Raven hin'Elric

Full Name: Raven Karenna hin'Elric, of Clan Lucien
Race: Cursed Human (wolf)
Born: May 19, 678 CR
Died: June 30, 769 CR
Hair: Black (with grey fur)
Eyes: Ice Blue
Height: 5'9"
Creator: Raven Blackmane
Position within Keep: Lothanasa, Metamor Chapter, Lightbringer Order
Status: Raven is an NPC at the moment and not under the control of any one person. All requests to use her should be directed to the universe control or the forum. She CAN be used. You just need to ask permission of the forum of Universe Controller first instead of her creator.


Introduction

Raven is the high priestess of Metamor Keep. She is a member of the order of clerics known as the Lothanasi, an Old Tongue title that translates as "Lightbringers". The position of Lothanas (female form Lothanasa), or High Priest(ess), is a hereditary one, which passed down to Raven when her father Elric, the previous Lothanas, was killed at the Battle of Three Gates. Also among the casualties were her mother, her brother Aramis, and her sister Talia, all clerics of the Lothanasi. Raven, the youngest and least experienced of the family, was thus left to lead the Order in these troubled times.

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Daily Life

As the Lothanasa, Raven has final authority over all other priests, acolytes, and sanctioned healers in the Metamor chapter of the Lothanasi Order. Individuals who practice the healing arts but are not sanctioned by the Order could potentially include witches, druids, physicians and apothecaries. The "mundane" healers, such as Brian Coe, generally work independently of the Order unless something comes up that they can't handle. Father Hough and other members of the Ecclesia, who may sometimes perform miraculous healings, operate with neither interference nor support from the Lightbringers. Raven's primary function at Metamor is to act as an intermediary between the spiritual and the physical — in essence, a divine lobbyist.

Family, Friends & Allies

Raven is the daughter of Elric Lightbringer, the previous Lothanas of Metamor Keep, and a Lothanasi priestess named Anya who specialized as a healer. Elric died from exhaustion-related causes after dispelling a powerful daedra that had been summoned by Nasoj or one of his minions; he had expended too much of his own energy reserves to live. Anya's cause of death is unknown, but she was found after the battle with a slit throat and numerous slash-wounds all across her body. Privately, Raven suspects a wraith was responsible, though how it got past Kyia's watchful eye is unknown.

Raven is not close to many people in the Keep, a result of her own emotional distance after her family's death as well as the formidable powers and responsibilities at her command. The Duke and most people in authority call her the Lightbringer, since that is her formal title. The only real friends she has are Merai, the junior priestess at Metamor Keep; Celine, the head acolyte; and Wanderer, the court poet. Celine, Wanderer, Christopher, Merai, and very, very few others call her Raven, at least to her face; Wanderer also uses her childhood name, Karenna (kə-RÉN-nä).

Raven was, for a time, pledged to the service of Akkala, goddess of healing and purity, for a healing Akkala performed on Raven's body (whose nature Raven will not discuss). She remains close to Akkala as a result of the ties formed during that time of service. Most of the 'benevolent' deities are on friendly terms with her — though from mid-706 to mid-707 Samekkh was displeased with her and refused to answer her summons, due to her disobedience when dealing with Rickkter. In addition, Raven has developed a rapport with Kyia, the spirit of Metamor Keep. Kyia acts as a sort of advisor and general confidante for Raven when she's seeking guidance or focus.

Abilities

Like all Lothanasi, Raven has two sources of power for her actions: an internal energy reserve and the power she receives from the gods that she deals with. The latter is by far the stronger of the two.

Raven has a small but measurable degree of combat training, as well — her original duties in the temple were as a field cleric, providing healing to scouts and soldiers in the field. Hidden beneath her robes, strapped in a sheath against her left leg, Raven carries a Elemacil, the holy sword of Metamor. Raven wears the blade everywhere except in the bath. She will not speak of its origins to anyone outside the Order, and becomes annoyed if asked (and angered if pushed on the matter).

Raven is well-versed in most types of religious ceremony that are common to the lands around Metamor Keep. As Lothanasa of the Metamor chapter, she is responsible for all followers of the Lightbringer faith in the Northern Midlands. She keeps a wary eye on the Ecclesia, but allows their presence because they are an excellent security measure against the Fallen.

