Café de Nuit

I was just reading through the Book of Sorrows when I began to wonder; who is Elena Faithhold? What sins did she commit to earn her mantle as Darklord? How did she go from, presumably, an actual paladin into a blindly murderous fanatic? How is she tormented in her land of Nidalia? And what steps do the Dark Powers take to prevent their little toy from slipping her leash?

That's a hell of a lady.... but you seem to know the basics already.
She's detailed in Darklords, I think, and basically her sins are to be devoted to the extreme... like an inquisitor which allows people no freedom in their interpreation of Belenus's will and ends up warping good into evil.

Think Spanish inquisition and you probably have it. But then again, though I do love the concept, I never found a way to integrate her in my late campaign so never read much about her.

I think she probably deserves it, though.

No, she's not in Darklords; Ebonbane is, though, who shares part of her Cluster.

She's in Islands of Terror.

Elena Faithhold is the Darklord of the domain Nidala. Nidala is part of the shadowlands cluster.

Nidala

Nidala borders Avonleigh on the west and is ruled by the fallen paladin Elena Faith-hold. A fanatical follower of Belenus, she enforces her interpretation of Belenus's will upon the population through Decrees of Faith, which have forbidden many activities, and she uses a network of informants to root out those who defy her will and has then publicly punished. Only the threat of Banemaw, an evil dragon, keeps Faith-hold in power, although Banemaw's existence is doubted.

Elena has discovered that Ebonbane is held within Shadowborn Manor, but is unable to reach it. Her descent into irredeemability is quickened by her chaplain Theokos, in reality a Gelugon (an insectile greater Baatezu Devil). Theokos is detailed in the Book of Sorrows pdf netbook at www.kargatane.com.



Shadowborn Manor

Shadowborn Manor is a lesser domain contained within Nidala, domain of the deluded, fallen paladin, Elena Faithhold. Shadowborn Manor is a fragment of Elena's homeworld, the former house of someone she respected. Now, it is a prison of a monstrous, spiritual entity so powerful and evil that demons fear it. This is the cursed sword called the Ebonbane, the artifact that sparked the bloody War of Faith that saw to Elena's downfall. Within the manor it is death to bring any sword or dagger, as the Ebonbane can control these with a thought. The Knights of the Circle, a resistance group dedicated to seeing Elena overthrown, enter Shadowborn Manor once a year to complete a special ritual, which ensures that the Ebonbane remains locked inside the crystal coffin that is used to keep it dormant.

Some links:
Recommended reading for the Shadowlands cluster
Domain of the Month: Shadowlands
John Mangrum's 3E stats for Elena Faithhold in the Ravenloft Darklords thread on gleemax

The Giamarga wrote:Elena Faithhold is the Darklord of the domain Nidala. Nidala is part of the shadowlands cluster.

Nidala

Nidala borders Avonleigh on the west and is ruled by the fallen paladin Elena Faith-hold. A fanatical follower of Belenus, she enforces her interpretation of Belenus's will upon the population through Decrees of Faith, which have forbidden many activities, and she uses a network of informants to root out those who defy her will and has then publicly punished. Only the threat of Banemaw, an evil dragon, keeps Faith-hold in power, although Banemaw's existence is doubted.

Elena has discovered that the Shadowbane is held within Shadowborn Manor, but is unable to reach it. Her descent into irredeemability is quickened by her chaplain Theokos, in reality a Gelugon (an insectile greater Baatezu Devil). Theokos is detailed in the Book of Sorrows pdf netbook at www.kargatane.com.

Isn't it Ebonbane instead of Shadowbane? Or then, who is this Shadowbane character?

You're right, it's Ebonbane. So much for copy pasting from internet sources...

Elena's full story is in Islands of Terror, but in brief, her descent from paladin to fanatic was a combination of hubris, overzelousness, and blind following of bad advice. After several true successes in fighting evil, she began to take her people's hero-worship of her to heart. As most of them switched from worshiping a pantheon to solely worshiping Belenus as she did, the zealots among the Belenus priesthood convinced her that those who didn't convert were evil and she listened, wiping out the "nonbelievers" then she just kept going, searching to purge those who weren't pure enough, and as her bodycount grew, the pickings grew slimmer, and her threshold for evil had to get lower and lower. That caused the Mists to snatch her up. For a while, she roamed Ravenloft alone, "testing" each town she came across. She'd sit and observe for a day, and if she saw more evil than good, would destroy the town and everyone in it. Since by fate she always picked the seediest part of town, she was never "dissappointed" in finding evil. 10 burned towns later, she earned darklordship.

