Renele

Played by Phantelle



"We have been abandoned to fend for ourselves."

Renele grew up as part of an elven society where her kind flourished under the protective aegis of the divine. For as long as anyone can remember, the gods have always protected the blessed land of Llefelwyn from the terrors of the world: the creeping shadows, monstrous predators, slithering tentacles and hungry stomachs which lurk where the elves dare not tread. Thanks to the gods, elves enjoy lives of productive leisure devoted to creative expression where work is neither burdensome nor drudgery. Like every girl of her age she grew up learning to be deferential to the gods and to wield the divine powers bestowed as gifts upon elvenkind. Society evolved under the benevolent guidance of the chosen representatives of the divine and it was not uncommon for gods and goddesses themselves to take an active part in the lives of their mortal wards. Under such idyllic conditions, with a long, vigorous life full of purpose giving way so very gently into a guaranteed pleasant afterlife, who wouldn't enjoy all that existence had to offer?

Then one day everything changed and the gods vanished without a trace.

In one devastating moment the elves were deprived of power and protection both. The earnest prayers of the highly spiritual go unanswered now. Magic, once a common resource considered no less exhaustible than air to breathe, has instantly vanished. So much of the peculiar elven technology built upon it has fallen silent, forever incapable of its intended function. The terrors of the night, once kept at bay by the radiance of the divine, are now slowly encroaching upon the ancient elven lands in Llefelwyn. Ghastly spirits, dragons, behemoths, leviathans, giant spiders, great serpents ... it seems all are being drawn to the now-defenseless Godstones, rendering the elves an easy source of food without the protection of the gods. Perhaps the other sapient races sense it too; certainly the humans, dwarves, orcs, and felinekin are grappling with their own problems.

And her people find themselves woefully unprepared to fend off these sudden new challenges. Without magic or technology, much of society has begun backsliding to primitive conditions. Everything seems to be falling apart in spite of people's best efforts. Crop harvests, once so effortlessly abundant, are beginning to fail. The elves have never needed an army and their military arts remain woefully inadequate to the new dangers encroaching on their demesne. The previous harmony commonplace to elven society is beginning to fracture as desperate souls driven by hunger, fear, and insecurity threaten to extinguish civilization entirely. Even the sun seems less bright. Like fledging birds cowering in their nest before a serpent, elves are helpless and easy pickings now. Worst of all, it seems there will be no reprieve as the gods remain stubbornly silent, and their abandoned wards are left to tremble as they wonder if some dark, malevolent power is behind all these misfortunes piling upon them.

Llefelwyn, once vibrant and beautiful, encompasses the ancestral elven lands which antedate the arrival of the short-lived races. Its boundaries are marked by massive runic Godstones which once radiated divine energy, girdling the limits of elvenkind through which no intruder could pass uninvited. Now they have failed entirely, their gentle sunlight-imbued gleams faded into sullen granite. Crushed by relentless pressure and helpless to stop the flood of invaders, the elves have abandoned many of their lush farmlands and retreated back from their borders, into the old forests and great cities which stand as bastions of their civilization. But even here overcrowding begins to take its toll. Their sprawling roads and old trade routes are no longer safe to traverse. Every day which passes brings more rumors of elves vanishing never to be seen again and fear runs rampant in the elven populace.

"Twilight descends for us and our night shall not give way to morning."

Renele herself is a young and beautiful elven maiden who grew up as a spiritual priestess providing guidance for her people. But without the gods' soothing presence accompanying her every waking moment, she has fallen into harder straits than most of her kind. Lost, frightened, and helpless, the poor woman can only pray for deliverance that she suspects may never come ...



Roleplay details:

I've left much of Renele's personal details vague so that she can be slotted into different roleplay settings. While abandonment and insecurity are very much a theme to be explored with her, I can also play the setting at large for more macro-oriented sessions where my partner and I examine the ramifications on society as a whole.
Some roleplay ideas brainstormed:

- The classic grab 'n' gulp by monsters.

- Attempting to fend for oneself amidst the downfall of civilization. Will you help or hinder?

- What happened to the gods? Can we find out?

- The dark malevolent will terrorizing elvenkind - wait, that's you?

- Be the new god of the elves and save them!

- They're also desperate enough to turn to darker, more insidious powers for protection.

- To make the theme of helplessness more pronounced, I'm also happy to play Renele and her people as micros.

- Elf out of the woods. Renele finds herself among a civilization that has never known the protection of the gods. Somehow things are just fine. Inconceivably.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask!