Alinda Lasaedra Veles

Alinda Lasaedra Veles

Female Human

Player: Spartan Hoplite

General Information
Full Name:	Alinda Lasaedra Veles
Nicknames:	Alley
Age:	42
Deity:	Athena
Alignment:	LG LN LE NG TN NE CG CN CE
Occupation:	Champion Paladin, Olympian Heroine
Faction/Rank:	Free League
Place of Birth:	Nelanther Isles, Toril
Physical Attributes
Height:	5'6"
Weight:	145 lbs.
Eyes:	Dark blue
Hair:	Brown, ponytail
Complexion:	Fair, lightly tanned
Physical Build:	Spare athlete
Physical Features:	Faint, lingering battle scars from a variety of weapons at various points on her body.
Skills
Swordsmanship, Armored Combat, Battle Tactics, Warfare, Horseback Riding, Diplomacy, Divine Spellcasting, Philosophy
Equipment and Items
CASUAL: a blood red or royal blue peplos, a cogsteel shortsword, sandals. SKIRMISH: Red leather armor with a red skirt, Phalanx of the Faithful, a recurve shortbow, and a simple spare longsword at her back, The Sanctified Soul and a cogsteel shortsword at her belt, immovable rods tied to her belt, fitted hellenic greaves, sandals. FULL BATTLE: polished hellenic bronze full plate with red skirt and corinthian style helmet with full front to back horsehair plume, scarlet cloak, The Sanctified Soul and immovable rods at her belt, simple spare longsword and a recurve shortbow at her back under the cloak.

Alinda Lasaedra Veles is a middle-aged paladin of Athena who has had a long and eventful career approaching the level of legend. Among olympians, she is regarded as something of a minor hero. Among planeswalkers, she is known as someone not to raise a sword against, as her combat prowess might as well make her a minor power and juggernaut in a fight. Today, her fame, and infamy, often preceeds her, and some of her tales and stories are told by the rhapsodes of Olympus.

Appearance

Alinda walks tall with grace, yet with the quick, measured stride of a soldier. Every muscle is well-toned and engineered to meet the demands of battle, her biceps bulge as large as some people's whole arm, her thighs could crush skulls. As a human who has adventured on the planes for over two decades, the tolls of time have started to weigh on her, but she has aged well, belying the appearance of someone in her thirties, despite being forty-two. Her hair is nearly always tied back in a loose, low ponytail by a simple red ribbon as it has since she first came to the Outlands. The tresses themselves reach almost to the small of her back. Of her myriad other features she has pouty lips, a bit of a snub nose, and a passably feminine figure of the common variety.

She rarely does herself up beyond washing off and combing her hair. Under the most formal of occasions she may apply a blood red lipstick, light makeup, and perfume which is almost invariably the scent of cherry blossoms. A bizarre exception crops up when what she calls a real battle comes along, where before it breaks out she will take a moment to put the same color lipstick on quite excitably.

Personality

Possessions

Blessed with an armory of some of the most powerful artifacts that most planeswalkers would be happy to ever own even one of, Alinda is rightly regarded as dangerous when she's prepared for battle. Even some of her casual clothing could be regarded as powerful artifacts. All were collected from numerous adventures on the planes doing favors for various powers over two decades, each having seen use in her service for many years.

The Sanctified Soul

A gleaming, silver longsword, hilt fashioned like a swept pair of celestial wings and emblazoned with a small symbol of the sun god Pelor. The holy avenger almost bleeds with the goodness contained within, said to be a piece of the soul of a Solar given willingly. Wafts of holy light glow off of it as if the blade itself stirred and blessed the very moisture in the air with the barest of touches. Many a friend has unwittingly offered Alinda a new sword, only to realize that she is well taken care of in that regard. It is the kind of sword a man will see once and may very well never see the likes of again in this lifetime.

Supposedly, the sword was originally forged either by or by the order of Pelor, as a powerful weapon which could channel the essence of its original recipient, the Solar Alphideus. For centuries he wielded the blade in an unending quest against evil, until he undertook a daring infiltration to learn of a secret plan in the works within one god of death's very divine realm, that of the Necromanteion of the Oerthian god Nerull. What he found was that Nerull and his greatest followers had created a magical plague they called the Reaper's Breath, which would sweep all of Oerth in a great culling, but no sooner had he discovered this had he been discovered himself. With what power he possessed, he unleashed the plague and drew all of it into his own body, and locked it away within himself to keep it away from his cult.

He existed with that in great pain for a long time, the disease destroying his body almost as quickly as it could be healed. Still he fought the agents of Nerull through the agony, intent on keeping the disease away from them even knowing that if he were to die he would return to Celestia and be free of his suffering. His only comforts were that the innocent were safe from this disease, and this sword and its holy, spiritual warmth that provided much reassurance. Alphideus had control, but in irony, this control would be disrupted by those concerned for his own well-being. Agents were dispatched to find what happened to him, but they did not return until at last adventurers from Ironridge were contacted, including a young twenty year-old Alinda.

