Arlanna ap Tadgh
The druidess Arlanna, though best known for her marriage to the legendary High Warlord Kerenatam, is a powerful force in her own right. Said by her people to have a rare and potent natural talent for magic, her isolated upbringing has forged little in the form of kinship with the other Angaturiz, though she is fiercely territorial and loyal to her own people, the Rhaead. Her strongest allegiance, though, is to her husband, who she believes is a divine spirit that is destined to bring the Rhaead to greatness, while it is her purpose to ensure he fulfils his.Some believe that Arlanna never knew her family, and this is the reason why she spends so little time among others. While it is true that the woman that for three seasons carried her in her womb died on the day of Arlanna's birth, and that the man that planted that seed fled his newfound responsibility soon afterwards, this does not mean she did not know her family. Because her mother and father are not her family - they never were.
Arlanna was raised by the druids of the Rhaead, and exposed to their rites almost from birth. At six summers' age, she was assisting the sacrifices in small ways, and by nine, was regularly an active participant. Druids older and wiser than her recognised a unique talent for druidcraft in her that had nothing to do with learned skill or practice. Though Arlanna was reclusive due to her unorthodox upbringing, and so rarely visited the rest of the tribe, word got out, quickly but quietly. Explanations for this power arose, though whether rumours and gossip or genuine truths, it is hard to say. Some claimed that she was born on a blood moon. Others that she stole her mother's life force during her birth, killing her mother but strengthening her. Regardless, the druids made an effort to keep these quiet, while simultaneously taking advantage of this asset.
It was many years later that Arlanna heard tales of raids taking place against a Rhaead tribe by the forces of another. Though she ignored this at first, as infighting in the Rhaead was common, the days turned into weeks, months, and years of conflict, and again and again the same man was leading the attacks. His persistence was certainly noteworthy. Out of curiosity, she attempted to divine his future, and saw a glorious world in which the Rhaead were the undisputed masters of all known lands, and the forger of this great crusade was the same man who at present fought only in petty raids against his uncle. Arlanna made it her life's work to ensure that he lived the future she had seen.
Arlanna made sacrifices in Kerenatam's name. In the final battles leading to his uncle's demise, he would be witness to what were seemingly strokes of good luck - a change of wind blowing an arrow just off course, or a spear breaking at just the right moment. These were Arlanna's doing. And so not long afterwards, the treacherous uncle of Kerenatam ap Tadgh was dead.
Little time passed before Kerenatam's visit to the Godswoods, the first time he and Arlanna would meet in person. By this point, her interest in him had already developed into a fully-fledged, almost religious obsession. Other druids saw her value as an asset for the tribe, but they also considered her extremely unstable (quite reasonably). They encouraged her to marry Kerenatam as they believed that his "destiny" could be more easily fulfilled with Arlanna assisting him in person, as long as her fraying sanity held up. It is likely that they still have a contingency plan that involves her murder, if necessary.
And so in the years since that day, Arlanna has lived in Andrelian, assisting Kerenatam in his conquests however she can. This primarily has meant sacrifices, but Arlanna has also worked in negotiations, counsel, and the management of the High Warlord's territories while he is away. Now having seen 22 summers, she has become an intelligent, potent schemer, but is also entirely apathetic about the fates of those tribes other than her own, while her sanity waxes and wanes like the moon.
