The Fate of Castle Berubiam [DnD 5e] [Horror] [Apocalyptic] [Closed]

[Caitlin]

The Fate of Castle Berubiam – D&D 5e story

The Fate of Castle Berubiam (IC)

A dark vortex has appeared on top of Castle Berubiam several weeks ago, darkening the skies even during the day. A week after the vortex’ original appearance, a group of six heroes had set out to investigate the castle, but none of their members returned while the vortex has continuously grown in strength.

Over the course of the past weeks, the number of mysterious occurrences has increased; people and cattle have gone missing while isolated farms have been reduced to ashes, their inhabitants torn apart, and no trace of who was behind the attack. In the past weeks, rumors of undead horrors who feast on the blood of men and animals alike have started to spread, putting even more fear into the population. Several brave men who investigated these rumors found nothing else but soulless and dismembered bodies, indeed drained of their blood.

Several dozen refugees from Shroudhallow have recently arrived in Grimedale, consisting mostly out of women, children, elderly, and cattle. The ones that aren’t in shock, speak of unimaginable horrors. People generally don’t fear magic since it can do a lot of good in the right hands, however, one old woman spoke with a haunted voice of a dark ritual she witnessed before she succumbed to her wounds. The majority of the men from Shroudhallow stayed behind to defend their village, although the situation was already grim when the refugees fled.

To make matters worse, the once safe road between Grimedale and Shroudhallow is now also infested with raiding war bands and bandits alike, making the journey all the more dangerous. The villains have robbed several families of their possessions and cattle, leaving them in poverty. The refugees reported that they fled into the forests along with their loot, leaving the traumatized families behind.

The mayors of five nearby villages came together and decided it was for the best to form a new group of talented adventurers who are brave enough to venture forth.

You are one of the villagers who has volunteered to investigate this threat while those who will stay behind will gather their forces to combat this threat. Will you be able to save the castle residents and find out what happened to the first group? Will you discover what happened inside the castle, or will you die in a vain attempt to get these questions answered?

Villages
There are seven villages in the nearby vicinity of the castle, which lies to the east of all the villages. The farthest village away from the Castle Berubiam is Westfall while the closest village is Berubiam. The other villages are called Brittleburgh, Arrowhost, Lakefield, Grimedale, and Shroudhallow.

Village details

Westfall
A bustling village in the west of the county. This county has a lot of surrounding farms and active trading economy with the other villages. Westfall also holds the largest church.
Population: 715
Races: Human (60%), Half-Elf (20%), Dwarf (9%), Elf (4%), Halfing (3%), Half-Orc (2%), Gnome (1%), Dragonborn (0.5%), Tiefling (0.5%)
General alignment: Lawful Neutral
Distance to Castle Berubiam: 3 days by foot
Description: Westfall is the final city before leaving the county. The next closest village is five days away. Westfall is known for its industry, in particular stone masonry and blacksmithing. The best armors in the region are made in Westfall. The village is also known for its trading and hosts a market three times a week. The largest cathedral in the country is hosted in Westfall and many of the clerics and paladins receive their training here. Next to the cathedral, there is also a monastery, which teaches several monk traditions.

Brittleburgh
Population: 428
Races: Dwarf (45%), Human (15%), Half-Orc (10%), Dragonborn (9%), Tiefling (6%), Gnome (6%), Halfling (5%), Half-Elf (3.5%), Elf (0.5%)
General alignment: Lawful Good
Distance to Castle Berubiam: 2.5 days by foot
Description: Like most dwarven cities, Brittleburgh is hosted inside a mountain. The majority of the population consists out of dwarfs, although other races also found a home here. There are however, surprisingly little elves, who prefer to live with a sky above them rather than rock. Brittleburgh is known for its weapon crafting, the best swords, axes, and maces are forged in this city. The dwarfs are also very proud of a particular ale they brew here; a very dark and bitter beer. The other races prefer different ales, however. Brittleburgh has a surprisingly high number of fighters who come here to train and test the new weaponry that the dwarves forge. Barbarians have also taken a liking to Brittleburgh and can frequently be found here, although barbarians can come from any village, or rather the lands that surround the villages.

