Anara Turiel
From Codex Vocrotha
Born in 1525 DR, daughter of Kannal Turiel the Hillwalker, Grand Duke of Anlador, Anara Turiel was the most storied woman of her age. Precocious as a child, her accomplishments as an adult in fields as diverse as alchemy, diplomacy, strategic command and literature intimidated her potential suitors, once the effects of her stunning beauty had worn off. Preferring isolation to compromise, the Duchess eventually sequestered herself in her gardens with her few close friends, allowing only close friends to accompany her on her daily rides with the horses she loved. Her father, adoring her over all things, refused to press her into an arranged marriage, and so she abode for a long time at Anlador.
Over time, her rides ranged longer and longer, and despite the affection her father felt for her (and she for him), she felt more and more removed from the society she had been born to partake in. Her friends attempted to help her adjust, bringing her, alternately, suitors, handmaids and jesters from the court in an attempt to break her from her shell -- but these attempts had the opposite effect, driving her farther and farther from an elite class she did not feel part of.
During this time, the Duchess made a chance meeting with a lowborn Knight, entrusted with the safety of Mureia, a tiny village halfway between Anlador and Karasek. The Knight, unaffected by Anara's beauty and unimpressed by her arguments, scolded her for being so far afield with such a small entourage, and insisted he and his detachment escort her back to her home. Intrigued by the man's obvious dedication to his duty -- and not least by his apparent disinterest in her -- she arranged to find herself riding to Karasek several more times. Finally breaking through the Knight's personal defenses, she grew to love this simple, strong-willed Knight, and in the autumn of 1540, Anara Turiel and Paldor Daln, Knight of Mureia and vassal of Karasek, were wed with the blessing of her father, Kannal.
They were happily married for four years, and together with the soldiers stationed at Mureia led a series of skirmishes against the Lords of Night and their growing forces in Dalkiar. Recognizing Anara's strategic genius, Paldor actively enlisted her help in planning their raids, and their partnership made for an effective and deadly combination. Their happiness was short-lived, however, as a series of events transpired in 1544 that led to Anara's brutal rape and murder at the hand of one of her ex-suitors, Paldor's liege lord. Paldor's transformation from loyal Knight of Karasek to the bloodthirsty Warlord certainly came as a result of Anara's death, and his obsession with her loss is clearly the source from which he draws his strength to this day.
As an interesting side-note, local legend in Mureia -- which, though it has changed forms and even locations several times over the centuries, retains its original name and its provincial wisdom -- insists that, when Paldor came home to find Anara dead and the town in ruins, he placed Anara's corpse on a pyre and slew himself on his own sword as he watched his wife's body burn -- there is no intercession by Dalor and no acceptance of the mad god by the dying knight. While this version of the story directly contradicts the rest of the body of lore that surrounds Paldor, it provides an interesting mythic counterpoint to an ancient story whose true origin may be forever lost.
(Cross-reference to Anara Turiel's Character Interview (http://www.vocroth.com/?p=29) )
