Prompt 8: Howl, Ilsandra the Banshee Queen

Queen of the City State of Gal Anore Ilsandra Silvermantle- Willowheart (a.k.a. The Bane Sidhe, Lady of Thorns, Mistress of the final dirge)

Once I drew breath and a heart beat with in my breast, once there was a time when I looked from my balcony upon green fields and felt the warmth of the sun upon my skin. I was young and foolish when I was wed to a king, King Rhandyr of the City State of Gal Anore. He was handsome, charming and in my callow youth I fell head over heels in love with my king. He swore his love for me and made oaths that his heart belonged to be alone.
We ruled from the Silver Spires of our palace and all of Gal Anore looked upon us with admiration and adoration. My life was a faerie tale and I like a empty headed whelp thought it would never end. I remember when that waifish human appeared, a member of the tribes of men who called the wild lands outside of Gal Anore home. Her mother, chieften of her tribe sent her to us as a gift of peace, or so we had been told. Deidre they called her, Doom of Gal Anore, temptress of King Rhandyr, the source of all of the hatred in my heart are the names I lay upon her!
Jealous short lived and greedy were the humans who beat their weapons from bronze and howled their platitudes to nature spirits that were red of tooth and claw. Yet my Rhandyr gave them a chance and trusted Deidre, he even started to fancy her. He ignored me his loyal bride and waned upon his oaths that I alone had his heart. I lied to myself, told myself she was a passing fancy, a lustful distraction that would hardly last a decade. I told myself many lies, swallowed my bitterness and sorrow with each passing day he favoured her company over mine.
I can not forget my pain, my sorrow, my hate. Each memory is forvever burned into my being! That night when I found my Rhandyr in our bed chambers, murdered durring the throes of passion with that human stumpet! A knife in his throat and another proverbialy in my heart. The floodwaters of my pain and sorrow broke as our beautiful Gal Anore was set upon by the wild men with their blackthorn cudgels, bronze axes and pitch soaked torches. Weeping I stumbled to my balcony and cried for vengence, howled to the torch lit night as the barbarians sacked our beautiful Gal Anore. The cries of civilians filled the dark empty places of the night as the savages took from me home and my people after they took my true love! They had stolen the key to our city and attacked when our armies were weakened by attacks from ogres from the southren penisula.
Fires rose and all that was Gal Anore burned or was stolen, enslaved or defiled and all I could was weep in agony. There was no escape for me, either the fires take me or else i be captured and made a prize by these savage humans. That was when she spoke to me, as I looked over the balcony and considered in my sorrow, spite and rage that I would deny them any victory in taking me alive or killing me by their terms. Her voice was like black velvet and her caress gave me some measure of comfort. She promised me vengence, promised that my song of sorrow would become a dirge of death all I had to do was promise myself to her and give my life into her hands.
I was unsure, even in my pain I recognized the dark goddess Sindra and knew of the cost of dealing with her. At that very moment Deidra burst into the room with her savage kinsfolk and with the smug cruelty of her assured victory she spat orders in her heathenous tongue to capture me. Passion made my choice and i promised myself upon my true name thrice to Sindra and fell from my balcony.
There was in that span of time a clarity and peace as I fell one where I watched my life pass before my eyes, one where I was happy with my king and smiled upon the fair city of Gal Anore. There was a moment of darkness and blessed peace then I awoke reborn. I rose above the broken stones where my body lay shattered and I could see lights brighter then the invaders torchs. The ebb and flow of their life forces were glowing wisps and a new part of me burned with hate for these motes of life these undeserving barbarians had been given.
So, I howled.
I howled my agony, my sorrow, my hate, my revenge and every other emotion that burned to the very core of my soul! They fell to their knees as hearts burst in their breasts, others stumbled over gurgling as blood filled their lungs, others clasped their heads or else opened their mouths in silent screams as my suffering cry became instant death! As I rose above the earth into the cresent moons baleful light I continued my howl and watched as the sparks of life guttered and died all around Gal Anore. Deidra however was not among the dead, she had clasped her hands over her ears and managed to surive my cry. Yet at her feet lay her mother and brothers and in that moment of her grief where I should have been happy all I could feel was hate, sorrow and spite in my soul as if all other things had been left with my corpse upon the broken stones below.
I drifted towards her and she screamed, cried that I was a demon, a monster from beyond the pale a Bane Sidhe. She struck at me with her her knife and its blade passed me as harmlessly as a cool autumn breeze. I reached out and into that spark of life inside her core and wrapped my fingers around it. Oh how she cried as I squeezed that glowing mote and drained away its vitality!
I hunted them to a last only when the dawn broke did I retreat for the sun brought a great tiredness upon me, if any escaped me they fled far and long never even to return to retrive their looted treasures. It was that next night I realised my howling cry had not just slain the invaders. My people had been cut down just as quickly, nothing was spared my song. Once more all that was left in my heart was sorrow, hate and spite now for myself for their deaths.
Yet loyal in life many were so in death as I took the empty throne of Gal Anore spirits arose as if they yet lived. Mockeries of their past lives unaware phantoms all save the strongest willed who would become the new court of Gal Anore. The barbarians arose aswell as mindless hungry spirits who bowed to my will. Deidre's soul I chained to my throne and each night she relives her death and I lament that in my empty heart this gives me only a faded shadow of satisfaction. My Rhandyr is lost to me though often I hear him when the night is dark or else rumors of his passing come to me as if to taunt me with what little remains of the hope and love my heart once held.
I remain here in this city of Thorns and death the very manifestiation of vengenful hate, the first Bane Sidhe bound by passion and fury to the goddess of undeath. My memories faded and recoloured in muted tones save for those that bring me pain or fuel my hate, those burn brightly and never fade no how much I long for peace. I am Queen Ilsandra of the tarnished silver city of Gal Anore, where the roses never bloom and all is thorns.

Ilsandra the Bane Sidhe (Banshee) Queen of the lost city state of Gal Anore
All Art by Midjourny

Alignment

Lawful Evil

Ethnicity

Sidhe, Fey Elves

Age

Over 3000 years

Sex

Female

Hair

Bone White

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Pale White

Height

5'10

Weight

Incorporeal

In a lonely valley upon an untrod road lays the thorn choked ruins of the once silver city of Gal Anore, and here the first Bane Sidhe queen of all her dreadful kind sits upon her throne forever filled with sorrow and spite.
Art by Midjourny