend, baffled along with everyone else as to why such a strong and powerful gift had been combined with an awful curse. She had immersed herself in books and writings about Terabi and Osai, thirsty for knowledge and understanding of the presence of these two extremes in her dear friend. There was always some unrest in her mind about how these two things would play out and knew that at some point something would have to change. She just knew that something would happen; she could just feel it. She had read a handful of times an allusion made of Osai about a man who would have both of the Great Catin Gifts but nobody knew when it would happen or who it would be. Though she felt crazy for even thinking it, deep down, she had a suspicion that her cursed friend Silanu was this person.

On that fateful day in the fall of 1963, when Sorela battled against his demon and won, Airi was in the 8th grade. It was a dreadfully stormy day- overcast, shadowed, and a strong aura of darkness and dread hung over most of the land. Around dinner time, she was struck with a sudden dread and could literally hear a scream. She couldn't eat and certainly couldn't focus on anything except her cursed friend, the tall and thin boy with the messy hair and crazed look, whose terrified visage flashed to the forefront of her mind. She just knew that something had happened to him. She had no idea what it was but she just knew that it was Osai telling her something. She could barely sleep that night as she waited, sick to her stomach, what the news would say in the morning for she knew that something of this magnitude would definitely make it to Taleah by morning.

Nothing could have prepared her for what she learned early the next day. Her father, a scribbled note in hand, ran into Airi's room, waking her and breathlessly reiterating what he had heard from the news messengers at the ferry docks. Glancing at his notes to make sure he didn't say anything wrong, Airi learned that morning that Silanu had been attacked inside the south wall of Dahsir Castle and that he had been pushed beyond death with no aid. In the moments before he was about to become totally shattered and destroyed a surprising turn had taken place. It was at this time that Airi learned, along with the rest of the world, that her cursed friend that so many people feared, had just changed Catin and Jadali history forever. He had killed the demon which had cursed him. He was a Terabikai. He was the man with both gifts.

All throughout the day and week ahead, the whole world was abuzz with this news. Every Osai and Terabi scholar went crazy as they wrote down their thoughts and feelings of this momentous day. Airi begged her parents to take the ferry to Jadali so that she could visit her friend as he lay in the home of Isli Loch, the herbalist that had inherited the house of Mera Visi, recovering from the severe burns and complete mental breakdown he had suffered as a result of this monumental feat. They agreed wholeheartedly and upon their first opportunity were traveling west to their home in Leena.

Airi ran into the room where her friend lay, tears streaming down her face, as she beheld his frail body wrapped gently in cloth treated with an herbal paste that only a true master could prepare. The room smelled strongly of bitter herbs and raw, open flesh. Silanu's dark eyes were open but completely vacant except for a faintly glowing slash across his brown irises- the mark of a Terabikai in the Realm. His breathing was quick and labored and he was almost motionless except for occasional strikes of a sort of lightning from within, as if the soul fragment in him wasn't quite drained of energy yet. A hollow tube crafted of braided strips of the grass that grew along the river and greased with some sort of animal fat or resin snaked gently from his nose. His wild hair was singed and burnt very short, especially around the back of his neck. She noticed Isli preparing more strips of cloth with the herbal mixture and as she turned they made eye contact. When Isli saw Airi standing in the doorway she walked over, putting her arm around her, and letting her cry into her side. She gently explained what had happened and what was taking place now, nodding as Airi reached for Silanu's hand, taking it in hers. It was surprisingly warm and as they made contact she could feel the unmistakable energy of a Terabikai flow freely through her. She wept as she saw the bandages that engulfed his right arm and spanned across his chest and the images of this visit never left her mind.

Over the next few months, Airi received personal updates from Isli herself of Silanu's progress as he healed from the immensity of what had befallen upon him. He recovered with incredible speed, being a Man of Osai, and when she visited him in the springtime he was much more aware and in his body. It took many months for him to regain the ability to speak but when he did, Airi was there. He would smile as Airi visited him, knowing that she was one of his truest friends. Her perception of his feelings was astounding and he loved her for this. When at last he was fully healed enough to return to his business on earth, it was nearly summer. As he stood up and left the bed where he had spent so many months for the last time, Airi was there along with her parents, his parents, Isli, Meiro, and the Eldin. He had changed immensely. Where he was once twitchy and shaking, unable to stop moving, he now moved slowly in fluid, sweeping motions. His true voice finally sounded; where it was once stuttering and scared it was now gentle, grandiose, and powerful. His dark eyes were no longer wide with fear and were now gentle and almost glowing. He remained very dark but he was now quiet and calm, even more unique and mysterious than he was before. With the curse totally gone, his aura of love, peace, and comfort shone outward, prominent enough for everyone to take it in.

