Aranel Balthòr

Aranel Balthòr is the daughter and only child of Danil Balthòr and Nyssa Lochmont. She was born in the city of Telbut Rinwr in the province of Balthòr on October 13, 1127, which puts her into the 102nd class. She is most famed for her extremely cursed life, brought upon her entirely by the foolish and evil acts of her mother. Aranel is quite possibly the most accursed person in history.

Aranel’s Mother
Nyssa Lochmont (b. 1106 d. 1130) was a very rebellious woman and was only interested in herself which landed her into all kinds of trouble. She was unusually fascinated by the ways of evil and was highly interested in the beasts and demons of Terabi's Realm, believing she could become one of them if she tried hard enough. Many believe that she came into contact with the beasts of the Realm somehow and vowed to help them spread destruction, demanding them to take her. The demons evidently agreed to take her as their own but not without having a little fun. Nyssa, afraid of getting hurt by a curse, managed to convince them to deflect all of their curses onto her unborn baby, sacrificing it to the demon of chaos. This however backfired as they weren't about to let a rash, teenage girl get away free, cursing her with accidents so that she would get caught. Shortly after the birth of Aranel, Nyssa was finally arrested for trying to kill and overthrow various people when her curse of accidents revealed herself. She was taken to prison in Whaven, where she died some two years later. Many people speculate that Nyssa became a lesser beast of the Realm, likely a demon of anger.

Aranel’s Father
Danil Balthòr (b. 1107 d. 1200) was a young artistic genius who fell in love with a misguided and evil lady (married 1125-1128). After Nyssa’s imprisonment their marriage was nullified and he remarried in 1130 to Akèli Enna Freloch and had three children- Fenton (b. 1132), Elvin Bhaius (b. 1137), and Ellandra (b. 1140). Together Danil and Akèli raised Aranel while Danil continued to pursue double mastery in Art Metals. He taught at the Balthòr School, located in Thahro del Mont, until the year 1144 when he was invited to teach at Leena University, becoming Professor of Art Metals from that year until his death in 1200 at the age of 92. He was the teacher of Iaso Montàlo, who became one of the most recognized and famous artists of Jadali. Danil and Akèli would go on to raise their granddaughter after Aranel’s death.

Aranel’s Stepmother
Akèli Enna Freloch (b. 1110 d. 1193) was a sweet girl from Leena. She was the cousin of Kalo Freloch and visited his family up in Thahro del Mont often. She fell in love with Danil Balthòr but was unable to move there so he ended up marrying Nyssa Lochmont. However, Nyssa proved to be evil and their marriage was canceled almost 3 years later when she was arrested and convicted for various hate crimes. Akèli was finally able to move to Thahro del Mont where she heard about all of the dealings with Nyssa and visited Danil often, still in love with him. They chose to get married even though Danil had a daughter and did so in late 1130 when Aranel was 3. She adopted Aranel as her own child a year later and together they raised her.

Aranel’s Early Years
Because of the evildoings of her mother and her selfish sacrifice, Aranel led a cursed life. She was attacked strongly by the demon of chaos and often and was very sickly, rarely leaving the house. Over her life the beast drained her of thought, never ceasing to try and consume her completely. She was found to have the curse almost immediately after her birth, confirmed when she was given her name by Kalo Freloch, the Eldin of Leena at the time. Mera Visi was two years older than her and they went to school together. The first time he saw specifically her get attacked was when he was 16 years old and from that point on he was on a quest to save her and keep the curse at bay.

Aranel moved from Thahro del Mont to Leena with her family in 1144 when her father accepted the post of Professor of Art Metals. Over the years she grew very close to Mera Visi, Key Freloch, Iaso Montàlo, and Barthàl Balthòr. She was sweet but very shy and timid, tripping over words and was always moving (not unlike S. R. Sorela, cursed by the same monster). Mera Visi was able to stop current attacks and heal her to her baseline but was unable to completely remove her curse and it grew inside of her as years went on.

