Diana

Early Life   Diana Masters was born to parents who are both Jewel crafters and whose shop is kept in Kvarch Nar, the largest of the eight cities that lie directly north of Lankhmar. Having been born and raised around the craft, Diana is a master jewel crafter whose pieces are highly sought after by Nehwon’s most elite. With that said, Diana typically crafts jewelry for personal use, gifts to loved ones, or gifts for political gain. She rarely crafts for financial gain alone as she feels that there is a special magick created when each piece is “brought into being” as she terms it.   Diana is the only surviving child of her parents, Mathila, nee Maee, a high elven woman who hails from Kvarch Nar, and Flekk Masters “The Nord”, a Human male from the far northern city of No-Ombrulsk. Her mother had three other girls after Diana, yet none survived. One was still born, one died from SIDS, and the third was fatally struck a by a negligent merchant’s wagon at the age of 2. While biologically half-elven, Diana physically presents strongly as a Nordic Human. She passes as a full Human with only her extraordinarily high cheekbones that could pass for either Elven or Nordic Human. She has no point on her ears as is typical to half-elves, which further obscures her true heritage.   The tragedies with her siblings caused her parents to hyper-focus on Diana’s safety, well-being and care. Flekk held the title of “Grand Artisan” at Kvarch Nar’s Jewel Crafter’s Guild while Mathila held the highest and most esteemed title of “Ruby Crown”, which is the title of the Guild Master, at the same guild. It was because of this that her family earned a high amount of income, and since the Ruby Crown was also a political position, they held a fair amount of political clout throughout the civilized cities in Nehwon. As such, Diana was given the best education available to anyone in the land. Between her connections with her classmates, most of which were of Noble lineage or held high political positions of some sort, and the education that she received from being raised by parents in such high positions and the from the various events and peoples they encountered, Diana was born with high social and political advantage.   Early Adventuring Life Although Diana lived what to most would be called a charmed life, ultimately, she felt unfulfilled. She saw people in the city all around her that suffered. She saw those who suffered from hunger, post-traumatic stress, addictions and disease. One day while walking home after having met her personal teacher Maester Porpherius for a lesson on the subject of “Fate vs. the concept of Greater Good”, she encountered a scene that forever changed the course of her life. While passing an apartment flat, she heard heart-punching sobs coming from within. Forgetting to “mind her business” she let herself in and found three young girls gathered around the feet of their mother, who sat slumped to the side in a rocking chair. The mother looked like she had just died. Worse yet, she looked as if she had suffered from a horrific flesh-eating disease that likely led to her death. The youngest of the girls stood up and walked over to Diana, fell back to her knees and grabbed the hem of Diana’s silken robes. She looked up at her face, her eyes practically liquid from tears, and begged, “Please, pretty lady, can you bring momma back? Please please please please!!”. Diana’s heart couldn’t take it. She very nearly broke down in tears, but after a few moments, she gathered her composure enough and brought the daughters to her family’s home. As she walked into her family’s living room, she called out, “Mother, I have found the souls of your daughters lost.” Mathila cried in joy upon seeing the girls, then she cried in shared pain for their horrible loss. Diana then returned to the girls’ home, picked up their mother’s corpse, wrapped her in a blanket and carried her directly to Maester Porpherius’ home. Again, forgetting her sense of civility, she let herself in and placed the body on the desk before Maester Porpherius and said in a tone that no one in their right mind would challenge... “This. This is what you are to teach me. To stop this. I appreciate the lessons in philosophy, but I now demand ….. DEMAND… that you … help me…. stop…. “. At that, Diana broke down in tears before Maester Porpherius. The dam had broken. The tears for her own lost sisters from years before, the ones that had gone unfallen from her being too young and too confused to understand what death really meant, poured in thick streams down her face. Tears for the horrors that she saw amongst her fellow citizens, the diseases, the strife, the pain and the loss on so many incomprehensible levels.   It was from that point forward that Diana left her parent’s trade, and with their whole-hearted blessing, to begin working under direct and intense clerical trainings with Maester Porpherius and dozens of other clerics working under him. During her studies, she made the decision to also study the art of Wizardry in order to complement the healing and defensive spells she was learning as a cleric with the offensive and justice serving spells that Wizardry offered. From the moment that she first learned how to stitch a wound and apply a bandage (the basics taught in the clerical studies) she spent all her free time healing all whom she encountered and would receive the healing willingly. As her magickal abilities grew, she began organizing a free clinic known as The Healing Hearth Free Clinic in the Tenderloin District of Lankhmar. It was there that she met Thomas Eaton, a young paladin who served the community by protecting the community from violent crime and by helping those in need. Thomas was helping an elderly man to get to her clinic, and there he met Diana as she was the person that tended to the elderly man’s illness. After a few months of acquaintance, Thomas asked Diana if she would accompany him and his squadron as their party healer on a mission to defend a village near Horborixen from an invasion of Orc. Afterwards, she returned to Lankhmar and further developed the clinic over the next six months, after which she was no longer essential in its day-to-day operations. Her spirit called her to the unknown parts of Nehwon, where she knew people suffered without hope. She reflected that her healing abilities grew greatly when she was healing the squadron during live combat. Something about the adrenalin caused a surge in her abilities. Coupled with her ever growing and ever deadlier skills in Wizardry, she knew that she must go out and be in the world helping whenever and wherever she could. She requested a visitation with Thomas, inviting him for a drink at The Slippery Eel in the River District, their favorite spot to quench their thirst and drown the miseries of the day. When she arrived, she found Thomas speaking with an extremely attractive high-elf woman named Keesha Knight. Thomas was speaking with Keesha about suspected corruption within his Paladin’s House and asked her if she could obtain information, and proof, about this corruption. Keesha, having given up the criminal aspect of her life, was well known in Lankhmar at that point for being able to obtain information and had a distinct reputation for wanting to restore the balance of powers that lean too far in one direction. Diana didn’t know it at the time, but her friendship with Keesha grew into a long lasting and intense love relationship for the rest of their lives. After Keesha’s mission was accomplished, Thomas, Keesha and Diana set out upon what they call “The Path”, the invisible thread that leads them through the world in just the right places for the right reasons. Diana has formed a strong spiritual bond to both Tyr and Donar, the Gods of Justice, Strength, Resilience and Protection. She feels Tyr in particular has put her in the places she is needed the most. She adventured with these two and a few others for decades before going back to Lankhmar. While she still walks “The Path” when Tyr calls her to do so, she spends many of her days as The High Priestess of Tyr’s Temple in the Temple District of Lankhmar. There, she serves as part of the political and spiritual council to the Crown of Lankhmar. While she knows quite well the corruption and the evil that the King of Lankhmar commits, she feigns ignorance as being on that council gives her the best possible vantage point in discovering his foul plans and doing what she can to thwart them, either personally or through The Order of Ix that she and Keesha belong to.