World of Jorda - Mythology - Daughters of Oberon

Daughters of Oberon

Eight sisters lived with me,
We were the daughters of the dawn.
Gifted with prophecy,
The Daughters of Oberon!

Bruna The Warrior Queen

First-born daughter of King Oberon XXIV, Bruna was a natural leader, often herding her younger sisters into mock battles with servants in the palace courtyard. At the customary age of ten the young princess was granted the title of Heir to the Throne and her formal training began. Bruna excelled at swordfighting, tactics, and command leadership.

At the age of thirteen Bruna witnessed the first invasion of her homeland by the servants of the Flame. She, her mother and sisters were visiting a remote village when the attack occured. Charged with guarding her sisters, Bruna did not witness the brave queen's aid in the defense of the villagers. She suspected, however, that her mother and her guards had fallen when the first Flame worshipper broke into the inn where the children were hidden.

Four years later Oberon XXIV was assisnated by a Torch of the Flame posing as a servant. After Bruna assumed the throne, she formed an elite warrior unit called the Home Guard whose loyalty to the Queen was absolute. For fifteen years the war raged on and Bruna led her family, her army, and her country through victory as well as defeat. The hordes of Flame worshippers slowly began to gain ground, however, and soon they approached the heart of Oberon. Bruna and a contingent of the Home Guard died while fending off the invasion of the city of Oberon. Their sacrifice enabled the people of Oberon to flee to the safety of the elven woods before the hordes of the Flame overran the city and burned it to the ground.

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Meave The Diplomat

Oberon's second child was quiet and reserved, unlike her rowdy older sister. Meave excelled in the study of people; she seemed to have the ability to reassure with a soft-spoken word, or a single touch of her hand. When sisters or servants were near blows, it was often through Meave's intervention that no blood was shed.

With her sister Nomi's help, Meave escaped during the first Flame attack. The twelve-year-old raced through the surrounding forests in search of the elusive Elves and the aid they could render the beleagured village. It was through her diplomatic efforts (and agreement to marry the son of the Elven King) that the Elves agreed to assist her.

When Oberon fell, Berkna offered her hand to Meave who, with her husband, became the leader of the new Elven nation in Eron. Out of deference for Meave's new postion of Queen of the Elves, Berkna granted Meave an elven lifespan. After her long and fruitful life, Meave died in the temple to Berkna that she built in the new Elven capital of ****. It is said that any elf with green eyes (a color unknown to Elves before Meave's first child was born with his mother's eyes) carries a spark of the emerald-eyed diplomat within them.

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Nomi The Enchantress

While most of her sisters would beg the queen for stories of heroic knights, Nomi insisted on fairy tales filled with magic and wonder. She would toss aside her wooden sword during Bruna's battles in order to gesture wildly while chanting inarticulate sounds. When her intended victims did not respond correctly to her unleashed spell, Nomi felt the need to explain, in great detail, the manner of death they should have undergone. With great patience, she coached the servants until each of her spells was recognizable and its accompanying death was acted out to perfection.

The king's court wizard, captivated by Nomi's enthusiasm, taught her a few simple spells as a child and was impressed with her aptitude for the art. Nomi used a combination of those simple spells in order to cloak her sister Meave in a cloud of mist so that she could attempt to find aid from the Elves during the first Flame invasion. Afterward, Nomi apprenticed to the court wizard, but within a few years had learned and mastered everything he knew. When not at her sister's side, protecting soldiers or attacking enemy forces with her magic, Nomi spent her time deep within the vaults of the castle library, researching the old lore for new ways of using her magic.

After the fall of Oberon, Nomi was invited by Y'Grath to found and administrate an institute for magic which would seek out those born with an innate ability for magic so that they could explore their talent in an atmosphere of learning. Nomi constructed her school on an island off the South-Western coast of Eron. There she and her students studied magic as well as the Flame, hoping to devise some way to defeat it. During the Age of Enlightenment the school flourished and Nomi, having extended her lifespan by magical means, was able to develop a spell that would first trap, then destroy the Flame. The trap used the school itself, as well as all of its students, as a focus for the power needed. The trap was set, sprung, and the Flame was trapped. However, the Flame was able to escape before Nomi was able to complete the second phase of her trap. The spell failed, destroying the school and everyone in it except for the Flame which returned to its own land.

