Fisavara Vonelis

Fisavara Vonelis is the elven Matriarch of Myvanna, governing since her election in 955 GD. In the decades under her leadership, she has ensured better training for the warriors of Myvanna, she has built libraries and orphanages, and she has promoted secularism.

Prior to her becoming Matriarch, Fisavara was very active within the community, serving, throughout her life, as a city guard, a teacher, an orphan keeper, and she spearheaded many community initiatives to aid the downtrodden, ill, and less fortunate.

Many already consider Fisavara to be one of the greatest Matriarchs of Myvanna due to her caring nature and strong leadership that inspires elves throughout the world.

Outside of her political career, Fisavara Vonelis is also a wife and a mother to seven children, five of whom were adopted.

## Appearance

Fisavara has almond-shaped eyes the color of sapphires, and straight, medium-length autumn-red hair. She has a lithe build and tanned skin. Her cheekbones are prominent, and her ears are smaller than the average elf's. Her wardrobe is artist, and she is almost never seen wearing the same outfit twice, though many of her outfits contain shades of yellow. She always conducts herself in a professional manner in public.

## Names and Titles

The name Fisavara means "Mother of Brightness." She chose this name for herself when she came of age because her peers called her 'mother' due to her propensity to mother them, and because she wanted to brighten the lives of everyone she met.

Once elected in 955, Fisavara gained the title of Matriarch. In 967, her title became Beloved Matriarch, and in 971 it became Beloved Emerald Matriarch.

The posthumous title she will be given is the Matriarch of Brightness.

## Background

### Early Life

Fisavara Vonelis was born into a successful family in 757 GD. Her father was one of the Elders that governed Omath Caelora, and her mother was a renown artisan that crafted exquisite furniture. Growing up, she had access to libraries of books and scrolls that few children would be privileged to read, and while her mother gave her the freedom to explore a wide array of interests and fields of education, her father steered Fisavara towards a path of government service.

#### Community Service

Inspired by her father to serve her community through governmental channels, Fisavara joined the city guard once she came of age, in 782. She served as a city guard for almost 70 years, rising through the ranks while also serving the less fortunate in society during her spare time.

In 850, motivated by a desire to be of greater aid to the community, Fisavara left the city guard and became a teacher of children, and in 934, she opened up an orphanage.

### Reign as Matriarch

In 955 GD, at age 198, Fisavara was elected Matriarch of Myvanna.

### The Noraknore Incident

In 1006 GD, a special artifact, Noraknore, was stolen from Myvanna, and it became public knowledge that the government of Myvanna has been involved in a long-running deception: a forgery of the artifact had been made and put on display for public worship while the real artifact was secreted away. This incident led to a huge political fallout between the Elves, Dwarves, and Eladrin, and even though the forgery was not made under Fisavara's rule, she was held responsible for maintaining the lie. This incident was a turning point in her reign as Matriarch, with public opinion of her shifting from mostly positive to mostly negative.

## Religion

Growing up, Fisavara could never take religious practices seriously, believing that powerful beings like gods did not care whether a certain rite was practiced on a specific day, or whether special songs were sung in their honor. Instead, she believed that people should just go about their lives and do good unto others, and that the gods would reward these good deeds in the afterlife, regardless of how religious an individual was in life.

Once she became Matriarch, Fisavara preached her secularism to her people, much to the dismay of the city Elders, and encouraged everyone to spend less time on religious practices and instead put that time towards serving the community.

## Literature

### The Bards of the World Tree

Fisavara's early exposure to literature made her a collector of books and scrolls throughout her life. Once she became Matriarch, she engaged a number of bards from throughout Myvanna to begin writing a number of works on her behalf, including "The Comprehensive Life of the Matriarch: True and Honest Accounts of the Mothers of Myvanna," "The Secular Path of the Elves: Family before Faith," and "Essential Perspectives on Caring for Children." These bards became collectively known as the "Bards of the World Tree," as they reside within the World Tree along with the Matriarch's court.

### The Eight Suggestions

In 910, while working as a teacher, Fisavara submitted eight suggestions to the Elders of Omath Caelora to be decreed as official doctrine within the city. The Elders said many of her suggestions had merit, and that they would take her suggestions under advisement. Nothing ever came of this, so when Fisavara became Matriarch, she decreed that these suggestions be taught by all teachers throughout Myvanna as guidelines for all elves to follow. The Eight Suggestions are as follows:

1. Protect children at all cost
2. Learn how to defend yourself and others
3. Put no deity before your community
4. Listen to the advice of your elders
5. Aid those less fortunate than you
6. Give to your community more than you take
7. Pass your knowledge onto others
8. Preserve all literature

### Literary Works

Since taking court, Fisavara has taken to writing poems and essays. 19 of Fisavara's poems are collected in an anthology, and 66 of her essays are collected in another anthology. Her essays often have political messages in them, but her poetry touches on themes of motherhood, duty, and personal growth.

## Evaluation

Public opinion of Fisavara is mixed - the majority of the population admired and adored her before the Noraknore Incident of 1006, though many Elders, priests, and the deeply religious saw her as a heretic to religion and tradition.

Following the Noraknore Incident and the dissolution of the alliance between Elves, Eladrin, and Dwarves, Fisavara was criticized harshly for keeping secrets from the people of Myvanna. Since then, she has lost the public's trust, and a growing faction of elves directly opposed her leadership and demanded she step down as Matriarch.