#sword dancer

Stars above, stars below. A traditional elven sword game. Follow the music. Cut the opponent’s ribbons during the window of time when your moves aren’t mirrored.

Over the centuries the ritualized sword dances have evolved into complex performances and also given rise to an entire category of sports with significant rule differences, and their own major leagues and events. In many of those the overall style points of the performers are more important than the hits. In some variants the ribbons have inscriptions with gameplay significance, such as requiring them to be cut in a specific sequence, or a cut changes the rhythm and tune of the music so each of the opponents can try to set their preferred pace.

Wounding the opponent incurs a major penalty, so the armored costumes used in contemporary games have special dyes that change color on impact with the blade. They still retain visual callbacks to their ritualistic origins. The traditional player/team colors are green and blue. Purple is used for accents.  

Humans stumbling upon strange, smooth-surfaced, unnaturally well preserved, fractal structures in the woods usually lack the context to know that they’re open air stages for just such dances and festivals, which tend to take place at night.

A kind-hearted aasimar with a great sense of style 🗡️

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Introduction

"Once an aspiring Sword Dancer of Eilistraee, Elaeora "Elora" Illorel is a half-elf paladin whose faith was shattered by tragedy. Left orphaned and permanently scarred after a fateful encounter with the Cult of the Absolute, she now roams the surface of Faerûn in search of answers, justice, and perhaps a chance to reclaim what she lost."

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Artwork (Made with Krita)

Pose References By: Anastasia-berry

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Basic Info

Full Name: Elaeora Illorel

Title: The Absolute's Bane

Nickname(s): Elora, El, Lora, Elli

Age: 37 (Physically still in her early 20s)

Birthdate: Kythorn 17th, 1455 DR

Birthplace: Waterdeep, The Dancing Haven

Languages: Common, Undercommon, Elvish

Type: Huminoid

Race: Half-Elf

Size: Medium (5’4)

Sub-Race: Seldarin Drow

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Stats

Level: 3

HP: 12/12

Class(s): Paladin/Cleric

Sub-Class(s): Oath of Vengeance/ Light Domain

Deity: Eilistraee

Background: Acolyte

Skill Points: Strength 14, Dexterity 12, Constitution 14, Intelligence 13, Wisdom 10, Charisma 14

Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, History, Religion, Insight, Perception, Intimidation, Persuasion

Weapons: Twin Scimitars

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In-Game Appearance

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Background

Early Life

Elaeora, more commonly known as Elora—or simply El—was raised within the Dancing Haven, one of many Waterdhavian shrines dedicated to the worship of the Dark Maiden, Eilistraee. She was born to Talith Illorel, a Seldarine drow cleric, and an unknown human male whom her mother adamantly refused to name or speak of.

In her youth, Elora was immersed in the teachings, traditions, and customs of Eilistraee's faithful. It was during this time that she developed an earnest, almost obsessive fascination with the church's most revered warriors: the Sword Dancers of Eilistraee. Determined to one day join their ranks, she devoted herself to mastering the sacred arts of song, dance, and swordplay.

The Massacre

At the age of sixteen, Elora departed the Dancing Haven alongside her mother and several fellow Eilistraeans to undertake the Run, a sacred, pacifistic pilgrimage across the surface of Faerûn that served as the final step on her path to becoming a Sword Dancer.

Several weeks into the journey, however, the pilgrims unknowingly drew the attention of a group of cultists devoted to the Absolute. After secretly tracking the Eilistraeans to their camp, the cultists launched a nighttime ambush, proclaiming that the pilgrims would be offered as sacrifices to their vile goddess. As panic spread through the camp, Talith remained steadfast in her faith. Refusing to meet violence with violence, she stepped forward unarmed and attempted to reason with the cultists, pleading for peace and mercy even as her companions were threatened. Unfortunately her words fell on deaf ears, and before Elora's eyes, Talith was struck down in cold blood. Elora had little time to grieve as moments later, the cultist's leader—a Lolth-sworn drow woman—would slit the girl's throat and leave her for dead before ordering for the remaining pilgrims to be slaughtered.

Fall From Grace

The following morning, temple scouts discovered Elora miraculously still alive and carried her back to the Dancing Haven. Though she survived, the wound made it very difficult for her to speak, effectively rendering her mute.

In the aftermath, the massacre of her companions and the loss of her mother shattered Elora's faith entirely. She became convinced that, had they not been bound by the church's pacifistic ideals many of them might have survived. 

Unable to reconcile her beliefs with the senseless slaughter she had witnessed, Elora denounced Eilistraee and abandoned the church. Whatever hope, mercy, and compassion the Dark Maiden had once inspired within her had been replaced with a burning desire for vengeance and a solemn oath to make bring the cultists to justice by any means necessary.