Maia Nanethiel
General Information
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Name: Title: Home/Location: Birthplace: Age: Race: Gender: Class: Deity: Alignment: Abilities: Maia Nanethiel - pronounced Ma-ia Nahn-eh-thee-ell and literally meaning "Mother-Of-Pearl" in Old Espruar - is a player character whom was created by Zoberraz (GameSpy ID and Forum Member), on May 2nd 2008. Grown into an highly competent adventurer and an experienced ranger since her arrival to the Sundered Valley, Maia has earned some renown for her lethal marksmanship with the bow as well as for her distinctive long sapphire-colored hair. | http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll277/Zoberraz/2009_0623_moonelf_final_crop.jpg |
Biography
Appearance
Physical Characteristics
- Height: 5'3"
- Weight: 92 lbs
- Skin color: Fair, blue-tinged
- Hair Color: Sapphire Blue
- Hairstyle: Long and straight, short tresses to each side of her face
- Eye Color: Green, with golden flecks
Description
Maia is a strikingly beautiful Teu'Tel'Quessir female graced with fair skin tinged with icey blue towards her ear tips, chin and nose, as well as most bodily extremities. Her hair is a deeper blue - it's luster and shine like sapphire - worn flowing and long, except for two tresses framing each side of her face to keep bangs from falling into her eyes. She has the delicate facial features, elegant elongated ears and almond eyes distinctive to her race, with entrancing eyes that appear as flecks of gold dancing in pools of green. Maia has the graceful spritely frame of a dancer, the athletic muscle tone of one at ease with outdoor activities and, though looking as fresh as a human maiden just out of her teenage years, her youthful looks are betrayed by what could be called ageless wisdom.
Maia would stand as the archetypal ethereal elven beauty garbed in moonsilk and dancing in palaces, were it not of the mithral armor, sword and bow she wears with accustomed ease; as well as the snug woodland garb and hooded cloak she dons as a concessions to Sundren's rainy weather.
To an elf's eyes, or a knowledgeable observer, Maia's features have a fey quality to them, one that is beyond the norm for moon elves.
Personality
Maia is a conflicted person; balancing strong and well-intentioned convictions with more natural - and yet more emotionally negative - tendencies toward whimsy, amorality or cruelty which comes from the sway of her waxing fey bloodline (as described here:[1]).
On her best days, Maia can be serene, polite and even charming. Identifying herself as 'Seelie', she puts great value in courtesy and will generally answer in kind while endeavoring to hold in more flippant commentary or thought provoking questions. She's honest, greatly valuing her credibility (Maia makes omissions and half-truths when she wishes to be evasive, but rarely ever lies), and enjoys playing the part of the trustworthy confidante (Maia ironically found out that despite her bouts of fey irrepressibility, she's actually much more dependable than most).
Little attached to the dour ranger loner archetype, Maia finds that devoting her unique talents as a ranger to assist and support others that also care to confront the ills of the Sundered Valley is more fruitful and constructive than going it alone. She is a firm believer in championing the cause of good in this fashion; holding as her philosophy the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.
Faith
Maia's strong convictions are supported by an equally strong faith in the Seldarine, the elven gods. Corellon Larethian, Sehanine Moonbow and Erevan Ilesere are gods she hold in high regard; but the patron she serves is the elven god of archery, hunting and wilderness survival, Solonor Thelandira. His teachings; to promote harmony between the wilds and the civilized, to keep the evils of the woodlands in check and of foresight before action were once second nature to her... and now, a guiding ideal to her partly-fey persona. As most elves, she has a deep dislike of Grumsh, the orc god, and Lolth the Spider Queen - though she does not find Eilistraee to be very credible (the notion of good drow falls very flat on her).
Since coming to Sundren, Maia has been exposed to many other deities other than those typically worshipped by her people.
She has a generally dim view of many of the more civilized gods as they are worshipped in Sundren. Both Bane and the Triad mean to oppress people with thier views on how the world should orderly run, albeit the Triad is generally more well-meaning about it (those she holds a particular dislike for the Ilmateri, whom she views as hypocrites). Waukeen and Helm are unobstrusive faiths to whom Maia has not taken much notice of, but neither seen a problem from.
Maia is generally moved to scorn in light of the conflict power struggle apparent in the death deities - Maia has her own death goddess, Sehanine Moonbow, so she tends to see herself as philosophically distant from the issue. Kelemvor earns some grudging respect from her for being the one that causes the least trouble, but she has a lot of trouble taking him seriously for being younger than her. Jergal is faceless and in the background, barely deserving notice. The re-risen Myrkul she finds little to like in, and she finds him particularly bad at staying dead. Colibrus is a god of glorified parasites whom unfortunately deserve notice because they are powerful and dangerous.