Personality

Raven hin'Elric tries to maintain a cool, professional exterior at all times. She is generally distant and businesslike with the others in the Keep, and does not open up much emotionally. Still, she has a heart — somewhere in there :-) — and she has been known to show genuine compassion on a number of occasions, especially towards those who are helpless or defenseless.

Outwardly, Raven is self-confident to the point of arrogance (though that has moderated somewhat in recent years). She will tolerate no disrespect toward her position or her Order. When she has business that involves other members of the Keep, she has a tendency to appear without warning or summons, present her request directly and without preamble, and disappear as suddenly as she came. She enjoys being mysterious and takes a private pleasure in confusing the heck out of outsiders. She long acted under the presumption that she was untouchable, that no temporal authority held power over her, and that she could get any supernatural being to do what she wants … given the proper motivation or influence. Recent experiences, however, have given her plenty to be worried about, and she is no longer so sure of either her own safety nor the lasting favor of the gods.

Raven is compassionate toward the suffering but has little patience with common peasants — whose blunders and faux pas are generally responsible for the emergency mediation she has to do, as seen in "MK: Lightbringer." Most of the people of Metamor itself are well-educated, though, and earn some measure of respect from her.

Raven is not intimidated by Duke Thomas in the slightest, and won't hesitate to approach him when the Order has a problem only he can correct. Nevertheless, she does have a great deal of respect for him, and will gladly advise or assist him in any way that is within her power. She does not, however, have much respect for the other nobles who pledge fealty to Lord Thomas, and she will often treat them no better than commoners — indeed, worse than commoners, for she considers the nobility to be a stupid, hidebound and inbred lot with no purpose in life but to exploit those unfortunate enough to be born under their leadership. This doesn't mean that she supports democratic government — far from it — but rather that she believes the people need nobler, stronger and wiser leadership than the shallow and foolish ruling class can usually provide.

She would never admit it to anyone outside the Order, but Raven does not truly believe that the gods she deals with are divine, omniscient, or omnipotent. She has seen too many of them in moments of weakness — and manipulated them to her ends too many times — to believe them invincible. She privately suspects (and teaches her pupils in the Order) that they are not gods at all, but very powerful creatures possessing some secret knowledge or power source that grants them godlike abilities. This does not mean that she does not fear or respect them — she respects a few, and fears them all. They are simply too powerful for her to do otherwise, at least for now.

Goals

Raven has three primary goals:

1.) To root out the corruption within the Lothanasi Order. Raven is well aware that there is a cancer growing within her religion, and she wants to find the people responsible and remove them from power.

2.) To get her family back. Raven has delved into every magical tome she can find in studying the art of resurrection, hoping to find a way to restore her loved ones to life. Unfortunately, only the Necromancers have ever mastered the practice of restoring a departed soul to an empty body, and then only in situations where the soul itself had been properly captured. In 707 Raven acquired a soul gem that contained the soul of her sister Talia, which had been captured by Lilith at the Battle of Three Gates. She hopes to use this gem and the skills of the ex-Necromancer Rickkter to return Talia to life.

3.) To stop the imminent war between the Lothanasi and the Ecclesia. To Raven's mind, Nasoj is a distraction at best; the real conflict in the world is not between the civilized lands and a power-mad wizard, but between the monotheists of the Way and the old, traditional religion of which the Lightbringers have long been the guardians. With the death of Patriarch Akabaieth, Raven feared that the best chance for peace and understanding between the two faiths had been destroyed; she is now engaged in a desperate effort to keep the two religions from descending into open conflict, a situation that can only benefit the Daedra Lords and their servants.

Physical Notes

Raven is a medium-degree wolfmorph, with a small muzzle, a mostly humanoid face, plantigrade feet, opposable thumbs, a long bushy tail, and wolfish ears pointing up through the hair atop her head. She has given up the ability to shape-shift in exchange for the gods granting her human-like hands and feet; as a result of these changes, her body is also highly resistant to any new transformation magic.

Raven always dresses in her white linen priestess's robes. They have a number of deep pockets, which she uses to carry the various materials needed in performing her rituals. She wears a twin-cross (single vertical bar with crossbeams one-fourth and three-fourths of the way down) around her neck that symbolizes the intermediary focus of the Lightbringers' religion: Heaven Above, Earth Below, Meet in the Middle.

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