Roa

Lady Roa was a thrice-betrayed noblewoman, the namesake of The Shackles of Roa, who was martyred long before the early 14 century DR.
==Description==
During the last part of her life, Lady Roa was a petite and willowy sixteen-year-old girl.
==History==
Long before the 14 century DR, Lady Roa was born into a noble family to a cruel and opportunistic lord. Not even sixteen winters old, Roa was forced into a marriage to an abusive nobleman, Duke Sorim. Roa's father knew perfectly well his daughter would be tormented by her spouse, but the marriage benefited him politically. Such was the first betrayal Lady Roa suffered.
The second betrayal came from her new husband. Duke Sorim sent assassins among Roa's handmaidens when the Lady visited her beloved brother, Baron Remin. Roa's brother was murdered in his sleep, and his lands passed to Duke Sorim. The third betrayal suffered by Lady Roa came from her sister, Lady Rana. The sister longed for Duke Sorim's hand in marriage, his power, and the crown. Lady Rana conspired with Sorim to end the king's life and accuse his rightful heir of being a bastard born from young Roa. Ruler-less, the crown would then be passed to Duke Sorim and his new Queen, Lady Rana.
Still a youth, Lady Roa was shackled with a ball-and-chain and tossed into Duke Sorim's dungeons until the plot to overthrow the king reached its fruition. Roa's cries and moans echoed across her husband's keep for many days. Her laments annoyed the Duke so much that he sent a Ducal Guard member to batter the petite girl into silence. The guard hit the woman across the face and, when she fell, tried to kick Roa in the stomach. But, swift as lightning, Lady Roa pounced up and strangled the Ducal Guard with her chains.
Now free, Lady Roa wielded her ball-and-chain as a weapon and burst into Sorim's court. Her attack was relentless; not even the Ducal Guard's bolts slowed her down. When the young woman reached Sorim's throne, she broke his best bodyguard like a twig and bludgeoned her cruel husband with ungodly strength. The Duke's thrice-enchanted breastplate forged out of meteoric iron could not protect him from the ball-and-chain. It broke the man's ribs, perforating his lungs and heart, instantly killing him.
Following this, records of the thrice-betrayed Lady differed. Some said that the young woman died moments after ending the Duke's life, succumbing to many a bolt that pierced her tiny frame. Others claimed that Lady Roa was killed by Rana's dagger. Some romantics even claimed that Lady Roa survived and lived out the rest of her life in peace, happily.
By 1312 DR, the woman's story was remembered through The Shackles of Roa, the ball-and-chain that Roa used for revenge. Sometime after the story's end, the The Shackles of Roa were altered, looped, and affixed together so the ball-and-chain could be used as a powerful enchanted flail. The ball bore etchings that read "In Righteousness Lies My Strength." The Shackles' last recorded location was a tomb underneath the Black Raven Monastery, in the mountains atop the Ice Lakes in northwest Faerûn.
==Appendix==
===Appearances===
===References===
Category:Nobles
Category:Lords and ladies
Category:Inhabitants of Faerûn
Category:Inhabitants of Toril
Category:Year of Manuscripts