Renelle Vernador
Ren
"I am so very tired of Casselian poltics. Why do you think I'm a thousand miles away?"Renelle Vernador, or Ren for short, is half-elven princess from North Cassel. she is a Knight of the Order of the Phoenix. for years now, she has been doing mercenary work in other kingdoms, far from the troubles plaguing Cassel. With her martial skill and supreme control over fire magic, she is like a force of nature on the battlefield. Ren doesn't want anything to do with her homeland, but the schism between men and elves is quickly coming to a crisis and there are few others more able to solve the issue than someone born of both.
Personality
Ren was initially an outgoing and energetic girl when she was young and lived in a human kingdom. When she started to live among the elves and she experienced just how terrible some people can be, she became more closed off, reserved, and skeptical of others, especially elves, to the point that she was outright hateful at times.
Currently, Ren can be best described as kind and loyal to her friends. Everyone else she is straightforward and indifferent towards until she knows their motives. She still doesn't care for the elves that much because most elves still have a problem with half-elves even existing. And with the exception of her little sibling Vyerin, she doesn't care for her family, seeing them as fools playing political games with each other.
Physical description
Ren has the thin, graceful appearance of an elf but radiates the defiant confidence of any human. Like many Casselian women, she keeps her hair in a loose braid. Whenever she casts fire magic, her hair glows and seems to flicker like fire. She can stare down anyone with her piercing blue eyes. Her ears are short and pointed, quite a drastic difference from her mother's long, leaf shaped ears. Ren is considered beautiful by human standards, but by elven standards, the delicate scar over her right eye ruins her appearance for many.
Ren's clothing and armor is often quite dull compared to the flashy armors that other knights wear. She doesn't like the elegant gowns and intricate banded armors of the elves, and would rather have much plainer human clothing. She owns several sets of plate armor, but when traveling she normally wears a leather vest and steel shoulder armor. The leather is made from the hide of feral drakes making it similar in strength to steel armors, though its durability is lower and will take much fewer hits. Ren also owns quite a unique skycloak, but usually doesn't have it when traveling.
Full name:Renelle Vernador
Nickname: Ren
Race: Iron Half-Elf
Ethnicity: Lyonnese and Casselian
Age: 26
Birthday: August 7th
Height: 6'4"
Gender: Female
Titles:Princess of North Cassel
Princess of Lyonne
Horosha Adept
Honorary Therian
Knight Scion of the Phoenix
The Dragon Knight
Nickname: Ren
Race: Iron Half-Elf
Ethnicity: Lyonnese and Casselian
Age: 26
Birthday: August 7th
Height: 6'4"
Gender: Female
Titles:
Children
Equipment
Having been a successful knight and mercenary for the last nine years, Ren has acquired many different unique weapons and armors, several of which are said to be Legendary. As she spent more time in the nations of Yurrimkil, Faeon, and Ordland, most of her equipment is from those nations. Some of her most notable items are listed below, but she is said to have an entire arsenal, enough to equip a small army.
The Rose of Cassel
Kren Aurdel
The Heart of Anarian
An extraordinarily rare aethercite crystal, created from the remains of the Dragon Lord Anarian the Diamond. Ren found this crystal while clearing a cavern of Ancient Horrors in Ordland. She uses it as a Mana Battery, storing excess mana. The star seems to have a nearly infinite capacity and since it is made of Diamond, there is no decay in the stored mana. The stored mana will last forever.Silver Armor
This armor has a shiny appearance is is often mistaken for being entirely made of Silver. The inside of this steel armor is inlaid with silver in a pattern similar to the human nervous system. This allows the wearer to channel magic away from their body and cast large spells with ease.
Drakehide Armor
Ren has had multiple sets of this armor made over the years. It protects as well as heavier plate armor, but being made of leather, it won't take nearly as many hits before falling apart. Feral drakes plague the lands of Faeon and Ordland, and Ren has slain too many of these lesser dragons to count, so she has a seemingly infinite supply of their skins to turn into armor.Star Mage's Dress
Elven armors like this are made of flowy cotton and are woven with crystal fibers and inlaid with a number of gemstones. Looks ridiculous, but greatly powers up magic. Ren prefers wearing actual armor, but she also hasn't shied away from wearing this when she needs some extra magic power.