Her work amongst the Wardens of the Vale introduced her to other respectable deities such as Chauntea, Silvanus, Eldath and Mielikki; all whom she finds have laudable goals and intents. She was also required to tolerate followers of the Fury gods, and while she's managed to keep her relationships cordial with Aurilites and Umberleeans, she has grievances against Talos (to whom she was once nearly sacrificed) and Malar (who'se followers once nearly killed her father as they threatened to destroy her home).
Profession
Skills
As a Solonoran ranger, Maia focuses on skills which will best serve her in the wilds; from being stealthy and alert to having the knowhow and the necessary woodscraft to live on her own in the wilds. Her expertise has extended these skills beyond the mundane thanks to her empathic link with all things natural, so helping her bond with animals; pass through even forbidding flora such as thorns and brambles with ease; as well as being able to intuitively pick up trails and signs left in the wilds at a mere glance. Her experience hunting in the wilds have taught her how to stalk prey with alacrity, boasting discretion without the need to slow down.
Combat Style
She is strongly dedicated to archery both in homage to her patron deity and to support the image of elves being famed for their preternatural skill with the bow. Maia has a rare mastery of the longbow, being capable of nocking, drawing and releasing arrows faster than most without hindering her precision; she also has a knack for firing multiple volleys of two simultaneously-nocked arrows. A nimble combatant, her reflexes are well honed - well enough so to swiftly move clear of hazards ranging from traps, a wizard's fireball to dragonbreath.
Favored Enemy
Throughout her adventures, Maia has developed in the classic ranger fashion an extra focus and study to fight certain kinds of opponents better as well as gain insights over them both in mindset and anatomy which all help her better confront them. This specialization currently extends to orcs, humans, undead, monstrous humanoids (such as Yuan-Ti) and immortal creatures such as fiends.
Animal Companion
The boar "Aodan" was befriended by Maia after she saved him from a group Spittlefist goblin hunters. The animal, either out of gratitude or in understanding of Maia's status as a defender of the wilds, now tags along with her and comes to her call if she needs aid in battle.
Spellcasting
Maia, through her patron deity's favor, has command over some nature magics and enchantments. Spell rituals she often resorts to are those whom help staunch wounds, quicken her strides, make her skin as resilient as treebark, call Solonor's blessing to aid her in battle and finally assault several creatures with unnatural enchantments such as confusion and slumber.
History
Maia Nanethiel was born in Moonvines, a small elven village nestled in the Moonwood. Her parents, Jelenn and Berian, were two sentinels whom worked to keep their village safe from ill-intentioned intruders and the Moonwood has no shortage of opponents for the elves to fend off. Though their daughter had for the most part a blissful childhood during her first five-decades of life, the martial life her parents lead bled off on her and she learned early on of the importance of contributing to the well-being of her community and how people like her parent's vigilance helped in securing the happiness of the villagers.
Being useful, being able to protect her loved ones, being able to fight for the preservation of their forest-home... those were beautiful ideals to the elfgirl. Ideals that motivated her to go beyond play and games and to follow after her parents example, dedicating herself to the practice of the bow, to understanding the fauna and flora, to bond a bond with it and to be able to fight for it. She was not content to remain a protector and more a champion of her people, and for that reason she devoted most of her efforts into pursuing the ideals of Solonor the Forest Hunter instead of Rillifane the Leaflord, as her parents did.
The beginning of Maia's career went to a rocky start as the People of the Black Blood, a loose grouping of Malar-worshiping tribes, predated upon the sylvan creatures of the Moonwood and made a strong push on her village that resulted in many wounded including her father and the death of elves she had known for more than a century. Her people pressed so, Maia volunteered to leave for Silverymoon and beg for the assistance of the Argent Legion in quelling this threat.
Her arrival to Silverymoon was something of a shock, as it was the first truly cosmopolitan city she had ever set foot in. Coming in as a representative of her village, she made her plea to Silverymoon's high ranking officials; eventually gaining the ear of the High Marshall. The High Marshall was not able to send his Argent Legion in a timely fashion to strike at the northern reaches of the Moonwood. He did, however, agree to fund an expedition to strike at Claw Hollow, the stronghold of the Malarites, and then made a call for adventurers to come and assist the elves of Moonvines.
