Maeve (Faerie Queen)

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Maeve, a Shee, is the queen of the Seelie Court of the Arak[1]. She is the sister of Loht and daughter of the late Arak the Erlking[1], whom died liberating their people from Gwydion the Sorcerer-Fiend[2]. Since then, Maeve and Loht have collectively led their people for several thousand years in the temporal fugue of the domains of Arak and later the Shadow Rift. Though Loht and Maeve formerly ruled together, events have led to their estrangement, to where they now rule in alternating periods of six months at a time.

When Maeve takes charge of the Shadow Rift, the Malachite Palace is her seat of authority. When Loht takes charge, Maeve either travels the Greenlands or holds court in her her palace in Esmerth[3].

History

Early Years

Maeve and her twin brother Loht were born the first of their kind born as shadow fey[4], although by then the ellefolk had long been enslaved by Gwydion in the Plane of Shadow[5]. Finngalla, mother of the twins, died soon after their birth, leaving Arak to raise them without a mother[4]. Despite this, Maeve enjoyed a charmed life in her youth while being mentored in how to become a proper leader of her people[6]

For centuries the shadow fey obeyed Gwydion's whims, until a chance for escape came. Gwydion commanded the shadow fey to build the Obsidian Gate to allow his travel to worlds outside of the Plane of Shadow. Arak as Gwydion's seneschal oversaw the construction but included an enchantment that would trigger the gate's closer should the Regalia of Arak pass through the side of the destination. Gwydion did battle with the fiend to allow his people to escape, to which Maeve and Loht brought the shadow fey through the Gate and into the Demiplane of Dread. As Gwydion finally directed his attention to the fleeing Shadow Fey, Maeve gathered the Regalia pulled them through the Gate. Gwydion was thus lucked inside the Obsidian Gate[2].

Rule with Loht

With Arak's noble sacrifice, Maeve transitioned from youth to adulthood, where she was determined to find a new place for her people, now calling themselves the Arak after their former leader[7]. A new domain had formed around the Obsidian Gate, the domain also named Arak. In the timeline of the rest of the Core, the year was 575 BC of the domain's formation.

Loht and Maeve ruled the underground realms side by side, though the Arak devoted to Maeve became known as the Seelie Court whereas the Arak devoted to Loht became known as the Unseelie Court[8]. Though the Arak as a whole flourished, Gwydion's subtle but powerful influence and the dark nature of the Demiplane of Dread saw the Unseelie Court waxing in power juast as the Seelie Court waned over the ensuing centuries[8]. Notably, the introduction of the Cult of the Spider Queen eventually led to a nasty war for power between Loht and Tristessa, the Cult's eventual leader[7]. Maeve ensured her Court made it through the war[6], until Loht's victory over the Cult[7].

In 588 BC[7] (600 years into Maeve and Loht's rule in Arak time due to temporal fugue), Loht orchestrated the staking of Tristessa and her baby to Mount Lament, leaving them to die in the sun. With this murder, Loht broke the supreme Law of Arak. However, because Jozell took the blame[7] and ensuing punishment of the Shunning[9], Maeve never learned of Loht's involvement. To this day, she has no knowledge of the depths of Loht's transgression[10], though she has some inkling Loht know more about Tristessa's death than he indicates[11].

Millennia passed in the Shadow Rift with the Seelie Court's continuing waning in power and the Unseelie Court's continuing waxing in power. However, al-out calamity was averted until the Grand Conjunction. That event saw Gwydion's attempt to break free of his confinements and the pull of the shadow fey from the domain of Arak to the Shadow Rift. Driven by visions of his father, Loht left the Rift in the hunt for the recently lost Sword of Arak.

Estrangement from Loht

Though Loht remained absent for a very long time (over a decade by surface time, and numerous centuries in Shadow Rift time), Loht eventually returned and re-energized his followers, gathering together the Regalia of Arak save for the Crown of Arak that remained in Maeve's possession. Maeve knew nothing of Loht's ultimate mission but instead thought insanity had claimed him. Therefore, she hid the Crown inside the Malachite Palace's Pillar of Fire to prevent Loht obtaining it. She fled to seclusion in Tepest to escape becoming Loht's prisoner.

Wishing to avoid directly conflicting with her brother, Maeve eventually met and recruited some mortals to take the crown and foil Loht's schemes. Yet Loht was able to open the Obsidian Gate, seemingly to save Arak the Erlking. In truth, Loht's visions were a ploy by Gwydion to get the Gate opened. As Gwydion began coming through the portal, he seized Loht and left him with a crippling injury. However, Gwydion's slow passage through the portal allowed his escape to be foiled as Maeve's agents threw the Crown of Arak through the Gate.

Following Gwydion's defeat, Maeve returned to Arak society where the fates of the Two Courts had been seemingly reversed. The Unseelie Court began to cede ground to the Seelie Court, and Maeve began the reconstruction of her power base.[12] .

Game Statistics

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Shadow Rift (Module) p. 160
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Shadow Rift p. 125
  3. ↑ Ravenloft Gazetteer V p. 113
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Shadow Rift p. 131
  5. ↑ The Shadow Rift p. 124-125
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Gazetteer V p. 161
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Ravenloft Gazetteer V p. 107
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 The Shadow Rift p. 126
  9. ↑ Ravenloft Gazetteer V p. 114
  10. ↑ The Shadow Rift p. 132
  11. ↑ Ravenloft Gazetteer V p. 162
  12. ↑ Gazetteer V p. 161-162

Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue

The Shadow Rift

The Shadow Rift - p131

The Shadow Rift - pp131-132

The Shadow Rift - pp52, 131-132


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