Lady Alabaster

Amelie Cortanos (a.k.a. Emeriel)

Lady Alabaster is the title given to the leader of the Divine Order of Alabaster Knights, the military branch of the Church of Aidios. She is venerated as the Maker's chosen champion, the strongest of his clerics. Aside from early depictions of (who is assumed to be) the first Lady Alabaster, few have had the proviledge to look upon Lady Alabaster in person. Instead, she communicates with the world and shares her will with the Order through her closest confidante, Lady Marigold, and the highest officials of the Order, the Silveright Knights.

Physical Description

Body Features

Depictions of Lady Alabaster are based on Amelie Cortanos following her 'rebirth' as a chosen of Aidios. She is shown as a white-haired woman in her mid-thirties with pale, almost entirely white skin. Some depictions even show her to be made of marble or alabaster. The most notable detail present on almost all depictions is the burn mark left by Aidios' hand, though the exact placement varies depending on time the depiction was made. Earlier art shows it prominently on her lower face, while later depictions move it to her neck and chest. Some remove the burn entirely, seeing it as 'too blemishing' despite the meaning behind it.
Amelie Cortanos, in life, was a young earth genasi with a unique appearance that freaked out her peers. Her skin was greyish, dry, and often cracked in places when she was moving, similar to how earth cracks when it is very dry. Sometimes small crystals grew out of her skin, most notably on her face, shoulders, and upper back. This was especially noticeable during puberty. Her hair was very long and light green, similar in texture to vines. It was always tangled and was difficult to keep organized, so Amelie put flowers in it to make it appear somewhat neater. She always wore simple clothing, which was often covered in patches or tears. Later depictions of Amelie make her appear older and more attractive than she was, with silky hair and smooth skin.
Some depictions also show Lady Alabaster with angelic features such as wings, feathers in her hair, or a halo behind her head. Others have a female figure made of light hovering behind her, indicating the divine power of Aidios as she appeared to Amelie during the Storm of Wrath.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Amelie Cortanos was born 26 years prior to the rise and eventual execution of Aidios. She lived in a small hamlet in Belledance, the name of which has long since been lost to time. Born during a massive earthquake, she was 'touched' by elemental energies, with crystalline skin and gemstones growing in her hairline. She was looked at as if she had been cursed by her fellow villagers. While the other children threw rocks at her, young Amelie found refuge in prayer. At first, she prayed to the Dragon Gods, as the hamlet she lived in worshipped Kokabiel, the Spout, as their divine protector. However, one day Aidios herself - back then a preacher with only a handful of followers - passed by the hamlet. Her words attracted Amelie's attention, reaching something deep within her heart. The girl approached, expecting to be sent away and scorned, but Aidios looked upon her with a smile. The preacher laid a hand on Amelie's head and spoke the words that the young girl would carry with her for the rest of her life: "Fret not, child. The Maker sees you and knows your suffering. Within you, you carry great power, which one day will be used to serve his will. No suffering exists for nothing." Since that day, Amelie was a devout believer in the Maker and a follower of the teachings of Aidios.
Her faith was further fueled by the awakening of her powers. Magic was to be feared, and the natural abilities that came with her being an earth genasi were seen as a curse by both herself and the villagers. However, when Amelie healed the broken wing of a fletchling that fell from the nest, people began to laud her as a child chosen by the divine. This change in her social position - from rocks being thrown at her to people asking her for blessings - was so sudden for young Amelie that she refused to use her newfound abilities for several months. She was resolved to never use them, however fate decided differently when the undead began to rise up from the earth, tainting everything around them. Amelie's hamlet, located at the outskirts of Belledance, was among the first to feel the effects of the Blight. Crops withered, animals died, and people starved. Then the undead came. With no one to defend them, the hamlet was quickly overrun, leaving only a handful of survivors to flee - Amelie among them. She quickly found that her powers were not only useful for healing the injured, but also for purging the corruption from the bodies of her fellow men. She decided then that it was a sign from the Maker himself - her calling was to fight against the undead.
When Aidios' call to arms came, Amelie was ready. Despite being a child with only the vaguest understanding of how to use her divinely-given abilities, she set out to join the army that the Maker's Bride was building to repel the undead threat.
The war was won and Amelie returned to where she had once lived in order to begin the restoration efforts. It was there that the news of Aidios' execution found her. Records say that Amelie collapsed to her knees and wept tears that turned to pearls before they hit the ground.
The Storm of Wrath caught everyone in the world unaware. However, surviving records claim that for days before the event, Amelie had troubling dreams of a woman with pale hair reaching out to her, trying to say something, but Amelie was unable to hear the words clearly or see the woman's features. This was recorded in her personal journal, which also stated the young woman's belief that this was a warning from Aidios herself. Amelie spent much time trying to decipher what the dreams meant, however was unable to do so before disaster struck.
The story of Amelie Cortanos surviving the Storm of Wrath through divine intervention has been committed to official church record. It states that when the Storm struck, Amelie fell into water and was carried out to the ocean, unconscious. She almost drowned, however she was visited by a vision of a female figure clad in white, surrounded by brilliant light. In later entries of her journal, Amelie recounted that the figure looked similar to the one from her earlier dreams, however this time instead of fear, she felt peace, calm, and relief.

