Fanfic / The Adventures of Jaina

The Adventures of Jaina: A Faith Renewed is a series of Runescape stories by AceTrainerAlicia, centered primarily around the various exploits and struggles of the World Guardian, here a technicolor-haired magical prodigy named Jaina Katarn. In particular, it deals with how she handles Gielinor's religious conflicts and her struggle to conceal both her own faith and a romantic relationship she knows would never be accepted.

A curious and eager seventeen-year-old adventurer, Jaina finds out that there is much more to Gielinor's history than she was raised to believe when she decides to free a legendary hero trapped in a pyramid. The hero, Azzanadra, thanks her with magical knowledge and sparks her interest in the forgotten god Zaros. The two soon form a solid friendship, and Jaina secretly converts to Zarosianism under Azzanadra's guidance. However, their friendship does eventually grow into a mutual attraction, which Jaina tries to deny at first because of the social consequences. Not long after they secretly become romantically involved, however, she witnesses the murder of the god of her childhood and the beginning of the Sixth Age, and is forced into a role she doesn't want to fulfill. Shocked and uncertain of what to do, she evades the forces of Saradomin and Zamorak who are searching for her and turns to Azzanadra for support, working with him towards Zaros' return to the world. Meanwhile, her archenemy and tormentor Sliske is spying from the shadows, and he has a plan for her...

The series, which is in the process of being expanded and partially rewritten, currently has eighteen installments, most of which can be read here. It can also be read, in full, here.

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The Adventures of Jaina contains examples of:

