PCs:Eldraea

Painting of Eldraea, sitting in the Temple of Cha'reth at Zvidureth, by Rika Vandor

It was in the year of 2102, long before the war reached far to the north, that a young elven woman approached Elysia’s Elf gate. Though initially hesitant to approach those that called the city home, her unusual characteristics quickly made her known amongst many. Clear blue eyes, surrounded by a pale face and long, silvery white hair, added to the air of silent mystery that accompanied her wherever she went. Unable to speak, she instead gave her name by way of a small piece of paper on which a single name was written: ‘Eldraea’.

As an initiate in the church of O’Ma, the atmosphere of Elysia quickly endeared Eldraea, and she more or less settled down there, resting wherever kind folk would allow her, though her favourite spot quickly became the Elysian lifestone. A more or less two-way conversation with it’s guardian gave Eldraea her first friend in a city that, though friendly, was still largely unknown to her.

Slowly, more came to befriend this new priestess of O’Ma. Some out of pity, or out of curiosity of her lack of speech, but most because of the humble person she proved to be. To those that accepted her muteness, and even to those who wouldn’t, she responded with a shy, gentle selflessness; a desire to help others without asking anything in return. It was almost as if her silence was apparent to everyone but herself.

Eventually though, a passing comment by a sympathizing mage sparked in Eldraea the desire to change the situation. From there on, she was often seen in various libraries, pouring over books dealing with arcane matters, especially those that detailed the bond between mage and familiar. Then one day, she walked eastwards from Elysia, into the Fairy Gardens. When she returned, a faerie dragon accompanied her. Utilizing the emphatic bond that now existed between the two, Kiri, as the faerie dragon called herself, now spoke on Eldraea’s behalf, conveying her opinion, but mostly, her feelings about different matters. Though the two might appear to be an odd matching, when comparing Eldraea’s rather serene mannerisms to Kiri’s bubbly behaviour, they quickly became inseparable, and a common sight around the city.

At around this time, Eldraea had joined the order of O’Ma, a collection of followers that sought to offer a family and home for all those that held O’Ma’s teachings in the highest regards, and the AKN, a guild of artisan’s specializing in the crafts of herbalism and alchemy. Within these two organizations, Eldraea, who was until then rather estranged from the world, slowly developed her awareness in not just religion and the crafting of medicine. Her presence slowly shifted from a passive background one, to a more active advocate of hope, health, and harmony between all.

It was then that two separate events drastically altered the flow of her life. After long efforts, the order of O’Ma had finally gathered what they hoped would end the entrapment of many of O’Ma’s followers in a state between life and death; the closure of a planar gate at the monastery of C’lerath. Though the gate was eventually removed, and the monastery cleansed, it required great sacrifice. It was thus that Eldraea, along with a majority of the order of O’Ma, gave their lives to grant rest to so many others, and were blessed in Elysium not only by an appearance of O’Ma himself, but also the chance to return to the lands of Negaraia. Though this exchange deepened Eldraea’s understanding of his ideals, it also caused her problems in a time that was yet to come. At this time, the Avlisian pantheon was enlarged by the ascension of Cha’reth, an event of which the true impact did not reach Eldraea until much later.

The second, was love..

Eldraea called many a friend, and in a way, loved every last one of them, but her heart had never known true, romantic love before. When the curiosity of one man in her muteness turned into affection, it did not take her long to develop similar feelings, and for the first time, everyone that saw her immediately knew she was truly happy. The touch of sadness that was almost always prevalent in her eyes was gone, replaced with a radiance whenever she was in the company of Rinlar.

With the aid of Rinlar, Eldraea was eventually able to face her demons. One day, in the company of some of her closest friends, she set out into the wilderness. Few know exactly what happened, and fewer have asked, but when they returned a few days later, Eldraea spoke again, in a soft, gentle voice, with a touch of formality or perhaps even archaic touch. The change initially surprised many, but eventually it was accepted, and nowadays, her past muteness is largely unknown, outside of those that have known her for the longest of times.

