ISIDORA, mage

[attr="class","qty"]"adopt the pace of nature her secret is patience"

[attr="class","bxy"][attr="class","bb"]

Fly straight and do not waver, bend but do not break, together we are stronger than the one. The first phrases a Dalish child learns once they can speak. Taught by an aging Keeper who spoke every word of the chant as if they were his last. The passion in his voice would inspire Isidora for the entirety of her life. His devotion to the words would spark her own passion as she aged.

Even when untouched by magic and the Fade, Isidora adored the Keepers and their role. And while this adoration wasn’t so different from how most felt – they were the leaders of their tribe after all – It did drive her to throw herself into the historical and religious lessons they had to offer. Each word was carefully tucked into her mind, wrapped up in her growing interest and awe, and whenever she wasn’t busy with her other lessons or chores she was reciting prayers or reading stories.

As she aged she found herself spending ever more time with the Keeper. The aging man welcomed her into his home and allowed her to study and speak with him. He spoke to her in that soulful voice and Isidora would smile, listening to his stories both ancient and present. They became friends, and she found her respect for the position and the individual growing in tandem.

It was during one of Isidora’s meetings with the Keeper that her magic awoke. Her whole body took up a horrible trembling, and her heart raced. There was no pain, only a deep longing in her bones that drew her to the ground. Contact with the earth calmed the shaking, and she found herself bowed on the ground, as if giving thanks to the gods themselves for what they had given her. When she rose her eyes and hair had darkened to an earthen brown, and a new energy flowed through her veins.

Not long after her magic awoke the Keeper began teaching her bits about his magic, and showed her how to harness the ground and forest and let it guide her to power. He taught Isidora how to meld with the trees and grass and let them help her face down opponents both human and beast. While she wasn’t fit to replace the current First, she did learn the magic for when she would have her chance. These memories of long days under the leafy shade of trees and of nights spent reciting text remain some of her fondest.

A year later, shortly after her fifteenth year of life, the Keeper passed. Falon’Din took him in the night, and as kindly as he takes any. When they found him in the morning he seemed content, and while Isidora couldn’t help but weep for him and – in a shameful state of distress – curse the gods for a fleeting moment, she quickly lamented for they took him kindly and with all the grace his devotion deserved. Still, with him gone Isidora felt lost. While the new Keeper was still a kind young man, he was not the man she knew.

Isidora spent another year studying alone. Her magic lacked the spark it had had and her passion was wilted. Each night she prayed to Ghilan’nain. She wanted to restore her magic and drive. She didn’t want all her work with the man to slip from her fingers and leave her hollow. At the end of Isiodra’s lonely year she would find her prayers answered. The new Keeper approached her with an offer of apprenticeship. Her passion with the man before him did not escape his notice, and she accepted with a humble heart.

Now a true First, Isidora threw herself into magic and study more passionately than ever before. Most other tasks fell to the wayside as she focused on becoming more fluent with both the elven language and the tales of her people. While she still spent time on the hunt and her skill with a bow and dagger, they paled in comparison to her growing adeptness with nature’s magic. If she was to protect her tribe in the future these were the skills she needed.

During her eighteenth year – her second as the First of her tribe – the Keeper introduced her to Blood Magic. He explained it very carefully to her so that she would not underestimate it. It was dangerous magic, and was meant to help her better control and manipulate the Fade. She was to use it sparingly to dispel demons and mend the Fade. Use with the intent of harming another or summoning denizens was not only dangerous but negligible and irresponsible. She took his lessons to heart and only ever practices with him or another senior mage around to monitor her in case she makes a mistake.

As she’s aged she’s learned many things beyond just the scriptures and tales of her people. She’s experienced passion, grief, and revival all through one man and her gods, and she’s learned so much about the forest and its creatures. Isidora holds knowledge high in a place of importance, and her people even higher. She owes her former master this at least.


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