• Adaptational Heroism:
  • Azzanadra falls under this trope to a degree, as he shows much more tenderness and affection towards Jaina than he does in canon thanks to being Promoted to Love Interest. However, he does sternly disagree with her occasionally and show his harsher side from time to time, and retains his Undying Loyalty to Zaros and his disgust for the Zamorakians. He even violently shatters an ice sculpture of Sliske when he loses his temper, which outright frightens Jaina out of the temple.
  • This isn't so much the case for Zaros, as it is that he so rarely appears onscreen directly and Jaina simply doesn’t see the more negative aspects of his character that have been presented in canon. Seren tries to convince her of his personality flaws, but all Jaina sees in the memory shown to her is Zaros wanting to break free of his enslavement to Mah. While Zaros has seemingly acted concerned for the lives of the twins, he is likely to simply be invested in their health and survival because of the potential they have as Mahjarrat-human hybrids, rather than out of caring for them on an emotional level. Word of God says that Zaros rarely appears onscreen in order to preserve his aura of mystery.
• Adaptational Villainy: Patsy, the herald of Lumbridge. She has a grudge against Jaina for blasting her with a magic spell back in their childhood days, and believes she's a coward for refusing to fight for Saradomin in the Battle of Lumbridge. In game, she's bright and chipper when talked to and sells a cosmetic cape.
• Ascended Extra: Several generic or one-dimensional NPC characters get this treatment, most notably the Zarosian desert bandits and the townsfolk of Lumbridge and Yanille.
• Action Girl: Many, including some canon characters like Zanik, Xenia and Ariane, but Jaina's the only one who’s been shown fighting. Xenia mentored Jaina's father in the ways of adventuring when he was a boy.
• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Unlike the Player Character in the actual game, who didn’t have much of a reaction to a lot of major events — particularly the death of Guthix—Jaina is shown to be traumatized and have strong emotional scars from the experience, in particular being shocked, scared, and confused about what she'll do about the Battle of Lumbridge. Her emotional distress over the situation drives her to seek comfort with Azzanadra, directly leading to their relationship turning physical. She is also particularly fearful of and repulsed by Sliske, and wants to kill him in part so that he'll never frighten her or make her feel defenseless again.
• Adaptation Expansion:
  • Right off the bat with "The Mage's Treasure" and "The Witch's Curse", mainly with Jaina (as well as Ozan) interacting with the Zarosian desert bandits and making an effort to aid them personally. Other details include Eblis having met and studied with Wahisietel, the desert bandits knowing of and fearing the Zamorakian Mahjarrat, and Jaina electing to bargain with the owner of a Plot Coupon rather than pick-lock a highly secure chest to obtain it.
  • "Rising in the East" is full of it. For one, Jaina sets foot on the Eastern island of Dhar Pei's Vantage in the Loop and gets to see what their culture’s like first hand.
  • Azzanadra (and sometimes Wahisietel or Akthanakos as well) often goes into considerable detail about Mahjarrat culture and the Zarosian empire.
• A Day in the Limelight:
  • Strawberry the troll child in "The Warrior's Heart." Not only does he readily befriend the trolls of Weiss and bond with Lady Snowflake over shared experiences with terrible fathers, he also bravely helps put out the fire protecting the village's chieftain and accompanies Jaina in her infiltration mission to Zemouregal's secret base.
