Asteria

What are raspberries? - Asteria in search of foddleberries.

Abilities
Asteria's ability scores are as follows: Asteria is a 9th level Fighter, with the Battlemaster as her specialty.

She wields the Leviathan Axe, Shield of Terth, the Book of Fate, and Zurli's Heart.

Early Life
Asteria had a smith for a father, Theron, and a seamstress for a mother, Hella, with a modest lifestyle in a town governed by the local Lord in a grouping of towns under the Duke. At age 8 her father trained her in the basics of sword-fighting, and the local Lord's personal head of guards took a shining to her, seeing her enthusiasm as potential. By age 15 she had not only joined the ranks but outshined the captain himself in combat. The Lord of the land, Lord Arganon Tanovel hired her to be his daughter's personal guard, and she was brought into the home on a permanent basis. She lived an hour's walk from her parents but saw them rarely. They were very proud of her. The Lord's daughter, 13 year old Lady Eloise Tanovel, befriended her guardian.

Asteria lived in Vamia, in the city of…

In the Service of Lord Tanovel
Lord Tanovel orchestrated a marriage between his own daughter and the son of the Duke of Clersart who had become ill, convincing him that the union would prolong the bloodline's rule, and the two were married. This match forced Eloise and Asteria to move to Clersart, regrettably saying goodbye to her parents. Asteria, now age 18, was begrudgingly accepted into the guard of the Kingdom. She still served as now Duchess Eloise's personal guard, but reported to a commander in the kingdom's service, Commander Sorin Dumar. Sorin was a silver-tongued spinner of deceit and Asteria uncovered that the Commander had slowly poisoned the previous Duke, Eloise's husband's father, and also that the commander had formed a plot to assassinate the Duke and Duchess at a ball celebrating the birth of Eloise's second child, a son. She told her lady, in confidence, who trusted her but the Duke could not be swayed, and she was dismissed from service for spreading such rumors and discontent. She tried desperately to convince her lady to flee, and though Eloise trusted her, She was eventually locked in the dungeon (By the Commander himself) until she could be calmed. She yelled and fought for hours, then broke out the night of the ball, and in a small fight, the Duke was killed but Asteria protected Eloise and her children, smuggling them out of the main city.

They chose to sneak into their old town in hopes of protecting their families and gathering supplies and wisdom. The journey was treacherous for two women and two small children, and they had to take a round-about route, but after a ragged month of traveling, hiding, and hunting, they arrived to find Eloise's father's head on a pike, and her mother and siblings stripped of title and land. Asteria's own parents were terrified when she arrived. They hadn't been targeted but had caught word of the assault.

Fleeing to Vahid
Together, Asteria and Eloise made the journey to a neighboring kingdom in Vahid, called Vahid’s North Star (the actual name is nearly impossible for most locals to pronounce), who'd had an alliance of sorts with the Duke. They took Eloise in as an esteemed guest and eventually, she remarried the second son of the family, Lord Dyron Renton, keeping a semblance of the life she was accustomed to and creating a safer space to raise her kids. With the lessened threat on her life, Asteria rejoined yet another guard, and rose through the ranks of the warriors there. This kingdom was a little more brutish than the previous, and they hosted monthly fights of the local fighters and militias for the entertainment of the noble's, complete with war paint and wagers. Asteria was uncertain at first, but joined the competitions eventually at the suggestion of her friend Seraphine, and found that she enjoyed the challenge. She got scarred up quite a bit, but became a local legend, being a warrior and soldier of honor and finding deep satisfaction in the fights. She took a local battle name, Morena, which is the name of the goddess of death, winter, and nightmares. She remembered Commander Sorin Dumar with bitterness and aspired to someday meet him in combat to sever his head from his body the way he had severed Eloise's father's, and to finally avenge her best friend.

A season of war came, and battles ensued between Eloise's kingdom and the other she had come from, as well as two neighboring kingdoms. The battles were long and fierce, and Asteria fought in battle after battle, but also was brought in to learn about strategy and commanding battalions. The wars persisted for eight long years- eight years of fighting and watching her back and protecting her charges and playing the long game. Eventually, the kingdom she represented and the kingdom they had fled from each conquered one of the other neighboring kingdoms, absorbing their armies and resources.

In the interest of preserving life after so much had been lost, a challenge was sent to the enemy for single-hand combat for the victory. The enemy accepted, and the terms were set: One warrior from each side would fight to the death with no aide, and the winning side would win dominion over the other side. Asteria put her own name in to fight, but it was overruled by the Duke's right-hand man, a Sargent Edmund Kern, and the enemies sent forth none other than the commander-turned-ruler, Sorin Dumar. His pride led him to the choice, and when the day of the battle dawned, all of the warriors of both kingdoms marched out to see it. On one side, Sargent Kern stood tall and wise with his weapon and shield, backed by the massive army. A tent for the preparations for each side had been set up, and Eloise and her husband Dyron had come to support Dyron's brother, the leader of the land, whose life would likely be forfeit in the event of their defeat, as well as Asteria and the elite mercenaries of the battle-pit. On the other side, Ruler Sorin Dumar and his clan prepared, and when the time came, Sorin himself donned his armor and weapons and marched out to do battle. Asteria kept her hand on her sword in its sheath the whole time, not trusting the honor of Sorin Dumar one bit, and she was right to.

Becoming the Guardian of House Renton
The battle waged on longer than anticipated, and when it looked as though Sargent Edmund would win and Sorin Dumar would fall, an arrow was leased from the enemy side, piercing the chest of the exhausted Edmund, who collapsed within seconds, and Dumar cut his throat. In outrage, the armies converged, and Asteria had to choose between fighting Dumar and protecting the escape of Eloise once more. She chose the latter, and dodged many weapons, silencing many more enemies on her way to take her lady and best friend to freedom again.

This time, Eloise was struck by a poisoned arrow, and though it didn't kill her, it made her very ill and paralyzed her from the waist down. When the battle ended, Eloise's husband stood victorious, his brother had been vanquished, and no one found the body of Sorin Dumar. Eloise was reunited with her family, and released her friend from her service, saying she had more than earned the right to wander of her own will. Eloise's husband, Lord Dyron Renton, was now the Duke as he had taken over after his brother fell, and he granted her land in their kingdom, even offering her a title. She kept the land and refused the title, though she still is called Guardian of the House of Renton by the locals. She built a house, but stayed only a few months in it before the itch for battle got the better of her, and she left to wander the world.

Rumor met her after several months that Sorin Dumar had fled in his shame of failure, though his whereabouts and intentions were unknown. Asteria traveled, occasionally taking mercenary work, happily joining local fighting pits, and choosing not to stay tied down to any one city as much as she could. She now visits her family maybe twice a year. Her father still makes fine weaponry, and her mother still offers to make her new dresses any time she writes to her or sees her, but Asteria never stays in one place long enough to have a sending address. She still hunts Sorin Dumar, but over the years, her hunt has turned less eager, as she has chosen to let go to some degree so she can enjoy the adventure.