Ery'thelia

Ery'thelia is a female orc fighter in the Emeron campaign.

Ery'thelia is a renowned and respected warrior in the Dol-Aton Clan and mother to Raskin Daggermaw.

## Background

Ery'thelia was born and raised among the Dol-Aton Clan of orcs on the Plains of Galmar. Like all members of the clan she was trained in warfare early and frequently and grew into a powerful warrior.

While a younger warrior she was with a war party that made contact with a human war party out of Antyoch that was led by Lord Riffin Etiamond. As the two groups did battle a wyvern, attracted by the noise and blood, attacked both parties, killing orc and human alike. By the time the beast was slain, only Ery'thelia and Riffin still stood, and their bloodlust turned to passion. They shared a brief romantic interlude and immediately parted ways afterwards. To Ery'thelia's surprise, she soon learned she'd become pregnant from the encounter and eventually gave birth to a half-orc son that she named Raskin. Ery'thelia remained highly tight lipped on the details of Raskin's conception, and few seemed willing to risk her ire by pressing the issue. Raskin asked many times about the identity of his father, but Ery'thelia refused to provide any information merely stating that he was good to her.

In spite of her son's mixed heritage and the shame that Raskin brought upon her by being weak Ery'thelia was renowned for her beauty and fighting prowess and had no shortage of appreciation from the men of the tribe. Her most prominent, and persistent, would be suitor was Chief Gron'Dol himself, the head of the Clan. Ery'thelia rejected them all though, seemingly preferring to be beholden to no man.

### Raskin

Though large and strong by human standards Raskin was smaller and weaker than the orcs and therefore was often bullied and struggled in the war training exercises. Ery'thelia attempted to motivate her son with a combination of tough love and frank advice about how hard he would find life in orcish society.

One day Raskin was given a dagger that an orcish war party had take during a raid on a human caravan. Shortly after receiving the dagger, Raskin was in a training exercise against Dur’rang, an orc who made a point of bullying Raskin. Dur'rang had refused Raskin's yield and continued to beat him so Raskin used his new dagger on him, plunging the blade from under his jaw into his mouth. Dur’rang survived but was badly injured.

For the crime of using an edged weapon in a training exercise Raskin was to be forced to fight one of Chief Gron'Dol's elite warriors to defend his honor, essentially a protracted death sentence. Ery'thelia intervened, however, offering to fight for her son. Gron'Dol merely stated that if the boy did not have honor enough to fight his own battle that he should not be part of the tribe.

Ery’thelia knew she had little choice. She could not save her son and keep him so she made a decision that would allow her to keep him alive, if not with her. She declared publicly to the chief that Raskin did not belong in the Dol-Aton Clan, and that he did not have the honor of fighting for his life. She told the chief that she would accept his marriage proposal if he exiled Raskin.

Gron'Dol happily agreed ordering Raskin ejected from the warren, and tribe, forever more.

## An Unknown Fate

On 20th of Griffon, 1159, Raskin saw a vision after his companion destroyed the *Heart of the Swamp*, an artifact that granted the user to see past, present and possible future. Raskin experienced a brief vision of his mother in a cell, seemingly being held by a slight human with a mustache.

A subsequent vision shown to Raskin by his connection to Vesper showed Ery'thelia being crushed by an enormous black bull that was itself being harried by hundreds of spiders with skulls for bodies and glowing red eyes.

Much later, in the month of Skeleton, Froderik Pendergast magically *Scryed* on Ery'thelia seeing her trapped in a dungeon. The wizard magically communicated to her. Although she did not know who Froderik was and did not seem to trust him. She did reveal, however, that she was a prisoner of Duke Riffin Etiamond, who held her in the hopes of keeping her husband, Chief Gron'Dol, from attacking Antyoch City.

## Released from Imprisonment

Ery'thelia was re-united with Raskin in late 1159 when the half-orc and the Joined of Vesper traveled to Antyoch and attended a dinner with Duke Riffin Etiamond where she confirmed to Raskin that Riffin was, indeed, his father. Raskin was able to secure her release from imprisonment by brokering an alliance between the Duchy of Antyoch and the Dol-Aton Clan and Ery'thelia was released unharmed to return to her people.