Vaena Askari
Lady Cadalthor
Servillia Lakalva
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: To further flesh out Eldorai culture and religion by codifying a senior Eldorai cleric, who's been used in roleplay.
Image Credit: Found Here.
Role: Abbess of the Cult of the Goddess Ardarvia. Ardarvia is the Eldorai Goddess of Law, Order and Justice. As an Abbess, Servillia is a mid-level cleric, heading her own priory. She has the seniority to head an ecclesiastical tribunal that investigates and punishes crimes against religious law, such as dark sorcery, consorting with Dashdae Sciians and so on. On occasion, she performs the duties of a battle chaplain and morale officer for the Angelii. Unlike some of her brethren, Servillia actually accompanies the soldiers into battle.
Permission: Can use Firemane stuff because I own the company. ARGH gear available to Firemane per this thread.
Links: Denouement, Pious Deliverance.
PHYSICAL INFORMATION
Age: 108, equivalent to a human woman in her mid-thirties.
Force Sensitivity: Knight
Species: Eldorai.
Appearance: Sevillia is an attractive and tall Eldorai female in early age. She is pale, blonde haired and has pale blue eyes. Like all members of her species, she has pointed ears. Many years ago, part of her left ear was cut off as punishment for indiscipline in the Angelii corps. Servillia has not sought medical treatment, preferring to keep the disfigurement as a permanent reminder. She is a woman of regal bearing, imposing and rather domineering. She has a stern gaze. Servillia is not overly strong, but fit. She has a bit of an obsession with physical fitness and expects those clerics beneath her to live up to her rather punishing standards, In terms of attire, she favours elegant but simple the robes of a cleric or dresses that are practical and covering. When in combat, she will wear armour. Though a priestess, Servillia has experienced battle, for she also served as a battle chaplain for the Angelii and accompanied them into combat, which has left her with some scars. She has a couple of small tattoos on her upper arm with some religious symbols. She likes to wear a Force imbued gem on her forehead.
SOCIAL INFORMATION
Name: Abbess Servillia Lakalva,
Loyalties: Vaena Cadalthor, Ashiranism, Eldorai, House Cadalthor, Church of Ashira.
Wealth: Modest. She is reasonably well-off as a medium-level cleric.
Notable Possessions: Talisman of Ardarvia, copies of the Book of Light and the Book of Holy Law, Electrostaff, ceremonially engraved MSD-32 Disruptor. Cusaeris Armour. She has an apartment on the Pious Deliverance, the Cadalthor worldship.
Skills:
Force Skills:
The Abbess is a Force-Sensitive, or Sciian, as the Eldorai would call it, but her own relationship with the Force is rather complex: She cannot decide if she's happy about the gift granted her...or disgusted by this curse. Her dream of joining the Angelii was dashed when she failed to pass training because, though Force-Sensitive, she was not considered strong enough, lacking the appropriate Force skills. Time has passed, but she's still quite bitter about it. Her powers manifest in odd ways, namely empathy and mental powers, which are more difficult to control and made her useless for the Angelii, as they are shock troops and palace guards. By contrast, even the simple act of using telekinesis to lift a pebble is very difficult for her and takes a lot of concentration.
Servillia turned to the Church as a way to use her gifts in a productive way. Her mental powers are useful for her profession, such as questioning witches, discerning lies and help her gauge someone else's motivations, but in order to use them she has to really concentrate. She tends to be harsher on Force-Users than Non-Force-users, believing that those endowed with the Goddess' gift have a great responsibility. This may stem from her own guilt, as her own recklessness during her time as an Angelii got one of her friends killed, something for which she feels guilty about to this day.
Servillia is a rather ambitious woman and aims to be more to rise higher in the ecclesiastical hierarchy. She has a reputation for being very stern, but also fair, and maintains a small network of informers who keep her abreast about developments in the church. Although the church is supposed to be a sworn community of believers, it is just as infested with Byzantine power plays as the royal court. She treats her minions fairly, but expects complete devotion. A suspicious woman, she is slow to trust.
In the aftermath of the Kaeshana Rebellion, she defied convention when she issued a nonbinding, but authoritative declaration of legal opinion (in effect a fatwa) stating that severely maimed Eldorai soldiers resorting to cybernetic augmentation did not violate Ashiran law, given the suffering that would otherwise be inflicted upon them. Cybernetics are controversial in Eldorai society, considered 'unnatural' by conservatives, who claim they pollute one's goddess-given body. She has ministered to Eldorai soldiers coping with their mechanical augmentations.
Servillia has three siblings, but the one she contrasts the most strongly with is her sister Sabina. Not only is the younger woman a merchant, a long disdained profession, she is also a liberal progressive who espouses heretical ideas such as equal male rights and republicanism. Unsurprisingly, the two do not get on, which makes family dinners awkward. Servillia is a bit resentful of those higher up the tree politically and socially than her, especially the highborn. She comes from a poor background and had to put up with a lot of classism. Her convent accepts Tygaran natives and she's taken an active role in reforming Xioquo darkside adepts, helping them along the road of atonement.
COMBAT INFORMATION
Weapon of Choice: The Church does not have archaic rules against clerics taking up arms, so Servillia has no moral qualms about participating in combat. She uses blasters and slugthrower weapons at range. Her ranged weapon of choice is a disruptor as well as a flamethrower. Close-up she will utilise an Electrostaff.
