Leoven

Vallotis Polemarch Armour (Sx53)

> The longer you look into the sun, the deeper the shadows become.
>
> Leoven, Sx30

**Leoven** (pronounced /liːəʊvɛ́n/) is a high-elf Oath of the Crown Paladin and an original member of the Primal Seven. She met the group whilst travelling through Posttown. She is a known member of the Order of the Vallotis and worships the God Apollo.

## Description

### Appearance

Leoven stands over 6 feet tall with a lean, muscular figure in an excellent posture. She has bronzed skin, golden eyes and long pointed ears, much like other sun elves from in and around Heliotym. Before dyeing it white, she had rich brunette hair, which she regularly tied in a long and simple braid down her back, and has a scar that cuts through her left eyebrow. Another smaller scar cuts through a small section of her upper lip. Her face itself is soft and well-rounded, unlike the sharp features of other high elves.

A golden amulet depicting an Apollonian sun is almost always tucked beneath whatever armour she is wearing. This is later accompanied by a more visible Amulet of the Devout, a small dove-white pearl on a chain, gifted to her by Leviticus on his departure.

Leoven very rarely dresses casually when she is around company, opting to spend the majority of her time in heavy plate armour. Oto is an exception to this rule, as they often share a bedroom.

As of Sx36, Leoven adopted a disguise so she could evade arrest in Dexicos. This included dyeing her hair white and completely changing her armour and clothing to look less like a member of the Vallotis. In preparation for this disguise, Leoven asked Oto to break her nose for her *(Sx35)* so she would look less like the wanted posters displayed across the city with her face on it — albeit a version of Leoven from before the Heliotym Civil War. Leoven's Dexicos outfit also revealed severe scarring across her shins and calves, which are a dappling of burns from fireball hits sustained fighting against Faen spellcasters. After visiting the bathhouse in Athens *(Sx47)*, it was revealed that she has a long, near-perfectly straight scar down the length of her spine. It is thin and almost surgical in precision and is a product of the Faen's experimentation on her in her youth.

Following breaking her oath to Khantos, Leoven lost her shield arm (left), which Apollo described as Soteria's form of punishment.

### Personality

Leoven is forthright and assertive, often to a fault. This allows her to naturally take command of a situation, but also come off as demanding and abrasive. She claims to be led by a strong moral compass despite the fact that this has wavered on multiple occasions throughout the campaign. Her choices are regularly influenced by the strong bonds and promises she makes with others and refuses to break.

She builds her relationships with others through a silent trust. She is not fond of giving up the things she holds close to her chest and prefers to reveal them in her own time. Leoven forms loyalties and bonds extremely quickly, usually starting as a test or trial of herself before realising that she cares about the people she protects. There is a constant need to prove herself as worthy and to have a purpose. Without it, as seen between Sx36 — Sx44, she grows irritable and restless.

## Biography

### Background

Leoven, born and raised in Dexicos, is the firstborn child of Suiadan and Raina Marathas (translated to Common, *Marathas* means ‘*Priestharper*’), an upper-middle-class family of Sun Elves. Both her parents were born with magic (and such are sorcerers) and fully expected her to be so as well. Her parents had married from two noble-aspiring families with magical bloodlines — as was in ‘fashion’ of Heliotym nobility — and their union was made to unite centuries of Apollo-blessed lineages.

As Leoven grew, however, she showed a stunted magical development compared to others of her bloodline and age. Her mother and father originally brushed this off as their daughter being a late bloomer. Once, she reached her teenage years, this hope did not come to fruition. In a desperate attempt to keep face in society, Raina and Suiadan turned to ways of artificially enhancing their daughter's magical capabilities or operating on her to find the essence of natural magic deep within her body. After years of attempts lost, they finally turned to the illegal practice of blood magic: a torturous process that takes place over weeks or even months that nearly always causes the death of the recipient, even in success. It failed, but Leoven lived.

On her 18th birthday, her parents refused to celebrate her physical coming of age and instead forcefully sent her off to the Order of the Vallotis (eighteen being the youngest they accepted at the time). She was almost immediately enlisted as a recruit. This was the last time she ever spoke to her parents.

She remained a member of the order until the Vallotis' defeat during the Vallotis-Faen Civil War in 534 AE. Leoven discussed with Adrasteia how her years in the Vallotis were good, yet isolating and tested her patience. Leoven was a recruit (meaning she had not formally undertaken the oath to officially become a member of the Vallotis) until she was fifty. At her oath-taking ceremony, her surname was stripped from her, symbolic of a vowed life-long commitment to the order. Her first name was also changed to ‘Leoven’, removing her of any signs of loyalty to her Elven heritage and legally disassociating her from the Marathas family. She was later promoted to *Lieutenant* around the age of 190, and then a *Lokhagos* (Captain) 240.

