Known on the battlefield as "the man who cheats death", Eleanor's father Eljm was a famous mortal army general whose experience, wits, and daring left him more glory than most could ever dream of. Though he did not fear being slain, what he did fear was his family name being lost to the ages once he passed. Playing on this insecurity of his, the goddess Cuvansi, who had long admired Eljm's exploits from far, convinced him to father a child for her. However, Eljm, knowing that deities wanted children for their own needs as well, only agreed to this if he would be able to raise the child as he saw fit, up until his own death. His successor would be trained in his image, not that of the contriving powers beyond his comprehension.
Disappointment struck when the child, soon born healthy and hale, turned out to be a girl instead of the boy he had wanted. In his eyes, women were not meant to be trained in the art of war or combat. Their bodies were more fragile, their minds more ruled by emotion, and those had seen on the battlefield were unremarkable in every way. Reluctantly, he kept the child and simply married several years later, this time producing a son.
Eleanor grew up in a countryside villa where Eljm had retired to, alongside her stepmother Kiara and her stepbrother Janoro. From an early age, she was fascinated with her father's military exploits and desired to become just like him, but to her dismay, Eljm only ever seemed willing to tutor her stepbrother. Eleanor, who also began exhibiting magical talent from an incredibly young age, was instead relegated to weaving and cooking lessons with Kiara, which seldom proved fruitful. To make matters worse, Eljm viewed magic with disdain and prohibited it in the home, often punishing his daughter for any instances of spellcasting. At some point, Eleanor stopped engaging with her magical abilities altogether.
During her twenties, Eljm became determined to marry off Eleanor, but was soon frustrated in his attempts: his daughter did not possess any aptitude for clothwork, cooking, cleaning, or even creative pursuits. The potential suitors he could find were disinterested in a woman who couldn't provide for him and his future children. Eventually, Eljm sent Eleanor away to Rehjolvnatys, relinquishing his claim on her and returning her to her mother. In his eyes, his daughter was a lost cause.
Once at Rehjolvnatys, Eleanor's enormous magical potential was quickly discovered by her tutors. But just as quickly, she became shunned, as she was only proficient in Vesper magic, unlike her peers who utilised Lumen magic exclusively. Rumours spread among the halflings that she was actually native to the Vesperlands, or that she had even struck a bargain with Kara in exchange for her powers. Suppressing her Vesper magic didn't do much either, as Eleanor's Lumen magic was unremarkable at best. Concerned for her daughter's social and mental wellbeing, Cuvansi spirited Eleanor away to Dutpolre, where a hidden school called En Natis Ostun resided. At this school of sorcery, which focused on the "profane" blending of Vesper and Lumen arcane arts, there was no ill will against either sect. All that mattered was skill, knowledge, and cultivation of magic, and it was here that Eleanor finally began to flourish. During her time at the school, she made a variety of friends and allies, most notably a wandering traveller named Layla Kainafe and a senior classmate named Solstice Zeragath.
Upon her return to Rehjolvnatys twenty years later, Eleanor was a changed woman. She was stronger, smarter, and more determined than ever. The people who used to mock her no longer hurt her like they used to, and with the skills she learned at En Natis Ostun, she quickly climbed the ranks in the Lumen army. As a rising star, she took it upon herself to visit Eljm once more, to prove her worth and show that she had become someone he could be proud of. Upon return to her childhood home, though, she found her father, now a dying old man, unwilling to speak to her. She later learned that her stepbrother Janoro had died in battle seven years ago, and that ever since, her father had been drowned in inconsolable grief. Unable to speak to her father at all, who died later that year, Eleanor felt the lingering regrets of her childhood sneaking back, but promptly pushed it down by throwing herself into more work than ever. Within the next decade, she became a budding commander for the Lumen army and was also selected as a personal advisor to the new heir apparent, Aidan Fasura. Though she continues to struggle with the emotional baggage of past events, Eleanor continues to strive to be the best she can be, hoping to one day overcome what was and become what she was meant to be.
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