It was at this time that the young and immensely-changed Silanu decided what his future would hold. He decided to attend school in Taleah and study music in college. He needed a host family to sponsor him and both he and Airi knew right away that it would be her family. He and Airi began the 9th grade together at Taleah High School in the fall of 1964. She loved having him live at their house and cherished the moments when she could hear him practicing. By this point he was very good at the oboe and made the most challenging of melodies sound meaningful and effortless. Meanwhile, Airi participated in the school choir, yearning to further her unique and lovely voice. As she progressed through school she discovered that she was an exceptional pianist and made a pretty good sum of money accompanying other music students as they performed solos. She and Silanu, best friends the whole way through school, worked together in preparing an amazing number of pieces.

When at last their senior year came upon them they both had their eyes set on a college for music where they could grow their talents to mastery and meet numerous amazing people along the way. They took the train down to Tevernid, armed with their best works, and appeared before a large panel of judges who would hear them and decide if they were driven and qualified enough to make it into the undergraduate program at the Tevernid School of Music. Airi played piano behind Silanu and he played piano behind her, sharing that special connection that so rarely forms between two musicians. Their persistence and perseverance paid off and both were heartily accepted into the music programs there. They graduated from Taleah High School in 1968 and began their new life, as an engaged couple, in the large and very old city of Tevernid.

Airi and Silanu were married on January 1, 1970, in the Great Law Hall of Leena. They lived as a newlywed couple in a quaint house by the woods south of Tevernid and immersed themselves in the music they had worked so hard to master. With her husband's ability to forgo sleep he devoted many of his evenings to the study of Jadali history, wishing to obtain a parallel degree in Early Catin and Jadali Musicology along with oboe performance. This would end up taking a decade so Airi was able to take as much time as she needed to obtain her PhD in vocal performance and ped. In addition, she decided that being an accompanist was something she really loved and wanted to continue doing so she got a masters degree in piano accompaniment as well.

Airi taught and sang in some of the best choirs in the Tevernid area and when her husband went to Jadali for two years to complete his PhD in Jadali Musicology she gladly went along, becoming the temporary music director at the University of Leena. The town was thrilled to have them back, for Sorela's fame as the man with both gifts was by now greatly celebrated. Both of them took this time also to become certified as double masters in performance. By the time 1979 had rolled around, Dr. Sorela was highly sought after and had several colleges asking him to teach there. However, upon visions from Osai, he was shown that the school that would be the best fit for him and Airi was not at any of the musical institutes. It was at a school far off in the west that had a very strong music program that had every need that the Sorela family would need. In May of 1980 Silanu and Airi moved far from Jadali and Tevernid and settled in the laid-back film and music city of Kennywood.

It was also around this time that Airi was thrilled to announce that she was pregnant with her first and only child. As they settled into a quaint, wooded, newly-built home in the far north city of Juananica both were heartily received as professors at Kennywood University. Silanu became professor of oboe and music history and once Airi was able to work she taught ear training, advanced accompanying, and later took on the role as director of Women's Chorus.

The only child of Silanu and Airi, a son they named Ashlan Kaitano Sorela, was born on October 29, 1980. Though they lived some 20 miles outside of Kennywood Ashlan attended all of his schooling there since his parents spent their days teaching. He grew up speaking Keòen and Kevian and was raised in the ways of the Jadali-Kiillra. He did learn to speak Catin, since he is 1/4 Catin after all (and his name is Catin!), and always felt at home with the Catin festivities. He grew up in the music building and Dr. Sorela always spoke about his son with much love. Airi enjoyed bringing him to choir practice on the days that he didn't have school and he knew a lot about the practice of music from a very young age. He is now married and lives in Dahhod with his two boys.

Once Airi became a full-time professor in 1986, she was on campus all the time and her students loved her. As she got older they changed things around and she became busy with various choral activities, traveling around the cities to give clinics and to observe what was happening with the choirs in schools. She is also an opera singer and is quite fit, loving the stage life. She is still the director of Women's Chorus and gives lessons to about 10-15 students each semester as they embark on their own musical endeavors. On campus she goes by Dr. Hieldin Sorela but prefers that her students and friends call her simply Airi. She loves her job and loves to perform. She is also the official accompanist for her husband's studio, a part-time occupation which she loves. Her sense of humor is unique and fun and with her heightened powers from Terabi and Osai she is able to bring calm with her anywhere and always radiates with a sense of fun.

When Airi isn't teaching she loves to travel, especially back home to Jadali where her parents now permanently reside. She has two much younger brothers, born 17 and 20 years after her, who are both masters in history and live in various parts of Jadali. She especially loves green forests and bright streams, calling it her "Hieldin nature."

Airi in the Hieldin province with windswept hair :)

As Airi and her husband enter their 6th decade of life they are more in love than ever. Best friends from the very beginning they have hardly been apart. Since Dr. Sorela will live to be 300 years old, Airi has been blessed with unusually long life as well. She loves this fact and is so happy to get many more wonderful years with her mysterious and sweet husband.