Leera Duskrider
pronouns: she/her
Personality
As leader of the Seekers' Guild, Leera Duskrider is bold, strong, and independent. She's direct and straightforward, never wanting to waste time beating around the bush. Although she says what she means, she also has her secrets and only tells the Seekers what they need to know. She is fully capable of making the hard decisions that leadership requires.
Leera has a wry sense of humor and will playfully tease those she knows well. She has a warm side and will occasionally let her guard down and show her empathy and concern for others.
She is also extremely skilled in discernment and negotiation. She knows how to disarm others and get them on her side with just the right words.
Physical Description
Leera is a middle-aged human woman with a slender build. Her left leg has been replaced with a metal prosthetic and the end of a long scar can be seen beneath the cuff of her right sleeve. She also carries a cane crafted from a rare type of wood found only in the Forests of Gargal.
Leera keeps her gray hair in a clean, short style and dresses in professional attire at all times. Growing up as a human in a city of mostly elves made her overly conscious of her appearance and bearing. Even in the privacy of her own home, Leera is prepared for anything. A sharpened dagger can always be found within arms reach and she is seldom surprised by anything.
Personal History
Leera comes from the well-known Duskrider family. Her grandmother, a powerful merchant in the Crimson City, needed a change after her husband passed away. She had always been fascinated with the Luminated Alliance and the lives of elves in particular. Though others warned her against moving to a war-torn region, she packed up her children and moved them to the city of Din'Lux. Decades later, when Leera was born, their family had earned a great deal of respect in the city along with a great deal of money.
Growing up in Din'Lux was difficult for Leera. There were few humans in the city and she often felt alone and excluded from her elven peers. She learned to be independent and self-reliant and also to easily converse and blend in with those different from herself. These skills proved useful to Leera as she grew up and took over her family's business.
When asked, most Din'Lux residents see the Duskrider family as respectable, good-natured, and honest. But there are whispers that the family made their wealth in unsavory ways—through extortion and blackmail. These individuals believe that Leera founded the Seekers' Guild as some sort of recompense for her family's past crimes. It's difficult to say whether or not Leera has heard these rumors or how much truth lies in them.
Leera lives in the Duskrider family manor in the Nests along with a few elderly members of her extended family. A burly dwarf named Markus takes care of the manor's household duties. It's not known how Markus came to work at the Duskrider home, but rumor has it that he was once a member of the infamous Cult of Altan.
Founding of the Seekers' Guild
Leera founded the Seekers' Guild soon after the return of the Starless Nights. With the city crowded with refugees, Leera felt an emptiness in her well-appointed home in the Nests. As a young person, she’d spent many hours training in the magical arts before inheriting her family’s business empire. Maybe now she could put those skills to use.
Most of the Din'Lux City Guard had resigned in the wake of Vath's coup. Though much of the Moonsickle Company's former crew joined the guard, their numbers still fell short. It was challenging enough for them to maintain the peace within Din'Lux and they had not the time, training, or resources to deal with matters beyond the city walls.
With an eye for business, Leera saw an opportunity. Crises in and around Din’Lux were in no short supply. There was a clear need in the city for highly-trained individuals capable of a variety of tasks: investigation, security, research, travel beyond the city walls, and, occasionally, physical retribution. Leera knew that where there was demand, there was money to be made. As a well-known and powerful merchant in Din’Lux, Leera had powerful connections in the city, including a relationship with Hierophant Selen. With this influence, Leera was able to procure the funding necessary to found the Seekers' Guild.
Leera began recruiting skillful members of all sorts. There was no shortage of soldiers milling around the streets of Din’Lux who no longer had a war to fight. After converting one of her trade houses in the center of the city into a guildhall, she was able to offer room, board, and training to potential members. Within a short time, the Seekers' Guild was an essential part of Din'Lux, offering protection and security to the last refuge in Atios.
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