Dulae Toema's page

About Dulae Toema

Dulae was orphaned at a young age. The only memories she has of her parents occur during her darkest dreams; snatches of shadowy figures, blood, and magic, which were quickly forgotten during the light of day. Dulae lived in an orphanage run by the church in the Shining city, and while clothing and food were adequate, there was never quite enough to go around. Like all children in the city, she attended classes to learn of Altien’s greatness and how to live as a citizen. This time of her life imbued Dulae with a lifelong scorn for entitled nobles; the casual cruelty that the noble children heaped on her for her status as an orphan, and the adoration that they received from the other students and the instructors, stoked a fire in her to prove herself better. This fire could very well have turned into bitter hatred if not for the teaching of Altien. She attended services at the Shining Temple whenever she could; the feeling when the priests invoked blessings on the crowds was... sublime. Like a warm tide rising from her heart and suffusing her whole body, bringing peace. It did not erase the anger she felt, but it somehow purified it, stopping it from festering into something ugly. As Dulae grew older and began to recognize how deeply she felt about her faith, she resolved to join the military and become a Paladin.

As soon as she was of age Duale enlisted into the military. She hoped to put behind her the cruelties of children, only to learn that the lessons of childhood ran deep. The names and faces were different, but the condescending scorn of the nasty few was the same. Some of those who had held every advantage, tutors and training from a young age, plentiful food, the best of clothes and equipment, could not bear to see Dulae outdo them, which she did with a passion. During this time she revealed herself to have not just exceptional strength of body, but also an ability in divine magic and a disciplined mind. Her path forward was shattered however when she learned that she could not become a Paladin; despite having the gift of magic from Altien, she had not been offered the Call from her goddess. She was approached the very next day however by a man wearing an officer’s uniform, but with no rank showing. His name was Kieran; he told her that she had a rare type of gift from Altien, one that was shared by a special corps of the military, and one that would see her leaving the general training track at the end of the year. She threw herself back into her training with renewed purpose, and it was lucky she did; only a week before her time to leave she was ambushed by the same cadre of nobles that she was now outdoing, and she was nearly killed in the ensuing fight. Dulae never learned what happened to those who attacked her, as Kieran appeared the next day to remove her. Her new training was much different from before; the sole focus of her superior, she studied the art of working independently, rather than in an army.

Dulae Toema, now retired from her military career, is in many ways the same person she has been since her time as an orphan on the streets of the shining city: a devout follower of Altien who can’t seem to be meek enough to satisfy those who demand she stay in her place.