Melody is a woman of extremes. Born into the Winter Court as a half-Eladrin, she has suffered from extreme anxiety and depression stemming from her cursed blood. Upon receiving Titania's blessing and accepting the influence of the Summer Court, she has been granted a reprieve from the worst of Winter's despair - though not without a price. The passion and impulsive, fiery emotional volatility that governs Titania's subjects has wrought unanticipated changes upon Melody's psyche. No longer paralyzed by self-doubt, anxiety and despair, she now struggles to rein in the blooms of passion and fury that threaten to overtake her in tense situations. She is prone to snap judgements and, in the face of pressure, often resorts to violence as a default solution.

Melody, of course, is horrified by the lack of control she feels over her emotional state and ability to effectively manage her patron's powers. In spite of the positive aspects of her pact, which allow her to employ the alluring charisma of her stage persona even when not actively performing among other benefits, she views it as more of a second curse than a boon. She was given the opportunity to forcibly break her pact when she wielded the Ashen Crown to seal away the Overlords, but chose not to out of respect for her companions’ wish that nobody use the crown for anything but the single cause they’d agreed to seek it out for. As such, she remains bound to Titania’s service and is still vulnerable to the Archfey’s whims and influence, even in retirement.

In the rare moments she has been able to relax somewhat around her companions, her intense demeanor mellows out. She has a dry sense of humor and is known to surprise her companions with deadpan wisecracks when she feels safe enough to drop her guard. Even then, she is not fully herself, and prefers to mask her true feelings behind a more palatable veneer of witty quips. The softer, most vulnerable side of her is reserved almost exclusively for times she is alone with Astram, Nomiya and/or Vance, and her parents. When with them, she is more open about her personal insecurities and fears and is gentle — almost shy in conversation. She puts up no bold performer’s mask to hide behind, allowing her true, awkward but affectionate and caring nature to surface instead.

Early Life

Melody was born in the middle of the Great War, about sixty-five years prior to the Day of Mourning. Her father was a human soldier from Breland, who went missing in action and was presumed dead before Melody was even born. Her mother was deeply affected by her father’s disappearance and became a Winter Eladrin, a being quite literally radiating sadness and anguish. With her mother largely absent and her father presumed dead, Melody’s early life was cold and lonely, lacking in affection and support. She found refuge with the traveling bards from other courts that would visit as part of their training, bringing stories of the war, the world outside Snowspire, and other more fantastical tales. Though no substitute for two loving parents, they helped her get by until she was old enough to fend for herself.

Adolescence

As soon as Melody was old enough to enroll with the Bard’s college in Snowspire, she left home to pursue training. When she far outpaced her fellow students, she elected to leave Snowspire entirely and travel Khorvaire in search of answers about her father’s mysterious death, intending to get by on her partially complete schooling alone.

Adulthood

Melody quickly learned that she was ill-equipped for the harsh realities of war upon leaving the safety of Snowspire for Khorvaire. Though she avoided fighting on the battlefield like her father, she still saw the ravages of war everywhere she went in her travels. Her music drew on the pain and anguish the war has shown her all her life, melancholy and haunting in tune and lyrics. She wrote and sang of lost futures, broken promises, and of love – for those that are gone, those that were left behind, and those whose stories were cut short before their time like her mother and father and so many others across Khorvaire. Her search and songs eventually brought her to Sharn alongside a handful of adventurers that would soon become her closest friends and allies not just in her hunt for answers, but in a bid to save all of Eberron from impending calamity.

Astram ir’Lain

"Astram? Sovereigns, where to even begin... He's... He's a hero. If I were to name a Muse, my single biggest inspiration in life, it would be Astram ir'Lain. He's the bravest man I've ever met and I love him more than anyone in the world. I'll let Khyber freeze over and Siberys fall from the sky before I let anyone or anything do him harm."

Nomiya

"I owe Nomiya my life. She had no reason to be as loyal to me as she was; I didn't deserve her as a friend, or protector. Her death will haunt me for the rest of my days. Neither I nor my parents will ever be able to repay the debt we owe her but I'll do everything I can to at least come close. I think bringing her home to Bastion with the Ashen Crown was a decent start."

