Marena Roland

Marena Roland was a human Zantine female. She was in a romantic relationship with Ardath.

As a student of sorcery, she attended the College of Magical Arts and Sciences.

## Appearance/Personality

Marena was a little over five feet tall, with a slim, slight build. She had blonde hair worn loosely and green eyes. She was considered pretty or "cute", but not beautiful.

She was an eager - some might say impatient - young woman who hadn't had much luck in life. While she wasn't a cynic, she tended to be skeptical and could easily grow doubtful and disenchanted with ideas and people. Always acutely aware of the flaws inherent in humanity, she underestimated herself ruthlessly, often unconsciously undermining her own efforts with her lack of confidence.

She is contemplative rather than reckless, and often hesitates before making a decision. She fears making a mistake, and when she does screw up, she'll try to sweep it under the rug. If she stops to think about it too long, the guilt and regret will leave her totally paralyzed.

At the core of her principles is a deep empathy which is both a boon and a curse. She can't stand to see people being humiliated or treated badly, and she will go out of her way to preserve the dignity of others even before her own. Because of this, she comes across as a very serious person who perhaps cares too much about what others think. It is very telling that she doesn't like to be seen crying in public and will instinctively want to hide from others' sight.

Her strict, legalistic approach to religion has caused her to struggle with faith. Deep down she has a fighting spirit and a strong sense of right and wrong, which would be very well-suited to being a knight. However, she lives in a time after the age of chivalry, when such personas are looked down on with disdain and/or mocked as outdated.

## Biography

Born in 143 AYZ in Kynaston, the former capital of Zantium, Marena Roland was the only child of Marcus and Lygia Roland, both members of the Zantine nobility. The family was fairly well-off and lived in a white house by the sea. The walls of Marena's childhood bedroom were painted with elaborate and colorful scenes from their culture's mythology.

When Marena was seven years old, the Iskirrans took over Zantium. She was forced to begin attending an Iskirran school. The Iskirran teachers taught that the Zantine culture and religion was wrong. In addition, Marena's estranged aunt Livia began living with the family. Livia was a witch who had been cast out for practicing magic. Livia befriended Marena, encouraging her to practice magic and to study hard so that she might get a scholarship to attend the College. This created a great deal of friction between Marena and her parents, who remained devout Zantines.

Shortly before Marena came of age, her mother fell ill with a mysterious illness and died. Her father became convinced that Livia must have poisoned her, and so he killed Livia. Marena reported her father to the authorities, resulting in his arrest. Since she was still legally underage and had no more surviving family members, Marena was taken into custody. After speaking to a social worker, it was decided that she be taken to the College. There was some hesitation over this when it was discovered that she was a Zantine, but despite the doubts of the school vice principal, she enrolled there after renouncing the faith and culture of her ancestors.

Marena excelled at the College, though she had few friends. Her best friend was Ardath, the apprentice of Blaise the Magus. Marena and Ardath met during a school camping trip and soon fell in love.

### The Cult of Vormund

Dagda Vormund arrived in Bodai in early fall of 163. Marena first encountered the prophet while he was preaching in the town square. Intrigued, she stopped to listen. Soon she began secretly attending Vormund's sermons and collecting the various reading materials his followers handed out, including a copy of Vormund's new Mandorlin translation.

The copy was discovered in Ardath' quarters, where Marena had accidentally left it. Marena got into trouble and was temporarily suspended. After surviving her punishment, she thought the matter was resolved. But then one day Marena was called to Blaise's office again. She discovered that the sorceress Isolda Morrow had become interested in the case. Rather than punishing Marena, Isolda offered her a deal. In exchange for spying on Vormund (and deducing whether or not he was legitimate or a charlatan), she would not only drop all charges against Marena, she would reward her with anything she desired. Marena agreed to the deal, becoming an Inquisitor.

The next day, Marena arrived at the town square to hear Vormund preach. Rather than giving a sermon, Vormund abruptly left without explanation. Confused, Marena approached two of the prophet's followers, Clara Montag and ???, wanting to know what was going on. They explained that he had gone to assist one of his followers at the hospital. Shortly after, the city police arrived and declared Vormund and his followers had been banished from the city. Marena witnessed the guards disregarding the doctor's warnings and forcibly removing Melissa Zosimus, who was in labor, along with the rest of Vormund's disciples. Marena sympathized with the cult's plight and offered to take them to the Academy for medical treatment, but they refused.

