Leona

Humble Origins

The coughing & wheezing seemed to drown out any laughter or consolation in the small village of Itolla. The skies were gray for the most part, but even the sunshine was quickly forgotten about. Children were not allowed to play together – family was separated. This was the case for those except the unlucky, who were packed into a small shack put together to care for the sick.
Small, raven-haired, 10-year-old Leona returned from the nearby stream with a pail of water for her family. She hopped along the path picking flowers along the way back into the village. This was the path she took every morning for her parents. Everyone followed their routine as quiet rules. We all know, however, that rules can be broken.
In the stand-up infirmary, strong townsmen and women did their best to care for the sick. A curse had been brought upon the land in the form of a plague. No one knew the cause or medical name. There was no experience in this horrible curse of a disease. It started with a soft cough that could be unnoticeable to most. A cold would follow and eventually fever. In most cases, the sick would lose their vision and hearing. No one was excluded from contracting it. The elderly were the most susceptible, but unfortunately newborn children also would be lost to this.
A small boy named Fin grew up with Leona. They played together every day up until 3 months ago when the disease hit. He was held up in the infirmary, and not even his parents were able to see him. He was one of the first to become sick out of anyone in the village.
Leona would always stroll past the infirmary each morning. She eventually learned when the caretakers were in and out. One morning she woke up earlier than normal and snuck inside the shack. Fin was so surprised to see his friend and gave the best smile he possibly could. Leona dropped off a flower for him and promised that each week she would bring him a new one until he got better.
Several weeks passed and Leona held her promise, always bringing Fin a new flower. One day however she found Fin’s bedroll to be empty; his belongings still there. Frantically, she ran outside and went to his parents house where she found the couple sobbing loudly outside. One of the caretakers was shoveling out a hole in the ground, where Leona learned later was his grave.
Leona’s parents did the best they could to console her. She spent days isolating herself wondering what she could have done to prevent this and why the Gods had to take Fin from her. He did nothing to deserve this.
A week passed and Leona had dinner with her parents. Without realizing it, she let out a cough. One led to another and eventually the same fate had been brought upon her. Her parents were of the same stature as most in the village and did not have access to anything above and beyond what the others had been receiving. The lovely, cheery Leona was losing her eyesight and hearing by the day. Her throat was closing up. Life went black for her.
Her parents were traumatized losing their only child. They began preparing to bury their sweet daughter immediately. A neighbor let them know there was a rumor of a visitor passing through that asked to study the body of a victim to the disease. The parents offered Leona knowing she would want to do anything to help prevent this from happening to anyone ever again. A man in a black cloak walked through the village. Everyone gawked at this person as they were not accustomed to anyone visiting, especially during these times. He did not speak much; he only asked to see the girl’s body. He never took his hood off, so no one was able to see him. He spent 3 nights with the girl asking to be alone to study and prevent others from catching the disease. The morning of the fourth day, he left the village without saying anything. Leona’s parents came in to check on his progress to find an almost empty building.
What they found was their daughter, rubbing her eyes sitting up on the table she had spent the past several days on. She yawned and stretched asking what was happening. Without hesitation, she was embraced, and the sobbing turned into tears and yells of joy. That day the village saw their first ray of happiness. Beside Leona, there was a bottle of purple liquid. The caretakers distributed this to the patients and those who were sick were cured within the week.
Leona spent the next several years taking care of the village. She wanted to get stronger and learn medicine and how to help those who got injured and sick. Others grew up in her path, wanting to help the town. Once others were as capable as her, Leona wanted to begin traveling to assist those outside of her town.
She held her religion close to her heart. Her parents gave her prayer beads as a parting gift when she left. The town had saved up all their gold to purchase these for her as a way of saying thank you for the years of service she had put in. Leona promised to use these beads to save the unfortunate.
Her travels brought her upon several towns, small and large. There were people to help in all of them. She never asked for payment in any form, but she was always appreciative of food, lodging, and anything that could help the next person. Her powers would be heard of across the land and she would soon be requested to not only heal those, but also protect from evil. She gained strength and magic to fight off monsters of the night and day. She wrote letters back to her town telling them of all the journeys she took on. She was known as a hero to many but never let this go to her head. She was humble and restless, wanting to never waste time and move on to the next area that needed her.
What had made her worthy of a second chance? She would continue her journey to answer this question.

Meeting Your Heroes

Leona's travels eventually led her to The Province of Requiem and the company of an adventuring party gathered together by King Aurum, first to aid in the recovery of his wayward daughter and later to combat the instigators of The Long Shadow Conflicts. During this time, she met the tiefling Echoless, whom she would soon learn was highly influential in the mythology of Dualism. Because of this, Leona developed an almost fanatical devotion to the tiefling, treating her almost as if she was Fos herself. Over time, the pair would form a bond, and Leona would temper her enthusiasm enough to see Echoless as a person and less of a divine figure.
However, the initial revelation and its corresponding shock never fully left Leona. While she and her fellows fought against the machinations of Cataclysm, she grappled with her own crisis of faith. She knew that Fos was guiding her (even beyond whatever connection she still saw between the deity and Echoless), but everywhere she turned, she was coming face to face with other so-called gods. Despite this, she drew comfort in knowing that Echoless was by her side; she knew that no matter what befell them, so long as they were together, they could face down any god that stood in their way.
With the conclusion of The Extinction War, Leona and Echoless spent their remaining days as nomads; wandering across the land and aiding any and all they came across who were in need. When Echoless passed, Leona carried on for the remainder of her days and carried on their legacy, which would surpass even her extended lifespan as a half-elf. Even as of 1590, countless wanderers carry on the mantle of the Sisters of the Wandering Temple.

Species

Half Elves

Life

1182 1382 200 years old

Birthplace

Itolla (small village near Fendelen )

Belief/Deity

Dualism