Combat Function: Though a cleric's role is not that of a warrior, Servillia knows how to defend herself. This is not purely because she's trying to make up for her thwarted ambition to become an Angelii, but because the rather Byzantine church is sadly not free of at times lethal intrigue. She can use the Force in a fight, but not in a conventional manner. Much like the ancient Jedi Corran Horn, she lacks significant telekinetic abilities. It takes great effort for her to perform a manoeuvre as simple as lifting a small rock with her mind. Servillia is highly skilled in using an Electrostaff. It is her weapon of choice close-up. The weapon is good for fighting lightsabres/Sarixi, and effective for lethal and non lethal damage too. Servillia knows of lightsabres, but is not trained in their use. These weapons are still new to the Eldorai and largely limited to select Angelii.
She makes up for this with an aptitude for mind tricks, implanting thoughts, images, sensations and such into the minds of others. Her danger senses and extrasensory perception are well-developed. Eldorai Sciians are elemental Force-users and the Abbess is no different. In her case, she is a cryomancer, but again her abilities are basic because she can only perform basic temperature manipulation. Servillia is not afraid to get hands dirty by using 'crude weapons' and is proficient with melee weapons and a good shot. She has good reflexes and is agile. Servillia's ranged weapon of choice is a disruptor. They are strangely 'clean' since they atomise what they hit. This, in her view, makes them good for cleansing sinners. For the same reason, she likes to use a wrist flamethrower.
Strengths:
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Servillia came to life during a time of transition for the Eldorai, a long time before an asteroid turned Kaeshana into a desolate wasteland. She was not born in the gleaming capital of Santaissa, but in a small village near the inner sea. Her parents were poor fishers. This was a profession many Eldorai looked down upon since no proper elf would go out on a boat. For the sea was considered to be the realm of the Goddess Tythe, wild and untamed, and populated by monstrous beasts such as the Behemoths. One of Servillia's older siblings once went out onto the sea and never returned. From an early age, Servillia had to lend a hand in the family business. Though her childhood was lacking in creature comforts, it was not an unhappy one. Their village was part of the Cadalthor demesne, but their pseudo-feudal overlords were far away, aloof and distant, disinterested in the affairs of simple people.
Servillia often dreamed of what lay beyond their simple life, but with her parents lacking the money to send her to a college in the city, she seemed destined to live a life of mundanity, were it not for the fact that she manifested the Force. Her empathy manifested at an early age. To her, it was her curse, for she lacked the training to blot out others' emotions, causing terrible headaches, among other things. To many of the village people, it made her a freak at best and a witch at worst. Feeling increasingly isolated, the girl became sullen and withdrawn, yet desperate for approval. Her life took a dramatic turn when, during a fishing expedition, the boat she was on was attacked by a sea monster. Servillia was knocked out of the boat into the sea.
When the beast sought to devour her, she called upon her mental powers on instinct, confusing the creature and attacking its mind. This gave the other fishers the chance to drive it away with harpoons. Word about her pacifying a Behemoth soon spread and it got the attention of recruiters. This produced mixed feelings, for on the one hand her family needed all hands on the deck, but on the other hand it was a chance for their daughter to not only rise up, but also raise the status of the family as a whole. Her path took her to the Academy of Four Powers, a government school for Sciians. Servillia found herself in an unfamiliar environment, so different from the isolated village she'd grown up in, and struggled to adjust, especially since many highborn and middle class pupils looked down on 'country bumpkins' and 'fishers'. She made few friends and grew resentful. Her elemental powers and telekinesis were noticeably weaker than those of many of her fellow students, but this drove her to practice harder and harder, determined not to fail.
Diligence, determination and faith won her a place among the Angelii Istrai, the young angels. They were the Angelii's youth cadre. From there things went downhill. Servillia was a good shot and showed promise with melee weapons, defeating fellow recruits during tournaments. However, she was simply not good at being a Force warrior because her powers were too weak. Angelii were shock troops, and had little interest in mental powers. Indeed, the conservative officer corps viewed them as dishonourable. Thus she struggled to meet expectations. It drove her to reckless action.
When she and her squad, along with a few older Angelii who acted as instructors, were on patrol near a Kar'zun habitat, they were ambushed by rebels. Wanting to prove herself, Servillia charged into battle. She fought bravely and managed to beat one of the renegades with her Sarzmigar, but was seriously injured due to her lack of caution. Even worse, an Angelii battle sister was fatally injured because of her actions. This hit Servillia particularly hard since the fellow soldier had been one of her few friends. At the same time, her career in the Angelii was over before it began, for she was banished after enduring rather unpleasant punishment that involved very liberal application of flogging to make her see the error in her ways. As a mark of shame, part of left ear was cut off, since she had refused to listen.
For the young girl, it seemed like her world had collapsed. She had shamed herself, her family and it was her fault one of her battle sisters had died. As the failed Angelii packed her bags, fighting back tears, she happened upon the unit's Ardarvian Chaplain, who was a cross between spiritual counsellor and commissar. The stern priestess pulled no punches, making it clear to Servillia just how much she'd disgraced herself, failed her comrades and the sacred oath she'd sworn. In the eyes of the Goddess Ardarvia, pride was a cardinal sin. However, there was a chance for atonement, if she dedicated herself to service instead of following her ego. She could atone and use her powers for good. Her words resonated with Servillia, who found hope once again.