Marena was forced to facilitate the birth of Melissa's daughter Laura in the backroom of a farmhouse. After noticing that Melissa was hemorrhaging, Marena tried to save her life with magic, but Melissa stopped her. She died later that night. Melissa's husband, Gavin, blamed Marena for her death.

Marena was infuriated by the tragedy, but knew she needed to fulfill her mission. She set out with Vormund and his followers for Arza Kell, their sanctuary and main base of operations.

### The Caverns of Arza Kell

Marena swiftly became friends with Drusus, Sophie, and Clara. Through them, she learned more about the origins of the cult. In particular, she kept hearing about "the prince", or Kemet, a mysterious Exekian who had helped Vormund translate the Mandorlin. Determined to meet Kemet, she searched the caverns for him but was unable to locate any trace of the Exekian.

Sent on a supply trip with Gavin, Marena attempted to reconcile with him. In the process, she saw a newspaper report detailing the grave illness of Gavin's mother, and learned that he was a son of the "new nobility". This prompted Gavin to travel to Tyr in order to be with his mother in her last days, leaving Laura in the care of Clara and Kemet.

Marena finally met Kemet, who told her the story of his life and showed her the original copy of the Mandorlin. Marena became more sympathetic toward him and to Vormund's cause. She vowed not to reveal the location of the cult's hideout to Isolda in order to protect Kemet and the manuscript.

### Trip to Hiberia

In the summer of 164, Marena traveled with Vormund, Drusus, Sophie, and Ethan to the island of Hiberia, following instructions delivered to the prophet in a vision. There they found many of their friends had either been eliminated, driven underground, or had betrayed them. The horrors they witnessed began to wear on Marena.

After Ethan was attacked and drugged by Cezar Montag and Jade Athanasi pleaded with them to leave, the group suffered from fear that they were being watched by the forces of the corrupt Guardian Balthasar Krezt. Hoping to use her role as Inquisitor to help them, Marena paid Balthasar a visit, but was unable to convince him to stop harassing them.

Disheartened, Marena returned to the pawnshop, where she encountered Drusus. She confessed to him not only where she had been, but that she had been an Inquisitor all along. Drusus seemed sympathetic and agreed to keep her secret - on the grounds that they not tell anyone else Marena's secret. She agreed, as she felt she now had a responsibility toward Vormund and his followers and wanted to protect them from harm.

Shortly before they were due to arrive in Tyr, Sophie was found dead under mysterious circumstances. Marena was convinced Ethan had murdered her, but Vormund insisted that he had been driven mad. Vormund's refusal to go immediately to the police crushed Marena's trust in him. She decided to report them to the police on her own, behind his back. Before she left, Vormund prophesied Marena's fate: that she would become a great knight, that she would never be able to turn away from her beloved country even as her homeland turned its back on her, that she would be betrayed by the love of her life, and while she would give birth to no sons, she would be a mother and teacher to many.

### Betrayal

Accompanied by Drusus, Marena managed to get to the Marenanehart police and led them back to the cult's camp. To her horror, the police opened fire on those who tried to escape, killing Kirk Callow as he was running away with Vincent in his arms and beating Vormund. In exchange for her role in their arrest, Marena was allowed to take Vincent and leave unharmed.

Marena raced to Tyr, where she met with Gavin Zosimus. To her disappointment, Gavin revealed that while he had inherited his mother's fortune, the king had blocked him from becoming the new Lord of Tyr due to his connection to Vormund, giving the position to his cousin Lucan instead. Gavin spent a large portion of his inheritance in order to track down the others, learning that Ethan had been killed, Drusus was imprisoned, and Vormund was being tried by the Temple. Marena and Gavin attended the heresy trial, where they learned the true identity of Adrian Vandiir, the Temple's other Inquisitor.