Alinda and her companions penetrated into the undead walls of the Necromanteion and fought long through the horde of abominations until at last the god himself noticed, and swiftly arranged their capture. They were made to kneel before his throne of bones through threats and torture, and Alinda nonetheless accepted that no good would come from futile resistance here, not yet at least. Only then were they allowed to find he whom they sought, the Solar Alphideus, body ransacked by the disease that Alinda and her companions had only found the barest clues to. Before more could be revealed, the most powerful among Alinda's party, a sorcerer of old, summoned all the power he had left after resisting Nerull, and obliterated Alphideus' body so that he might return to Pelor, unknowingly unleashing the Reaper's Breath.

The five were immediately infected, and infected most potently. Their bodies were wracked with the same pain that Alphideus had endured for centuries, but their mortal bodies could only endure minutes of it at best. Alinda today, perhaps, could endure far more, but the Alinda of then was still young, still in training, and had only just begun to come into the fighter that she is now, and so even she could barely endure it. Nerull laughed, a long, low chuckle that reverberated off the very darkness itself. Their purpose done, he opened a portal to allow their escape. They crawled through, having only enough faculty to grab what remained of Alphideus' equipment, in case he should want any of it back. They never quite figured where they were deposited, a prime, probably Oerth, but just as quickly as they had arrived, their sorcerer ripped a portal to the Ethereal, where their bodies would not feel the pain.

The damage was done, however. The Reaper's Breath would soon claim lives all over Oerth for years to come, and though Alinda and her companions were cured by the divine favor of the norse gods in exchange for a favor in the future, it would not save the others on Oerth. But Alphideus forgave them just as soon as it had happened, they could not have known, and they acted in the way they thought best, for surely any would have seen Alphideus in that condition and assumed that it was from torture. Weakened considerably and feeling no shortage of sympathy for the mortals and their attempts, he left to them the artifacts that he had carried with him into the realm of Nerull, and to Alinda, he left The Sanctified Soul.

Phalanx of the Faithful

A massive, round shield emblazoned with the severed head of Medusa, a holy symbol of Athena. The less experienced may overlook it, as it is often overshadowed by the pure glow of Alinda's sword, but the wiser or the more learned may realize that her shield is more than what it at first appears.

The rhapsodes and bards speak of it as one of Alinda's stories, though its tale starts hundreds of years before in a corner of the Prime Material Plane where the world itself forsook the gods, rejecting them and their gifts and crafting a great barrier which kept them out. Even magic had a hard time sticking, the most powerful artifacts only able to summon the merest fraction of their powers, and none could summon enough power to break free of that world. Those who dwelled there got by without, and though religion existed, their powers did not noticably manifest.

Some say this is why the world fell, for some magic that slipped through the cracks of that barrier was the art of necromancy, and the dead rose. With none possessing the gifts to stop it, the necromancers reigned over the living and the dead until at last they defeated life forever and the world itself died.

Among the last gasps of this world were a holy order who fought against the lich lords for the life of their world. As the end came, they, with great sacrifice, forged the only divine artifact of their world, made with the unbreakable belief that the gods were truly out there, and poured into it the unanswered prayers of every man, woman, and child who had ever lived on their world, to any god. It was a shield, then humbly appearing as a plain, unadorned, round, metal shield, and the priests presented it to their last and greatest champion. Its power was good for what was on that world, but to the casual planeswalker it appeared to be but common dribble, yet when the knight raised this shield it is said that, for the first time, their god glimpsed his followers on this world and their plight, and he gave to his only champion the gifts and favor that might help him. Mightly did they fight for their world, and they came close, so very close, but on the steps of the greatest Lich Lord's throne did the only paladin of that world fall. He was piled with the others trophies of that dark lord's favorite conquests beneath his throne, the shield thrown along with him, the lich not realizing, out of ignorance, that the shield's power came not from the arcane, but from the divine, something unheard of for that world. Or so the myth is told.

It is not known how long the shield rested there, some rhapsodes say centuries, others millennia or longer, but long after the world had died did Alinda find herself walking upon it, along with companion planeswalkers of all walks of life, trapped upon the world's carcass by unfortunate circumstance. When Alinda first met the Dark Lord who slew the knight and his order, she wanted to end him to avenge those who had fallen, but her hand was stayed by her companions, for though she was brave, not all of her companions were so courageous when trapped on a dangerous world where their magic and equipment, especially those of divine sources, would not avail them. There, her companions made a dark deal with this dark lord to share the effort of escaping out the only portal off that world, a portal which could only be opened in a certain way, with a certain key, at a certain time, a key which the dark lord held. The planeswalkers would provide the location, learned from a forgotten library, and secure the gateway. So it was that in exchange for their escape, this lich would be allowed to escape as well, much to Alinda's disgust.