Arrowhost
Population: 264
Races: Elf (50%), Half-Elf (23%), Human (11%), Gnome (6%), Dragonborn (5%), Halfling (4%), Tiefling (1%)
General alignment: Chaotic Good
Distance to Castle Berubiam: 2 days by foot
Description: Arrowhost lies deep within the forests and has hunting grounds that stretch all the way to the sea in the east and the river to the north. It’s home to the largest wood elven population in the kingdom of Berubiam. Several high elves live here as well, although they mostly prefer to live in the other villages. Arrowhost is famous for its bows and arrows, although one can also find the loveliest elven poems, music, and dance here. The druids in the kingdom have their own circle here and one of the village’s districts belongs exclusively to them. It is also due to the druids that the trees in and around Arrowhost are even healthier than the other trees in the forest. Next to druids, one can also find a lot of rangers in Arrowhost, who assist the druids with their tasks and who provide food for the village.

Lakefield
Population: 317
Races: Halfling (30%), Gnome (24%), Dwarf (14%) Tiefling (9%), Half-Orc (8%), Dragonborn (6%), Human (4%), Half-Elf (3%), Elf (2%)
General alignment: Lawful Good
Distance to Castle Berubiam: 2 days by foot
Description: Lakefield is the only village with docks that allow for trade with far away villages and even different countries. The village is best known for its many taverns and joyful population. There live surprisingly few humans in this village. The majority of the humans that do live here, however, work for the crown and either collect taxes or are part of the highest ranks of the city guard. Lakefield is one of the most peaceful villages in general with only Arrowhost possibly being even more peaceful. Lakefield is also home to several bard schools and the majority of the bards start their education here.

Grimedale
Population: 384
Races: Human (40%), Dwarf (20%), Half-Orc (14%), Dragonborn (8%), Tiefling (6%), Halfling (5%), Gnome (3%), Half-Elf (3%), Elf (1%)
General alignment: Neutral Good
Distance to Castle Berubiam: 2.5 days by foot
Description: Like Westfall, Grimedale is home to three markets a week. It’s the central trading hub for the region and many of the goods that originally arrive in Westfall and Lakefield, find their way to Grimedale next. Unfortunately, the village also deals with the highest crime rate. An infamous syndicate has a hand in a lot of the dealings. It should not come as a surprise that many rogues find this to be an excellent village to further their training. Grimedale also hosts at least one known warlock, but due to their nature, most warlocks don’t make their presence known and like sorcerers they could come from any village.

Shroudhallow
Population: 253 (current population unknown)
Races: Human (60%), Half-Elf (14%), Elf (10%), Dwarf (5%), Halfling (4%), Gnome (3%), Dragonborn (2%), Half-Orc (1%), Tiefling (1%)
General alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Distance to Castle Berubiam: 1 day by foot
Description: Originaly, Shroudhallow was nothing more but a stopping point with several inns for travelers and merchants on their way to Berubiam and Castle Berubiam, however, as the years passed, more people settled down in the village. The village gets most of its income of the travelers that are just passing through and was until recently a quiet and peaceful village.

Berubiam
Population: 604 (current population unknown)
Races: Human (50%), Half-Elf (15%), Dwarf (10%), Elf (6%), Halfling (7%), Gnome (5%), Dragonborn (4%), Half-Orc (2%), Tiefling (1%)
General alignment: Lawful Neutral
Distance to Castle Berubiam: half an hour by foot
Description: Berubiam is the capital city of the Berubiam Kingdom and the second-largest village in this region, with only Westfall being larger. It’s best known for its grand library and university, which are both quite a sight to behold. Most of the villagers exist out of castle staff, soldiers, and their families. The majority of the wizards in the country chose to study at the university of Berubiam to further their education.

Berubiam Castle
Population: 450 (current population unknown)
Races: Human (45%), Half-Elf (15%), Dwarf (10%), Elf (10%), Halfling (7%), Gnome (4%), Dragonborn (4%), Half-Orc (3%), Tiefling (2%)
General alignment: Lawful Neutral
Description: Berubiam Castle is the seat of power for the king and queen. The king maintains a garrison of several hundred men, which he can dispatch on a moment’s notice to deal with problems inside the kingdom. He has other garrisons housed near the borders, which also fall under his direct command, to keep the country safe from invading forces. Berubiam Castle also houses the finest artifacts and is the cultural center of the kingdom. It is also the place where he speaks justice and condemns criminals, also it is rare for the king to do so himself; usually he lets his three judges handle this.

