Metheryl Arcaena

> *"I understand what it is to feel nothing but the call of the Void, to only feel one’s blood surge at its kiss. It is a terrible addiction with no refuge.”*
>
>

Metheryl Arcaena was the High Enchantress of Shatterlight Coven and a powerful magic user born in 2 AE to parents Ailmon Elavyre and Madris Arcaena.

Although her original form is a Wild Elf, she inhabited the body of a Void Elf for several decades. This was due to her entanglement with the Void Elf Kraai.

## History

### Early Life (2 AE - 40 AE)

Metheryl was born in the Wilds, in the safety of the Shatterlight Coven. She grew up learning magic and the ways of the coven like any other young Wild Elf. However, despite her father being alive she grew up without his influence for the first few decades of her life. He was the High Enchanter of Shatterlight Coven and gave up his dependents so that he might better serve his people. Thus, Metheryl was mostly raised by her mother, a powerful battlemage who trained others in defense of the Coven.

Metheryl would cut her teeth in combat against demons within the tunnels. She went on many expeditions into the depths with her mother or alongside miners.

### After the Spreading of Obscura (40 AE - 265 AE)

With the lands beginning to heal and the spiders waking from their long hibernation, the Wilds suddenly became a more dangerous place on the surface. But thankfully, the demon incursions were far less, like they had forgotten the tunnels existed.

Metheryl fought the spiders until her father Ailmon suddenly took an interest in her again. He made it clear to her that he would like her to one day have the honor of being High Enchantress, and to fulfill that wish, she would have to work hard.

In 143 AE, Ailmon Elavyre began preparing her for a mission to Everglow City to seek out adventuring Wild Elves and bring them back if possible. She was given Sender's Leaf to ensure a distinct lack of sexual interest in any outsider in her travels. She made her way across Aradia and into the city of Everglow, but found her mission had already failed as the Wild Elves didn't want to return.

Just before she was to return home, Metheryl was witness to the beginning of the Demon Wars. She returned to the Wild Elves and implored them to come back with her to the Coven. They accepted, unwilling to take on the numbers of demons.

She returned to her father and he agreed that Coven members that had left should be welcomed back, but he was unwilling to act in this Demon War. Metheryl contested this decision hotly, leading to several falling outs with her father. She firmly believed that biting the war in the bud would save many lives, but her father was still so obsessed with making sure the Coven remained hidden. He didn't want to draw attention to them.

### Leadership of Shatterlight Coven (265 AE - 323 AE)

In 265 AE at the age of 263, Metheryl was Chosen to be the High Enchantress. Her father died defending the Coven from a spider attack. Unfortunately, Metheryl was pregnant at the time to Dain Balneiros, her lover, which meant she would have to give up the child to properly serve her people.

Dain raised their daughter Holone by himself. Metheryl had very little to do with her life, much to her later chagrin.

She led her people through the worst of the Demon War their side of Aradia in 273 AE. Admittedly the conflict was short and strange, with an alliance made with the Spider Queens. But all returned to normal shortly, back to fighting the spiders and without demons.

A few months after the last of these demons from the Demon War were dispatched, Metheryl set up a spy network across Aradia, putting Senders in place. She learned Sender magic herself.

###

### In the Void (323 AE - 325 AE)

In 323 AE, Metheryl accompanied four of her warriors through the tunnels where demons had been spotted once more. But throughout the journey, more and more demons came flooding out. Fearing another Demon War imminent, this time on their side of Aradia, Metheryl and her companions quickly found the source: A black lake in the darkest depths.

They knew they had to close this wound in Aradia's mind. More and more demons poured through and they cut down every single one. But at least one of them would have to go through to close this gateway from the other side. Metheryl and one of her companions agreed to go through - a suicide mission.

She remembered going through but did not remember closing the gate. However, she apparently did so. Although it is not in her memory, her companion Eiche died in protection of her while she finished the ritual. The remaining three Wild Elves, she never knew their fate - nor does the Coven.

She survived in the Void for two years, although she does not remember them well. At some point she was captured by a demon called the Ancient, who experimented on her in conjunction with a young Void Elf named Kraai. A bizarre accident, she believes, led to the pair switching bodies. In the form of Kraai, Metheryl escaped the Ancient's laboratory in terror.