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Brigit The Righteous

Fascinated by her father's court system, Brigit could often be found lurking within the court's halls listening intently to testimony and verdict. Upon occasion, however, the young princess would burst forth from her hiding place, denouncing a verdict she felt was unfair or the testimony of one she felt was less than honest.

As she grew older, Brigit happily took over the court administration duties from Bruna whose temperment was incompatable with that expected from a judge. Brigit ruled cases fairly, dealing harsh punishment for harsh crimes and providing mercy when circumstances warranted. Her pursuit of justice was so intense that when she let a man go, who was later proven to be guilty, Brigit left the Halls of Oberon to find him and did not return for three weeks. She tracked him down and exacted punishment immediately upon discovering him.

Though she did not wish to be named queen, it was Brigit, who had accepted the aid and protection of Kela, that lead the Oberonian people away from their homeland to the relative saftey of Eron. The noble warrior found a valley nestled deep within the **** mountains. There she built Castle Hope and kept careful watch for servants of The Flame. She died at the age of seventy-eight, leaving her children and grandchildren to keep guard against future invasions.

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Karisan the Betrayer

The middle child of King Oberon and Queen Larin was not as skilled as Bruna, Brigit, and Badb at warfare, did not sing with the grace of Lela, nor did she have an affinity for magic or prophecy as her other sisters had. Instead, Karisan excelled at less desirable skills such as hiding, moving without making a sound, and telling an outright lie with a straight face. As a child, though, several encounters with the flat of Captain of the Guard's blade taught her to control her urges for practical jokes.

During a routine patrol two years into Bruna's reign, Karisan was captured and her guards slain before her eyes. The High Priest of the Flame took the fifteen-year-old princess to his unholy temple. Bound to the alter the girl was tortured in various ways until her spirit broke. Once broken, the High Priest cast a spell that bound Karisan to the service of the Flame, corrupting her soul forever. She was then allowed to be 'rescued' so that she could serve the purpose of the Flame.

Karisan served the Flame from inside the Halls of Oberon, passing information to the enemy captains as well as poisoning food and water supplies. When discovered, Karisan retaliated against her sister, Rhiannon then fled the main hall, hoping to sneak out to the camp of the Flame. Brigit discovered her first, however, and with eyes glaring red from her righteous fury, Brigit's sword sliced through Karisan's body. Gouts of black smoke erupted from the wound, choking Brigit and forcing her to retreat a pace away from the body. When the smoke cleared, Karisan was gone; her ultimate fate is unknown. Though convinced of Karisan's guilt, Brigit never forgave herself for not finding and rescuing her sister sooner.

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Rhiannon The Healer

Almost identical to her mother, Rhiannon often stayed close to her. As soon as Rhiannon could toddle, she followed her mother through the herb garden and learned the names and properties of the herbs there. After her mother's death, Rhiannon assumed the queen's role in the castle. She bandaged wounds, healed fevers, and comforted those she could do nothing for.

Rhiannon gathered the greatest healers to the city of Oberon in order to train other healers to be sent out on the field of battle with the soldiers. Whenever Bruna ventured into battle, Rhiannon was at her side, preparing to save as many lives as possible. It was on a field of battle, when Bruna was gravely wounded and Rhiannon had exhausted her supply of medicines, that the healer turned to the gods for assistance. Eir responded and infused Rhiannon with divine power. Bruna's wound healed before the startled eyes of the army, giving them renewed faith in their battle.