Aranel’s Later Years
Despite her increasingly fragile and volatile nature Aranel married Barthàl Balthòr in 1160 at the age of 33.* He too had increasingly fragile health, being stricken with a disease that “made his skin taste of the sea and caused him to cough constantly and seem like he hadn’t eaten.” This disease would later be identified as cystic fibrosis. Against all odds, Aranel became pregnant in 1161 and gave birth to a daughter (August 3, 1162) who she named Miriele Balthòr. While pregnant, Terabi gave Mera Visi a power to be bestowed upon Aranel to protect her from harm and to completely protect her child. This worked and the small line of curses was broken. However, Barthàl Balthòr passed away in the very early days of 1163 due to complications from his disease. Being stricken with fresh grief gave the demons of the Realm newfound power to torment her and Aranel began to go mad. She soon became unable to care for her daughter and Miriele was placed into the care of her grandparents.

*It has been said and confirmed many times that Aranel was very much in love with Iaso Montàlo but he was much too young for her to marry, being 10 years younger. This fact would continue to torment her throughout the rest of her life.

Throughout the next 7 years Aranel went increasingly mad. By 1165 she no longer stayed in her house and wandered around Freloch and Lochmont, being constantly thrown down by the curse and muttering incomprehensible things. Everyone in the towns east of the Ried Bhroch knew about her and looked after her collectively, providing her with meals and sheltering her when she would accept it. She still corresponded with Mera Visi, Key Freloch, and Iaso Montàlo often and enjoyed their company. By 1168 she could no longer speak and was becoming increasingly obsessed with a worry that she would inevitably become consumed by the beasts of the Realm and tried to flee, never staying in the same place longer than a few hours.

Aranel’s Cursed Death
By 1170 Aranel had gone completely mad. She was exhausted from running around and was extremely unkempt and frail. Terabi had worked with the other gods as well as Mera Visi to establish a ritual that would free her from the curses she carried, provided she could wait until all appropriate measures were put in place. Becoming desperate, she decided to take her own life, the one measure she was absolutely forbidden to take. On October 31, 1170, Aranel was last seen near her hometown of Telbut Rinwr, wandering the streets, her clothing tattered. Unknown to anyone at the time, she had stolen or acquired a rope and a sharp knife from the city and made her way to the densely forested area southeast of where her childhood home was. Once there, she took a wooden ladder and climbed a tall oak tree. She reached a large branch and tied her feet and knees to it with the rope. She then pushed the ladder down and, looking up into the moonlight, slit her wrists with the dagger. As darkness overtook her she fell backwards, hanging upside down to let the blood out more quickly.

Unfortunately, as she led a cursed life and took her own life, she was punished with a cursed death. Her soul was separated from her body but it did not return to the Realm of Spirits. She screamed as she beheld her dead body and only then realized that she had cursed herself further by not asking to be released. Her body was found the next morning and her death attracted the attention of most of the east coast. Though she was invisible to the general population, her cries could be heard and a haunting presence felt. Mera Visi, being a Man of Terabi, could see her perfectly and was able to talk to her, though he had a hard time doing so for she was very distraught and not so used to having control of her body again. She was free of her curse but stuck in a state that would prove to be almost worse. She could not join her ancestors and descendants in the Realm of Spirits and was doomed to forever haunt areas of Jadali.

The Ghost of Aranel
Aranel hid for the first several years of her new ghostly existence, only able to be found by Mera Visi. After the death of Iaso Montàlo nearly a year after her, she was thrown into despair and hid deep in the forest for several years. As time walked ever steadily forward, Aranel accepted her fate but was still mightily upset by it all. As the members of her family and her close friends died and younger generations were raised up Aranel lost connection with them, becoming totally isolated and alone. Her only comfort was in talking to the Eldin of Leena, as he remained a ruler for over 100 years at a time and was the most constant thing she had in her afterlife.

