Anya Taylor

Anya 'Artemis' Taylor is a relatively new arrival to Beacon Hills an a source of fascination for those who have not yet learned to mind their own business. She came with no family or guardians, only a motorbike, two hunting birds, money, the barest minimum of possessions and a letter that made the chief of police tell his officers that she was to be left alone. She is an enigma to many. Rumours were rife about her past, but have since died down as most have realised that she is a closed book.

Born into the renowned Taylor-Ryder-Hazen clan of supernatural hunters, Anya was trained almost from birth to be a hunter. But she has now denounced that life, leaving the hunter world behind, exchanging it for the turbulent world of high school. She lives in denial of her former hunter life, but a part of her longs for it back....

Personality
In school Artemis is a loner, with a reputation for taking nobody's shit and for being a stone cold badass (among other things). Her friends are few, but she is intesenly loyal to them, if you mess with them, you mess with her. Insults slide off her and it is quite clear that she really couldn't care less about your opinion regarding her. If you respect her and stay out of her way, she'll give you the same courtesy. She doesn't suffer fools or suck ups. But if you get on her wrong side, well let's just say, hell hath no fury like Artemis scorned.

She rides her motorbike to school and this, along with her choices of dark clothing has given her a reputation as a rebel and rule breaker. She has been in various fist fights (which she won), one particular fight resulted in a jock being sent to hospital with a concussion and a dislocated shoulder. It's no secret that she dislikes organised sports and those who make it the focus of their lives. Most of the jocks and the cheerleaders have figured that out by now. Artemis is a musical person, she almost always has a guitar case with her (the saxophone comes to school less frequently).

In class she is quiet, rarely speaking, just gets on with her work. She may not look it (or show it outwardly), but she's an honours student.

Outside of school, Artemis is struggling mentally. Her school persona is a facade to stop too many people getting close. She's still grieving for her brother. Although she's glad she's out of the hunter life, she knows it's in her blood and that she cannot escape her destiny. She's torn, wanting to live a normal life with a normal family and friends, but has seen and done things that make that life impossible. She will hold in her emotions in school all day, only to come home and completly break down. Living alone isn't helping either, and she's too stubborn to call her parents or grandfather. With the re-awakening of the supernatural in Beacon Hills, she knows it is not long before she has to make a choice, stay and become the hunter she was born to be, or run, hold up somewhere else and let innocents die.

When it comes to hunting, Artemis has a very classic mindset, she does not seek to kill, rather to understand, and help if she is permitted to do so. She will not kill a creature unless they break a cardinal rule in front of more than one witness. She is level headed in the field and adaptable, but prone to tunnel vision when things get personal. She can work both as a solo hunter and with a team.

Current Residence
Anya currently lives in Blackthorn Lodge, an old cabin on the forest outskirts which was converted for use by hunters during the previous supernatural rising. It connects to an underground bunker-base, once a proper hunter hideaway and headquarters, now decommissioned.

Life Story
Anya was born into the extended Taylor-Ryder-Hazen clan as the first daughter of Edward Taylor (a New Zealander by birth) and Lee Siri (from Thailand). The Taylor-Ryder-Hazen clan are well known in the supernatural hunter circles as one of the oldest hunter families, with members recorded as far back in the hunter records as they go and probably even further than that. Members of this clan primarily worked in America, Asia and Oceania. The family are renowned for obeying the hunter code and showing a compassion that other hunters lack.

From day one, it was decided that she would be trained as a hunter. She was trained along with her older brother Matteo. Training was mainly carried out by her parents and her grandfather Raymond Ryder (the patriarch of the Taylor-Ryder-Hazen clan). It started off slowly and subtly with things like balance, speech, reading, writing and playing team sports from a young age. As she got older it diversified into reading lore and learning the goods and bads of various races, combat skills, weapons skills, parkour, stealth, tracking and so on and so forth. She learned to drive and ride motorbikes as soon as she was tall enough to do so (and given that she was always tall for her age, this was shortly before she became a teenager. She was very close to her brother (who was two years older than her). She underwent the first hunter ritual at aged seven where she was tied up and had to escape the bonds using nothing but her wits and skills. The process was timed, the better the time, the better the hunter. Or so the saying went.

Every year the whole clan would meet up together somewhere (the location varied year to year) and swap stories, drink and boast. These gatherings also became an unofficial way of testing the 'new bloods' to see if they were worthy of the family legacy. Such tests included sharp shooting competitions, sparring matches and races. It was also at these gatherings that the hunter initiation ritual was carried out for new members. The ritual varied year to year depending on location and the whims of Raymond. Anya showed a great aptitude for the hunter life even from a young age which prompted her grandfather to give her the name 'Artemis' at one such family gathering. The name was based on the Greek goddess of the hunt, whose symbols (a bow, quiver and hunting knife) were Anya's weapons of choice.

At twelve Anya discovered falconry and fell in love with the sport. Once grasping the basics she began to train her own birds; a Harris Hawk and a Carrion Raven. They became her hunting companions and followed her almost everywhere. Both birds were highly intelligent and under her direction highly trained.

