Arciella

Arciella is a human priestess of the Elemental Lady of Nature, Euvine, on the uncharted planet of Imperium. She is a mandatory party member in Axugaem2 who is known for her devout pacifism and desire for good will toward all living things.

## Appearance and Powers

Arciella is a human woman who has received a few animal-like features to represent her being a priestess of the order of Euvine. All such priestesses receive such features based on the animal Euvine most closely associates with them, but Arciella is relatively unique in that she is the only living priestess possessing the features of a lynx- an uncommon choice, historically speaking. Arciella's ears, tail, and incisors are the most evident of these features, but she also possesses keen night vision and a solid sense of balance, both of which also came as part of Euvine's blessing. Despite these feline-esque additions, Arciella does not identify nor is she identified as a neko, as she is human by birth and has nothing in common with the neko race aside from these few physical features.

Arciella tends to dress loosely, with some attentiveness toward the fact that she travels quite often as part of her duties to Euvine. Most frequently, she wears a white cloak and undergarb, both of which are standard issue among priestesses of Euvine. Bizarrely though, she most often either wears sandals on her feet or travels barefoot, neither of which seem like particularly good choices for long journeys on foot. This suggests either that there are religious reasons for her lack of more practical footwear, or that one of Euvine's blessings has to do with the health and comfort of her feet. Arciella has yet to comment regarding either possibility.

As a priestess of Euvine, Arciella has been assigned the highly-respected duty of carrying and distributing sacred life-giving spores across Imperium, and thus she is often easily recognizable due to her unusually gravid belly and green-tinged skin and hair, both of which indicate that she is currently carrying said spores; However, since Arciella is not always carrying these spores nor at 'full term', her appearance can vary drastically. When she is not carrying, Arciella's skin is pinkish-beige like that of many of Imperium's humans, and her hair is a less vivid and more mint-hued green. Her skintone, hair, and even her sclerae grow progressively more verdant as the spores she is carrying grow and develop, representing the magic of Euvine latent in her body- though notably, the white tips of her ears are the one part of her that never change colour.

Also prominent are the bright yellow pods on her belly, which are diminutive when she is not carrying but very pronounced when she is at full term. These pods serve a vital purpose in Arciella's spore-carrying cycle, as they allow for the swift and painless release of the spores when the time has come by temporarily 'popping' under the pressure from within. They subsequently shrink back to their starting size and heal almost immediately, preparing for the cycle to begin anew. The entire cycle of spore carrying and release can take anywhere from two weeks to a handful of months, depending on various circumstantial factors such as the carrier's health and the size and strength of the batch. Arciella has earned a reputation for constantly keeping herself and her spores in impeccable health, making her one of the paragons among Euvine's order- a reputation she herself rarely ever boasts about.

Though she was not born with an innate grasp of magic, Arciella has learned to wield the nature magic of Euvine with ample skill, reflecting both the power of her Lady's gifts and Arciella's own diligence in learning how to use them. Her specialty is healing magic, but Arciella may also call upon the forces of Euvine to summon animal guardians or ask the world's plant life to do her bidding. Given her avowed pacifism and concern for the natural world, she only ever uses the latter two aspects of her magic sparingly. The presence of Euvine's magic within her also grants Arciella heightened regenerative abilities, allowing her to passively heal from small wounds and bruises within the span of a day. Larger injuries still require direct care via healing magic, but if left alone they too will eventually heal and disappear, provided Arciella remains healthy and careful during that time. This innate regenerative ability also means that any scars from physical wounds Arciella might sustain also disappear after a short time.

## Biography

Arciella was born in the sheltered village of Trent, at the edge of the segment of West-Central Imperium that is typically considered the 'locus of humanity'- that is, the region with the most concentrated population of humans. All information regarding Arciella's life before her joining the order of Euvine is based on hearsay, as Arciella herself claims to remember none of it. Such amnesia is typical of a priestess of Euvine, as all entrants into the order voluntarily forsake their past lives to serve nature with undivided devotion. There are many in Imperium, both Elemental and mortal, who criticize this aspect of the priestesshood, likening it to brainwashing. Arciella has frequently defended Euvine in such discussions, claiming that she was informed of the sacrifice she would have to make in joining the order, and thus she knew what she was getting into, but detractors remain critical, often suggesting that the erasure of a priestess's memories seems an unnecessary act if their joining of Euvine's order is indeed voluntary. Such dissidents view the practice as manipulative in that it assures that a priestess will never desire to leave the order once they have joined it. While Arciella has not voiced any regrets regarding her lost memories, the effects of her joining the order can still be felt in Trent, the village in which she was born, if one pays close enough attention.

