Rowena Krollnar
Viscountess of Bergen
Fire Elementalist of the Fourth Circle
AC 1012
"As the poets say, beauty is but lent."
Appearance
Rowena Krollnar is a statuesque beauty, a little over six feet tall, and of a pale complexion, evidence of her non-pure Flaemish blood. She had bright blue eyes and blonde hair with fiery red highlights. She changes her hairstyle often, alternating between loose and long tresses to tight and traditional Flaemish headdresses. She has recently started using herbal concoctions to keep her face and her hair free from any sign of aging.
The one remarkable feature of the Viscountess of Bergen is the large garish scar on the left side of her face. But rather than being unsightly, the patterns of the scar actually enhance Lady Rowena's features, not unlike an elaborate tattoo or so much carelessly loose strands of her hair.
Lady Rowena never dons jewels nor uses perfumes, though she has often been noted to have a natural fragrance about her.
In public, she favors long flowing robes which flatter her figure, and an occasional veil on her face, of blue (to match her eyes) or gold (to accent her hair). On recently has she taken up wearing traditional Flaemish dresses.
Personality & Quirks
Rowena is stubborn and persistent, but not foolishly so. Once she has decided an undertaking, she is determined to fulfill it, unless she realizes it is beyond her own skills. But even so, Rowena is bound to improve her own skills, until she is well capable of completing the task.
Rowena is uncharacteristically tolerant towards non-Flaems. However, she has understood that she could not single-handedly change the status quo, so had done her best to conform to Flaemish ways—or, at least, appear so. But since Lady Juliana has become the Princess of Bergdhoven, Rowena has boldly become truer to herself and her beliefs of racial tolerance and acceptance.
For a long time, Rowena has been struggling to make people notice and respect her for her intelligence rather than her beauty. On one hand, she declines social events and frivolities, preferring to intellectual gatherings, where she could display her learning and cleverness. On the other hand, Rowena has developed a studied neglect of her physicality—the carelessly draped veil, the untended scar, the lack of jewels, the wisp of loose hair—all meant to downplay her physical appearance. Unfortunately, Rowena's beauty still manages to shine through. Only recently has she accepted this double-edged gift, and learned to make use of her beauty to suit her purposes.
Rowena could have become one of the best teachers at the Great School of Magic, but she still felt more inclined to learn that to teach. Only recently has she become an instructor in Planar Magic and she has proven to be a very capable teacher: precise, attentive, and unprejudiced—and also quite popular because of her beauteous looks!
Background
Rowena Krollnar was born the daughter of Haak Krollnar and Nejla de Wajden in AC 968. Her father was no family man, and no sooner was Rowena born, that he had left his family to go adventuring into the Elemental Plane of Fire. Thus, Rowena spent her childhood in Vystaar, a small mountainside village in the Viscounty of Bergen, raised by her mother and her mother's family. Rowena enjoyed long walks to the mountains and iced baths in mountain lakes. She befriended some lupins of the Flaemish shepherds clan living in the mountains and from them, she learned how to use herbs for healing and other purposes.
Rowena was sent to study magic at the Great School relatively late, after her mother's death in AC 966. When her estranged father won the Awards Festival for the Barony of Alderturm in AC 984, she refused to attend his proclamation. She had only seen him a few times in her life, and she decided to remain at the Great School instead. Lord Haak was terribly dismayed, but he had come to realize just how bad a father he had been, and let Rowena live her life as she pleased.
During her stay at the Great School, she was the subject of the amorous attentions of many students and even a teacher, but Rowena had fallen in love with a certain Aalbanese student, Maximilian Hiltier. Not wishing to raise scandal for a relationship with a non-Flaem, the two lovers agreed to keep their romance a secret. They succeeded for four years until she discovered she was pregnant.
Rowena knew she could not seek assistance from her mother's family (who were vehemently Flaemish), and decided to approach her father. Though not more open-minded than the average Flaems, but loving his daughter more than anything else, Haak surprisingly agreed to help the two lovers.
Lord Haak offered Maximilian a discreet position in Alderturm, and made an official declaration that the father of Rowena's child was a young, very eligible—and recently deceased—Flaemish aristocrat. Lord Haak spent much care in organizing the charade, from the solemn ceremonies between the Krollnars and the aristocrat's family (which earned him an important and wealthy ally) to casual and obtuse remarks of Prince Vanserie Vlaardoen XI about Rowena and the deceased aristocrat (which, of course, was taken as factual and true). Unfortunately, the Krondaharan enemies of House Linden had discovered the truth of the matter, and threatened to blackmail the young Aalbanese and spark a public scandal. Pushed by his love for Rowena and by his loyalty to Haak, Maximilian decided it was best if he would leave.
