Zeruiah (character)


 * For other uses, see Zeruiah.

Zeruiah is a Non-Playable Character (NPC) in the Aimhyr storyline.

In-Game Appearance
Zeruiah appears in-game for the first time in Grand Quest Everlasting Embrace. Her second, and most recent appearance is in Grand Quest Fates of the Fallen.

Background
Zeruiah is a sage from another plane, heralded for her power and leadership. She has the upper body of a human, and the lower body of a deer, leading to her being referred to as the deer sage. Long ago, the Fae lived peacefully in a bountiful forest known as “The Vale.” One day, attracted by the bountiful food and magical energies of The Vale, a horde of goblins attacked The Vale, slaughtering the peaceful Fae mercilessly, stealing and pillaging as they pleased. As a last-ditch effort, the Fae gathered around a massive tree in the center of the Vale, and began chanting a beautiful, harmonious song. The combined wishes of all of the Fae manifested in the form of a blinding pillar of turquoise light. Thus, Zeruiah manifested in the land of Aimhyr. With unending, divine power, Zeruiah drove back the goblin invaders, using the very soil they stood on as a weapon against the savage invaders. Safe once more, the Fae of The Vale pledged themselves to Zeruiah, erecting great vaults filled with Magical treasure in her honor.

History
Long ago, Zeruiah met the divine goddess Juno-Seto, and helped save her and her people from the Ravaging Void. Gifted with Juno-Seto’s divine seed, she was able to revive Juno-Seto, who died protecting Zeruiah and her people from the Ravaging Void. After a short period of peace, the Ravaging Void, manifesting itself via the body of a deity called Ensa-Taya, made its way into Aimhyr. Ensa-Taya and an army of disgusting, unholy creatures known as the Voidborn poured into Aimhyr, corrupting the land and killing anything in their path. In order to protect all of Aimhyr, Zeruiah gifted the Faefire to a human defender known as Baelfyr. The Faefire is a powerful weapon that cleanses all it touches in the holy inferno of its raging flames. The Faefire is a gift that can only be given, never taken back. Baelfyr used the Faefire to drive back the Voidborn invaders, cleansing the land of its impurities. Yet the dangerous desire for conquest in humans would prove to be too great.

As the Voidborn invaders were being pushed back by Baelfyr and the human forces, Zeruiah departed in search of Juno-Seto, hoping to reach her before Ensa-Taya did. As Zeruiah arrived in what she remembered to be the far east, she was instead greeted by a field full of crystals, their energy similar to Juno-Seto’s, but perverted by the unholy darkness of the Ravaging Void. Zeruiah sees Ensa-Taya attacking Juno-Seto, and lunges at Ensa-Taya, slicing a gash in her side. Ensa-Taya, furious at being attacked, viciously attacks Zeruiah, wounding her to the point of being unable to fight. Juno-Seto embraces Ensa-Taya, and their combined powers cause a massive crystalline spiral to form, towering above the very sky itself. Zeruiah departs, heading back to The Vale to rest.

Many years later, Zeruiah encounters Tevarius, an ancient stormborn dragon in the form of a human. She instructs him to find Sero-Anya, who she suspects to be the key to saving Aimhyr. Meanwhile, Baelfyr and his Wolfseye Guard turn the power of the Faefire against his own people, crusading from village to village burning them down and slaughtering the people that live there. Zeruiah confronts him, and Baelfyr taunts her, encouraging her to try and attack him, and mocking her weakness. Zeruiah attacks Baelfyr, but he manages to cut off one of her horns and proceeds to stab himself with it. Baelfyr then proclaims that Zeruiah had attacked him in order to show that The Vale was filled with evil. After this accusation his people lead an attack on The Vale, burning a large amount of it with the Faefire. During Zeruiah’s third and final encounter with Baelfyr, they attack each other. Blinded by her rage, Zeruiah murders Baelfyr, stabbing him viciously with her jewel-encrusted Glaive. Afterward, Zeruiah returns to The Vale, where she stays for the remainder of the events with Saerenthis and Tsovinar, haunted by the memories of Baelfyr.

One night, as Zeruiah slumbers, Baelfyr once more manifests in her dream. Sero-Anya, a powerful being often said to be a reincarnation of the goddess Juno-Seto, watches from afar as Zeruiah is doomed to relive her guilt, forced to fight Baelfyr once again. Baelfyr taunts her endlessly, reminding Zeruiah of her sins. Zeruiah cries out, begging the Earth Mother and Sky Father for answers, but Baelfyr still stands before her. Sero-Anya approaches where Baelfyr is taunting Zeruiah to come out of hiding, and hides in the bushes herself. Baelfyr taunts Zeruiah further, laughing in a crazed fashion at the anguish that Zeruiah is in. Sero-Anya hears a strange voice call out to Zeruiah. Directly after, the dream-like forest folds in on itself, crushed into blackness by the encroaching void. As Sero-Anya screams in fear, she wakes up, along with Zeruiah, leaving the strange, nightmarish dream world behind.

Trivia

 * Though the origins of Zeruiah’s appearance in The Vale are known, her true origins, along with where she came from, are strictly unknown.