Shortly before the Flame attack on the city of Oberon, a deadly plague swept through the population. Striking with swift and devastating accuracy, the plague nearly halved the Oberonian army within three weeks. Using every skill at her disposal, Rhiannon worked ceaselessly to find a cure for the disease. Eventually, she discovered its cause: food and water poisoned by her sister Karisan. Rhiannon determined the poisoning agent and produced a cure before confronting her sister. When finally confronted, Karisan attacked Rhiannon with powers granted to her by the Flame. Badb and Brigit found Rhiannon's bruised and broken body in Karisan's chambers. Rhiannon died in Brigit's arms.

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Badb The Fury

Badb was an inpatient, moody child, prone to loud, fearsome tantrums. Her loyalty, however, was absolute. When necessary, she could follow orders as stubbornly as any twenty-year veteran. As she grew older, she enjoyed the practice of warcraft as an outlet for her fustrations. Her swordsmanship was adequate, but Badb's weapon of choice was the warhammer that she wielded or threw with great accuracy.

A favorite tale of Bruna's is that of a seven-year-old Badb hurling chamber pots at the invading Flame worshippers during the initial invasion. The child had stood with Brigit just behind Bruna on the steps until she was overrun. Falling into a bezerker frenzy, Badb clawed, scratched, and bit at the attackers until the Elven force arrived and dispatched the remaining foes.

Badb followed Brigit to Oberon, but felt a deeper calling within her. Appealing to the warrior-guardian god Donnar, Badb asked for guidance. Donnar swept her away in a tempest and brought her to a mountainous land where the native people struggled against demonic monsters that swarmed into their land from the north. The short stocky people had crude metal weapons and far more courage than tactics. Badb used her training to form them into an army that pushed the monsters back into the desert wasteland of their origin. Badb stayed with her adopted people, teaching them all she knew of weapons, tactics, and combat. When she died the Dwarves carved a tomb deep within the earth for her final resting place. The location of Badb's tomb is currently unknown.

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Lela The Skald

During most Bruna's courtyard wars, Lela stood upon barrels or crates, urging on her sisters with inspirational quotes and songs of heroic deeds she learned from her father's minstrels. Her delicate hands faltered with swords and daggers; but the same fingers that strummed harps and lyres, strummed her bow with deadly accuracy. Lela's pets, a peregrine falcon and merlin hawk could often be seen circling the mock battles.

After Meave's marriage to the Elven Prince, (Carraennon) Lela spent much time in the wild Elven forests with some of their greatest hunters. She learned the song of the forest, the calls of the animals, and the tranquility of nature. Lela continued to sing inspiring hymms and rally the troops throughout the length of the war and served in the ranks of Elven arches that Carraennon sent. In addition, she trained falcons and hawks to be used as surprise attack forces.

With the destruction of so much of her now beloved forests, Lela grew despondant. When Balder offered her a chance to save another wild land she accepted without hesitation. Lela left her sisters and Oberon for the Wide Plains of the Almec. The Almec taught her the songs of this new land and Lela, in turn, taught them songs and chants of praise to the gods. Together they battled against a small contingent of Torches intent on destroying the landscape. Decades after their victory, in the tradition of the Almec, Lela's body was ringed with flowers and burned. Her ashes were then used to make the bricks for the Great Temple of The Lord and Lady.

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Veleda The Prophetess

Oberon's youngest daughter was often accused of daydreaming during her studies. Veleda's young eyes would often fix on an object where she would stare stare intently. Occassionally, the child would speak prophecy in cryptic rhyme, but most often she would draw images of future events, usually which occured within a few weeks. Her greatest ability, however, was being able to determine if the future she saw was avoidable.

Years after the initial Flame invasion, Bruna asked Veleda if she had forseen the invasion and their mother's death. Veleda simply nodded solemly and replied, "There was nothing that could be done." Only Brigit's intervention kept Veleda from becoming a prisoner in Oberon's dungeons.

Veleda was the first to leave Oberon; she responded to the call from Eir and became the Goddess' spokesperson. Being the Goddess of womb and tomb as well as prophetic knowledge, Eir removed Veleda's mortality and allowed her to slip through time to gain insights into the past and the possible futures. It is rumored that Veleda can be summoned if the proper ritual is observed.

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