Vance Del Lonadar

"I never fully understood Vance and I don’t think I ever will. I think that was probably by design, he always did prefer to have a few secrets up his sleeves. Even so, he was a good bodyguard, a better friend, and a stalwart ally. I miss him terribly. If there’s anyone I would trust as Eberron’s new protector though, it would be him."

Vasara of Snowspire

"I… do not know how to feel about my mother. Vasara could have told me at any point about what she & Alain had done for the Caretakers. She could have spared me what I went through to find him, thinking it would bring her closure she already had. But in her own, misguided way, I know she was trying to protect me. I just hope that now, with nobody needing to be protected, I can finally have a mother instead of a shield."

Alain Colworn

"My father is… an idiot. I grew up hearing stories of his heroism during the war, and had always wished I had the chance to meet him before he died. I never expected I’d actually get that chance, or that I’d be disappointed to find the real man didn’t live up to the idol I’d built him up to be in my head. He may not be the mythic figure that Brelish history and my mother have both painted him as, but I’m just happy to finally have a father, imperfections and all."

Tomas ir’Deil

"Tomas will become a fine knight under Astram’s tutelage and I am proud to see how far he’s come in such a short time. I admire his tenacity for someone so young, and think he will rise to rival even his teacher in time."

Trivia

• Melody gets her smile from her mother, but she didn't know until the day she rescued Alain and saw Vasara smile for the first time in sixty-eight years.
• She is technically nobility now after the party came into possession of the deed to Castle Bastion in Karrnath, but she refuses to accept the title of "Warlord". She also refuses to allow anyone to refer to her as "my Lady" except for Nomiya and Astram - Nomiya because she know she can’t stop her from doing it, and Astram because he only does it sarcastically.
• She processes big feelings with copious amounts of alcohol through journaling or songwriting. She always carries a notebook with her, filled to the margins with half-finished lyrics and musings. She's never allowed anyone to read it.
• She took the spell Find Greater Steed as one of her Bard class Magical Secrets and summoned a Peryton with it. She named him Oberyn after the Archfey Oberon and positively adores the creature, spoiling him rotten at every opportunity.
• Sylvan is her native language; she learned it from her mother, then Elvish from the traveling bards that more or less raised her, and Common last.
• She is an absolutely terrible cook.

Design Notes

• Melody is 5'3" and has a very svelte build; she's thin and only somewhat curvy. She looks more fey than human and has a vaguely otherworldly look to her.
• She has golden streaks in her hair from Titania's influence. Her eyes also glow gold when she is using magic, as do her freckles. Please do not omit her freckles, hair streaks, etc. from any art depicting her!
• She keeps her right palm covered whenever possible. This is to hide significant scarring from over-use of eldritch blast and Sunbeam. Angry, red burn scars cover her entire palm, stretching up to her fingertips and wrist.

Physical Appearance

Melody is a thin, petite figure with slight curves and dainty, doll-like features. She is all at once a thing of otherworldly beauty, yet alien to the point almost of being frightening to behold. Delicate, wispy golden streaks highlight her silvery hair as a telltale sign of her pact with Queen Titania, as do faint flecks of gold in her eyes that flare with a terrible, fiery light when she casts spells. Her entire being effuses fey magic and mystique; even her very lifeblood glows gold with the power of Titania’s blessing, giving the freckles dotting her skin and her blush both an ethereal golden hue.

She almost exclusively wears high-heeled shoes, flashy clothes enchanted to glimmer and highlight her movements with illusory imagery or patterns, and other ridiculously impractical garments. The majority of her wardrobe consists of varying shades of blue, paired with white and gold accents, and her armor is made of white Mithral polished to a near-mirror sheen. Every last detail of her appearance is painstakingly manicured to suit her personal preferences, and to draw attention to herself.

The one exception to that rule is her right palm, which she keeps covered whenever possible. This is to hide significant scarring from her over-use of eldritch blast and Sunbeam. Angry, red burn scars cover her entire palm, stretching up to her fingertips and wrist. She also takes great care to keep her hair styled in such a way that it conceals faint scarring on her scalp from a traumatic incident from her youth.