She's tormented in a few ways. Firstly, she still has to root out "evil" in her populace because no one is good enough for her. Second, her detect evil power has been warped into "detect strong feelings toward herself", so anyone who truly hates her shows up as evil, but so does anyone who truly loves or admires her. And Thirdly, one a week, her guilt catches up to her and compels her to ride out at midnight in tears begging forgiveness until she collapses, falls asleep, and forgets it by morning. Also, she's right next to the phantasmal forest, where the evil of Ebonbane is encroaching on her lands.

I don't think Elena's in much true danger of slipping her leash. Disregarding her weekly breakdowns, she's too convinced of the rightness of her actions to truly repent. As long as she continues to believe that she's right, she has no reason to turn from her path. In my campaign, I've decided to use Theokos in that role, not to tempt her into evil, but to reassure her that she's doing good.

Thanks, Ron, as I had never read her story fully. But I find that weekly moonlight ride both alluring and weak. I don't feel there is enough conflict within her and if she forgets everything that happens on those rides, they truly have no use, it seems. If she could somehow be tormented by that memory and by the doubt about what she is doing...

And Thirdly, one a week, her guilt catches up to her and compels her to ride out at midnight in tears begging forgiveness until she collapses, falls asleep, and forgets it by morning.

Wouldn't it be better if she did not forget by morning? Rather she is always plagued by guilt for all the suffering she has caused, but her blind obsession prevents her from backing down ... she truly believes that those who do not follow her god are damned and the only way to save them is to either purge them or convert them. She has long since lost the ability to hear from her god, but her own obsession convinces her she is being driven onward whenever she prays. If there were another option she'd take it, but she can't find one and every time she thinks she has she is proven wrong. If she could forsake her responsibility she would, but there is no one but her to carry the flame of her faith forward - tormenting though it is.

In my RL I am seriously thinking of letting Elena loose in the core, rather than binding her to a tiny domain. This would bring something of a "crusades/knights templar" element to the core as well as providing A. another wandering threat to heroes and lands alike, and B. a means by which to include her in the game other than sucking pcs off to her domain.

As to why her little crusade wouldn't simply get killed off - she herself is a wandering lord, so cannot be held by border closings. Additionally she is always finding new people to fill the ranks of her cause because her obsesive personality attracts like minded and bloodthirsty people who join merely as a means to hold and claim power over others - pillaging and raping their way through "hethan" lands.

Be fun to see what happens when she runs into Drakov.

I did a post on tieing the Shadowlands to the Core a while back, Jack, and largely for the same reasons. I think Elena's just a bit too cool not to use, and her presence would make the Core's political jumble a little more chaotic.

It would also be interesting to connect her to Tepest, as there seems to already be an inquisition there. How would two inquisitions of different gods deal with each other?

By the way, the name Theokos intrigues me a lot. It looks distinctly greek, and is so near to Theotokos that I had to look it up to be sure it was not the title for the 'Mother of God' used in the Orthodox church. Can any of the Greek-speaking people on these boards enlighten me as to if 'Theokos' means anything in Greek?

So that we can know if there's any hidden wordplay with his name and Elena's god.

Ail wrote:It would also be interesting to connect her to Tepest, as there seems to already be an inquisition there. How would two inquisitions of different gods deal with each other?

The Nidalan and Tepestani inquisitions are both inspired by Belenus. Makes this idea even more do-able.

Dr Bloodworth wrote:

Ail wrote:It would also be interesting to connect her to Tepest, as there seems to already be an inquisition there. How would two inquisitions of different gods deal with each other?

The Nidalan and Tepestani inquisitions are both inspired by Belenus. Makes this idea even more do-able.

Lol, what is it that Belenus has that makes him so likable to these zealot would-be tyrants?