  • Akthanakos gets a good deal of focus in "Cakes and Tea," although the perspective is still Jaina’s.
  • "Rising in the East" has Tomlin the Missionary as a major focus. He comes into conflict with Jaina when he decides to raid a Zarosian temple in the Eastern Lands.
• Badass in Distress: Jaina gets cornered by Saradominist and Zamorakian forces, led by their respective generals, while too heavily pregnant to effectively fight or flee in "Double Trouble."
• Beast and Beauty: Towering, eight-foot-tall, very alien Azzanadra, and cute and conventionally-pretty-by-human-standards Jaina. Averted however when Azzanadra's in his human form, as his human form is a handsome redhead with a well-trimmed beard.
• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: She's an adventurer who's been in countless battles, but Jaina has no physical scars to show for it. Ultimately subverted when she gets surgical scars from Sliske's experiment, and is later subjected to a cesarean section to safely deliver the twins.
• Big Brother Instinct: Korrilan in "Fraternal Instincts." He's actually younger than Jaina, he tries his best to look after her.
  Korrilan: You should at least try to look after her; it's what Father would've wanted...
• Big Eater: Azra and Dastan. Jaina has to eat four entire pies in one sitting in order to satiate them at one point.
• Bizarre Alien Biology: A Mahjarrat's head ridges are said to be taboo for anyone but a mother or a mate to touch, in part because they're surprisingly sensitive. They also possess shoulder and back spines which are equally sensitive to the touch. There's also an aura of magic that they radiate; Azzanadra's is particularly intense and warm, owing to his power.
• Black Magician Girl: Jaina in a nutshell. She's studied at both the Misthalin Wizards' Tower and the Yanille Wizards’ Guild, knows three different spellbooks, became the youngest mage in history to be awarded the cape of magic mastery, and uses the primarily offensive-oriented Ancient Magicks to fight with.
• Canon Foreigner: Coeli, Azzanadra's pet griffin from the Second Age, who now serves as Jaina's mount in the present age.

• Can't Spit It Out: Jaina to Azzanadra in "Heart to Heart." Her attraction is painfully clear, but she needs a bit of an encouraging push from him due to believing she could never be worthy of him. She does ultimately confess her interest.
• Casting a Shadow: Sliske, who is rather fond of using his powers to pull Jaina into the Shadow Realm when she least expects it.
• The Chew Toy: Tiny Lucien, who is often tossed around unceremoniously by Jaina and serves as the literal chew toy for TzRek-Jad.
• Chosen One: Jaina’s the World Guardian, the one Guthix chose to protect Gielinor from the Jerkass Gods, but she’s chosen to assist Zaros in stopping the Great Revision of the Elder gods. She even expresses a few times that she is not bound to Guthix’s wishes and will stand up for what she believes in.
• Crippling Overspecialization: Despite being a magical prodigy well-versed in three different spellbooks, Jaina tends to rely mainly on Ice Barrage and hit-and-run-tactics when fighting, which is lampshaded by a nightmare construct created by Sliske.
  Shadow Jaina: So predictable... a master of many spells, and yet overreliant on a single spell, a single tactic—encase enemy in ice, run away, rinse, repeat. Well, ice user, perhaps it’s time you got a taste of your own medicine?
• Daddy's Girl: Jaina had a close relationship with her late father Daelin, often fondly remembering him and having been inspired by his life as a former adventurer. Zaros forbid you insult or speak ill of him in her presence...
• Dance of Romance: Jaina and Azzanadra share their first dance in "Waiting for the Lord’s Return."