She could go back to her family, knowing that she'd disappointed them, find her fortune elsewhere...or try to join the priesthood of Ardarvia. The last course of action was the one she chose. After undergoing her trials, she was inducted into the ranks of the Repentant Sisters, composed of those who had sinned and tried to redeem themselves through service to the Church. Since Ardarvia's domain is law and justice, they come under her clergy's purview. It goes without saying that nobles had a habit of getting rid of troublesome individuals by 'persuading' them to join the Repentant.
It was a cloistered life, dominated by prayer, penance and service. In the Church, the Repentant were on the lowest end of the food chain and given menial tasks. Their living conditions were extremely Spartan. Essentially, they were servants. However, over time Servillia managed to win the trust of the cult. When an unpopular tax caused a riot in a town called Chaeronea, violence and turmoil broke out. Government buildings were torched and even the church came under attack. Putting her life on the line, Servillia was able to calm several rioters and cause them to disperse by drawing upon her mental gifts, even after being injured by a Staser round. While recuperating in hospital, she was informed that she had passed her trials and would become a full sister. From that moment onwards, she was a formal part of the Church's clergy. After having failed so many times, it was a moment of success for her and from that day she never looked back. Her training with her mental powers made her suited for investigations and interrogations, so she was soon transferred to the Ardarvian clergy's judicial branch, which was charged with ferreting out corruption, heathenism and dark sorcery not only amongst the general populace, but also within the Church itself.
The Eldorai religion is henotheist, which means it acknowledges the existence of more than one deity. However, all Gods and Goddesses are subordinate to the chief of the pantheon, Ashira the Great Goddess. Ashira is the creator of the Eldorai in their religion and is also the one who empowers each Star Queen with her authority. The Star Queen is not just a temporal ruler, but the High Priestess of Ashira. Rivalries between the various deities' clergies were common, and Servillia would soon learn that all too often faith was nothing more than a cloak to conceal an ambitious cleric's lust for temporal power.
As a new sister, she was apprenticed beneath an older, more experienced cleric by the name of Aelia Aeberos. Unlike the low-born Servillia, Aelia was the illegimate daughter of an influential noblelady who had been 'persuaded' to join the clergy to get her out of the way. Ironically, this backfired more than a little because Aelia used her position to be quite a headache for them. Severe, stern and endowed with an almost fanatical dogmatism, she went out of her way to mould Servillia in her image, impressing the 'right actions' on her. Servillia accompanied her on many travels. She earned herself merit in the eyes of her superior when she unmasked a faux priestess within the sisterhood. Per the Eldorai's sexist laws, only women could be clerics. Men could pray in the church, though in these less enlightened times the genders were segregated in the prayer room, but they could not join the clergy. A cross-dresser called Joanus Chaero decided to defy this rule, calling himself Joana. Through his character, talents and charisma, he managed to rise in the Ashiran clergy and was on the fast track to rise high in its ranks, becoming close to one of the church's chief clerics.
Servillia grew suspicious of 'Joana', then a Canoness. At first she believed 'Joana' was not a true believer, but her mental powers let her see the deceit in her heart. Investigating further, she came across a priestess who had left the Church after unexpectedly becoming pregnant. Under questioning, said sister revealed who the father of her child was. After informing Aela, Servillia and some other clerics happened upon the faux Joana, who was fornicating with a lay sister. To say this was an embarrassment for the Ashiran clergy is a big understatement. Joanus was quickly and quietly removed from the Church. Though the official report says that he left Kaeshana of his own volition after confessing his sins, other sources maintain that he was discreetly murdered and never boarded a starship. While Servillia had proved her worth in the eyes of her fellow Ardarvian clerics, she had made enemies among some of the Ashirans, who resented the intrusion into their affairs.
Over the years, Servillia rose through the ranks, becoming a deaconness and finally a cannoness. She gained a reputation as a zealous believer in the old rules, who disdained those pushing for reformation. However, troubled times were approaching. Foreigners were coming to Kaeshana, some to trade, others to raid and pillage. At the same time, strife amongst the Eldorai became more frequent, as disagreements arose about how to deal with the 'foreign devils'. Servillia requested leave from her duties in the convent and was given permission to join the Angelii as a battle chaplain. Though her lack of combat Force powers made her an outsider among them, she won the respect of many of the battle sisters by proving her valour in fights against pirates and rebels. Now tempered by years of service and less arrogant, she acted with prudence instead of blind recklessness.
The Sarix was the emblematic weapon of the Angelii, an order she did not belong to. So she wielded a staff, a pistol and a flamethrower in battle. After her first run with the Angelii had gone so poorly, it was vindication for her, and a way to make amends for her friend's death. Her faith was tested during the events that ultimately resulted in Kaeshana being integrated into the Omega Protectorate. The details need not concern us, but long story cut short, the death of Star Queen Tirathana VI led to a succession crisis. Princess Nalia, the candidate of the isolationists and reactionaries, lost, while the decadent, but reformist Silaqui was put on the throne with the aid of OP and her exiled sister Anya Venari.
