Profiles in Magic, Volume Eleven
Demosel Dez'Madielle: Fateweaving, She Wrote
PREFACE:
Heritage Monographs, the official press
of the Moon Mage Guild,
is proud to present the eleventh volume in the Profiles in Magic
series. The information within has been researched carefully
through personal interviews as well as constant delving through
the most ancient of books, and finally compiled by a dedicated
staff of scholars and Guild representatives to provide the highest
quality of information for readers everywhere.
This volume of the series covers the
life of Demosel Dez'Madielle,
a modern pioneer of the Fortune's Path. This remarkable woman
has shown exceptional talents in illusion, spell research, storytelling,
enchanting, alchemy, and even the trade of a merchant. A tragic
past led her to greatness that will hold her name in the annals of
the Moon Mage Guild as long as it lives.
Chapter One: Demosel's Early Life
The great Weaver of Fate had humble,
even tragic beginnings.
Demosel Dez'Madielle was born in the city of Leth Deriel some
hundred years after the Victory of Lanival. Her mother was a Human
named Cetai Manus, a baker that had come to the city a few years
prior. Cetai's father was a miner who grew ill after a lifetime of the
work, so Cetai had been forced to take care of him in his elder years.
After their home burned down, there was nothing left for her in the
north, so she traveled south across the Segoltha to Leth Deriel. The
skilled young woman managed to secure a position at one of the
city's finest outdoor eateries. It was there that she met Demosel's
father, Thornton Dez'Plecha, an unfortunate soul who had been
forced into the position of Mayor of Leth Deriel.
This was unfortunate for, in the custom
of Leth Deriel, the
Mayorship was generally looked down upon with disdain and
scorn. Though talented, Demosel's father gained little respect
for the work he did as Mayor. Cetai, a Human, put no stock in
such things, though, and soon enough the two of them had wed.
Demosel was born, and shortly after, Andraethu -- both Human.
Unfortunately, it was a hard life for
both Demosel and Andraethu,
her brother. Their family had little money, and what's more, they
were disliked by many of the other citizens of the city. Other
children, pure Elven children, proved to be especially cruel to
the Humans. Demosel and Andraethu were mocked, teased,
and tormented. Because of the situation they were in, the siblings
grew especially close, for in their minds, it was them against
everyone else.
When Demosel was eight and Andraethu
seven, their mother
got pregnant again. Unfortunately, her condition took a turn
for the worse -- both mother and child died during the birthing,
despite the midwife's best efforts. While she gasped her last
breaths, Cetai pressed into the hands of her eldest child a small
talisman, which she said would ward off evil. Demosel knew the
talisman, for her mother had never taken it off; it had been
found by her grandfather in his mining days.
The lives of the children became even
worse, then. Their mother
had been their friend and protector within the Elven society, and
now they were left alone with their father in a city that was not
overly fond of them. And their father soon realized that. Thornton
had supported the two children before due to his love of Cetai,
but after her death, he became an Elven man already near-outcast,
raising two Human children.
The Mayor quickly took to drinking
to ease the pain of his wife's
death, and he became abusive -- he frequently ended his stressful
days at Sana'ati Dyaus Drui'tas with an evening of beating
Andraethu. If it was Demosel and Andraethu alone against the
rest of the world before, it was even more the case now. Bathed
in tears of her own, she would hold her younger brother to
comfort him after Thornton had passed out for the evening.
Young Andraethu, who had been very attached to his mother,
grew more and more depressed in the year since Cetai's death,
breaking down under the tormenting of the Elven children and
the beatings of his own father. And so, determined to fill her
mother's role and protect her younger sibling, the two began
to plot to flee Leth Deriel to the Human lands in the north.
Their chance came one night, around
a month later. After a
particularly hard day of work (and drink), Thornton passed out
the instant he returned home. Stepping around his near-comatose
body, they packed of their things what they could carry along with
enough supplies and food to reach Alfren's, and quickly fled into
the dark night. Demosel stared dejectedly around her as they ran...
for all that had happened to her here, Leth Deriel was her beautiful
home, and she did love it.
Demosel and Andraethu became separated
at one point, near the
E'erdream Bower Gate, when Andraethu suddenly recalled he had
left something important back at their house. He told his big sister
to wait for him, and he ran back to the heart of the city.
Demosel waited and waited and waited,
but Andraethu never
returned. Growing worried, she walked back through the E'erdream
Bower Gate, intent on searching for him. But near the Kilth Aldiyaus,
a unit of Elven wardens spotted her and called out to arrest the girl.
