Beata Tembria

Blessed Tembria was an eladrin warrior, chieftain, mystic, mage, scholar, historian, and ceramist who founded a city that now goes by the same name. The city Beata Tembria is one of the larger cities on Tonis and is home to the Eladrin Conclave. Beata Tembria is best known for its elite miltary force, the Urbana Hasta, its library, and ceramic weapons and armor.

Blessed Tembria, the Beloved
The city is named after its eladrin founder Tembria, who was an established expert in a wide variety of fields. Her mastered skills included swordsmanship, politics, mysticism, magic, historical studies, and ceramic artistry. She was born in 347 AR in Jerar (then just a small fishing village) and in 1076 was placed in stasis.

Early Life
Tembria was the only daughter of two eladrin parents, Titania and Ferro, who had flead Naktu'Ur during the incursion. Ferro left his family shorty after Tembria's birth to become a Nagath warrior, nothing is known of what became of him. Titania was a skilled ceramic artisan and made a good living for herself and the young Tembria making scimitars and armor for nobles and their soldiers. From a young age up until about age 50 Tembria lived with her mother and learned the ways of ceramic making. In 401 AR Titania was killed by an Elekin while traveling in a caravan from Jerar to a neighboring city. Tembria, distraught beyond measure, abandoned the ceramic workshop not long after and began an apprenticeship under Gungrath Huge Gut, a dwarven Nagath warrior of some renown.

Nagath Apprenticeship
Gungrath was said to have a reputation for being too hard on his apprentices and challenging them too quickly, so few of his apprentices ever lived to become full Nagath warriors. Huge Gut was already 203 years old at the time that Tembria started her apprenticeship in 402 AR, which inclined him favor the coastal form of Nagath Warriors, that is rigorous study and focusing on self control and stoicism. During this time Tembria became an accomplished warrior and scholar, often discussing philosophy, history, and politics with nobles whenever she met them. Her apprenticeship lasted a record breaking 73 years, when Huge Gut finally and reluctantly christened her a full warrior. The next day the ancient dwarf told Tembria that she was everything that he had been, the embodiment of his knowledge and skill. He then set out into the desert and was never seen again.

Mystical Exploration and Blessings
Tembria took an unusual approach to her Nagath thinking following the passing of her former master, choosing to embrace taboo mysticism and occultism to gain understanding of the elements. Her explorations took her far and wide, from one end of Tonis to the other and from the coast to the dreamscape. Her journey took a full 150 years, and when she returned she was endowed with elemental gifts from her time spend in the chroma and dreamscape. There is no public record of what she did during this time, but she did write the knowledge that she gained on seven scrolls made of gold (these scrolls are locked away). In 620 AR she returned to civilization with the ability to control the elements: to create fire, to hold lightning, to walk on thunder. From this she gained her first title, "The Blessed Tembria." In addition to her personal blessings, she had also managed to retrieve several small Shards of Grace that had been lost when inland tribes were wiped out.

Founding of Recogitae
Using the Shards of Grace she had found in in the depths of the desert, Tembria founded a new city, Recogitae ("Rethinking") in 622 AR. She invited Eladrin first to come to the city, to form an inner conclave to rule the city and guard the wisdom that would be housed their. Deodonus the Longbearded offered an analysis of her motives,

"In her first call to her fellow eladrin to fill the city of Recogitae, we see a deep wisdom that is often misinterpreted. Eladrin are the longest lived of all the races, and have the strongest memories, so it should come as no wonder that she would wish to establish them as the rulers and guardians of knowledge in her new city. Many of the other races were turned away, but I think not without merit. Establishing the Eladrin first as masters of the city would make all those who came later defer to them. The way in which Recogito was founded and structured was, perhaps, the greatest of Tembria's accomplishments."

She established a ruling body, The Wisened, a group of Eladrin who ruled the city through group decisions. Although Tembria had absolute authority in the city, she virtually always allowed The Wisened to rule as they saw fit. She also established the Urbana Hasta, an elite military force composed of Eladrin warriors, and the Urbana Fabria, a group of ceramists to produce weapons and armor for the Urbana Hasta.

