princess aletheia OF sELENE

ALETHEIA of SElene

Aletheia is the child of Simon Perish and Anahita, the Empress of Gules. She was born at the Star’s Edge keep, near the capital Selene. This was during the Empress of Gules' occupation of Veiland. During this time, The Empress was secretly carrying the child of her adviser Simon Perish. Upon giving birth, the Empress continued to bleed which could not be stopped by the midwives or clerics. Even Simon Perish, who had the power to heal others by absorbing their wounds, was unable to use his power to heal her, since he could not absorb her particular wounds. The Empress of Gules died in childbirth. After her death, the baby was given into the care of the Soothsayer, while Simon Perish dealt with the fallout of Anahita's death.

The Empire was in disarray after Anahita's death and taking Veiland was paramount to the occupation of the west. The Shimmering Knight, the General of the Empire’s forces, moved against Veiland in an effort to overtake the throne. He led the Phoenix Scepter against the Crescent Shield in a forest near Selene to take the kingdom on behalf of the Empire.

The Shimmering Knight was known as Victor Noble to a few confidantes of the Sanguine Empire. Victor requested that Simon Perish create a Resonating Artifact out of Victor's medallion that would enhance his powers. This would allow him to easily crush Veiland’s army. At the time, Simon had deemed the Artifacts too dangerous to use but he now felt that there was nothing left to lose.

The disruptive and unstable nature of the Artifact would prove too powerful for Victor to control and it created an explosion that destroyed most of the battlefield with major lives lost and intense casualties on both sides. The Bastion Forest, where the battle took place, became known as the Grey Plains, because of the ash that had spread over the fields in the aftermath.

After this devastating blow to the Empire and its inevitable downfall, Simon had fled. He intended to take Aletheia with him east to a monastery where he used to reside. Before he could get far, he was captured by forces of Selene but he once again gave the baby to the Soothsayer, who was able to escape.

Simon was brought back to Selene where the King intended to use his power of healing to help the Queen who could not conceive a child. She had already had 3 miscarriages and they requested that Simon find out what is wrong. Simon refused to help and was sentenced to death by the King. Simon could not be killed by the noose so it was prepared for him to be beheaded. At the last second, he was rescued by the Soothsayer and the pair attempted to escape.

The Soothsayer told Simon where to find his daughter but knew that she herself would be killed in the escape. The Soothsayer is killed as Simon flees. Simon finds the baby and makes his way east but is once again cut off by soldiers of the King. He hides the baby girl by a tree and attempts to ward off the soldiers. Simon slaughters many of the Crescent Shield knights in the ensuing struggle but is ultimately defeated. He became corned on a bridge and confronted by the King himself. The King defeats Simon in combat and shoots him in the head with an arrow apparently killing him. Simon falls into the frozen river and washes away.

The only ones left alive were King Marcus and his close friend, Commander Phillip Ages. They attempt to return to Selene when the King hears the cries of the baby girl and finds her near a knotted tree. The baby has small protrusions for antlers and the deduces that she was Simon's child. Not knowing what else to do with her and desperately longing for a child he takes the baby with him. Phillip understands what his friend intends to do and swears himself to secrecy.

The baby was taken to the Queen. She accepts the child as her own and never asks where she came from, though the King suspects that she knew. The Queen of Selene was once Theia of Charis and she names the girl Aletheia. As the baby grows, the Queen has the girl’s antlers removed during the summer months, before they can protrude longer. After the baby develops red hair, the King speculates who her mother is as well, believing her to be the offspring of Simon Perish and The Empress of Gules. The reason behind this is that Faun Elves are only known to have silver or black hair. Soon after, the Queen begins to cover the baby with veils and opulent crowns, which mimicked the fashion of the Queen.

CHARACTERIZATION

Aletheia is the Princess of Selene and will initially embody the tropes associated with that character archetype. That is, an aversion to being confined in life, and a longing for the freedom afforded to non royalty. However, there is much more to Aletheia than this.

There are two traits that shape Aletheia’s personality and make her who she is at the outset of the story. Aletheia is a Champion with a somewhat chaotic power but she is also part Faun. While these two traits affect her in their own ways, there is a common factor among them that also informs who she is and how she behaves. That is, they make her feel alone. In her early life, it was difficult for the princess to connect with others because of her power as a Champion but also because of her heritage as a Faun. Her power made her feel isolated because she could not touch anyone without putting them to sleep. Aletheia was too young to remember her mother and after the Queen’s death it was quite apparent that there were few Fauna that took residence in Selene. Aletheia’s isolation in these aspects of her life gave her a longing to be around others.

It may seem initially, that Aletheia simply desires to connect with others or to be close with them. While this is true to some extent, her motivation runs much deeper than that. Although she does have a deep connection with Michael and Sam later in her life, this does not instill in her the sense of belonging that she needs. Essentially, what her main motivation comes down to is a desire to have a place in the world, to be a part of something greater. Creating something that has an actual tangible effect on the world around her. This motivation is characterized in two ways: her frustration with the world being out of her control, and her insecurity about not being able to touch others.

