Celuriel Aliforn
Champion of Magdh Celuriel Valeria Aliforn- Geltharieth (a.k.a. Celu)
When one spends their entire life locked away in a tower with a deranged mother and power-hungry sister, they develop an extremely odd view of life in general. Celu is a former vetala vampire who, despite being centuries old, has spent precious little of her time interacting with the real world - most of her knowledge comes from her home's library, giving her a particularly warped set of morals and a horrible understanding of emotions. The fact that she was undead for most of those centuries (and had to endure the effects of negative energy on her mind) didn't help.
When the party first encountered her, she was incredibly passive, uncaring for anything but her own safety - not even worrying about her own family members, nor displaying grief at her mother's death. However, over the past few months with the party, she's been managing to learn a little more about interaction, particularly thanks to Aniks Alas'thil. Whilst it's been a long process, she has begun to understand things that she wants, likes and dislikes, and has been taught about the necessity of things such as different clothing and impulse control. Now that she's been restored to life, she has begun the process of learning how to keep herself alive - this has not been easy for the ex-vampire.
Even in life, Celu deals with secretive factors that make it hard for her to truly seem normal. She is an oracle, and thus stands both cursed and blessed by the divine. Unlike most oracles, Celu is privileged to seemingly receive glimpses of something other than the future (though usually keeps this information to herself). When she was undead, this was part of why she took it upon herself to protect Aniks from his hunters - that, and she felt a strong sense of loyalty to him. Aniks was the party member that willingly took responsibility for her safety and freedom, and the one who allowed her to feed on his memories to sate her vampiric hunger. She owes him a lot, and respects him for that.
Because of his help, Celu has never thought it surprising that she feels closer to Aniks than any other. It wasn't until she was restored to life that she began to understand the extent of her feelings - the undead struggle to feel anything positive, after all. After her resurrection, she studied a number of books on emotions - love, hate, fear, et cetera - and soon came to the mutual realisation that she and Aniks were in love. They began their relationship in Tenaerul not long after she'd been raised, and it has quietly developed since. Most recently, a small mistake on Aniks's part led them to realise that a family was something neither would mind starting - and whilst the middle of a fight against an ancient and deadly artifact is not usually considered to be the most romantic of places, they did choose such a place to become engaged.
As a vetala, her jet-black hair served to accentuate her deathly pallor, and her dull eyes glowed crimson. Now that she has been revived, her hair has returned to a particularly dark brown, with her eyes warming to a soft honey-gold. Her sister had been jealous of her appearance when they were children, and that jealousy lead to Celuriel's death by Ludrissiel's hand - now that she once again has the features she was born with, it's easy to see why.
She still wishes to see her sister again, though no longer wants to return to her side. She'd like to see her sister restored to life and sanity so that they might have a normal relationship. Unfortunately, she suspects it's more likely that she'll simply be killed by 'Drissi' and once again raised as an undead creature. She has silently vowed to fight that fate as best she can, and if the worst happens - she will do everything in her power to ensure her true family remains safe.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Thin, but not excessively so. A litany of scars mar her chest, but their pale colour means they're barely noticeable. Faint scars mar the skin around her eyes; almost too faint to be seen, nowadays. A green three-pointed knot that represents her current patron, Magdh, lies on her wrist - if Celuriel had been born in another universe, she might have described the knot as "Celtic".
Body Features
White skin, rarely touched by the sun, accompanies her deep brown hair. Most of Celuriel's former injuries and scars have faded with time and healing magic; nowadays, the only ones that linger are those around her eyes and the deep gouges on her chest. Whilst she used to have claws, she's now proud to have perfectly ordinary hands - hands marred only by her use of time-based magic.
Facial Features
Longer heart-shaped face, dark lips and golden eyes, with the graceful and refined features of an elf. Her ears are long and pointed, though often get partially hidden by her hair. She appears slightly younger than one expects from an adult elf, and generally appears quite shy in demeanour - well. Shy or silently murderous, depending on the situation.