All knew that the tensions between Alinda and this dark lord were high. Many times had he taunted her to make a move, but her honor and her promise to help all of her companions escape left her unable to act. It was there, at the precipise of the now open portal, that the undead lord challenged Alinda to a duel, though not to the death, and Alinda accepted, and without spell, nor blessing, nor holy sword, but with her sheer will and battle prowess, she overcame him. The dark lord yielded, and Alinda warned him of what might come if they should meet again, or if she should ever hear of his dark deeds and where he might be. With no small sense of irony, the undead lord threw to her the knight's shield, this shield, as a trophy for her victory.

When Alinda first raised the shield, just as the knight had, three people were immediately surprised. The first was the dark lord, who saw first hand as the plain shield suddenly glowed and morphed to the form we know of it now, an impressive and noble shield impressed with the visage of the severed head of Medusa upon it, for it was no magic he had ever before seen. The second was Alinda, who suddenly felt Athena's gifts and watchfulness for the first time on that world, in wonder at the magic the shield, which she named the Phalanx of the Faithful, possessed, for it contained within it a divine conduit aimed by the faith and favor of its wielder strong enough to pierce the barrier just a crack so that the god beyond might see their champion, their glory, and their struggle. And such was Alinda's faith and favor that the Phalanx of the Faithful immediately reached out through the open portal, the shield finally free of the barrier's prison to reach out and touch the very gods themselves, and the third to be surprised, it is said, was the goddess Athena herself, who touched her cheek and knew instantly that the power of this shield rivaled the Aegis itself.

Athena's Embrace

A peplos of dyed silk perfectly fitted to Alinda's body somehow despite how it wraps around her, and giving quite a favorable impression of it. It falls all the way to her ankles, yet on one side opens all the way to her waist, and yet seemingly remains modest. The peplos glows faintly with an inner light, shimmering as she walks.

Alinda walks very comfortably in this, no matter the temperature or the weather, and for good reason. The peplos was given to Alinda to aid her in her escape from the Nine Hells of Baator by Athena herself. At one point, a wounded and naked Alinda found herself in the frozen layer of Cania, with seemingly no hope of escape. Through the raging blizzard, Alinda could not see any sign of a portal out, and the icy cold threatened to kill her with frost bite right from the start. Nevertheless, she trudged on through it as best she could, as far as she could while praying for guidance. A light answered her prayers, and when she stepped within it, a blessing from Athena herself healed her wounds, and upon her body was woven this very peplos. It resisted the cold of Cania, and later the melting temperatures of Dis admirably.

Athena's Embrace is highly favored by Alinda, and the magic it was imbued with turns away far more than merely uncomfortable temperatures.

Rhiannon's Spare Robe

A robe seemingly fashioned purely of vines, twigs, and leaves. Like Athena's Embrace, it perfectly fits to Alinda, though given its form it might be more appropriate to say it was grown that way rather than woven. It clings to her torso tightly, and from the lowest part of her waist down it falls in a dense canopy of leaves and vines as if to form the skirt of a dress. This bizarre outfit was a gift to her from a high up Seelie named Rhiannon. Caught up in an adventure involving Unseelie forging a mad alliance with Shar, Alinda, having originally thought herself showing up for a treaty negotiation for a noble house, ended up a prisoner, and later fighting for her life while others worked behind the scenes without her knowledge. It was fortuitous for them that Alinda was caught up, as when matters grew dark, Alinda occupied and killed most of the guards with naught but her cogsteel short sword and the dress she wore. The battle was vicious, and Alinda herself was severely wounded before the others finally reached her, and together made good their escape.

Though healed through magic and regeneration, Alinda's outfit had been ruined to blood-soaked tatters, only covering her in the vaguest of modesties by her own considerable efforts. She was brought with them to one region of the Seelie Court where she met the fey Rhiannon, clad in an outfit of vines, twigs, and leaves. So pleased was Rhiannon with their actions that she considered it a favor done to herself, even from the oblivious Alinda. Advised she was to not eat the food, despite her hunger, but also advised she was to ask carefully what she would receive in return. It might have also been noted that she should go ahead and take the favor, as fey are a fickle sort. Still struggling to not reveal everything, Alinda could think of nothing better than new clothing to replace the bloodied ribbons she now wore, and graciously did Rhiannon supply one, for from her own closet was Alinda thrown Rhiannon's Spare Robe.

It was much the same as the one Rhiannon presently wore. Alinda changed into it immediately while curious pixies spied, the paladin contenting herself with simply getting away from the non-fey. When she put it on, the vines tightened around her of their own accord until around her it made a comfortable fit, and the symbiotic nature of the plant led to it cleaning and healing her remaining wounds, even of dried blood seemingly soaked into the vines.

She emerged in comfort, and in comfort is she always on the occassions when she chooses to walk about with this plant wrapped around her body. The robe instills a small sense of confidence and assurance of beauty, perhaps because the plant makes a nice impression, or perhaps it is the will of the plant itself, or perhaps even simple accident. Its history since coming into Alinda's possession has not been the most exciting, for the more serious jaunts often call for Athena's Embrace or her armor, but it finds a little spot for itself, often being worn when she expects to meet members of the Seelie Court as a gesture of goodwill and gratitude.