Aletheia’s longing to be with others drove her to put on a pleasant face and be accommodating toward others. As a result, she would always see the bright side of a situation and was able to make people feel cared for, often opening up to her. She was never quick to judge but always quick to forgive. She sees the good in people even when they don’t see it themselves. Aletheia truly does have a very positive outlook in life despite her difficult circumstances. However, this positivity does not extend to herself.

Not being able to touch others did not deter a positive outlook on life but it did give her a negative view of herself. As such, Aletheia does not view the world as unfair, but that it is her that is fundamentally broken. This leads to her feelings of inadequacy and further exacerbates her frustration with herself. The insecurity that Aletheia feels makes her wish to come across as happier and more independent than she actually is. Aletheia does not lash out in her anger but internalizes it and instead will find ways to rebel, from authority and also from responsibility. For this reason she often finds herself resentful of authority, be it her father or her duties as a princess.

Aletheia’s caring and hopeful demeanor is a direct contrast with her ability of Decay. Her power causes somnolence in commonfolk and exacerbates detrimental effects of powers in Champions. This is why she is incapable of touching others without adverse side effects. Aletheia’s normally pleasant and optimistic attitude, while not a facade, is more of a defense mechanism that hides her emotional isolation and pain. Decay is considered the antithesis to the Panacea power, just as the Construct and Destruct powers represent a dichotomous relationship, so too does Decay and Panacea. This makes Aletheia’s power almost a representation of her tumultuous feelings about herself. She will attempt to be overly nice and avoid confrontation to her own detriment, as in most cases she is willing to defend and stick up for others but is not willing to do the same for herself. This is demonstrated when John believes that Michael is a fraud. Up until that point, Aletheia is somewhat reserved but she will be unable to control herself from defending Michael.

Aletheia will blame herself for what happens to Michael and will become frustrated that she cannot shed any tears for him. It will be a point of contention with her that she is responsible for his death and yet is unable to mourn him how she feels that she should. However, she initially believes that he died because of who she is not because of what she does. She believed that if she didn’t have her powers or if she had not been a princess then his death would not have happened. Aletheia will not be able to forgive herself for Michael’s death, believing that if she just wasn’t who she is then his death would not have happened. In her eyes, if she had no powers then she would not have been locked away and compelled to walk the festival on her own.

This is further compounded by the reveal that Michael had always offered to take her through the festival but Aletheia always refused. She never wanted an escort, only ever wanting to go on her own but John was different. She saw him as a friend to accompany her, not an escort. Similarly, if she had not been a princess then the Lord of Faces would not have wanted her. This is further exacerbated by her confusion coming from the words from the Lord of Faces that she may not be the true princess. She is initially unable to see that it was her actions that caused Michael’s death but it is Susanna that makes it known to her. She will then take responsibility for his death but at the cost of believing that she must then make up for it by helping the sisters, continuing to put herself in harms way.

However, she also learns to forgive herself when she considers that Michael had his own life and would make his own decisions. The Mithose Sisters help her come to this realization. That the Lunar Guardian would have done for anyone what he did for her. This makes her come to terms with herself, that she is just like anyone else and Michael saw her no different. This is further established when Father Basildes informs her of how the High Champions were created as an institution, by her father the King, who sought to keep her from persecution for her powers. She does not learn of her true heritage in the first story but comes to accept that the King is her only father and herself as his daughter.

During the course of the story, both John and the Mithose sisters will also have a more positive affect on her outlook and allow her to come to accept herself. She will also find, with her friends, a place in the world. This is demonstrated by how she moves forward. She will be the co-author of the Champion Power Codices with Samuel Ward which will compile all known Champion powers. She also becomes one of the founding members of the Ecliptics which go around the land locating Champions. The Ecliptics will be a collaborative effort between herself, John, Sam and the Mithose sisters that finally gives her the sense of belonging that she needs.

Aletheia will find her place by helping to establish a stronger connection with Champions across the land by uniting the western kingdoms with the Champion Coalition which is something the story ends on the characters looking toward doing.

The Queen's Death

After the Grey Plains incident, some people in Selene had begun to grow ill. The sickness was called White Eye and it took many lives in Selene over the next few years. There was no rhyme or reason for how it was contracted but those that did, displayed symptoms of white freckles around their eyes. No one knew that it was caused by the devastation released by the Shimmering Knight, and the illness began to dissipate after a few years. The Queen was one of the last to contract the illness and she died when Aletheia was around 3 years old.

