Eliana Arryn I

Eliana Arryn during the seige of Laeth

Unknown mother

Empress **Eliana Arryn I** is the current ruler of The Empire of Lûeth, as of 755 IC, having just won the Second Imperial Civil War.

Despite having overthrown an unjust tyrant, the Empress is not a very well liked figure in the Empire, though many of the rulers of the Empire weren't loved during their time. However, the notable difference with Eliana is that she is at odds with the nobility more than she is of the working classes, due to her increasing taxes on the rich and cracking down on the slave trade in Mieza.

Those that Eliana does have the support of respect her immensely, realising that she is doing what she can for the people of the Empire, rather than the people that would make her the most comfortable. They also realise that she does not want her position of power, and respect that her mood will not always be the best at times, especially after meeting with less-than-happy nobility, which is more often than not.

## History

"*The ruler of this Empire should be a just one. And often those who rule most righteously simply do not wish to rule at all.*"
―Grand Inquisitor Fenris Armando on the subject of his new Empress.
### Offspring of the Empire

The Empress of the Empire was born a bastard to one of the servants of Emperor Rigel Arryn XIV, the elder of two bastard children that the emperor would have. She has no memory of life in the Imperial Palace, as both her and her mother were forced onto the streets of Laeth after the emperor fired her mother when he learned of the existence of Eliana.

Eliana grew up on the streets of Laeth going by the name Elia, unaware of her royal blood, or even of the fact that she was blessed by Talos himself, being more closely related to the first emperor than any of her ancestors ever were. Her mother did her best to keep Elia safe, though it was difficult to do so while doing anything for food and coin.

### Shurkar

When she was just eight years of age, her mother booked her passage on a ship to Shurkar, having become too involved with Laeth's criminal underworld and not wanting her daughter to be killed for her mistakes. Elia arrived in Shurkar with only one possession, the knight piece of a chess board that her mother had given her. Not knowing anything else, lived day-to-day, stealing food, clothes and coin from where she could, sleeping with only a blanket on a rooftop.

After a few years, against the advice of some of her fellow urchins, she and a friend of hers, Julian, successfully managed to steal a pouch off the belt of a sinister woman who had arrived that day and seemed to have plenty of coin to pass around. In the pouch were strange inks with an assortment of small knives, as well as a large amount of gold. The woman tracked the young Elia down and was impressed with her skills, saying that she could either go with the woman and get off the streets, learning to defend herself, or she could keep the gold, returning only the inks and tools. Intrigued, Elia went along with the woman, dragging Julian along with her.

The woman's name was Andrea, and she belonged to an ancient order known as the Lorekeepers of Durmahr, a group of people who kept occult and unique knowledge of the weave of magic. Most weren't spellcasters, but rather scholars, and some, like Andrea, were warriors and assassins. The Lorekeepers kept runes, written with special inks that would allow the user to utilise magical effects, the runes acting like a shortcut to the user's magical power, much like the arcane incantations or motions that spellcasters would do, but far more efficient and subtler.

### Lorekeepers of Durmahr

Life with the Lorekeepers was substantially better than life on the streets, and she never looked back. She had a place to stay, good food, people to protect her and friends to entertain her. She didn't have to fight for her life everyday, just fight as training. Andrea became like a big sister to Elia, teaching her everything she needed to know and helping her if she was having trouble with any of the tasks set by the elders. Her friend, Julian, struggled more than she did, but that didn't change their friendship in any way, even if there was tension between them over the affections over another student, Maria, though after a few years Elia conceded since she was tiring of the back-and-forth game they all played.

At the age of fifteen, Elia learned that Andrea was leaving Shurkar to join the branch of the Lorekeepers in the Empire, a branch that had so few members that they could be counted on one hand. Before leaving, however, Andrea sat down with Elia and told her of the chess piece that Andrea had found her with. Elia had only a sentimental attachment to the piece because of her mother, but Andrea had studied it while Elia was training, and had found a secret compartment within, detailing her royal blood. Andrea sat with Elia and explained what it meant, and to keep it a secret, especially while in Shurkar, as tensions between Skurkar and the Empire were rising, and there would probably be war soon.

Once Andrea had left, life got a little harder for Elia for the next few years. Julian and Maria were keeping mainly to themselves, and the tasks the elders were setting tasks that grew in difficulty as they wished to challenge Elia both physically and mentally, and she no longer had anyone to talk to about these tasks. The days were spent alone, training or studying, until finally she successfully managed to make her own batch of the special ink that the order used to scribe their runes, a task that had eluded her for years.

Eventually, at eighteen, Elia was given rank within the order, relieving her of some of the arduous tasks the elders would set, though not completely. She had a degree of personal freedom now, however, and at the first opportunity she had, she asked to transfer to the Saltheim branch of the order, where Andrea had gone previously and surprisingly, her request was accepted, and even more surprisingly, Julian and Maria also asked to transfer shortly after hearing of Elia's transfer.