Sky Cloak
Renelle's prized possession. She recieved this cloak from a Therian named Ithonida during the time that she was in Feylisa. This cloak literally reflects a small portion of the night sky, accurately showing the placement of the planets and stars. The exact mechanism of this enchantment is unknown as there are no obvious aethercite crystals or markings on the cloak.
It is indestructible and immune to her fire magic, so wearing it doesn't prevent her from going all-out, but otherwise the cloak doesn't have an advantage on the battlefield. Ren hasn't worn it in years, and instead keeps it at home, neatly folded and stored away.
Relationships
Family
Queen Eryka
Ren's mother. Eryka is an ambitious elf. Taking advantage of her connections with the human kingdoms of Cassel, she became the youngest Queen of Lyonne ever elected at the age of 420. Her power and ambition is all that matters, and even her children are political pawns to her.
King Brenon
Ren's Father. When Brenon had to end his marriage with Eryka, his children Ren, isabel, and Arden were sent away. It was something he always regretted. Even as Eryka grew more ambitious and possibly started scheming against him, his opinion didn't change.
Isabel Vernador
Ren's twin sister. Isabel was the opposite of Ren in many respects growing up. She was fine being her mother's political pawn and later became the queen of the Elf Country of Ordland. One other significant way she is the opposite to her sister is in her mastery of water magic, enough that the Sea Elves are impressed by her.
Arden Vernador
Ren's younger brother. Arden and Ren fought growing up. they fought a lot. As the two developed their magic power, Ren with Fire and Arden with Earth, their fights got more intense and destructive. While it appears they hate each other, they just prefer solving their disagreements with a fight instead of words.
Laura Vernador
Missing Queen of West Cassel. Laura was a rebellious girl when she crowned Queen at the age of 13 and forced into a cage of luxury and politics. A little later in life Laura spent some time looking after her niece, who was also somewhat rebellious and running away from a cage of her own.
Saya Diaz (Vyerin)
Ren is convinced that Vyerin was there the night that Brenon and Maria died. Vyerin has been in a somewhat dark place for years now, with guilt driving them to the point they became an entirely different person. Ren supports Saya though, and thinks they are the only one who can rule the North.
Eldon Vernador
Ren's Uncle. Ren thinks Eldon is a coward, a tyrant, and an all around terrible excuse for a king. She does not fully believe Eldon was involved in her father's death, but she cannot forgive him for getting Marla killed.Aerynn Vernador
Ren's cousin. Ren thinks the girl is a fool for trusting her father as much as she does. Ren still feels regret over burning Aerynn the way she did, and is unaware that Aerynn was blessed by a fairy and doesn't have a single burn scar on her body from that incident.Marla Vernador
Ren's little sister. Due to succession rules and Vyerin's disappearance, Marla was made queen of North Cassel at the age of 3, and Eldon was made Regent. Ren regrets not being in Cassel when Marla was killed.Friends
Ithonida
Ithonida is a Therian, a type of Aetheric Dragon. Ren was lost and ready to die when she met her. Ithonida had other plans and led Ren to Feylisa, then spent the next year teaching Ren everything she knew about magic and the universe. To Ren, Ithonida is more of a mother to her than Eryka ever was.
Lucia
After Lucia and Ren fought during the Contest of Champions of 2983 I.A, they became friends and worked together on several mercenary contracts in the years since. Ren also helped Lucia hunt down her former master, a Wizard named Acutis Sanguinor.
Jacare
Jacare is a sailor for the Horosha Explorer's Guild and joined a year before Ren did, so the two have known each other for quite a while. Ren hires him to to take her between Vreathe's mainland and the island kingdoms. Jacare is one of the only full-elves that Ren trusts.
