Freya Galerik

Backstory

Freya was born in a small town of high moon elves called Irelnore, in the middle of the forest of A'ltalos, where a canopy of ancient trees has kept the city well protected over the centuries.
The town is built around a natural lake that the locals believe to be the birthplace of the goddess Eldath, who is worshipped as the town’s protector and guide. To homage the goddess, the Irelnorians built a sanctuary in the middle of the lake, which represents the nevralgic point of the city. 

For generations, this sanctuary has been preserved by the Quiet Waters, a group of priestesses who dedicate their life to the goddess and represent the will of the deity. The title of Quiet Water is a prestigious one which carries as much honor as responsibility, given their position of bearers of knowledge and wisdom who work in the sanctuary but just as often cover the role of teachers, researchers and protectors. The High Priestess of the sanctuary is considered the town’s leader and spokesperson and all decisions regarding the city have to go through a small council directed by her.

The path to become a Quiet Water is long and throdden by few, as the opportunity is only reserved for the firstborn daughters of Irelnorian families, who are to be mentored since a young age on the ways of the goddess by already established priestesses. The training usually starts at the age of 20 and ends when the neophyte receives the “Mark of the Goddess”, a symbol that is bestowed by the deity when her acolytes have proven themselves worthy of continuing her legacy by accomplishing a feat that is revealed to them when they are ready to embark on the path of the Quiet Water. Commonly, the feat is a mission of peace, a pilgrimage, the restorations of an historic site or glade or a period of ascetic meditation, that prepares the trainee to become a full fledged priestess.

Now, Freya, as a firstborn daughter, was set upon the path of the Quiet Waters by her parents, Dahlia and Ehlan Galerik, who wished for her to become a disciple of Eldath. During her years in the sanctuary she always worked hard as she felt very honored to be able to follow this creed and, while she was never a model student, her fervent faith was admired by her fellow acolytes who always thought of her as the most dedicated and nice person in town.
When she was 45 years old and still at the beginning of her training, her parents had a second child: a boy who they named Phraan. He was an energetic and adventurous kid, if not stubborn and a little hot-headed. At the age of 24 he decided to join the city guard and train in the martial arts. At first this caused the two siblings to butt heads a lot given their wildly different personalities and views, but as they grew older they started getting more attached to one another and eventually they always had each other’s back in any situation. However, when Phraan grew to be 185 years old, he decided that Irelnore was too tight for him and that he wanted to experience the wonders of the world outside the forest. His parents tried to convince him otherwise, but he was set and so a mere year later he left the city to go on and follow his adventuring dream. Freya was sad to see him go, but she couldn’t let that get her down as she already had much to think about during that time.
Usually, the students of the Quiet Waters are accorded their feat at around 180 years of age and few are the ones that were enlightened before that. Even fewer, however, are the ones that reached 230 years of age without having had a feat bestowed to them by the goddess. So few in fact, that Freya was the first and only trainee to ever reach that age and still have no Mark to her name. At first it was just a matter of time, surely she was just a latecomer, but as the years went by and she saw all of her companions gradually get their Marks and move on to be official QWs, she just couldn’t justify her position anymore. She really couldn’t see what it was that made her so unworthy of becoming a priestess. She would often ask her mentors how was it that they got their feat, but every single one had a different story to their name. There were those who said that it was all about studying, while others claimed that helping your fellow man and upholding peace was the true way. So she doubled down her efforts, tried everything that she was told, but nothing ever seemed to change for her. When she would pray to Eldath, asking when and if she would ever have her feat revealed to her, the only answer she would ever get was “In time”.
At that point she started doubting herself. She thought she was doing her very best, but clearly it wasn’t enough or she simply wasn’t up to the task. The goddess seemed to dismiss her, always saying that she wasn’t ready yet but never saying what it was that she was lacking. Eventually, at 243 years old, she came to a breaking point. She requested an audience with the high priestess and, there, asked to take leave of the sanctuary for some time. The High Priestess, knowing of her dedication and sympathetic to her plight decided to allow her to leave for as long as she needed, and to come back only when she felt it was right for her to do so. 

Freya ended up going back home to live with her parents and started working with her father in his small medical clinic. She became really quiet and spent most of her free time tending to her plants, reading and going for long hikes in the forest. Outside of work, she avoided interacting with others, except for one person: Phraan. Ever since he had left for the big city, the two of them remained in touch by writing each other letters. Even though her brother was never one for frivolity, he always took time out of his busy days to write to his sister and Freya was always very fascinated by all his tales of brawls, trips and odd jobs that he always got into. 