A large company gathered to the call and Maia lead them back to the Moonwood to Claw Hollow, where they fought their way where the People of the Black Blood laired and defeated their guardians and warchiefs, forcing the Malarites to curb their predations to recoup from those loses.
Her bewildering search for assistance against the Malarites widened Maia's horizons and struck a cord in her, driving her to move beyond the branches of the evergreens, shadowtops, and duskwoods of her home to explore the wide world. She bade farewell to her kin and left, walking the roads, traveling along with caravans as a way to save up on the coin gifted to her by her relatives.
She returned to Silverymoon to truly take the time to enjoy the sights of that city before hiring herself out as an escort to a caravan which was bound west to Neverwinter. While sightseeing in Neverwinter, Maia heard of scrimshaw and knucklehead carving, and her interest in seeing such provided her with the excuse to wandering further toward the North. By boat, she arrived to Sundren and foul weather prevented her from leaving. Seeing her funds on the decline, Maia decided to go and ply her trade - there seemed to be a need for the adventurous sort and she was more than happy to try and help out.
Maia's first days in Sundren had her be an errand girl more than anything else, but she valued those experiences as they lead her feet to many places of interest in the Sundered Valley. Eventually, she turned to more militant pursuits, and started assisting the Exigo Syndicate in fighting the Spittlefist goblin tribe in the Sharahan Hill, the struggle to mine the Sundrite ore in the hill uncovering a more sinister Banite plot.
Richly rewarded for her contributions, Maia turned her feet to the Viridale Forest with her boar friend "Aodan" and then lent her assistance to the Legion Border Fort in fighting off the predations of the Mossclaw Alliance, finding herself thrust into the role of a skirmisher that eliminated the leaders of each respective camps in order to stall their advance. She in turn assisted the Keeper of the Glade in recovering a dangerous artifact dedicated to the dark goddess Talona from the Viridale's Muckspear goblin tribe.
She turned her attention to more urban venues and had an unpleasant episode of helping the Sundarian Legion clear up the sewers of lizardmen and other vermin, as well as play courier for the officials of the Legion - which eventually got her into conflict with the Veritas rebels. From that point on, the elven ranger dedicated herself more to hunting bandits and rebels upon the mountainous fringes of the valley, her stint as a bounty hunter giving her the opportunity to earn her something of a reputation in regards of her marksmanship with the bow.
Throughout her experiences in the valley, quickening of an ancestral fey bloodline caused a subtle change in Maia as well. Though those boons helped her in the face of adversity, she also began experiencing problems due to waxing and waning periods of fey influence - especially with figures exerting what she considered 'abusive authority'. This caused in the past some friction with less scrupulous members of the Sundarian Legion.
Through an association with the human bard Osclow Wiltenholm, Maia came to be involved in more pivotal conflicts set in the valley. She had a role of saving the Sunite Knight Cirion and the elf Legionnaire Peridan from a Corpus curse - a Velsharoon-bestowed disease that slowly turned both into undead. She participated in the efforts to retake Sestra from an Yuan-Ti invading force. She helped thwart the efforts of the Veritas rebels in several ways, from spying at their recruitment processes, to sabotaging their sundrite golems, to retaking pilfered relics from the sealed vaults deep in their mountain stronghold.
Maia doted on Osclow. He was, from what she saw, a problem solver and a pivotal figure in banding people together to face those problems and put an end to him. When she saw that he acted so while under a great deal of duress (including the symbol of Bane branded upon his chest, which influenced him just as much as her fey heritage influenced her) she began devoted to helping him with his burdens... though with mixed results. Aside from words of wisdom and encouragements, she often found herself lacking the means to help him further.
With time, her selflessness with him cooled. It was not that she was unwilling to help him so much as she came to realize that she was showing him an unhealthy amount selflessness. Fondness was also threatening to grow beyond that... and he was already a happy, married man with a family. What's more, some incidents between the Exigo Syndicate and the Druid Glade - incidents she helped smooth over - showed her that she had been standing very little for either herself or her calling. She needed to change that.
Therefore, Maia turned her efforts of late more towards the aims of her profession and with the goal of becoming a person of skill, repute and reference in her chosen field.
Maia eventually chose to leave the Sundered Valley to return home. Unfortunately, as she wandered about seeking to share farewells with the few friends she had in the valley, she stumbled where Talosian Stormlords where terrorizing people in the crossroad next to the Exigo Trading Post. The Stormlords being part of the Wardens of the Vale, Maia attempted to get a justification for their hostile actions in the very public venue, attacking passerby seemingly on whim... but she was ganged up on and quickly defeated. The Stormlord named Kaizen tortured her as she lay on the brink of death and made to sacrifice her to Talos.
