Princess Faelys of Bethana

Faelys is the youngest daughter of King Aedred, the Bethanian King from two generations ago, and is an ally of the party.

Description
Faelys is a beautiful moon elf woman. She has silver skin, one green eye and one blue eye, and loosely curled light blue hair which falls to her shoulders. Faelys is renowned as one of the most beautiful women in Bethana.

Faelys is clever, bold, and curious. She is incredibly free-spirited, and dislikes being tied down to any one spot for too long. She is loyal to her country, and to her king, but becomes restless if stuck at the castle for too long, needing to go out on adventures in the wild. Faelys can be quite reckless and stubborn, and is well aware of her own cleverness. She is also a kind and loyal friend, and works incredibly hard at anything she puts her mind to.

Pre-Campaign
Princess Faelys was born nearly six months after her father died in an accident while travelling. His life had been quite short for a Moon Elf - he was only 85, and Bethana was devastated at the sudden loss. Faelys' birth was thus treated by the people as cause for even greater celebration than normal; she was their miracle Princess, a final gift to them from King Aedred.

As Faelys would soon learn growing up, King Aedred left his people many gifts - and many were not very good. His time as King had been filled with prejudice against non-Elven and human races, particularly against Tieflings. He had tried time and time again to banish Tieflings from the country entirely, failing each time. He had also been a dreadful husband; Faelys' mother, Aliese, was severely depressed and traumatized after years of emotional abuse. She loved her daughter dearly, but struggled to care for her.

Faelys' one source of comfort as a child was her eldest brother, Aywin. Aywin was already fully grown when Faelys was born, and he became a father figure to her despite having a country and family of his own to care for. Faelys adored him, and insisted on following him around everywhere, even into important meetings (where she would dutifully sit in a corner and colour). When she was eight, and Aywin's first child Aevin was born, Faelys declared herself his older sister rather than aunt, and helped take care of him as best she could. Naleen followed a year later, and Faelys thought she could not possibly get any happier.

Faelys was eleven when Aywin died. He was out to sea when his ship was attacked by a kraken. There were no survivors. Faelys was utterly devastated. Her life in the castle with her brother protecting her had felt so secure, so certain; now it was gone. She became more and more restless, and began acting out, misbehaving and having a shorter and shorter temper.

Selwyn and Mairyn, deep in their own grief over their lost brother, noticed the change in their little sister's behaviour. Mairyn expressed her concerns to her retainer and friend, Lady Felicity, who pointed out that she had a younger brother who they could make Faelys' retainer - or, in her exact words, "I mean, I have a brother who could babysit the princess."

Thus, Sir William became Faelys' loyal retainer. Faelys loathed him for the first month of their acquaintance. She was eleven years old and in her mind did not need anyone to take care of her. In time, though the sentiment of wanting independence remained, Faelys' loathing towards Sir William faded, replaced by affection for her somewhat silly but very loyal retainer. In fact, she soon learned, he was so loyal to her that she could happily misbehave with him around, without any worry of him reporting her behaviour to anyone.

As Faelys grew into a young teenager, she became more and more high spirited and rebellious, and began sneaking out of the castle to explore - almost always with Sir William in tow, begging her to return home before anyone noticed she was gone. Faelys did not tell Sir William, but she had her reasons for sneaking out. She was training.

Faelys was determined to avenge her brother. She wanted to kraken who had taken him away from their family to be hunted and eliminated, and figured that if no one else in her family was brave enough, she would have to do it herself. For a young girl, Faelys proved to be a little prodigy of a bard. She learned how to wield a rapier, cast spells, and weave magic into her singing and instruments. When she was thirteen, she decided she was ready - but she would need some help.

Faelys recruited a ragtag team of adventurers to try and hunt the kraken who had killed Aywin - including Sir William, of course. Though the group doubted that they could possibly go up against such a foe, they went with her anyway. Naturally, things did not go according to plan. Faelys was kidnapped by a strange creature called a Macawbear, dragged down underground in the middle of the night. Fortunately for her, she was soon rescued by Sir William and the others. Faelys adopted a Macawbear cub from the nest, naming him Lune and raising him (to Sir William's utter horror). She also named one member of the group, Cecyl, her new second retainer, and made him a knight. The incident made Faelys realize that she was not in fact prepared to kraken-hunt. She had to continue her training.