As she rose in skill, her brother declined, lacking the natural talent of his younger sister. He was jealous of her, yes, but he still loved her, and was proud of her for using her skills and fulfilling her potential. One night, he, Anya and two more senior hunters were out on a hunt when it went horribly, horribly wrong. Instead of it being a lone Omega wolf that had been killing the inhabitants of a small rural village, it was a whole pack of former Omegas. Surrounded they fought, the other two were killed, Anya and Matteo barely escaping with their lives. Dragging his body back to the camp, it became clear that he was dying and that he wouldn't make it back. There was nothing she could do but sit there and watch as the life bled out of her brother. As per custom, the body was burned on a pyre. Except that his body didn't burn, instead coming back to life shortly after the pyre was lit. At first it was called a miracle, but the truth quickly emerged, Matteo had been experimenting with dark magic in order to improve his hunter ability. It was this magic which had brought him back to life, but at the same time driven him insane. He began killing, both hunters, supernatural beings and innocents alike. There was no choice but to put him down. A whole group was put together to this, but it was Anya who gave the killing blow, permanently ending her brother's life. The body was cut up and the pieces buried apart from one another in the hopes that this was enough to stop him.

Killing her brother had an enormous effect on Anya, and she made the decision to leave the hunting life, much to the disapproval of her grandfather, who believed she had potential to become one of, if not the best hunters. Her parents were more understanding, but didn't approve. They suggested she take a year out, then come back, but Anya said no, she wanted out, indefinitely. And when they wouldn't let her, she took matters into her own hands and left, siphoning money from her parents and grandfather's bank accounts into her own.

Three months before her sixteenth birthday, Anya arrived into Beacon Hills on her motorbike and enrolled in Beacon Hills High. She took over the decommissioned hunter's cabin as her own. The local police were suspicious at first, but a note she forged in Raymond's handwriting cleared it all up, and explained why she was driving underage. The police know her to be a hunter taking some years out to finish her formal education.

Skills and Abilities
As part of her hunter training Anya has recieved training in a wide and varied range of areas

Archery:
Anya's favourite weapon is a crossbow or modified shortbow. As well as regular arrows, she had various 'trick' arrows including (but not limited to) flares, flash-bolt, netting, tracker and poison. Underestimate her at your peril when she has a bow in her hand.

Knife fighting:
Her secondary choice of weapon. Anya has been trained both as a knife fighter and as a knife thrower. Her accuracy is out standing.

Hand to hand combat:
A mix of various martial art styles, some parkour moves and dirty tricks to give her the edge. Her skills have been witnessed in action during the fights in high school, and she emerged victorious, and a with a reputation that means people think twice before crossing her.

Field Medicine:
A combination of first aid, pool lifesaving and improvisation. Stitches, broken bones, sprains, concussions, wound cleaning, CPR and water rescue are all well within her ability.

Music:
Anya can play both guitar and saxophone, and possesses a decent singing voice. She likes rock, punk, jazz and film soundtrack.

Equipment
Despite leaving the hunter life behind, Anya's cabin is still equipped with the tools of the trade.

Crossbow, Shortbow and Quiver:
Her trusty weapons are never far from her. She owns a guitar case that has been modified to store her bow and quivers.

The Bestiary:
A mix of anecdotal and factual evidence on various different supernatural races. Also in the cabin are various hunter diaries and logbooks.

Smoke/Stun grenades:
Old, but in good nick.

Infra-red goggles:
Human night vision sucks, and it seems almost every other supernatural being has night vision, so this just evens the playing field, even if they look ridiculous.

Traps and lures:
Because every abandoned bunker has crates of these lying around somewhere.

Doyle and Bodie:
Not technically equipment, but Anya's two birds are highly trained and surprisingly useful in a hunt. They take their names after the two CI5 agents from the 1970s show The Professionals. Doyle is a Harris Hawk, and Bodie is a Carrion Raven.

Family:
Since her brother's death, Anya has taken every effort to distance herself from her family and the hunter lifestyle as a whole. But despite that she still misses them and struggles being stuck on her own with nobody to distract her from her thoughts.


 * Edward Taylor: Before her estrangement, Anya had was very close to her father. A more introverted, quiet man by nature, Edward taught his daughter the strength of silence and standing your ground. He also taught her various medical skills. It was her father Anya would go to for advice or when she needed somebody to talk to. When it came to Anya leaving, he got caught between the opposing idea sof his wife and daughter, being able to see both usdes of the arguement. He understood his daughters decision to leave and supported it, but feels hurt by the lack of contact.
 * Lee Siri: Lee was the one who encouraged Anya to push past her boundaries and to go above above and beyond the call of duty. She taught her daughter, hoping that Anya would inherit a better moral compass and stick to it. She saw the immense potential in her daughter, the determination. After her brother's death, the relationship between the two deteriorated seriously. Lee didn't agree with Anya's decision to leave, trying to persuade her out of it, which only made Anya more determined to leave. With Anya gone Lee feels guilt, believing that she drove her daughter away.
 * Raymond Ryder: Grandparents aren't supposed to have favourites, but Ray always had a soft spot for Anya. He took time to train her, both encouraging and pushing her. Outside of her parent's, he was Amy's favourite adult. It was him that gave the nickname 'Artemis' to her, believing that the Greek God of the hunt was a perfect fit. Artemis' symbols were the bow and quiver, also known as Anya's weapons of choice. He was most hurt by her decision to quit the hunter life and turned bitter over it, it was like a personal betrayal in a way.
 * Matteo Taylor: Anya's older brother. When they were younger he would tease her mercilessly. As they grew older they retained a relationship based on teasing banter and insults. He was jealous of his sisters natural aptitude for the hunter life,but still loved her. Their relationship became bitter closer to his death, but he was there for until the end. He took the blow meant for Anya, the fatal blow that resulted in his death