After Vormund was pronounced dead of a heart attack, Marena followed Gavin back to Arza Kell. They found the caverns deserted, indicating that either the others had been taken captive or had fled. They decided it was best to remove the original manuscript of the Mandorlin, which was hidden in Kemet's quarters. However, they were followed to the caves by a disguised Adrian, who forced them to hand over the manuscript and destroyed it. Marena attacked Adrian, but was badly burned by witchfire. Gavin gave up the Mandorlin in order to save Marena's life.

That night, Gavin advised Marena, who had vowed to kill Adrian, to seek out the last of the paladins.

Marena returned to Julianna, who congratulated her for accomplishing her task. As a reward, Marena asked only for her copy of the Mandorlin. Julianna reluctantly complied, warning Marena that she was now in possession of illegal contraband. With the help of Gavin, Marena left the country, sailing to Nykara.

### Paladin Training

Arriving in the city of Melekess, Marena sought out the paladins. She eventually encountered Watchman Dimiter Yen, a paladin-turned-priest who managed a chapel in the city. Dimiter directed her to his friend Marcus, a Zantine refugee who had spent five years as a galley slave for killing a witch within the city walls.

Marena spent the last of her reward money to buy Marcus' freedom. With some difficulty, she convinced Marcus to train her. The two made regular trips to the city to visit Dimiter, who also contributed to Marena's training. During their first real mission, Marcus was badly wounded in the fight. Marena rescued him from death and nursed him back to health, praying for his recovery daily. This event impressed Marcus and softened his attitude toward her. He began to see her more like a daughter (he'd had a daughter who had died years before) than a student.

When the time came for Marena to forge her sword, she was shocked to learn the process involved killing an Exekian in order to harvest their blood. She stopped the ritual before it could occur, saving the life of the Exekian they had purchased from slavers. In a fit of anger, Marcus renounced Marena. Marena accompanied the Exekian on a trek across the desert to find the other slaves that had been captured. They found and killed the slavers, freeing the slaves. In gratitude, the slaves each freely gave Marena some of their blood.

Marena returned to Marcus with the blood, and the two were reconciled. They forged a sword made of Exekian steel. As the blood was freely given, it possesses special properties, the nature of which Marena has only scratched the surface of.

### Adventures in Melekess

Marena, now officially a paladin, began her pursuit of Blaise. After a year of searching, she heard news that the sorcerer had resurfaced in Melekess.

At the masquerade ball, Marena was tasked with guarding the chamber in which Watchman Dimiter Yen was performing an exorcism. Adrian used a secret passage to bypass Marena, and he killed Dimiter as revenge for his having removed all Adrian's magic powers. Guilt-stricken and enraged, Marena disobeyed Marcus' orders to guard them as they astral-projected into the Arcane Realm and instead went after Adrian on her own, determined to avenge Dimiter and Vormund. But Adrian had already fled out of cowardice.

Marena learned from Marena and Ardath that Marcus had sacrificed himself to save them. She decided to return to Amarna.

### True Knighthood

Marena returned to her homeland, settling in the city of Kataru.

During the Fifth Exekian War, Marena left Kataru behind to provide aid to the Exekians. They did not trust her at first, but her friendship with Kemet provided her with a route into their ranks. She commanded a small human detachment, which consisted of mostly hired mercenaries along with a few devout Vormundists. While stationed at the fortress of Heliobas, she was reunited with Laura and met Laura's brother Balian, who joined Marena's forces.

After the war, she was declared an enemy of the state and banished from Amarna. Unable to return to Ardath, her attempts to communicate with him were ignored, and when she managed to sneak into the city in a desperate effort to reach him, he refused to see her. A despondent Marena once again fled her homeland, this time accompanied by her apprentice Balian.

### Changeling Crisis

Years later, she would return to Amarna under a new identity, that of Sir Gorrister, a knight who never removed her helmet. She became the bodyguard of John Stirling, helping him and Princess Kai escape during the chaos that ensued after Richard's death. They fled to Kataru, where Marena finally came into contact with her old flame Ardath. Before they could rekindle their relationship, Ardath betrayed them to Logan Brynner.

The group became separated after they were captured by selkie pirates, only reuniting after they washed ashore in Exekia. Discovering that Eleanor had been captured by the Clan while trying to find Kemet, they rushed to rescue her, unaware that she had become dangerously unhinged...