Ametista
Ametista is a halfling and the leader of the Las Ladras, a guild composed of other halflings and children of various races. They met shortly after Ren ran away from Lyonne and ended up in Tesiadem. Ametista is the only other full-elf that Ren trusts. Ren even knows her real name.
History
Early Life
Renelle Vernador was born with her twin Isabel in Marsan in the year 2966 I.A.. Their births caused some controversy in Cassel because they are half-elves. They weren't the first half-elven Vernadors, but by edict of of Saint Nora, Elves were not allowed to rule human kingdoms. Their human father, Brenon Vernador, didn't really care about such things since he was second in line to the throne anyways. Their elven mother Eryka used to be like Brenon and not care for such things, but she changed later in life...
Growing up, Ren's sister Isabel dreamed of her life as a princess and queen, and having a kingdom of her own. Ren did not. Being in charge of a kingdom seemed tedious. She studied magic instead, and was quite good at it. When Ren was 8, her grandfather Vernador XX suddenly split Cassel into three kingdoms and gave the northern kingdom to Ren's father. Brenon was forced to break his marriage with Ren's mother and took a new wife, Maria of Galleska. Eryka then went to the elf kingdom of Lyonne and took Ren, Isabel, and Arden with her. Ren didn't care at first. She was never going to be a future monarch anyways.
"A portrait of my parents.... Father is tall for an Iron Human at a respectable 6'4", but Mother, being an Elf, is nearly seven feet tall. I heard that Father stood on a box for this portrait!"
"Delphia, the Capital of Lyonne. I hate this place..."
Ren ended up hating the elven and elves in general. The full-blooded elves looked down on her half-elven heritage. Ren was defiant against these elves, but then she became the target of hate. Her mother didn't care much that Ren wasn't treated well, just that Ren would be useful for an alliance with some kingdom someday. Isabel on the other hand, was treated quite well, but only because she pretended to be inferior to the elves.
Ren had been practicing magic since she was very young, but she started to lose interest because the Elves were way stronger than she was, at least until she heard of a way to increase her power. She secretly subjected herself to her own magic, which would create Magic Scars across her body, but would also greatly powerup her magic. she was basically burning herself in specific patterns. By the time she was 12, she had dozens of scar-lines running down her back and front, all glowing red signifying her affinity for fire magic. Eryka eventually discovered her daughter's magic scars and was going to have special tattoos put on Ren's hands, sealing her magic.
Teen Years
Extremely bitter about everything that has been happening to her, Ren ran away when she was 13, the day before her magic was to be sealed. A few weeks later, she ended up in the Barony of Mataro, and in the shining city of Tesiadem, where her aunt was queen of West Cassel. Laura took Ren in. She wrote to Eryka about Ren and thought it would be best if Ren stayed away for now.
Here Ren met two elves, a young sailor named Jacare and a halfling named Ametista. Not all elves were hateful towards half-elves, but Ren was still bitter about the Elves of Lyonne. She wanted a way to prove she was better than they were. Ren started researching ways and learned of the Dragon Riders of the old days. They would go into The Olimian wastes and steal a dragon egg, gaining a powerful companion and weapon of war. Ren started planning for a way into the desert to get one of these eggs.
When Ren was 15 she joined the Horosha Explorer's Guild. This organization specializes in charting the vast Olimian Wastes and bringing back artifacts and aethercite crystals for sale. It was started by a man from Tensen centuries ago, and the guildmaster is a Tensenite. Ren wasn't allowed to go on an expedition herself until she was 16.
"The Shining City of Tesiadem, The City of Guilds, The City of Mages, The Diamond Lands, The Glowing Paradise, The Marbled Capital...this place has way too many names!"
The Desert Expedition
The day Ren turned 16 she immediately signed up for the expedition into the Olimian Wastes to the Lost City of Tenali. This was a very risky expedition with high chances of death, but the gained riches would be great. She didn't tell Laura this was the expedition she chose and instead claimed she was going to the Aelurus Isles for a few months.
