This article is about Nathalyne as a person. For Nathalyne as a god, see Nathalyne
Nathalyne was originally an avatar of The Dame but was unrecognized for many years (as the Damish Temple thought her avatar would be a human, not a half-elf) until she was captured during the Theft of the Jexisian Treasury in 1162. A master illusionist who would become the first known Cannorian practitioner of shadow magic, Nathalyne used her skills to become one of the greatest thieves in the known world, even to go so far as tricking the satyr trickster god Dolumir into forfeiting his own divinity and powers. She would go on to be recognized as a deity of the Regent Court, goddess of thieves, secrets, and shadows.
Early Life and School:[]
Nathalyne was born to an elven mother and human father in 1107, but was orphaned when her parents died of a plague ravaging Dameria in 1117. She survived as an urchin and pickpocket for three years in Anbenncóst until she was caught attempting to pickpocket a man who happened to be a professor at the Silmuna School of the Arts. The mage, the rotund Kylian Exwestes, noticed her latent magical potential and took her under his wing, enrolling her in the school. She learned much there for several years, particularly excelling in Illusion Magic, until her powerful enemies in the Crownsguard mercantile family forced the headstrong teenager to flee Anbenncóst. Stealing the Eye of Shadowsight, an artifact said to grant the bearer incredible gifts of foresight, she fled Anbenncóst after a confrontation with her longtime school rival Liliana Crownsguard, whose skill with abjuration almost succeeded in preventing Nathalyne’s escape.
Bulwar and Serpentspine[]
Nathalyne eventually made her way to Bulwar, pursued along the way by Liliana. Bouncing around from Brasan to Bulwar and eventually to Varamhar, Nathalyne continued to evade the dogged pursuit of Crownsguard, who desired to bring her to justice for thefts and embarrassments that the thief mage had caused her family. After a major confrontation in Varamhar that saw the human and half-elf using magic, they were arrested by elven authorities who had begun to crack down on non-elven use of the magical arts and had to team up to escape. Fleeing the city, they arrived in Sareyand and joined up with a mercenary company as a way to find cover and escape their now joint pursuers. Deeply distrustful of each other at first, they found that their magical talents and mundane skills complimented, and slowly gained a grudging respect. In 1125, the pair became involved in an attempt by dwarves from Seghdihr to relieve the siege of Hehodovar by orcs, venturing into the Serpentspine. Forced to flee towards Verkal Gulan when the operation failed, the pair found shelter with the Gold Dwarves, but found them unwilling to allow them to leave - dwarven custom forbid anyone from leaving the hold after they had been allowed in. Unwilling to be trapped, Nathalyne and Liliana conceived a plan to escape with the isolated dwarf hold. Unbeknownst to Liliana, Nathalyne first broke into the Vaults of Verkal Gulan and stole a tiny portion of the hold’s vast gold hoard. Nearly captured, she fled with Liliana as the dwarves pursued them, escaping down the Golden Highway to Davharral.
There the pair again fought, Liliana furious that Nathalyne would steal from the dwarves - It was one thing to flee, but quite another to behave with such dishonor to those who saved them. Nathalyne argued that there was no good that could come of being stranded in an isolated xenophobic dwarf hold, and that there was no way to bring the gold back to the dwarves now, seeing as doing so would lead to both of their deaths. Nathalyne instead made Liliana an offer - she would give the Crownsguard two thirds of what she took from the dwarves, letting her start her own mercantile operation, and would take the remainder and disappear. Liliana was initially surprised that Nathalyne would part with her ill-gotten gains so easily and, suspecting a trick, refused to allow the thief to go. Instead, she counter-offered - She would take half the wealth, and the two would go into business together so that Liliana could watch Nathalyne and make sure she behaved with some semblance of honor and lawfulness. Nathalyne agreed with a wry smile.
Rahen and Haless[]
In Rahen, Nathalyne and Liliana used their misbegotten wealth to set up a shipping company. They quickly became extravagantly wealthy, fulfilling orders for the Phoenix Empire and undercutting the competition with their combination of Liliana’s business acumen and Nathalyne’s skill in espionage. Their relationship would continue to evolve, and where less than two years before they had been hateful rivals, their misadventures in Bulwar and the Serpentspine drove them together and they became first grudging friends, then lovers.