She does not remember the series of events which led to her finding herself back on the surface of Aradia in her new body. Nor would she remember the switch - all she knew was that she had been in the Void and came back different. She returned to the Coven and shared her story. After the Elders ascertained she was indeed not possessed or under any other mind-altering circumstances, they agreed to reinstate her as High Enchantress.

Sadly, her daughter Holone died while she was in the Void (324 AE). But not without first giving birth to Metheryl's granddaughter Wynmae Elassore.

It didn't take long for Metheryl to realize she was not alone in her body. It was not possession. *She* was the possessor. She had taken hold of Kraai's body and abandoned her own wild elf form to somewhere in the Void. Kraai was young and very weak in her mind, unable to withstand Metheryl's superior mental capacity. So Kraai became nothing but a whisper. A reminder that the body she inhabited was not hers.

This fact, she left unspoken to her people in fear of what they might think or do to her.

She vowed to her people that with her void-tainted state, she would never bear another child. As such, she hasn't had a romantic relationship since she inhabited Kraai's body.

### The Untamed Isle and the Second Demon War (1014 AE - 1016 AE)

With meeting Divankul Dul-Sansiska in a bid to remove Kraai from her mind, Metheryl discovered a far worse truth. Kraai possessed her wild elf form somewhere in the Void (as part of a Vrow experiment), and had become exponentially more powerful over the past 700 years. Kraai also got a good sense of Divankul and started speaking in Metheryl's mind, trying to convince her to kill him.

Her Everglowian spy Dironthir realized what exactly she was and returned to Shatterlight Coven to try and force a Choosing to remove Metheryl from her High Enchantress status. Metheryl encouraged this due to her newfound difficulties with Kraai, believing herself to be compromised by the Void.

Metheryl met the daughter of Wynmae, Nimbe Elassore Rodin, a half-elf and her great-granddaughter. With meeting the girl, she realized two things: (1) Kraai sensed the deep magical potential in her. (2) Shatterlight Coven was all wrong about magical purity being solely in elves.

Metheryl was part of the team that entered the Void to defeat the Underking. She provided magical support and was able to leave along with Talia and Divankul, but they were forced to leave Elmer behind to seal the Void. She was one of a rare few that knew the true identity of the Underking and what took place in the Void that day. With the sealing of the Void, her connection with Kraai was silenced.

In 1016, Metheryl accepted a position as Court Sorcerer to Queen Talia Blackthorne.

### 1053

Felt a disturbance from the Void, felt Kraai.

### 1056

Felt a disturbance from the Void, felt Kraai.

In Obscura's Moon of 1056, Metheryl heard news from Nimbe that she was back in Caybourne living with Lyron and Aegis, and had given birth to twins: Talisa and Iliad. Metheryl questioned her on the paternity, but Nimbe refused to tell, instead claiming they would have two fathers in Lyron and Aegis. From this point, Metheryl made an effort to visit regularly.

### The Brecilidian Rebellion & Doubts (1070-1073)

Metheryl never fought in the Brecilidian Rebellion, but she heard plenty from those who had.

### The Year of Scarlet (1075)

In New Moon of 1075, Nimbe contacted Metheryl, frustrated that her own daughter Talisa had gotten pregnant. Metheryl resigned from her position as Court Sorcerer when Queen Talia passed away. She had no desire to work any longer with Talia's children.

Metheryl moved to Caybourne to be with her kin, but only had a few short weeks with them before the Necromantic Assault on Caybourne occurred. She fought ferociously to defend her family, but Lyron and Nimbe's half-brother Carndas Rodin were among the dead.

Then the Red Death struck, taking Talisa with it and resulting in the premature birth of Talith Webb. Nimbe's grief was too great and she retreated back to her hermit ways. Metheryl knew she had returned to the Silkwoods, but chose to let her heal and not pursue her. Metheryl, Iliad, and Aegis joined forces to raise baby Talith. Metheryl became quite close with each of them.

### 1076

Felt another lighter disturbance from the Void, but didn't feel Kraai.

### 1086

Another light Void disturbance in Herald's Moon.

### Current

On the evening of 21st Lady's Moon, Metheryl felt the Void open, did not feel Kraai... but the Void never closed again.

On the morning of 22nd Lady's Moon, Divankul dies.

## Mage Pocket Dimension

A forest which looks much like the woods surrounding Shatterlight Coven, wreathed in fireflies but corrupted by dark purple veins of pulsating ichor that creep through and permeate much of this place.