To this day Aranel’s ghost travels around Jadali, listening and observing what people are doing, though she mainly occupies one of three places: Dahsir Castle (especially the south corridor), University of Leena (usually the art metal building), and the forest where she took her life which is now referred to as Aranel Ieni-Sar (The Spirited/Haunted Woods of Aranel). She is of no threat to anyone but her faint cries can be heard by all, magnified by moonlight and darkness. She is able to cause basic mischief like ruffling parchment, tipping over bottles, and rustling trees and there is a definite feeling when she is around. She can walk through people and the experience is said to feel “like the pains of a tormented soul.”

To this day she remains along the east coast, haunting the lands, her blue outline visible to any Terabikai, Osanokai, or those of her lineage (the descendants of her step-siblings). Her ghost is certainly perceptible by anyone specifically looking for her though the Terabikai are able to locate her faster than anyone else because of her aura. Most people who seek her out with true intent and not to prove they could do it do eventually find her and she usually enjoys the company. She is civil and kind, although very sad, and is extremely lonely since her ancestors have no memory of her in flesh and after 840+ years she doesn’t know many a familiar face. While she is invisible to most of the people who seek her and they can't hear her voice, her presence is easily identifiable and she uses her basic powers of ruffling pages and things like that to show that she is aware and listening. She has befriended S. R. Sorela, Meiro Freloch, Isli Loch, and Ilonwyn Lochmont and will often pay special visits to them. They, of course, can hear her perfectly and see her in her true form (Isli is a very distant relative of Fenton). Meiro has described her as a "bitter, sad, blue ghost."

The demon that bound itself to her was destroyed in 1963 by S. R. Sorela and this took away a considerable amount of her misery. She knew of his curse and he found her in the castle corridors where he befriended her and they commiserated together. She was definitely present when the whole event took place though she watched from afar. She sought him out when he was able to occupy his body again and thanked him immensely for his act.

The Stone with the Imprint
Aranel's body was buried in a small family graveyard located on the eastern border of Aranel Ieni-Sar. Mera was quite upset that she killed herself because he knew what it would mean to be a ghost barred from the Realm of Souls. Iaso Montalo made a small metal statuette that now sits atop her burial site and about a year after her death a curious stone appeared in front of it with a carved imprint of a hand and the inscription "The Blood of Aranel will set her free." This enchanted stone was set in place by Terabi under the direction of some of the other gods and nobody really knew what to make of it, knowing that someone would have to pay in blood with their hand on the stone. Over time, as relatives tried their blood on the stone, nothing happened and Aranel lost that last fraction of hope that she would be freed. It wasn't until it was much too late that they realized that the person had to be "of age" (17 or older) and that it could only be a pure-blooded descendant.

Miriele’s Decision
Aranel's daughter Miriele was 8 years old at the time of her death and was forever changed by it. She never visited the spot where her mother died and felt that the only way to break the chain of death was to leave Jadali forever. She maintained a very low profile, afraid of what people would think or expect of her and shortly after she came of age she made preparations to leave forever. She took with her everything that she owned, including a keepsake puzzle box made by her grandfather full of documents, letters, and pendants given to Aranel by her friends, family, and husband to remember her by. At the age of 20, in 1183, Miriele went to the Lighthouse Port (Resa Kiybh) and boarded a ship bound for Cayadora, never to be seen or heard from again.

Even though nobody in Jadali knew for sure what happened to Miriele after the age of 20 she eventually died and upon doing so entered Terabi’s Realm and spoke with Mera Visi, apologizing for her rash actions but confirming that she had lived a good life and had produced many strong children. Mera explained to Miriele that it was discovered a few years after she left that only she could have freed Aranel from her cursed death. Aranel would forever remain on the earth as a cursed spirit unless a direct descendant could return and perform a proper ritual to set her free. He explained that it could very well take centuries but Kalo Freloch had seen all of this in vision and that it would happen eventually. Miriele was quite upset about all this, as she had not fully believed that her mother wouldn't be in the Realm of Souls to welcome her home in death. According to the visions of the Osanokai, Miriele is actively playing a hand in making sure her descendants survive and that the only tangible record of their secret ancestor, the metal puzzle box of documents, survives with them.