Marea Almecrayner

Marea in her adventuring gear, a set of silver half-plate armor and a cloak

Marea is the Head Priestess in the city of Kremyrafbrotan, capital of the Sahkunite country Yrafvanal. She is also the de facto leader of the Five Hands of Dorshalok, a team of adventurers consisting of powerful and influential individuals.

Marea works with her team, as well as the god Dorshalok, the Black Prince, to keep her city and country safe from internal crime and corruption, as well as external threats of various kinds.

## Life Summary

### Backstory (1254-1274)

Born in Kremyrafbrotan in 1254, Marea was the first and only daughter of her single mother Vanalia Almecrayner. A naturally bubbly, easy-going, and compassionate girl even from her youth, Marea always had a very optimistic and understanding view towards the world. But these traits of hers were even further strengthened and developed by her mother’s love and influence in her life. Vanalia was the Head Priestess in Kremyrafbrotan at the time, so Marea was also naturally brought up to be a proud and devout member of the church of Audekyne. Vanalia was a very loving, healthy, and supportive mother to Marea, helping her grow up in a physically and emotionally healthy way, and teaching her to be wise and knowledgeable in life. She was also taught Marea the ways of divine spellcasting, such as becoming proficient in the powers of healing and revivification, among other things. Marea and Vanalia had an unbreakably strong bond with each other, both being vital pillars in each other's lives.

However, despite all the love and respect Marea had for her mother, she could not help but feel like the core tenets of the religion they followed were flawed. The practices of Audekyne's faith were benevolent, but they were passive. They did good deeds serving her and the people of Kyeaph, but they only focused on fixing the aftermaths of crimes, not preventing them before they could happen. Marea, despite all the good she and her mother had done, always felt like there was more that they could have done. She felt sick seeing the corpses of victims killed in violent crimes brought into the church, knowing that their deaths could have been prevented if someone was there to help. Even in bringing them back to life, there was always the lingering thought in the back of her mind of those who were not fortunate enough to be found or resurrected.

Vanalia would tell Marea that everyone had their place in the world, and that theirs was to help the needy and heal the broken. There were those out there whose jobs were to stop and prevent crimes, and they as priestesses unfortunately could not do everything with the position they were in. But the way Marea saw it, they followed the faith of one of the goddesses that oversaw the very planet, and yet that goddess, as well as her divine peers, took a very distant approach to protecting the world. Wars, slavery, crime, all these things were uncontested by those who created the people who suffered from these atrocities. Marea loved and trusted her mother, so she buried these doubts and continued to serve in her position, But deep down, she felt like the gods, while not malicious or malevolent, were unfit to hold the governing position of the entire planet if they were going to let such evils run rampant.

One day, however, tragedy befell Marea and her mother. While sailing to Blackbow on an urgent and important journey, a storm took the ship by surprise. But it was what was within the storm that held the most danger. With the surrounded area only being illuminated for brief moments due to lightning, the passengers of the ship could not make out what peril surrounded them.

Marea, separated from Vanalia at the moment, began to search for her mother. With the monstrous waves swaying the ship and everyone on board in a panic, the task of finding her was nearly impossible. She made countless prayers to Audekyne through her frantic breaths and choked tears. In this moment, Marea felt like she could do nothing, that her entire life was out of her hands. But despite all the fear running rampant through her head, a small part of her felt trust and assurance that everything would turn out alright. She and her mother had devoted their lives to Audekyne. Their goddess would see their safe return through. This was but a test of strength and bravery.

Marea’s faith and courage were rewarded when she finally found her mother, clutching to a railing on the bow of the ship, waiting for her daughter. They locked eyes, and Marea broke a smile for the first time in what seemed like an eternity. She ran as fast as she could to her mother, with no regard for her own safety. But in the heat of the moment, she slipped on the cold water covering the ship’s deck. The last thing the girl heard was her mother cry out her name, before she looked up at her for the final time. In an instant, a gargantuan, scaly blue claw tore through the front of ship, ripping it off completely. Marea watched her mother’s body be destroyed along with the boat before her very eyes.

Her body froze. Everything stopped. Words could not describe the thoughts and feelings running through her mind. The sound of the waves, thunder, screams, she couldn’t hear any of it. Time stood still for Marea. Her mother was gone, but she could still see her body being mutilated over and over. That’s all she could see. Suddenly, Marea was sinking. Everything around her was black. Water filled her ears and mouth. Cold. Silent.

How could this happen? Why could this happen? To her mother of all people? Vanalia was one of the most compassionate, good-hearted people in the world in Marea’s eyes. She had devoted her life to helping those around her, expecting nothing in return. She devoted her life to raising her daughter, and making sure she grows up healthy and feeling loved. And she had devoted her life to Audekyne, goddess of light and protection. Where was she? Could she not hear the prayers? Did she just not care? Maybe neither. Maybe this was meant to be. All part of a greater plan, perhaps. Maybe Vanalia was meant to die. And if her mother wasn’t worthy of living, what good was Marea? How could she possibly compare.

She had sunken deep under the surface by this point. Nothing could be seen, heard, nor felt. Her body was still. She didn’t fight, she didn’t resist. She felt so many feelings, but in her mind, none of them mattered. She had lost all will for self preservation. Her mother was dead, and her goddess had either damned her or abandoned her. It was time to close her eyes.

It felt like time had passed. Like a dream had come and gone. Marea opened her eyes to the light of the moons above. She was not cold. She looked around. A quiet beach surrounded her, with a calm river behind her, and the ocean ahead. The waves methodically crashed onto the shore. She had no clue what was going on.

As she stood up, she felt strange. The air around her felt warm. The waves hitting her feet were not icy. But the sky was dark, and the land was quiet. She felt different.

Suddenly, her memories came flooding back to her. She instinctively tried to suppress them, but the damage had been done. Her life had been irreversibly altered in the course of a single night. Nothing could change what had happened. However, her anguish was rivaled by her confusion, as she was perplexed as to what events led to where she is now. Where was she? Why did she feel so strange? She walked up the river bank, peering into the water to look at herself.

As she looked into the stream to gaze at her reflection, a shiver went down her spine. Her soft pink eyes were gone, now foggy and white. Gobs of black liquid dangled from where her hair should’ve been. She did not believe she was looking at herself. What happened to her? Who or what could’ve done this? Her first thought was that Audekyne had actually saved her, but the more she entertained the idea, the less plausible the thought became. Why would Audekyne do this to her? Why was Marea seemingly the only survivor? Nothing made sense. But this was her reality now.

In the deita following this event, Marea assumed her mother’s role as the Head Priestess of the city’s church. She felt obligated to carry on her legacy as a cleric of Audekyne, who devoted herself to adhering to the core tenets of the following. She did her best to present a strong front to the people of Kremyrafbrotan, persevering despite the hardships she endured. The public saw her as a hero, an unshakable pillar of virtue that continued to uphold goodness, no matter the trials or tribulations. But deep down, Marea was miserable. She had taken up this role out of love and respect for her mother, but her doubts in the religion’s ideals still lingered in the back of her mind. In fact, they grew even larger as each day passed. And nothing could ever fill the hole in her heart left by her mother. She was her entire world for her whole life, and she was taken away in an instant.

Ever since that fateful day, Marea had been experiencing nightmares. She told nobody, as she didn’t know how they would react to the information. This was to be expected, in her eyes, for she had just gone through a gravely tragic event. But the nightmares persisted, and they were always the same. She would be on her knees in an endless pool of freezing black liquid. Shadows would crawl up her body and slither their way into her eyes and ears. And she would endure the shadows’ voices and screams as long as she could, all until she would fall back into the black pool and drown. She endured these nightmares for so long, she didn’t know how much more she could withstand.

Until one day, she couldn’t take it anymore.

## Physical Description

Hair: Murky black, made of blackwater (formerly brunette)

Skin: Blue (specifically cornflower blue)

Eyes: Foggy white, with no pupils or irises (formerly soft pink)

Height: 5'10

Horns: Yes (brown)

Tail: Yes (same as skin)

## Biographical Information

Status: Alive

Sex/Gender: Female

Race: Tiefling

Subrace: Blackwater-touched

Nationality: Yrafvanali

Continent of Origin: Sahkunor

Biological Father: Carwyn Arminek

Biological Mother: Vanalia Almecrayner

Age in Deita: 20 (1274) / 23 (1277)

Age in Years: 23 (1274) / 27 (1277)

## Appears In

*Black Priestess*

*Legend of the Kyeaph Crusaders*