In terror, she began running. That was when she felt the pain --
a warden had fired an arrow at her, and it now stuck through her
shoulder.
The young girl screamed in pain before
she bit down her tongue
and kept running. Demosel reached the gate in the northeast section
of the city again, and she ran through, not knowing what had become
of her brother. She kept running, with Elven wardens pursuing her,
but Demosel (even in her injured state) was given speed by her fear,
and perhaps by the gods themselves through her good luck charm.
In the woods outside the city gates,
Demosel quickly found a tiny
hole, which she squeezed into. After a few hours of pursuit with
no results, the Elven wardens of the city gave up hope of finding
her that day (it was now dawn), and returned to Leth Deriel.
So Demosel crawled out of her hole
and began running again
through Bosque Deriel. In the excitement of the evening's escape,
she had lost her sack, containing her personal belongings and the
food, and now her anxiety over her missing brother and her fear
were joined by a sense of hopelessness -- she didn't know why the
guards had sought her, and she didn't know how she'd reach Zoluren.
Unfortunately for the young girl, those
were the least of her concerns.
Not twenty minutes past dawn, Demosel Dez'Plecha collapsed,
unconscious, from her injury. Demosel woke later with a jolt. She
was aboard a wagon, and the ride was regrettably quite bumpy.
The girl was covered in dirt, and her leg throbbed painfully from
her wound (though the arrow was now missing). She was hungry,
to boot. Rubbing her eyes awake, she called out, "Andraethu?
Brother! Where are you? Where am I?!"
"Be at peace," came the voice
of a man from somewhere. Demosel
quickly searched the room, seeing nothing, until an elderly man
stepped from the shadows at the rear of the wagon. "What's your
name, little one? We found you this morning, sprawled out on the
ground, half-dead."
Demosel hesitated a moment before giving
her name, and finding
out the name of the elder -- Carnovasch. Carno, for short. She
learned that she was amongst a troupe of the Follower's of the
Fortune Path, a sect of gypsies affiliated with the Moon Mage Guild.
They had found her in Bosque Deriel and removed the arrow,
applying a poultice to her shoulder to stop infection from spreading.
Carno gave Demosel some fruit and bread,
which she eagerly ate.
The man began to tell her about himself and his life, and the lives
of the Followers. It was a difficult life, Carno related to her, lacking
the luxuries and amenities of the cities. The gypsies rarely stayed
in one place for long periods of time. They had a wanderlust which
kept them traveling from one place to the next... a zest for life and
all it had to offer, an urge to explore and see every minutiae of the
world. Their people believed in walking the Path of Fortune, as
they called it, and studying the Web of Fate -- a life that was often
dangerous, but at the same time, exhilarating.
As Demosel listened to Carno talk,
she was enraptured by his tales,
and forgot all about her troubles for the time -- her wounds, her
trepidation, her missing brother. He told her of the Deriel troupe
of the Followers, one of the most prominent and largest, that
traveled about Bosque Deriel... Trelda's Faerie Ring was their most
frequent campsite, and they traveled to the Mirror Lake and the
mystic island Ailaeteorn, before journeying across the Segoltha to
the Wind Elf plains, and back again.
When he was done with his story, Carno
asked Demosel about
her life, and she told him everything, ending with the tale about
how she had run away with her brother.
Demosel remained with the Followers
as they slowly journeyed
around the forest city. Each night they would make camp, build
cookfires with which to make their evening meals, then sit
around the fires singing, dancing, making music, and telling
stories. The girl loved those days she spent with the Followers,
for she had never known such... fun before in her life.
As the days passed, though, her wound
grew worse. The
Followers had proven unable to heal it with their herbs, and
it now threatened Demosel's life. Carno brought the group to
camp along the shores of Ilkas Veridun. He was preparing to
violate one of the most sacred regional customs -- the sanctity
of the Sana'ati Haven, Ailaeteorn, the mystical island. Ordering
everyone to remain on the shore, Carnovasch readied a small
boat and placed the feverish girl inside. Then he rowed her
across the placid lake...
No one knows what happened on the Island
of Ailaeteorn save
Demosel, Carnovasch, and the gods themselves. Demosel would
later claim that Carno had met with Eluned herself there, and
the two had magically healed her. Such is certainly possible,
though unlikely... but no one can say, for so few have ever
visited that island. Most believe it was the natural power of
the island itself that saved the girl.
Carnovasch never returned from Ailaeteorn.
