Name: Elaeria Fendril
Age: 153 (barely an adult in the eyes of her race)
Race: Elfin Seelie
Nationality/Nation description: Seelie Court of the Ghostlight ForestThe Seelie are split up into individual 'Courts' and adhere to a belief of belonging to a single nation, one that encompasses all land where Seelie live as well as everything in between. Within this grand 'nation' each group of Seelie operate a 'Court' which oversees the running of their particular surroundings. Most will be found in forests, mountains or caves where nature is abundant and far away from other races and civilizations as the Seelie are not overly fond of involving themselves in the struggles of less cultured nations. Within these enclaves they will adapt to leave as little a footprint on the environment as possible. As such it is often difficult to locate a Seelie settlement and most will stumble across the Courts by accident rather than by design.
The Seelie Court of the Ghostlight Forest, named for obvious reasons and located far to the South in an area of a temperate climate and swathes of woodland, is predominantly made up of Elfin Seelie who can be found in their greatest numbers in woodland areas. According to ancestral lore they are descended from the huntress Brindel Fendril whose name the leaders of the Ghostlight Forest court bear and to whom they can trace their ancestry directly. Within this Court, Brindel is honoured as a veritable deity even by those who do not claim direct ancestry due to her woodland craft which is still observed rigorously by the Elfin Seelie.
Now the Ghostlight Forest is almost empty of its Seelie caretakers. All but the very young and injured left to aid a Seelie Court within a country neighbouring Aldebaran threatened by the encroaching forces of the crazed Emperor. Now they remain to fight alongside those survivors of that Court, their homes destroyed and most of their clansmen dead from the crushing defeat they suffered in the initial defence. Even the Chief Fendril has been terribly wounded and many suspect that his days are numbered, looking to any potential successor.
Naturally that would be his daughter, the only surviving clan member to bear the name Fendril. However, with exposure to heavily patriarchal practices in other races and the perilous situation they face, many have begun to question whether such a young woman could lead the combined Courts better than a male. This would mark a break from an aeon old tradition with an indirect descendent of Fendril usurping the position of a direct, main line family inheritor. The divide between the two sides is hidden but behind closed doors and in the shadows plots and schemes are conjured and before long it will no longer be a conflict that can be contained, concealed or delayed.
Occupation: Chief's daughter/heiress
Religion: Ancestor worship
Unlike most other races, the Elfin Seelie do not practise a Monotheistic or Polytheistic religion. Rather, they turn to their long and meticulously recorded family histories for guidance. Prayers for guidance, protection and strength are offered to famous members of their dynasty or the most celebrated of deceased leaders from aeons past. Songs and dances are attributed to their ancestors and form an integral part of their worship; celebrating in the accomplishments of their ancestors and commemorating the feuds long since ended.
When the first leaf falls for Autumn the Elfin Seelie gather to toast their predecessors and many believe it is the time in which it is easiest to commune with their ancestors; seeking guidance and wisdom from those whose name echo down the aeons.
A consequence of this religious adherence to their ancestral lines, and to maintain their diversity, is the avoidance of all inter-marriage amongst the Elfin Seelie. Instead, to maintain their ancestral identity, they will take mates from other, compatible, races (often humans) but rarely will they choose a lifelong companion. As such the families of the Seelie will not mix and lines are only lost through infertility or premature death. The children will almost always show traits specifically of the Seelie rather than the other races but there are occasionally those born displaying traits of the mate's race; these children are disowned by the Seelie.
Appearance: Lithe, tall (approximately six foot) and toned from two lifetimes of hunting and arms training, Elaeria walks with the stalking nature of a panther. She is light on her feet and has an air of perpetual grace as if every movement is to a rhythm audible to her alone. Her limbs are largely in proportion with nothing especially notable although she is very slightly long-legged but this is more apparent in her stride length than in an aesthetic sense.
In the traditional style amongst Seelie, especially those Courts based in woodland areas, her glowing red hair has grown exceptionally long to rest barely above the back of her knees. In a more formal setting this might be braided painstakingly in whatever fashion is currently in favour by one of the branch families charged with the care taking of the head family but in these troubled times it is usually pulled back into a carefully tied ponytail (or one long braid when there is the time to do so).
At all times she will be found with her long hunting spear, an heirloom said to have been wielded by Brindel herself and often only used as a ceremonial item due to its unwieldy nature. However, Elaeria has fallen into the group of those few of Brindel's descendants who had a natural affinity for utilising the spear as it is: a deadly weapon suited only for a master in spearcraft. Along with this she will almost always be found in hunting leathers dyed a deep green, perhaps with a royal blue cloak when she is acting in an official capacity or is on the battlefield.
