Azriah Thelryn

Lady Azriah Thelryn is the Grand Arcanist of the Sunguard, leader of the Suncasters, Hand of Belore for the Conclave of Silvermoon, and head of the House of Thelryn. She reigns as Matriach over the Goldenshade Estate.

Personality
Whether it is borne of nature or rigorous nurture, Lady Azriah Thelryn is a natural leader. She embodies the gifts of charisma and great confidence, projecting authority in a way that organically draws people to her. However, she is also characterized by a ruthless level of cold rationality, utilizing her drive, determination, and brilliant mind to achieve her lofty goals.

If there is anything Azriah loves, it is a challenge, big or small  - as she believes in her core that given enough time and reources, she can achieve anything. Her ability to think strategically with regard to long-term focus has brought her to the esteemed positions in Thalassian society that she holds now. Her determination and exacting precision in machinations is the product of sheer willpower - a necessary trait for any conduit of Shadow.

Azriah respects individuals who are able to remain standfast under her burgeoning presence  - people who can match her intellectually. This is not to say she values rebellion. No, indeed, it wears upon her. Rather she affords respect to those who present themselves with strength and grace, and more importantly, a spirit to match her own.

But, her terrible tendency to bring to light others' failures and grant them undue criticism reflects a chilling degree of insensitivity. Her level of empathy is deep, but her eternal failing is that she uses it to manipulate rather than for compassion. Emotional displays are a weakness in her eyes, but this judgment is most strongly reserved for herself, where she will suppress true feelings in favor of presenting a clean, calculated disposition.

Although she is a powerhouse entirely on the merit of her singular talent with shadow magic, individuals who spend enough time with her may come to see that her larger than life image is just that - a carefully curated presentation.

Appearance
Elegance is a trait evident in Azriah's mien, suggestive of a noble lineage that is all too clear in her smooth complexion and decadent attire. Her hair is true atramentous black, and disposed in length to her hip, worn in a variety of styles in accordance with the fashions of Thalassian Aristocracy. Looking down her nose at others comes easily at a height nearing six feet, particularly so with the immaculate posture that never deviates to anything more than a shift of weight on her feet. Slender brows are expressive and well-defined, her forehead is lofty, and the nose - a perfect line. Dry amusement and cold calculation flicker indecisively in her thick-lashed, chartreuse eyes, and a practiced smile is quick to curve her painted lips when it is needed.

Autobiography
Lady Azriah Mirazhe Thelryn first graced this realm of existence with her birth in the House of Thelryn to its Patriarch Lord Valinthien Thelryn and his Lady Alessa Arcanaa.

She was the long dreamt child of two prestigious bloodlines with roots stretching back to the days of the Highborne. Azriah was an inquisitive child whose quick wit and desire to learn surpassed the drive her peers, and her headstrong will was ever the fright of her nannies.

Magic responded almost naturally to her, and for a time it was supposed that she may pursue the path of the Leywalker, until it was Void magic that garnered her interest as a young adult. Through a political connection, her Lord-Father managed to secure a private mentor for her - none other than the esteemed Lord Hadrian Illythien, heir of the Houses of Illythien and Dawngrove.

Azriah’s apprenticeship with Lord Hadrian Illythien was a successful one that brought her head and heel over her peers in the realm of shadow magic. They were wed on her fiftieth birthday and enjoyed a marriage that lasted for nearly two centuries, until Lord Illythien’s regretful passing.

True to Azriah’s ambitious nature, she did not let widowhood claim her into stagnancy, rather she used it as the platform from which to vault her rich political career. She assumed Lord Illythien’s chair in the Silvermoon Magisterium, where she served as a silver-tongued, accomplished Magistrix for decades. It was from this connection that she rose through Silvermoon’s political echelons to become an Inquisitor working alongside the Phoenix Guard. Her skill with the Void was unmatched, and she quickly gained renown for her ability to handle the most difficult of subjects.

During the Second War, Azriah served as a lieutenant under the command of her Lord-Father, wherein she was taught valuable lessons in strategy and operational tactics. Together, they turned the tide of the battle on the borders of Goldenshade Estate. However, the Second War held a steep price - Lord Valinthien Thelryn fell in battle, gloriously protecting his country.

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes of a house in turmoil, Azriah fought tooth and nail to assume leadership of the formerly patrilineal House of Thelryn.

Under the new Matriarch’s stern command, the House of Thelryn launched into prosperity and political prestige that it had not known since the days of its early progenitors. Lady Azriah Thelryn by and large protected her people and her land from the devastation of the Third War, and any losses were swiftly recuperated in the years after.

Then, ever with an eye to better her holdings, she joined a paramilitary known as the Sunguard and swiftly rose through its ranks. She achieved the title of Grand Arcanist, as well as primary command over its spellcasters.

Over the course of her involvement with the order, she additionally absorbed the House of Duskwither into the territories of Goldenshade Estates, and married the Lord of the Emberlight, Izulde Netherstar, with whom she has one child - Aeriana Thelryn.