Servillia had sympathised with Nalia's cause, seeing the power of foreigners as a danger to Kaeshana, the Eldorai's freedom and religion. She was deeply disappointed by the political changes that took place and narrowly avoided disciplinary action for making disparaging comments about Princess Anya, whose..closeness to Siobhan Kerrigan and Tegaea Alcori vexed her. However, her true test would come in an unexpected way and, ironically, neither foreigners nor 'heretical liberals' were the cause. One night, a servant girl fled to the Ardarvian Temple in Santaissa, begging the church to grant her sanctuary.
She claimed to possess evidence that incriminated her mistress, Baroness Liasa Kaldon, as a conspirator during Nalia's coup, and said her life was in danger. However, before she could make her case, she was murdered by the noblewoman's assassins. Her body, with a slit throat, was found at the altar by a lay sister. Given the circumstances, the trial would be an ecclesiastical one and Servillia was put in charge of the trial, along with two other judges. It was her first time as a judge, and she was under a lot of pressure. The baroness tried to weasel her way out using every trick in the book, including threats and bribes. Servillia soon grew disgusted by the willingness of many clerics to look the other way and accept that an innocent life was less important than that of a noblewoman who happened to be a major donor.
"Do you think you can buy the mercy and forgiveness of Ardarvia with these trifles and baubles? Fool! The only measure of forgiveness is blood and tears! You are even more debased than the monkeighs. For they are ignorant of her laws, but you know better and defile it regardless." Despite their urgings, she refused to accept the 'tithe' and through sheer force of personality shamed the other judges into securing a conviction. Shortly afterwards, she was attacked an assassin, who somehow managed to get past security. Servillia sustained a stab wound inflicted by a vicious ice spear, but ultimately beat her assailant with a large holy tome. Murder, violation of sanctuary, bribery and attempted perversion of justice were serious offences. In the eyes of Servillia, only a proper grizzly punishment would for the baroness: Immolation and then displaying the head as a warning. Alas, Queen Silaqui was a lot less committed to true justice – or, depending on perspective, more mindful of the political realities. On appeal, the Queen commuted the sentence to exile for a short time.
In Servillia's eyes, this was a slap in the face and a travesty of justice. Much to the disappointment of clerics less fixated on the 'old ways' or simply interested in good relations with the aristocracy, this incentivised her to become even more rigidly committed to 'true justice'. Servillia would have to wait many years, till a general amnesty proclaimed by Silaqui's successor, the reformist Tirathana VII (or Anya Venari), caused Liliana to return. The baroness swore fealty to the Crown, but could not resist the temptation to try and exact vengeance against those who'd crossed her. Her foolish attempt to disturb Servillia's job again turned out to be a fatal mistake, though her death was less painful than the stern cleric would have liked.
She never warmed to Anya's regime or the 'nampy-pamby liberalism' the Queen imposed, but refused to participate in any of the coups or schemes dreamt up by conservative extremists. Servillia continued to be a devout cleric of Ardarvia, sharing in the triumphs and defeats of the Eldorai Matriarchy: the Venari Restoration, the Cleansing of Gehenna, where she did battle against Bando Gora Reavers, the Netherworld Crisis, during which her faith was tested by the turmoil brought about by the Rapture, for she was one of those whisked away by the foul sorcery of Akala, and finally the traumatic Exodus and the Xioquo War, where she interrogated captured drow sorceresses who practiced dark magic, among other things.
Much to her disappointment, she missed the final battle against the Xioquo and the defeat of Mystra, since her actual duties as a cleric kept her from fighting. However, she joined a church mission devoted to reforming and rehabilitating Xioquo magi after the fall of their tyrannous rulers; a task she performed with particular zeal. By the time of the failed Kaeshana Rebellion and the First Order's subsequent conquest of the Eldorai homeworld, she was an Abbess. She was with the Eldorai troops when they discovered the people who'd been crucified by the First Order in Santaissa, and reluctantly retreated alongside them when the enemy won the battle. Filled with hatred for the imperials and disgusted by the withdrawal, she was soon embroiled in the turmoil that rocked Tygara in the aftermath.
Recently, Servillia has attached herself to the entourage of Vaena Cadalthor, who came to power following the execution of her treasonous cousin Tarissa. Servilia had never really warmed to Tirathana VII's regime, but refused to participate in conspiracies. Her view of Vaena is not entirely positive, but she acknowledges that the Cadalthor bastard is pious and brave. She would prefer someone who was more of a purist, but finds that Vaena is the best of a bad lot at the moment.
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: To further flesh out Eldorai culture and religion by codifying a senior Eldorai cleric, who's been used in roleplay.
Image Credit: Found Here.
Role: Abbess of the Cult of the Goddess Ardarvia. Ardarvia is the Eldorai Goddess of Law, Order and Justice. As an Abbess, Servillia is a mid-level cleric, heading her own priory. She has the seniority to head an ecclesiastical tribunal that investigates and punishes crimes against religious law, such as dark sorcery, consorting with Dashdae Sciians and so on. On occasion, she performs the duties of a battle chaplain and morale officer for the Angelii. Unlike some of her brethren, Servillia actually accompanies the soldiers into battle.
Permission: Can use Firemane stuff because I own the company. ARGH gear available to Firemane per this thread.