She never had the heart to tell him that she had quit her studies. He seemed so accomplished compared to her that she didn’t want to bother him with her stupid problems.

This lasted for about 3 years until, on a rainy morning 2 months after her 246th birthday, Freya found herself alone at home when someone came knocking at the front door.

She went to open the door: “Yes? Who is-”
Before she could finish her sentence she found herself standing in front of a towering man, at least two feet taller than her, with greenish skin and fangs protruding from his bottom lip: an orc?! She had only heard about them in stories, as her town was quite isolated and was only throdden by elves, half-elves, humans and halflings. Freya quickly took a step back, startled by the imposing aura of the person standing there and grabbed the edge of the door more firmly ready to slam it before the creature could do anything.
But in that split second before she could act, she heard an all-too-familiar voice: “Freya!”

She slowly eyed the orc at the door, looking for the source of the voice, until she saw him: peeking from atop the orc’s shoulder was a small, white-haired elf sporting a wide grin.
“...Phraan??”
“Yes, it’s me. And this is Thes, by the way. He’s a friend of mine, so no worries”

The orc looked at Freya and with a surprisingly calm and gentle voice said: “Nice to meet you, may I come in?”

Still stunned, Freya quietly stepped to the side and the two of them walked through the door… or rather, Thes walked through the door, as Freya realized that he was carrying her brother on his back. She led them to a couple of armchairs arranged in front of a fireplace and gestured for them to take a seat. The orc carefully placed Phraan on one of the chairs and then went to sit in the opposite one. Freya watched the scene unfold, with a rising sense of uneasiness, before turning to her brother.
“Phraan… what is going on?”

“Hey now, you look awfully serious for someone who hasn’t seen her brother in 16 years! You know, I could do with a Oh, Phraan, I’m so glad you’re home, I haven’t heard from you in so long! How was the journey? I’m goi-” 

“Stop.”

The elf looked confusedly up at her sister who had just cut him off.
“Phraan. You haven’t said anything in your letters about coming home. You were always talking about how you were so busy and couldn’t set aside enough time to make the trip back. And now you arrive with no notice, being carried on an Orc’s back and expect me to just treat the situation like everything’s normal?”
Her brother slowly sank down in the armchair, looking at the floor nervously: “I, uh…”

Before he could say anything else, Thes took over the conversation: “If I may now, I would like to get right to the point as the lady here seems quite distressed herself. First of all, I’m an half-orc who’s been adventuring with your brother for the past 7 years and, simply put, I made the journey back here with him because... Phraan has lost the use of his legs.”

A deathly silence fell on the room.
Wide-eyed, Freya gawped at Thes, then turned to look at her brother: “Is this true?!”
Phraan was actively avoiding eye contact and, in a much more somber tone than the one he was using before, muttered: “...they say it’s some kind of magic. It’s been like this for about two months now, but no one’s been able to figure out how to dispel it…”

“Two months?!?”
“I-I’m sorry for not telling you, I didn’t want to make you worry…” Phraan expression was pained. “I thought I could resolve the problem by myself but… things didn’t really work out”.

Freya felt something break inside.
She dropped next to the armchair and hugged her brother tightly, tears streaming down her face.
Phraan was taken aback by the sudden reaction and tentatively hugged back her sister: “H-Hey now, I’m otherwise fine. No need to cry...I hope you can forgive me for staying quiet. You know how I am, I just wa-”

“I quit the Quiet Waters”
“...Wait, what?”
“I no longer serve in the sanctuary”. Freya got back on her feet and wiped some tears off her face with her sleeve. “I also didn’t say anything to avoid worrying you.” 

Phraan looked at her in disbelief: “Wait, are you for real right now?? You seriously ditched the temple and you didn’t tell me?”

She made a sad chuckle. 

“I guess we’re even now.”

They spent the rest of the day talking about each other’s misadventures: apparently Phraan never came to know who cast the curse on him as he woke up one morning already in that state. He admitted that he did make some enemies during his adventures, but he was pretty sure none of them were powerful enough to do something like that. Thes believed it might have been someone hired for this specific job, but then again he couldn’t point to any possible culprit. Meanwhile, Freya talked about her daily life after having left the temple and got to know the half-orc a little better.