### Saltheim

Arriving in Saltheim brought quite a shock to Elia, Julian and Maria. The Lorekeepers there were run very differently than they were used to, having only one elder, Darian. He ran the order with an iron fist, assigning contracts as orders, rather than allowing each lorekeeper to choose which contracts they took. The lorekeepers were quite lazy in their spare time, spending what little money Darian gave them on parties and drink. Elia's reunion with Andrea wasn't what she expected either, being scorned for coming to the Empire, where it was dangerous, especially for Elia. Elia took these changes in stride however, and surprised Darian in how well she adapted, running every contract he set her, regardless on how suicidal.

Everything changed, however, when Maria was captured while on one of these contracted missions. Despite protests from Julian and Elia, Darian refused to order a rescue mission, instead simply handing the two of them yet another mission. Elia and Julian looked everywhere for help, though found little other than from Andrea, though she could do nothing against the orders of Darian. Even the monks of Tarrey refused to act, their order owing many favours to Darian, though they sometimes did not agree with his methods.

Eventually, Elia decided to strike out on her own to rescue Maria, while Julian covered for her. She spent months scouting and gathering information, until eventually she was successful in rescuing her friend. Returning to Saltheim, however, she found chaos. Andrea's and Julian's dead bodies had been strung up for trying to overthrow Darian from his leadership position, having failed, and the rest of the order seemed more frightened of Darian than ever. Seeing her lover's murderer stood before her, Maria went berserk, though she was no match for Darian who gutted her in moments, and for disobeying his orders, forced Elia to string up Maria's body with the other two.

For a few years, Elia fell into similar habits to the other lorekeepers in the order, spending her spare time at parties in Saltheim, indulging in the vices available to her. She understood now why the other lorekeepers did this - any resistance to Darian's regime was met with brutal punishment so having 'fun' at these parties was away to escape from the brutality of the rest of their life. Elia took liking to a noble family of Saltheim, or more rather the parties they threw, and the fact that there were often many bored noble girls to chat up at these parties. This became her routine until eventually the Lucaryns happened.

### The Assassination Plot

Darian had goals, after all. There was a plot to assassinate the emperor, Elia's father, and Darian had a hand in it, though Elia cared little. However, when that lead Rena Lucaryn to the monks of Tarrey, who directed her to Darian, that was when Elia's life changed once again. Loyal to her order, Elia and Rena clashed swords, Elia having killed the men that had arrived with the deathborn, though after realising that Rena was her equal only because Elia had her runic magics, she decided to retreat, allowing her to fight Darian. When Darian proved to be a tough opponent for Rena, Elia decided then to finally avenge those she had called her family, Andrea, Julian and Maria. She attacked Darian while Rena was distracting him, the two of them killing him, a feat some of the other lorekeepers were beginning to believe was impossible.

For her efforts, the other lorekeepers decided to bestow the rank of elder onto Elia, though she declined it, wanting nothing to do with the role. Not after the deaths of those close to her, and the haze that her life had been the past few years. There was simply nothing left for her there. Rena, impressed with Elia's fighting, had offered her a place by the Lucaryns' side, and she was intrigued. Besides, allowing her father to be assassinated would mean a lot more chaos for the lorekeepers, and she certainly had no plans to be the elder when that went down.

### Life with the Lucaryns

The assassination attempt succeeded, despite the Lucaryns' best efforts. The transition to the reign of Emperor Quanis Raam I, despite him being the first emperor not related to the first Emperor Arryn, and thankfully, no one came looking for her, not that they would have any reason for suspecting her royalty anyway. Over this time, Elia grew closer to Rena, having become enamoured by the girl who had changed her life, ending the haze that had threatened to destroy it. She felt happy whenever she was with Rena, even if it felt like her love was unrequited.

When Rena came to Elia with news that she was going on a date with a certain Joseph, Elia was supportive, even if inside she wanted to keep Rena to herself; she wanted to see that Rena was happy, though it seemed clear to Elia that she wasn't happy as the relationship progressed. The boy was nice enough, but Rena just seemed annoyed by him, and in turn, he annoyed Elia. Eventually, Elia claimed to Rena in a heated argument that she wanted her, and kissed her, taking Rena by surprise. Rena spent the day distracted, thinking about what happened, until she met up with Elia later that night and the two slept together. This lead to a lot of trouble with Joseph, who only found out a few days later, talking to Alarin, who wasn't aware that Rena hadn't told him. Elia and Rena spent the next few months glued to each other, and it seemed like it was meant to be.

### The Civil War

751 IC marked the beginning of the civil war against the tyrant that Quanis Raam had become. Elia fought hard by Rena's side, wanting to support her and her family, hardly even considering her claim to the throne, though she spoke out against plans to find 'Eliana Arryn', pushing more for the rebellion to search for her half-sister, Yllin.

