Artemis Grace of Bana-Mighdall

## Artemis Grace

Artemis of Bana-Mighdall DCWW

Insert Artemis or description in here ~ Justinian

## History

### Early Life

Carried on the waves of wind by the goddess Isis, Artemis was raised in relative solitude within the confines of the Arjus valley of Southeastern Egypt. Before eyesight was bestowed upon the fledgling Amazonian, or a functioning memory, her mother had been claimed by the desert on the frontier of the Arjus valley…. And her father had been used to procreate, never being integrated within the matriarchal society of Bana-Mighdall, the crown jewel of the lush oasis of the land between two mountains. The land surrounding the Arjus valley was unforgiving, a cruel wasteland without civilization as far as the eye could see. Should a group of travelling wanderers happen upon the secluded settlement, they first had to battle through an everlasting sandstorm which could only be traversed by the most learned of pathfinders. The land of the Amazonians was for them to inhabit. Seth, the deity of deserts and storms, tended to dissuade all travelers from nearing the hidden paradise… though if his warnings were not enough, the Amazons of Bana-Mighdall unleashed the pent fury instilled in them by the god of war, Horus, to protect their settlement until the last breath. The status quo remained for a millennium prior to the birth of Artemis… but it was not to last.

Having never known the face of her mother or father, Artemis was raised in the care of the Disciples of Thoth, guardians who instilled upon the youthful Amazonian an educational curriculum and instructions of the culture of her ancestors… a situation she was not alone in. There were others within the Arjus river valley that had been orphaned by the call of Osiris… the iron price that had to be paid to ensure the safety of the secluded city, but that did not mean that Artemis was going to mingle with them on good faith. No. There was a reluctance within the fiery adolescent to remain staunchly independent. The memory of her mother, a great warrior in her own right, was enough of a propelling factor for her to spend nights swinging a wooden stick against the pillow in her cramped lodgings to practice her swordsmanship so that another calamity such as her mother’s death would never be repeated. During their studies, Artemis was often labelled as an outlier, that was until another initiate, Akila, breached her distant gaze and brought her into the mainstream of Bana-Mighdall, showing her the very valley that she had failed to acknowledge. The way the rugged terrain flowed like the patterns of the winds, how the mountains that surrounded their enclave toted the Sun across the sky from horizon-to-horizon. Sceneries that had once seemed so faint were vividly brought to life before the eyes of Artemis with the guiding hand of Akila… the first person that she had genuinely connected with since birth.

### Becoming a Champion

Year after year, Artemis of Bana-Mighdall focused on the enhancement of her prowess in combat by performing training regiments daily, even taking an early interest in the safeguarding of the Arjus valley, just as her mother had, by enrolling within the pathfinder program. It was a decision that was not made to last. Throughout her youth, and to the present day, Artemis had routinely been visited Bastet who claimed that the headstrong Amazonian was to one day ascend to the status of Shim’Tar, the champion of Bana-Mighdall, with the possession of the Bow of Ra: the most powerful weapon bestowed upon the Amazonians of the Arjus valley. Artemis’s confidence, and foolheartedly believing in the advice of Bastet in her dreams, did not waver at the high praise that she had been given by a deity… but determination had to be adopted before the Right of Fortitude could be traversed…. A day that seemed far away.

Countless orbits of the Sun elapsed as Artemis routinely sparred with Akila, the woman that she had grown fond of during her time in Bana-Mighdall. Physical fitness peaked throughout the rigorous segments of mock warfare, though with every reassurance from Akila that Artemis was not ready to attempt the Right of Fortitude… it only bolstered her arrogance towards her level of preparedness. The brash disposition of the relatively-young Amazon snapped when she mistakenly claimed the Bow of Ra as her birthright, invoking upon the ancient traditions to fill the role of the Shim’Tar. Queen Philipandra, then ruler of the Arjus valley, allowed the feat to be performed for the coveted role. Artemis strode through the traditions, besting each foe that was cast in her direction… the last of which being a pack of savage hunters that they had captured from a nearby, human settlement. With bodies laying at her feet, soaked in the blood of her enemies, Artemis ascended the final steps of the trial into the Temple of Ra, where the godly bow resided…. Yet when she encountered the celestial object, all life faded from her body. Four days passed before she regained consciousness, though the more humiliating aspect was that Ra had rejected her brazen claim to such powerful weaponry... thus concluding her trial in shame. Her entire youth had been spent with a single goal in mind… and it was shattered before her very eyes.

### Failing the trial

While recuperating from the failure during the Right of Fortitude, Artemis was informed of the success of Akila in the very same tradition… believing herself worthy given the training that the two had underwent together for such a role – yet Akila emerged victorious… bow in hand, the love of her people in her heart. At the crux of it all, Artemis did not display the same adoring nature to her fellow Amazonians, rather worrying about her own well-being and disposition rather than the collective whole. Perhaps that is why Ra deemed her unworthy… why she was made a mockery of by her sisters. Whatever the case, Artemis did not linger long in Arjus valley after her moral collapse…. The way that Akila had abandoned her to rise in the shadow of her best friend. A deep-seated pain instilled itself on the heart of the Amazonian… one that could only be rectified with her departure from Bana-Mighdall. In the waning hours of the evening, as the Moon rose to its zenith in the sky, Artemis ventured from the Arjus valley, using her pathfinding abilities to traverse the sandstorm, and wandered into the vast desert before her. There was no true home for her, no matter how badly she had tried to… only the sand, and the adventures that such a rugged terrain brought with it.

For two years, the Bana-Mighdall exile travelled the length of the Nile…. Wandering the deserts just as her ancestors had with the clothes upon her back and the single battle-axe that she had wielded throughout her youth. Though eventually, the siren’s call of home tugged to her heart… a call that was hastened with the worldwide news of the neighboring nation-state of Qurac launching military expeditions near the Arjus valley – actions that caused her heart to plummet into her stomach… actions that only hastened her journey to protect all that she knew.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

* **Amazonian Physiology:** (enhanced strength, durability, stamina, agility)

### Abilities

* **Superb in Hand-to-Hand Combat**
* **Proficiency in Archery/Swordsmanship**