ANARI
The Erudite Prodigy
Anari’s world was full of magic, where arcane secrets and ancient artifacts held untold power, and she had the keen wit to use them. As a young woman of noble birth, her life was anything but ordinary due to her mixed heritage. It made her an object of fascination and controversy in finer society. And yet, despite the challenges, she refused to be defined by the scorn and was determined to make her mark on the world, no matter what obstacles lay in her way.
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Anarien Echarion of Pharos, known as Anari among her peers, comes from a noble Helrin family. She was born on the idyllic isle of Pharos with a magical pedigree that would make any arcanist green with envy.
Her father, Echaron, was a Helrin with an esteemed lineage, and her mother a Tenrin commoner. Together they kindled in her a love for the arcane arts that burned bright from an early age. With a remarkable talent for both fire and water magic, Anari’s parents knew they had a prodigy on their hands. They encouraged her to pursue her passion at the prestigious Hireian College in the capital of Heliopolis – a scientific institution of Artificers, Gliphscribes, Weavers, and other researchers of the arcane arts located in the heart of the Heliopolis citadel.
Yet, Anari’s quest for knowledge was not without its complications . . .
Anari’s identity as a person of mixed heritage was a perpetual source of conflict for her. Despite her Helrin father’s standing, the upper echelons of Heliopolis society were not always hospitable to those who defied conventional standards. Nonetheless, she became a valued member of the College and an accomplished innovator, earning the title of Weaver well before her peers.
She made several discoveries, including creating her own Arcane Monocle, which allowed her to see a glimpse of the immediate future.
Anari’s character during her adolescence and young adulthood was unmistakable; her stalwart spirit caught the attention of all those around her. But this, along with her accomplishments and ancestry, was a double-edged sword. Her wit often made her a sought-after voice for the House of Hireia and the College, putting her even more at odds with the zealous members of society who could not reconcile their conservative opinions of her. Being present at many gatherings of the main houses, she saw the deep-seated ideological differences between the scholastic and the pious sides of Helion vying for influence and authority in the Citadel and the Expeditionary Force.
Her command over fire and water magic made her a force to be reckoned with, and her strategic mind made her an indispensable asset to the League. She was noticed by the House of Hairon and earned a coveted place in the prestigious Expeditionary Force, following her father’s footsteps, who was the Force’s ambassador in the Sand Kingdoms at the time. Despite her competence, the conservative factions continued to view her as a half-Helrin, thus prohibiting her entry into the Small Council and other inner positions. As a compromise and to keep her away from Council, they made her a helian envoy to the Adventurer’s Guild.
Just as she was coming to grips with her new post, conferring the League’s requests to the Guild and supervising the Guild’s efficacy on her voyages, she was stationed in the Empire of Soga.
Despite being stationed so far away from home, she worked diligently to build alliances in the courts of the Empire, undoubtedly a formidable challenge, given the Empire’s reputation for distrust towards Rin.
The threat of the Oni raids was escalating rapidly during her time there, now endangering the entire north of the Empire. The Guild managed to persuade the Soga court into action.
Under the League and the Guild banners, Anari was posted as an observer in the northmost war camps readying their plans and forces to attack the Oni.
Her task was to assess the necessity for the Force’s intervention, but soon, she would get caught in a precarious situation…
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