Return to Nagath and Apprenticeship
Following a hundred year period of ruling Recogitae, Tembria abdicated her position in the government and set out to once again embrace the ways of the Nagath Warrior. She traveled under a false name, "Peregria" (old tongue for "wanderer"). She took an apprenticeship under the Nagath mage Wisentooth, an orc shaman and mage and fore-runner of Deodonus the Longbearded. Wisentooth was, like Tembria, gifted by his time spent in the Chroma. It is thought today that Wisentooth knew who "Peregria" was all along, but chose to play along as was her wish. After a 30 year apprenticeship she 'revealed' her identity and offered the aged Orc a place amongst The Wisened in Recogitae, which would have made him the first non-eladrin member of the council, but he turned her down. Wisentooth is said to have scolded Tembria, for as Nagath warriors she should not have offered and he should not have accepted any position that would take them from the Nagath way. Her apprenticeship soonafter ended and, as she had before the founding of Recogitae, she ventured into the dreamscape. This time she sought one last apprenticeship: to Skya.

The Long Absence and Short Return
For three hundred years there is no record of Tembria, and during this time many thought that the Elemental Void had finally claimed her. But in 1067 she returned to Tonis, filled with elemental power. She wandered the land alone, avoiding civilization at all costs. But she was followed by many young Nagath warriors, for years they would follow her, watch her fight Elekin and Tempeter so powerful that the earth shook and sky split as they battled. In 1076, on the Equinox of Shadow, she fought the Shadam Nar and lost.

The Eternal Tembria, Entombed Forever Alive
Just as the last embers of her life were dying out she was placed in stasis by her followers and transported back to Recogitae. There she was entombed, just barely alive, in a crystal that would hold her in this world until such a time as she could be saved. In the modern day she is in the council chamber of The Wisened, watching with open eyes all that takes place there.

It is said that, if you look closely enough, her wounds are slowly healing.

Beata Tembria, The City
Beata Tembria was founded in 622 AR by Blessed Tembria, and at that time went by the name Recogitae. Unlike most settlements, which feature a single centralized Shard of Grace, Beata Tembria has several small shards scattered throughout the city. Beata Tembria is best known for the Urbana Hasta, the elite section of its military, the Urbana Fabria, the ceramists who make weapons and armor, and the Grand Librarium.

Beata Tembria's arcitecture is unique, as Eladrin ceramics are used heavily in construction. This allows for buildings to be taller, have more levels, and be of interesting shapes. The city is also encircled by a wall which is reinforced by these same ceramics, giving the city the look of a glowing ring from a distance.

In the the 1200's Beata Tembria lost a major encounter against the Kingdom of Votan and its allies. There is no written record of the peace accord that was struck; it is rumored that neither the Wisened nor the then King of Votan intended to keep the peace for long. However the King was killed not soon after by an Elekin and the peace remains to this day.

Government
Beata Tembria is ruled by The Wisened, a council of Eladrin who rule the city through group decisions. There are no 'sub-committees' of The Wisened, all of them render judgment on all issues brought before them. The archons ensure that the decisions of The Wisened are enacted, even through force. The archons command the Urbana Hasta, the Urbana Fabria, and the Grand Librarium.

Beata Tembria's relationship with Votan is a complicated one. According to the King of Votan, Beata Tembria is a subject city and owes their allegiance to him. According to the Wisened, Beata Tembria has an alliance with Votan.

Urbana Hasta
The Urbana Hasta is the elite arm of Beata Tembria's military. The Urbana Hasta is composed entirely of Eladrin soldiers outfitted with ceramic arms and armor. 50 of the members of the Urbana Hasta serve as the elite guard of the King of Votan.

Urbana Fabria
The Urbana Fabria is the master artisan guild that produce arms and armor for the Urbana Hasta and various goods for the nobles of Beata Tembria. When, on rare occasion, Beata Tembria bestows gifts on outsiders, they are typically made by the Urbana Fabria. The master artisans do not sell their goods, they are made exclusively at the command of the archons and The Wisened.

Grand Librarium
The Grand Librarium houses a wealth of public, private, and forbidden knowledge. In addition to serving as a library (one of only a handful on Tonis), it also acts as a bank for itinerant nobles and locals to store documents securely, and finally as a place for The Wisened to lock away dangerous knowledge.