At first Rowena's loneliness was eased by her father's attentions, but soon after Haak himself was called by Prince Vanserie Vlaardoen to an important and dangerous mission to the Elemental Plane of Fire, to recover the legendary Chariot of Horst Krollnar.
In AC 990, Rowena gave birth to her son, Mirn Krollnar, but her joy was short lived when she received news of her father's death. Prince Vanserie himself had survived the mission and returned with the Chariot of Horst Krollnar. He offered the Chariot as a gift to Rowena, together with the title and rank of Baroness of Alderturm, but nothing could allay Rowena's grief for her father, nor her growing resentment towards Prince Vanserie.
Wishing to remain with her newborn son, Rowena cursorily received the Chariot (but left the investigation of its powers to the Flaemish experts), nominally accepted the position of Baroness (and delegated the tasks of ruling to her father's loyal retainers), but took no pains in hiding her hatred towards the Prince.
A few months later, the Chariot was returned to Lady Rowena. The investigation was incomplete as it lacked the magical command word for the Chariot to enter the Plane of Fire. Rowena was determined to discover the secret of the Chariot herself, and after arduous months succeeded. Unfortunately, upon uttering the magical words, she encountered a powerful demon who tried to capture her. After a brief but dramatic battle, Lady Rowena managed to banish it, but not before the fiend had severely scarred her face.
During the Festival Awards of AC 992, Lady Rowena appealed the Parliament to accept her bid for the open Viscounty of Bergen, the place of her birth. Prince Vanserie, still guilty for her father's death, personally rallied support for Rowena, but many of the lords already favored her stand. Rowena returned to her birthplace as its ruler and was determined to remain there the rest of her life.
Rowena continued her studies on the Chariot and eventually discovered that its legacy was wickedly bound to the Krollnars and the fiend. This evidence also proved that Prince Vanserie had no fault in her father's death, which eased her hatred towards the Prince. As a token of this, Lady Rowena presented the Chariot to Lady Wilhelmine Vlaardoen, Prince Vanserie's wife, with the counsel not to use it to travel to the Plane of Fire. In return, Lady Princess Wilhelmine immediately sponsored her entry into the Secret Craft of Fire Elementalism. Rowena progressively resumed studying magic, planar lore and ancient Flaemish history, secretly hoping to find some way to vanquish the fiend.
In AC 994, Maximilian Hiltier was traveling in Ierendi when he was captured and imprisoned by the Honor Island mages, a group of reclusive xenophobic wizards obsessed with fire magic. In exchange for her lover's release, Rowena had to sponsor the entry of one of their ranks into the Great School of Magic and the Secret Craft of Fire Elementalism. At first, Rowena was enraged by the proposition and only her love for Maximilian kept her from harming the Honor Island representative, a wizardess named Gherynid. Eventually, Rowena decided to make the best of a bad situation, and found her Ierendi guest disposed to share some of her knowledge on the Plane of Fire.
In AC 999, when Gherynid returned to Honor Island, Rowena was informed that Maximilian had actually escaped a few days before. Rowena waited for her lover's return, but as months passed without any news from him, she eventually gave up any hope to see him again.
Since AC 1000, Rowena's disillusion at her son Mirn joining the Glantrian Army was balanced by her great success as a teacher at the Great School of Magic. In fact, after years of prodding by her peers and colleagues (including Harald of Haaskinz), Rowena eventually agreed to accept a teaching position in Planar Magic, and became a major participant in the activities of the Glantrian intellectual circles. She established the Library and Museum of Planar Lore in Bergen, as well as the Planar Circle, a society devoted to share among its members knowledge related to the Planes. As a branch of the Planar Circle, she even revived the Heart of Flaem project that her ancestor Horst Krollnar started decades before. Rowena also reorganized Planar Magic at the Great School, rendering it more logical and functional than before. However she was discreetly cautioned by Lady Wilhelmine Vlaardoen not to make certain secrets about Fire Elementalism too accessible to the regular mage.
As Rowena improved her magical skills, she finally found the courage to venture into the Elemental Plane of Fire. She soon became a habitué, traveling there along with her comrades from the Planar Circle. Together, they verified, appended and updated much of the information gathered by the Heart of Flaem project.
In AC 1007, Maximilian Hiltier returned and so did Rowena's joie de vivre. Her son Mirn had also fallen ill and out of the Glantrian Military, and thus returned home. After 17 years, Rowena's family was reunited.
The Wrath of Immortals left Rowena with the satisfaction of achieving the Fourth Circle of Fire Elementalism but with the great sorrow at the death of Prince Vanserie and Lady Wilhelmine Vlaardoen. Rowena also decided it was time to publicly declare her love for Maximilian and the true parentage of her son Mirn.