Faelys spent her teenage years learning. She learned several new instruments, quite a few languages, diplomacy, history, folklore, religion, etiquette, and everything else deemed necessary for a young princess to know. She also learned how to wield a bow, how to survive both in the forest and in the arctic, how to hunt monstrosities much larger than her, and how to convince her family that no, she was not doing anything dangerous, she was definitely just visiting Sir William's family on a very regular basis (she desperately hoped they never actually asked them). By the time she was seventeen, Faelys was a very competent bard and a budding ranger, as well as an accomplished musician, poet, and princess. She was also advising King Aevin on a regular basis, seeing it as her duty to help her nephew after his father died - just as Aywin had helped her when their father died.

The day before Faelys' eighteenth birthday, she went out hunting on her own. She felt an urge to start walking, and so she did. She walked right past the normal boundary she would stop at, going further and further away from the castle. She walked nearly the whole day in almost a daze, unsure of where she was going or why. She eventually decided to stop and camp out for the night, curling up high in a tree for safety.

That night, Faelys had a dream. She dreamed of a young woman with a light, melodic voice calling out to her, urging her to follow. Faelys asked why, but the woman didn't answer. She simply asked Faelys to follow, again and again. When Faelys woke shortly after dawn, she heard the song of a sparrow nearby, and stretched out a hand for the bird to land on. The sparrow did, and gazed at Faelys. Faelys gazed back, entranced by the sweet little bird. She felt an urge to sing. So she did. The sparrow sang back.

That was how Sir William and Sir Cecyl found her after a frenzied search all through the night: Peacefully sitting in a tree, singing duets with a sparrow. When they called out to her, the sparrow fluttered away, and Faelys declared that she had to chase it (much to Sir William's frustration). The chase lasted several weeks (Sir William sent his apologies to the castle, explaining why the ball meant to be held for her birthday had to be postponed), and ended up leading Faelys and her retainers to a beautiful abandoned cottage in a grove that lay behind a waterfall, hidden by cliffs. Faelys found it enchanting, and declared it to be her new secret hideaway, thanking the little sparrow for its assistance.

That night, Faelys was woken by the sound of a woman singing outside. Curiously, Sir William and Sir Cecyl lay still, unwoken by the sound. Faelys went outside and saw the woman from her dreams. She revealed herself as Varienna, the Goddess of Music and Poetry - and as the sparrow, who Faelys had obediently followed. Varienna admired Faelys' free spirit and natural curiosity, declaring them as qualities perfect for her champion. Faelys graciously accepted her destiny, and inquired what Varienna wished her to do. Varienna informed her that she was the first of many Champions to come - all she had to do for now was keep this place as a sanctuary for any Champions who found it, and to grow stronger. The time would come for tales of glory and battle, such as the world had never seen - but not yet. For now, Varienna told her, she had to wait.

Campaign
Faelys did as Varienna asked. She became acquainted with only one other champion - the Champion of Zirios - as time passed, meeting with her in dreams. One evening in very late winter, Faelys had a miraculous dream - a dream shared by six other individuals (Cher Amies and Luna). Faelys quickly recognized Miffy as a fellow Champion, and requested that the group meet her at her cottage, telling them where to go, and assuring that her retainers would meet them.

Sir William and Sir Cecyl
Sir William and Sir Cecyl are Faelys' beloved retainers. Throughout the years, the couple have become like family to her, particularly Sir William, who she views as a father of sorts. She is affectionate to both of them, and trusts them both with her life, and appreciates their loyalty despite how much difficulty she puts them through on a very regular basis.

King Aywin
Aywin was Faelys' eldest brother, and he practically raised her when she was a child. She is still fiercely loyal to him years after his death, and her desire to avenge him remains strong. Aywin was her hero, and will always be her hero.

Varienna
Varienna is Faelys' Goddess, and she is very devoted to her. She worships and loves Varienna, and considers her a friend - especially as Varienna is prone to visiting her for duets and other merrymaking. Faelys considers her destiny as Varienna's champion to be of the utmost importance, and knows it is her purpose in life to serve her.