It reminded me of the vivid dreams I had been having for days before the disaster. I couldn't see her face either time, but the shape, the billowing white skirt, it was all so similar. Yet that time, I was not asleep. I was cold. I felt the life drain slowly out of me and wondered if that was how I would die, a broken body on a broken piece of driftwood, alone and cold at sea. Was this the end the Maker had in mind for me? Had we, the people, failed so badly, angered him so terribly, that this was what we deserved? Had he given up on us - on me - so completely?
I could barely keep my eyes open to see the brilliant light, but even if I didn't see it, I could feel it. It washed over me like a warm bath. The fear left. I felt... safe. Content. Unafraid. Even if I died in that light, it was not so terrible. After all, I would get to leave this cruel world having done all I could to make it better. I had no regrets.
Then she spoke. It was the first time I had heard her voice so clearly in my head. In earlier visions she tried speaking to me, but it was always muffled, as if she was speaking through water. That time, it was clear and oh, how sweet it was. Melodic and beautiful, soft yet powerful. The voice of a saint.
She said, "It is not your time yet, child. You must live. Your life belongs to the Maker, and in his name you shall raise an army to fight all those that seek to bring disaster upon the land. In doing so, you will begin to earn forgiveness from Him for the rage and pain mortals have caused him."
I believed those words. I also believed then, as I do now, that Aidios herself had come to me once more to help me in my darkest hour and fill me with glorious purpose. Just as she had done when I was a child in need of guidance. Perhaps, in some way, she had never left me since that day at all.

-- From Alabaster's Rise, based on Amelie Cortanos' journal entries

As the light faded, Amelie opened her eyes to the brilliant sunrise. The Storm of Wrath was over and a new age was dawning. Amelie had survived, but not without changing. She was no longer the young woman she was before the Storm - her hair, skin, and eyes lost their color, becoming the color of the purest alabaster. All blemishes left by her genasi origin were gone, replaced by marble-like skin and a clear burn mark on her face - a reminder of where Aidios' radiance touched her. Amelie stood before the survivors of the Storm of Wrath and proclaimed the glory of the Maker and Aidios, followed by her swearing an oath to protect the people of the world.
Five years - that's how long it took for Amelie, now known almost exclusively as Lady Alabaster, to gather loyal followers and reform the Order of Alabaster Knights. She stated that she intended to pick up where Aidios and her inner circle left off before they were so cruelly betrayed by the world. In the year 5 P.A., Lady Alabaster was welcomed in the Golden Cathedral, where the High Priestess of the Church of Aidios declared her a glorious servant of the Maker and officially announced that the Order was indicted as part of the church. Several years later, the King of Anduril offered a section of his land to be used for the Order's headquarters. After the completion of the glorious Alabaster Fortress, Lady Alabaster retreated to her new abode.
Few have seen Lady Alabaster - or her supposed replacements - since then. The only ones who are allowed within the Alabaster Fortress are her closest confidants, as well as the Silveright Knights - the highest ranking members of the Order of Alabaster Knights. Today, Lady Alabaster's orders are passed along by Lady Marigold, her speaker and right hand woman.