Rules
-   At least three posts a week, preferably with no more than three days in between two posts at most.
-   Be active. I understand that real life comes first, but if your character is inactive for a week in real life, then the DM will take over your character to play its actions so that the group as a whole isn’t slowed down. If you’re still inactive after another week, then your character will either be replaced or is transferred to somebody else who’d like to play it. Either way, please announce inactivity beforehand as much as possible so we can work something out.
-   The story will run for about three months in real life, after which we decide if we want to run a follow up campaign. It’s my preference to run several ‘short’ campaigns with closed endings over one long campaign with an indefinite ending. In my experience, such games fail more often than not from eventual inactivity, which generally happens at the three month mark.
-   Be respectful to each other, no OOC drama.
-   No PvP among the PC’s.
-   No stealing from party members.
-   Teamwork in general is necessary; it’s a dark scary world out there as it is.
-   You gain experience points for resolving encounters, you can do this without killing everything in sight. (I keep track of the experience points earned and will announce in the OOC chat when the team leveled up.)
-   Rolling a natural 1 or 20 on skill checks doesn’t mean automatic failure or success, this is up to the DC. However, a natural 1 or 20 attack roll does mean an automatic miss or critical hit.
-   DM attack rolls are always made in private, we’re using dicebot for our rolls.
-   Should a hero be replaced (either through permanent death or inactivity), then the new character will start at the same level as the old one, equipment and gold for that character will be determined at the time. I’m not out to kill characters (quite the opposite), but I won’t protect people from their own stupidity either. The Critical Role fans among you might recall how Keylith jumped off a 1000 feet cliff and turned into a goldfish while proclaiming that she was a god. Yeah, don’t do that. ;)
-   This game will be posted in the Extreme – Small Groups forum
-   Last but certainly not least, this game is meant to be fun for everyone involved. I hope that the rules above will help us keep it fun everybody. If you have questions or don’t agree with something, then let me know though. I’m only human and I’m bound to make mistakes, which I’m more than willing to fix.

I would like to have a very active campaign going for a set period in real life to conclude the story. There is a lot more story available after the current campaign, but I’d like to cut a long campaign up in a series of shorter ones. How many of the story arcs we’ll be able to complete depends on the progress that is made. If you doubt that you can be as active as stated in the first rules, then please don’t join. Naturally, I will show leniency if you can’t always make the first rule and there will be a break during the holiday season, but I expect the people who sign up to stick to those rules otherwise. I hope to offer an interesting, fun, and active game for those of you who decide to join.

Character Creation

Character creation
-   All characters start at level 1 and we’re using myth-weavers for character sheets
-   We’re using 27 point buy stats for stat distribution
-   All PHB races are allowed
-   Races typically give stat bonuses to certain points, you’re free to distribute these points as you see fit as long as it doesn’t surpass the original bonus. For example, if you have a racial that gives you +2 STR then you may also put that in +2 WIS. If you have +2 DEX and +1 CHA, then you may put those points in +2 INT and +1 CON, but not +3 INT or +1 STR/ +1 INT/ +1 CON. The idea behind this is that you can play the race you want to play and still be able to optimize your character.
-   All PHB classes are allowed (+ UA ranger, if anyone decides to play a ranger)
-   All PHB feats plus UA feats on this link are allowed, but not the feats from other sources on that site
-   Only PHB spells and abilities are allowed
-   All PHB backgrounds are allowed (you’re free to pick any combination of 2 skills and 2 tools, or 2 skills, 1 tool, and 1 additional language even if it doesn’t fit with the original background, the background feats still need to be PHB though)
-   The myth-weavers.com sheet doesn't feature any place to put your Hit Dice in. Please add this to the last row of the Weapons/ Attack section of your sheet, below your weapons. You can type 'Hit dice' in the column Weapon (Type/Range) and put your Hit Dice in column Attack in the format of 1d10/1d10. If you use a Hit Die, then please update this to 0d10/1d10 (naturally, use the hit dice that your class supplies you with, the d10 is an example).
-   We’re using the normal encumber rules, meaning you can carry your Strength score x 15 before becoming encumbered.
-   All alignments are allowed for all classes
-   All characters are 18+
-   All characters are locals and come from one of the five villages that aren’t under siege (Westfall, Lakefield, Grimedale, Arrowhost, or Brittleburgh). You may have been born in or studied at the other two villages or the castle though.
-   You all have at least 1 direct living family member (father, mother, brother, sister, son, or daughter), of course more is allowed and encouraged
-   All characters already know each other from the past, even if it’s just superficial, and got better acquainted in the past day

