Bethys Erewan
Aunt of Princess Carlotina Erewan of Erewan
Oracle of Clan Ellerovyn
Cryptomancer of the Fourth Circle
AC 1016
"Oh, I just know..."
Appearance
Bethys Erewan appears as a youthful elven maiden with a carefree air and often a daydreaming expression. Her light golden hair is worn loose, if not slightly disheveled, and she wears free-flowing gowns of any color of the rainbow. Many elves have remarked that Bethys looks much like a younger version of her older sister Norelia—except much more pleasing.
In formal functions, often when she appears with her sister Norelia as the Clan Oracles of Erewan, Bethys always wears a different color from her sister (She usually knows what Norelia will be wearing), and more often than not manages to outshine her sister.
Personality & Quirks
Bethys is gentle, kind-hearted, and eternally jovial, and her cheerful manner is quite infectious. Unlike most Erewan elves, Bethys is very friendly to outsiders, even to humans, and she keeps a broad-minded, liberal, cosmopolitan view about most things in life.
Bethys was born with a wondrous gift of prophecy and prediction, and her life and person has been affected by this. She is seldom worried or anxious, because she always knows how things will turn. Sometimes, because she knows that there is nothing she can do about the future, Bethys becomes nonchalant and fatalistic, to the point that she has been accused of being uncaring, foolish, and even lazy.
Bethys' demeanor is also affected by her prophetic visions. She would sometimes comment on remarks not yet said, or answer questions not yet asked. She would sometimes laugh, cry, or stare intently at a person—actually to incidents that have not yet happened to the person—only for that person to realize a few hours or days later what Bethys found so funny, sad, or shocking.
In recent years, Bethys has learned to control her behavior so as not be distracted by her visions. The folk who interact with her have also come to understand her prophetic gifts and learned not to be so alarmed by her manners. (In fact, they often hope Bethys catches a glimpse of their future and receive free forecast!)
Background
Bethys Erewan was born the youngest daughter to Aduerin and Qenila Erewan in AC 812. Her older sister, Norelia Erewan, had already been chosen to be the future Clan Oracle and was steeped in the demanding studies of such a position. Little was expected from Bethys in her earliest years—until her extraordinary talents of precognition manifested themselves.
In her infancy, Bethys began seeing precognitive visions when awake, and dreams of the future while asleep. At first, Bethys' family thought her weird or slow, because Bethys would often react to her visions more than the real world. Her family learned the significance of her unusual behavior, when one day as a young elven child, Bethys received a vision that the entourage of Lord Charan Erewan would be attacked by goblin bandits on the way from Glantri City. Bethys mentioned this casually to his elder sister Lady Eleesea Erewan, who was at once alarmed. But young Bethys was not worried in the least, because, she explained she already knew that Lord Charan would not be injured and that only one guard would be hurt—a minor arrow wound in the left thigh just above the knee. Later when Prince Charan returned, Lady Eleesea had learned that everything was as Bethys predicted, down to the very last detail.
The Clan Oracle at the time, Lady Ethena, determined that Bethys had a marvelous gift and great potential to be a future Clan Oracle, perhaps more than her elder sister Norelia. But the choice had already been made (an great error, many elves whispered), so instead of removing Norelia from the position to make way for Bethys (an even greater error, many elves believed!), Lady Ethena declared that Bethys too would be a Clan Oracle, and both sisters would serve together when they came of age. This wise action saved the honor of all parties involved and eventually benefited the whole Clan of Erewan elves.
Bethys' earliest years of education proved to be both amazing and vexatious to her teachers. Though Bethys was kind and respectful, she would often be bored and distracted. Often, because of her precognitive powers, she would even recite back the lessons to her tutors, even before they had taught her! But such difficulties only increased their faith in Bethys' ability to be the Clan Oracle of Erewan.
When Bethys reached adolescence, Bethys made the curious request to Prince Charan Erewan to continue her education at the newly-built Great School of Magic. While the clan elders heatedly debated on the consequences of such as unprecedented move, Bethys calmly bided her time, because she already knew the result: that she would be allowed to enroll at the Great School of Magic in AC 893.
Her years at the Great School were just as she foresaw them: exciting, exhilarating, and exasperating. Bethys was far from the ideal student for the Great School, since the instructors and students never understood her strange talents. Bethys would hardly participate in alchemical experiments, saying she already knew the results beforehand. She would not attend certain spellcasting classes, reasoning that she does not see herself using those spells in the near future—or ever in her life. And in spite of all this, Bethys would always perfect examinations, because she already knew what questions would be asked.
This did not mean that Bethys never applied herself at anything. In fact, Bethys was guided by her precognition and knew exactly what to learn in life: a short list of spells, a potpourri body of knowledge and trivia, and an odd assortment of skills (including a few Ethengar rope tricks with a lasso!)
After Bethys finished at the Great School—wreaking havoc on the still developing curriculum—she decided to take some time adventuring. (This relieved her sister Norelia, who welcomed the opportunity to master her tasks as Clan Oracle solo before Bethys would join her in the position. In truth, Bethys knew Norelia needed these extra years also to regain the wavering belief and trust of the clan.) Bethys went adventuring in the Highlands, to the northern regions of Wendar, and even once to the forests of Alfheim. Bethys joined many adventuring parties, who treated her with amazement and praise (for she knew exactly which booby trapped stones to avoid) or resentment and consternation (for she would also know to stand just beyond the rim of an exploding fireball without even a hair singed.)
