Raven Queen
The Raven Queen is a powerful, enigmatic, god-like being of dark mystery. She resides in the Fortress of Memories in the Shadowfell, where she directs her elven followers who call themselves the "Shadar-kai."
Physical Description
Identifying Characteristics
Those who claim to have traveled to the Shadowfell and returned have described the Raven Queen taking many physical forms, including, but not limited to:
- A terrible shadow clawing at their innermost thoughts.
- A pale and regal elf who exploded into an untold number of ravens.
- A shambling tangle of slick roots and sticks that overwhelmed them with dread.
- An invisible, unknown presence pulling them screaming into the gloom.
Special abilities
The Queen's Trial
Mortals who visit the Raven Queen in the Fortress of Memories and later return - whether they do so willingly or not - report having gone through the queen's "trial." After being led to the entrance of the castle by the Shadar-kai, the visitors describe being shown visions from the deepest reaches of their psyches, letting the secrets of their souls be unfolded and revealed. Those who choose to visit the Raven Queen may do so to confront their fears and free themselves from a dark past, to discover a secret of someone who has died, or to seek answers that only the Raven Queen knows.
Adventurers who have visited the Raven Queen claim to have been transported into a world pulled from their own memories, filled with metaphors, parables and allegories that challenge their frailties, fears and desires. Some who visit her, even if their physical form returns, are never able to escape from this metaphorical world, cursed to experience their past trauma for eternity.
Audience After Death
Some individuals who have died and been resurrected claim to have visited the Raven Queen before coming back to life. These individuals describe feeling compelled to do her bidding - whether it's a quest to complete or an item to find - because they were convinced that their mission was in some way part of a greater purpose.
Theologians believe that when souls experience this "audience" with the Raven Queen, it represents the soul moving from the Material Plane, through the Shadowfell, and ultimately to the Fugue Plane for its final judgement. Some scholars believe the Raven Queen traps some of these souls in her Fortress of Memories before they can live out their afterlife in the Outer Planes.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
The origin of the Raven Queen comes from elven mythology, but her true name was lost to history.
Theologians believe that the Raven Queen was once been an elven queen whose people loved her more than they loved their gods. As she rose in power, many of the queen's followers freely offered their souls and their magical abilities to help elevate her. These followers called themselves the "Shadar-kai," and they believed that when their queen achieved divinity, she would unify all the elves.
When Corellon Larethian and Lolth were locked in conflict, the Raven Queen tried to use the souls and magic of the Shadar-kai to forge a pathway through the Feywild and directly to the elven divine realm in Arvandor. Within her group of followers, however, a separate group of evil wizards attempted to siphon the energy of the Shadar-kai for themselves through their own self-serving ritual.
By the time the Raven Queen approached the entrance to Arvandor, she realized what the evil wizards were doing. Having already achieved quasi-divine status, she brought her wrath down upon the wizards. She was unable to control her newfound power, and she reached out to the Shadar-kai for more energy, but it was too late. The gravity of the magic pulled the queen, and all who were under her sway, into the Shadowfell. The queen died, and in her place, the new entity known as the Raven Queen was born.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
According to Alustriel Silverhand:
The Raven Queen is trapped by her fascination with the past. She sits in her fortress, amidst all the memories of the world, looking at the ones that please her most as though they were glittering jewels. Many great wizards have attempted to understand her motives, but like a raven she has always remained cryptic, keeping her cache of secrets just out of their reach.
Some theologians have speculated that the Raven Queen is insane or simply using mortals as pawns in an inscrutable game, but others believe there may be more behind her curiosity.
Some theorize that she needs the gravity of strong emotions to hold her eternally-decaying identity together. Others think she may serve a greater purpose, cleansing souls that cling to fear and pain as they travel through the Shadowfell and forcing them to confront their unfinished business before moving on to their afterlife in the Outer Planes.
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