Specifically, a small subset of scholars claims to have determined that Arciella is the subject of a recent legend regarding an unnamed girl from Trent who disappeared following the near-destruction of the village by the Root Tribe of husks in the year 929 RH. The attack was coordinated as a follow-up to the Blackhollow massacre of 928 and was only thwarted by the intervention of local Nature Elementals, who called upon the local fauna to send a stampede through the invaders, driving the Root Tribe back and discouraging them from future attacks. Arciella, certain scholars believe, was deeply impressed by the compassion of the Nature Elementals who protected her village, and thus this incident was supposedly the direct impetus behind her departing Trent to join the order of Euvine. While the dates and events highlighted by this legend seem to line up with Arciella's own arrival into Euvine's fold, neither Arciella, the Nature Elementals, nor anyone from Trent have ever confirmed this interpretation's validity.

## Relationships

Arciella's productive, positive disposition and her time spent travelling across Central Imperium have made her several friends from varying walks of life (or lack thereof). Arciella has stated that her greatest joy in life, aside from spreading the blessings of Nature, is meeting new people and taking the time to experience the things that make those people happy. To that end, she is genuinely talented at befriending others, or at least playing diplomatic in situations where friendship is unlikely. One of the perils of her vocation is the possibility of being accosted by those who do not care for the blessings of Nature, and there are many such beings throughout Imperium, from the opportunistic Melkai to the highly aggressive Mountain Pigmen. Much of the respect Arciella has earned from her peers has come from her unwillingness to shy away from her duties when faced with potential harm to herself while in hostile territory, and fortunately her efforts have not yet caused her any irrevocable harm- though she has, by her own admission, been beaten senseless on a handful of occasions after her diplomatic efforts failed one way or another. That she continues to persist with her duties knowing the potential cost to her well being is seen as testament to her unshakeable virtue and adamantly good will, and perhaps also to the reliability of her own healing magic.

Within the kingdom of Nature and more specifically the world Tree Euvinian, Arciella is -quite possibly without exaggeration- friends with just about everyone, from Lady Euvine herself and her duchesses, to the other members of the order. Arciella has living quarters in Euvinian along with the rest of the order of Euvine, and so, when she is not travelling the world, she keeps herself busy by mingling with the world tree's other occupants. In this manner, she has also acquainted herself with visiting nature Elementals from other parts of Imperium, as well as diplomats and representatives from other Elemental and mortal kingdoms. She has even managed to be tolerated at length by some of Imperium's most hostile Elementals, such as the infamously xenophobic Creeping Jenny and the Lord of Flames himself, Charon. Though her hypersociality is not wholeheartedly appreciated by all races, it has ensured that she is well-known by many important individuals throughout Imperium, many of whom have welcomed her to their banquets and other social functions- both of which Arciella is always delighted to attend.

Arciella's closest friend and confidant is the dryad Vierra, herself a well-respected and hard-working servant of Euvine, though not a member of her order of priestesses. Vierra's duty is to meet and evaluate aspirants toward the order of Euvine, ensuring they are truly fit to devote their lives to spreading the blessings of Nature. Vierra has revealed that she was the one who evaluated Arciella prior to admitting her to the order, though Arci herself laments her lack of memories of this first meeting. Regardless, the two have remained close since then, with Vierra admittedly considering Arciella to still be partly her responsibility.

Arciella's relationship with Euvine is more complicated, as it is with most who are close to an Elemental Lord or Lady. While Euvine is known as a deeply compassionate -and in many ways motherly- figure, the immense weight of her long life and endless responsibilities mean that she is undoubtedly a more emotionally complex individual than her image might suggest. It is known by many in the order that Arciella goes out of her way to spend as much time as she can in Euvine's presence and thus may have some claim to know her better than most. However, those closest to Euvine are tight-lipped and fiercely protective of the private demeanour of their Lady, and Arciella is no exception. None can claim to ever have heard Arciella speak ill of Euvine- though Arci has on occasion suggested that the Lady of Nature is indeed a complicated being and has a more mischievous, almost fae-like, side to her. How such an aspect of her character manifests through her actions remains unclear, and Arci has refused to shed any more light on these remarks, leaving them to exist merely as fuel for the Elemental rumour mill for the time being.

In Axugaem2, Arciella's relationship with Claire is measured via her approval rating, which is affected by the decisions the player makes throughout the game. At higher levels of approval, Arciella feels a strong kinship with Claire and will even offer her honourary membership in the order of Euvine. If the player accepts this offer, it can lead to the potential option for Claire to date Arci, though there is very little proper content for this pairing at the moment. Arci's closest friend among other party members is, surprisingly, Vespa, who respects her companion's hardiness and strong spirit, as well as her fondness for Vespa's cooking.