Links: Denouement, Pious Deliverance.
PHYSICAL INFORMATION
Age: 108, equivalent to a human woman in her mid-thirties.
Force Sensitivity: Knight
Species: Eldorai.
Appearance: Sevillia is an attractive and tall Eldorai female in early age. She is pale, blonde haired and has pale blue eyes. Like all members of her species, she has pointed ears. Many years ago, part of her left ear was cut off as punishment for indiscipline in the Angelii corps. Servillia has not sought medical treatment, preferring to keep the disfigurement as a permanent reminder. She is a woman of regal bearing, imposing and rather domineering. She has a stern gaze. Servillia is not overly strong, but fit. She has a bit of an obsession with physical fitness and expects those clerics beneath her to live up to her rather punishing standards, In terms of attire, she favours elegant but simple the robes of a cleric or dresses that are practical and covering. When in combat, she will wear armour. Though a priestess, Servillia has experienced battle, for she also served as a battle chaplain for the Angelii and accompanied them into combat, which has left her with some scars. She has a couple of small tattoos on her upper arm with some religious symbols. She likes to wear a Force imbued gem on her forehead.
SOCIAL INFORMATION
Name: Abbess Servillia Lakalva,
Loyalties: Vaena Cadalthor, Ashiranism, Eldorai, House Cadalthor, Church of Ashira.
Wealth: Modest. She is reasonably well-off as a medium-level cleric.
Notable Possessions: Talisman of Ardarvia, copies of the Book of Light and the Book of Holy Law, Electrostaff, ceremonially engraved MSD-32 Disruptor. Cusaeris Armour. She has an apartment on the Pious Deliverance, the Cadalthor worldship.
Skills:
Force Skills:
- Empathy/Force Sense
- Short-Term Memory Enhancement. Useful when memorising all those religious and legal texts.
- Force Persuasion, Thought Shield & Illusions
- Telekinesis (Novice)
- Cryomancy (Novice)
- Force Sight
- Psychometry
- Melee Weapons. Particularly skilled in using staff weapons. Her weapon of choice is an Electrostaff.
- Ranged Weapons
- Fluent (reading/writing and speaking): Eldarai (High and Common), Galactic Basic.
- Talented jurist, theologian and scholar of ancient Eldarai religion and jurisprudence.
- Beginner: Pilot
- Exceptional memory
The Abbess is a Force-Sensitive, or Sciian, as the Eldorai would call it, but her own relationship with the Force is rather complex: She cannot decide if she's happy about the gift granted her...or disgusted by this curse. Her dream of joining the Angelii was dashed when she failed to pass training because, though Force-Sensitive, she was not considered strong enough, lacking the appropriate Force skills. Time has passed, but she's still quite bitter about it. Her powers manifest in odd ways, namely empathy and mental powers, which are more difficult to control and made her useless for the Angelii, as they are shock troops and palace guards. By contrast, even the simple act of using telekinesis to lift a pebble is very difficult for her and takes a lot of concentration.
Servillia turned to the Church as a way to use her gifts in a productive way. Her mental powers are useful for her profession, such as questioning witches, discerning lies and help her gauge someone else's motivations, but in order to use them she has to really concentrate. She tends to be harsher on Force-Users than Non-Force-users, believing that those endowed with the Goddess' gift have a great responsibility. This may stem from her own guilt, as her own recklessness during her time as an Angelii got one of her friends killed, something for which she feels guilty about to this day.
Servillia is a rather ambitious woman and aims to be more to rise higher in the ecclesiastical hierarchy. She has a reputation for being very stern, but also fair, and maintains a small network of informers who keep her abreast about developments in the church. Although the church is supposed to be a sworn community of believers, it is just as infested with Byzantine power plays as the royal court. She treats her minions fairly, but expects complete devotion. A suspicious woman, she is slow to trust.
In the aftermath of the Kaeshana Rebellion, she defied convention when she issued a nonbinding, but authoritative declaration of legal opinion (in effect a fatwa) stating that severely maimed Eldorai soldiers resorting to cybernetic augmentation did not violate Ashiran law, given the suffering that would otherwise be inflicted upon them. Cybernetics are controversial in Eldorai society, considered 'unnatural' by conservatives, who claim they pollute one's goddess-given body. She has ministered to Eldorai soldiers coping with their mechanical augmentations.
Servillia has three siblings, but the one she contrasts the most strongly with is her sister Sabina. Not only is the younger woman a merchant, a long disdained profession, she is also a liberal progressive who espouses heretical ideas such as equal male rights and republicanism. Unsurprisingly, the two do not get on, which makes family dinners awkward. Servillia is a bit resentful of those higher up the tree politically and socially than her, especially the highborn. She comes from a poor background and had to put up with a lot of classism. Her convent accepts Tygaran natives and she's taken an active role in reforming Xioquo darkside adepts, helping them along the road of atonement.
COMBAT INFORMATION
Weapon of Choice: The Church does not have archaic rules against clerics taking up arms, so Servillia has no moral qualms about participating in combat. She uses blasters and slugthrower weapons at range. Her ranged weapon of choice is a disruptor as well as a flamethrower. Close-up she will utilise an Electrostaff.
