Bio

Celeste was given to a church of the gods as an infant, and from a young age was given over to the care of the priestess of the Raven Queen. The girl was trained and became at least moderately skilled in putting the bodies of the dead to rest. She was, however, never able to call on the powers of the goddess as other clerics could.

Her life was mostly uneventful until the age of twenty, when a new cleric of Pelor took up residence with the other priests of the sun god. The cleric, Malik, made quick progress through the ranks of leadership at the combined church, for he had not only excellent control over the divine powers granted to him, but also a good heart and charming good looks. Celeste fell in love with the man, and contrived to spend as much time with him as possible. Their courtship was dynamic and the secret talk of the town, but soon their engagement was publicly announced. The wedding was magnificent, and word spread of the marriage blessed by both life and death. Rings would of course have been traditional symbols of the bonds of their marriage, but the couple decided on a more unique symbol for their unique marriage; a pair of Raven’s Feathers, each linked to the wearer’s partner.

The marriage was a happy one, and lasted three years. During that time the two cared well for the people of their home city, Malik tending to the living while Celeste tenderly ministered to those who had passed. It all came crashing down, however, when one of those under Celeste’s care decided to get back up again. A vampire had somehow snuck in amongst the dead in the church, and during the night it went on a killing spree. Half the priests were dead before the rest even awoke, and by then that first half had risen as the undead minions of the creature. The battle lasted through the night, but was ended at last thanks to the skill and leadership of Malik… But at a price. The priest of pelor was mortally wounded; his throat nearly torn out by the vampire’s jaws, by the time his wife desperately impaled the beast’s heart with a nearby relic.

Although Malik was dying, Celeste was unwilling to let her beloved pass. Breaking the tenants of The Raven Queen, knowing that the man would likely be infected by the vampire’s powerful bite should he remain in this world, Celeste saved Malik’s life with the few remaining healing resources available to her… Only to wake the next morning to a renewed scene of carnage and a blood red feather on the table next to her bed. Malik had revived as a vampire, strong and powerful in death as he had been in life. He had fled in the night, but not before devouring and raising as zombies, several of the low ranking priests as a parting gift.

Celeste realized what had happened at once, when she saw the blood red indication of her husband’s death. Several intense weeks of prayer to the goddess of death followed, and when the priestess returned from the cloisters, she was fully equipped with the powers and gear of an Avenger, sworn to the oath of bringing her husband to his final rest. She since hunted Malik across the lands, spending a over a year in search before her hunt was ended.

Short descriptors for Celeste’s personality: Devoted, Respectful, Prone to snapping, Burdened, Empathetic, Usually quiet.

Celeste is a human woman of medium height and a somewhat thin frame. Her skin is pale, and she wears a deep hooded cloak on almost all occasions. Her face is generally hidden behind her hood, but when she does pull the hood back, it reveals a somewhat pretty face, with deep blue eyes and dark blonde hair, streaked with black (She claims it is due to her frequent channeling of The Raven Queen’s powers.). She wears a single, blood red feather as a sort of hairpin. Of most obvious note are the pair of wings which sprout from her back. These seem to change on a day to day basis, sometimes in small ways, sometimes in obvious ways. At their most extreme, they can be seen as a white so brilliant that they seem almost to flame, or as a skeletal black, that seems more bone than feather. These wings she generally keeps folded beneath her cloak, to avoid alarming those she encounters.

Canon voice samples: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wETniLRxcsw