Olisa Ellendar

Basic Information

Name: Olisa Ellendar
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 18 (when she left home)
Class: Monk, Paladin
Faith: Follower of Gorethar
Birthplace:Redgate, Seven Cities
Current Residence: Hostel of Gorethar in Elysia

Affiliations:

Golden Legacy Adventure Company
Council of Good Adventure Company
Order of Gorethar

Description

Olisa stands just a shade under six feet in height, slender with a very muscular, athletic build. Long dark red hair tumbles over her shoulders or occasionally over her hazel eyes. Not without a sense of humor she is gregarious and quick to laugh.

In her youth she was far more likely to play the rough and tumble games the boys did, when she began to display more feminine features she cut her hair short to try and fit in, with limited success. She doesn't delight in great finery, simple gowns are more than enough for her and though her family had the means she has never really owned any fine clothing. All too often what she did own would get abused in her tomboyish play

History

At her fathers bidding, When she was old enough. She joined the Monastery of Gorethar, located on the same grounds as the great temple. During her time there she read a great deal in the library, she learned of Gorethar and of a previous student of the monastery, Vichan Lyonsen. Vichan studied there prior to moving over to the martial schooling of Gorethars Holy Warriors, this young man went on to lead the highly regarded, Order of Gorethar, headquartered in the south.

Inspired by her fathers past life, he told many a story, perhaps glossing over the harsher bits, as well as the story of Vichan she decided she would take time out to travel south. An itinerant warrior monk of Gorethar.

At first her parents resisted Olisa's desire to adventure as her father had done before her, once it became clear to him that his eldest daughter was intent to travel south and try her hand at adventuring. He sought out the renowned artificer Joran of Redgate and had robes and a pair of boots fashioned for his daughter so that she would be better prepared for the life she was undertaking.

Greysteel is the name given to Olisa's greatsword by its previous owner Edmund Ellendar, Olisa's father. The blade was taken from an Ogre Magi hoard by Edmund some 40 years ago during his adventuring days. How the Ogre acquired the blade Edmund doesn't know, the creature wasn't in the talking mood when they met, and the history of the blade is unknown to him.

He used the blade throughout the remainder of his adventuring days before hanging it up above the family mantelpiece where for years it was a curiosity for visitors to ogle. When Olisa announced her plans to go south, after her father relented and said he would permit it, Edmund took the sword down from the mantle, returned it to its sheath and gave it Olisa.

Council of Good

The Council of Good, a collection of young adventurers under the tutelage of Paladin Amarc Leclerq and his wife Avenger Suzanna Greenleaf. The council defeated a bandit king and was able to recover an artifact being sought by an evil priestess. This artifact, called the Chalice of blood, was destroyed by the Azur blacksmith at Derrigton keep with the council's aid.

The Council hasn't met since the completion of that original goal, however it was through the council that Olisa met Maikel Trueaxe, a dwarven master of weapons, that set her feet on the path of weapon mastery.

Golden Legacy

Olisa began travelling and adventuring with the Golden Legacy about the time of the return of In Nabbeh Ser, or the Gentleman has he was referred to in past incarnations, she kept on adventuring with this group through the attack of the Legion of Chains on M'chek. Upon final defeat of the legion at a wrap up meeting in Mikona the Golden Legacy invited her to become a charter holding member of their group.

Heavendor

When Olisa was but an initiate she was asked to sit in on a meeting, Brother Rod, AJ, and some others in attendance. This meeting was about Heavendor. The Order had received news that its' Malekite counterpart Tanar'Sheeve had been summoned to this plane and Rod wished to balance that by summoning Heavendor.

Not long after this meeting Rod was called away to Galdos, Redricks Gorge to be specific where he received holy training by the church.

Rod's absence caused the effort to summon Heavendor to be dropped. Months later Olisa chose to take up his task and began her own efforts. She was warned by the High Priestess Folin of the church in Deglos that there would be factions in Galdos that wouldn't approve of her summoning Heavendor, this didn't deter her, however. With the help of research conducted by AJ and the help of the Golden Legacy, they ultimately found themselves on Levena. In Olisa' pack a Warhammer of pure goretharium. the Golden Legacy waded through the foes that stood in their way until they came to a dungeon, in that place of evil we found it.

A large, empty chamber, hundreds of feet on a side. Olisa was drawn to it from below. In the center of the chamber a single shaft of white light and she could feel Gorethar in that light, its goodness stood out in great contrast to all that was around.

This had to be the spot she felt. She laid the hammer down in the light and prayed, attacked by more moonmen the Golden Legacy rose to face them, protecting her while she continued her prayer.

Finally, there was a great blast of white light, before them stood Llissa, the angel that Rod had spoken to many times before. She said she came to witness. She bade Olisa to rise and to hold the hammer she had brought and right there in her hand that Crafted hammer made by Glorandrea became Heavendor.