Characters purchase their starting equipment with the following gold:
Barbarian: 85 GP
Bard: 120 GP
Cleric: 155 GP
Druid: 90 GP
Fighter: 225 GP
Monk: 55 GP
Paladin: 230 GP
Ranger: 145 GP
Rogue: 125 GP
Sorcerer: 80 GP
Warlock: 145 GP
Wizard: 130 GP

You also all get the explorer’s backpack as a bonus. You’re free to purchase the contents of an additional backpack if that fits better with your background. The villages’ mayors have also supplied the group with a donkey, a cart to put your equipment on, and enough animal feed for the coming twenty days. In addition to the donkey and cart, the group also receives a single healer’s kit and an additional twenty rations and water skins to distribute among any refugees you might encounter on the way.

Any unspent gold goes into your pouch for later use. We’re ignoring the starting equipment from backgrounds and classes, you can use your gold to purchase it. Please note the value of your items on the character sheet; it saves me a big deal of trouble. :-)
If you have more equipment than what fits on the sheet, please note it down in the Other Notes section of the character sheet from myth-weavers.

Deities

Deities
They deities don’t meddle with the affairs of mortals, leaving them to their own devices. Those who worship a specific deity, however, can have their pick from one of the following;

Bokam – God of Knowledge (Lawful Good)
Levain – God of Life (Neutral Good)
Mistiv – God of Light (Chaotic Good)
Dormir – God of Death (Lawful Neutral)
Tusim – God of Nature (Neutral)
Stodar – God of Tempest (Chaotic Neutral)
Orgav – God of War (Lawful Evil)
Zillim – God of Sickness (Neutral Evil)
Goghim – God of Trickery (Chaotic Evil)
The nine gods create balance to the world and although they don’t actively meddle with the affairs of mortals, they all seek out to further their agenda and pull their strings behind the fabric of the weave.

Stixgrath – Great Old One (alignment unknown)
Stixgrath is the only Great Old One who survived the test of time. Unfortunately, not much else is known about him.

Note that your personal alignment does not have to match the alignment of your deity.

If you’d like to join, then please post your character sheet along with your background story and a character image for approval. There is space for five to six characters in total, which makes a decent-sized party.

Code Select Expand

[float=right][img height=400 padding=4]<image url here>[/img][/float]
Character name:
Character sheet:
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Background story:

Approved characters

- Dr. Oswald Fullton-Zambreevlevox – Forest Gnome Life Cleric
- Michael Fields – Human (Variant) UA Ranger
- Mia DeWitt - Half-Elf Warlock
- Aryl Starfire – High Elf Fighter
- Alathea von Schatten – Human (Variant) Paladin
- Júlia Karlsen – Human Druid
- Elma Deerhorn - Half-Orc Wizard



We have one open slot for a melee character, allowed classes are Paladin, Fighter, Rogue, Monk, Barbarian, Druid, and Bard. More details are available in this post.

Update: The spot isn't filled yet, but since the current campaign stops at the end of the month, I don't see a point in searching for a new player that'd only join for 1.5 week at most.

[AngelicFaith]

Interested in playing a Gnome Rogue :)
Will need to work out the sheet and background.

[Chulanowa]

Intrigued, with a question; what sort of horror genre are you looking at? I'm getting a high fantasy horror vibe, sorta ring wraiths and dracoliches, but wanna make sure :-)

[Caitlin]

I don't want to give too much away, but I dropped some hints about undead and drinking blood in the original post,. ;)

There is a certain Count who is pretty infamous in D&D and who formed part of the inspiration for this game, although that's also where the similarities end. Ring wraiths and dracoliches have also crossed my mind and may very well end up in the game. Like I said, I hope that I don't give too much away already, but you're on the right track with your thoughts. ;D

[Caitlin]

Oh, I forgot to add this in the original post, but the game will be hosted in the Extreme - Small Groups section of the forums. I've edited the OP with this information as well now.

Naturally, I do expect people to respect each others Ons/Offs, although smut isn't really the main goal of this game anyway.

[towerhouse]

This sounds fun.  I'm interested in playing a Barbarian or a UA Ranger.  I'm flexible in case someone is interested in either one of these classes.

