hellraiser . clever . rebel

Eilonwy Ilvere was born to a wood elf mother, Dia Windvale. Dia’s parents were adventurers, traveling throughout Auscives before finally settling down in Greymoor. Their home in the city of Gatewatch was humble. They were far from nobility, but the money they made as adventurers made them quite comfortable. They were good and just folk, who respected the gods and strived to help those however they could. Dia was…different. Possibly fey-touched, Dia was an odd sort who did not always pick up on social cues and had odd habits of talking to things that weren’t there and keeping her marble collection impossibly well-polished. Despite her odd behavior, she was well-liked in Gatewatch. She wanted to follow in her parents footsteps and become an adventurer. However, she was quite frail, and poor health as a child led to a weak constitution as an adult. Her parents were quite overbearing due to this, becoming perhaps a bit too overprotective of their only child, and quite overbearing. Still, Dia was an independent sort, and she did not let this deter her. So, she joined a craftsman guild, hoping to support adventurers and the community with her craft.

She was quite skilled at making trinkets and jewelry, and one day caught the attention of a visiting noble from Axia. They suggested to the guild that Dia come with them to Axia, expanding the guild’s reach by opening a shop in Zhiro. The guild agreed, and after some heavy persuasion of her parents with the help of the guild, Dia was soon making the long journey south with the noble, through Abdegaard to the nation of Axia. Her shop in Zhiro was small, like so many there, but her skill and craftsmanship spoke for itself. Despite some odd looks she received when some of the odd mannerisms she never quite grew out of popped up, she was quite successful, and her trinkets and jewelry was worn by every walk of life, from the passing adventurer to the nobles of Rose. Dia was all the more excited about her success, taking a business trip every few months to visit each of the Flowers in Axia. The guise was to sell her wares and see where her shop might flourish, but in truth she wanted to explore the country that had given her so much success, and a bit of independence.

However, all was not peaceful in Axia. The tensions between the county flowers were coming to a head, and soon enough, a civil war broke out. Dia’s exploration of Axia came to a screeching halt. She stayed in Zhiro, hoping to avoid any conflict of the war. However, the war soon came to Zhiro’s doorstep, and during an attack one night Dia’s shop was destroyed. She soon realized that she could not stay in Axia any longer. When the night was over and the fighting was done, Dia packed up what she could of her shop, gathered her funds, bid goodbye to the noble who had helped her and the friends she’d made, and began the journey north, back to Greymoor.

She had traveled through county Iris north into Abdegaard when her money began to run low. Dia began taking up odd jobs wherever she went, and selling her wares where she could. The dwarves were nice enough, and some gave her advice on how to improve her craft. However, her wares were not always appreciated. They were a…particular sort. Still, she was undeterred, and trusted Durog to guide her craft and the other gods to guide her way. Eventually, she found herself in a port in Abdegaard with not enough coin to her name to make any real headway on her travels. She thought of settling there for a time, but ultimately decided against it. She liked Abdegaard, and Khir'zum Harbor was a very nice place, but it was not home.

Still, Dia was an independent sort, and so she settled on finding a job. In the end, she was hired by a tiefling named Piety, who ran an establishment isolated in the back streets of the port. The Bloom. An inn of sorts that offered…extra services to lonely individuals seeking company. Dia did not mind working in a brothel. She was originally hired to help keep books, but Piety soon agreed to allow her to make and sell her wares as well, often under the guise of claiming they would bring good luck in and out of the bedroom. Piety did not put her employees in debt, and not all of them were required to take regular clients unless they preferred to. Anyone taking clients was well taken care of, and any sort of behavior they disliked was not tolerated. In truth, it was the best brothel she’d ever seen. Dia, having grown up in a guild of adventurers and craftsmen, and spending most of her time in Zhiro around sailors, was not bothered by the work happening at night. Sometimes, she did indeed take clients every now and then when it struck her fancy.

One night, as Dia was taking inventory for the kitchen, the brothel received a peculiar visitor. Captain Illizar Cutter. He had paid for a room and company, but made no request for a particular woman. This was not overly unusual, but somehow the strange visitor managed to put off nearly every woman who saw him. He had an air about him that felt sinister. Plenty of rough men came to The Bloom looking for company, but this one seemed…Different. Some of the women (and one man) who had spoken to him to test the waters claimed there was something dark and foul swirling behind his eyes. Even the draw of the amount that he was paying didn’t seem to excite anyone. Piety was ready to deny his service, but Dia volunteered. She vaguely remembered the Cutter name from her time in Axia, and the money offered would get her home. Piety was concerned, but agreed. And so, Dia went to Cutter’s room with food and drink, and shared his bed. The night was not…the worst of her life, but it was certainly not the best either. Still, she supposed it didn’t matter much. She could finally go home.

She did not realize that the herbal remedy to prevent…accidents had failed, and that she was pregnant until she finally stepped foot into Greymoor once again.

Meanwhile, beyond the mortal realm, Undrasil of winds and fate, and his wife Visidia of stars and starlight, watched with some concern. Illizar Cutter had been a cursed man all his life, finding the attention of Xyaxis the Deceiver from a young age. Now, the great Liar was using the man as a more direct tool. Illizar carried a dark shard in his heart, and had the night that Eilonwy was conceived. Eilonwy, too, would be a tool for Xyaxis. Just as Cutter’s other child Janeira would be. The two decided to help in what way they could. Janeira could not be touched, but she could be blessed with a gift. Eilonwy, still unborn, could be blessed further, and so Undrasil sent one of his envoys to Greymoor to see that the young one had a chance to escape her fate.