A team lead by Alaric Blackmore and General Shapoagataar did find Yllin, though shortly before meeting her half-sister, Elia heard news that Yllin had been killed by loyalist agents, some of them lorekeepers no less. Seeing the despair in both Rena and her family, she decided to come forward and be truthful about her claim, revealing herself as Eliana. Initially Rena was furious at Eliana for keeping that secret from her, but quickly grew to realise exactly why she had kept it to herself, though her father took a little more convincing.

With moral restored, the rebellion fought back against the loyalists hard, quickly gaining support where they had none, now that they had a legitimate claim - one that was in fact more legitimate than the current emperor's. The tide truly turned against the Empire when Fenris Armando, Mirabelle Belisse and Maria Mór all defected to the rebellion, bringing most of the forces of the Inquisition with them, as well as critical information about loyalist movements. Once Armando realised Eliana's connection to Talos, he assisted Eliana in using her blood to recreate the inquisitorial elixir that was created by the first emperor to make his inquisitors, bringing about a new generation of inquisitors to fight against the loyalists.

After the two sieges of Laeth, Eliana was crowned as the Empress of the Empire, attuning herself to the Empire's World Stone, the Opal of the Old World, as was her birth right. She quickly set about writing new laws, stamping out any remnants of the slave trade and trying to improve the general quality of life in the cities of the Empire, hoping that no one would have to experience what she went through as a child, stealing just to live.

### The Expedition and Xelaphos

Once an elite group of adventurers had broken through the wards to one of the inner rings of Xelaphos while tracking down a group still loyal to the tyrant emperor, Eliana allowed an expedition lead by Kalruhan Lucaryn and his wife, Aerie Goldleaf, to lead the way into these ruins, hopefully bringing treasure that could help to refill the imperial treasury, as it was practically bare. Here, the Orphans of Fate first met each other, and they stumbled upon the Undercity of Xelaphos, where Kalruhan, Aerie and Vicsiara Tios'n were all transported to Pandemonium as prisoners of the Primordials.

Rena approached her girlfriend, desperate for assistance, not knowing what to do about her family's capture. Eliana, unable to officially requisition resources at this time had to deny her request, and Rena hired the Pirate Lord Vincent Greyshine and his ship the Dirty Dragon to transport her instead, travelling with Nigel DeRosa, Grum and Mickey Kriemhild, along with Vincent's old first mate, Wander.

It took Eliana months to track down the Dirty Dragon, and it proved a difficult task, even for the legendary admiral, James West. When she finally did meet Rena again, she offered her the use of the Empire's Dreadnought, the largest ship to ever have been built in the imperial navy, though unbeknownst to Eliana, Rena had started a relationship with Wander, who was not happy to see the Eliana trying to get so close to Rena, resulting in Wander using her Hellish Rebuke on Eliana. She parted ways with Rena confused, with little closure over the sudden loss of the love of her life, and with little explanation, something that she knows she needs to work through to this day.

### The Primordial Crisis

When the gates to Pandemonium opened, no one could say they were ready, but Eliana tried her best to protect her people, but still her actions worsened the public's opinion of her. Those close to her knew that it was a futile effort, keeping the people's opinions high, as whatever she chose would have made things worse. Eliana chose to send soldiers to the towns outside of the capital, which left Laeth in a weakened position, but not doing so would have meant those outside the city would have perished. Opening the city gates to refugees put a strain on Laeth's resources and lead to starvation and plague, but leaving them outside would have lead to rioting and death. The primordial crisis was truly a test of Eliana's leadership skills, and while those close to her say that she did her best with the hand she was given, those who wish to see her gone use it as an excuse to act the way they do.

When the Orphans of Fate returned, victorious in their attempt to close the gates and end the crisis, Eliana rewarded them, knighting them or granting pardons where appropriate, despite the pardon being given to the woman that stole her lover from her. While she may not like some of the members of the Orphans of Fate, she has come to trust them, and even rely on them.

### War on Aldarnesh

When the threat of the Dread King arrived in the Empire, Eliana wasted no time in attempting to find allies, sending the Orphans of Fate to Khârond and Port Wren to find allies and information, though they were unsuccessful, except for the allegiance of Ayaris Helsong and her Thirteen, though they could do little against the white elf armies of Aldarnesh.

## Appearance

The Empress predominantly dresses in fine suits, often of the regal blue colour that the Lorekeepers of Durmahr favoured, though more for her to remember them than to show allegiance. She takes pride in her clothing, preferring to keep them clean, though if it comes down to it, she is not averse to dirt. She keeps her dark hair tied in a ponytail, claiming it is to keep it from her eyes while fighting or performing her royal duties, though in truth she simply prefers it that way.

## Personality

The Empress is quite a forward person with those she interacts with, often stating her opinion of others, especially if she thinks what they are doing is wrong or cowardly. She appreciates those who are trying to do what is right over those who do what is best to impress her, looking more favourably on those who would speak their opinion to her and risk her anger than remain silent to please her.