Mallory
Personal History
Mallory was a gifted Maia artist and storyteller born in a modest Yeorian province. Though she lived humbly, her work—songs, poems, and vibrant paintings—resonated with a vitality that seemed to stir the world itself. It was this rare spark that drew the attention of Isoko-3, the current iteration of the divine Steward of Spring.Isoko, whose divine duty was to choose a mortal successor and pass on his waning power, found in Mallory not only a worthy vessel, but a kindred spirit—vivid, impulsive, and brimming with creative resonance. He named her his successor-in-waiting, and over months of teaching and ritual, they grew close. Deeply so. Love blossomed, natural and genuine, even in the shadow of cosmic inheritance.
The ritual to pass the Steward Stone to Mallory began in accordance with ancient rites. Yet as the transfer unfolded, a metaphysical tremor disrupted the process. Both Mallory and Isoko sensed something else—a presence forming within her. She was pregnant. The unborn child, already a conduit of life and imagination, had begun to absorb fragments of the divine Steward essence mid-transfer.
Realizing this, Isoko halted the ritual in alarm and awe. Mallory—terrified for her unborn child—refused to continue. Isoko, believing fate had revealed its true heir, proposed that the remainder of the power be given directly to the child instead. Mallory refused.
She saw the act not as a gift, but as an imposition of a cosmic burden onto a being not yet born. Rather than subject her daughter to divine fate or risk losing her to the Steward lineage, Mallory vanished—taking the sliver of Steward power already bound to the child and disappearing into obscurity.
Later Life and Death
Mallory raised her daughter Babalon in secret, always on the move. Her child’s strange powers—manifesting creatures from her thoughts, warping space in dreamlike pulses—were undeniable signs of divine inheritance. But instead of fearing her daughter, Mallory guided her. She taught Babalon the value of creation, of boundaries, and of whimsy. They lived precariously but joyfully, their bond forged through love rather than prophecy.As time passed, Mallory aged while Babalon grew stronger. Eventually, as illness took hold, Isoko found them again. He offered her the power a second time, to save her life. Once more, she refused. She had lived freely, and she wished to die freely, unbound by cosmic chains. She told Isoko that she would wait for him beyond the Moon Gate, and when he was ready to give up the mantle of godhood, perhaps they could walk together in peace.
She passed soon after, surrounded by light and color, her hand held by the daughter who would one day become one of the most powerful and unpredictable beings in Alathor.
Cultural and Mythic Legacy
To most of the world, Mallory is an unsung name—her story known only in whispers. Yet in bardic circles, hidden archives, and the rituals of certain Freeborn Orders in Yeoria, she is revered as the Mortal Who Refused Divinity.Her name is invoked in oaths of autonomy and in lullabies sung to children who show signs of magical inheritance. Artists sometimes depict her in dual form: one half a regal figure with Stewardal light radiating from her chest, the other half a barefoot mother in a paint-streaked apron, holding her daughter’s hand.
Some say she was the only mortal ever to begin the path of godhood—and turn away.
Children