As their mercantile company, the Mezzanine Tranche, grew in wealth and reputation, they were invited to an Imperial Summit being held by the Phoenix Emperor Jaher in Sarisung in 1127 in an effort to improve economic activity across the vast empire. Liliana was extremely excited by this prospect, and begged Nathalyne to go - the thief begrudgingly agreed. Traveling to Sarisung, the pair made contacts with the high and low alike, meeting the crown prince Jaerel at the conference while also beginning to make inroads with underworld contacts, notably Kodai of the Misted Claw, a member of the Yantrakari clan in Xianjie. As Liliana signed deals, dealt in politics, and negotiated shipments of goods, Nathalyne instead impressed the Yantrakari with her skill in illusion magic. Kodai suggested that Nathalyne could improve her skills further by traveling into Xianjie and seeking out the monks of the Yantrakari, who could train her in Shadow Magic.
Nathalyne jumped at this invitation, but her decision to depart led to an argument with Liliana, who had begun to hope that Nathalyne would care more for their business and relationship. Leaving on rough terms, Nathalyne journeyed into the misty foothills of Xianjie, discovered the stronghold of the shadow-monks, and was accepted as an apprentice in the shadow arts. She trained for several months until shocking news reached the monastery - the Phoenix Emperor Jaher was dead, and much of Haless had risen in revolt against the Phoenix Empire. The news also came with a message for Nathalyne - Liliana and many of the other delegates to the Imperial Trade Conference were trapped within Sarisung with now-emperor Jaerel. They had managed to create a defensible area with their guards and Liliana’s magic, but were under siege. Nathalyne rushed back to the city to help free her lover and the emperor, and with her new shadow magics was able to extricate the besieged conference from their quagmire.
Despite an initial desire to flee, Nathalyne would spend the better part of the next decade in the east at Liliana’s urging, working with her lover to preserve some semblance of peace in Haless under Jaerel’s rule. She continued her training with the Yantrakari and was inducted into the Shadow Covenant, the legendary underworld organization that had begun as a network of mages and assassins looking to end Jaherian Rule. She had her loyalties divided however, between the Covenant and Jaerel Jaherzuir, whom she had come to respect for his vision of a peaceful and united Haless, even if she believed him to be naive. Her many operations in Haless in the 1130s would gradually lead to an erosion of Nathalyne’s confidence that Jaerel’s dream could come to pass in a place as naturally divided as Haless. Nathalyne began to attempt to steer Jaerel into departing and returning to Bulwar, but he refused. This eventually came to a head in a great argument in 1136, the fallout of which caused Nathalyne to leave Jaerel’s court. She departed from Sramaya with Liliana, intending to return to the west. With her tacit protection of Jaerel gone, he was assassinated a few months later.
Return to the West[]
Arriving by Ship in Davharral, Nathalyne found the Phoenix Empire in Chaos after Jaerel’s death, and was forced to flee into the Harpy Hills to escape old rivals from her mercenary days. From there, she and Liliana adventured through the Deepwoods, where she had her legendary encounter with the satyr god Dolumir and allegedly stole his divinity after winning an unwinnable bet. Making her way through the Deepwoods, Nathalyne crossed Daravan’s Folly and escaped onto the Folly’s Edge Archipelago with aid from some local fisherman, barely outrunning a gnollish hunting pack. While on the islands, Nathalyne noted their strategic value and began to lay the seeds that would transform the small hamlet of Estridstaðr into the city that would bear her name by 1444.
From proto-Nathalaire, Nathalyne and Liliana sailed for the Dameshead. They intended to settle down in Damescrown, where Liliana’s family were wealthy merchants, but stopped in Anbenncóst to resupply their vessel. While there, Nathalyne prevented the assassination of the King of Dameria, who in gratitude offered her a position in his court. Nathalyne refused at first, but was persuaded that she could do a great deal of good in the position by her old mentor Kylian Exwestes, who had become the Headmaster of the Silmuna School of the Arts. Nathalyne agreed to stay, causing a rift between her and Liliana, who had decided to put politics behind her after Jaerel. Nathalyne’s lover sailed away with the pain of broken promises in her heart.
