Name: Altariel Katrei of Ghayth
Sex: Female
Age: 21
Occupation: Noble
Status & Rank: High Seat of House Ghayth
Roots & Origin:
Altariel was born to a set of parents betrothed since birth - Leonne Elendil, former High Seat of House Ghayth, and Camellia Sol of Ivria, both of noble families. Their union was of the political type, nothing out of the ordinary. She neither knew nor cared if her parents had loved each other - but what she knew was that her father was a womanizer, and she could care less. Being born second was, for her and her mother, not the best idea for dominating the Ghayth House.
Camellia's lineage, a family known for poison, was slowly dwindling in number, due to a recent investigation that pointed at them as the perpetrators in several murders and sabotage. As a result, at least one of her relatives was murdered, mostly in a most horrendous way, every week. Her father, Carantir, sought protection to the House of Ghayth, reminding them of how they had aided the family in successfully poisoning an ancestor of the House of Taran and his being a blood relative. Aerandir Surion, Altariel's grandfather and then the High Seat of the House of Ghayth, relented, and the two arranged a marriage between their families. Camellia was soon born, and what was left of her family had been slaughtered and their ancestral home burned. Upon his second cousin’s request, Aerandir Surion managed to get hold of most of the poison and antidote recipes before the rest of the estate went down in flames. Camellia grew up with Leonne, Aerandir's son who was a year older than her, until they wed. Camellia, like Altariel, was underestimated by Aerandir, but nevertheless she was taught with the art that was passed down in her family. It was with Camellia that Altariel inherited the same curiosity for poison, and the siblings inherited their features - the tanned complexion and the purple hair, which is said to be from a part-elven ancestor.
Her father, on the other hand, had grown up not knowing much of his future wife's past – and is rather oblivious to the world around him. Simply, he lacks intellect, which his wife and former playmate, Camellia, makes up for. A perpetually cheerful personality surrounds him, and he hardly cares about eradicating the Royal House of Taran. Five years after their first child, Artemius, had been born, he suddenly lost interest in his wife, and started womanizing. His wife, on the other hand, tolerated this act, until she was pregnant with their second child. She then threatened to kill the baby in her womb if he continued the shameful act. But nothing could seem to stop the High Seat by doing what he wanted, and the Lady did as she threatened to. Some four years passed in cold silence, until Altariel was conceived. By some unknown reason, however, Leonne fell seriously ill after Altariel's birth, and was bedridden for more than a decade. He died shortly after Artemius turned twenty one, and Altariel, twelve.
Appearance:
Her most noticeable features include her waist-length, purple-streaked dark hair, which is usually in an outrageous hairstyle and held into place by a lot of hair sticks, and a slightly tanned complexion that she inherited from Camellia. Her dark blue eyes, however, are inherited from her father, and rarely express emotions aside from disbelief, conceit, and triumph. A straight nose and full lips, along with her other facial features, would almost always capture at least a handful of men in a small crowd. Her frame is thin and frail, compared to women of the same age, though her mother sees to it that she is properly nourished. Her tanned skin is nearly flawless, save for a raw red scar on her left arm that she covers up with either a sash, or an armband. A mass of pearl necklaces hangs around her neck, and an amethyst pendant is kept inside the folds of her gown.
Another strange characteristic of hers is that she looks older than the average twenty-one-year-old – some even speculating that she is Lady Camellia Sol’s sister. Her clothing only takes on the shades of purple, black, blue, and red. White, for her, is reserved only for weddings and funerals. And she does not, and will not, wear anything less than a gown.
She never fails to show how much dominant she is to anyone lesser in status than she is, even to her cousins. Her haughty, ‘Cinderella’s stepmother’ attitude towards everyone outside her immediate family and other nobles worthy of attention radiates an indifferent and passive aura around her. On her part, however, she knows that she’s only doing what these ‘scum’ deserve.
Strengths:
- A mistress of deception, no one can really tell what she thinks or feels.
- Her pride and headstrong attitude constantly keeps her aloof and thus, verbal attacks on her have lesser effect on her than it usually would have.