When their parents came home from work that night, there was much to be discussed. Freya decided to stay home with Phraan from then on to take care of him and Thes was offered a bed for the night.

The following day, the half-orc was to leave to return to the city, as he had things to attend to. When his carriage arrived, Dahlia and Ehlan thanked him extensively for bringing their son back to them and showered him with gifts and supplies for the journey back. Thes thanked them for their kindness and walked outside to go and board his vehicle but, just as he was about to jump on, remembered something and rushed back over to Freya.
“Ah, I almost forgot! Phraan received this letter a few days before our trip here, but he didn’t seem to care much for it. He was going to leave it behind, but judging by the symbol on it I daresay it’s quite important, so I kept it. Would you mind giving this to him for me?”
“Uh, sure.”
Thes took a letter from his satchel and handed it to Freya, then went back to his carriage, waved with a smile and took off.

Freya turned the letter in her hands: holding it gave her a really weird sensation, like it held some sort of mystic power. She took a better look at the broken wax sigil that once closed it and noticed that it was imprinted with a fancy “M” stamp. The temptation to open it was overwhelming, but she decided against it and headed back inside to deliver the letter to the righteous owner.
She knocked on Phraan’s door and entered the room: he was sitting on his bed with a notebook on his lap, seemingly writing some stuff down.
“Hey, uh, sorry for barging in, but your friend gave me a letter for you.”

The boy looked up, closing the notebook: “Thes? I hope he didn’t write a farewell letter or something. He’s always so sentimental, that guy.” He paused. “Makes me sad that I won’t see him again any time soon.”
“No, no. He said you received it a while ago” Freya walked over to him and handed the letter over.
“Ah... this.” Phraan looked at the missive with an angry frown. “In my current state this letter is completely meaningless. To be honest, I left it behind on purpose. I guess Thes thought I had forgotten it”
“Can I ask why?
“Well, I could explain, but you might as well read it since you’re here.” He opened the message, took out the parchment inside and handed it to Freya. She sat down on the bed next to him and started reading: 

Esteemed Phraan Galerik, 

King Mystigen is in need of capable adventurers who are to take on several missions of the utmost importance to the entire kingdom.
Your prowess has been praised by many and word of your ability as a swordbearer has reached the overseas capital.
We wish for this letter to be a formal invitation to join the ranks of the army as an independent adventurer who will work together in a group of like-minded individuals to carry out said tasks.
Your work will be generously remunerated.
If you wish to accept this offer, please present yourself to the Dragonsmouth Army Barracks not later than the end of Summer.

Freya finished reading the letter.
It was clear that Phraan was frustrated that his current situation prevented him from accepting this one-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She felt really bad for her brother; stuck in bed due to an unknown cause and missing out on stuff like this. She turned around to hug him when suddenly she heard a voice:

“This is it”

Freya froze. That voice. She knew that voice too well. The voice that she so desperately wanted to hear just a few years ago. The same voice that kept telling her those dreaded words: In Time.
“Freya?” Phraan looked worriedly at her sister, waving a hand in front of her face.

“This is your mission”

She dropped the parchment on the bed, looked distraughtly at her brother and said: “I’m so sorry”, then ran outside the room.
She could hear her brother shouting her name as she left the house running, but there was no time to explain.
She ran and ran and ran, passing by the town square, then the entrance gates, until it was only trees on each side. At some point she strayed from the main path, jumping over roots, moving branches aside and ducking under vines.
Then, after what felt like forever, she stopped; her breaths were heavy and her face dripping with sweat but the place was just right.
Before her stood a small pond; the water was still and the only sounds around were the croaking of frogs, the buzzing of dragonflies and the rustling of leaves in the breeze.
Freya slowly kneeled on the ground, taking a few deep breaths to slow down her heartbeat.
She hadn’t done this in so long… but she needed answers. Clear answers.
As if guided by muscle memory, she unclasped the necklace with the Quiet Waters symbol around her neck, grasped it tightly with both hands, brought it close to her mouth and closed her eyes.

“Oh Eldath, goddess of groves, I beseech you.
Please answer my prayer, for I am lost.
I thought myself unworthy of your grace and… I…
I’m not sure what to make of this…”

Freya slowly opened her eyes, dropping her conjoined hands on her lap. “That was a crap prayer” she thought. But her mind was rushing and she couldn’t bring herself to think of something better. She looked down at the pond, where a small fish was poking around the base of a reed, trying to find something to eat. She sighed.

