Fahriye Syeali

Fahriye Syeali was born in southern Gora Nos before the country was unified. She was the only daughter of a clan leader and raised as a warrior. She was a skilled marksman and rider with a reputation of being a quick study for military tactics. When she was sixteen, however, the clan was attacked by a rival clan, and many members were skilled with the rest either taken prisoner or scattered. Fahriye was one of the few women who escaped, but she spent the next few years in exile unable to return home. With the women and children that escaped with her, she formed a new clan specifically for women. She called it the Sisterhood of Cedars and personally undertook the effort to train her members in combat and defence. Initially, they moved around living on the outskirts of other clan holdings. Eventually, they were able to find an abandoned castle and settled down. The women defended their home fiercely against bands of raiders and earned the reputation as being harpies--savage women who feasted on men. They embraced the image as many clans preferred to keep their distance and leave the castle alone. However, to other women in dire situations, the castle populated by harpies sounded like a refuge. Slowly, women escaping their homes came to the castle seeking protection. Fahriye welcomed them with open arms on the condition that they pulled their weight. Most eagerly accepted, and those that showed reluctance quickly changed their minds. This stirred up the ire of various clans as wives and daughters had gone missing, allegedly joining the harpies. But Fahriye defended them all. As word of the harpies spread, women from all over Gora Nos sought them out, and as their numbers grew, so did the clan holding. Fahriye staked her claims on land and won battles to keep them. Late in her life, the country was unified, and many holdings were formally dissolved. The Sisterhood of Cedars was among those that lost claim to land, but they were allowed to keep the castle. At this point, she also converted to Orromy along with many other clan leaders. With a unified state, the sisterhood shifted their work and began opening secret refuges for women and children. The locations of the refuges were carefully guarded, and the members of the sisterhood were all trained to defend the inhabitants to the death. When Fahriye died, the women of Gora Nos petitioned to have her remembered as a saint for her work. They argued that her dedication and humility to her work helped her become godlike.