Artunis Summerbreeze

Artunis was born in the eastern village of Rose Hollow to Azad Starfall, an Elf of Seosan descent, and his wife, Arya, a Seosan human who had met her husband when she crossed the border into Linwood to escape a jealous former lover. She went to the capital every year with her parents for the annual spring festival, but her favorite remained the fall harvest festival in Rose Hollow until the spring festival at which she met Aidan Summerbreeze. She also grew up training as a Shadow Walker under her mother’s tutelage and learning the use of a bow from her father.

Artunis and Aidan began their courtship shortly after the murder of Artunis’s parents by the same former lover that her mother had been running from, when Aidan saved her life and drove the man off. They married, and before long, she gave birth to a daughter, whom they named Arya after her mother.

Artunis realized early on that her young daughter had the talent to walk the shadows, and immediately she began training her. They happily played games together in the shadows until Arya was sixteen, and Artunis was forced to trust her further training to Arya’s fellow guards.

Artunis was disappointed when her daughter was accused of stealing the Heart of Linwood, but remained supportive, even as Arya and the other Shadow Walker guards went underground to form the Thieves Guild. She and Aidan remained in contact with Arya secretly, meeting her in the shadows.

When King Ithel and Queen Rhiannon were killed, Artunis saw Aidan killed, as well, as he ran in to help the wounded. She buried him beneath an oak tree in the forest, and she and her daughter stood silent vigil. Then, without explanation or warning, leaving barely a note to Arya about what she was doing, Artunis returned to her mother’s homeland.

Once there, Artunis made contact with distant cousins who were in the royal guard. Artunis entered the king’s service, teaching self-defense to the women who lived in the women’s quarters, eventually gaining permission to teach them archery.

Artunis was still there when her daughter came through the shadows for the wedding of a fellow Ranger, Aeron Windrunner, to Princess Nisha. They had a long talk and bonded all over again, and finally, Artunis got to meet her son-in-law and grandson, as well as her step-granddaughter, Queen Tesni of Linwood, and learn that she was, by marriage, a great-grandmother to Tesni’s two children, and would become a great-great-grandmother.

With the return of Princess Nisha to her rightful place, Artunis began helping Nisha to further her own mastery as a Shadow Walker, though she had a great deal of respect for all that Nisha had taught herself. Then, at the wedding, Arya and Agrona were kidnapped, and Artunis was among the first to volunteer for the search.

When Eogan managed to find the spell that would help them to find Bhimar’s camp, Artunis escorted Ryder through the shadows to rescue Arya and Agrona. They also brought back with them a mute slave girl named Pari who was only made that way by a potion. She was actually an Elf named Cliona, and Tesni’s mother.

Artunis was training a group of women warriors and helping to teach her great-granddaughter, Princess Nia, to lead this military unit when Nia’s husband, Eskander, was arrested as a spy. Nia left for Linwood. A few months later, Artunis set foot back in Linwood for the first time since her husband’s death in order to attend the funeral of her daughter. This was devastating for her, and the sleepless nights brought about by her grief led to her discovery that it was Eskander’s mother, Tanith, and not Eskander himself, who was the spy. Working together with King Ruslar and Queen Rhosyn, Artunis helped to develop a trap for Tanith, and the woman was taken and beheaded before Bhimar could liberate her.

Frustrated with Nia’s refusal to train, Artunis challenged the young princess at every turn. Early in the summer after King Ruslar died, Artunis was surprised to see Nia coming to train willingly. They sat to eat, and a servant brought Artunis a honey cake, apparently from a bard named Kavi who often sent Artunis love letters. The cake was actually from Kavi’s twin brother, Ratan, however, and was poisoned on Bhimar’s orders, for Ratan was Bhimar’s top assassin. Moments after eating the cake, Artunis was dead.

Artunis was buried with full honors in a cemetery devoted to those who had served with highest honors in the Seosan military.