Lady Vaelen Dawnshine, senior Apprentice to Malthus Tannhauser

"With the heavens as my witness, you shall not harm anyone else here!"

Because of their compassionate and innately noble natures, it is no surprise that the Celestials gain the respect, and even love, of the people they encounter during their missions in the mortal realm. In some very rare instances, such relationships result in the birth of a child, whose celestial heritage is markedly apparent even early in life. Regarded with a mixture of awe and apprehension, these individuals are nevertheless loved and cared for by their mortal parent, even if their angelic sires have long returned to their duties in the heavens.

Vaelen is the result of such a pairing, born of a battlefield medic of the armies of the Alliance and a deva who assumed the form of a templar in its hunt for a kyton sorcerer. It is believed that both her father and his quarry battled to mutual destruction, and it was left to Vaelen's mother to raise her as best she could. Early on, as it became apparent that she was a special child, her mother decided that it would be best that she learned about the legacy her father had unknowingly bequeathed upon her, and the duties related to it. Thus, barely even nine winters old, Vaelen joined the ranks of the Order of the Righteous Fury as a page.

Despite her apparent otherworldly-ness, Vaelen was treated as any other trainee, though she one of the most likeable and friendly of the lot. She took to her lessons easily, and found herself interested in the accounts of angelic beings doing battle against the fiends of the lower planes. It is in this roundabout matter that she learned of her sire, and the knowledge only served as an impetus to do well in her training. She had a lot to live up to, after all.

As soon as she finished her training, Vaelen was assigned by her order to the Shields, a special group whose charter dealt with chasing down and destroying fiends. Because of her nature and her innate abilities, she found herself suited to the task assigned to her, and performed admirably in all the missions the Shields participated in. Despite her gifts and her martial skill, however, her last mission ended in disaster, and she was taken as a prisoner by the pit fiend the Shields had been tasked to defeat.

She languished in the devil's stronghold for many years, suffering unimaginable tortures, sometimes near-death, as the pit fiend sought to break her to its will. Vaelen was in a truly pitiful state at that point, barely clinging to her sanity and morals at the fiend's physical and psychological assault, and might have slid fully into the devil's control, if not for the miracle that fate had seen fit to show on her condition. For when all hope seemed lost, she was rescued by a group of adventurers who, ironically enough, happened upon her prison by accident. Though in no condition to aid them directly in their fight against her captor, she offered her assistance nontheless, gaining the respect of the two most senior members of the troupe.

Still she was in no condition to fight, and had to be left behind, though her rescuers promised to come back for her when they defeated the pit fiend (later, she learned that they were not really after the devil at all, but the infernal it served). After a long and arduous battle, the group banished the fiend back to the hells, but as they returned for Vaelen, they found that she had slipped into a coma. Feeling responsible for her plight, the knight in the group pledged to help her recover. And so, it was in that fashion that Vaelen found herself under the care of the Righteous Fury himself, the paladin known in lore as Malthus Tannhauser.

Vaelen has since recovered from her ordeal -- though even she admits that it took longer for the psychological wounds to heal than her physical ones -- and had pledged to serve Malthus in return for his care. The older paladin wasn't too comfortable being served, and explained as much to her, but he was however interested in passing on what he knew to those who were interested, and since he hadn't taken an apprentice in a while that option, at least, was open... Seeing no problem in the arrangement, Vaelen enthusiastically entered service as Malthus' apprentice, the first one he had taken in nearly three centuries, and in doing so became the first of his current crop of protegees.

Vaelen sees herself as the eldest 'sister' in the little family that is Malthus' group of trainees, and acts the part, often dispensing with well-meaning advice when needed, and reigning in the others when they get out of line. She is especially fond of the latest addition to their group, Eleanore from Symphonia, though she is quick to see that there is something more to the young woman's relationship with Malthus than merely being a student to a learned master. Despite this, she is always ready to listen to Eleanore when she needs someone to talk to, whether it be about the girl's confused feelings for their mentor, or other personal problems.

She still adventures regularly, to advance her training as well as to put the lessons learned from Malthus to more practical use. She is a well-known figure in the Heartlands, having personally saved countless lives throughout the region. In fact one country went as far as to grant her the title of 'lady'... While she appreciates the gesture, she respectfully declined the land that came with it.

Tall, charming, and stunningly beautiful, with exotic emerald-hued eyes and a long fall of golden blonde hair that falls well below her waist, and possessing a pair of pure white wings, Vaelen is as close to a valkyrie or a true angel that the common folk can ever hope to meeting. She favors a suit of blue plate mail enameled in gold trim, and wears an ubiquitous winged helm in emulation of her mentor's favored headgear.

Much to Vaelen's chagrin her visage has made its way into contemporary religious iconography -- despite her repeated explanations that she is not a true celestial, nor does she think herself to be one -- as well as other popular mediums. She has become the poster child of heavenly beauty, and she often figures prominently in the fantasies of countless youths, young men, nobles, and royalty throughout the Heartlands.

