| Marya Aurelac de Maar Sul | |
| |
| Profile | |
| Status: | Dead |
| Age: | Very, very old |
| Race: | Human |
| Gender: | Female |
| Class: | Rogue |
| Nation: | |
| Faction: | True Aurelac |
| Era: | |
Marya Aurelac de Maar Sul was the widow of the deceased Kagetsu I. She was on Kagetsu's side during the War of the Andain and was given the gift of immortality. She lived on through millennia even after her husband's death, and plotted in secret with Oswald Flynn in the Third Age. She taught Oswald all she knew and twisted him in order to restore the glory of Maar Sul. However, the pain of all the bad deeds she had done was eventually too much for her to bear, and she poisoned herself in order to join her husband in the afterlife.
Biography[]
Early Years[]
Life as an Immortal[]
- "There's only one thing that matters to me right now. I want you to live. No matter what. Live."
- —Kagetsu I to Marya
Kagetsu and Marya fell in love at some point and got married in Ancient Maar Sul. She participated in the War of the Andain in the First Age on her husband's side. Kagetsu was betrayed in a decisive battle during the war, however, and the enemies led by Taliesin reached their airship, the M.S.S. Pandora.
Kagetsu, realizing that all hope was lost, made Marya immortal and sent her away from battle while ordering her to live on no matter what happened. Marya could do nothing to save her husband who was defeated and sealed into a stone by Taliesin apparently for all eternity. Marya later recovered Kagetsu's sword Dokubaraken but never used it.
Marya spent the following millennia as a wandering prostitute. She was sad to see nations fall all around her. She was also forced to move constantly from one city and nation to another before people began suspecting why she did not age. Marya often wondered if this was the life that her husband had wanted for her, but she was a strong-willed woman and continued to live on just as Kagetsu had asked her to. She secretly hoped that one day she could figure out how to meet with Kagetsu again because she could feel in her heart that he was still alive somewhere out there.
She found some solace when Arnaud Lain hired her to look after his son, Rhys Lain. Arnaud was the son of Sydney Losstarot and was killed later on, and Marya fled with young Rhys. She took care of the boy with the money she had received from Arnaud and could thus live without having to work as a prostitute.
She hoped to turn Rhys into a good man; in her view the sins of the father did not have to repeat in the life of the son. Although Rhys did some bad things in his early life, Marya looked after him and eventually revealed that he was the grandson of Sydney. She gave Dokubaraken to Rhys and wished him luck as the young man left her to seek his destiny.
Marya's money ran out, and she began working as a prostitute again for several decades as she wandered from city to city. She was overjoyed when she felt Kagetsu's aura during the Manster Rebellion in the Second Age. It turned out Kagetsu had been revived by Leon Alcibiates. Marya immediately hurried to her husband's side on a ship all the way from Augustia. Their reunion was joyful although Kagetsu was trapped in his wolf form and was forced to work with Yurius. When Yurius was sealed in the Second Banishment, the bond between Kagetsu and Leon was finally broken and Kagetsu could take his human form.
Arawn Losstarot War[]
- "I know it's Losstarot's, but after the last war, when I lived out here on my own, I raised an orphaned descendant of Sydney Losstarot named Rhys Lain. Rhys was a good man, Kagetsu. I passed Dokubaraken on to him, and he did it honour. The sins of the father don't necessarily live on in the child..."
- "If you wish to bear this child, then bear it. I do not care who the father is, we will raise it as our own. What makes a person who they are is the environment in which they live."
- —Marya and Kagetsu I about Arawn Losstarot's child
Marya helped Kagetsu rebuild and strengthen Maar Sul on the border of Verdane during the Arawn Losstarot War. Other nations were busy dealing with the growing threat of Arawn Losstarot so Kagetsu and Marya could work without many interruptions. Marya established an intricate spy network and thus managed to gain valuable information on all fronts.
When Marya heard of Arawn Losstarot, she assumed that Arawn, as a descendant of Sydney, would have Dokubaraken which she had once given to Rhys, an earlier descendant of Sydney. Since Kagetsu desired the sword to oppose Taliesin, he and Marya travelled to Palanthas in Augustia to talk to Arawn and ask him to trade Dokubaraken to them. However, Arawn did not have Dokubaraken at the time, but Kagetsu and Marya were unaware of this.