Combat Function: Though a cleric's role is not that of a warrior, Servillia knows how to defend herself. This is not purely because she's trying to make up for her thwarted ambition to become an Angelii, but because the rather Byzantine church is sadly not free of at times lethal intrigue. She can use the Force in a fight, but not in a conventional manner. Much like the ancient Jedi Corran Horn, she lacks significant telekinetic abilities. It takes great effort for her to perform a manoeuvre as simple as lifting a small rock with her mind. Servillia is highly skilled in using an Electrostaff. It is her weapon of choice close-up. The weapon is good for fighting lightsabres/Sarixi, and effective for lethal and non lethal damage too. Servillia knows of lightsabres, but is not trained in their use. These weapons are still new to the Eldorai and largely limited to select Angelii.
She makes up for this with an aptitude for mind tricks, implanting thoughts, images, sensations and such into the minds of others. Her danger senses and extrasensory perception are well-developed. Eldorai Sciians are elemental Force-users and the Abbess is no different. In her case, she is a cryomancer, but again her abilities are basic because she can only perform basic temperature manipulation. Servillia is not afraid to get hands dirty by using 'crude weapons' and is proficient with melee weapons and a good shot. She has good reflexes and is agile. Servillia's ranged weapon of choice is a disruptor. They are strangely 'clean' since they atomise what they hit. This, in her view, makes them good for cleansing sinners. For the same reason, she likes to use a wrist flamethrower.
Strengths:
- Capable mentalist. Servillia has an aptitude for mind tricks and illusions, implanting thoughts, images, sensations and such into the minds of others. Her Sense abilities are very well-honed. This can alert her and her allies to hidden dangers and allow her to predict enemy attacks better.
- Servillia is very good at using an Electrostaff. Not only is this weapon effective against lightsabres, it can inflict lethal and nonlethal damage. She is dexterous and agile, which also helps. She is also good with ranged weapons, favouring disruptors. Moreover, she is good at using flamethrowers.
- Her telekinetic skills are subpar. Much like Corran Horn, it takes great effort for her to perform a manoeuvre as simple as lifting a small rock with her mind. She is also not capable of creating Force Barriers of any appreciable strength.
- Her Eldorai sensitive hearing is a double-edged sword. It allows her to pick up on things others might miss, but it also makes her more susceptible to high-pitch frequencies such as those emitted by sonic weapons.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Servillia came to life during a time of transition for the Eldorai, a long time before an asteroid turned Kaeshana into a desolate wasteland. She was not born in the gleaming capital of Santaissa, but in a small village near the inner sea. Her parents were poor fishers. This was a profession many Eldorai looked down upon since no proper elf would go out on a boat. For the sea was considered to be the realm of the Goddess Tythe, wild and untamed, and populated by monstrous beasts such as the Behemoths. One of Servillia's older siblings once went out onto the sea and never returned. From an early age, Servillia had to lend a hand in the family business. Though her childhood was lacking in creature comforts, it was not an unhappy one. Their village was part of the Cadalthor demesne, but their pseudo-feudal overlords were far away, aloof and distant, disinterested in the affairs of simple people.
Servillia often dreamed of what lay beyond their simple life, but with her parents lacking the money to send her to a college in the city, she seemed destined to live a life of mundanity, were it not for the fact that she manifested the Force. Her empathy manifested at an early age. To her, it was her curse, for she lacked the training to blot out others' emotions, causing terrible headaches, among other things. To many of the village people, it made her a freak at best and a witch at worst. Feeling increasingly isolated, the girl became sullen and withdrawn, yet desperate for approval. Her life took a dramatic turn when, during a fishing expedition, the boat she was on was attacked by a sea monster. Servillia was knocked out of the boat into the sea.
When the beast sought to devour her, she called upon her mental powers on instinct, confusing the creature and attacking its mind. This gave the other fishers the chance to drive it away with harpoons. Word about her pacifying a Behemoth soon spread and it got the attention of recruiters. This produced mixed feelings, for on the one hand her family needed all hands on the deck, but on the other hand it was a chance for their daughter to not only rise up, but also raise the status of the family as a whole. Her path took her to the Academy of Four Powers, a government school for Sciians. Servillia found herself in an unfamiliar environment, so different from the isolated village she'd grown up in, and struggled to adjust, especially since many highborn and middle class pupils looked down on 'country bumpkins' and 'fishers'. She made few friends and grew resentful. Her elemental powers and telekinesis were noticeably weaker than those of many of her fellow students, but this drove her to practice harder and harder, determined not to fail.
Diligence, determination and faith won her a place among the Angelii Istrai, the young angels. They were the Angelii's youth cadre. From there things went downhill. Servillia was a good shot and showed promise with melee weapons, defeating fellow recruits during tournaments. However, she was simply not good at being a Force warrior because her powers were too weak. Angelii were shock troops, and had little interest in mental powers. Indeed, the conservative officer corps viewed them as dishonourable. Thus she struggled to meet expectations. It drove her to reckless action.
When she and her squad, along with a few older Angelii who acted as instructors, were on patrol near a Kar'zun habitat, they were ambushed by rebels. Wanting to prove herself, Servillia charged into battle. She fought bravely and managed to beat one of the renegades with her Sarzmigar, but was seriously injured due to her lack of caution. Even worse, an Angelii battle sister was fatally injured because of her actions. This hit Servillia particularly hard since the fellow soldier had been one of her few friends. At the same time, her career in the Angelii was over before it began, for she was banished after enduring rather unpleasant punishment that involved very liberal application of flogging to make her see the error in her ways. As a mark of shame, part of left ear was cut off, since she had refused to listen.