History

Gather around and hear now the story of Alinda Lasaedra Veles, the unfortunate heroine, and the troubled paladin. Detailed her is her rise, from humble beginnings to the powerful juggernaut that we know now, and remember that these works are far from complete. The Trial of the End has yet to begin.

Trial of the Beginning

Alinda's story began in an unlikely place and long before Alinda herself was born. Her tribe lived on one of the larger islands on the north side of the vast archipelago called the Nelanther Isles on Toril, subsisting primarily off of fish and limited farm land. They were primitive, lived in caves, and were ill-treated by the pirates and plunderers who would frequently hide on one of the islands to hide from the navies of mainland nations. Despite not having any wealth, they sometimes found themselves a target for ships that ran short of food, or able bodied hands needed to be pressed into service as slaves. They stole what they could without any concern for if the people they left behind would starve.

The Legacy of Traceus

So it was until the arrival of a lesser olympian hero, the noted swordsman Traceus, whose latest mess had landed him onto that little island on the Prime Material Plane. He was shown hospitality and generosity while he was nursed back to health. When the pirates did come again at the start of winter, the tribe was prepare to give what they wanted, but Traceus saw that it would scarcely be enough for them to live. Urged he was to let it go, but he refused, he stood for the tribe. Were it a normal man of the Primes he surely would have died a foolish, lacking death, but despite his shortcomings he was nonetheless a planeswalker and an olympian hero, and he showed his great skill and prowess as he single-handedly drove the pirates away with his sword and shield.

The tribe was impressed and asked him how this was possible, and he spoke of skill, and prowess, of the knowledge to craft weapons and tools the likes of those who come to pillage them, or better, and he could teach them. The tribe accepted, and Traceus gave to them his great knowledge and wisdom. He organized them, educated them, and forged a society much as he himself came from with years of work. He had children, perhaps with a few too many women, but children he did have, and Traceus reared each of them to take his place. Eventually he saw that the tribe could fend for themselves, defend themselves, and even prosper against anything thrown against them, his sons and daughters all capable leaders. It was then that he saw fit to leave them and return to his own world of Olympus, his final act being to give them a name: Tracea.

And so it was that Tracea prospered for a century or two, expanding to new islands, protecting other tribes, and becoming greater and greater in power and influence. The lines of Traceus' blood were easy to find within their citizens, for Traceus was a quarter Celestial, and though it slowly became diluted, those born were still Aasimar, baring his chiseled features and often his golden eyes or hair, and each followed Athena, just as he had. And the lines had spread, to where the vast majority of the original tribe was now of his Traceus' blood. Alinda's future husband, Jerick, was of this line, but not so Alinda herself. In the years before her birth, however, the Traceans began to grow bolder and more ambitious. They educated the other tribes, but they held a lesser status and position within the city-state that Tracea was trying to build.

Birth and Prophecy

Alinda was born to one of these other tribes, sickly and weak at birth. The developing city-state lived on scarce resources, and so it was that all must do their share, and all must be strong, each man to serve in the army or navy, each woman to bear more children. A sickly newborn such as Alinda was thought to be weak and would prove a drain throughout her life, likely only to die in childbirth without giving back to Tracea. Her mother did not wish to discard her, for her husband had died in noble sacrifice in battle while she carried, and Alinda was the only child she bore with him. She begged and pleaded for her child to be spared, and spoke of her husband's heroism, and as it so happened, one of the soldiers who came that night recognized the tale, for he had been the one her husband had given his life for.

The soldier felt compelled to repay his debt by sparing the child, but pressed he was by the others under him to follow the law. With great reluctance, he found a compromise, that the child would be taken to the oracle on the Island of White Smoke, and there her fate would be ordained. If she were fated to survive her ordeal and fulfill her purpose in Tracea, then she would be spared, if not, then there would be nothing he could do for her. Alinda's fate rested on the words of the oracle.

To that isle they sailed, and up the steps of the mountain they climbed as the ground rumbled below. Alinda's condition had not improved, but the travel did not make her any worse. When she was presented to the oracle, she knew instantly why they had come, perhaps a prophetic vision, or perhaps because this sort of thing just happened from time to time, but nonetheless she agreed to ask the gods for guidance. Into the chamber, the oracle walked, where the cracks of the volcano spat the steam of a sulphorous miasma, and she breathed deep.

It was not long after that she emerged again, babbling as if possessed in an experience unlike any previous. Among the nonsensical phrases of oblivion, souls, demons, and powers, it was discerned that Alinda would live but may never bear children, but she would become a mighty warrior, so great that she could fight death itself. The oracle was adamant that the child be spared, it was the will of the gods, and so it was decided: Alinda would be spared.