- Coupled with her knowledge of poison and medicine, she can treat most injuries she encounters, as long as the necessary equipment and herbs are available.
- Her thirst for new knowledge and curiosity keeps her open-minded at times.
- Drinking bouts? Her brother had not been able to defeat her in such, maybe just once, when she was just learning how to drink wine, and learn how to effectively slow down the alcohol’s entry to her bloodstream.
- Observant and sensitive to the changes in her surroundings, it is rare for her to fail in recognizing small details in art or music. Her sharp memory is also very useful most of the time.
Weaknesses:
- Altariel’s body is weak and not used to hard labor, the main reason why she only engages in verbal arguments.
- When she does get angry, she loses sight of her personal goals, and will do everything in her power to obliterate the offender from her sight.
- Untrusting, very untrusting indeed. She prefers to do things alone, no matter how hard it is, in fear of someone else ruining her plans, and it results in her ploys taking too much time to take effect.
- The only other weapon that she can use are her specially made hair ornaments that are usually dipped in different kinds of poison – ranging from merely numbing the body part stabbed to instant death. Aside from this, she cannot use any other weapon efficiently.
- Due to a trauma at childhood, she detests knives and other sharp-edged objects, touching them only when crucially needed. When asked about it, she politely excuses herself and changes the subject.
- Being around her would be akin to spending your whole fortune, as she never chooses anything but the best of the best material – be it food, clothing, jewelry, or even books, and she is fairly hard to please. This is another reason why she never had true friends, only acquaintances, due to her being in the House of Ghayth.
Magic: As a child, she had been given a charm – a fine amethyst gemstone, rumored to have cost more than half the whole Ghayth House fortune put together – that her grandfather gave her to wear, an heirloom passed down to the eldest females in the family. It grants her the ability to heal fatal wounds in an instant, by amplifying the life force that she could tap on, and applying it to the wound. However, since she is inept at magic, she draws her own life force, and if not controlled properly, hastens her aging. This item had only been used twice, once by her, and can be used for eight more times. Upon the tenth use, the gem would crumble and turn to dust.
Personality:
An effect of being underestimated by most of her family as a child, Altariel sought perfection in everything she did, to outshine her brother’s work, and to relieve her of insecurities. Not only in everything she did, but also in everything she sees, hears, touches, smells, and feels, but does not necessarily criticize anything immediately. She rarely shows cruelty, seeing as much of the people around her are already intimidated, because of her being a member of House Ghayth. But most of the time this only holds true in Ghayth, and has yet to be tested in other cities. Her cruelty only shows itself during interrogation, and to those who insult her in any way.
But not all of the time she’s like that.
Her love for beauty and art is one of the reasons why she would love to preserve the nature in her land. She only watches them from afar, though. She keeps herself sparkling clean, an effect of her obsession for perfection. Perpetually curious, though she keeps it at a barely noticeable level. She praises anything that deserves it. A fondness for piano music could also be seen in her.
History:
Her childhood days were, as one would expect in a noble’s life, littered with happy memories, even though she wasn’t as pampered as her brother was, being the next High Seat. Aerandir, she had been told by her mother, had insisted that Artemius be educated in the field of magic, sword fighting, and other essentials for his protection, but said nothing of her, save for the customary reading and writing, when she was born. She deduced, when she reached the age of fourteen that the reason for it was that her grandfather doubted her abilities greatly since she was a girl, and also doubted her being a true descendant of the House Ghayth. Thus, Artemius was more privileged – it annoyed her, even after he had died, that he was able to study magic, and she was permitted only to studying the basics of everything else save for that vital subject. This sparked a one-sided rift between the two siblings - one that their mother was quick to spot. Camellia soothed her daughter’s cries, and promised that she would teach her something that would be at par with magic when Altariel reached the appropriate age. She agreed.
Altariel never saw much of her father and brother even as a child, and rarely talked to them. Her mother continuously warded her off from Leonne, saying that her father needed rest. It didn’t matter what time of day it was, but he needed rest. For Artemius’ case, she simply hated him for being the favorite of everyone else, and she lived only in his shadow.
