Riva Sarjenka's page

About Riva Sarjenka

Born to a long line of powerful archmagi and scholars in one of Kyonin’s more affluent cities, Riva’s childhood was pleasantly safe. As the second-born child, she never knew the responsibility implicit in being the eldest (and therefore the one expected to carry on her family’s legacy) and instead possessed the freedom of being the youngest. She enjoyed the comforts of a well-to-do family, lived in a neighborhood relatively safe from crime, and seemed poised for a long life of absolute mediocrity.

That changed when she appeared to develop sorceress powers, a peculiarity heavily looked down upon in a family of staunch traditionalists known for producing mighty wizards. While she escaped excommunication, the damage had been done—her reputation fell to pieces. Shocked, dismayed, and convinced that she had been unjustly treated by her own kin, Riva abandoned her future with her family and left Kyonin to start a new life in Brevoy.

Despite this dramatic turn of events in her life she looked forward to discovering the world, and in making a difference for a cause that she believed in. Her dissatisfaction with Elvenkind in general, and her family in particular, left her precious little to trust but her own intellect. Despite the different form her arcane powers were destined to take, she nevertheless possesses many of her family’s other gifted traits and remained a gifted researcher, scholar, and intellectual.

Over the next several decades, Riva traveled Avistan, studying where she could, picking up tricks of the wizard’s trade here and there and learning all she could about the history of other races and cultures. The combination of arcane study mixed with her worldly first-hand experiences have given her an edge over young spellcasters fresh out of apprenticeship and eager to make names for themselves. Riva knows about the many ways the world can trick and betray you, but now she’s finally begun to master the art of magic, giving her the tools to fight back.

During her journey, Riva became infatuated with one of her mentors, who seduced her with his humanistic wit and charm. In time, they came to expect a child together whom they named Allania, after Riva’s grandmother. Fate did not favor the union, however; the baby was ultimately stillborn, and Riva’s lover abandoned her in his grief. Riva too was stricken with sorrow and was able to do little more than survive for many years following.

Tiring of the labyrinthine political landscape plaguing the nation of Brevoy for the last decade, and feeling an irresistible call to return back to nature after the loss of her child, Riva once again decided that a change of scenery was necessary for her to be happy again. Riva answered the call by volunteering to travel into the bandit-infested Stolen Lands in an attempt to bring civilization, culture, and life back to the wilds of the River Kingdoms. There, she hoped to establish a new center of learning that will aid in the birth of a new kingdom governed by law, logic, and knowledge.

Since then, Riva has helped to found a small city named after her daughter, brought peace between the tribal kobolds and the human settlers, protected the surrounding lands from threats large and small, and has started growing a business empire with her public library at the center of it all—a grandiose structure many consider to be the heart of all the region’s knowledge.

RIVA’S FOLLOWERS
Aside from her adopted daughter, familiar, and numerous employees, Riva also has six devoted apprentices who aid her in day to day tasks, such as watching out for her business interests while she is away, helping to facilitate her rule within the kingdom, or assisting in the creation of magical items. These followers each use the cautious mage stats, with the exception that their spellbooks possess all 1st-level spells from the Core Rulebook, thanks to Riva’s in-depth tutelage.