• Did the Earth Move for You, Too?: Mahjarrat have a custom of mating during earthquakes, which Jaina finds out about by surprise in "Culture Shock."
• Druid: Jaina's mother Phrynna aka Yaketysax was one. Jaina herself is never referred to as such, but she does have some druidic skills, namely Animal Talk and making potions.
• Eating Optional: Jaina finds out that Mahjarrat don’t need to eat when she brings Azzanadra a homemade chocolate cake, thinking a gift of food would be more subtle than flowers. Half-Mahjarrat, on the other hand, do require food thanks to their human side, as Azra and Dastan prove.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Expressed near word for word by Sliske; he's angered at the mere suggestion that Jaina thinks he might resort to rape.
  Jaina: You're not going to take advantage of me while I'm unconscious?
  Sliske: Do you take me for a brute? Do you despise me so much that you'll assume the worst of me in any given situation?
• Fantastic Racism:
  • The main reason Jaina has to keep her relationship with Azzanadra a secret, besides the prejudice against Zarosians — the Saradominist majority of humans believe all Mahjarrat to be Always Chaotic Evil, and the Zamorakian Mahjarrat regard humans with disdain.
  • Jaina herself isn't above such prejudice, as shown in "The Witch's Curse" and "For Gods and Country" with her perception of vampyres as nothing but savage monsters, and how she believes that she will find Azzanadra's true appearance hideous and frightening.

• Flower Motifs: Azzanadra likens humans to flowers, and compares Jaina to snowdrops—despite the flower’s delicate appearance, he recognizes its inner strength and and ability to endure and thrive in harsh conditions, much like Jaina’s strength of willpower and determination. "Secret Union" has Azzanadra presenting Jaina with a purple rose on their wedding day.
• Fluffy Tamer:
  • Jaina has an extensive collection of exotic pets, including TzRek-Jad, and can understand their speech. She is implied to have inherited the talent from her mother, a master summoner. Even her conventionally cuter pets prove to be a formidable force in "A Visit Home" where they all team up to drive a Zamorakian spy from her home and throw him unceremoniously into the flowerbed outside.
    Spy: She has an army of vicious trained animals guarding her home, General.
  • Akthanakos also qualifies, having used his talent as a summoner to create an army of camel warriors.
• Friend to All Children: Jaina definitely qualifies, first shown in "The Mage's Treasure" when she adopts Strawberry, an orphaned baby troll — and is similarly kind to the ice troll child Snowflake, even offering to set up playdates between him and Strawberry. She shows a good deal of affection towards Azra and Dastan especially, and frequently speaks to them in the womb. She was even only mildly apprehensive upon learning she was pregnant.
• Gameplay and Story Integration:
  • Jaina's crippling fear of archers. Doubles as a Logical Weakness, since a mage who doesn’t wear armor or padding of any kind would indeed be vulnerable to bolts and arrows.
  • She owns a skillcape of magic, which in-universe is referred to as the cape of magic mastery and bestowed as a badge of honor upon those the Wizards’ Guild recognizes as masters of the magical arts. Jaina is even the youngest recorded recipient of the cape.
• Gameplay and Story Segregation:
  • Player-owned homes in-game are accessed through house portals and physically situated in pocket dimensions, and can be moved to any house portal hub. Jaina owns a house located in Yanille proper, mentioned to have once been an old destroyed home that she worked on repairing; no mention is made of the house portals existing.
  • It is not only possible, but encouraged, for the Player Character in-game to master melee, ranged, and magical combat, and use them interchangeably as needed. Jaina may be a master of magic, but she lacks any capability with ranged or melee weapons at all and struggles to lift swords. She's handy with her Magic Staff at close range in a pinch, though.

