- Messages
- 24
- Character Biography
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Among Marta Maisal's countrymen, there was a popular debate, one which attracted eloquent orators and rowdy drunkards alike to partake. And that debate was this: which was more so the center of evil on Arethil? That is, which propagated the use of blasphemous magic the most, thereby doing the most harm to the world? Elbion, with its renowned College, or Vel Anir, with its formidable Dreadlords? Among Gildans this debate could almost be a national sport all its own, each quite fond of his or her own side, many "games" held and many victories had.
It would be a lie for Marta to say that she had never participated. Yet in more recent times, after a number of her travels abroad, she found there to be a notable third option—and perhaps one that her fellow countrymen would never have suspected.
The great city of trade. The naval master of the seas. The center of the world.
Mayhap on the surface Alliria appeared innocuous enough. What argument could the kindly hearted person lodge against the cosmopolitan nature of the bridge between Liadain and Epressa? Yet beneath what glossy veneers which first attract the eyes, for Alliria was indeed a beautiful city, there hidden from view could be found some truly wretched innards. Yes, though not as prominent as Elbion or Vel Anir in magic, still there were schools devoted to such and its use was as openly on display as nearly any other city one could name. But it was not its indulgence of magic which to Marta made Alliria a sinister place. No indeed, the blasphemous use of magic was more a symptom in Alliria's case rather than the disease.
And the disease was vice.
What else could one, if availed of even the faintest notion of wisdom, expect from a city which had toppled the divine and put coin in its place? Yes, money was the god of Alliria. Gold and its acquisition sat upon the throne most high. And this, sadly, made for fertile ground for immorality of all stripes. Sin flowed through Alliria like the very waters of the Strait.
Therefore, what better place for Marta to be? What doctor spends her time among the healthy, and not the sick? To save a soul from unrighteousness, to bring them out from the shadow of displeasure of the gods, the faithful servant waits not to be approached but with a keen eye and trust in the gods does the approaching.
And, looking now from the back of the wagon on which with other travelers she rode, looking upon the Epressan gates of Alliria, Marta was especially interested in finding more of her kind—Letai—here in the great city. She could guide them into the light of Regel. She could show her fellow Gildans that, like Penitents, there yet could be found virtue in those of Letai blood; that she herself was no rare exception.
If but one soul could be so righted, then all would be worth the effort.
Emelia Atchins
It would be a lie for Marta to say that she had never participated. Yet in more recent times, after a number of her travels abroad, she found there to be a notable third option—and perhaps one that her fellow countrymen would never have suspected.
The great city of trade. The naval master of the seas. The center of the world.
Mayhap on the surface Alliria appeared innocuous enough. What argument could the kindly hearted person lodge against the cosmopolitan nature of the bridge between Liadain and Epressa? Yet beneath what glossy veneers which first attract the eyes, for Alliria was indeed a beautiful city, there hidden from view could be found some truly wretched innards. Yes, though not as prominent as Elbion or Vel Anir in magic, still there were schools devoted to such and its use was as openly on display as nearly any other city one could name. But it was not its indulgence of magic which to Marta made Alliria a sinister place. No indeed, the blasphemous use of magic was more a symptom in Alliria's case rather than the disease.
And the disease was vice.
What else could one, if availed of even the faintest notion of wisdom, expect from a city which had toppled the divine and put coin in its place? Yes, money was the god of Alliria. Gold and its acquisition sat upon the throne most high. And this, sadly, made for fertile ground for immorality of all stripes. Sin flowed through Alliria like the very waters of the Strait.
Therefore, what better place for Marta to be? What doctor spends her time among the healthy, and not the sick? To save a soul from unrighteousness, to bring them out from the shadow of displeasure of the gods, the faithful servant waits not to be approached but with a keen eye and trust in the gods does the approaching.
And, looking now from the back of the wagon on which with other travelers she rode, looking upon the Epressan gates of Alliria, Marta was especially interested in finding more of her kind—Letai—here in the great city. She could guide them into the light of Regel. She could show her fellow Gildans that, like Penitents, there yet could be found virtue in those of Letai blood; that she herself was no rare exception.
If but one soul could be so righted, then all would be worth the effort.
Emelia Atchins