Asuriel Arktaros's page

Asuriel’s birth was a blessing. When her mother who was thought to be incapable of childbirth received a proclamation from the temple that it had been foretold that she would give birth to a child who was touched by the Angelkin, no one believed. And the mothers belly soon grew and months later the blessed child was born. Proclaimed a miracle, the child was immediately recognized as special when she was born with a full head of shimmering blonde hair that seemed to reflect in the light with a slight metallic sheen.
She grew up in the Dockway district of Magnimar. Her father worked on a local fishing vessel and her mother worked the kitchens part time in the local temple. Both of her parents were faithful worshippers of Sarenae and as such she was brought up believing that Sarenrae herself had a hand in her conception. From the beginning she was seen as special with her gifts and beauty and was always revered by the other children and families as they strove to try to be close to the angelkin. She enjoyed moderate popularity and prestige from the community, especially in the temple. The temple began to train and prepare Asuriel to be a beacon of Sarenrae when she was only eight years old. The powers that be saw great potential in using Asuriel as a pawn to attract additional fame and fortune for themselves. A beautifully talented Aasimar priestess of Sarenrae would be a valuable asset to the temple for certain.
So through her early teens she was taught the ways of the church and the values of beliefs of Sarenrae. The arts of the healing and diplomacy were foremost in her instruction. Not only was she gifted with the art of curing as some, she also possed the ability channel light as if she was a trained priest. The most interested of her abilities manifested when she is able to bind her body to others and transfer their injuries to her own body, healing the target in the process.
Though she received plenty of training in the arts of healing and service to those in need, Asuriel also excelled in martial training of Goddesses’ blade. She was taught how to wield the scimitar and strike an opponent without inflicting damage that would be lethal so that the creature she was attempting to subdue could be brought into the light. Asuriel excelled in all of her teachings except one. Patience. The mantra ‘Temperance and Patience in all things’ was repeatedly drilled into her head over and over, yet she struggled to master control of her patience. She believes it is this flaw that eventually led her to discover that she had been touched by hell with not one but TWO curses.
One afternoon Asuriel was visited by a horned tiefling who claimed that they had a secret for Asuriel. Though Aasimar, Asuriel had not grown up with any preconceived notions that all Tieflings were evil. She was taught to be open and provide all races with an opportunity to be in the light. Being ever curious, Asuriel was told by the tiefling that there was an abandoned shrine to Sarenrae in the Underbridge district. She was certain that Asuriel graced the shrine with her presence that surely her angelic ancestry would shine the light on this once forgotten shrine. Along with Asuriel’s curiosity was her sense of adventure. The tiefling insisted that their trip to the shrine be kept a secret so that Asuriel could surprise the community with her wondrous event of reopening the shrine.
The shrine had clearly been abandoned for decades and was long since forgotten. The ruins of the shrine still clearly marked this as a once beautiful monument to the Dawnflower that hang long since fallen out of repair. Once Asuriel was secured inside the ruins, the tieflings trap sprung. Three other tieflings emerged from the shadows with the intention to capture Asuriel and demand a ransom for her return to the temple. She was quickly taken, their numbers too great for her to overcome. She was taken prisoner beaten, tortured and abused for over a month while the negotiations for her return were set.
She was returned to the temple with much fanfare. A celebration was held that night for her return, but trajedy struck once more. Asuriel was assisting her mother in the kitchen in preparation for the large feast. For some unknown reason, a fire broke out and quickly began to spread through the room. A strange feeling overcame Asuriel as she realized that she was unable to comprehend what people were saying to her. She stoold still staring, bewildered at what the people were screaming and crying were actually saying. Why were they all talking in a language she could not understand? What was going on? As the fire began to rage it neared the area where her mother was hiding. Finally broken from her trance she screamed, “I’ll say you! I’ll save you!” and vowed to save her mother, but was stunned when what came out of her mouth was something else entirely. The language of hell, Infernal, spewed from her mouth. She had repeatedly heard these words over and over during the last month while in captivity. Somehow their language had found its way to her tongue.
Unbeknownst to her she had inadvertently discovered she was unable to understand or communicate during times of great stress or burden. Asuriel tried to speak, but the strange sounds continued to erupt from her mouth. Those that were around her backed away in fear, afraid she had started the fire and had become possessed. As she stood there shaken, a few containers of flamible liquid exploded and enveloped the room in fire. Asuriel lost consciousness during the blaze and awoke to find that three souls had burned to death in the fire. Fearing the fire had consumed her mother she soon found a worse fate had taken her. She had been burned black on over 70% of her body and was in too fragile of a state to be visited. Confronted with facts that she did not save her mother, she unfortunately uncovered her second curse in so many hours. She immediately became extremely ill and was forced to bed rest for an unknown sickness that took her. It wasn’t until much later that she learned that she had broken a vow to save her mother and the consequences of breaking that vow would bind her to sickness.
The church didn’t know what to do with Asuriel. She was disgraced and potentially dangerous, but they had invested so much in her that they could not simply cast her aside. An elder priestess Elizabeth volunteered to take her down to their holding in Sandpoint where she would continue her teachings and help her move past these recent issues. Asuriel was told that these items were simply a test, one which she will need to overcome by some and others told her that she was paying for the sins of the angel who had touched her bloodline. Asuriel believed that the gang of tieflings were responsible for it all. Her curses. The fire. Her transfer. Everything.
She believed she had been granted powers by the Dawnflower for some specific reason, a reason she would seek out to find why she had been chosen. Eventually she would come to believe that her life was a test to determine her worthiness of her divine ancestry. Both Blessed and Cursed, she was a living paradox.
So at the age of 19 she moved to Sandpoint with Elizabeth and took up as a priestess of Saranae. In a new town without anyone aware of her problems, she excelled once more. She soon learned that Sandpoint had just suffered its own tragedy by fire. Were they linked? Could they be related? Over the course of the four and a half years that she has been a resident of the town she has come to known as the ‘beautiful and compassionate Saranite girl’. In addition to the people of Sandpoint, she adopted the lifestyle of a true Varisian, travelling to all of the outlying towns and villages around Sandpoint helping those who need it.
Asuriel always prefers to be out in the open air where the rays of sunlight can warm her skin and rejuvenate her spirits. The church of Sarenrae is full of singing, dancing and music and as such has always held a special place for such things as they remind her of her youth. Through her time in the church they encourage speaking out and taking a stand for what is right and thus Asuriel is never shy to speak her mind when she believes she has a cause to do so, regardless of the consequences.
She believes in Sarenrae's ways and teachings but constantly finds herself struggling with losing her patience and demonstrating temperance above all else. In addition, she doesn't completely understand why she has been bound by hell with these two curses. She doesn't enjoy talking about them as she is embarrassed by them and how they tie to her past. She feels like the angelic ancestry is being tested by the curses and she must continue to serve Sarenrae until such time that she deems Asuriel worthy of lifting these burdens. She doesn't believe in all of Sarenrae's teachings, but the large majority she tries to align with.