The party discovered her titles when she signed a document in Posttown and she revealed that she commanded roughly thirty soldiers at the height of her service. When Khantos asked her how many people she'd killed, she couldn't give him an exact answer. After a surge of guilt, Leoven revealed to the party what she believed happened during the Civil War, her role in fighting The Faen and the fact she was exiled from her home city *(Sx27)*. She feared that if she returned there and was caught then she would be executed immediately.

Upon returning to Dexicos *(Sx35)*, Leoven discovered that — somewhere down the line of communication between Imperum Crescent and Heliotym — the story of Anteus' ascent had been misconstrued to her being somehow involved in his necromancy. Thus, she became wanted across the city on top of her pre-existing exile, which made her return to the city even more dangerous. Following the battle with Hyperion, Lavrentis is the only surviving member of her original company. She currently directly commands him and Agellos, though her new rank as *Taxiarhos* suggests she now commands a wide range of unmet Vallotis members.

Her younger brother, Soúro was a member of the Faen, alongside her parents, and suffered the same illegal experimentation Leoven had experience in childhood. However, his experiments were successful and the Faen unknowingly infused him with the blood of Hyperion (believing the ichor to be that of Apollo) — thus enabling him to be the vessel of the titan's return, backed by the Twelve.

## Relationships

### Oto

Leoven and Oto first met in Posttown Town Hall after he and Khantos were briefly arrested for theft. The two of them have had a close relationship since meeting after taking the golden stash in the Crypt for themselves *(Sx02)*. Both light and quick sleepers, they used the time before everyone else waking up to bond — mostly through Leoven educating Oto on social norms and sharing the same bedroom. It was here that there friendship blossomed; permitting each other to coexist quietly and becoming accustomed to each other's reassurance silently. Oto was often the first person Leoven disclosed secrets to, such as her birthday. Here, Leoven suggested he choose a birthday of his own, as he did not remember nor like to celebrate the day of his creation. Upon his death, it was revealed that Oto did choose a birthday: the 10th of Leontes, or the day the Primal Seven met.

Leoven valued Oto as her closest friend until and past his death *(Sx41)*. She was the last person to see and speak to Oto alive and now feels his absence in the party greatly.

### Khantos Evergreen

Leoven also met Khantos for the first time at Posttown Town Hall, alongside Oto. Their relationship was initially extremely turbulent, especially after she and Oto broke into Khantos' room *(Sx11)* to fulfil the deal she made with Quintus Pterygas. This resulted in Khantos' full distrust until she apologised and vowed to protect him *(Sx14)*. This vow then led to them both planning to break into Quintus' tower to kill him without the others being there to persuade them otherwise. After working through an initial layer of Khantos' distrust, Leoven has consistently tried to prove herself worthy of his trust. The majority of this work stems from her oath to protect him and the growing number of times she has saved his life — including the escape from Quintus' tower and the subsequent dragon chase.

Following the deaths of Leoven and Khantos whilst fighting Anteus, Leoven felt a personal responsibility and guilt that Khantos had fallen — interpreting that as a broken promise. She then reinforced this vow into an oath privately the next day in front of a nearby shrine to Soteria, the Goddess of Protection. Though his absence whilst Leoven was in hiding in Dexicos *(including and following Sx37.5)* fractured their relationship, Leoven perceiving his unexplained antics as a breach of the trust they were building together, while Khantos began to treat her coldly in his grief. This coldness was later revealed to be reinforced by his secret involvement with the Twelve and their plan to kill Leoven. Her trust in him shattered almost entirely and, although she could not bring herself to hate him, she spoke of how she cannot yet forgive him.

### Adrasteia

Leoven and Adrasteia met in the travellers' temple in Posttown whilst praying to their respective gods. They have never shared a positive relationship with another and are often at odds. Adrasteia has outwardly critiqued Leoven's reluctance to share problems with the group, while Leoven dislikes Adrasteia's need for emotional transparency. After discovering the Ring of King Lykaon and Adrasteia's lycanthropy, Leoven is extremely hesitant to trust her while Adrasteia is attempting to understand her more. Leoven further reacts badly to the reminder of her closed-off nature, perceiving it as an insult when people praise her transparency — secrets she now feels obliged to share, rather than ones she shares in her own time, due to Adrasteia's comments.

After reconciling in Athmonon *(Sx47)*, Leoven and Adrasteia have solved their underlying issues with one another, though Leoven has said she would prefer to build their friendship slowly — following an admission that she is not good at making and keeping friends.