A few weeks into the expedition, the group came across a cave, which housed Aetheric Dragons and dragon eggs. Ren decided she was going to steal one! The rest of the expedition retreated a few miles so they wouldn't face the wrath of the dragon. Ren snuck into the cave and found the mother dragon and the clutch of eggs. She crept close and managed to grab one, but the mother dragon woke up! She used her flame breath to burn Ren to a crisp, but Ren was able to use her own fire magic to block the attack. She rushed out of the cave with an angry mother dragon chasing her. It tried to fry Ren several more times with her fire breath but Ren was able to block it each time. The dragon then bowed her head then went back into the cave to guard the other eggs.
"The only thing that kept me from being dragon food was my fire magic to cancel out her own fire magic! ...Heh...still got a little cooked though!"
Ren's disappearance
"Nope. Never fighting these guys again, not without an entire army by my side!"
A day later Ren caught up with the expedition. Her clothes were mostly burned away, but she had the dragon egg. At night Ren clutched the dragon egg closely, feeling its warmth. As the expedition went deeper into the desert, they passed the Aetheric Threshold of the Olimian Wastes, a point where natural laws start to break down. It is here that the ancient city of Tenali is located. The expedition started to come across petrified stone heads, crystalized by the silver age cataclysm. This would have been enough to pay for the expedition ten times over, but the team wanted more, so pressed on.
They then got to the City of Tenali, where few humans have stepped foot in many thousands of years. The expedition team got to work harvesting aethercite and looking for anything of use. Then one member of the expedition somehow activated the Crystal Guardians. These beings were created by the Elder god Alom and placed in Tenali to destroy anyone who would dare enter this cursed place.
The Expedition was quickly scattered and many of them, Ren included, were shot with crystal spikes. These crystals started to turn their victims into crystals themselves, killing them. Members of the expedition regrouped outside the city, but around a quarter of them were dead. Ren was also presumed dead. The expedition was then called off and they returned north without recovering any bodies.
It turned out that Ren wasn't dead and wasn't converted into crystal for an unknown reason, but being separated from the expedition team left her with no food or supplies. She wandered north for several days, going hungry and completely drained of energy. She came across the dragon cave from a few weeks earlier and decided to return the dragon egg she stole. She had the energy for that at least.
The Realm of the Dead
"The Realm of Feylisa is...uhm...It's not important to describe. The important this is that I was able to live there for a year!"
When Ren entered the dragon's cave and return the egg, the dragon revealed her true form. She was named Ithonida, and was a Therian. Ithonida led Ren through the cavern's twisting passages until they somehow ended up in an entirely different world. This world was called Feylisa, a world that the iron age humans called the Realm of the Dead, even though that is the opposite of what it is.
Much of what happened to Ren here is not very well known and she doesn't talk about her time spent here. What is known is that Ren disappeared from the world of Vreathe for an entire year before reappearing at the Loralkas Impact Crater, deep in the Mountains of Cil, in the nation of Galleska, over a thousand miles away from the Olimian Wastes. When she reappeared, she was wearing a Sky Cloak and a bronze dagger called the Kren Aurdel.
As luck would have it, or as Ithonida had planned it, Ren's Brother Arden was in the impact crater, looking for a Moissanite Crystal. Ren left Ithonida and went with Arden back to human civilization. After staying in Galleska for a time, Ren had plans to go back to Cassel to prove herself before all the kings and nobles, all the elves and humans there, and with her ability, there was no better way to do it than enter the annual Chivalric Tournament of Champions, a high level competition between knights from across the continent, where swordsmanship matters as much as skill in magic.
Ren at 17 years old, still wearing the Sky Cloak Ithonida gave her.
Tournament of Champions
In order to enter the tournament, Ren needed to be part of an order of knights. She had a few options. Arden was a knight of the Order of the Abyss, and Gils, the Grandmaster of the order, offered her to join, but Ren refused. she wanted to fight Arden at the tournament! Ren instead went to travel to the country of Ordland, where her twin sister Isabel was now queen. This reunion after five years of being separated was...less than happy, but Ren was able to convince Isabel to let her join one of the knightly orders there. The one she chose was the Order of the Phoenix.