It was during those adventuring days that Bethys crossed paths with a young Krondaharan nobleman, Jherek Virayana III, heir to the Principality of Krondahar. With the help of her precognition, Bethys was at the right place and the right time to save the future Prince from plummeting to his death (with her singular skill with Jherek's own Ethengar lasso, no less!)—a feat which impressed the young aristocrat beyond belief. But for all her prophetic powers, Bethys did not foresee just how smitten she would be by the valiant and gallant prince-to-be. For the better part of the year, the couple spent a romantic dreamlike existence together adventuring the Highlands. Bethys would spend her days alongside her Krondaharan princeling, and at night, Jherek would walk into her dreams and fantasies.
But the call of duty in Krondahar and Erewan could not go unheeded and Bethys and Jherek had to part ways. The couple met again in person only a couple of times—on formal occasions when Jherek as Prince of Krondahar consulted Bethys and her sister as the Clan Oracle of Erewan—but they would always keep their young romance alive in their dreams.
Thus ended Bethys' of thirty years of adventuring (a lifetime for humans but a mere sabbatical for an elf). In AC 930, Bethys returned to Erewan and join her sister Norelia as Clan Oracle, where she has grown and matured in her ways and powers.
Web of Intrigue
Though quite well-traveled and popular in the rest of Glantri, the most significant relationships that Bethys maintains are still within Clan Ellerovyn. She holds the highest regards for her eldest sister, Lady Eleesea Erewan, the Clan Treekeeper, and her niece, Princess Carlotina Erewan, the present leader of the Clan. Princess Carlotina however has little respect for her flighty aunt and disagrees with Bethys' open attitudes towards non-elves. Among the other Erewan elves, Bethys is well liked and largely respected for her position and her talents.
Bethys has an intense relationship with her sister and partner, Lady Norelia. Their opposite natures was a constant source of disagreement and rivalry since their childhood, Norelia's strict well-ordered manners contrasting with Bethys' chaotic free flowing ways. The fact that Norelia would often painstakingly labor for her achievements, while Bethys' successes would often serendipitously fall into her lap, never made it easy. Still, the years of working together has taught both sisters to balance each other's strengths and weaknesses, making them an effective team.
Though the Clan Oracles of Erewan are never to marry, Bethys had one true love of her life and that was Prince Jherek Virayana III. Her affection for him meant that the Clan Oracle of Erewan would often deliver many important auguries for the Prince of Krondahar, which in no small way guided Prince Jherek in the ruling of his Principality. This alliance of sorts continued on to benefit Prince Jherek's heir after his death, Prince Jherek Virayana IV, until it was decreed that the Clan Oracles would close its doors to non-elves.
Style of Magic & Combat
Statistics: 9th-level elf (D&D), 11th-level elven diviner (AD&D), Cryptomancer of the 4th Circle; Str 9, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 18, Cha 16; AL N (formerly CN, D&D, A&D).
Languages: Elvish (Erewan, Alfheim, and Belcadizan dialects), Thyatian (Glantrian dialect), Flaemish, Ethengarian (Krondaharan dialect).
Weapon Proficiencies: staff, knife, lasso.
Skills: etiquette, fortune-telling, meditation, prophecy, reading/writing, spellflash.
More than any of her magic or skills, Bethys' strengths come from her inborn precognitive powers. Every hour of every day, Bethys receives visions of the future; and at night, they come to her as dreams. Bethys has little control over these premonitions, how they come or what they reveal, but Bethys has learned that sometimes they are triggered by touching a person or object or visiting the location with an intense connection to the future event she wishes to see.
Bethys' training as the Clan Oracle, which includes mastery of many forms of divination, has helped her check her powers, so that she can see them more clearly and more accurately, and so that her visions do not interfere with the real world. Still, when she is overwhelmed by too many or too intense premonitions, Bethys tends to become distracted from reality and more focused on her visions.
Bethys' precognition has guided her in her choice of proficiencies and magical spells from her day-to-day activities to her distant future. She is never caught off guard in any situation, and always has the proper spell, magical item, tool, or weapon when the occasion arises, no matter how odd or unexpected these may be. In combat, Bethys can even predict the exact moves of her opponent (+1 bonus to her attacks, –1 penalty to her opponent's attacks), making her a more formidable combatant than she would likely be.
Bethys is a Cryptomancer of the same level as her sister Norelia, as befitting their status of Clan Oracles. But unlike Norelia who extensively researched each rune and glyph, Bethys would simply see them—or at least, how to find them—in her visions. Though her collection of glyphs and runes can never compare to Norelia's, every one of them have proven to be useful and significant to the events in her life.
Bethys has a wide array of magical items, most of them of a divinatory nature, but her most cherished item is a piece of jewelry given to her by Prince Jherek Virayana III. This treasure, Bethys' Diadem of Dreamsharing, has allowed her to maintain her connection with Jherek as she sleeps and dreams, even when they were apart—and strangely, even when he had passed away.
"She has a gift. But she must learn to control it and cultivate it, or else it will all go to waste."
(Norelia Erewan)
References:
Author: Kit Navarro