Ishtalia Benjem, Prophet of the Coming Dawn

Prophet; Sage; Arch-Magi Ishtalia Benejem

When I was a young man, I had the good fortune of meeting the Sage Ishtalia herself. I had attended a public lecture she had given in the Acropolis and was invited to speak with her afterwards. I found her to be brusque and stern, but passionate about her work. She was nothing like the Shade-spawn she had been made out to be by the Redemptionists and their pamphlets, and I told her as much. She actually laughed! I made the Prophet of the Coming Dawn laugh, can you imagine!
They burned her less than a week later. She had done nothing but tell the world that the end of the Thramorri was immanent. She had sought the truth, followed the evidence where it led, revealed it to us, and they burned her for it. She died for what she believed in, because those who listened to her did not wish to hear it. I mourned her.
But I also smile when I think of her. I made her laugh.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Ishtalia was born to unremarkable parents in the city of Ardrenost, the Flame of the Ardenspire. It was only her natural arcane gifts that saved her from a life of menial labour or service. Her mother and father were both bonded servants of a minor noble house on the lower slopes of the Spire, and when they discovered their daughter's profound arcane talents, they were overjoyed - not only for her, but for themselves. In Ardrenost, when a child of low birth displays any skill with the arcane, they and their families are immediately elevated into the ranks of the minor nobility, and provided a modest stipend from the ruling council. Ishtalia and her family were quick to adopt the newer customs of the nobility, in the hopes of leaving their impoverished roots firmly behind them.

Education

Ishtalia spent her formative years in the halls of the Schola Magos, where she gained an extensive education, both mystical and mundane. By the time she ascended to the rank of Magi, she had become a capable historian, and she used her skills to better understand the cycles of Dark and Dawn ages. She began to develop a radical theory, that the current Long Night was coming to an end more quickly than anyone imagined, and though her work was well-researched and powerfully argued, it failed to attract much attention within mainstream academic society.

Accomplishments & Achievements

Ishtalia's theories earned her mockery and scorn within the halls of the Academy, but popular audiences were often more receptive. In time, she acquired a patron whose extensive wealth and similar interests made them an excellent partner for the rogue academic. Thanks to their largesse, Ishtalia was able to travel extensively to many of the oldest libraries in the world. Over time, she concluded that the next Dawn Age was immanent, and would in fact arrive within the next century.
This conclusion did not sit well with many of the more religious members of Ardrenosi society, who viewed her predictions as blasphemous; the Long Night was divine retribution for the sins of the last Dawn Age, and to predict the coming of a new one was to predict the coming of a new age of sin. Ishtalia and her ideas were attacked relentlessly by theologians and religious demagogues even after she had met her end at the hands of a zealous mob.

Current Location

The Ardenspire

Species

Humans (Pre-Industrial)

Life

4190 CR 4234 CR 44 years old

Circumstances of Birth

Unremarkable

Circumstances of Death

Died at the hands of a mob who had become enraged at her predictions about the end of the Starlight Age

Eyes

Hazel, stern

Hair

Brown and intensely curly, reaching to nearly her waist

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Pale white

Height

5'10

Weight

146lbs

Quotes & Catchphrases

The Dark is ending! Burning me won't change that. The Dark is ending!