Identifying Characteristics
Her most prominent scar is the one over her heart, and no other being in the world can wear the Champion mark that sits on her wrist.
Physical quirks
Walks extremely quietly and smoothly so as not to be noticed. When in battle, she tries to keep herself as close to Aniks as possible without endangering either one of them, and keeps him in sight until the danger has passed.
Special abilities
She's an Oracle, and hides her curse from the party as best she can. Her spells used to revolve around pain, illusion, necromancy and stealth, but changed upon her resurrection. Nowadays, she wields time-related spells alongside her daggers.
Apparel & Accessories
Prefers darker colours, but usually doesn't care beyond that. Allows Aniks and the rest of the party to decide what she wears, mostly. Has lately developed a taste for pirate-style clothes, often including the classic pirate hat. That being said, she prefers to use daggers as a means of minor damage and intimidating anyone who gets too close to her or her fiancé.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Born to necromancer parents, Celuriel watched her father disappear and her mother be transformed into a necromantic beast in servitude to the goddess Urgathoa (assisted by her elder sister, Ludrissiel). She helped her sister to transform into a lich, mostly unknowingly/unwillingly, only for Ludrissiel to slay her as part of a dark ritual and raise her as a vetala vampire. Celu has never shared the ritual's purpose nor result with any, and keeps the scar hidden.
Until the party chose to invade her home, Celuriel had barely ever stepped out of the tower her sister kept her imprisoned in. The Lost Ones made a pact with the then-vetala to allow her to free them and herself with a teleportation ritual, and from then on, Aniks Alas'thil became her guardian. She fought alongside them to claim Ironfalls from Ruben Goldblood, willingly set foot in the Underdark to rescue Alysia Undria and to try and prevent Riven Drast from reforging the Spiritblade, and ventured out with them to the Kingdom of the Galasthin Elves in pursuit of the Unbroken March.
It was this last mission that led to her first major separation from the party. Talindë Ae'tharis had sealed himself within an ancient temple to the elven goddess Seren to perform a ritual with the Sceptre of Aetharis; the party, despite being told by Saeryn Ki'renna that it was under control, decided to interfere. In the temple's depths, alone and bold, Pin Whisperbreath came across a devil and, allegedly unknowingly, made a deal.
The devil chose Celuriel as her price, and stole the vetala away to hold her in Hell until such a time as Pin came up with a better exchange. Whilst the party were able to stop (and recruit!) Talindë Ae'tharis, their search for the Shard was halted in order to rescue Celuriel from the devil's grasp. Their research led them to the magic-blighted region of Tenaerul, where even their names were stolen from them, and though it cost little to drag Celuriel's soul back from Hell, the land wasn't so willing to let them leave. A mysterious entity known as the Beauty promised them Celuriel's life back - if they would first defeat a demon.
The group succeeded, losing Lirien to the land's corruption in the process. Life flowed back to Celuriel, undoing the years of undeath; she returned as both an elf and a Champion of Magdh. A Champion of the fey - the first publicly-known fey Champion in centuries. But this was not all: whatever powers the entity had served to also grant the entire party a level of power beyond that any mortal was used to dealing with.
Naturally, Celuriel was overwhelmed. Aniks's presence helped greatly, as did their quick transition from odd friends to a genuine couple.
The party resumed their Shard hunt, and Celuriel joined them. Despite the multiple close calls - including having her intellect wiped by a mind-controlled Lyadrí An'thimael and being seized by an immense spiderlike figure - she fought as hard as she could, drawing on Magdh's power when needed. The Shard fell, eventually, and though three deities fell with it and they'd been flung three years forward in time, Celuriel didn't care. They finally had a reprieve.
But the peace couldn't last, and before long, life got complicated again. She stayed close to Aniks as the group rode northwards, to Iskaldhal, and charged after him when his goddess - Pharasma, goddess of Fate and Death - saw fit to drag him through a portal to her realm. She found herself by him on the black sands bordering the River Styx, and couldn't care less about the surroundings - she had Aniks, and that's what mattered.
