Lady Melisenda Becomes Aodreia (The Historical Account)
Lady Melisenda was born in Elkenalden during it’s occupation by The Primal Host. She was born to a small group of rebels that lived in hiding in the city. Melisenda was a beautiful girl with minor healing powers, so she was liked by those who knew her and hidden away from the goblins. Unfortunately when she was 23, the goblins discovered her family and attacked. Melisenda fled the city and ran into a nearby cave. It was cold and dark, but with the goblins close behind, she had no choice but to keep going. When she reached a dead-end, she begged the gods for salvation. When the goblins attacked her, the gods intervened - blessing her and crowning her the ruler of Datrus (the former name of the imperial plains).
Lady Melisenda Becomes Aodreia (The Rumor)
Lady Melisenda was born in Elkenalden to a woman in the harem of Warlord Shokor. Shokor was a hobgoblin, and the leader of the Grey Ear legion which was occupying Elkenalden as the primary strategists of the Primal Host. Melisenda’s mother was the jewel of Shokor’s harem. Shokor was obsessed with her, and as her own appearance began to fade with age, he turned his eyes to Melisenda.
Just before Melisenda’s 14th birthday, one of the women (possibly her mother) attacked Warlord Shokor. She was killed, but the other girls took the opportunity to flee. Most of the girls fled into the forest, hoping to find safety in the underbrush - unfortunately the worgs found them quickly. Melisenda, instead ran into the crags, venturing into a cave that even the goblins seemed to avoid. As she stepped deeper and deeper into the cave, it got colder and colder. She considered turning back, but then heard Shokor’s voice commanding his troops to find her.
Eventually, she came upon a cavern of ice, inside which sat a dragon with scales of deep blue - shining like sapphires. The dragon, taken by her beauty, attempted to enchant and seduce her. Melisenda resisted his charm and fought back, grabbing an enchanted shield from the dragon’s horde and smashing it into his eye.
The dragon was enraged, spewing ice and frozen air from its mouth - at which point Melisenda offered a bargain: if the dragon would grant her power and wisdom to kill the goblins, she would return to the cave and willingly bear the dragon’s children.
The dragon agreed. The lord of Ice gave her the enchanted shield and bade her to drink his blood from the wound she had inflicted.
Melisenda followed his commands, and the Lord of Ice bestowed his name upon her.
She left the cave, and enacted her revenge on the goblins.
The Defeat of the Grey Ear legion
This was the first major battle of the war. The Grey Ear legion, were the chief strategists of the Primal Host and had occupied Elkenalden. Lady Melisenda gathered a number of soldiers to her side, and engaged in small guerilla skirmishes. The Grey Ear legion was not particularly strong in outright combat, and was quickly on the defensive. When the legion retreated into the keep, Melisenda defeated them by poisoning the river that flows through Elkenalden. Many civilians perished, but it killed the hobgoblin warlord. Since then, it is considered bad luck to draw water from the river. Lingering concerns about the safety of the water in Elkenalden lead to Ishtarim becoming the capital.
The Battle of Ishtarim
The largest battle for Datrian Independence was the Battle of Ishtarim, where Melisenda defeated the Red Demon legion, the host’s strongest warriors (named “Red Demon” because it was composed entirely of red-nosed hobgoblins). Knowing that she could not defeat them in direct combat, Melisenda instead used a cunning strategy.
Due to there immense firepower, mages traditionally operated alone during times of war. They may bring a group of guards to ward off enemies within close range, but conventional wisdom was that there was little to be gained from forming a unit of mages. Lady Melisenda turned that convention on its head, forcing her mages into units based on their abilities. This allowed for the use of the multi-caster grand magic that is often seen on the battlefield today.
She had her army assemble their tents and put their armor on stands. She then ordered them, unarmored, to swim up the rivers towards the town. While the goblins were busy scouting out her fake army, she used her mages to summon wind and fire, creating a firestorm that descended upon the town. When the goblins tried to escape the fires by fleeing into the rivers, they discovered a wall of spears coming out of the water. The goblins that didn’t burn were skewered and discarded.
Since the battle, Ishtarim has been an epicenter for magicians, and eventually the Nerwora Institute of the Arcane was established.