Aurelia

Aurelia is a member of the Howling Rise Council of Rangers and wife to Steven Rogers.

Appearance
Aurelia has a curvy physique and athletic build. She has black hair and green eyes with blue flecks. Her skin is fair with an almost olive tinge.

Personality
Aurelia's demeanor is calm and inviting. Meeting her is something you never forget, and something that she never forgets either. She is loved by all of the people of Howling Rise because she has taken the time to get to know as many of the people as possible, and spends that time meaningfully taking care of their needs. She is as loving and caring a soul as there ever was. She is a second mother to thousands of children an young adults, welcome in every household and every place of business. That is Aurelia's friendly side, but she was always very reserved when it came to romance, generally turning suitors away or going on single dates and cordially letting them down. She was always more interested in taking care of her people than pursuing her own wants and needs.

Martial Prowess
Aurelia doesn't brag about her archery and doesn't have to. She can pretty much hit anything effortlessly with her longbow. As a young hunter she provided for her family, and as a young Ranger and Captain of the guard she earned a reputation as a steady hand and a capable warrior and leader. She is also surprisingly comfortable wielding a longsword as well, not fearing the melee, although she has shown that she uses her longbow effectively at short range as well.

Background
Her human father was mysterious and moody and a drinker...he left when she and her younger siblings were children. Aurelia remembers her Elven mother being a beautiful lady with an enchanting singing voice. After her father disappeared, her mother was distant and became depressed eventually giving up all together. Aurelia was left to tend to her younger sister and brother, Leilani and Naeric. They lived in a cozy cottage near a rustic village. Aurelia became a skilled bow hunter and tended to a small farm as well. It was tough but she had to care for the children. When she was about 14, a terrible monster (demon) tore through the local countryside heading straight for the village. Aurelia sent the kids inside and leveled her bow at it. Leilani watched from the window. There was a brilliant flash and an incredible enchanted bow appeared before Aurelia. Without hesitating, Aurelia blasted away at the fiend, felling it and saving the day. Leilani's eyes changed that day as well, and secret magic abilities manifested, but she kept it to herself. Leilani and Naeric became strong followers of Helena after that, believing that is was the Mother Goddess that had intervened. Aurelia's memories of that day are unclear. She follows the Nature Father Soltarus and the Mother Goddes Helena. Years later, when Leilani and Naeric reached adulthood, they headed East for Fairwater and the Temple of Helena to serve the Goddess...and to free Aurelia from the bonds of watching over them. Aurelia sold the family cottage and left it behind forever, heading to Howling Rise to become a Ranger.

She attended the Ranger school and served the city and the region in various duties earning the respect of not just the ranks of the Rangers, but the Druids and the people of the region as well. Once promoted into positions of authority, her council was sought out by nearly every faction. In record time she was offered a position in the council which she turned down at first, but after a few years, she reluctantly accepted.

She has now served the city as a council member for decades and is beloved by nearly the entire city. As a senior Ranger, she also serves as an instructor at the Ranger academy.

In the recent years, something different occurred. A student caught her eye. She kept her cool and maintained her professionalism. She was more than twice his age. She must have imagined it when she thought he was looking at her too.

The Cloaks
A couple of years later, a raven arrived to Aurelia with a magical message in that student's voice, requesting help in a nearby dell. A secret bandit/slaver hideout had been cleared by the The Cloaks and several victims had been rescued and needed assistance. Aurelia sent a contingent of Rangers and Clerics to assist, and The Cloaks made their way to Howling Rise. Over the course of the next couple of months, The Cloaks stayed in the Howling Rise region performing quests and good deeds, and all the while, Steven Rogers, the student that she had her eye on those years ago and a principle member of the adventuring group revealed his deep feelings for her. This first occurred at a City celebration where Janis tried to tell her what a great guy Steven was and what good friends they were but it came off as him telling her that Janis and Steven had a relationship together. This forced Steven into talking to Aurelia and telling her that he had feelings for only her. From this point forward, he devoted a great deal of effort courting her, despite her resistance due to her perception that his human lifespan would tragically cut short any meaningful relationship or thoughts of children. Finally, after a beautiful and romantic picnic, she gave into her desires and they began a romantic relationship that started with a kiss and unfortunately was followed by The Cloaks leaving for the Kingdom on official business...and to compete in the Tournament.

The Kingdom
While The Cloaks were in The Kingdom, Aurelia conversed with the hidden kingdom of Deep Gnomes, and received a book about Dragons and ancient Draconic from them, with the intent of giving it to Steven as a gift. She set out to meet him in the Kingdom to cheer him on and bring his gift. When she got to the South portal gate, It coincided with The Cloaks leaving through another portal. There was a bad reaction with the cursed magic robe Janis was wearing and it broke the portals and sent all of the Cloaks and Aurelia into a pocket plane now known as The Void. Aurelia was alone. The Cloaks fought their way through strange monsters, all the while hearing whispers and also a voice of boy that they were compelled to find. At one point Steven thought for sure he heard Aurelia calling for help. At this point The Cloaks we battle weary and running out of options. The others did not hear her. They sent Janis's cat Jethro to look, to no avail. Attributing it to the madness of the dimension, they pressed forward. The Cloaks fought their way forward and eventually used trickery to access their escape. Aurelia was overwhelmed by enemies and was rescued by famous Kingdom adventurers, Storm. During the escape, Storm was engaged in battle with a horrific being beyond description and were badly wounded. Janis looked back to see it as The Cloaks were escaping and fell unconscious. Adrian carried him to the escape. The Cloaks exited and found themselves at a destroyed South Portal. They had to travel for a month to get to the West Gate to discover the portal travel had been suspended. They also learned that Storm plus an elven maiden on her death bed had escaped through another portal and were in an infirmary in The Kingdom. They made their way to The Gate. Arriving in there. The King himself took them to see Aurelia, who was recovering from not only her wounds, but mental anguish as well. Steven did not leave her side for two weeks. She seemed to make a lot of progress during this time, and even began to regain her ability to walk. With assurances of her continued progress and promises of a short return, The Cloaks headed for Fairwater.

Things get worse
While Aurelia got physically better, her mind got worse. She was able to return home to Howling Rise but continued to deteriorate. She received a message from her sister Leilani during this time, and from her response, Leilani knew that things were bad enough to tell Steven that he needed to go to her. Steven called a team meeting and they determined that a hiatus was overdue and The Cloaks took a year off. Steven returned to Aurelia and did not leave her side for a year. He enlisted the help of new friends Cara the Cleric and Bethanne the Bard, a fellow guild member. Janis, Malark, and Milo visited often as well. Steven sought the aid of both the Churches of Helena and Soltarus, and even to considerable power of the great Druid Narita. Tasha visited and gifted them with a Talisman that helped calm her mind. All of these things helped improve Aurelia's condition, but still there lurked an deep sickness that nothing could cure, but it came and went. Most of the time she was back to normal and only under great stress did her sickness surface. Steven began to have vague dreams of finding a cure for her in a far off land. He prayed for guidance. This great long period of time together only solidified their love and commitment and they decided to marry. The Cloaks were called together at the end of the year and met at Leilani's Inn outside of Fairwater to attend the marriage of Steven Rogers and Aurelia Jelen. Adrian performed the ceremony. Janis was the Best Man and Leilani was the Maid of Honor. Helena and Hadryon physically attended. Bethanne and Cara were bridesmaids. Tasha gifted them a Winter Wolf pup. It was a white wedding.

The wedding had some uninvited guests...The King and his two most trusted men, Valimus the Archmage and Eric the High Arbiter. They came to tell The Cloaks they were going to destroy Fairwater to destroy the Undercity.