Things turned for the worse when Arawn kidnapped Marya in order to prevent Kagetsu from allying with the forces of the Grand Alliance. Arawn took Marya to his fortress where he raped and beat her repeatedly day after day. The days of captivity deeply traumatized Marya.
Raistlin II managed to rescue Marya some time later after he had forced Kagetsu to swear an oath to join the Alliance once Marya was safe. Kagetsu and Marya had a tearful reunion which turned sour when Marya later told Kagetsu that she was pregnant with Arawn's child. However, Marya wanted to keep the child because it reminded her of Rhys and she wanted to raise the child to become a good person. Kagetsu agreed and promised that they would raise the child, who would have the surname Foundling, as their own.
Unfortunately the family time that Marya so craved never came to pass. Arawn grew stronger every day by tapping power from Mardük, and Kagetsu and the Grand Alliance were forced to act. The armies of these two factions clashed in a decisive battle at Lea Monde. Kagetsu had to use the power of all the living Andain and even his own power and that of Krystallopyr to defeat Arawn. This resulted in the Explosion which shattered Krystallopyr, created the Innate Abilities and killed Arawn and every Andain, including Kagetsu.
Marya survived the Explosion and raised her child, the Foundling, as her own in the early years of the Third Age. The Foundling eventually had children who spread around the world, and one such line would breed Glaurung and Hannibal Losstarot. Marya, however, never quite recovered from Kagetsu's death. Because of the gift of immortality she would live forever, but she saw a life without Kagetsu a waste. This despair slowly turned her into a cold, machiavellian person.
Distreyd Era[]
Marya appeared occasionally in Maar Sul City although she always kept her presence hidden. She did not seem to participate in the Great War, at least not openly. Only a select few people knew that she was still alive; most people assumed that she had died in the Explosion like her husband and the other Andain.
She used the chaos of the Great War to her advantage and kidnapped the infant Geraden Aurelac and raised him as her pawn. She helped him recover the Book of Ofuchi from Tes Pellaria. The book would later be given to Wolfsbane, but Marya continued teaching Geraden with the Book of Kagetsu.
Godslayer Era[]
Echoes of War[]
- "Again? You know I can't actually cast any of these spells. What's the point?"
- "What's the point in learning anything? If you wait until after you need it to learn anything, you're going to wind up dead."
- —Oswald Flynn and Marya
As Geraden grew, he eventually took the identity of a fallen soldier named Oswald Flynn because it was not time for him to reveal his true, royal heritage yet. He and Marya acted behind the scenes in Port Dunross and indirectly guided Wolfsbane who in turn influenced and manipulated Andrei Pronin and the Proninist Party. They planned to use the chaos in Maar Sul that had been caused by the Proninist Party in 1017 AE to destabilize the Maar Sulais government. This would then give them an opportunity to dethrone the current king, Gerard Aurelac, who they saw unfit to rule Maar Sul.
However, Wolfsbane only ever saw Oswald during the meetings; Marya kept herself hidden but always observed the conversations between Oswald and Wolfsbane from the shadows. To her those two people were nothing more than pawns. She also made Oswald study spells from the Book of Kagetsu. Although Oswald complained that he could never cast any of the spells, Marya insisted that the knowledge of those spells would be useful in the long run.
A Crimson Dawn[]
- "Oswald, you know what you have to do if you wish my...assistance. With any matters...great or small."
- —Marya to Oswald Flynn
At some point Marya and Oswald began a relationship. Although Oswald seemed to really be in love with her, Marya only used his feelings for her own gain. In her mind no one could ever replace her dear Kagetsu. Besides, Marya had spent many hundreds of years as a prostitute, so such action was only natural to her.
Marya and Oswald even ordered Wolfsbane to assassinate Glaurung Losstarot, the leader of the Crimson Coalition in Libaterra, whom they saw as a threat to their plans. The assassination attempt failed, however, and Marya and Oswald had to adapt and let Glaurung live for the time being while their forces were gathering their strength around Port Dunross.
