JanuARTy Day 03: Baidhrin/Saenathra

Through a series of events that may never be known, a stolen princess of the high elves was raised as Adaiel Arathelion in a small colony of wood elves until she was a young adolescent (roughly equivalent to being 14 or 15 in human terms). She spoke their language, learned their songs and stories, lived their way of life, and even -- due to her dark hair, thought she was one of them, even though her skin was fairer, and her capacity for magic was poor. She made up for it by becoming an adept huntress, however. She even fell in love (or at least, puppy love) with a young wood elf lad named Amrun. Life in the forest was bliss until...

The pair of them had been out on the edges of the colony's territory one day. Perhaps hunting, perhaps just being alone. And they found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time-- They stumbled upon a band of highwaymen who'd just robbed and killed a group of travelers and were dividing the spoils. The highwaymen didn't take well to the appearance of two young witnesses, and attacked. Adaiel got away. Amrun didn't. They murdered him, then fled. Adaiel returned once she realized Amrun wasn't right behind her... and was too late. She buried him in the woods and grieved that night, with no idea what to do. If she returned to the colony to tell them what happened, it was possible Amrun's killers would never be found. Instead, heart burning with pain and anger, and a savage need for revenge, she decided to pursue them herself. 

Her hunt took years-- once the highwaymen hit a major city, they scattered, forcing her to track them down. More than once, she sought the tutelage of various masters in the violent arts for aid-- she paid dearly with blood, sweat, tears, dignity and innocence to learn the ways of subterfuge, poison, seduction, knife and sword, unarmed combat, and so much more, in order to go on seeking vengeance. But more than twenty years later, every last one of Amrun's murderers was dead... and her own hands and heart were badly stained. She could not go back to the colony. For a time, she contemplated suicide... until a businessman approached her, offering to pay her to off a partner. Numb, unsure what else to do... she did.

...It turned out that she had grown into just as good a hunter of people as she had been of animals. And it paid well. 

Years passed. She adopted the alias 'Saenathra', and developed a reputation as a magnificent, high-priced assassin. She gained scars, both on body and on soul, and contented herself with her new role as mistress of scheduled demises. Here, at least, she had no heart that could break. Until she met Koreal. 

She maintains that it was she who kidnapped him first-- and she did so for his own good. Trying to protect him from a pack of wolves she'd set on a target, she'd darted a passing elf wizard with soporifics and dragged him to her lair so that he wouldn't become a casualty of the wolves' attack. When he woke, they got to talking, as meeting other elves was so few and far between in the human lands where they both lived. They kept in contact. Later, she sought him out again for his assistance on a job. Working together, they both discovered that they worked well together... and that they had more in common than being thoroughly unprincipled. They fell in love, and remained together, even through some traumatic experiences, close calls, and her sudden rediscovery by the royal court wizards, revealing her true parentage, and her royal standing. 

After some intense hijinks, Saenathra and Koreal are now married, and live in the elven capitol city of Mir'Aran, in the shadow of the royal palace. 

Sae can be seen here as well:

With her husband Koreal: pointy-eared-fiend.deviantart.…

In a formal gown: pointy-eared-fiend.deviantart.…

After a hit goes badly: pointy-eared-fiend.deviantart.…

A view of her back tattoo: pointy-eared-fiend.deviantart.…