Nathalyne was rapidly elevated in position within the court of the King of Dameria, becoming spymaster and a professor of illusion at the Silmuna School. When the nascent Jexisian Empire began to beat the drums of war against Dameria, Nathalyne became heavily involved in preparing the city defenses, but slipped away from the city before it was put to siege in 1146. She fled first to Damescrown, where she attempted to reconcile with Liliana but was rebuffed, and then to Estridstaðr, where she called in her many connections and favors to build the city as she hid there, ruling from the shadows and profiting from both factions in the burgeoning Decade of Masks
The Decade of Masks[]
Nathalyne was forced to flee Estridstaðr in 1151 when Jexisian agents attempted to have her assassinated. She made her way to the court of Ioriel in Lorentainé and offered her services against Jexis, and became hugely influential in parrying Jexisian thrusts against the Iorellian Empire in the Decade of Masks. Her many exploits during this time were kept in Lorentainé, many of which were used as propaganda victories by Ioriel - the eventual burning of Lorentainé by Elizar the Bloodied destroyed many of these records and left the exact nature of Nathalyne’s activities during the 1150s a mystery to scholars.
In 1161, Nathalyne learned of a weakness in the vault of the Jexisian Treasury, and organized one final heist to steal the totality of Jexis’ wealth. Putting together her old team, including making peace with and recruiting Liliana, she snuck into Anbenncóst and made away with a vast sum of gold, silver, and priceless artifacts, including several of Jexis’ masks. However, in the final phases of the heist Nathalyne was captured in an elaborate trap that seemed specially prepared for the shadowdancer, defeating all of her defenses. Knowing that she had been betrayed, but not by who, Nathalyne was unable to escape while the rest of her team extracted the treasury and sailed away into the night.
Nathalyne was held and questioned by the Jexisian government for weeks. Intrigued by how she had managed to empty their vaults, where the money was now, and her knowledge of shadow magic, Nathalyne was made to recount much of her life’s story at the inquisitor’s questioning. During her captivity, one of the inquisitors responsible for her questioning was a Damerian Priest, who became convinced that Nathalyne was actually the long-awaited avatar of the Dame who had gone missing after Auci Eightborn’s death in 1034. Rumors of the existence of the Dame’s avatar spread rapidly through the Damerian priesthood and from there into the general populace, who began to call for Nathalyne’s release. Jexis ignored this request and scheduled Nathalyne’s execution for the third week of Esmarment.
Death and Deification[]
Nathalyne died 17 Esmarment, 1162. She was 55 years old. Protests and rioting that began when Jexis ignored the request for Nathalyne’s freedom intensified, turning Anbenncóst into a warzone.
Three days after Nathalyne was executed, Jexis was assassinated. No one is certain who actually performed the assassination, though Elizar the Blooded immediately assumed Ioriel was to blame and marched his legions against Lorentainé. In the ensuing chaos following Jexis’ death, however, some individuals claimed to see a slight woman dressed all in black leather, long brown hair streaked with silver, striding away from the palace. Some believe that Nathalyne somehow faked her death and was responsible for the Jexisian Assassination. Others believe that Nathalyne is still alive today, the fey magic of the Satyr God keeping her immortal, and that she watches the greatest heists from the shadows still, delighting in the work committed in her name.
Decades after her death, Nathalyne was officially recognized as an avatar of the Dame and raised to the status of a Deity within the Regent Court at the Eighth Pantheonic Council of 1184, and her death day was formally recognized as the holy day of Nathalfall. Much of her life’s story, particularly her exploits in the east and her theft of Dolumir’s immortality, were only revealed through the examinations of Liliana Crownsguard’s journals, which did not come to light until they were donated to the Damerian Priesthood following the crownsman’s death in 1202.