The Coat of Arms of the Order of the Phoenix, depicting a four winged firebird. The herb on the escutcheon is a type of Bindweed or a Cressa. Alino scriptures says this plant can revive the dead.
A few months later, Ren went to the Aquarius Floodplains in South Cassel, where the tournament was being held. During the first round, Ren won easily, she then revealed herself, much to the surprise of the three human and two elven rulers of Cassel. Brenon and Aria tried to talk their child out of the competition, but were unsucessful. Ren was able to sail through the early rounds with little issue, but then she started runing into other knights that were as adept in magic as she was.
First there was the Alluthian named Lucia the Rime Knight. Ren only won because she used her sky cloak to look invisible and get the drop on her opponent. Then there was the Orc Azarsin the Nova. Ren's fire magic was no match for this man. She instead used her dagger and got up close for the victory. Her third opponent was her brother, Arden the Mageless, who wasn't exactly lacking magic, he just wasn't flashy with it. His specialty was earth magic and defensive enchantments.
This fight lasted the longest of any other at the tournament. Arden was wearing nearly indestructible Void Armor and with his defensive magic, barely took damage. He wasn't able to go on the offensive though because Ren's fire magic was just too strong. Arden eventually conceded, having no way to make a finishing strike on his sister.
Ren's final opponent was Oscuria the Dark Cloud. This elf knight from Lyonne specialized in taking away all light and using absolute darkness to his advantage. Not even auras are visible under his magic. He even trained himself to fight only by sound. Ren very nearly died fighting this knight and almost conceded, but she noticed the slighest bit of light coming off her sky cloak which seemed to not be wholly affected by the darkness. Ren removed it and threw it in the air. Oscuria went to attack where he thought Ren was, but Ren wasn't there, instead she struck the final blow on Oscuria and won the tournament.
Celebration
"When I started this journey, it was to prove to those stupid Lyonne Elves that I was better than them. Now....now I don't really know what I was trying to prove..."
With Ren's victory, everyone in Cassel knew of her strength and skill. Almost every soldier and knight bowed to her in respect of her power and skill. Almost every king and queen of Cassel and beyond, including both of her parents, showered her with gifts and wanted her to be a general in their army. Her aunt Queen Laura of West Cassel gifted her a sword named the Rose of Cassel. Her uncle of South Cassel gave Ren the title of Dragon Knight.
This was all well and good, but other than Ren's mother and sister, the elven kings and the elven knights all looked away and gave her no respect. Most left before the celebrations even started. Ren finally learned that she is never going to impress them and wasn't sure she ever needed to. With this, she had no goals and nothing to drive her.
Tragedy
Over the next year Ren stayed Marsan, training with the armies of the North, seeing herself as useful to her father King Brenon, and Cassel as a whole. She also spent a lot of time with her younger half-brother Vyerin and her younger half-sister Marla, who were 10 and 3 at the time. She liked telling them stories of her travels and her time in the "Realm of the Dead".
Ren didn't really like visiting her mother in Lyonne since Eryka seemed to only be concerned with increasing her power and authority in the kingdom and elsewhere.
Ren was outside one night training with several soldiers when a Flare was spotted in the air. This flare then created the symbol of the King, indicating a distress signal. Ren quickly went to the area and realized that something unthinkable happened. King Brenon and Queen Maria were Assassinated. They were shot full of poison arrows and the king's royal guard was nowhere to be found. Marla was still safe, but Vyerin was missing.
Maria's body was sent back to Galleska. Brenon's funeral was held in Marsan several days later. After this happened, problems started stacking up in North Cassel. Brenon's death and Vyerin's disappearance created a succession crisis in the North. No one wanted to crown Marla queen until Vyerin's fate could be determined. Even without a crowned ruler, King Eldon of South Cassel, Brenon's brother and Ren's uncle, appointed himself Regent of the North.
King Brenon's Funeral. Many thousands of people from all over North Cassel showed up to pay their respects. Ren was not present. She went several miles outside the city and looked in the night sky in the direction of Meliheal The World Tree instead.
"This is infuriating! How can Isabel deal with such nonsense! Father hasn't been dead a week and those damn Ferretors are trying to make deals with me, and mother is trying to make me just, appoint myself Queen of the North!
I'm a soldier, a knight, not a damn politician!....I'm done with this. I need to leave for a while!"
I'm a soldier, a knight, not a damn politician!....I'm done with this. I need to leave for a while!"
This caused quite a stir and was seen as a power grab by nearly every noble and monarch. Queen Larielle supported her brother's decision. Ren's mother put her thoughts into the crisis, saying that one of her three half-elven children should be crowned, which was almost as unpopular as Eldon taking over. Various lords from across the lands had their own thoughts. Ren didn't have much experience in Casselian politics, but quickly learned that everyone is out for their own interests. Not a week went by when there wasn't some noble somewhere attempting to gain Ren's favor and support for an eventual power grab. overwhelmed by the nonsense of it all, Ren left Cassel, and decided to become a mercenary in another country.
the Mercenary life
Ren tried out the mercenary thing in the Kingdom of Yurrimkil for a few years. Whether it was to clear out bandits on the roadways, or exterminate ancient horrors in a cave, she slowly made a name for herself in these lands. Later, Ren helped Lucia kill Acutis Sanguinor, Lucia's former master.
This uncovered a conspiracy involving vampires ruling over the entire country, worshiping some deity named Lithane. The King of Yurrimkil was revealed to be a vampire. He was attempting to mass sacrifice his people to open a portal to the world of Aros, where Lithane was imprisoned. Ren gathered as many knights as she could find across the country and stormed the king's castle, stopping his attempt.
"You seem to hate Cassel as much as I do, don't you Vyerin?"
"...That's not why I left. I--
...Mom and Dad, they--"
...Mom and Dad, they--"
"Heh...Don't worry about it, I'm not going to make you go back! I'm going to let you leave. But before you go, I have a gift for you!"
Sometime later Ren travelled to the Elf Kingdom of Ordland on her sister's request. There she did similar things as in Yurrimkil. Her purpose was to track down a person said to be the last of her race, the last of the Golden Tribe of humans. Ren did track this girl down, and found three others traveling with her. This girl, named Cida, matched the appearance Ren was given, but the girl didn't appear to be a member of some legendary race of ancient beings. Isabel wasn't clear on why she wanted the girl, which annoyed Ren. So Ren let Cida go.
One of the three people travelling with Cida was Ren's little brother Vyerin, thought to have been dead for years. Ren recognized him immediately. Ren tried to convince Vyerin to come back to Cassel, but he refused. When told of Brenon and Maria's Death, Vyerin pretended to not know, but his reaction said otherwise. Ren decided to let Vyerin go. she then traveled to the capital of Ordland, Pollux, to tell her sister what she found.
Preparing for War
In the Palace was not just Isabel, but also Arden, who had arrived only a few days earlier. Ren shared the news that she did not find the golden girl anywhere in Ordland, but she did find Vyerin. The kid didn't want to be king and Ren wasn't going to force him. The three decided that Marla would be a great queen someday, but Eldon as Regent was going to be an issue. Ren figured it would work itself out, but maybe she should travel back to Cassel just in case...
When she did get back to North Cassel, three years after leaving, the palace at the Fortress City of Lornar was in ruins. Marla was dead and already buried. Also, Queen Laura of West Cassel gave up her lands to Eldon of South Cassel, then disappeared. This made Eldon the King of all three human kingdoms of Cassel. Angered at this, Ren quickly raised an army. She sent envoys to her brother and sister to also send soldiers. Isabel sent knights to aid Ren and Arden himself showed up a few weeks later with almost every knight of the Abyss. They marched unimpeded all the way to the gates of Wrethilin.
"Raising an army to kill my Uncle was surprisingly easy...."