Heresy

It was a Thursday just before noon in the summer of 2262. The Golden Legacy including Olisa, not long returned from the moon where they had successfully summoned the spirit of Heavendor into the hammer of Goretharium that Glorandrea fashioned. Were summoned to the high temple of Gorethar in Mikona. There they met with Lagnar Wartoes and a new dwarf they hadn't encountered before, an Archpaladin from Galdos named Ambnean Staidhvist. He had come south because High Priestess Folin sent word to Galdos of the relic's summoning.

He said he was a member of a group within the church called the Order of Lost Hope and that they handled, investigations. Years ago, The Order of Gorethar had summoned Heavendor, with the help of the Trust's Ashen Order. Later under the command of High Paladin Kaelyn Maccaddor they had it destroyed. That didn't rest well with the Dwarves of Galdos.

He said that there were many in Galdos didn't like a non-dwarf, non-paladin wielding the relic. This was no surprise to any of the Golden Legacy as they had already been warned by High Priestess Folin of that. He then informed Olisa that he had been asked to bring her to Galdos to face charges... of heresy.

The inquisition was to be conducted by Master Asphodel Truthseer. Once a Paladin, he fell from grace to become a Blackguard of Maleki, he failed at that as well and fell from Maleki's grace. Somehow he came back to Gorethar and was now a part of this Order of Lost Hope.

Olisa not being a dwarf was nonsense, the last time it was summoned it was summoned by a Human female like herself and a male Hin, No dwarves involved at all. It was wielded by the Order of Gorethar's Battlemaster at the time, a dwarf by the name of Kharak Hammerstar. No charges of Heresy were levied against the pair, nor were there any charges upon Heavendor's destruction.

For that matter Heavendor was first forged by a Human Paladin of Gorethar. It is also known that Heavendor has been summoned and unsummoned several times and history doesn't say that all those summoning's were by dwarves only.

The trial went on seeming endlessly, Olisa and the Golden Legacy completing each test or task put before them. Though by the end Olisa was approaching dispair at the direction the trail had gone, she felt for certain that Asphodel had a personal dislike for her. Olisa explained many times that she did not summon Heavendor for herself. It never occurred to her that the relic would be hers to wield, and it never was her intent. Surely she explained, if she had intended such, she wouldn't have chosen a weapon that she was so poorly trained in, the warhammer.

The final act came after Asphodel summoned Olisa' mother and Sister to witness, it was then that all was revealed. Archpaladin Ambnean Staidhvist drew a greatsword that glowed a baleful red, declared his hatred to Olisa and said he would slay Olisa' mother and sister if she took one step closer. He didn't count on how quickly Olisa can move when she wants to and how well attuned, we in the GL are to each other. Heavendor filled her hand and she was on him so quickly that her family was able to get clear.

One doesn't become an Archpaladin, fallen or not, without some skill at a blade, she attacked without preparation which gave the rest of the Golden Legacy time to do so, he was able to knock her out. By this time the rest of the GL was on him. Olisa came to and rejoined the fray, and he was finally felled by one of Fi's arrows.

During the fight, Lachlan felled Asphodel.

After the fight, Llisa, herald of Gorethar astride Karmerynn appeared. She said that all had been witnessed by herself and Gorethar and that it was time it was ended. She would inform the Dwarves of Galdos that I was the rightful wielder of Heavendor, adding that a Warhammer was not befitting me, I was neither priest nor Paladin, I was something different, a swordswoman.

She then declared that I was to be henceforth known as the "Sword saint of Gorethar".

Order of Gorethar

Before her departure to the south, her father gave her some advice. "Be loyal of hands and mouth my daughter, and serve each as best you may. Seek the fellowship of good men; hearken to their words and remember them. Be humble and courteous wherever thou go, boasting not nor talking overmuch, neither thou be dumb altogether."

She sought out then the Order of Gorethar, for where else she thought would she find a "fellowship of good men". The Order had long been in decline, members having departed for corners of Negaria where the Order doesnt have property, doing Gorethars work. Rodrick Goodman, an initiate of the Order at the time, actually took her in and named her adherant in the absence of the Orders actual Leadership. This was of course ratified by the real leadership later.

Olisa is now the High Paladin of the Order of Gorethar, previously she has held the offices of Seneschal and Battlemaster of the Order.

Paladin

When Olisa first came to the south, she was a swordswoman, trained in the use of her father's greatsword named Greysteel. Trained by Maikal Trueaxe during her time with the Council of Good she became a master of the greatsword. By the time of her being named "the Sword Saint of Gorethar" she was highly skilled in the use of the greatsword. She was not a Paladin of Gorethar even though many probably thought she was.