For the young girl, it seemed like her world had collapsed. She had shamed herself, her family and it was her fault one of her battle sisters had died. As the failed Angelii packed her bags, fighting back tears, she happened upon the unit's Ardarvian Chaplain, who was a cross between spiritual counsellor and commissar. The stern priestess pulled no punches, making it clear to Servillia just how much she'd disgraced herself, failed her comrades and the sacred oath she'd sworn. In the eyes of the Goddess Ardarvia, pride was a cardinal sin. However, there was a chance for atonement, if she dedicated herself to service instead of following her ego. She could atone and use her powers for good. Her words resonated with Servillia, who found hope once again.
She could go back to her family, knowing that she'd disappointed them, find her fortune elsewhere...or try to join the priesthood of Ardarvia. The last course of action was the one she chose. After undergoing her trials, she was inducted into the ranks of the Repentant Sisters, composed of those who had sinned and tried to redeem themselves through service to the Church. Since Ardarvia's domain is law and justice, they come under her clergy's purview. It goes without saying that nobles had a habit of getting rid of troublesome individuals by 'persuading' them to join the Repentant.
It was a cloistered life, dominated by prayer, penance and service. In the Church, the Repentant were on the lowest end of the food chain and given menial tasks. Their living conditions were extremely Spartan. Essentially, they were servants. However, over time Servillia managed to win the trust of the cult. When an unpopular tax caused a riot in a town called Chaeronea, violence and turmoil broke out. Government buildings were torched and even the church came under attack. Putting her life on the line, Servillia was able to calm several rioters and cause them to disperse by drawing upon her mental gifts, even after being injured by a Staser round. While recuperating in hospital, she was informed that she had passed her trials and would become a full sister. From that moment onwards, she was a formal part of the Church's clergy. After having failed so many times, it was a moment of success for her and from that day she never looked back. Her training with her mental powers made her suited for investigations and interrogations, so she was soon transferred to the Ardarvian clergy's judicial branch, which was charged with ferreting out corruption, heathenism and dark sorcery not only amongst the general populace, but also within the Church itself.
The Eldorai religion is henotheist, which means it acknowledges the existence of more than one deity. However, all Gods and Goddesses are subordinate to the chief of the pantheon, Ashira the Great Goddess. Ashira is the creator of the Eldorai in their religion and is also the one who empowers each Star Queen with her authority. The Star Queen is not just a temporal ruler, but the High Priestess of Ashira. Rivalries between the various deities' clergies were common, and Servillia would soon learn that all too often faith was nothing more than a cloak to conceal an ambitious cleric's lust for temporal power.
As a new sister, she was apprenticed beneath an older, more experienced cleric by the name of Aelia Aeberos. Unlike the low-born Servillia, Aelia was the illegimate daughter of an influential noblelady who had been 'persuaded' to join the clergy to get her out of the way. Ironically, this backfired more than a little because Aelia used her position to be quite a headache for them. Severe, stern and endowed with an almost fanatical dogmatism, she went out of her way to mould Servillia in her image, impressing the 'right actions' on her. Servillia accompanied her on many travels. She earned herself merit in the eyes of her superior when she unmasked a faux priestess within the sisterhood. Per the Eldorai's sexist laws, only women could be clerics. Men could pray in the church, though in these less enlightened times the genders were segregated in the prayer room, but they could not join the clergy. A cross-dresser called Joanus Chaero decided to defy this rule, calling himself Joana. Through his character, talents and charisma, he managed to rise in the Ashiran clergy and was on the fast track to rise high in its ranks, becoming close to one of the church's chief clerics.
Servillia grew suspicious of 'Joana', then a Canoness. At first she believed 'Joana' was not a true believer, but her mental powers let her see the deceit in her heart. Investigating further, she came across a priestess who had left the Church after unexpectedly becoming pregnant. Under questioning, said sister revealed who the father of her child was. After informing Aela, Servillia and some other clerics happened upon the faux Joana, who was fornicating with a lay sister. To say this was an embarrassment for the Ashiran clergy is a big understatement. Joanus was quickly and quietly removed from the Church. Though the official report says that he left Kaeshana of his own volition after confessing his sins, other sources maintain that he was discreetly murdered and never boarded a starship. While Servillia had proved her worth in the eyes of her fellow Ardarvian clerics, she had made enemies among some of the Ashirans, who resented the intrusion into their affairs.
Over the years, Servillia rose through the ranks, becoming a deaconness and finally a cannoness. She gained a reputation as a zealous believer in the old rules, who disdained those pushing for reformation. However, troubled times were approaching. Foreigners were coming to Kaeshana, some to trade, others to raid and pillage. At the same time, strife amongst the Eldorai became more frequent, as disagreements arose about how to deal with the 'foreign devils'. Servillia requested leave from her duties in the convent and was given permission to join the Angelii as a battle chaplain. Though her lack of combat Force powers made her an outsider among them, she won the respect of many of the battle sisters by proving her valour in fights against pirates and rebels. Now tempered by years of service and less arrogant, she acted with prudence instead of blind recklessness.