### Cyaro

Leoven met Cyaro at Petros' Bookshop during the grace period *(Sx26)* between fighting Anteus and the funeral of King Eugammon. Both have a mutual curiosity in each other, specifically in their shared Elven heritage, and initially made conversation exploring the differences in how they interact with Elven culture. The two have also briefly flirted (though unknowingly on Cyaro's part) with each other, suggesting a mutual attraction. Leoven was the first to support the idea of Cyaro joining the Primal Seven after Petros recommended her to the group. A brief conflict arose when Leoven used *Zone of Truth* and *Command* against Cyaro after Xunthas appeared in her arm, but an apology prevented too large of a fallout between the pair.

### Ghost

Leoven approaches Ghost with cautious optimism. She values his intelligence and usefulness, but it apprehensive over his abilities, identity and worship. The proverbial elephant in the room cannot go unnoticed to her. His vampirism — though she understands it as a curse — is something she and her oath stands against, and she is reluctant to trust him or accept him as a friend wholly because of this until they can reach a better level of understanding of one another.

### Apollo

Leoven primarily worships Apollo, as is customary for the majority of the citizens of Dexicos. Apollo outwardly disapproved of her past actions during the Vallotis-Faen Civil War, but said they were "redeemable" if she undertook a task to seek out a descendant of "*Ambrogio"* for him *(Sx14)* — which Leoven now knows is either Ghost or a relative of his.

Leoven's worship of Apollo is very private, having prayed to him once in public with the help of Adrasteia. Together they spoke about how Leoven felt her faith wavering due to circumstances keeping her away from Apollo. It has been implied by Leoven that her relationship with the Sun God is extremely tenuous and distant; he is an object of worship who has yet reciprocated trust in her. Leoven's unconditional worship of him ended after she realised this distance and she threw away her laurel leaf branch in protest of his silence *(Sx40)*. A needed reconciliation followed the discovery of her position as the Champion of Light, consequently Champion of Apollo by association.

### Rigani Mela

Leoven met Rigani after Adrasteia at the temple and quickly came to greatly respect her. After Rigani's departure from the group *(Sx07)*, Leoven took it upon herself to write to Rigani regularly. In these letters, Rigani opened up about her past and the relationship she had with her son — whilst Leoven confided her current feelings towards the rest of the group and sought personal advice.

## Character Information

### Notable Items

* ***Crystal Longsword***, purchased in Artemis Sentry.
* ***Amulet of the Vallotis***, gifted upon taking her Vallotis oath.
* ***Amulet of the Devout***, gifted by Leviticus.
* ***Polemarch's Plate***, plate armour obtained in a Vallotis base near Lymphados.
* A Quill, a 298th birthday gift from Oto.
* A standard issue Vallotis dagger — which she straps to the outside of her left leg.
* A standard issue Vallotis shield.
* A single ***Sending Stone***, currently paired to Lycas'.

#### Former Items

* ***Longsword of Vengeance***, found in the Stonehill Mine, which possessed a piece of Bravo's soul. Leoven abandoned it in the Labyrinth.
* Celestial Bronze plate armour, gifted by Ilben, which activates via a bracelet. She gifted this to Khantos at the Hive.
	+ Note that this was gifted to later trap Leoven and sacrifice her to Hyperion, as part of The 12's mission.

### Abilities

#### High Elven Abilities

* Darkvision
* Keen Senses
* Fey Ancestry
* Trance
* Elf Weapon Training

#### Feats

* Mage Slayer
* Skill Expert (expertise in Athletics)

#### Proficiencies

* **Skills:** Athletics *(EXPERTISE)*, Insight, Intimidation, Perception, Performance, Religion
* **Tools:** Playing Card Set, Dragonchess Set, Vehicles (Land)

#### Languages

* Common
* Elven
* Dwarven

## Quotations

* "I have to be with a robot, goddamn it!" *(in Sx17)*
* *(Khantos, about Leoven)* "I'm just thinking that for a soldier you act a bit too much from emotion." *(in Sx21)*
* "The longer you look into the sun, the deeper the shadows become." *(in Sx30)*

## Trivia

* Her name could be a variation of *Leona* or *Leon*, originating from Latin and meaning "lioness." Leoven is a harsher sounding name compared to it's graceful sounding origins.
* As of the current Primal Seven members, Leoven is the tallest.
* Leoven was originally going to be an Oathbreaker Paladin.
* The conception of Leoven came from multiple of the creator's favourite video game characters, including but not limited to: Cullen Rutherford *(Dragon Age)*, Leona and Kayle *(League of Legends)*, and Kassandra *(Assassin's Creed: Odyssey)*.