Being able to speak gave Eldraea a large amount of self-confidence, but it was this same change that eventually pushed her into a crisis of faith. She continued to develop herself, becoming an accomplished crafter and applier of medicine, and a well-known face in Elysia. Though eventually she was granted a leadership position in the order of O’Ma, a series of unrelated events slowly made her start to question her position within the church at the same time a new faith, dedicated to peace and healing, began to pull at her heart. Though at first she tried to hide her doubts and deal with them herself, it slowly became apparent to those around her that not all was well.

The turning point came when she witnessed the conversion of one of her earliest friends to the faith of Cha’reth. The event touched more than one soul and it was not long before Eldraea retreated in an effort to try and discover where her true ideals fit in the most. When she returned, she announced her desire to become a Cha’rethite, a decision that surprised many and one that not everyone accepted easily. Still, Eldraea kept by her chosen path and was accepted into the church of Cha’reth soon after, though she maintained friendships with many of her old faith.

It turned out to be the right decision, and Eldraea had finally found the spiritual home where she was truly at peace. Though she was generally well liked as a faithful of O’Ma, it was as a priestess of Cha’reth that most of her exploits came to be. Standing at the cradle of a young church, Eldraea’s was one of the hands that defined it’s current face. Along with several other followers, the Healers of Cha’reth were formed, a religious order devoted to Cha’reth’s ideals, which accepted followers from all walks of life. It has survived until today, and grown to become an active part of the church.

The new church brought new responsibilities as well though. As followers of the God of not just healing, but peace as well, the Healers became involved in several efforts aimed at bringing a peaceful end to the war against T’Nanshi and M’Chek. Unfortunately though, the voice of peace was drowned out in the roar of war, and none of the efforts were truly successful. Worse still, the war expanded as more nations and became involved. Try as they might, the church of Cha’reth simply did not have the numbers or resources to prevent this.

With the emerging of the second Fairy War, the Healers were forced to change focus. Horrible as the war between T’Nanshi and M’Chek was, it was but small compared to a divine one where two whole races were pitted against each other. Though the horrors this war produced were plainly visible for Eldraea to see, she nevertheless remained neutral as the Healers, believing that no war would never be solved through force of arms, a stance that the faithful of Cha’reth have maintained ever since. After finding another group that shared their wish of ending this conflict peace-fully, they joined their efforts and were eventually able to mend the source of the conflict between O’Ma and Titania, and end the second Fairy War as a result.

Inspired by this success, the Healers now once again focussed on the other war, and mediated in the removal of Drotid from the war. Though Eldraea herself was not present at these negotiations, she continued to guide her fellow faithful during the progressions. While Eldraea considered it a duty to Cha’reth to continue to try bring peace to the lands of Negaraia, she also believed it should not overshadow the joys peace would bring either. Thus, after the house she and Rinlar had built was finished, and the first temple dedicated to Cha’reth erected, Eldraea and Rinlar finally joined in marriage, and have remained very close to each other ever since.

Though the war was eventually reduced once more to the original two nations, it was not the continued efforts of the Healers that finally ended the war. Rather, it was a vicious plague that brought the southern lands to their knees. With the number of casualties steadily rising, the Healers worked tirelessly to try and keep this number as low as possible and looking for answers, until a divine cure was revealed to them from a celestial servant of Cha’reth. Eldraea coordinated the search for the ingredients of the plague, and with the aid of many others, the cure was finally created and infused with the divine, able to combat the plague by it’s ability never to lose potency no matter how often it was diluted.

The cost of the plague though, was immense. It quickly became apparent that neither T’Nanshi, nor M’Chek, would be able to continue the hostilities, and as both nations conceded to negotiations to try and end the war, the Healers, because of their continued neutrality and push for a peaceful end, were nominated to become the mediators during these proceedings. With their aid, the final treatment that ended hostilities became reality, and finally the lands of southern Negaraia knew peace again. For her part in making this hope come true, Eldraea was asked to become Cha’reth’s first high priestess, a position that she accepted with a humble, though honoured, gratitude.

Nowadays, Eldraea coordinates both church and Healer activities as she considers best. With the coming of peace, a new age dawned on the church, one of renewing hope amongst the many victims the war has produced, and the removal of the problems that initially sparked it. It is her hope that the nations can eventually move on from what has happened, and help each other to flourish once more, so that southern Avlis may enjoy it’s newfound peace to the fullest, and everyone can live in harmony with one another.
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