Gudrun Athelswicht-Zaal

Scholarch Gudrun Athelswicht-Zaal

Half-elven, born 1280 AK to parents who were servants of the Gilded Tower. Entered the Academy as an apprentice at the age of eleven, under the standing invitation to all lowborn children of the town who demonstrate significant scholastic ability. Enrolled as a neophyte scholar of divination 1298; conferred the grade of Adept 1305 (thesis: “Draconian Metempsychotic Divination and the Katari Sanguinary Tradition”). Served as a diviner within the Tower whilst also lecturing in the Faculty Divinatory until 1314 AK, when she was appointed Vice-Scholarch of the Faculty Divinatory. Anointed a banner-knight of House Zaal 1335 AK for services rendered. Elected Scholarch 1341AK, following the appointment of former Scholarch Diandra Salus-Mettvergen to the rank of Mistress of the Tower. Research interests include postcognitive temporal scrying, sanguinary divination, and analytic theurgy.

Mental characteristics

Education

Gudrun was educated at the Hall of Apprentices of the Academy of Gildenschloss from the age of eleven until eighteen, entering the Faculty Divinatory as a Neophyte diviner in 1298AK. She was granted the grade of Adept in 1305AK - taking somewhat longer than the usual amount of time required to attain the grade - writing her thesis on "Draconian Metempsychotic Divination and the Katari Sanguinary Tradition".

Employment

From 1305 to 1314 Gudrun served as a diviner for the Gilded Tower to pay off her apprenticeship-bond, whilst also lecturing in the Faculty Divinatory. She was appointed Vice-Scholarch of the Faculty Divinatory by her mentor Diandra Salus-Mettvergen in 1314, when the latter was elected Scholarch.
From 1315AK until 1321AK, Gudrun contributed to the research of the Empty Gyre, a group of researchers from the Gilded Tower and the Queensknife that sought to create a cadre of psychic assassins, which they referred to as "Soulknives", as a secret weapon in the war against Balthas. Her involvement in the project appears to have been quite peripheral, mostly focusing on metempsychotic divination and the analysis of souls; she was reportedly horrified when the truth about some of the project's more ethically-dubious experiments came to light in 1321AK.
She continued to work for the Gilded Tower on occasion, and it is believed that she was involved in the investigation and later destruction of the Sanguine Veil - for which she was anointed a banner-knight of House Zaal by Duchess Agata Zaal van Cameri in 1335AK.
In 1341AK she was elected Scholarch of the Academy following Diandra Salus-Mettvergen's appointment to the rank of Mistress of the Tower.

Accomplishments & Achievements

The Sanguine Veil Investigation

In 1335AK Gudrun aided Levity of the Gilded Tower in their investigation of the cult known as the Sanguine Veil. The full extent of her involvement is unclear, though it appears that she performed a series of divinatory rituals to communicate with the entity known as Si'a'u, and helped to devise and perform a method of chronurgic divination known as Retracing the River in order to gain a deeper understanding of the history of the Sanguine Veil and the di Gratiano Family. Both of these involved some significant personal risk, and indeed it is reported that she suffered some severe psychic backlash from the communication with Si'a'u that almost killed her. For her assistance in bringing down the Sanguine Veil, Gudrun was anointed a Banner-Knight of House Zaal by Duchess Agata Zaal in 1335AK.

Failures & Embarrassments

The Binding of the Hound

In 1340AK Gudrun cooperated with Sanctity Falcoferri-Riddacci to enter into the dreamscape of Motion Ashbrook-Sarren, a Shadow Sorceror and student of the Academy of Gildenschloss who was at that point sixteen years old, in order to erect a number of wards and bindings within her mind to constrain her power. This was a result of Motion unexpectedly manifesting a significant amount of power, including the ability to call forth a Hound of Ill Omen, but without the skill or maturity to properly control that power - which led to several students being injured. Gudrun speculated that Motion's sudden increase in power had been a result of the emotional turmoil that was stirred up by the break-up of her relationship with Princess Beatrix Bheuren.
Whilst Gudrun and Sanctity were successful in binding the Hound of Ill Omen, it came at a significant cost to Motion: not only did it require the suppression of a significant number of memories that Motion considered important to her, the wards erected within her mind prevented her from being able to properly interface with the Fountain of Night. Whilst this would constrain her power, it would not prevent the build-up of energies within her soul; by 1344AK these built-up energies were of sufficient magnitude that had they been released all at once, they would completely destroy her. The manipulations that Gudrun and Sanctity put in place would also allow Sanctity to gain control of the Hound and direct it at his foes - which is exactly what occured during the Shadow-Wolf Murders.
Gudrun and Sanctity neither sought Motion's consent to do this, nor did they ever tell her exactly what they had done to her. Gudrun justified this with the claim that Motion was too immature to understand the necessity of the proceedure, and that had they explained it to her it would have risked provoking the ire of the Hound. Perhaps out of guilt, Gudrun took Motion under her wing thereafter; she claimed that she had always intended to tell Motion everything some day, but that there had never been the right time. It wasn't until 1344AK that Gudrun admitted the truth to the investigators who questioned her on the subject: that she was terrified of Motion and the power that she was capable of wielding, and that in truth she would probably have never explained quite what had happened.

The Shadow-Hound Murders

Following the death of Ariadne Sendris-Ysern, Gudrun reportedly had some suspicions that Motion's Hound of Ill Omen may have been somehow involved in the killing, and this suspicion only grew following the death of Claudin Alkyonides-Ysern the following day; she surmised that Sanctity had to be involved, as he was the only other person who knew how to call forth the Hound from Motion's dreamscape. She however did not come forward with any information until she was questioned on the matter by adventurers in the employ of Princess Beatrix, claiming that she had been too afraid of the potential consequences of doing so.

Current Location

Gildenschloss

Species

Half-elf

Ethnicity

Ald

Other Ethnicities/Cultures

• Balthan
• Rathi Elves

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Scholarch of the Academy of Gildenschloss
Banner-Knight of House Zaal

Year of Birth

1280 64 Years old

Birthplace

Gildenschloss

Pronouns

she/her

Aligned Organization

Academy of Gildenschloss

Other Affiliations

• Gilded Tower