Several years later, there were very few who questioned Aletheia's heritage and the princess grew to be loved and admired by the citizens of Selene. The few that did know of Aletheia's true heritage were those that were part of the council of the Crescent Keep, not the inner court. For this reason, rumors of her not being the King's daughter began to fade as the girl grew. It came to the point where people began to falsely remember the Queen being Faun since Aletheia appeared to be of Elven descent. The statue of the Queen in the main square of Selene reinforced this, with her crown looking very much like antlers. Few people actually saw the Queen without veils when she was alive and Aletheia often would wear them as well.

When Aletheia was a young girl, she showed kindness to a poor man in the market. The man was Simon Perish, who was there to take her back but he recognized her kindness and that she was happy in her life as the Princess of Selene. This was the life that she now knew, one without him. He thanked her but said nothing of who he was. Since he no longer had a place in her life, he decided to let her live out hers in peace and left Selene and the west for good.

CHAMPIONS

Aletheia eventually developed a power when she was 8 that began to make others lethargic when touching her. By the time she was 10, it grew to the point where she would put people to sleep completely if they came into contact with her. During this time, it was becoming more apparent that more and more people exhibited strange powers across the land. With this shift, came persecution. The King had always loved the princess like his own and feared that she would be persecuted, especially after The Shimmering Knight caused so much destruction. It had been nearly 10 years since the Empress used The Shimmering Knight as a weapon of fear. Because of this, people with powers were considered dangerous and untrustworthy despite their rarity.

A young Priest named Basildes recognized the growing distrust toward these people. When he was brought in by the King to possibly help Aletheia, he was able to convince the King that Aletheia did not need to be healed. The King realized his own ignorance and agreed that Aletheia did not need to be cured. He did not want her to be feared by others though, so he often kept her hands and her skin covered.

The King and Basildes then decided to change the public perception of people with these powers. Basildes had secretly been friends with the Shimmering Knight who was not the monster everyone believed. He knew that the people with powers were just people. He believed they could make another man like the Shimmering Knight that inspired people.

King Marcus and Basildes work through their ideas for months at the Monos Cathedral. Their attempt to give a name to supernatural people varied from calling them, Angels to Paragons to Apotheoun. The terms for their abilities ranged from Blessing to Powers to Virtues. Basildes recognized though that it was important to stress that these people were still human, just gifted humans. They decide upon calling these gifted people Champions. Basildes begins use his influence in the church to create reverence for Champions. He often mentions these Champions during congregation and tells people that they are to be cared for like any other.

Two years pass and Aletheia is turning 12 years old. The King and Basildes continue their work to uplift Champions. They locate a young blacksmith in Selene who was rumored to have supernatural strength. The lad’s name is Michael Mithose and the pair decide that he could be a grand figurehead to further elevate Champions. Michael is given the persona of The Lunar Guardian and he is christened the High Champion of Selene. He is to protect the people of Selene from darkness. Immediately after this, the Lunar Guardian quickly becomes a Champion of the people to the commonfolk.

SEALING POWERS

People with supernatural abilities were becoming more prevalent, with various kingdoms adopting Veiland's example and employing those with the moniker of High Champion. This in turn ended much of the warring and infighting as many countries began to use High Champions as displays of their nation's power. By the time Aletheia was around 15, most of the public began to revere the High Champions as their protectors and anyone with powers were referred to as Champions.

There began to be more research on powers as well, as scholars began taking more of an interest now that powers were less rumor and myth. One such scholar, Samuel Ward, was tasked to learn about the supernatural powers of Champions in order to help Aletheia control her own power. He was a Champion as well and his interest in powers had stemmed from the study of a book called the Shakti Manuscript. The manuscript was found by his mentor Heron Daima after the collapse of the Empire. When Heron Daima was killed in an alchemical accident, the manuscript came to Sam. The Shakti Manuscript was written by Arka Mitra, unknowingly an alias for Simon Perish.

Sam's study of powers demonstrated that many of them had debilitating drawbacks to the body or minds of those that possessed them. Every power gave a Champion a weakness in some way. Aletheia's power would put commonfolk to sleep upon touch but it was especially serious to other Champions. It would affect Champions by augmenting the weakness of their own power. Sam discovered this as contact with Aletheia made his nose bleed and he became ill. As it happens this was the same effect he had when overusing his power. Aletheia also learned that she would have seizures if she used her power successively. In essence, contact with her would eventually put her in a catatonic state.

Aletheia’s power became known as the Seal power in an effort to keep it from having a negative connotation. She was unable to come into contact with others but despite this, Aletheia would adopt a very positive and sensitive outlook on life, most likely because of her friendship with Sam and the Lunar Guardian, Michael Mithose. She longs to be near others and instead of fearing being close to them she often forgets her power if she is excited or delighted by something.

JOHN NOBLE | ALETHEIA | MICHAEL MITHOSE | SAMUEL WARD | MITHOSE SISTERS
ANAHITA | SIMON PERISH | KING MARCUS | SOOTHSAYER | SHIMMERING KNIGHT
DONOFREY | GILCOLM GREVE | BASILDES | HERON DAIMA