Demosel told the
Followers he had chosen to remain there, and had sent her
back to the world. They all could
see that something had
changed in the girl, something magical. And to celebrate
the saving of one of their own, the Followers held a great feast.
Note: It would be some years before
Demosel and Andraethu
met up again. For additional information, see Criminal Studies,
Volume One.
Chapter Two: Demosel as a Moon Mage
Demosel remained with the gypsies for
several years, until
the time had come for her to receive formal Moon Mage
training at the age of eighteen. So the Followers took her
back to Leth Deriel, where she enrolled at the Ankis Dir
Guildhall. Demosel's studies as a student went by quickly,
and her skills and knowledge proved her an exceptional
Moon Mage.
While at Ankis Dir as a student, Demosel
sought out her
brother, but was unsuccessful in locating him within the
city. Nor was she able to find her father. She did speak with
the leader of the wardens to clear herself of the crime of
which they had suspected her.
She retained close ties with the Follower's
of Fortune's
Path, of which she considered herself a member, and
she rose to high esteem among them as well. Most of the
Followers considered Demosel to be chosen by the Web
of Fate. She excelled at games of chance, rarely ever losing.
She could hold her drink better than any Dwarf. She
created an extraordinarily powerful deck of Tokka cards,
earning her the Weaver of Fate title. And what's more, she
turned out to be one of the finest storytellers and
tale-weavers the Followers had ever known. They revered
Demosel as a model of how to walk the Path of Fortune.
During her time at Ankis Dir, Demosel
studied the magics
of Illusion, which were initially taught to her by Carno,
diligently, and she proved to have an innate knack for
them. Those most illusory spells had always proven risky
and unpredictable, Demosel managed to refine the
magics to a usable form, which became known as the
Wave of Distortion spell. Though still difficult to use,
and reserved for the highest order of mages, Demosel's
achievements in magical research brought her into the
Council's eye.
Within the year, Demosel had been promoted
and
served as Guildmistress of the Ankis Dir Observatory.
Her studies in the arts of foresight and magical research
continued, as she attempted to further perfect her own,
special Tokka deck. She assisted the young leader of the
Heritage Keepers in testing a spell he had devised, known
as Burn, and then he aided her in the creation and testing
of the Garden of Lights spell. The Council was ecstatic
with the accomplishments of its two finest researchers,
and soon Demosel, now Demosel Dez'Madielle, and
Taramaine Braun had earned seats of the Council.
While Taramaine was placed in charge
of the Council's
Heritage Keeper overseer position, Demosel earned a
seat on the magical research team. Now Demosel was
ready to attempt her greatest work yet.
Studying the Ways used by the Council
and their
Goldcaps, she sought to combine that magic with
her own Illusion spells. The first attempt at the "Astral
Paths" was a disaster, and nearly killed her. But Demosel
didn't give up, and tried, and tried again. Never quite
succeeding, though.
The Astral Path spell was finished
in some form, and
Demosel used the finished magic, vanishing. She returned
to Throne City a month later, quite pleased with herself.
But whenever anyone else attempted to utilize the magic,
it either failed utterly or backfired. What was to be
Demosel's crown jewel turned into her greatest
disappointment. Astral Path was deemed a failure by
the Council. Though the Council has continued to
study the theories behind the spell to this day, there
has never been any success with Astral Path.
Demosel never fully recovered from
that incident -- such
defeat rankled her. A few months later, in the hopes
of keeping her mind occupied on other matters, she
accompanied a disastrous expedition beneath the newly
finished Crossbow Observatory. The events which
occurred below served only to further push Demosel
over the edge. She resigned from the Moon Mage High
Council, though she retained close ties with it, and
her personal friend, Taramaine. The two would often
perform lectures together, later aided by Amiss D'Rhi,
one of Demosel's apprentices.
Demosel became extremely depressed
over the failure
and the horrific expedition, and set herself to work
on another task to redeem herself. She used a series
of unknown magics upon an alchemic formula she
had developed, and triumphed once again. This was
the creation of "spidersilk," a special material that
was extremely durable, but also quite light-weight.
A shrewd business woman with an eye towards fortune
(the very same Path she walked, after all), Demosel
went into business with her spidersilk, and gained
a respectable amount of wealth from the material.
The magic process involved in its creation, she kept
a secret which was shared with none.
Demosel has befriended, educated, and
entertained
countless students of the Guild with her remarkable
talent for storytelling, and the benefits of her research
aid the Guild even today. Demosel Dez'Madielle is truly
a remarkable Moon Mage, whatever path she may walk.