Saint Therion the White

> "*I give my body, heart and soul to My Lady. I am the sword in Her hand and the shield that protects Her. When the horns of the apocalypse sound and the winds of doom blow, I will ride out and fight - and I shall have no fear, for My Lady is with me.*"
> ― Sir Therion, as narrated by Aceron
>
>

**Saint Therion the White**, also commonly known as Sir Therion the White and rarely as Saint Therion the Demon-Slayer, is among the most famous and important of all the saints in Elvetan religious tradition. He is often regarded by Elvetans as the holiest and most righteous mortal who ever lived, a person whose virtue surpassed even the prophets, an ideal to strive towards for all men.

Although Sir Therion served for a time under Sir Acras, he primarily devoted himself to Lady Calisa. The Ticai Baca describes Therion as being Lady Calisa's mortal champion, but their relationship went beyond that of master and servant; the two are described as being close friends, and according to the text, Therion loved Calisa "more than any other". Some Elvetans take this to mean that their relationship was romantic, but this is a highly controversial belief that has never been officially endorsed by the priesthood.

The tales of Sir Therion and Lady Calisa are narrated in the Book of Aceron, the second book in the Ticai Baca, the holy scripture of the Elvetan faith. Therion has a lengthy chapter of the Book of Aceron dedicated entirely to him, titled *The Legend of Sir Therion*. This chapter also goes a long way in elaborating upon the character of Lady Calisa, and is the first explicit mention of Dreadfolk and Dread Titans in the Ticai Baca; the chapter positions both Calisa and Therion as arch-enemies of demons and "false gods".

## Ethnicity and Appearance

Sir Therion's origins are never mentioned in *The Legend of Sir Therion*, but it is generally agreed upon that he was a Human or Half-Elf and not an Elf for three main reasons. Firstly, he is never depicted as using magic at any point, instead requiring divine aid to make use of supernatural powers. Secondly, the vague description that is given of his apperance - tall, fair-skinned, black-haired and green-eyed - means that he must either be a Human or at least a Half-Elf, since pure-blooded Elves cannot have black hair. Thirdly, his name bears little resemblance to ancient or modern Elvish names and has no clear Elvic meaning, so it is far more likely to be an Elvicised form of his original native name.

Although Therion's description is rather alike the people of Raskev - who are tall and fair-skinned, and commonly have black or very dark brown hair - his name is unlikely to be Raskevite in origin, since the "th" phoneme does not exist in the Raskevite language. It is instead speculated to be Walmórícing in origin - that is, from the pre-Elvic native inhabitants of Avamorica. Some linguists speculate that the name is related to the ancient Walmórícing name of Eotherhan (which survives in the modern day as Ethran or Etheran), however it is not widely accepted that an evolution from Eotherhan to Therion is plausible.

Sir Therion is mostly distinguished by his clothing; he was said to be clad in white steel armour ("white" being a term to mean plain and undecorated steel armour and not literally the colour white) and his signature cloak was predominantly white in colour, with a green border and images of flowers which were likewise in green, the colour of Lady Calisa. This is the origin of Sir Therion's epithet, "the White". It remains unclear whether Therion wore white because it is associated with purity and virtue in Elvic tradition, or whether the colour white took on these meanings because of Therion.