About 'Mother' Theora RoweMother Theora
Theodric Horsfall was born in 4675 AR, the third of five children. As the eldest son of minor nobility, she was granted a position of authority over her older sisters, expected to learn swordplay and archery, expected to carry on the family name. Yet she always felt out of place dressed in the latest dandy fashions, didn't take to swordplay, and didn't like being pushed into marriage. While she enjoyed archery, enjoyed the quiet contemplative nature of it, she found herself more interested in playing with her sisters - tea parties and dress-ups as a child, but as she grew, she found herself desiring the life of the courtly ladies and their obnoxious fashions. Her sisters understood, trying to bring her into this life, but her parents were less supportive, berating her for her foolishness, and telling her she had to act like what she really was - which led to no end of confusion for young Theodric, as she thought that was what she'd been doing all along. Exploring Cassomir was her only real joy, wearing scarves and loose dresses, keeping herself secret and trying to find herself in the busy streets. She took to research, asking around, hoping to find something or someone who could make her into what she felt she was meant to be. But her curiosity led her into dangerous places, and when she thought she'd found an answer, she barely managed to escape with her life when the person offering turned out to be a practitioner of witchcraft, using pretty words to disguise evil intent. She became more careful after that, swearing to stay away from such wickedness - she turned instead to alchemists, finding temporary fixes that would disguise her, but nothing that seemed to work in a more permanent sense. Heartbroken, Theodric resigned herself to fate, allowing her parents to arrange a marriage for her. Marriage was a new challenge in itself. While she loved her wife, Yolana, with all her heart, and tried to be the husband she deserved, she felt as if she was lying to her. She withdrew into herself, speaking little to her Yola, confused and conflicted. Eventually, she confessed to Yola, telling her of the struggle of her life - and to her amazement, Yola understood. "You've been a fine husband," Yolana told her, "But you'll be a better wife. All I ask is that you give me a child, that we may raise our own, as we were both supposed to be." A year later, Yolana was pregnant, and the two decided to leave the capital and its decadence for new
Yolana and Theora tried to fight them off, but while Theora managed to fend off some with a dropped longbow, it was the arcanists who troubled them. The same foul witchcraft granted them power, and Theora briefly considered allowing herself to be slain when Yolana fell to their magic. Instead, she managed to retain c trol just long enough to put them down, before burying her wife at the roadside, taking their son in her arms, and continuing her journey. Absalom didn't seem like the right place for her anymore, so she continued heading south, for the border. Her weary feet finally carried her to the town of Heldren, where she found refuge in the temple. She stayed there, with her son, introducing herself to the Father Natharen as Mother Theora, a humble midwife. Though he raised an eyebrow at her not-so-plain clothing, he accepted her story, helped her into mourning clothes, and offered her a temporary home to raise her son. Though she nearly lost the will to live, faith has a way of granting people hope and strength they never knew they had. When Theora expressed her concerns to Natharen regarding the ravens that seemed to follow her, he reassured her that the Empyreal Lord Andoletta watches over those in mourning. Though her period of mourning has lasted years now, Theora has taken up the role of a priestess of Grandmother Crow, carrying a staff of willow-wood and a mantle of black feathers at all times. Theora is a tall, handsome woman, just over six feet, now in her late thirties, thin-lipped and kind-eyed. She is slim and wiry, with long fingers, a strong jawline, and wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and mouth just starting to form. She wears her black hair, which is starting to grey at the temples, in a severe bun, and leans on her willow staff when engaged in conversation. She dresses in black and grey - all her clothes are in the shades of mourning, even the armour she wears as a formality to signify her as a protector. She always wears a silver locket around her neck, containing miniature paintings of herself, and of Yolana. She is a midwife, and has personally delivered several of the town children, but she spends most of her days teaching Ambrose and talking with Tessaraea Willowbark, who she suspects would benefit from Andoletta's wisdom for coping with bereavement; however, she is content to simply enjoy the other woman's company. She is a friendly figure, always ready to offer counsel or wisdom, or simply comfort to those who need it. Ambrose is now thirteen, the handsome likeness of his mothers. Theora adores him even more than she loved her wife, and though she often regrets not taking him to Absalom, she awaits the day when the boy can forge his own destiny. |