Early Life and Training

Alinda's mother later married that soldier who showed mercy, and with him bore more children over the years, three daughters and eventually a son. Though Alinda was spared, the oracle made clear that she could not simply be married off to bear many children. She would have to serve in the armed forces, a decidedly unusual thing for a woman in Tracea. None would question the oracle, however, and so long as Alinda made good on her debt, none would complain.

As soon as she had grown enough to bear physical activity, she was taken from her home and put into training, not even having yet hit puberty. The conditioning was harsh, and she was expected to prove herself worthy. She was not always exceptional, but she endured much, and she was not especially treated well. Once or twice, a promising or even exceptional boy would die, and the trainers would grieve in simmering anger at the loss. Often that anger was unleashed on Alinda, the mediocre girl who still survived, and they pushed her all the harder, for in their mind she was not working hard enough, and in response, at times she was almost worked to death. Alinda saw her family only rarely at specified times, most often only her mother, but later her young half-brother, curious of the life that he would eventually share in.

One day, as she became a teenager, Alinda was found at a shrine. She could not remember why she was there, or why she had stayed knelt there, but she felt drawn to the statue of the armored woman carrying a spear and shield. It was Athena, but in Tracea, such was forbidden except for true Traceans of the original tribe. Only they were allowed to worship their goddess. When it was learned that she was not a true Tracean, Alinda was cast out and sent back to the barracks.

Yet Alinda still felt drawn to that shrine, it was noticed, and eventually her adoptive father visited her to inquire of it. He learned of her draw to it, and of dreams she has had, yet he knew such was forbidden, as she was not his daughter by blood. Once again, he turned to the advice of others. Many suggested that she simply be made to focus on her training, but he discarded these notions until at last he was approached with an alternative. Among the non-Tracean tribes seeking to emulate the Traceans, a cult had emerged among their soldiers who followed a somewhat similar goddess of war known only as the Red Knight, and of their number, one soldier carried her blessings and was already quite infamous for her skillful and decisive victories and in a very similar position to Alinda, a champion called Tereca.

Tereca

Tereca Canlin Lascinas was a champion of Red Knight, and the only other woman warrior currently in the armed forces of Tracea. She was not Tracean, just as Alinda, but she had grown up a normal girl, healthy, strong, and looking forward to bearing many strong children for Tracea and the glorious future to come. Tereca had a happy marriage, a good life, but she had great difficulty bearing a child. After years of failure, and the subsequent birth of a child from her husband outside of her marriage, it was decided that she was infertile.

To be declared infertile as a woman in Tracea was effectively a death sentence. Her marriage was anulled, her husband had betrayed her, and she was left with three choices: exile, a quick and painless death, or the armed forces. Enraged as she was, exile was as good as death on the Nelanther Isles, especially if she were left alone, and though now she sought death, it was not her own. She chose the armed forces, and as she was of age, she was immediately placed with the armed forces on the front lines, a virtual death sentence of its own.

None believed that she would survive beyond her first battle. In a way, she was treated as already dead, and the men far from home at sea were more than aware of her femininity, some too aware, and all of them stronger than she was at the time. Her will broke, she saw no future ahead of herself save death in battle, and such a death became welcome, desired even, but with each passing day the rage inside her grew, and grew, until at last it could not be quelled by merely her own death. It would take more than that. Far more.

So it was, on the eve of that first battle, Tereca appeared at a shrine of Red Knight, a slightly rusted, hand-me-down longsword in hand, and barely enough equipment to constitute a conscript, let alone as soldier. With a slice of her hand across that blade she swore on her worthless blood that she would go into battle bravely and without fear, and when she emerged the victor, this blood she sacrificed would no longer be worthless. She asked only that Red Knight show her her favor, and let her fury know an end. The next day, it is said, she slew one orc for every child she would never bear, and though she survived, her rage was yet to be quelled.

That was ten years before the young Alinda met her. In those ten years, Tereca fought many battles, each bloodier than the last, and she rose through the ranks, rose with her skill, and rose in Red Knight's favor. Before each battle she continued her tradition of a blood oath, each time promising that this blood would be more valuable by the next day, and each time she made good on her promise, and offered plenty more blood from the ones she put to her sword besides. No man ever put a hand on her again and lived to speak of it, be they enemy or Tracean.

It took some convincing, but eventually Tereca went to see Alinda, and eventually agreed to make her a squire of sorts out of pity. The young Alinda was excited, but she soon found out it was not what she had in mind. The stories of Tereca told for the masses focused on her heroism and the glory of her victories. She was a shining beacon of hope and a model for all Traceans to aspire to. Mere propaganda. The real Tereca was merciless, ruthless, and harsh. She would not endure weakness, and her own men feared her, for they knew she was stronger than they were, and she kept it that way. She expected no less of Alinda. At times Alinda protested, advocating kindness and mercy. On good days, this was pitied as innocent naieveté. On bad days, Tereca was far less tolerant.

