Serena Aendyr
Wife of Prince Volospin Aendyr of Blackhill
Air Elementalist of the Third Circle
Member of the Free Anachronic Society of Aalban
AC 1006
"Some were meant to have wealth, power, prestige, sorcery, or beauty. Some were meant to have everything."
Appearance
In her time, Lady Serena Aendyr was one of the rare living exemplars of Alphatian beauty. Of pure Alphatian lineage, her features were distinguished by an alluring bluish tint in her midnight black hair, her pallid white skin, and her deep purple eyes. She also maintains several permanent enchantments to further enhance her looks. She maintains her age at her twenties by using a secret Alphatian ritual involving freshly extracted, still-beating wolf, or sometimes human, hearts. Her feet never touch the ground when she walks, and a gentle, mildly scented breeze constantly wafts about her, blowing the long wavy tresses of her hair and the gossamer folds of her gowns.
Lady Serena always wears the most luxurious and elegant dresses, generally reflecting the colors of the sky for the day: heavenly blues of summer, purples and oranges of sunset, midnight black sparkling with silver thread and diamonds to mimic a starry nocturnal sky. She only wears garments of the best Alphatian spider-silk, whether they are the traditional Alphatian kihara, the more formal attires of Glantrian nobility, or the vacillating fashions of the Glantrian beau monde.
All in all, Lady Serena is not particularly beautiful, but her total effect is nothing short of breathtaking.
Personality & Quirks
Cold, cruel, calculating—these are just some of the words to describe the character of the Lady Serena Aendyr. She radiates no emotional warmth or intimacy, not even to her family, and thus receives none either. However, her loyalty to her husband and master, Prince Volospin Aendyr of Blackhill, and the noble house of Silverston, are beyond question. As most Alphatian women, she is very independent woman, and the Prince lets her operate on her own.
Where her husband is a known stickler for etiquette, Lady Serena is a mistress of etiquette applied and twisted into a tool for power mongering and playing convoluted social games. She can ruthlessly insult, threaten, or taunt a person in public situations, all the while maintaining her gentle, sophisticated manner. It will take a master not to be incensed, and often the only recourse would be to out and out break protocol—and thus fall into the trap of being punished by the Prince for insolence and discourtesy!
Background
Nobody really knows where Lady Serena Aendyr came from. Some believe she is some denizen from the Elemental Plane of Air, perhaps a sylph or other elemental-kin, given human form by her husband, Prince Volospin Aendyr. Some suspect, because of their striking similarity, she is a female clone or a simulacrum of Prince Volospin Aendyr. But the most popular and most gruesome version of the tale is that she is Qarendal Aendyr, the long lost twin sister of Prince Volospin—reborn, resurrected, or reanimated.
The fact is that she only became publicly known to Glantrian society in AC 964 upon engagement to Volospin Aendyr. The mysterious noblewoman was introduced as a powerful wizardess from the Alphatian continent and a relative to the Emperor of Alphatia, and thus a suitable and worthy mate for the Alphatian Principality. And Lady Serena Aendyr proved to be exactly that.
As the wife of the Prince of Blackhill, Lady Serena fulfilled each of her noble duties faithfully. In politics, she kept abreast of Prince Volospin's affairs and consistently represented him at Parliament. At social affairs, she was the paragon of protocol and decorum, always at her husband's side in Glantri and regularly hosting banquets at Castle Silverston every month. And in family matters, she dutifully provided her husband a son Lathan Aendyr and a daughter Thylera Aendyr, both of whom were exceptionally talented in magic, as befitting the heirs of House Silverston.
Over the years, Lady Serena has come to accept that there is no warmth or joy in her loveless marriage. But Lady Serena remains loyal to her Prince and master. In fact, Lady Serena believes that in staying loyal to her Prince, she may rekindle but a spark or romance or and ember of love, though there was none to begin with.