[Chulanowa]

I don't want to give too much away, but I dropped some hints about undead and drinking blood in the original post,. ;)

There is a certain Count who is pretty infamous in D&D and who formed part of the inspiration for this game, although that's also where the similarities end. Ring wraiths and dracoliches have also crossed my mind and may very well end up in the game. Like I said, I hope that I don't give too much away already, but you're on the right track with your thoughts. ;D

Ahhhhh Hah, say no more, I'm in  :-) since the smol rogue seems to be taken already, I'll have to get creative...

[Caitlin]

This sounds fun.  I'm interested in playing a Barbarian or a UA Ranger.  I'm flexible in case someone is interested in either one of these classes.

I'd say create a character that you want to play the most, that generally works out for the best. The people who sign up first have a sort of advantage that way. If somebody else really wants to play that class too then we can either discuss who plays it or I might even end up allowing both characters.

I hope to see a class spread, but in some cases it can be an advantage to have two of one class as well, especially both characters focus on different aspects of that class. A ranged and a melee fighter for example are different enough to allow both if it'd come to it.

[edit]
By the way, depending on how flexible you are, you could actually make both and indicate your first preference. It'd make the mixing and matching easier on my end. It's okay if you don't want to do this though, I know how time consuming making 1 character can be, let alone 2. In general, I personally also get attached to a character after making it, but I figured I'd throw the suggestion in here anyway. :-)

[AndyZ]

Absolutely interested, but not honestly sure what I'll play.

[AngelicFaith]

Ahhhhh Hah, say no more, I'm in  :-) since the smol rogue seems to be taken already, I'll have to get creative...

If you really want to play a rogue, I could pick another class. No problem for me. I have no real preference anyway to be honest.

[Caitlin]

For me as a DM I'd prefer to see a spread in classes/ skills/ tools, etc., but that's more because it'll make it easier on the party as a whole than it does on me. I might end up tweaking the encounters a little bit if we'd get, for example, 5 wizards and 1 warrior, but in the overall picture it probably wouldn't matter much and if the majority of you wanted to play the same class, then I'd say; let's roll with it.

One of the biggest advantages of playing 5e is that it's pretty well balanced across the board. Some classes will probably have bigger benefits in this campaign than other classes do because of their class features, but the campaign can be played without those classes too.

In short; come up with the character you'd love to play and we'll make it fit. I rather see you all being really happy with your race/ class then seeing you switch to something else to reach an optimal set up.

[Chulanowa]

If you really want to play a rogue, I could pick another class. No problem for me. I have no real preference anyway to be honest.

Nah, I always end up playing the little rogue, so this is a nice change of pace  ;D

[Caitlin]

Going out of your comfort zone often makes for the most awesome characters since you have to take a completely new approach to things. Tabletop I played a wizard with our recent one-shots while I generally play a cleric. I found that the wizard is a ton of fun and with a next game I'll either play a wizard or a bard. Those two have a lot in common and both are probably a ton of fun to play in a full-fledged campaign. ;D

[Revelation]

Room for a paladin or perhaps a monk, still?

[Caitlin]

Yup, both options are open. As it is, nobody submitted an actual character yet, just ideas. Even if double classes are submitted, then that won't stop me from picking up both as well.

The only really hard limit I'm having is a max of six characters, but since 5e offers a good balance between classes, even having multiple characters from a single class is okay. I mostly want to see people play the character with the race/ class combo that they really want to play. It's also not a first come first serve basis, if we have enough interested people, but somebody else signs up with an interesting character concept, then that person has as much chance to end up the game as everyone else does. I want to give everybody a fair shot at joining. :-)

[towerhouse]

I'd say create a character that you want to play the most, that generally works out for the best. The people who sign up first have a sort of advantage that way. If somebody else really wants to play that class too then we can either discuss who plays it or I might even end up allowing both characters.

I hope to see a class spread, but in some cases it can be an advantage to have two of one class as well, especially both characters focus on different aspects of that class. A ranged and a melee fighter for example are different enough to allow both if it'd come to it.

[edit]
By the way, depending on how flexible you are, you could actually make both and indicate your first preference. It'd make the mixing and matching easier on my end. It's okay if you don't want to do this though, I know how time consuming making 1 character can be, let alone 2. In general, I personally also get attached to a character after making it, but I figured I'd throw the suggestion in here anyway. :-)

I'm leaning towards the Barbarian.  Is one of the five villages considered a Barbarian village that the character comes from?