Trial of the Reaper

Not long after her arrival in Ironridge, a curious event did Alinda see, for five planeswalkers under hushed circumstances boarded a ship to set sail upon the seas only to simultaneously collapse before they could get underway. They were not dead, but she could feel strongly the touch of evil that had enraptured them. To the young paladin they were beyond her means of aid, so she found clerics, wizards, and sorcerers and took them to the ship to help, but there was little they could do. All they could determine was that some dark power held a very strong interest in them, and they could only make them comfortable and hope that whatever power it was got what it wanted, or lost interest. Hours passed, and indeed they did rise once more, each changed, each scarred somehow by the experience, the scars seeming to appear the moment they awoke, some worse than others. Prizes, of a sort, appeared at the same time, and they claimed their mission, such as it was, had been completed, but each questioned if the price was worth it. Most believed it was not.

It was the first time Alinda heard of who would become her greatest and most hated foe, the Reaper, the god of death of Oerth, Nerull.

Alphideus

In the year since that event and the end of the Trial of the Shards, Alinda lived well and comfortably. She gave birth to her only daughter, Shauni, and she and her family lived in an isolated cottage near Faunel. She continued to adventure, and had earned a kind of place among the other planeswalkers, a place which only improved as she quickly recovered from her pregnancy. She had become a skilled swordsman, and been well-equipped through her new connections in the Halls of Redemption. Even Jerick was starting to do well for himself.

In the dark, however, the necromancer Mara plotted and schemed. Once living, Mara had found the gift that she long desired, that of Undeath. She cast aside her old life like a dirty rag, and assumed a new identity, a new purpose, that of ending life itself, and she served her god to achieve it. Rumors spread in hushed whispers of growing activity in the cults of the Reaper, of Mara's secret doings, and of planeswalkers having run-ins with his cult and even the god himself and coming out the worse for it.

It was about this time where a cloaked messenger appeared on the floor of a tavern in Ironridge with word of Solar named Alphideus who had been investigating the cult's activities, and where he might be. Alinda and the others present were intrigued by this, for long had they sought some solid information, but to rescue the Solar was a task harder than any they had previously attempted, for it required them to delve into the very realm of Nerull, the Necromanteion, find Alphideus, and bring him out. It would be dangerous, even besides earning the gaze of Nerull, and their only hope ultimately rested in their activities falling beneath his care.

It was not be. Eventually, the dark god discovered their purpose within his realm, and very much took an interest. For a plan he devised, which needed him only to create a little suffering and watch as his ultimate goal was served. Alphideus could not stand idly as these heroes who had come to rescue him suffered, and so he came forward and revealed himself in that evil chamber. In the moment, one of Alinda's companions summoned what magic he had left and destroyed Alphideus, taking everyone by surprise, save Nerull himself. The wizard thought himself clever, that he had thwarted the evils of Nerull by destroying Alphideus' body, knowing well that Alphideus would not be truly destroyed, but instead be sent to Celestia and recreated there on his home plane.

But what was left behind was the true purpose for Alphideus being kept alive, the magical plague which became known as the Reaper's Breath had been contained within him, and with his body's destruction it was now free. It infected the five heroes first, of such a concentration that it almost immediately brought them to their knees, and only barely were they able to crawl to a portal the Reaper left open with the things Alphideus left behind, and with a laugh the Red Skeleton watched as they made their escape.

The Reaper's Breath

With a feat of will, their mage managed to Planeshift all of them to the Ethereal Plane, somewhere where the pains of their body could be forgotten while they planned their next move. A message from Alphideus indicated that they should keep the things he had left, and that they would need them in the times ahead. With their contacts, they were granted audience at the hallowed halls of Odin and there were granted his favor. With his great power and wisdom he cured each of them of the Reaper's influence, and in exchange magically branded them with a mark of debt which any of the Aesir may choose to collect for any reason they deem fit. With a final warning that this magical disease would be a great danger to the mortal world, he advised them of their responsibility for it and released them.

Though many on Oerth were advised of the threat, the disease was nonetheless powerful and swift. Despite her efforts to control it, Alinda saw the horror of the Red Skeleton's attack again and again, the devastation and decimation of families and communities left a lasting scar on Alinda's psyche, one she tried to hide from all except her husband who comforted her during this and filled her with strength, as did the warmth and comfort that came from Alphideus' sword. The Reaper's Breath spared few of those it touched, and those it missed were still instilled with the terror that would lead to killing out of simple fear, but the power of Odin left Alinda and the others now immune to it. It was little comfort to them as they watched the plague sweep the lands, and people kill out of fear of it reaching them. However, she made progress. Her efforts were mitigating it, and for each community that fell to its culling, another was spared entirely. Then, for Alinda, the worst did happen.

Some weeks after her return from the Necromanteion, Alinda's husband fell ill. The rapid failure of his health and the great pain he endured was sign enough to Alinda that he had somehow contracted the Reaper's Breath himself. Swiftly she rode Jerick to Ironridge, seeking any who might have a favor left. A friend eventually brought them to the Ethereal at her request, to ease his pain and hoping that it would slow down the magical disease, but it all came too late. Jerick succumbed, and through the disease, or the Ethereal, or some manipulation by Nerull and his minions, or other means unknown, somehow he was pulled to Necromanteion.