Their time in the Boneyard, Pharasma's realm in the Outer Planes, was one of the more calming years of her life. Despite being a fey Champion, the psychopomps lurking in Pharasma's Spire treated her with respect. Whilst Aniks sparred with Pharasma's Herald, the Steward of the Skein, and grew physically stronger, Celuriel studied in the Spire's libraries and listened to the soft susurration of psychopomp speech.
Mrtyu, a formerly-mortal psychopomp usher known best as Death's Consort and Pharasma's first lover, welcomed her to his Garden Anima and offered her counsel on the days where Aniks was not present - but even so, the days she enjoyed most were those where she and Aniks could spend time in each other's company within the city of Spire's Edge.
The peace of the Boneyard ended with the couple's return to the Lost Ones, who had recruited a vampire - Lukas Falkenrath - in their absence. Celuriel treated him warily at first before realising he was an idiot, and took up a position of odd defence for the new vampire: any subtle hint that they should murder him was met with her heavy glare and stinging rebuke. The shrines and nightmarish adventures weren't something she enjoyed, and the strangers they met were mostly worthless in her eyes (including aforementioned vampire).
There were bright moments in their latest adventures. She was able to spend time in Aniks's company, and they found moments to talk - musing on family, talking about their fates, and about what they wanted to do after. The brightest moment was, of course, when he proposed.
Now, standing knee-deep in the Harp of Virtue's trials, Celuriel finds herself praying that she and her fiancé will make it out of this place alive.
Sexuality
Doesn't see much point in caring about sexual attraction past what she has for Aniks. It's complicated to define sexuality for someone who's never really been given a chance to feel.
Mental Trauma
Intense mental damage inflicted by her family members over years, worsened by her own magics. Uncontrollable future visions. Depression. Isolates herself as much as possible. Tends to blame herself for things that go wrong unless there's someone else to scapegoat. Bad at responsibility.
You know, the normal laundry list of things for someone who lived as an undead abomination sustained only by random flashes of memory drained from hapless souls who would then be murdered in front of her.
Morality & Philosophy
Celu's morals revolve mostly around herself and the few thing she sees as hers, though she's gradually learning what is and isn't acceptable. She's beginning to develop a protective streak for those similar to her, and is learning that she hates how unfair life can be.
Taboos
Threatening to harm something of hers will result in daggers. Getting anywhere near Aniks with either murderous or romantic thoughts will also result in daggers.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
She wants to learn to live her own life alongside Aniks Alas'thil as his equal and his wife. She's determined to prove herself strong enough to at least equal Ludrissiel Geltharieth on the battlefield, even if she's terrified of the outcome of such a fight. Recent events have given her the desire to actually make something of her life and to build her own family, and she's holding onto those desires as tightly as possible.
Likes & Dislikes
Has recently discovered a love for cats and a dislike for conversations in languages she doesn't understand. Very much enjoys reading fiction, especially that revolving around romance or other aspects she never got to experience before. Also likes sharp objects (such as daggers). Loves Aniks, and loves the idea of being able to travel with him to eventually build a new family together. Hates people who prove themselves useless, and who have things they don't deserve (e.g. a loving family).
Virtues & Personality perks
Apathetic in most situations. Despite her quiet nature, she can be very convincing if she wants to be.
Vices & Personality flaws
Overprotective of Aniks to murderous levels, especially after they got engaged. Extremely jealous of others who have had a better life than her yet complain about things; this tends to come out through negative behaviours, such as insults and an unwillingness to help them.
Personality Quirks
Tends to underestimate how much pain things will cause. This mostly leads to her throwing daggers at people who annoy her without realising it's a problem for them, and not realising how badly certain comments can cut.