Only one flaw remained in Rowena's life: the curse on the Chariot of Horst Krollnar. Princess Juliana Vlaardoen gladly returned the artifact, and Rowena and Maximilian prepared to battle the fiend who cursed the Krollnars. They succeed in slaying him and lifting the curse, but at the cost of Rowena's life.
Web of Intrigue
Rowena does not like to meddle in political affairs, leaving the burden to her Spokesman. Her political stance as the Viscountess of Bergen is constantly in support of House Linden, and in opposition of House Singhabad whenever the occasion arises.
Socially, Rowena is on very good terms with the Vlaardoens. Prince Vanserie Vlaardoen had felt guilty for the death of Rowena's father for a long time, and was generally very well disposed towards her, wishing to help however and whenever he could. Since Rowena realized that Vanserie had no faults in her father's death, she has sincerely admired the Prince for his efforts (though she never revealed the truth of the matter, as it is always useful to have the favor of a Prince of Glantri!)
Rowena greatly respected Lady Wilhelmine Vlaardoen, recognizing her role as symbol for all the Flaems. The Princess of the Flaems admired Rowena's scholarly attitudes and shared her curiosity towards Flaemish history and planar lore.
Rowena had contrasting feelings toward Lady Juliana Vlaardoen, when Juliana was still the heiress to the Principality of Bergdhoven. Rowena appreciated Juliana's tolerant attitude towards other races but disliked her laziness in magical studies. Upon the death of Juliana's parents, Rowena turned out to be a valuable support to the young Princess, more than any of the other Flaemish nobles. Juliana is grateful for Lady Rowena for this, and she has always been and admirer of how Rowena manages to mix her beauty and her cleverness.
Where Lady Rowena has earned the respect of Princess Juliana for her tolerant attitudes towards non-Flaems, she has earned the misgivings of the other Flaemish nobles, Lady Sinaria Verlien, Countess of High Sonden, and Lord Pieter Vandehaar, Baron of Oxhill. Rowena admires Countess Sinaria's magical prowess and the two women share such interests as planar magic, but their different personalities prevent them to be closer then they are. (Lady Sinaria herself had always refused to join the Planar Circle, as they adopt a despicable attitude of fraternization with non-Flaems!) Being a distant relative of the Vandeeker Family, Rowena distrusts Baron Pieter Vandehaar, since she suspects that he was somehow involved in the slaughter of the family. Due to her own stalwart loyalty to House Linden, the two remain socially civil and political neutral.
At the Great School of Magic, the majority of students and other teachers hold Rowena in high esteem. The exception is partly due to a good degree of envy, and partly due to the fact that Lady Rowena successfully recruited the best students and instructors into the Planar Circle (as opposed to other scholarly projects). Rowena knows of this envy and hatred towards her, but she simply ignores it.
Style of Magic & Combat
Statistics: 10th-level mage, Fire Elementalist of the 3rd Circle (1000 AC); 17th-level mage, Fire Elementalist of the 4th Circle (1012 AC); Str 12, Int 17, Wis 11, Dex 13, Con 12, Cha 17; AL N (D&D, AD&D).
Languages: Flaemish, Thyatian (Glantrian and Aalbanese dialects). Rowena speaks foreign languages without any accent.
Weapon Proficiencies: none.
Skills: ancient history (Flaemish), botany, geography (Bergen), herbalism, meditation, mountaineering, planar lore (Elemental Plane of Fire, Ethereal Plane, Quasi-Elemental Plane of Ash), quick casting, reading/writing, spell combination, spellcraft.
For a long time, Rowena has been a scholar and a theorist, rather than a practitioner. In her early days, when she had to confront an enemy, she relied heavily on protective spells, conjured or summoned creatures, and the good old teleport spell. As time passed and her powers grew, she learned to use more offensive spells, mostly based on elemental fire, of course.
Rowena's collection of Flaemish spells and magical items is not the greatest among the Flaems, but it is the most unique, as since she has personally researched and recreated them from the ancient Flaemish books.
Thanks to involvement with Planar Magic at the Great School of Magic and the Planar Circle, she possesses many facilities and spells for traveling to the Elemental Plane of Fire and other planes. One such facility is The Brooch of Fiery Travels, one of The Seven Legendary Brooches of the Flaem.
"Do not fear your beauty, my dear, since it shows how pure your innermost feelings are."
(Bernardus Sager, Flaemish Shepherd of the Sager clan)
References:
The Magic of the Secret Craft of Fire Elementalism
Author: Giovanni Porpora