An assassination attempt on her life – though until now, they haven’t traced who the mastermind was – happened when she was eight. Her nurse since childbirth was actually a mercenary in disguise, paid to kill both of them. She was stabbed several times with a knife imbued with a lethal poison, a brew only known by Camellia’s line, and it left horrendous scars on her arms and legs. Over time, however, the scars faded, except for the one on her left arm. Her grandfather questioned Camellia over the brand of poison used, being very similar to her family’s. Her brother tried his best to mediate between them, but failed. Camellia was sent off to live in one of the Ghayths’ lands nearest Olencia, and she took Altariel with her, without Aerandir’s consent.
How Aerandir regretted that arrangement he made with Carantir was not unknown of in Ivria.
That small house – much, much smaller than what she had been used to be, but as well-equipped as their old home – was where Camellia taught her only daughter all she knew, and instilled a certain hate for the members of Ghayth House, even for her brother. Artemius frequently visited them, bringing news of the goings-on in the family and other important information. She rarely gave anything more than a greeting, a smile, and a goodbye to him when he visited. One of these occasions was when he delivered her amethyst pendant. The words, ‘Thank you’ escaped her lips.
Camellia saw her daughter’s intellectual ability, and did her best to hone it to perfection. Before the age of twelve, she had already taught Altariel all she knew, and the girl could already make poisons of her own. It was at this same year that her father died of illness, and both women, on Artemius’ orders, were sent back to Ivria as soon as possible. The next day, Artemius was given the title of High Seat, and this fueled a desire to get the title of High Seat, seeing the power and authority given to Artemius.
Maybe her brother had known about her jealousy over his position, but it was around this time that Altariel became fascinated with manipulating her own emotions. She was not one to care much anyway, knowing that Artemius was too kind for his own good and too much of his trust would be his downfall. The first stepping stone was getting her brother to trust her, not as a sister, but as a reliable companion.
Being the sister of the High Seat had its quirks, she immediately thought. Artemius certainly looked after his mother and sister’s welfare, but that didn’t break her resolve to get the High Seat for herself. During one of their usual morning rides around Irvia, a riot erupted when a self-proclaimed Slayer, who had been in the capital for a week or so, had courageously – and stupidly, in her eyes – challenged Artemius to a swordfight in the presence of his guards and his sister. The ‘Slayer’ cheated, and thrust his sword to her brother’s chest. Aided by the amethyst pendant, she effectively healed him in a matter of seconds – and resulted in her aged features - after dealing with the ‘Slayer’. It was an understatement to say that the man’s path to death was painful. That was the first time that she used poison publicly. Most of the guards escorted them home, while the others took care of the corpse. She would’ve allowed him to die, but she didn’t. Her only reason was that she still wasn’t of age to be able to get High Seat, and the appointment of a regent was not to her liking. Just bidding her time, she told her mother.
Her participation in House and political talks was not exactly welcomed, nor shunned as well. Her grandparents died of food poisoning two months later. The cooks were immediately prosecuted and executed shortly after.
They never suspected either Camellia’s or Altariel’s hand in the poisoning.
At around this time, she became aware of the House Ghayth’s spy network, and how it has been quite useful to them. She made a mental note to meet the leader of this intelligence network, and obtain information for her own personal use - one of them was the fact that the heir of the House of Taran is still alive and well, that he was in Olencia. When she was seventeen, the spy Artemius sent to Olencia was uncovered, and killed. The High King searched for the spy’s relatives, and House Ghayth didn’t escape interrogation. She didn’t have contact with their spies for a few years after that.
The next few years passed without much difficulty, and she studied further into the arts, music, and medicine. At the age of twenty, she was better than most doctors were in Ivria. One more year, and she could have the High Seat. After a year, Artemius died in his sleep, and the doctors deduced that it was of heart attack. His funeral was the only instance she wore white, and sobbed tears of joy in her handkerchief when everyone’s heads were turned away. Immediately after the funeral, she was appointed High Seat of House Ghayth.