The bridge eighty years from now
Approving a gathering permit is not a signature to her; it is thinking through the consequences eighty years out. Elven politics works like that — one small decision today can take three generations to pay off.
Elf Queen of the Moonshadow Conclave · Supreme Command of the Crown Seat
Aethelind Eridan
Aethelind Vane Eridan
“The paths in this forest change every year, so stay close to me. …You don’t need to hold my hand, I’m not going to lose you. …Probably.”
- Moonshadow Conclave
- Elf Queen
- Arcane Archer
- Called
- Aethelind
- People / Age
- Elf / 287 (the exact figure is not made public)
- Affiliation
- The Moonshadow Conclave
- Office
- Elf Queen, Supreme Command of the Crown Seat
- Inherent class
- Arcane archer / wind-speaker ranger
- First appears
- Chapter 2 — The outer ring anomaly
- Role
- Ranged physical-magical hybrid / elemental marking / support fire
- Fond of
- Maintaining her own bowstring, human buildings that “only take ten years”, cleverly cut clothes
- Not good at
- Letting anyone else schedule her rest. Or admitting she cares about someone.
Spoiler-free
The Moonshadow forest has never welcomed outsiders, and for centuries the Conclave’s answer has been that shutting the doors is what keeps everyone safe. Aethelind is one of the few who does not accept that answer — when the World Tree went wrong, she did not send an envoy. She put a bow on her back and walked to the outer ring.
Her judgement is alarmingly fast. Which path is passable, how many minutes are left, who will be holding a promise eighty years from now — she has the number ready. Spend time around her and you notice the precision is not coldness. It is how she shows she cares: your withdrawal route is in her arithmetic too.
She draws a bow beautifully. Compliment her on it and she will almost certainly correct your bow hand first, and only then say, quietly, “…thank you.”
How she got here
She and her twin sister Lyra were born in a small grove-hold on the forest’s edge and adopted into the royal main line as children. The elders still question their standing because of it.
In 859 ST the forest suffered what is now called the White Crown Upheaval, and the previous queen died. That same year the Three Seats raised Aethelind — then 159 years old — to the throne. She has spent the hundred and twenty-eight years since proving she deserves the crown.
Very little of her reign is the stuff of legend: revising gathering permits, rerouting spirit migrations, arbitrating disputes over cross-generational promises. But because she was willing to work through them one at a time, the younger elves have, for the first time, a way to go and study outside.
In 987 ST the outer ring began to change. The Conclave wanted to blame outsiders. She refused, and went to look for herself.
Traits
The bow came before the magic
She is the Elf Queen, and her weapon is a bow. Inside the forest that has always been a puzzle — the rumour is that her teacher refused to teach her high formulae. She has never discussed it.
Caught looking
She is interested in clothing, and what she studies is which cut makes a person visible or invisible. If you laugh, she will immediately claim it is purely research… and the tips of her ears will go slightly red.
Timeline
- 700 ST Born with her twin sister Lyra in a border grove-hold
- 712 ST Both sisters are adopted into the royal main line
- c. 730 ST Begins studying magic and archery under Sylvarine
- 859 ST The White Crown Upheaval. She succeeds as Elf Queen the same year, aged 159
- 902 ST Receives envoys from a human nation for the first time as queen
- 951 ST Pushes through the gathering-permit reform, allowing grove-holds limited trade with outsiders
- 985 ST Unexplained anomalies begin in the World Tree’s outer ring
- 987 ST Goes to investigate the outer ring in person, and meets the Stranger
Ties
- The Stranger (you)
- A witness under no elven faction’s control. Also the first person willing to ask “what does Lyra think?” before she gives an order.
- Lyra
- Her twin sister, the person she trusts most, and the person she has never quite managed to thank.
- Sylvarine
- Her teacher in magic. They have not met in a hundred and twenty-eight years.
- Evelina
- A scholar whose view of magic is the exact opposite of hers. They argue fiercely, and both enjoy it.
- The Three Seats
- Root, Crown and Memory. They are not a single wall of resistance — each has a real reason.
Voice
- First meeting
“The paths in this forest change every year, so stay close to me. …You don’t need to hold my hand, I’m not going to lose you. …Probably.”
- Introducing herself
“Moonshadow Conclave. Aethelind Vane Eridan. Skip the titles — in the forest, walking steadily is worth more than being loud.”
- Stealth warning
“Lift your foot. Yes, that moss — step on it again and the whole patrol will know we were here tonight.”
- Small talk
“That cloak is cleverly cut. I’m only studying the… fine, the colour is good too. What are you laughing at?”
- Setting out
“I’ve checked the route three times. Let’s go — follow me, don’t wander. The forest can tell who’s in a hurry.”
- Combat start
“The wind favours us. Finish it inside three arrows. Don’t drag it out.”
- Ultimate
“Moonshadow — lend me the wind, once. Shoot it through!”
- An ally falls
“Get up! I worked out your withdrawal route long ago — all that’s left is you walking it. So stand up!”
- Receiving a gift
“For… me? I—I’ll take it. Don’t worry, I’ll look after it. Elves are very good at looking after things.”
- Late at night
“The forest is louder at night than in the day. Listen long enough and you can tell them apart — that’s the trees breathing out. …Want to listen with me?”
Drawn from the KTM2 WorldDict. Only the public layer of each entry is published here.