Volance Celastris

Volance Celastris
Lady Volance, Voice of the Oracle, Ageless Archmage, Ruin of Royals
Council of IX member Bearer of mask I

Description

Volance certainly does not make for an average encounter. Appearance alone makes her stand out with her starkly pale figure. Alabaster skin and snow-white hair frames sharp seemingly perfect features. She also often wears white clothes, and the one thing that certainly never changes is the distinct pure white blindfold over her eyes, or...whatever remains where they were. Everywhere she goes she is known to carry herself in a manner that is almost ethereal in motion, and there is an unmistakable aura around her of peace and vitality as if her simple presence causes life to be calm and maintained.

Origins

Volance does not appear in any documented history before she was made the court mage under Respherin's last king. At least, not by that name or visage. In fact, any attempt to find a record of her in history would fail, an impressive thing for a being who has been estimated to have existed for over 10,000 years. Certain events that she can recall from Ashirma's past are truly ancient, and yet still there is no true indication.
But, Volance herself is well aware of her origins. A city lost to time in days long gone, lost to the rest of the world, and locked in a period far behind what was when they were discovered. And one day, a day that even the fates themselves could not smile upon, the child who would one day be great fell into the hands of one with no good intention for the young life she had now within her grasp.
An angel blooded in the hands of evil is never a good thing, and the time that Volance spent within those clutches is not one that she speaks of to anyone who is not very close to her heart and deeply trusted. The scars of those many thousands of years have made themselves apparent within her, and less on her visible form. Eventually, she was given over to be the right-hand mage of King Illmarayne where it was that she began her career in the public eye, though barely as she was often kept apart and away from others unless she was beside the king himself. For what was a greater tool in the hands of a royal than a mage with a powerful hand in war as well as prophetic tendencies touched by the divine? Even if darkness had overtaken that light.
It was not until the madness of the king at the prophesy given by an oracle who visited the kingdom which dictated that Respherin would begin to fall to ruin soon enough and only be saved 'by the eyes of the mage' that Volance's life began to take an even steeper turn. To this day, most tell the story in a million different ways. One person will tell you that the king took her eyes with naught but a spoon, and another will say his very hands. Few were there that day, and fewer heard it from the mage herself. But all know what he did, taking for himself the eyes of his mage before casting her out.
Alone, blinded, ill, and confused, Volance ran for the first time in many thousands of years. Her feet took her to Owl's Crest where she stumbled upon the Talons who took her in, and it was there that she befriended Arner Dolluck who would become her first and closest friend. For some years as the foretold ruin overtook Respherin under the mad king's rule, Volance hid in the crest, learning how to use sight beyond what her eyes could have seen and experiencing a life of freedom and truth. It was during this time, and with Arner's help, that she discovered the trail of a mask like his that could lead her to the power she would need to take the nation from under the king's grip.
Not a living soul knows what happened in her search, but when she came back Volance was a woman changed. For good or bad? Perhaps not all has been seen, though mostly the former has been seen. Aided by the Talons, Volance went back to Sylvatica and undid the king's ruinous reign and undertook the revitalizing of Respherin's nation herself, though she has not been left entirely alone since receiving the aid of her fellow Council members.

Personality & Activity

It isn't all that hard to find Volance, unlike many others. While she may be busy, she likes to make time for conversations and talking to those who come to learn from her. Most often she is found somewhere within the palace, guest lecturing at Jotai University, or on occasion, she may wander the streets of Sylvatica in disguise. She is often sought out for either arcane or historical knowledge if it isn't matters of state and politics or the fate that she can divine.
She is commonly known to be calm and serene and rather friendly unless one gives her reason to be otherwise. Her aura of peace and vitality often aids in the having of casual conversation, and she will most always be ready to teach and provide some form of learning to those that come to her if she can.