Agronan (Agro-NAN)

Introduction

Today's character goes by the name of Agronan and is in many ways 'the one who started it all' - not literally, of course, but Agronan is one of the oldest characters who gets to show up in the narrative of Lorianthil. Writing out her story on the page has been challenging but fulfilling, and I hope you, dear reader, will come to appreciate her as I have.

Origins

Agronan belongs to one of the rarest races in the whole world that commonly goes by the label of 'Sorceress'. You can think of Sorceresses like that of the Istari, very unique, powerful beings who are virtually immortal. Every Sorceress comes into existence by the hand of the Sepheras, an elder, god-like being once worshipped by the primitive elves. Because of this, Sorceresses are also called 'Children of the Sepheras'.
Historically, Agronan is the second Sorceress to be born within the timeline of Lorianthil. She takes the bodily form of an elf with black hair and emerald green eyes. Her personality is much more calm and tame compared to her predecessor, but she embodies a quiet strength and a compassion for all life. Like all Sorceresses, she possesses a few unique abilities such as psychic bonding with animals/beings, rapid plant growth, and powerful healing. It's easy to call Agronan nature's best friend. Legend has also dubbed her the Mother of Dark Elves, and The Cursed One.

Conflict

Agronan was born in a complicated era for the mortal world. Elves, once the dominant race of Lorianthil, were quickly becoming outnumbered by the ever-growing human population. A High Diplomat by the name of Seiren was currently at the top of elven society, representing his people and their outcries for peaceful integration. But the humans did not bend to the elves' wishes, instead they centralized into a collective nation without establishing good alliances with the elves. Because of human hostility, many elder clans chose to abandon Lorianthil and colonize other parts of the continent. This is what gave way to a great scatteration: the elves who took up residence in the west would eventually form what will be known as Eolnir. The elves who settled in the east will take up life in the harsh, dry mountains. And of course, there will be elves who venture a bit more south, maintaining their patriarchal society and blood-magic practices.
Agronan was expected to be Queen to a separated elven world, and she was merely twenty by the time the western colony was established. Seiren, the High Diplomat, was looked to as leader though the elves had no official King. They wished to place a crown on his head, and they did so through the natural birthright of Agronan. The two elves were married and were both relocated to the west in order to serve as King and Queen.
Within the same century, the western kingdom fell into brutal conflict with the outlying Ithunil clans- the tribal humans that were indigenous to the western portion of the continent. Despite Agronan's hopes and expectations, she spent her prime years dealing with war and striving to broker peace with the Ithunil. As her people's representative, she came into contact with Kraden, the Ithunil Chieftain, and came to love him despite that they were of different races and traditions. Over the years, Kraden developed an affection for Agronan as well, and their affair resulted in a child along with the loss of Kraden's life.
For Agronan, it was a painful time, grieving over the man she loved while still holding the Crown. Seiren, being a scornful husband, employed the use of dark magic to bind Agronan's soul to him. She had bonded with Kraden while the man was alive, and Serien sought to ensure that his wife could not bond with any other.
Needless to say, Agronan's life turned sour. The misfortunes of her youth had cost her greatly. She was a Queen and a mother to several heirs, but she decided that her life was empty and that she had little to lose. In her desperation to be free, she used the full extent of her power to destroy Serien and the binding curse he had placed on her. Neither survived the incident, and though historians cannot confirm what happened to Agronan or Serien, it is widely believed that both their bodies and souls were completely dissipated. To this day there are no remains to be found, not even the crumbling structure where the incident was presumed to have happened.

From the Text

Below you will find a snippet that roughly goes into Agronan's story, but it is told through a book of legend rather than a solid historical account. The theories and facts may differ, but what's fascinating here is that another Sorceress - the current Sorceress - is the one digging up this legendary tale and bringing it to light.

Ashlyn retired early to her room after supper that evening. She put on her nightgown and snuggled into bed with the book she had borrowed from the library. She was halfway through reading The Ancestors of Ëolnir when Damien came through her bedroom door. Smiling, she hopped over to him and showed him a page from her reading.
“Take a look at this, isn’t this fascinating?”
After rolling his eyes, Damien began to read the text out loud.
“Agronan loved Kraden in the depths of her heart,” he quoted, “but she held a duty to her people and her future empire. Agronan was wed to the elf lord, Seiren, and they were set to rule over the elder clans.” Damien looked up from the reading. “Is this one of your overly-esteemed romance stories?”
“No,” Ashlyn said. “What’s interesting is that this writing makes it seem like Agronan was badgered into marrying Seiren. It’s possible she truly loved someone else.”
“I got that from the writing, too,” Damien said, handing the book back to her. “Who was this Kraden person, anyway?”
“I believe he was one of the early Ithunil chieftains,” Ashlyn said. “Which makes sense because the Ithunil and the western elf clans were squabbling neighbors for a long time. Agronan would have been shunned for marrying him at that point in history.”
“Ah. So there was war and bloodshed between the two kingdoms. I’ve heard all of this before.”
“Not from this perspective.” Ashlyn shook her head. “I just got to the part where Agronan and Seiren destroyed each other.”
“Is that seriously what happened? They couldn’t just...resolve their differences like civilized people?”
“No. Apparently, Seiren put a curse on Agronan, made it so that she would always be bound to him. The only way Agronan could be free was to destroy him, and she obliterated herself along with Seiren in the process.”
“Ahh,” Damien grinned, “so it is one of your romance tales.”
“Stop it,” she laughed, smacking the book against the man’s chest. “I just don’t see why Agronan’s story has been swept under the rug in history for so long. You think it would be common knowledge by now.”
“It’s all about conspiracy,” Damien said. “I’m absolutely certain historians wanted to keep Seiren’s name honorable, so they covered up his sins.”
“I do love a good conspiracy,” Ashlyn grinned.

The Age of Agronan - Years 205 to 347

This elven Sorceress was born in Gumber but came to establish the western Kingdom known as Eolnir