Aldara Ellan

Aldara Ellan is a Seraan wanderer and mystic. Although she does not bind herself to any specific country, she usually wanders around the region of Syltör, and currently resides in Aurlûnor Velande. She is also a scholar of the Adaere Namu, the holy texts of the Asitir faith.

Early life
Aldara was born in Quacomar, in 893 ACA based on the Twin Dragon calendar. Although technically born under the Empire, she was not citizen, as she was born in the Halsar clan of the Seraan wanderers. Being born in a family of itinerants, she did not spend much of her formative years in one place, leaving her birthplace but a few weeks old. Deprived of many worldly comforts, she learned to both value what little one could have and always find new ways to improve and strive for more in any situation possible.

Aldara's parents were always very focused on religion, attempting to convince her to participate in daily rituals and learn the teachings of the Adaere Namu. Initially, she was resistant to these attempts, as her childish mind and then later on rebellious teenage spirit made it harder for her to get used to these strict religious concepts. Always interested on what was beyond the limited worldview offered by her upbringing, in every town and country they visited she would try to find a book or a scroll on history, or language, or religious beliefs.

Around the time she had turned seventeen, the clan's temporary settlement was raided by bandits, and many of its members were assassinated, among them a dear childhood friend of Aldara and her father. This marked an important turning point in her life, as her clan broke up due to its reduced size and its members wandered away searching for different Seraan clans to integrate.

Contact with Asitir
Although born in an Asitir clan, Aldara was initially minimally interested in studying religion. She preferred the study of history, world lore, and mysticism, her contact with any religion being either historical interest or passing curiosity. Her interest for the ancestral Seraan religion began when she was around fifteen years old, after her parents taught her stories from the old Kingdom of Olarã. Being told about such a forgotten detail of world lore and the sorry past of her people spiked her interest in it, and she engaged with the religious and cultural practices of the Seraan with an almost academic interest. Though she was still not religious, she rapidly connected with the old tales and stories of the Ancient Seraan.

Her belief in the Asitir religion grew over time, reaching a turning point when the bandit raid against the Halsar occurred. As her father occupied himself with lorekeeping and religious traditions, she found that it was necessary for her to continue his work and legacy.

The Dandur clan
After her original clan was wiped by a bandit attack, Aldara and her mother wandered searching for a new clan to join. Near Qamiya, they found a small group of wandering Seraan who specialized in healing, mysticism and magic. As the Halsar were wandering traders, collectors and often worked as cheap farmhand, Aldara had to adapt to the style of living of this new clan. Her interest in world lore and her newly acquired passion for religious studies helped in understanding the intricacies of Seraan mysticism and witchcraft.

Her prowess at mysticism proved itself useful when she had to save a child from a rich trader from an illness. Using her knowledge of Seraan healing practices, she was able to cure the illness, and her clan was handsomely rewarded as a consequence. She was named the Clan leader in 920 ACA, but due internal conflicts the clan disbanded in 922 ACA.

Current life
Aldara now works as a wandering mystic, librarian, historian, and proselytizer for the Asitir faith. She has no official job, but she makes money by selling artifacts she finds in her journeys, resources she collects from around the world, and by doing small jobs for individuals in big cities. Her knowledge of poison-making and medicine especially helps her in matters of intrigue and skullduggery, making it so that many of her employers were jealous nobles and scheming royals.

She settled in an isolate place near Helemar, hoping to find small jobs she could do there. After some contacts with the government of the city, she found a home she could rent at least temporarily. In a makeshift office cramped in the inside of the house, she wrote the first two volumes of The Princess, a book which analyzes power in Rathnir [and gives tips on worldbuilding and roleplaying politics OOC].

Her work got noticed by several influential people in the world, notably the Imperial Archoness Hazel McSpiegel-Caicuria and the Velereth Sareariel Lelya-Earcala. Because of her work, she was able to secure a position as the Aurlûnor Velande's Minister of Education, and take an informal place as one of the Archoness' advisor.

Following the many crackdowns on heathenous and heretical religions within the Velande, culminating with the start of great intolerance towards syncretics, which she was seen as, Aldara sought refuge in the Lotus City State of Vraelea, whose government had already entered in contact with her. She was formalized as a Vraelean citizen, and is currently still residing there. Finally residing in a place whose religious tolerance was remarkable, she was able to find and translate the many tomes of the Asitir religion.