“My child, why are you so troubled?” 

Freya jolted back from her slump.

“Eldath-! I… uh… I am-” She forced herself to stop and take a deep breath. 

“When I was reading that letter addressed to my brother, I heard a voice telling me that that was my mission… was that really you?”

“Indeed it was”

“Are you saying that my feat will be joining this group of adventurers instead of my brother? But how does that prove anything on my side? I couldn’t possibly take his spot. And why only tell me now? Why couldn’t I have known of this before? I-”

“Hush now, don’t be fretful in your thinking. I shall explain all in time.

I am assigning you this task because I know that, were you to see it to its completion, you’d further my ideal of peace more than any quiet water has ever done. There are dark times ahead of us, freya, and this mission will prove vital in the resolution of an age-old conflict of interests that still plagues this lands ”

“I… I see… but… all these years… I could’ve used some guidance. I thought I was doing something wrong… But all I needed to do was… wait?”

“I’m sorry I had to be so harsh on you. You’ve been a faithful disciple, even in your time outside the sanctuary, which I won’t hold against you. 

These events are a result of a delicate balance of circumstances which could have been easily altered had you known about them. My reluctance to share my plans stems from the need to maintain the current direction history is taking. I know full well I am placing a great burden on your shoulder, my child. This is why I want to give you the choice: accept your mission and fight for me and the entire realm or refuse and continue on with your life, unperturbed by divine matters”

Freya looked down at the symbol in her hands.
“I… I’ve waited my entire life for this. I couldn’t possibly refuse now... however, I am no fighter. How could I ever present myself to the king under the guise of adventurer? I’ve never even been outside of A’ltalos. I don’t understand-”

“Freya. 

I wouldn’t have chosen this path for you if I knew you couldn’t do it. 

If you will, I shall grant you my power. 

Become my paladin.”

Paladin. She hadn’t heard that word in a long time. She knew that in ancient times, when the peace of the forest stood on shaky ground and the town was still in its infancy, the priestess took on the role of paladin to protect the sanctuary by wielding the power of the goddess.  Freya shifted her gaze to the pond in front of her. This was so much information all at once. She didn’t know whether to be happy, angry, scared or sad. Her guts told her that it was so unfair, both to her and her brother, but her heart told her that it was the right thing to do. But could she really do it? After all this time?

“I shan’t leave you alone again, my child.”

It was almost nightfall when Freya returned to town. 

There were very few people on the streets and the city was quiet. When passing by the lake, Freya looked at the sanctuary at its center. The dim candlelight coming from its broad windows could be seen all the way from the shore and a vague sense of nostalgia made its way into her mind.
She made her way home, opened the door and found herself in front of her whole family. As soon as she set foot in the room, Dahlia rushed over to her and hugged her tightly, tears running down her cheeks.

“...Mom?”
“Freya, honey, you don’t have to say anything” Her dad walked up next to her. “The high priestess came over a few hours ago. She told us everything.”

“So she…?”
“Yes, she knows about your newfound feat”

Freya felt relieved that she didn’t have to explain a thing, but at the same time knew there was one person that she definitely wanted to talk to.

She looked around the room and saw Phraan sitting in the armchair from the day before, looking at the fire dancing in the fireplace.
She patted her mom on the shoulder to gently signal that she wanted out of her clutch and then gave both her parents a kiss on the cheek before slowly walking over to her brother.
“Phraan.”

Her brother turned his head towards her, with a melancholic look in his eyes.

“I know you probably feel cheated out of your own life right now. I won’t deny that there’s a sad irony in this turn of events. But I’ve got handed these cards and I plan to use them to the fullest. Which means I also intend to find someone who’s able to lift the curse that’s affecting you. So, please…” Freya kneeled down in front of him, one knee to the ground, head bowed down low.

“...teach me how to fight.”

Phraan put his palm to his face and laughed softly. 

“You know I really hate you when you do this.” He paused, looked at the fire once more and then back at Freya. 