By order of the king, Ren and Arden faced no resistance. Their army camped outside the city while they walked right into the Palace into the Hall of Kings to see Eldon. He was fully armored, but wasn't armed. Ren drew her sword and immediately went to kill, but Arden stopped her. He wanted to hear what Eldon had to say first.
Eldon told his niece and nephew that since they don't live in Cassel, they are ignorant to the delicate politics of the country. Eldon claimed that the Elves of Lyonne and Ledo did it. Eldon said that he appointed himself regent of the North to prevent Ren and Arden's mother, Queen Aria of Lyonne, from taking over. He says that the Elves instigated a rebellion in the North and West.
Eldon claims to have come up with a plan with Queen Laura of the West. Laura would take Marla, hide away and disappear. Eldon would move his armies in to quell the rebellions and take over everything for now. He would become the tyrant king everyone saw him as to save the kingdoms and his family. He had hoped he could use Ren and Arden to restore order to these nations...
Ren didn't believe any of this. They were always taught that Elves couldn't rule any human lands, or Saint Nora's wrath would curse and destroy them! Eldon laughed and said that was a lie, instigated by the very first King of Cassel. He told Ren that if she remembered any of the language of Rethasi, to speak it, and the halls of the king would light up, accepting her as a descendant of Vernador.
Ren then spoke several words of the language, and runes in the hall lit up. She was still angry, thinking Eldon killed Marla! No elf did that! And the fact that Eldon took no action against the elves when Brenon was assassinated, that doesn't add up! Eldon says that it is complicated. Ren didn't believe him. She charged up a fire spell to kill Eldon, only to be blocked by Arden, who then drew his sword. Arden believed his uncle.
The two then fought, tearing the hall of kings apart. Arden's defense was too strong for Ren to break through. Arden's defensive magic was strong, and his void armor was also nearly unbreakable. They fought to a standstill. At some point during the fight, Eldon's daughter, Aerynn, walked in, unnoticed by Ren and Arden. She immediately drew a sword to defend her father.
Ren and Arden continued fighting until Ren gained the upperhand. She knocked Arden away long enough to rush Eldon and deal the final blow. She charged a mighty fireball and sent it straight to Eldon. Ren then heard a girl's scream. When the fireball disappeared, Ren saw Aerynn burned with parts of her skin charred, and Eldon was unharmed. Ren froze at the sight of this, long enough for Arden to get between Ren and the others. Ren attempted to sheathe her sword, the Rose of Cassel, but dropped it instead. Without saying another word, she left.
"Stand down, Brother!"
"No. I believe him."
"After everything that--
....This is your final warning Arden. Move, or I will go through you!"
....This is your final warning Arden. Move, or I will go through you!"
"...No."
Ren disappears again
With her army under Arden's control, Ren left Cassel. She briefly went to Lyonne in an attempt to get the truth out of her mother. She recalled the events a few weeks earlier in the Hall of Kings. Aria seemed willing to tell Ren the truth, until Ren told her that when she spoke Rethasi, the Hall of Kings glowed. Aria then immediately started attacking Eldon's character, saying he was responsible for rebellion, that his poor management of Cassel caused Queen Laura's disappearance and Marla's death. Aria told Ren she was right to come back here for the whole truth. She asked Ren to stay. Let the Elves raise an army and take down the Tyrant King Eldon, and then Ren can take her place as Queen of Cassel, let the Kingdom be an elven Empire once more!
Ren's mother was not acting like she used to. She wasn't always this..power hungry. Ren declined her mother's invitation and left. She started to travel back south. As she did so, various lords came to Ren, begging her to end Eldon's tyranny. Her mother also sent numerous messengers trying to get her back to Lyonne. After a few weeks of this, Ren ended up in Mataro, in the shining city of Tesiadem. She then used her connections with the Horosha guild to charter a ship. Ren traveled south into the Olimian Wastes and eventually to the Realm of Feylisa in the hopes no one would follow her...
Super cool! Love the formatting and the art!
Thanks!