A devastated Alinda struggled to arrange some type of rescue, desperate to retrieve her husband and bring him back. Her vigor to destroy the disease and defeat Nerull had only been amplified, but it was not long before the forces of the Reaper moved against her again. A message from his cult led Alinda into a trap where the necromancer Mara unleashed a horde of mighty skeletal abominations upon her. She destroyed almost all of them, but in her zeal for answers and victory she persisted and pursued through the trap, where eventually her luck ran out, and a blow felled her into blackness.

When next she awoke, she was on the Necromanteion herself, before Nerull once again, stripped of all but the ragged remains of her arming vestments, but still feeling the warmth which always radiated from The Sanctified Soul, giving her some small comfort. Mara was there as well, as was her husband, with whom they wished to torment her. His body and soul had been ravaged by the Reaper's Breath, and he now appeared old and decrepit. She loved him still and told him so, and with a final kiss the disease ran its course and commuted his soul to Athena before a crushed Alinda.

Though Mara and the Red Skeleton never spoke during this, it was clear now that Alinda was to be the next victim, and those with wisdom, as Alinda had, would know that they wished to understand and put an end to her immunity, and ensure she would no longer interfere with their great work. As the horror became clear, she felt the warmth of Alphideus more strongly than ever, and produced The Sanctified Soul itself, it having traveled with her to Necromanteion through containing a small piece of Alphideus' soul, and with it she lashed out at the Red Skeleton as he attacked her. With that blow, Alphideus sacrificed that piece of his soul to cause Nerull's will to falter for an infinitesimal blink of his eye, a single instant in which he as blinded, and in that instant Alinda was swept away by Alphideus' wings back to the Outlands.

Once back, she desperately she tried to resurrect her husband, but her attempts failed, again and again. It only confirmed what she already knew, that the hurt was too great and he would stay with Athena, as much as she wished he would return. Moved by her pain, Alphideus comforted her, and reblessed The Sanctified Soul with a new piece of his soul so that it would continue to radiate his warmth for her. But for the hole in her heart, it was not enough to fill it.

The Widowed Paladin

Now a widowed, single mother of a girl who could barely walk, to Alinda she had lost the better half of herself. Though she continued to fight against the Reaper's Breath, the loss of her husband took its toll on her, and her zeal in fighting it was lost. She watched as family members mourned their losses, and understood it all too well now as spouses cried for their dead loved ones. Nothing could fill the empty void in her bed or in her heart. Her daughter would at times cry and she could not calm her, she knew she could not, for her motherly instincts knew that Shauni wanted her father, which she could do nothing for, nor adequately explain why to her young daughter, and that knowledge and the pain it caused them both only drove Alinda to cry with her. She slipped further and further into depression.

Trial of the Sword

There once was an elf wizard named Prothen, of questionable morality was he, and most of the paladins considered him selfish and evil. Obsessesed he was with his lost love, seemingly a kind of sentient sword that was lost some time ago, and willing he was to go to any means to bring her back. This led to many run-ins where he would perform evil acts, any act, to accomplish this goal, and many a time did he fight against Alinda and others who would oppose these acts. Alinda became his most hated foe, for she stood up to him, and stopped him, more often than others during their many encounters. Eventually, her antagonism caused him to snap, and he decided that he needed her dealt with in a slightly more permanent fashion. Knowing that she would humor any attempt at peace or redemption, he used his great magics to create a message of runes to set a clever trap which would imprison her body and soul within an artifact in his possession.

It almost worked, but whether it was her will, his mistake, or an interaction he did not expect, the spell did not go according to plan. The magical burst left him on the ground, the gem artifact shattered, and Alinda had disappeared. Alinda's friends, who had been nearby, investigated the event and captured, healed, and interrogated Prothen, who had intended to make good his escape just as soon as the spell had finished, but miscalculated as he did not expect the spell to leave him unconscious. Eventually, they found that Alinda had not gone into the gem Prothen had procured, but had instead been absorbed by a sword Prothen carried. During his many preparations to bring back his love, Prothen had crafted a new sword that would serve as her vessel, forged specifically for the task. He carried the sword with him at all times for safe-keeping, but did not expect this interaction, for the empty vessel desired to be filled, and it, they believe, inadvertently disrupted the spell and absorbed Alinda into itself. The sword had become Alinda.

For a time she could only be contacted by psionicists, or whoever held the sword. She was weak, but could with their assistance manifest in some kind of illusory form to speak with others, especially with her being as enraged as she was by Prothen's blatant assassination attempt. Of course, Prothen tried to explain himself. It didn't intend to assassinate her, just torture her until he had broken her will and then throw her back in a crumpled heap to the other paladins as a warning not to stand in the way of love. This only incensed Alinda more. Grudgingly, Prothen agreed to help get her out of the sword, as he rather wanted it back for his own purposes, and it would be very hard for him to acquire another. He wanted to keep the sword on him as well, but Alinda staunchly refused. So long as she was in the sword, she insisted that someone else carry it. The sword would be passed along as necessary, and for a time was carried by Aria, Grod, Cay'Norn and other friends she trusted until she could find a way out, and this should have been fine. But many a circumstance led to her friends dragging her into quite a bit of trouble quite inadvertently, more trouble than anyone could have ever predicted, and so began the Trial of the Sword.

