Rielah

"What do you desire?"

## Princess of Cetra

Rielah is the daughter and only heir of King Askavald of Cetra. She has no other siblings and later on, after Askavald’s disappearance, becomes a figurehead leader as Princess of Cetra with the aid of the Cetran High Council.

Not only a princess, she is also the chosen predecessor to become the next Ascendant of Gaia. A highly revered position with direct connection to Gaia, the Lifestream, and meant to embody the very essence of light and goodness in the name of Cetran legacy. This decision was made well before she was born and ever since young childhood Rielah has been under the tutelage of powerful, high-ranking magic wielders and political advisors within the empire’s influential council and gentry.

### Refinement to Ascendant

Rielah's rise to Ascendant had been generations in the making. It was not by chance that she was born as Askavald's daughter, as the princess of Cetra, and with immense power innately within her. Her existence brought manifest by the Sorgina--a sect of witches part of the deeper, inner core of Cetran politics--and eventually she became an 'asset' for the Sorgina to go through what is known as refinement.

This refinement is highly intentional training and manipulation since childhood to instill a strong narrative within Rielah as well as to help her embrace her Ascendant powers fully. This refinement, however, is abruptly stopped and broken when she is kidnapped by the Magus Eadei.

### Palace Life & Sheltered Upbringing

The princess rarely, if ever, was allowed to leave the actual grounds of the palace in the capital city of Viseau. Her entire day closely monitored and typically filled with lessons, training, and delegation as monarchy.

## Ascendant of Darkness

During a church congregation led by Rielah, the Cathedral of Gaia was invaded and attacked by a renegade group of banished Vashari. Amidst the chaos and mass murder of hundreds Cetra citizens, Rielah was kidnapped and taken away by the leader of the group, Eadei.

### Temple of the Dawnmantle

The princess found herself being taken to an ancient ruin in the Southern Continent known as the Temple of the Dawnmantle--its origins and intentions forgotten to most on Gaia. The Celestial-focused temple held a conduit device in which held great transformative properties known to Eadei. Cajoled to stand in the center of the conduit in a promise of safety for her people, Rielah relented and obeyed during her kidnapping. That is when true ambitions revealed itself.

### Azazel's Gift

The Dawnmantle sprung to life, and through that, one of the High Seraphim took utmost notice and deliberation to heed the call immediately. The Seraph of Darkness and Enlightenment, Azazel, made a deal with Eadei in exchange to cut the binding in which kept Rielah tethered to Cetra. In exchange, Azazel replaced it with his own thread that would bind the transformed Rielah to the Magus for the sole purpose of ultimate conquest for Dark.

Now as a child of Azazel, Rielah's memories of her life were erased and so too her path of becoming the Gaian Ascendant.

### Asteria, Ascendant of Darkness

In this wake, Rielah became Asteria, the Ascendant of Darkness. The name bestowed upon her by Eadei after her transformation.

With her new thread tied to the domain of Azazel, the Seraph appointed her the ability to command the cosmic shifts surrounding everything in the known reality. This means drawing upon what is called *Demi* to move and manipulate gravity and perceptions. In tandem to this, she can take over time over individuals in order to hasten, slow, or stop them entirely.

Azazel is the originator of both concepts. Time being initially gifted to the Prime Hielach in order for the Prime to better manage the lifespans of mortals for the Beyond. Demi is an essence of Azazel's domain itself--Darkness siphoned into cosmic energies in order to fuel them.

Her form changes as Asteria to reflect this. Her Ascendant shift able to utilize more of the power at a rapid pace, however, at the cost of her not able to reign it back in without the explicit command of her bound Master--in this case, Eadei. She can tap into the powers while unchanged as her 'normal' self, but there is a stopgap in place and it is not as efficient.

## Personality & Traits

Rielah of Cetra was proud, rigid, reactionary, narrowminded, and yet, kind to her people and simply wanted to appease everyone through the Gaian faith. She was never given the chance to think upon outside viewpoints or perceptions, only that of the Cetran way. She looked up to her father, Askavald, and had a strained relationship with her mother Yvette.

Transformed Rielah--or, Asteria--saw a shift in personality. She is ever curious for knowledge and the way of the world and is not afraid to question things around her. She can be prone to quick shifts of mood, in particular when she feels wronged or mad. There are little to no social reserves of the world as she sees herself above them. Finally, she is fiercely loyal and devoted to her bound Master; perhaps the only being able to make her comply to commands besides Azazel.

## Misc. Information

* Because Rielah's mother is part of the Sorgina, in turn, Rielah is considered Sorgina as well and was taught the generational magic of Lifestream tapping. However, her direct connection to the Lifestream was severed when Azazel broke her tether to the Cetra. This was also one of the ways the Sorgina could so easily keep watch of her whereabouts without even being nearby.
* Part of Rielah's popularity with the common people is the combination of her blue hair and golden eyes--seen as a rarity amongst Cetra.