 

Lady Vaelen Dawnshine, female half human/half-celestial Paladin 14: CR 17; Medium-sized outsider (augmented humanoid, native, good); HD 14d10+56; hp 170; wp 18; Init +1; Spd 30 ft., fly 60 ft. (good); AC 33 (touch 14, flat-footed 32); Base Attack +14; Grapple +20; Attack +25 melee (1d8+10 plus 2d6 vs. evil/17-20/x2, +4 holy keen longsword), or +16 ranged (1d8+5/x3, +1 precise longbow); Full Attack +25/+20/15 melee (1d8+10 plus 2d6 vs. evil/17-20/x2, +4 holy keen longsword), or +16/+11/+6 ranged (1d8+5/x3, +1 precise longbow); SA Daylight, smite evil (half-celestial, 1/day), smite evil (paladin, 3/day), spell-like abilities, turn undead (7/day); SQ Aura of courage, aura of good, damage reduction 10/magic, darkvision 60 ft., detect evil, divine grace, divine health, immunity to disease, lay on hands (56 hp/day), resistance to acid/cold/electricity 10, remove disease (3/week); SR 24; Alignment Lawful Good; Saves Fort +20 (+24 vs. poison), Ref +12, Will +13; Str 22, Dex 12, Con 18, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 18. Height 5 ft. 10 in.

Skills and Feats (with Synergy bonuses included): Climb +9, Concentration +14, Diplomacy +17, Heal +10, Knowledge (Religion) +10, Ride +11, Sense Motive +14, Spot +6, Survival +6, Swim +10; Combat Expertise, Divine Might, Hover, Negotiator, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (longsword).

Languages Spoken: Auran, Common, Celestial.

Common Paladin Spells prepared per Day (3/2/1; save DC = 12 + spell level): 1st - bless weapon, divine favor, restoration (lesser); 2nd - remove paralysis. resist energy; 3rd - remove curse. Caster level 7th.

Half-Celestial Spell-like Abilities (save DC = 14 + spell level): 3/day - holy aura, protection from evil; 1/day - aid, bless, cure serious wounds, detect evil, dispel evil, hallow, holy smite, holy word, neutralize poison, remove disease. Caster level 14th.

Standard Equipment: +4 holy keen longsword, +2 lawful adamantine light mace, +2 keen cold iron dagger, +1 precise longbow (+4 Str bonus), +4 moderate fortification mithral full plate, +3 fire resistance heavy steel shield, boots of speed, gauntlets of ogre power, Heward's handy haversack, holy symbol (attached to right gauntlet), periapt of wound closure, ring of blinking, ring of defense +3, wand of cure moderate wounds (32 charges left).

Adventuring Gear (in Heward's handy haversack): Antitoxin (2 doses), backpack, bedroll, blanket (winter), candles (5), clothes (explorer's), flint and steel, healer's kits (2), holy water (3 flasks), iron pot, mirror (small steel), oil (2 pints), potions (5 potions of cure serious wounds, 2 potions of haste, 2 potions of heroism, 2 potions of lesser restoration, 1 potions of waterbreathing), quiver of 10 cold iron arrows, quiver of 20 normal arrows, quiver of 20 silvered arrows, rope (silk, 50 ft.), soap (1 bar), spade, trail rations for six days, waterskin (full, water), whetstone.

 

Class Abilities and Special Qualities:

Aura of Courage (Su): Vaelen is immune to fear, and grants +4 morale bonus to saving throws against fear effects to all allies within 10 feet.

Aura of Good (Ex): Vaelen radiates an overwhelming aura of good.

Daylight (Sp): Vaelen can invoke a daylight effect, as the spell at will.

Detect Evil Aura (Sp): Vaelen can detect evil as the spell at will.

Divine Grace (Su): Vaelen applies her Charisma modifier to all her saving throws.

Divine Health (Su): Vaelen is immune to all diseases, magical or otherwise.

Lay on Hands (Su): Vaelen may heal a number of hit points equal to her Charisma bonus multiplied by her Paladin level, among allies, or deal up to the same amount in damage to undead opponents, per day.

Remove Disease (Sp): Remove disease as spell thrice per week.

Smite Evil - Half-Celestial (Su): Vaelen adds her level to her melee attack damage vs. an evil opponent, once per day.

Smite Evil - Paladin (Su): Vaelen may add her Charisma bonus to attack and her Paladin level to damage vs. an evil opponent, Thrice per day.

Special Mount (Sp): Once per day, as a full-round action, Vaelen may magically summon a loyal mount from the celestial realms, the steed appearing immediately adjacent to her position and staying for 24 hours; it can be dismissed as a free action. Since she has the ability to fly, Vaelen has elected not to summon a mount, though she can very well do so if she wished.

Divine Spell Use: Vaelen can cast a small amount of divine spells per day at caster level 7.

Turn Undead (Su): Vaelen can turn undead a certain number of times per day equal to 3 + her Charisma bonus, as a 12th-level cleric.