And so, the celestial envoy of Undrasil and Visidia traveled to Greymoor, disguising himself as a wood elf by the name of Aspen Ilvere and inserting himself into Gatewatch. When Dia arrived, he expected to touch her unborn bairn, ensure the child was born safely and healthy, see to it that they were lined up for a comfortable life, and quietly disappear. He did not expect to be charmed by Dia’s odd mannerisms and caring heart. Soon enough, he was revealing his true form as a celestial envoy of Undrasil to her. She was alarmed to hear of Eilonwy’s changed fate, but ultimately revealed that she, too, had grown smitten with Aspen. And so, when Eilonwy was born, he and Dia were wed, and he stayed in Gatewatch to become Eilonwy’s father.

They lived humbly, but not unwell. Eilonwy was never told of Cutter, growing up believing Aspen to be her true father. Topics of sailing and piracy were kept carefully away from her. Dia went back to work with the guild at their shop, and Aspen assisted there and with the town guard. As she grew, Eilonwy learned from her mother to forge. Usually working with gold to create delicate pieces of jewelry and other trinkets, but she also had experience in working with swords, shields, and armor.

However, Eilonwy was...Different. It was not that she did not enjoy learning, but she was always looking for ways to…“improve” things. She was quite interested in the arcane, and wanted to apply that to her smithing. Would runes make for good earrings? Would a fire enchantment bring out a ruby’s color? Surely the client would appreciate a ring with the ability to emit electricity! Some of these experiments worked, and some didn’t. Though her daughter’s adventurous nature did not hurt her mother’s reputation, those around her feared that it was only a matter of time before she blew something up. It was most all her mother could do to reign in her experimentation, and attempt to steer her chaotic energy into something more productive. Despite it all, Eilonwy proved an uncanny natural at the craft. Aspen often joked that she took after Durog, the three-faced mountain, due to Dia’s dedication to them.

By her young teenage years, she had fallen into the social circles of the other children of guild members and a few lesser-nobles that lived in town. Her best friend was a half-elf named Hestara. She might have been two years older than the half-elf, but the two got along very well. Often too well, according to those in Gatewatch. They were a bit of a dysfunctional duo in their own right, and often got into trouble around the city. Eilonwy was skilled at getting them out of trouble, even if she was the one who got them into it more often than not. They were not an uncommon sight together, and if Eilonwy came home with a few scrapes and bruises, she stayed quiet about how she got them. In short, she was a hell-raiser, and Hestara was an accomplice. Her mother found this all rather charming, reminded of her own younger years before her health began to fail. But, her father was less than pleased. She was a rebel. She was not acting like one touched by a celestial should. In fact, she was acting far too much like her father. As she grew older, they often argued, though it was apparent how much they cared for each other. However, her rebel streak grew worse, threatening to get her into very real trouble with the town guard and criminal groups alike as she caused mischief, picked fights, and generally lived with little abandon.

However, all was not well in Gatewatch, or Greymoor at all for that matter. There were rumblings of an undead army and Reimond the Mad. Indeed, a war might have been on the horizon, and different rebellions were coming to fight the pockets of undead attacking the land.

At the age of 13, there was a close call with the town guard. This was the last straw, and Aspen grew terrified that he had failed in seeing that Eilonwy grew up to be properly different from her true father. If she did, she would only be used as a tool by him, and he would not fail her. He informed her that she had to clean up her act or there would be consequences. He threatened to strip her of the powers she was so fond of, the very powers that were getting her in and out of trouble. Her mother objected, thinking the consequence too harsh, but Aspen was firm.

And so, for the next two years, Eilonwy did as her father told. She was still never far from Hestara’s side, but their fighting and sparring with each other was often interrupted by Eilonwy’s new study into clerical duties, the Errant Order, etiquette, and other formal education. Hestara was less interested, but sometimes joined her and asked questions. In one last act of rebellion against her father, Eilonwy chose to focus on becoming a cleric of Durog rather than Undrasil.

Still, Eilonwy was young, and unable to shake her hell-raising habits for too long. At the age of 15, she snuck out with a group of other kids around the town. Eilonwy suggested that they go to the temple to cause mischief and drink some likely stolen alcohol. Normally, the clerics and laymen there would chase them off and clean up any mess they made. However, although they were chased off, the clerics in the temple had been changed and called away due to the impending war. So, when they fled the temple and knocked over a candle, there was no one to clean up the mess, and catch the fire before it spread.

In the end, the temple and the areas around it burned. People lost homes and crops, and the graveyard was almost burned completely. Their group were never caught, but Eilonwy knew that if she hadn’t snuck out, if she hadn’t suggested that they go to the temple, it would have never happened…

Determined to keep this from her father, and repent properly by the time he found out, Eilonwy threw herself into her studies of the Divine Hestara, as always, joined her. However, perhaps due to her nature,  it came to Eilonwy more naturally. By the time she was 16, she was accepted as a member of the Errant to Lord Durog. And not a moment too soon. The Gatewatch rebellion was in need of more volunteers, and Eilonwy was all-too-happy to not only fight to protect her home, but leave Gatewatch for a while. That way, if her father did learn of the fire, she would not be there to incur his wrath.

The Gatewatch rebellion soon joined with the Wood Elf rebellion of Vaeleryn. They were tasked with investigating a place that had been cursed for a long time, even before the Risen War. The Rhiannon.

She was 18 when she died, and she was 21 when The Silver Fang Company entered the Rhiannon, and generously resurrected her.