Web of Intrigue
Lady Serena Aendyr regularly represents her husband Prince Volospin Aendyr in political matters and votes for House Silverston at Parliament, and thus, has gained considerable influence in the Hall of Magistrates. Prince Volospin trusts Lady Serena completely and knows correctly that she would never betray him. He grants her a free hand to act on her own, so much so that some suspicious, conniving Glantrians believe she is acting independently from the Prince. This impression has proven useful for the couple, such as in the case of Lady Arbana Jerbat, the Viscountess of Redstone. In front of Prince Volospin, Lady Arbana plays the trustworthy ally of House Silverston and a supporter of the Principality, but in private audiences with the "traitorous" Lady Serena, Lady Arbana has disclosed being a spy for the Alphatian Empire!
Lady Serena uses this same double-sided ploy with House Ritterburg, the Aalbanese ruling family composed of Alphatian traitors and Hattian enemies. While Prince Volospin is known as the political rival of Prinz Jaggar von Drachenfels of Aalban, Lady Serena and the Prinz Jaggar's Alphatian wife, Frau Gertrud von Drachenfels, are close friends—so much so that Lady Serena has inspired Gertrud to go against her husband and her Hattian mother-in-law! Serena even joined Gertrud's secret organization, the Free Anachronic Society of Aalban, although mostly for show. Recently however, Lady Serena has discovered that the Society is secretly being manipulated by the enemy Flaemish powers—Lady Wilhelmine Vlaardoen, wife of the Prince of Bergdhoven, Serena suspects!—but she is currently deliberating on how to use this information for her best advantage.
There is one person who has become a bitter bone of contention between the Aendyr couple—their ally from Fenswick, Duchess Margaret Hillsbury. Lady Serena has heard many rumors that her husband and Lady Margaret are having a romantic affair—For the life of her, she cannot understand what her husband sees in the "Old Dragon of Fenswick!"—but has no proof. Serena was able to dig up a lot of dirt about her most hatred rival, including the little known fact that the old prune is barren, and thus, will not produce heirs that will someday contest her own children.
Ultimately, Lady Serena has no real enemies and has no threats to her power. There is no winning with Lady Serena. Dealing with her would lead one helplessly into her clutches, and going against her would make one an enemy of Prince Volospin—a choice between death and the Pits!
Style of Magic & Combat
Statistics: 10th-level mage, Air Elementalist of the 3rd Circle; Str 9, Int 16, Wis 13, Dex 15, Con 12, Cha 17; AL C (D&D), CE (AD&D).
Languages: Alphatian (Blackhill dialect and Common Alphatian), Thyatian (Aalbanese, Caurenzan, and Glantrian dialects).
Weapon Proficiencies: dagger, staff.
Skills: ancient history (Alphatian), etiquette (+1), politics (Glantrian), reading/writing, spellcraft.
Items: The Lost Treasures of Blackhill
Lady Serena is a follower of the Alphatian traditions of wizardry, although with a distinctly Glantrian flavor. She uses magic for everything, even the simplest of tasks, and she does so with much pomp and elegance. She is an Air Wizard and a high-ranking member of the Secret Craft of Air Elementalism. Although she is only in the third circle of power, she has knowledge of spells and the craft not known to members of higher circles—due to her husband, of course, who is the High Master. In fact, she uses her lowly rank to spy on other members of the craft, learning their secrets and weeding out traitors (One disciple involved in dubious activities she discovered was the Fenswick weather mage, Lord Winston Merryweather, who unwisely initiated the Boldavian noble Natacha Datchenka into the craft.) Though she specializes in air magic, she also employs other forms of magic, such as necromancy, with equal skill and mastery. Her Vainglorious Mirror of Magnificent Splendor is a testament to this.
"No winter's gale could ever be colder or harsher, or ruin more souls or devastate more lives."
(Poetic words from Viscountess Arbana Jerbat of Redstone, meant to be compliment about Lady Serena Aendyr)
References:
Spells of the Secret Craft of Air Elementalism
Author: Kit Navarro