The Black Records

The following is highly classified information available only in the records of the Bookmen. Proceed with caution and at your own risk. You have been warned.
Show Spoiler

Recorded by Gonri

Amelie Cortanos' vision was real, however she had never been visited by Aidios. Instead, it was a Firemane Angel, Emeriel, that heard the young woman's deathbed prayers and came to her aid. She held the girl's dying body in her arms and spoke soft words into her ear, until Amelie breathed her last and found rest in the afterlife.
So it was that Amelie Cortanos left this world, instead replaced by Emeriel, who felt so strongly for the girl's cause that she took it on instead. Together with her sister Cathetel - a Deathpact Angel that worked in the shadow of Emeriel's brilliant light - the angel built the Order of Alabaster Knights, becoming the first (and, in reality, only) Lady Alabaster.
Thus the Lady Alabaster known today is the same as the Lady Alabaster that was known when she took the title, and the same as the Lady Alabaster that will live a hudred years from now. She is immortal, she cannot die of old age. That is most likely the reason she never appears in public.

Recorded by Moira

Not all things could be done in the light. The greatest monsters must be fought with their own weapons - such was the logic of Cathetel, Emeriel's twin sister and a Deathpact Angel. This was an issue the angel sisters fought about fervently, often violently, resorting to swords when their words failed. In the end, the Emeriel relented and allowed Cathetel to form the Order of Polarus. The strongest of the Order were offered Cathetel's blood, which changed their mortal bodies in ways that no one could have expected. Empowered, they had the strength to drive back the darkness that even the light cannot touch, but these brave men and women were forever changed. Yet it was not enough. As time passed, the Order of Polarus came up with greater methods to empower themselves - some delving into lycanthropy, others poisoning their bodies to push them to the limit. This experimentation caused strain between Cathetel and Emeriel, leading to further division between the two.
The cracks would cause their relationship to break apart when the existence of the Order of Polarus was revealed. One of their Hunters, driven to maddness by the taint inside him, slaughtered a family he believed to be monsters. The public outrage could only be calmed by bloodshed, and so with a heavy heart, Emeriel - known by the world as Lady Alabaster - announced that the Order of Polarus was not supported by the Order of Alabaster Knights. Members of Polarus were hunted, treated no better than the undead threat they were created to defeat. Emeriel faced her sister in combat once more and emerged victorious. Cathetel was banished, but not killed - nor was the Order of Polarus completely eradicated. Whether this is because Emeriel is sentimental or because she knows that Polarus is necessary for the world to continue existing is impossible to know. There is little doubt, however, that she knows better than anyone that the Order of Polarus still exists in the shadows, and that they will continue to exist for as long as Cathetel is alive.

Gender Identity

Lady Alabaster is a uniquely female position. This is believed to be because the chosen one is selected by Aidios herself to be someone who is closest in mindset to both herself and the first Lady Alabaster, Amelie Cortanos.

Social

Religious Views

Lady Alabaster is a stauch follower of the Church of Aidios. She believes in the Maker being the one and only deity, with other 'gods' being mortals or extraplanar beings that believe themselves to be divine. Amelie Cortanos was initially a follower of Azhdak due to him being the guardian of her hamlet, however following a visit from Aidios, Amelie began to pray to the Maker.

Species

Genasi

Year of Birth

12 AA 1077 Years old

Current Residence

Chamber of Remembrance

Sex

Female

Belief/Deity

Church of Aidios

Other Affiliations

• The Divine Order of Alabaster Knights