Lux, When the Walls Crumbled, From the Vanguard We Could Feel the Tremors; the Lark Warbles, the Storm Breathes, and Summer Slips Through Your Fingers

**Lux, When the Walls Crumbled, From the Vanguard We Could Feel the Tremors; the Lark Warbles, the Storm Breathes, and Summer Slips Through Your Fingers** was one of the first Orarchs. They use *she* or *they* pronouns.

## Appearance

Lux is pale-skinned with long red hair, green eyes, a strong jawline and pronounced cheekbones. Her nose is long and crooked, having been broken several times over; though they are not always visible beneath her armor, she carries numerous scars from her childhood and from the war. Tall, lean and muscular, she carries herself with swagger that would certainly seem overblown if she didn't have the power to back it up. She favors ornate gold armor and long capes, but never wears a helmet into battle.

Lux's Gryphon, Hero, is rarely far from her. Hero has black feathers and yellow-grey eyes, and stands half again as big as a horse; it, too, has its fair share of scars, including one along the right side of its head from a wound that claimed a chunk of its headfringe.

## History

Lux was born in an impoverished village at the edge of a vast forest; once, long ago, the village was famed for its gryphon riders, but the technique, and the gryphons, were lost centuries prior to her birth. When she was a young child, spirits whispered the sweetest of stories in her ears, telling her of the hero she was meant to be and all the tales her people would tell of her someday. Her insistence on her fate made her something of an outcast in her community. Indeed, a heroic life seemed somewhat out of reach for her when, in the lead-up to the Simurgh war, an Orarch in control of a nearby city decreed that all villages would relocate within its walls. When Lux's village refused to do so, the Orarch cut off trade, severely limiting their food supply. The resulting food shortage allowed for disease to sweep through the village, taking the lives of many villagers - Lux's mother included. The village fell into chaos, and abruptly, the remaining leaders voted to relocate to the city immediately without a proper burial for the dead.

Furious and despondent, Lux left the village to live in the forest alone, but as a young adolescent with limited hunting skills, she quickly found herself at the edge of starvation. Wandering deep into the forest, she came upon a gryphon injured by an old hunting trap. She gave it what little food she had, and, to her surprise, was able to free it from the trap with strength she didn't know she had. She and the gryphon, whom she named Hero, became inseparable; with Hero at her side, Lux learned to control her magical abilities and trained herself to use her limited foresight in combat. Finally, the pair sought revenge against the Orarch who caused the food shortages that killed Lux's mother. They flew to their castle and severely injured him; though they didn't kill him, they caught the attention of the Orarchs, who sought them out in the forest and inducted Lux into the order under threat of arrest. She was far from the most naturally talented among the Orarchs, but under their tutelage and with great diligence became a skilled warrior and military strategist.

She was barely old enough to fight when the Simurgh war finally broke out, but in spite of this, she found herself perfectly suited for warfare, and gained great fame for her exploits and her fearlessness in combat. She took advantage of this fame after the war ended to outmaneuver other Orarchs and take control of a small army, which she has leveraged into an influential center of political power. Other Orarchs view Lux with suspicion and mistrust, but also with begrudging respect; she gained much of her political power without using underhanded or traitorous tactics, and preferred to make mutually beneficial decisions whenever possible.

## Personality and Abilities

Lux is arrogant, proud, and power-hungry; the knowledge that she will be a storied hero drives her in all things. In her youth, she had a warmth about her, one that made her hot-headed and anxious, but also fiercely protective of the weak and marginalized, and passionate about the kind of world she hoped to create; that warmth left her with the war. Now, she cares little for those under her protection beyond the fame and power they can provide her. That being said, she remains an effective ruler, and for the most part, a well-liked one - after all, being beloved by one's subjects is an ego boost, and Lux would prefer to enjoy the rewards of her heroism now, while she still lives.

Spirits seem drawn to Lux, and have surrounded her in great numbers since she was a child. Though she can communicate with them, she doesn't possess the longer-term divinatory capabilities of many of her peers. Instead, she has developed the capacity for limited but accurate precognition in combat, which, combined with her impressive reflexes, makes her a formidable fighter. She also practices the red art, which she manifests as great physical strength.

Even in her arrogance, Lux retains the loyalty of her gryphon Hero, whom she often rides through villages in shows of strength. For its part, Hero is quietly intimidating; while Lux makes grand gestures of her power and is constantly aware of her own image, Hero only becomes aggressive when necessary or when Lux is in danger. It enjoys sleeping coiled around Lux's throne, though its headfringe remains pricked up, listening for the slightest hint of hostility from Lux's guests.