During the threat of the Balor king and a false outcry for Nimoleus, one of Gorethars Celestial generals, Llissa appeared to the Golden Legacy in Mikona. She told Olisa that Gorethar asked her to serve as one of his Holy warriors, that the change was necessary. Olisa, not one to ignore the calling of her God accepted immediately and Llissa granted upon her, her initial Paladin powers. She informed Olisa that she would have to grow into her full strength on her own.

This was a great change for Olisa, her mastery of the greatsword fell to the wayside, so that she could focus on the powers inferred upon her.

Family

Olisa's Family still resides in Redgate, her father running his sucessful shipping empire and her siblings.

She is the eldest of four siblings, born to Edmund and Elena Ellendar of Redgate. Her father is a well off merchant owner of a modest sized shipping combine dealing primarily in General goods and grains, early in his life he was an adventurer, but upon meeting his future wife Elena he hung up his sword and invested a not insignificant amount of gold acquired over several years of adventuring and settled down in Redgate.

Olisa like her father and siblings, one brother and two sisters, worship Gorethar. Of the children, only Olisa can recall living outside the Palatial District of Redgate. She recalls playing along the southern edge of the Divalok as it runs through town. Due to the varied nature of the races in Redgate, she has an outlook towards many races not often seen outside Redgate. She has known and called friend or acquaintance, Orcs, Half Orcs, Goblins and Half Ogres as well as Dwarves, Elves and Halflings.

Olisa's youngest sister Eloise has since had a little girl which she named Olivia as a nod to her older sister. Aunty 'O' dotes on her little niece. Eloise and Olivia have since relocated to Tearaskawachle, a town near the base of Mt. Smokes that the Golden Legacy helped found for the mining guild of Deglos. Olisa Visits often.

Other works

Ki and the way of the Blade - Book on relationship of Ki between Weapon Masters and Monks: http://wiki.avlis.org/Ki_and_The_Way_of_The_Blade

The Red Star

The Red Star's threat towards Avlis was long known. Many diverse people assisted in preparing the defense of Avlis, most notable contributions were those of the Thel's in working to repair and operation of 'The Great Making' and the Efforts of the Trust of Andrinor under the direction of Dameon Nerpitas. Olisa entered into the defense planning fairly late compared to some. Thienna Skybreaker Thel was working on a method to employ divine energies against the Red Star, to wit, she began the collection of divine energies from all over Avlis. These energies would be stored in specially prepared ritual gems.

What was unclear at the time was how could these energies be combined into one device and then directed towards the Red Star. It was at a meeting discussing these divine energies that Olisa mentioned that she was steward of the Holy relic of Gorethar, Heavendor. Heavendor she told them was multi-planar in nature and it was deemed possible that because of that nature it would be able to contain the entirety of the energies collected and because of Olisa's great affinity to the weapon that through her Ki she could direct that energy.

In a ritual held at the Tower of Light, the Order of Gorethar's headquarters, The energy was transferred from the storage vessel Thienna possessed into Heavendor and Olisa bound the sword into her scabbard awaiting the day of its need.

Upon that day, the first assault on the Red Star came from Heavendor. At the direction of Archibald Thel, she unleashed the full divine energy contained within the weapon upon the mirror of the Tick-Tock tower, which then directed it against the Red Star itself.

Olisa uttered a phrase in Dwergen, loosely translated as -""may the light of the gods strike down the heart of evil"" and in a swift single motion withdrew Heavendor from its sheath and thrusts it towards the heavens. The blade shimmered brightly completely concealing its shape, only bright light erupting from the grip of the weapon.

Thrust skyward a coruscant beam of light erupted forth, towards the main mirror above. The beam, though white at its core carried within it, tendrils of colored light. Greys and golds, blue, yellow and red, darker colors of blue such as violet and even strands of pure darkness are mingled into the beam like some sort of divine rainbow. From the horizon a blood red energy joined with the beam. Olisa realized that this beam was from Heavendor' opposite, the Malekite artifact known as Taanar-Sheeve.

With the Aid of the Bards of Avlis, between Heavendor and their magical and musical contribution, the Red Star was cloven in two. The exertion was great and after the beam ceased, she collapsed to the floor oblivious to the rest of the goings on.

There is more to the story of the Battle of the Red Star, Olisa' part and the part of Heavendor are only a part of it.

Starsplitter

Heavendor did not survive the attack on the Red Star. Olisa knew through her communing with Llissa, the Herald of Gorethar, that it was likely Heavendor would not go unchanged. She knew that what they planned was not what Heavendor was designed for. Containing the divine energy of a million prayers to any number of gods, some with widely diverging beliefs to that of Gorethar. In the end, the energy within Heavendor that made it a divine weapon was included in the energy sent forth against the Red Star, draining it of its Holy energy.

What remained was a very high-quality katana of Goretharium.

The remains of Heavendor, while still a potent weapon were renamed by Olisa. The blade is now known as Starsplitter.

PCs:Olisa Ellendar