Mother

Mother is the maternal guardian of Elinor, and head of the Khade Dynasty.

## Description

Dressed in rich sable black with alabaster pale skin, Mother is a striking woman, hair orange-red that flows like cinders near to her waist. With gemstone-laden bindings holding the braids in place, and silver thread accenting her clothing, there is a wealth and grandeur to her attire. Though slight of form, she seems to possess noteworthy strength, enough to pull a towering construct of metal and stone to its feet.

## Personality

Framed in a visage of utter devotion and love, Mother is highly possessive of Elinor, placing her on a pedestal as her greatest treasure, something to be protected in the utmost. Despite Elinor's protests and requests otherwise, Mother has never divulged the extent of her reasoning, insisting that she is destined for greatness, but only once the time is right, having heralded a time of ash wrought by mortal hands fuelled by greed and avarice, after which they will be safe to walk hand-in-hand together.

Mother utilised guilt extensively to try and manipulate Elinor into staying by her own will, offering up the broken other half of Ellie's silver, moonstone and pearl diadem and promising to mend it together, dismissing her sisters Helena and Elaine with a breath when it seemed that their presence was complicating matters and continued reference to all that she had given to keep Elinor safe. When this failed, she quickly moved to ensure that Ellie had not the will to do so, attempting to sway her mind through other means, then lashing out in sudden awe-inspiring anger when this too failed.

## History

Little is currently known of Mother, save to Elinor, whom she refers instead to as Lucille. Elinor had assumed that Mother, along with the rest of their household, had been slain and killed, leading to her subsequent surprise when it was remarked by the Green Dragon Malacholar that she had been seeking out Elinor's return. With Ellie's subsequent surrender to save her friends from the dragon's maw, she found herself brought before Mother with but a prayer.

Framed by mountains so pure and fine that their peaks seem to shine akin to crystal, Mother awaited Ellie before a statue of a fierce winged warrior, head bowed in prayer. She bid Ellie to come to her, taking her hand and remarking her relief that she had found her once more, fretful to have ever lost something so precious.

Mother was encountered by an adventuring party when they found themselves in the Valley of the Winged Throne on the hunt for a Phaechrar, their transport into (and out of) the vast demiplane facilitated by the *Orrery Pendant of Preternatural Horizons* loaned to Rinn by Vuruzum Zelnolar. Unknown to them - and seemingly to the Exegete themselves - the demiplane had seemingly been created by Mother, although the process of doing so had taken the vast extent of her strength and focus, supposedly rendering her incapable of leaving it for the time being. Immediately decrying the party as spies, assassins and/or thieves, she sought after Elinor to condemn them as such, but found the conversation instead spiralling into Elinor's demand for answers. Fretful that the party finding them was a sure sign that others would follow - as they had done before, resulting in the destruction of the Valley - she then placed blame at the feet of Elinor and the party both, for if they were not intertwined, all would have ended well.

Proving evasive, Mother instead repeatedly reiterated what had previously been remarked. Elinor/Lucille was deeply precious to her, her greatest treasure amongst a vast hoard of riches, and that she would do anything to protect her. In time, they would be able to go to Ahlus together, to walk hand-in-hand, but the time was not yet right, first and foremost because Elinor was not ready for the responsibilities that would be laid before her, lacking in the strength that she would need to not just survive, but thrive. Pointing to Elinor's desire to help everyone as a sign of this lack of preparation, and that a true royal has to acknowledge that priorities have to be made, she then sought to keep Elinor close in the castle for longer still, barring and dismissing her wishes to leave through both physical and seemingly magical means. Nonetheless, despite this, the party managed to flee by means of use of both *Vortex Warp* and *Plane Shift*, watching as Mother claws at the air in the direction of her departing daughter.

## Powers and Abilities

More so than any weapon, Mother seems to wield her regality and force of personality with formidable tact, capable of forcing the sorcerer Moxzi Bluhedd to drop to her knees in a grovel with but a humbling word, while simultaneously harrying her mentally. She claims to have created the demiplane containing the Valley of the Winged Throne to protect Elinor, creating a space several thousand times larger than conventionally possible through the spell, although this reportedly took much of her mustered strength to do so. It likewise appears that Theomer, Helena and Elaine were created alongside this, as well the Solderlith Stewards designed to protect it.

She seems to be completely immune to damage dealt by acid, although this did prove to her hubris when she deigned not to react to a *Virulent Slick* cast in her direction, thinking of the stream as no threat, though causing her to stumble nonetheless. Moments later, she then manipulated the conjured acid, arcing it into the party.