Personality: Despite her many years, Elaeria is young in age for her kind and this is partially reflected in her manner. She is cheerful in a manner only the young are capable, seemingly unperturbed by the horrors of war. Fond of celebration, dancing and singing with others given even half a chance, Elaeria is one who will take the spotlight at any festival. Her other love is of men. Specifically human men. She revels in their company and enjoys their determination to make a mark with their short lives, in sharp contrast to the cautious manoeuvres of the Elfin Seelie One should not be fooled by this carefree exterior, however. Raised to lead the Court from birth she has a mind for politics and is both cunning and strong-willed, the steel of her conviction something those attempting to subvert her birthright will find unexpected.
Biography: Born to her Seelie father and human mother whom she knew only 'briefly', Elaeria has two half-brothers and one half-sister, all many years younger than her but still all of fighting age. She was raised exclusively in the Court with an education fit for a leader. War and conflict were far away events, the Seelie not involving themselves in other conflicts unless requested by another Court to join their fight, but this was not a reason for relaxation in her father's eyes. As such she has been trained relentlessly in the art of hunting, both animals and sentient species. Constant training has left her with a lithe frame and toned body and she will be rarely found without her elaborately carved hunting spear, an heirloom from several generations past.
The spear had seen plenty of conflict before it came to Elaeria and has seen much since. When the Court responded to the plea for aid from another under threat from Dagon, Elaeria accompanied the warriors and most of the Court to battle. They arrived late to find most of the threatened Court dead or missing and instead evacuated those left and beat a fighting retreat from Dagon's forces, eventually meeting up with the Scarred King and his forces by sheer coincidence. Now Elaeria, and the Court, accompany the Scarred King, but the situation is fraught due to her father's wounded state. There are rumblings within the Court of choosing a more battle-hardened warrior to lead them during the conflict before allowing Elaeria to resume her father's position but few see this as nothing more than the power grab that it is.
Partly due to her status as the heiress of the Court, partly due to her natural charisma, Elaeria has a strong cohort of friends and companions of her generation who hunt and revel together. For decades she has built lasting connections with almost every family in the Court and so, whether by deliberate action or not, has ensured that any attempt to deprive her of right to lead the Court would not pass easily.
Equipment: Brindel's Cloud Piercer - This exceptionally long spear, just over eight foot in length, is made of a single shaft of wood with a still unblemished steel blade at its head. Crafted originally as a hunting spear, the head has two hooks to prevent the more combative prey from being able to slide up the shaft and attack the wielder. The rest of the blade is engraved with swirling patterns surrounding the story of an unnamed hunter and of their battle with a huge, twisted creature long since sunk into mere legend. The shaft is also intricately carved but this time the tale being told is that of its first wielder, Brindel, and her struggles to unite a small band of followers and end a civil war amongst the Seelie Courts.
The weapon itself looks to be a merely ceremonial hunting spear, longer than the usual but more of a peasant's weapon than that of an experience warrior who might otherwise choose armour and a sword. However, somewhere amongst the legend of its owner the spear gained some kind of enchantment. Not only is it unbreakable but the spear appears to 'choose' who is worthy of it. In the hands of those it has 'accepted', few and far between in its longer history, the spear becomes unimaginably sharp and will cut through all but the thickest of steel should the wielder wish it. Such magicks have long since been lost to the Seelie, indeed, it is unknown whether they were truly commonplace amongst the ancestors, and so little is understood about Brindle's Cloud Piercer beyond the history which has been passed down generations.
Silver circlet - an ornate, interwoven and delicately designed circlet of shining silver rests upon Elaeria's head as a sign of her heritage. Like the spear this is an heirloom although with no illustrious past, it is merely a piece of jewellery that has been passed down and used to signify a female heir to the current Chief Fendril.
Skills:-Exceptionally skilled in spearcraft
-A good huntswoman (of both beast and man) with a bow
-Passable with other arms
-Diplomatic - living longer than most other races gives one a long time to learn how to deploy tact
-Charismatic - Elaeria has a reputation amongst her Court for being a skilled warrior with a quick wit, with the enthusiasm of youth to boot, making her someone to follow for those not already opposed to her leadership
-Happens to be a rather good dancer (even without a spear in her hand).
Motivation:The Court answered the call for aid from another and that makes her, as heir to the Chief Fendril, duty bound to help. The encroaching threat of Dagon is one that Seelie Courts within close proximity to the expanding emperor acknowledge and are beginning to understand the need for cooperation and Elaeria is amongst them in this regard.
Also she has a mild desire for vengeance duty the injuries her father has sustained as well as brethren from both her own Court and the one they had come to aid.