“You better be ready to wake up really early in the morning, because you have very little time and very much to learn. And I don’t go easy on rookies”

She raised her head, smiled and hugged him: “Thank you.”
“You know, if you keep hugging me like this I might not actually teach you at all because I would miss this too much if you left.”
Freya chuckled: “Don’t worry, I’ll leave the arduous task of hugging you to mom. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled”

Freya’s training was to be a race against time: the letter asked for the adventurers to present themselves in the capital before the end of summer. 5 months from then. But by taking out the lengthy journey from Irelnore to the nearest sea port and the subsequent sea voyage, the two siblings were left with little more than 40 days to work with.

Phraan, for one, was delighted to finally get some action after two months of being bed-ridden, and used the excuse of her training to have Freya carry him everywhere. 

She didn’t really complain, however, as she quite enjoyed spending time with him, even if it meant giving him piggy-back rides all day long.

Having trained in the military, Phraan was quite versed in both martial weapons and hand-to-hand combat and even in his state he was a force to be reckoned with. Freya wanted to go easy on him at the start, given the massive advantage she had on him but, after being knocked on her butt a few times by her brother, she decided that there was no reason to hold back.
Phraan taught his sister all he had learned of the art combat, especially of sword fighting, his specialty. At the same time, her mother helped her gain a basic understanding of magic, something she never quite used in her life as only priestesses with the Mark of the Goddess were trained in the magical arts. Freya diligently trained all day, often getting back to bed in the evening completely spent. 

As the 40 days came to a close, Freya received an official message from the High Priestess, asking her to come for an audience at the sanctuary on the day of her departure, in order to officiate her mission and receive the blessing of the Waters.
At the ceremony she met many of her old friends from the sanctuary, who were there to wish her luck on her feat and, after having received the blessing of the Waters, the High Priestess walked over to Freya holding a shield in her hands.
“Freya. I want you to have this. It’s a traditional shield that the priestesses of eld used when protecting the town from outside dangers. I want you to carry it with pride and use it to protect the innocent and uphold peace wherever you go”
The girl carefully took the shield off of the priestess hands: it was an intricate, ornate shield, with fine markings depicting a waterfall ending in a still loch in the middle of a grove.

“I shall, Lady Elelune”

And with that, the send-off ceremony ended and many people came to congratulate Freya and wish her luck on her journey.

She walked over to her family.
A carriage bound to Osyhthalos was waiting at the shore of the lake for her and Freya was eager to finally set everything in motion.

Dahlia looked at her teary-eyed: “I’m so proud of you, Freya”
Freya smiled, feeling her emotions getting the better of her; she stretched out her arms in front of her as kids are wont to do and said: “One final group hug before I go?”
Her parents didn’t hesitate a second, but Freya gestured for them to squat a little bit so that Phraan, who was sitting on a chair next to them, could join in. The four of them stayed like this for a good minute until a croaky voice broke the silence: “Mom. I can’t. Breathe” 

Dahlia released her iron grip on her son, concerned, while Freya and Ehlan laughed heartily.
Ehlan took the occasion to hand over to her daughter her backpack and her other travelling bags.
“Be careful, alright? I know you can do it.”
Freya smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek: “Thanks, dad. I will.” 

Then she faced her mother, placed her hands on her shoulders and said: “You take care of yourself, alright? I will be fine.” She leaned in to kiss her on the cheek and give her a brief hug.

Finally, she turned to Phraan.
“I promise I’ll keep writing. And no secrets this time, cross my heart”
Phraan chuckled. “Oh no, you’re not getting off the hook so easily. You’re on a sacred mission now. If you lie you owe me, like, at least 5000 platinum.”
“You?? Why would I owe you money?”
“Emotional damage from knowing that my sister keeps secrets from me” Phraan brought a finger to his face and mimicked the motion of a tear streaming down his cheek.

“Pfft, you idiot.” Freya gave him a light punch on the shoulder.

“Hoi, that actually hurts” Phraan rubbed his shoulder. “...You’re already a lot stronger. I’m really proud” He smiled.

“Aww, that’s sweet” She gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“...Of my teaching skills that is.”

She straightened up and looked at him, disgruntled: “That’s it. I’m leaving. You ruined it.” 

Phraan laughed. “Good luck, sis.”

Freya walked outside the sanctuary and across the bridge that connected it to the shore. She was ecstatic. A new chapter of her life was about to begin.
She turned around to have a nice final look at the sanctuary and filled her lungs with the air of the lake. Her parents poked out of the big temple doors to wave her goodbye and she waved back at them.

Then, finally, she boarded the carriage.

And the rest is history.