Milliandra Hunt

Honored One (a.k.a. Milla)

Milliandra Hunt is a revered Hallower leader from the Aerial Isle, who believes the unification of What Was Lost with What Remains is her destiny. From her youth she was passionate, and has often flown in the face of tradition to accomplish her goals. She persevered through cultural biases and physical pains to be the first woman in Darkhallow to become a Hunter, the first to be granted the honor of becoming a Shadowson, and the first person to take leadership over the whole Hallower Cult. Her ambitions and idealism is tempered by a growing pragmatism as she wades deeper into her new roles and responsibilities. 
She is kind to her enemies, and always seeks to encourage them toward Reverence. In 1032, she guided the Reverent Lost away from the Path of Blood, ending centuries of ritual murders and kidnappings. She pronounced her own new philosophy as the Path of the Candle; drawing the Lost in with compassion and truth, as moths to flame. Despite her good nature she is cunning and ruthless when it is required. Those that try to harm the Followings, herself, or the Vulshik Boy disappear seemingly overnight, never to be heard from again.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Early Life

Born in 999, Milla was brought up in the Following of Tenebrar, Honored One of Darkhallow. She was the daughter of a famed Hunter and respected Mother, and on the path to become a Mother herself. The expectation was one that she would grow to chafe against, desiring instead the role of Hunter even though it was reserved for men only. She became friends with the outcast Gwyrden when it became clear that it would cause a scandal for her parents. The pair would become true friends in Starspell 1009 however, when Gwyrden saved Milla from drowning beneath the ice of a frozen river. After that they were inseparable.
It was known that Gwyrden was a descendant of the First Lord, and most considered him a threat at best, and an enemy at worst. Milla quickly decided that neither was true. The boy was quiet and small, unable to stand or speak for himself against the Hallower children who tormented him. Once one of his tormentors, she would come to defend the boy. Spineless as he was, his compassion seemed boundless, and he tended to others with an empathy which would make the Remnants proud. Once they became close, he would coax her favorite flowers from the dirt and snow, and sculpt clouds for them to watch in the rocky highlands beyond Darkhallow. It was clear to her that even those of the First Lord's blood were human; not irredeemable monsters in far off lands. 
Milla would spend her childhood and adolescence observing the tenets of her faith and disappearing into the wilderness to practice hunting with a makeshift sling. As the years passed, she would grow quite proficient; prowling like a sabercat among the rocks and grass, striking unseen. The young woman learned how to read the land for signs of prey and predators. Gwyrden would accompany her at times, though she would spare her quarry when he did. She heard his whispered prayers to grant their prey mercy, and would grant them if only to spare her friend the heartache. 
By 1013 much had changed. Milla's excursions into the highlands had become less and less frequent as social pressures forced her to spend more time in Darkhallow, courting with eligible boys, participation in rituals, and strict curfews which were imposed upon girls her age. She felt noose of Motherhood drawing close to her throat. All the while her own Mother would lecture and chastise her for her dalliances with Gwyrden into the wild. Her father found and burnt her sling. Meanwhile Gwyrden was spending more time with Honored One Tenebrar, learning to read and practice the arts of the Advocates. He too was being snared into a role that did not suit him, and was forbidden from seeing any of the young women of the Following. 
The friends, close as they had become, resorted to secret escapades out of the Following. Hiding out in a cave in the foothills of the Mosivas, Gwyrden and Milla would sit and talk by firelight. Voicing worries, telling jokes, sharing comforts. Gwyrden would attempt and fail at making several bows for Milla while they sat. His attempts to teach reading and writing bore more fruit. And he had come to know a story for each star in the sky, which would spill out of him each time they came to the cave. These secret meetings continued and increased in frequency over the years as the pair's hearts grew fonder, and others began to suspect them of irreverence. 
In 1018 Tenebrar selected Milla to become an Offering of Purity to the Remnant of the Northstone. They had grown increasingly at odds due to her avoidance of her duties, and his suspicions of her problematic influence over his pupil. Milla had thought he would have forced her into Motherhood, but never considered that he would sacrifice her life. As he set to carver the girl's heart from her chest however, a spirit appeared in the clouds and denounced the Honored One's actions for all to see. While the rest of the Hallowers were shocked, Milla understood; she had seen clouds shaped before. Gwyrden used the power of the First Lord to save her life. 
In the confusion, the pair would escape once more to their cave in the mountains. They were found days later by Milla's father, who reluctantly forced them back to Darkhallow. Officially they were separated, Gwyrden being sent into exile with Tenebrar while Milla was set to be married to the new Honored One, Garusk. 

The Vulshik Boy and the Fire

A year would pass of domestic duties and preparations for Milla and Garusk's union ritual. Fear and sorrow muted the young woman, who took to her responsibilities with sullen despondence. It was by surprise that Gwyrden would return in the Starspell of 1019 with an Offering for the Remnant. The young man demanded that in return for his sacrifice, a young Vulshik boy, that Garusk would allow Gwyrden and Milla to be united instead. The Honored One agreed.
Milla was at once happy to see her friend, and distraught at the thought of the union. She had no intention of being a Predecessor; subscribing to the Hallower belief that children are only a further fragmentation of the One, the thought of having one was antithetical to her. Not only that, but she did not wish the world full of pains upon any child, let alone her own. She and Gwyrden argued over this for a time, with Milla fighting for him to ask for her to be made a Hunter instead. She eventually relented however, convinced that the Advocates would never allow it.  The pair was united in the temple, and given a hovel at the edge of Darkhallow. Their days picked up much as they had in their youth, with expeditions out into the highlands. They watched the clouds and chatted while they wandered. Gwyrden had returned with a bow for her, and she was able to hunt again. But these simple joys, pleasurable though they were, no longer fulfilled Milla. And Gwyrden's mood darkened considerably as the day of the Offering neared. A nameless tension grew between them. 
The day of the Offering arrived soon after, and they were escorted to the temple by the Advocates. The other Hallowers were assembled and hooded, chanting on their knees while the Vulshik boy struggled on the altar. Garusk then gave Gwyrden his knife and instructed him to make the offering which he had brought to them. Milla watched the pair climb the stairs to the altar grimly, remembering how Gwyrden squirmed at the thought of killing rabbits, how he paled at the sight of blood. This sacrifice would break him. But not her. 
And so Milla strode forward, brushing past the surprised Advocates and sweeping up to Gwyrden's side. She took the knife from her husband's trembling hand and looked down at the Vulshik boy and his wild eyes. A pang of empathy struck her then; she remembered what it was like being on that altar. But there was no telling what Garusk would do to them if Gwyrden did not make the offering, and it was certain that someone would kill the child if they did not.
"There is peace in the Unity little one," She said to the boy. And then she raised the knife high. Gwyrden screamed. And there was a sudden flash of light and heat as the temple erupted into flames. She leapt away from the altar, reaching for Gwyrden, trying to pull him away with her. But as her hands closed around his wrist, her consciousness slipped from her. 

The Remnant

The Path of Blood

The Candle

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Milliandra's highest priority is to bring all of Therosol into the Hallower Cult, and to secure more power for herself and the Remnant that she bears. She desires to guide her childhood friend Gwyrden back to the faith so that they could lead the cult together as they dreamed of in the past. That said, she is resolute not to allow Gwyrden to get in the way of her own ambitions.

Species

Human

Church/Cult

Those Who Call to Hallowed Remnants

Year of Birth

999

Birthplace

Darkhallow

Sex

Female

Eyes

Blue

Hair

Long, straight blonde hair

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Pale, with dark red burns across the left side of her body and face

Height

1.7m

Belief/Deity

Those Who Call to Hallowed Remnants