With Cay'Norn supplying the final piece, the ritual was conducted and completed. The sword itself did not survive, much to Prothen's chagrin. Some say the sword did survive, and Cay'Norn broke the sword himself, his dislike of the elf mage well known, and that he might take any opportunity to inconvenience him. But so it was, the Trial of the Sword finally ended, and Alinda was free to live her life as a normal human being, though she sometimes admits missing not being able to summon her equipment at will. It was quite handy.

Trial of the Past

Some say that this is Alinda's hardest trial yet, for Alinda has always needed an enemy, for how can anyone fight without an opponent? Yet for this trial, and for the several years she has fought it, the only true enemy has been herself.

Shauni has now grown and become a paladin of Athena in her own right. She has left the temple where she was mostly raised and gone off on her own adventures, leaving an almost estranged mother. Alinda wanders alone, with only empty road in front of her, no obstacle, no true obstacle, in the path that she now roams. She has reached the peak of her skill, her abilities, and perhaps nothing short of a power can oppose her in a straight fight. She finds her greateset enemy is herself.

Relations

Historically, Alinda generally gets along with the vast majority of people she encounters, even those of questionable backgrounds and dispositions, better than most paladins. But even then she still sometimes has issues, and she has changed much over the years from the timid young girl who first stumbled into the planes to the stubborn, middle-aged warrior she is now. Most of her friends she has not seen in years, or rarely come to Sigil anymore, or are effectively retired after having had enough or finding enough fortune to last a lifetime.

Romantically she has had a few flings, but few developed into anything substantial, and for her part she has been single for a while now. Some say her one true love was her husband, Jerick, and with his death she will never find another.

Of those important in this day and age:

• Aerenxa - Alinda has always been on good terms with the dancer, though more as just a long acquaintance over the many years.
• Alec - If they had met in their younger days, they might have even had a fling, but as things stand she simply holds him in good regard. That said, whatever Alec is up to, Alinda has no apparent part in it, though she has offered to help if he needs it.
• Aria - At times friendly, at times fighting, Alinda and Aria have their fair share of disagreements, but they have been friends long enough to get over it eventually, and the two have been on many an adventure together.
• Celestine - As a fellow paladin, the two get along swimmingly.
• Emma Coronis - Surprisingly, Emma is actually Alinda's ex-girlfriend. It didn't work out, but they remain friends, and Alinda occassionally checks in on her.
• Eruca Ad Papilionem - She seems to respect Eruca, and has been friendly and helpful to her in the past, though she has not met with her since her resurrection.
• Khezious Draeth - Veiled hostility, Alinda regards him as an enemy over some event long ago, sometime during the Trial of the Reaper, though unrelated to that story in particular. Khezious has been a seasoned fighter as long as Alinda has been alive. No one is quite sure who would win if they should fight these days.
• Naaziira Karcxi - Surprisingly friendly, but Ziira does have a knack for making friends with goodly types. Alinda used to frequent her establishment, Dare, quite often, but she's not been except to visit Ziira for the last several months.
• Nairna Yousei - They at least know each other by reputation. Neither seem to have any particular problem with the other.
• Saevio Silverbludgeon - On good terms, having some things in common, particularly when it comes to muscles.
• Visenya Theras - Their relationship is strange and long. Alinda is friendly and respectful toward her, and Visenya seems pleased by this, and perhaps intrigued by Alinda being a paladin and yet treating her well, despite her being a green dragon.

Rumors and Myths

• Alinda's skirt used to be white, but years of bloodshed stained it red.
• A host of elite, eldritch, demon archers once occupied the high ground and attempted to kill Alinda by raining corrupted arrows upon her, enough to blot out the sun were a sun there. They succeeded only in irritating her. It is also said that when one of Alinda's curious planeswalker companions stepped forward, emboldened by Alinda's casual display of invulnerability, a single marksman turned his attention toward him and immediately gutted him with arrows.
• There exists a dreadful demiplane which all men fear. That demiplane fears Alinda.
• Alinda never gets invited to adventures anymore, because somehow she trivializes all of their problems. Mainly problems involving many guards in the castle.
• No one wants to accompany on Alinda's adventures anymore, because somehow they don't have any fun, typically when Alinda says "This may be slightly challenging."
• Her daughter's middle name is Visenya, after that green dragon, some say due to a lost bet.
• In a free-for-all, no one tries to take Alinda down. They try to take anyone else down before Alinda does.
• Inflicting a scratch on Alinda is considered to be an epic achievement. By Djinni.