Artwyria, Stormlight Knightess

> *"The one who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a life, you owe it to them to look into their eyes and hear their final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps they do not deserve to die."*
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**Artwyria, the Stormlight Knightess, Hand of the Queen, Lady-Commander of the Sturmáhorfendur,** and one of the **Vanquishers of the Sky Demon** is the third and final daughter of Tórdis Slaughterborn. The embodiment of what remained of her mother's martial honour, Artwyria is the closest to what her mother used to be when compared to her sisters: Áshildr is an impetuous and reckless warrior, whilst Gwynhwyfar is a harsh ruler that brooks no dissent.

Artwyria serves as the Hand of the Queen, a position that makes her the second most powerful individual amongst the Warborn. This comes with many responsibilities, as she is both the Princess of Stormlight's chief adviser and the executor of the queen's command.

## Duties of the Hand

> *"...My shield, my stalwart, my strong right hand."*
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Artwyria's duties as the Hand of the Queen include commanding her sister's armies, drafting laws, dispensing justice and generally managing the day-to-day running of the Warborn lands. In addition, Artwyria is the Lady-Commander of the Great Covenant known as the Sturmáhorfendur, or the "Storm Watchers". The most sacred of her duties is to ensure that the graves of Kaer Daudur are undisturbed, particularly from the threat of necromancers, who would disturb and defile the remains of the honoured dead.

In her greater role of the Hand, Artwyria may act on Gwynhwyfar's behalf when she is indisposed, and sit upon her sister's throne while doing so. She also sits on the Queen's Council, and will run the council if Gwynhwyfar is not present. As the Lady-Commander of the Storm Watchers, Artwyria's duties and time are often split between her guarding of Kaer Daudur, and her role as the Hand.

## Felling of the Sky Demon

> *"My will shall be my weapon, my faith shall be my armour. No Unholy Deed shall go Unpunished, all Blasphemous Acts shall be Atoned. No Spawn of Misery shall avoid me, all are banished to the Void. Nothing shall evade my Cleansing Stormlight, For I am my Mother's Divine Blade!"*
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Artwyria was one of the band of warriors who fought and vanquished the First Demon, a beast that sought to devour Nadir's sun, before going on to consume all light. Perhaps alone of all those who stood against the fiend, Artwyria fought not to save or protect, but rather for glory and to go one step closer to cleansing what she perceives as a blight upon the world.

## Powers and Abilities

> *"Arise, O Sword. Let lightning be released from the Ends of the Earth. Let it split the heavens, and connect the land. Anchor of the Storm!"*
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Whilst not the consummate warrior that is Áshildr, or possessed of Gwynhwyfar's gift for rulership, Artwyria nonetheless does possess some measure of power as befits the daughter of a goddess. Out of the three daughters, Artwyria has the greatest control of the phenomenon known as "Stormlight", a force which is to lightning what a sword is to a knife. Her very soul is tied to this power, and she can channel this divine energy with a thought. Whilst Áshildr's lightning can rend the hide of a mighty dragon, Artwyria is capable of reducing a fortress such as Skýhalda to rubble.

In addition, as an immortal demigoddess, Artwyria is far more physically powerful than nearly any mortal being, with only the greatest beings matching her one-on-one in combat. Despite this, her own code of honour has caused her to seal much of her power behind thirteen restraints, with the number of restraints being released being appropriate to the enemy she faces upon the field of battle.