[Caitlin]

Aye, Brittleburgh, it's at the end of the description. Barbarians could have come from any village though. The way I envision them is that they grew up on the more isolated farms and live more as hunter/ gatherers as opposed to the more civilized people. If you make an elven barbarian then your home village could be arrowhost and they're already living in the forest anyway.

In general you get a lot of freedom to come up with something, if you take a liking to one of the other villages then I'm sure we can work around that.

To quote from the village section:

Barbarians have also taken a liking to Brittleburgh and can frequently be found here, although barbarians can come from any village, or rather the lands that surround the villages.

[clonkertink]

Oh boy. Yes please. I've PM'd some character details to you. Not sure how well they fit the setting, so I figured I'd wait for feedback before posting anything too official here.

[Caitlin]

I've sent you feedback on those details. :-)

[frost rose]

So, this looks rather neat, and I was wondering if you were still looking for people. I have a couple reasonable concepts floating around and am certainly interested, but it's a fair bit of effort turning that into a workable character, so I wanted to ask before I dove into the work.

[Caitlin]

So far nobody has submitted an actual character yet so it's hard to tell how many characters will be submitted, but with the current interest you stand a very good chance of getting in.

[DeviantMunster]

Ouch. Was glancing over the PHB, and I noticed how nice (at first) it was to give out 135 gp for a paladin. B-but... Just a greatsword and a chain mail total in at 125 gp! Things they'd have gotten with starting equipment. Don't think the great peoples of wizard of the coast really considered rolling for gold for some classes. A bard doesn't have the requirements a fighter/paladin does!

[towerhouse]

So far nobody has submitted an actual character yet so it's hard to tell how many characters will be submitted, but with the current interest you stand a very good chance of getting in.

I’ll send you a sheet soon.

[Caitlin]

Ouch. Was glancing over the PHB, and I noticed how nice (at first) it was to give out 135 gp for a paladin. B-but... Just a greatsword and a chain mail total in at 125 gp! Things they'd have gotten with starting equipment. Don't think the great peoples of wizard of the coast really considered rolling for gold for some classes. A bard doesn't have the requirements a fighter/paladin does!

I took the numbers from another 5e game and you get the Explorer's backpack for free as well, however, I'll have another look at those numbers per class and evaluate them based on the most expensive start equipment each class can get. I'll most likely end up adjusting all those numbers in favor of the players. In general, however,  don't worry too much about.  There will be plenty of opportunity to earn new equipment.

I’ll send you a sheet soon.

I'm looking forward to it. :D

[DeviantMunster]

Character name:  Alathea von Schatten
Character sheet:  https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1372738

Background story:
Equality of principle may exist, yet there are many things one simply has very little control over, including one's birth. Alathea drew an Ace (or the short-stick in some cases), ending up born within the established Schatten family in Westfall. Half dynasty, the roots of her heritage are old; yet only recently thanks to her Grandfather's machinations has her family grown in power, establishing themselves as a trading conglomerate. Dipping their fingers into many a pie, particularly outside the county. Naturally, this has rubbed a number of local nobles the wrong way.

Classically trained and educated, Alathea and her brother were raised with an extra hand of care, particularly thanks to her grandfather's general distrust of her father. Very little time of her childhood was spent with her parents, both too busy with local politics, local trade. Local everything. Their private lives suffering due to it. Unlike her more esteemed brother, she never quite took to the boring scholarly tutalage, though whether from a lack of capacity for such things, or a short attention span is hard to say. Yet a daughter, possessing both youth and accursed beauty did begin to become problematic, especially given her lack of interests in academics. Suitors began to line each birthday, or party that she was forced to join... eventually leading to her fleeing to the church.

Ironically, her parents approved the path - both to lessen the impact of Aurick upon their children, and as a means to make her a bigger 'catch'. Neverthless, she's taken quite well to the ideals, the ideology of the Church. If not necessarily to the scholary teachings.

Alathea loves her family, particularly her brother. Yet there's a constant threat, a constant worry she'll mess things up, lose favor with them - and now, with this dark portal hanging overhead, she's been charged by both the Church and her Family to investigate; likely to increase both's power.