The Winds of Wrath[]
When news of Gerard's disappearance spread, Marya realized that the time to act had to be now. She appeared in public in Port Dunross to prepare everything for the time when Oswald would finally reveal his true identity as Geraden Aurelac. She found Colonel Mikhail Gorbachev who was the leading the Proninist Party in the port city and was surprised by how much the man resembled the long-dead Lassiter Silverbranch. She shook her thoughts aside, jabbed Gorbachev in the neck with a poison ampoule hidden in her hand and quickly hurried away.
Marya was certain that Geraden could take care of things from now on: she had taught him all he needed to know. Her purpose was finished. As she entered a dark room hidden from view, it was as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders for the first time in the many, many years that she had been alive.
Death[]
- "Kagetsu, I'm coming."
- —Marya's last words
For the first time in decades, Marya let down the defenses she had built up, and allowed herself to grieve for all of the awful things she had done to get to this point. They had been necessary--still were necessary--but it did not make them any less terrible. At the core, she was still Marya, still the woman who had married Kagetsu so many years ago. She still remembered young Rhys, and felt a swelling of pride when she thought of his younger years.
She wept for all of the innocent Maar Sulais she had killed and all of those who would die because of what she had done. Most of all, she wept for Geraden. She had destroyed his childhood, corrupted him, made him take the identity of Oswald Flynn and forced him to learn magics what would kill him if he ever used them. She wept because she knew that he would probably have to use that magic before the denouement.
There, alone in the darkened room, drowning in grief, Marya noticed that her ampoule was not yet empty. She thought about Oswald and realized he did not need her anymore. She felt like she needed him, but she knew that was just a longing for Kagetsu to return. She found a vein and slipped the ampoule in, left it until all of the poison was gone. She was eager to join her husband in the afterlife.
At last, Marya Aurelac de Maar Sul knew peace.
Aliases and Nicknames[]
- Marya
- Most people knew her just by her first name. Few knew of her connections to Kagetsu I.
Appearance[]
Marya's appearance has changed over the years, but she recently had blonde hair and wore dark clothes.
Personality and Traits[]
Originally Marya was a kind and caring person with undeniable charm and wit. However, as the years went by after Kagetsu death, she turned into a cold, machiavellian person who began seeing people as pawns.
Powers and Abilities[]
Marya had never been particularly powerful as a warrior or a mage, but she possessed great knowledge and intelligence which she had gained over thousands of years.
Relationships[]
Arawn Losstarot[]
Marya was unsure of Kagetsu's willingness to use Arawn, and her fears proved to be true when Arawn kidnapped Marya and raped her. Marya came to fear Arawn who exceeded her power, but despite her hatred and fear of the man, she still wanted to give their child a chance to live a normal life.
Arnaud Lain[]
Marya became the nanny of Arnaud's son Rhys. She was grateful that Arnaud had shown her kindness by taking her out of the prostitution business and giving her a proper job. Arnaud eventually turned to darkness, and Marya could do nothing to stop his fall and eventual death.
Kagetsu Aurelac de Maar Sul[]
Marya and Kagetsu I loved each other dearly. It went so far that Kagetsu was unwilling to end the world if it meant that he would live without Marya on his side. Kagetsu's death affected Marya badly and eventually twisted her from the once compassionate woman into a machiavellian monster.
Oswald Flynn[]
Marya became Oswald's mentor and made him study. She also manipulated Oswald by using his emotions against him, and Oswald fell for it. Although Oswald cared for Marya deeply, Marya only saw Oswald as a pawn in the greater scheme of things to restore her dear Kagetsu's Maar Sul to what it once was.
Rhys Lain[]
Marya raised Rhys when the boy's parents died. Although she knew that he was a descendant of Losstarot, she wanted to give him a chance. She eventually gave Dokubaraken to Rhys, encouraging him to choose his own path. She reminded him that he did not have to do the same mistakes that Arnaud and Sydney had done. Her time with Rhys also made her want to keep Arawn's child who she saw in a similar predicament as Rhys had once been in.