• Graceful Ladies Like Purple: Jaina, the spirited girly girl’s favourite colour is purple. It’s even her natural hair color—Azzanadra initially surmises that Zaros laid hands upon her head to give it that shade. The shirt that Azzanadra gives her, as well as her wedding dress, are just a couple examples of her pulling off the purple look.

• I Can't Believe a Guy Like You Would Notice Me: Jaina is very surprised that Azzanadra, the former High Priest of Zaros and de facto ruler of a whole empire, could possibly be attracted to her, a common-born human. It's why she starts out as the Insecure Love Interest.
• An Ice Person:
  • Jaina has a particular talent for ice magic, with her signature spell being Ice Barrage. She uses this magic not just for combat, but for unconventional things like building snow sculptures and keeping ice cream cold for a monkey king.
  • Azzanadra has this as well, most prominently seen in "First Snow." He even tutors her personally.
• Idiot Hero: Jaina’s brother Korrilan, who would be right at home as the protagonist of a Shōnen manga. He acts/talks before he thinks, is on the Hot-Blooded side and is always up for a fight (even if his opponent in question is stronger, as seen with his eagerness to fight Azzanadra in "Fraternal Instincts"). Despite this, he has good intentions and only wants what’s best for Jaina.
• I Know What You Fear: Sliske traps Jaina in an illusory nightmare sequence in "Spark of Chaos," forcing her to endure several of her fears. The final stretch of it has her threatened with her greatest fear: archers, carrying crossbows loaded with bakriminel bolts, which are designed specifically to kill mages.
• Immortal Procreation Clause: The Mahjarrat had a low birth rate even in their race's prime, with siblings being particularly rare. It's therefore very significant when Jaina and Azzanadra manage to conceive the first Mahjarrat children since Khazard and Moia, even moreso given that it’s implied to be the first time there have ever been twins of their kind. Xenia theorizes that Jaina might be made to become a Breeding Slave in order to produce more Mahjarrat.
• It's Personal: The reason why Jaina is so determined to kill Sliske herself. She even tells Zamorak as much when he asks why she didn't help him attack Sliske.
• Jerkass Gods: Saradomin and Zamorak. In addition to being jointly responsible for the genocide against the Zarosian people in the past, they also rushed into battle right next to Lumbridge, destroying a good deal of land and property and getting several people killed and displaced. Both of them wanted to conscript Jaina for their armies in the battle and sent spies after her, never considering that she would not wish to help further the destruction of her own hometown. Their respective generals Padomenes and Moia, who previously led their armies at Lumbridge, both attempt to kidnap a pregnant Jaina on the gods' behalf in order to deliver her children to them.
  • Zamorak in particular stands out most. He has Jaina blackmailed into assisting with his heist of the Stone of Jas, indignantly demands to know why she refused to fight for him in the Battle of Lumbridge, is completely unrepentant about his role in the aforementioned genocide and his Cold-Blooded Torture of Char, and plans to kidnap Jaina’s children and possibly force her into following him so that they will not grow up Zarosian.
  • Saradomin is quick to believe that Jaina was magically mind-controlled into falling for Azzanadra when a spy brings him the news, and attempts to manipulate her brother into “snapping her out of it.” He also throws her against a wall when she doesn’t give him the Wand of Resurrection, despite her having genuine reasons to fear and distrust him. Although Jaina believes he would want her children dead for being half Mahjarrat and that any of his followers would kill them on sight, Padomenes claims that he actually wants them alive, and to keep them "safe from the dark sorcery of their father."
  • Semi-averted with Seren, who means well and is genuinely concerned with the well-being of her followers and Jaina’s unborn twins. Jaina simply doesn’t take kindly to her attempts to turn her against Zaros, or her offer of asylum for the children in Prifddinas, which would presumably not include allowing Azzanadra to have a part in raising them. She also takes considerable umbrage at Seren's initial assumption that her pregnancy is the result of a rape.
    Seren: Were you accosted and overpowered?
    Jaina: What? No! It wasn't... he wouldn't have... I was with their father because I wished to be.
• Kill It with Ice: Jaina attempts to do this to the Zamorakians in "Spark of Chaos" when she draws upon the Stone’s power, and also declares that this is how she will kill Sliske. She may have actually done it to Jerrod.
• Lethal Chef: Azzanadra absolutely cannot cook, as shown in "A Simple Flavor." His attempts to make breakfast in bed for Jaina involves him doing pretty much everything wrong that it is possible to do wrong- forgetting to put oil in the bottom of the pan for cooking fish (causing it to stick to the pan), throwing away the inner part of corn (the edible bit) and keeping the husk, not soaking beans before cooking them, not peeling garlic, and forgetting to put bread dough on a tray before putting it in the oven. At least he managed to not ruin fruit. And then there's his reputation in the empire.
  Akthanakos: He stormed the temple kitchens and took the poor cooks completely by surprise! I heard he threw everything into a cauldron without rhyme or reason and tried to use fire magic to heat it, and that the soup boiled over at one point! The cooks protested, of course, but he paid them no mind—and when his predecessor tasted the soup? Well, it made him a different kind of ill, to say the least! Fortunately he recovered quickly and was back on his feet in no time. Still, the cardinals and human priests whispered for the next thousand years about what terrible things would befall Senntisten should His Holiness ever set foot in a kitchen again!

