Ysolet Cleve-Mother

**Ysolet Cleve-Mother**, born Ysolet Rigkirdotten, was a legendary Drahanim chieftain attributed with founding the Cleve.

Ysolet was described as wise, diplomatic, and generous.

## Background

In **-1815D**, Ysolet's tribe was living near present-day Lake Lontan. Due to her beauty she had many suitors, all of whom she rejected. She did, however, have a lover, who was allegedly a spirit, Thora of the Skies, in the form of an elf. Another of her suitors was a chieftain of a rival tribe by the name of Auden the Tall.

Auden merged with tribes that fell on bad times by luring its members with luxuries such as fattening food. His numerous warriors were skilled in battle and wielded fire-enchanted swords and dragon scale armors. Whilst he dreamt, demons approached him and filled his head with thoughts of conquering a "golden city" full of treasure lying across the Narrow Sea, beyond the Nordish Valley. He pushed his tribe to their limits in pursuit of this dream.

He approached Ysolet with gifts of gold and silver in exchange for her warriors. Ysolet's tribe was weak from the winter and Auden tempted Ysolet to wed him with stories of the golden city full of food across the sea. She sought the counsel of her lover, who was not fooled by Auden's promises. Ysolet refused her suitor's temptations, and did not agree to an alliance with Auden's tribe, stating that the Dreaming lies and its demands can never be satisfied.

Auden did not take the rejection well and came back adorned in mail for battle, wielding a silver shield and dragonbone sword. A fight broke out between the two leaders. As their warriors cheered while they battled, Auden still tried to persuade Ysolet to join him in his quest, promising the warmth of the south, saying that the whispers in his dreams promised him so. Ysolet scorched his gleaming silver armor with fire and ultimately killed him. A sky burial was thrown for Auden.

Following the battle, Ysolet left the comfort of the lowlands of the Nordish Valley, and moved her tribe into the White Spine. The lack of shelter, strong winds and low temperatures affected her tribe heavily, and so she set camp in a found cave. It turned out the cave a was home to a dragon. No blade could harm the beast, and the tribe couldn't leave the cave because of the weather outside. Ysolet shouted out to her leaf-eared lover that she gave up power to be with them. As she did, a bolt of lightning from the sky struck the cave and caused a cave-in that killed the dragon.

The tribe ventured deeper into the cave and found dwarves in the Underways, ready for a fight. Ysolet's lover explained to her that the dwarves were confused to have met Ysolet's tribe, but that they were also honorable. Ysolet approached the dwarven leader, a prince by the name of Barnur, and acknowledged that the cave belonged to the dwarves, proposing trade instead of war, and an alliance, which the dwarves accepted.

In a dream, Ysolet's lover instructed her to bear a child to continue her tribe, prophesying that one day there would be a descendant of her bloodline named Gwen'nan who "in strength must shine." Choosing to heed her lover's advice, Ysolet had Barnur sire a child with her.

Her tribe grew strong and ensured the survival of the Cleve. Thanks to the prosperity brought by dwarven trade, the Cleve defeated their enemies, be they humans or demons, with diplomacy, magic, and swords.

After appointing her child as the new chieftain and gifting her worldly goods to the tribe, Ysolet was laid to rest in a sky burial, so that she could join her lover once more. She was also posthumously given the saga-naam of "Cleve-Mother".