Social
Family Ties
Parents were Ulsaron Geltharieth and Sidriel Geltharieth. Both are deceased; Ulsaron was slain by The Keepers of Divinity, and Sidriel fell to the party when they first met Celu. Ludrissiel Geltharieth, her older sister and a powerful lich, is her only known remaining relative.
Wants to start a new family with Aniks Alas'thil, her first love and fiancé.
Religious Views
Doesn't seem to care much for deities outside of Pharasma, whom she holds some respect for. She was taken as Magdh's champion without knowing much of the Eldest or fey, but over time has come to accept her new deity - those who insult fey, Eldest, or Magdh around Celuriel are liable to be stabbed or otherwise injured if the oracle catches what they're doing.
Social Aptitude
Despite being incredibly charismatic if she needs to be, she's introverted and withdrawn in social situations. She usually lets the party do any talking, preferring to hang back next to Aniks and let him catch her muttered comments. That being said, if she needs to step in, she does so - and wields each word like a dagger of its own.
Hobbies & Pets
Has one kitten that often ends up accidentally travelling with her. She often forgets whether she's named it or not.
Hobbies include reading, watching Aniks, and interfering with whatever Aniks is doing. She's had little time to figure out what else there is to do with one's free time; Kazric Szithna previously attempted to introduce her to the world of fighting rings and drinking, but it didn't interest her as much as it does him.
Speech
Speaks very quietly with a Serendel accent. Slips into Elven if she's not focusing, or if she gets angry.
Relationships
History
After rescuing her from the necromancer's tower she'd lived in all her life, Aniks volunteered to let her sustain herself from his memories. She managed to retain her sanity through his act of kindness. However, he didn't leave it there. Aniks became the first person she truly cared for and considered a friend over the course of many adventures and months, and when she was stolen away by the devil Meretrixia, he went as far as contacting a goddess and diving into Tenaerul to save her. It is only through his care that she has now had true life restored to her and no longer has to live as a vampire. In addition, the two have recently gotten engaged.
Relationship Reasoning
Aniks cares for her and wants to see her live life, since she didn’t have much of one to begin with. Celu hasn't felt like this towards anyone before and isn't sure what it all means, but wants to try this new thing called 'love' even if it gets her killed by her sister. Happiness is nice, and she's not going to give it up easily.
Legal Status
Engaged
History
The sisters have a complicated relationship. Ludrissiel, as the elder sister, was always jealous of Celuriel. Celuriel, meanwhile, never felt like she could live up to Ludrissiel's example. That their mother tried to force both girls to excel in their father's memory only worsened the situation. Then Ludrissiel ascended to lichdom and killed Celuriel. Celuriel's own abilities kicked in before Ludrissiel could raise her, and from then on, Ludrissiel maintained a level of control and abuse over her vetala sister. When Celuriel was stolen from her by the Lost Ones, Ludrissiel was furious. Celuriel has mixed feelings on her sister now that she's been brought back to life, but the dominant emotion every time she considers her is always, relentlessly, fear.
Wealth & Financial state
Doesn't have much coin of her own other than what she's earnt whilst travelling with the party. Has no idea what to do with it other than to buy more books and daggers.
Character Location
Alignment
True Neutral
Current Location
Species
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Champion of Magdh
Currently Held Titles
Birthplace
Spouses
Aniks Aliforn
(Husband)
Siblings
Ludrissiel Geltharieth
(Sister)
Children
Gender
Female
Eyes
Golden, formerly crimson.
Hair
Long, straight, and very dark brown in colour.
Height
5'5
Weight
85lbs
man, so many of the characters in your world have like. Been Through It. also, great way to get around describing a celtic knot xD
Look they've gotta have SOME reason for being roped into the crazy adventures x) "Vampire living in lich's tower" wasn't even a character I expected them to spare AND NOW SHE'S MARRIED TO THE BLOODY DROW
welcome to my signature! check out istralar!
yep... i feel that one. it's always the most random npcs that become the most important