The Sarix was the emblematic weapon of the Angelii, an order she did not belong to. So she wielded a staff, a pistol and a flamethrower in battle. After her first run with the Angelii had gone so poorly, it was vindication for her, and a way to make amends for her friend's death. Her faith was tested during the events that ultimately resulted in Kaeshana being integrated into the Omega Protectorate. The details need not concern us, but long story cut short, the death of Star Queen Tirathana VI led to a succession crisis. Princess Nalia, the candidate of the isolationists and reactionaries, lost, while the decadent, but reformist Silaqui was put on the throne with the aid of OP and her exiled sister Anya Venari.
Servillia had sympathised with Nalia's cause, seeing the power of foreigners as a danger to Kaeshana, the Eldorai's freedom and religion. She was deeply disappointed by the political changes that took place and narrowly avoided disciplinary action for making disparaging comments about Princess Anya, whose..closeness to Siobhan Kerrigan and Tegaea Alcori vexed her. However, her true test would come in an unexpected way and, ironically, neither foreigners nor 'heretical liberals' were the cause. One night, a servant girl fled to the Ardarvian Temple in Santaissa, begging the church to grant her sanctuary.
She claimed to possess evidence that incriminated her mistress, Baroness Liasa Kaldon, as a conspirator during Nalia's coup, and said her life was in danger. However, before she could make her case, she was murdered by the noblewoman's assassins. Her body, with a slit throat, was found at the altar by a lay sister. Given the circumstances, the trial would be an ecclesiastical one and Servillia was put in charge of the trial, along with two other judges. It was her first time as a judge, and she was under a lot of pressure. The baroness tried to weasel her way out using every trick in the book, including threats and bribes. Servillia soon grew disgusted by the willingness of many clerics to look the other way and accept that an innocent life was less important than that of a noblewoman who happened to be a major donor.
"Do you think you can buy the mercy and forgiveness of Ardarvia with these trifles and baubles? Fool! The only measure of forgiveness is blood and tears! You are even more debased than the monkeighs. For they are ignorant of her laws, but you know better and defile it regardless." Despite their urgings, she refused to accept the 'tithe' and through sheer force of personality shamed the other judges into securing a conviction. Shortly afterwards, she was attacked an assassin, who somehow managed to get past security. Servillia sustained a stab wound inflicted by a vicious ice spear, but ultimately beat her assailant with a large holy tome. Murder, violation of sanctuary, bribery and attempted perversion of justice were serious offences. In the eyes of Servillia, only a proper grizzly punishment would for the baroness: Immolation and then displaying the head as a warning. Alas, Queen Silaqui was a lot less committed to true justice – or, depending on perspective, more mindful of the political realities. On appeal, the Queen commuted the sentence to exile for a short time.
In Servillia's eyes, this was a slap in the face and a travesty of justice. Much to the disappointment of clerics less fixated on the 'old ways' or simply interested in good relations with the aristocracy, this incentivised her to become even more rigidly committed to 'true justice'. Servillia would have to wait many years, till a general amnesty proclaimed by Silaqui's successor, the reformist Tirathana VII (or Anya Venari), caused Liliana to return. The baroness swore fealty to the Crown, but could not resist the temptation to try and exact vengeance against those who'd crossed her. Her foolish attempt to disturb Servillia's job again turned out to be a fatal mistake, though her death was less painful than the stern cleric would have liked.
She never warmed to Anya's regime or the 'nampy-pamby liberalism' the Queen imposed, but refused to participate in any of the coups or schemes dreamt up by conservative extremists. Servillia continued to be a devout cleric of Ardarvia, sharing in the triumphs and defeats of the Eldorai Matriarchy: the Venari Restoration, the Cleansing of Gehenna, where she did battle against Bando Gora Reavers, the Netherworld Crisis, during which her faith was tested by the turmoil brought about by the Rapture, for she was one of those whisked away by the foul sorcery of Akala, and finally the traumatic Exodus and the Xioquo War, where she interrogated captured drow sorceresses who practiced dark magic, among other things.
Much to her disappointment, she missed the final battle against the Xioquo and the defeat of Mystra, since her actual duties as a cleric kept her from fighting. However, she joined a church mission devoted to reforming and rehabilitating Xioquo magi after the fall of their tyrannous rulers; a task she performed with particular zeal. By the time of the failed Kaeshana Rebellion and the First Order's subsequent conquest of the Eldorai homeworld, she was an Abbess. She was with the Eldorai troops when they discovered the people who'd been crucified by the First Order in Santaissa, and reluctantly retreated alongside them when the enemy won the battle. Filled with hatred for the imperials and disgusted by the withdrawal, she was soon embroiled in the turmoil that rocked Tygara in the aftermath.
Recently, Servillia has attached herself to the entourage of Vaena Cadalthor, who came to power following the execution of her treasonous cousin Tarissa. Servilia had never really warmed to Tirathana VII's regime, but refused to participate in conspiracies. Her view of Vaena is not entirely positive, but she acknowledges that the Cadalthor bastard is pious and brave. She would prefer someone who was more of a purist, but finds that Vaena is the best of a bad lot at the moment.
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