• Male-to-Female Universal Adaptor: Jaina and Azzanadra don't seem to have too many problems with sexual relations, despite their physical differences and how much more powerful Mahjarrat are compared to humans. However, Mahjarrat do require an infusion of divine energy in order to conceive a child, and Jaina has to be magically altered to allow for her to become pregnant.
• Mama Bear: How Mahjarrat mothers are said to act towards their children. Jaina becomes both of these towards her children as well. She even ponders if her pregnancy is causing her to become more like a Mahjarrat when she successfully fends off a pair of hired thugs.
  • To put it in perspective, in "Cakes and Tea" she threatens the Raptor of all people, just for calling her unborn children bawling brats.
    Raptor: So, you're having a baby. Not impressed. Any pampered, delicate noblewoman could squeeze out a little bawling brat.
    Jaina: Kindly do not speak that way about my baby ever again. Need I remind you that I can entrap entire platoons of warriors in ice? And that plate armor conducts magic?
  • The reason she decides to leave the dark shard out of Seren is entirely out of fear that Seren would be inclined to kill her unborn children if it were to be left in.
• Maternity Crisis: Jaina gets cornered by Moia, Padomenes, and their respective backup forces, when her water breaks and she goes into labor. She takes advantage of their fighting over her to make a daring escape attempt.
• My Sister Is Off-Limits: Korrilan's initial reaction at the sight of Jaina and Dr. Nabanik talking and flirting in "Fraternal Instincts". His response to the man even kissing Jaina on the forehead was to loudly call him out, then challenge him to a fight to prove him worthy, not realizing he's outmatched.
• Mystical Pregnancy: Sliske performs an experiment in which he infuses Jaina with a good deal of divine energy, in order to ensure that she and Azzanadra will successfully conceive a half-Mahjarrat child. It works better than he intended.
• Named by the Adaptation: Azzanadra's human guise Dr. Nabanik is given a first name, Aurelius. Quite a few bit characters get names as well, a few examples being the herald of Lumbridge Patsy Pratt, the Zamorakian herbalist Zacharias Parker, and the Saradominist summoner Cassius Browning.
• Noodle Incident: What happened to Sir Owen after The Death of Chivalry quest. Since the sequel to that quest had yet to be released at the time of writing, the events that might have transpired are left to the reader's imagination so that he can appear in "Gathering Secrets." It's not entirely ambiguous as to what happened, however—he did somehow lose an arm.
• Oblivious to Love: Jaina cannot tell when someone is attracted to her; she failed to realize Azzanadra was returning her affections, and remains unaware of how Zanik felt towards her.
• Papa Wolf:
  • Azzanadra. Do not say anything demeaning his ability to be a good father. He’s particularly regretful of the fact that he was unable to save his daughter Shyvana, who was killed when Tumeken blew himself up.
  • Wahisietel and Akthanakos are heavily invested in the well-being of the first Mahjarrat children to be conceived in centuries. Sliske has shades of this as well, warning Jaina to stay away from the Zamorakian Mahjarrat for the safety of her children.
• Pimped-Out Dress: Jaina’s wedding dress, which is prominently adorned with a design of four diamonds. Because it doesn't resemble the white wedding dresses typically worn in the Fifth Age, the Digsite workers don’t realize what occasion it’s for when they see her in it.
• Promoted to Love Interest: Azzanadra, who's married to Jaina.
• Ship Tease: Between Zu Zu the Occultist and Tomlin the Missionary. The former also flirts openly with Jaina.
  Zu Zu: Oh, Tommy dear, you know I'll be on my best behavior. Have I ever laid a hand on you to date?
  Tomlin: You have, actually. You did grab my hand on our last expedition.
  Zu Zu: But only because we were running from that flock of angry bladewings!
• Significant Name Overlap: Snowflake the ice troll child shares his name with the chief's daughter of the ice troll village of Weiss. The latter is referred to as Lady Snowflake for clarity's sake.
• Stalker with a Crush:
  • A Saradominist spy sent after Jaina during the Battle of Lumbridge is revealed to have been this to her since her apprenticeship at the Yanille Wizards’ Guild.
  • Sliske qualifies as well, although he flirts with her much more creepily and openly. Funny how he seemed to be there at a convenient time to perform the experiment that would let her conceive...
• Stripperiffic: Parodied in "Fraternal Instincts" and "Lumbridge Over Troubled Waters" with Kara-Meir, an NPC well-known for her revealing choice of clothes, even though she’s supposed to be surveying a battle and should be more practically dressed. Instead of being Ms. Fanservice, Korrilan wishes she’d put some clothes on.
• Sweet Tooth: Jaina is extremely partial to sweets, particularly chocolates and cakes. Azzanadra becomes concerned about this because he wants his children to be fed a proper healthy human diet.
• The Teetotaler: Not a full-on example, but Jaina does not like most alcoholic drinks and rarely orders them. She even finds it hard to imagine her father having enjoyed going to bars and drinking in his younger days.
• True Blue Femininity: Jaina's usual clothing tends to be shades of pale blue and white, reflecting her affinity for ice magic.

• Villainous Crush: Sliske does seem to be rather creepily obsessed with Jaina, going as far as to magically experiment on her so that she will be able to conceive a half-Mahjarrat child. He even states in "Growing Pains" that for this reason, he believes he should be considered her children's father, and that she and her children will have to accept him.
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • Jaina gets this from Zaros for trying to carry Seren through Freneskae by herself, endangering both Seren and her unborn children.
  • Azzanadra also calls her out for omitting the dark shard from Seren. Since she did so out of concern for their children’s lives, she snaps and delivers a What the Hell, Hero? of her own right back to him.
• Would Hurt a Child: Moia in "Spark of Chaos" threatens to throw Julia — a five-year-old from Yanille she's keeping hostage — out of the Empyrean Citadel (and it's a long way down) if Jaina doesn't agree to help Zamorak with the heist of the Stone.
• Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Sliske warns Jaina to stay away from the Zamorakian Mahjarrat upon realizing his experiment was successful and she has become pregnant — he knows they will sense the Mahjarrat presence there if she gets too close. This is also why he traps her in an illusory nightmare instead of forcing her to fight her nightmare-self as per canon—he doesn’t want the unborn children to be harmed after going to the effort to ensure they could be conceived.

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