Lightward Siendra Champion Lore
High Keeper Prysma is the Keeper of Aravia’s largest Vault. Though powerful, he is only a single Elf and cannot patrol the entirety of the cavernous space on his own. Recognizing this limitation, he petitioned the Arbiter for permission to recruit disciples to assist him — not fully-fledged Vault Keepers themselves, but trusted agents and assistants who practiced the same branch of Light magic as Prysma himself and thereby help evolve the discipline. The Arbiter assented, and Prysma declared his disciples would be known as Lightwards.
Lightwards are honor-bound to protect Prysma’s Vault, abhor evil, and guard the secrets of his luminance from inquisitive scholars and mages who seek to steal his secrets. Lightwards use their mastery of glowing light to create a ‘lightmark,’ a magical gleam visible only to Lightwards. When an enemy is lightmarked, Lightwards perceive a radiance engulfing the target’s body, preventing the foe from skulking in darkness, while every weak point is highlighted as a stronger, brighter glow. Gaps between plates or beast scales, locations of vital organs, and rusty or dented spots on armor shine like beacons, impossible to conceal.
This guidance lets Lightwards strike with uncanny precision and power: they often defeat their foes in a single decisive blow, and they bring down even massive and durable creatures with the bare minimum number of strikes. The lore of the Lightwards explains the lightmark in terms of Lumaya’s unfaltering gaze and the incapability of anyone or anything to hide from her. The light is truth, harsh and unequivocal, that dispels the shadows where lies and evil thrive.
Siendra was among the first Lightwards. She is composed, graceful, and serene even in battle, a woman of few words and unwavering focus. She has weaned herself off all worldly pleasures and temptations, subsisting on bread, gruel, and water, living as an ascetic. She is sustained and fulfilled entirely by her devotion and the joy of defeating Lumaya’s enemies.
Siendra’s parents were a pair of forbidden lovers from rival houses who had lost everything when their romance, and child, were discovered. Traveling with their baby, they took shelter in an abandoned tomb that, unbeknownst to them, was one of the secret entrances to Prysma’s Vault. By blind luck they activated the secret mechanism revealing the door to the deeper Vault, and wandered in. Without a single coin to their name and only a few days’ worth of food, they decided to risk exploring the mysterious trove they had found.
Prysma found the naive Elves easily, assessed their situation, and listened to their whispered conversation. Unwilling to slay the desperate Elves, he approached them with an offer: they would spend their lives sequestered with him in the Vault, serving his material needs. Their child would be raised as a Lightward and help Prysma keep the Vault secure. They would have safety and sustenance all their days, in exchange for the loss of their freedom. Otherwise, he would have no choice but to end them. Siendra’s parents could not refuse the terms.
When Siendra was old enough to understand she was told of her family’s bargain, and accepted it unquestioningly. The venerable Vault Keeper was like a stern but loving uncle to her. After many years of faithful service, repelling raids by Demonspawn and Undead as well as curious mortals, Siendra realized that she was aging while Prysma seemingly did not. She beseeched him for the same longevity he enjoyed, but he could not share it. Instead, he asked the Arbiter for another favor, and Siendra was bonded to one of the very Shards she had spent her life defending.