In the wake of Kaizen's Storm of Vengeance spell, the elfwoman's corpse could no longer be found. It was only several months later that Maia suddenly reappeared. Her fey heritage had apparently allowed her to survive when her mortality 'failed', though a toll was taken out of her sanity and personality.
Thankfully, she was prevented from devolving to the like of a vengeful, cruelly spiteful fey by the Sunites Cirion and Amilynn; both whom approached her, had the patience to reason with her and slowly coaxed her back to her former civility.
Faction
- Maia is a ranger aligned to the Wardens of the Vale, based in Bullseye's ranger outpost, which overlooks the Viridale Forest's druid glade. Holding the rank of Marksman, she is amongst the most experienced rangers serving under the Ranger Lord Iauron's Nature's Vanguard.
Relationships
Significant
- Osclow Wiltenholm: Maia is quite fond of Osclow and counts him amongst the few close friends she has in the Sundered Valley. She finds appeal in the man through his benevolence, his generosity, his open-mindedness, and his charming wit. She tries to serve as a friend, confidante and adviser for him.
- Peridan Twilight: Maia has great regard for Peridan, whom is her senior - easily one century older - though they do not always see eye to eye: Maia is a person of faith and conviction while Peridan is one of duty and reason by contrast. However, both have developed a fond respect for each other. Maia is particularly proud that she made Peridan take notice that she was not just an errant adventurer, but actually had something she could stand for - though that hardly prevents the sun elf from patronizing her at times.
- Etria Illiathor: Etria is an old friend. Maia owes to Etria's craftmanship the enchanted arms and armor she now wears.
Acquaintances
- Annaleen Hanssen: Maia has often wished that she and Annie could become friends, but never could get that sort of connection with the Chauntean druid.
- Fenton Tellens: Fenton is Osclow's friend, and Osclow seems to care for him... but that is about the only redeeming value Maia finds in a man whom has spurned every niceties she has extended to him, usually ignoring her or pretending she does not exist. In one of Maia fey fit, she had nearly endeavored to slay Fenton when next he'd bother her, but Osclow negociated and eventually convinced Maia to treat Fenton as a specter - someone whom didn't exist.
- Corvus Corax: Corvus and Maia, both rangers, ought to have been kindred spirits. However, circumstances have painted them more as adversaries due to the people they chose to call friend. Though Maia once trusted in Corvus despite his loyalties, events involving Osclow killing a Banite whom had once been Corvus' lover soured ties between the two of them.
- Cybil Gelley: Cybil is one of Osclow's friends and allies, but Maia dislikes the Ilmateri favored soul for her perceived pompousness and overbearing self-righteousness. Maia also finds Cybil untrustworthy of any confidences and she would, in general, rather not have anything to do with her.
Kin and Family
- Jelenn & Berian Nanethiel: Maia's parents, both moon elven rangers worshiping Rillifane Rallathil. Their trade is that of guards and sentries around the perimeter of Moonvines.
Miscellaneous Information
Fey Heritage
Maia enjoys the mixed blessing of a fey bloodline, which has bloomed further in the face of adversity. The benefits include innate glamours of sleep and confusion that she can tap into, increased resistance against charms and enchantments that would target her mind and a noted resilience against wounds not made by weapons forged out of cold iron - she's observed that lighter weapons such as daggers, shortswords or arrows sometime strike her without drawing blood.
The curse Maia finds in this bloodline of her is the growing influence it has had on her actions, her whims and her urges. Sometimes, her self-control slips and she suffers from these 'fits' that essentially make her uninhibited, and far more prone to being amoral, cruel and selfish.
Due to an increased affinity with cold that came along with her blossoming heritage (and the odd approval she's received from certain Aurilites), Maia has grown to suspect that her heritage comes from somesort of cold fey, though she knows little beyond that. She is not too far of the mark as her fey ancestor is actually a [Frostwind Virago].
Origin
Maia was originally created in Febuary 2007, right after the first servervault wipe, and lasted until the second servervault wipe. Her existence was noteworthy for her being a strong champion of elvenkind whom was able to cobble together the faction known as the 'Council of Voices', encouraging the creation of an elven stronghold and having the elves considered a recognized political party by the Sundarian Government. Maia herself in the end was considered Sundren's best archer and the highest-level ranger (level 17).