Taelia Griiam

Character History

Please remember that events described in this article are roleplay and acting. Actions done in-character do not reflect on the actual person portraying the character!

Upbringing

Taelia Griiam, firstborn of the Griiam family, was a calm and happy child. As the spitting image of her mother Shivan, Keeper of the Crown, the Seelie Court naturally placed high expectations on her. Shivan early on did her best to teach her Court etiquette and the ways of the royals. Very strict, this often annoyed Taelia, but etiquette meant trust among Court members, and trust meant the potential for pacts. Still, it was maddening.

She found more joy in the training lessons of her father. As a young child Yorlias began sparring with her, though only in good fun. She had talent, and her skills grew quickly, which made her proud. With Yorlias being the Keeper of War and having strong ties with Oberon, King of the Seelie Court, his approval would have meant a great deal. But he did not seem very interested. The expectation was that she would grow into a servant of the Court, not a soldier of war and discipline.

The pact culture of the Fey always intrigued her. An easy way to grow power and connect with her fellow classmates, Taelia had a knack for making trades that favored her. She remembered her first pact with her friend when they were both five: her green dress from her mother in exchange for a little of her friend's daily energy. Her mother, of course, was furious when she found out. Shivan often brought gifts from the royal Court, especially crafted by expensive and talented tailors. But dresses were not a fascination for Taelia, more a tool to an end. To be traded, to gain a deal. At festivities, dressing up meant opportunities to talk to nobles and gain better pacts. With her friend growing weaker, it was not long until the neighbors and her parents found out, forcing her to reverse it. Yet more energy meant she could train longer with her father.

When she was seven years old, the family announced she would have a brother. The news sounded exciting. She imagined all the things she could teach him, all the things they could do together to show him this beautiful world. Niamh and Taelia bonded quickly. When his speaking was not yet clear, he called her Tatl, which annoyingly stuck as her nickname. She in turn began calling him Navi, which he did not like either, but the names stayed.

To her dismay, she noticed a change in her father’s behavior. Early on, he insisted on training Niamh, even earlier than she had convinced him to spar with her. Navi was good, but more troubled and a slower learner. She too had struggled at first, but where her father had once laughed or smiled at her mistakes, he showed only anger and annoyance toward Niamh. Look at me, I could be your talent. I can be the soldier’s heir you wish for, she thought to herself. But she knew her own education was meant to prepare her for the inner protection circle of the Court.

To hold the family together, and in part because she felt sorry for her little brother, she began training Niamh in secret, relaying her education so he could keep up. He tried, but for their father it was never enough.

Journey to Power

In the Royal Academy, Taelia gave her all. In her first year she was best in her sparring class and second in diplomacy basics. This made it easy for her to make friends and connections she could use. Her goal was to fulfill the expectations of the Court completely, with the hopes of the Royals noticing her as overqualified, and perhaps even allowing her to join the army.

She quickly learned that pacts were more than tools of survival, they were weapons. Where most Fey saw deals as tradition or necessity, Taelia treated them as stepping stones. She sharpened her words like blades, striking bargains that always tilted in her favor, even if it left resentment behind. To her, resentment was not failure but proof that she had won.

When Navi joined the Academy, she was already in her final year. With the best grades and some calling her a prodigy, she was accepted as an apprentice Royal Guard. This drew her closer to the Court and showed off her battle skills. With her negotiation skills and pact trickery also improving, she had high hopes for gaining power and showing her father what she was capable of. Poor Navi lacked her talent, and even clashed with Kiruan, son of Oberon. When Kiruan and his promised bride Awnyuh nearly tricked Navi into a pact, Taelia intervened. She spoke to the prince and promised her protection and battle services in exchange for leaving her brother alone. Awnyuh even added a relic from her Court. Reluctantly, Taelia accepted. Nothing is free, her offering it so easily felt like a curse. But finding no magic on it, she wielded it and in turn, it made her stronger. If it was to protect Niamh and help him grow into the prodigy their father wanted, so be it.

For the first time in her life, Yorlias began to look at her with something other than indifference. As her skills at the Academy earned whispers of prodigy and her duties as a guard apprentice drew attention at Court, she caught flickers of pride in his eyes. Small, fleeting gestures, a nod of approval, a sparring correction without impatience, but enough to make her chase that look with even greater hunger. It was the recognition she had craved since childhood.

Eventually her old trainer Seamus sent Niamh into the Feywild to learn combat and gain hands-on practice. Having done so herself, Taelia knew how tricky and deadly the Feywild could be. She checked in on him secretly, sometimes even killing an animal nearby if he seemed to be struggling for food. Overall, he managed well.

At the same time, diplomats came and went at the many festivities of the Seelie Court. Titania held many gatherings, and Taelia took every opportunity to speak with them, trying to gain deals and power to make her family proud. She may or may not have traded Court secrets for magical knowledge in her pursuit of influence. Grudges were nothing new with these diplomats, as blackmail often served political goals.

All seemed well. Her family held high positions, and with her pacts with powerful Elder Fey creatures, she hoped to show her true skill. Perhaps even please her father and step beyond the Court’s walls. By this time, she had even streaked her dark hair with blonde, a constant reminder, to herself and the Court, that she was ready to embody the role her brother was failing to claim.

Brother's Betrayal

Something was different. When she checked in on her brother, she noticed immediately his absence. He no longer seemed to be on the same plane as her. Where had he gone. As mortals often came into contact with Fey beings, even through minor promises and pacts, she quickly arranged for spies in the mortal realm to search for him. They found him easily, wandering among mortals. At first, she was relieved, he was not dead. Even gaining experience among mercenaries. What fun. But his motive disturbed her.

The unseelie spy whose corpse had been found near the Court’s borders seemed to have planted a seed in Niamh, a rejection of Seelie pact morals. He had adopted, of all things, a Moral Code from the banished Unseelie, to never tell untruth or use trickery. The disappointment overwhelmed her. If her family discovered this, if the Court discovered this, everything she had trained for would be tainted. Her efforts wasted. Her dreams crushed.

She could not show weakness, not now. Her mother and her father were finally looking kindly at her. How foolish of her brother, after all she had done for him, after how hard she had trained just to prove herself good enough. Either she would convince him to abandon this madness, or ensure he could never return.

Family Tree

Parents

• Shivan Cosain-Griiam

• Yorlias Griiam

Siblings

• Niamh Griiam