Aelinor Rodas

Aelinor Rodas is the third daughter of Sael Rodas, and the current head of House Rodas.

Born well down the line of succession, it came as a great surprise when she found herself Lady of a noble house. An inexperienced newcomer to politics at this level, she tries her best to remember her lessons as a child, and to save House Rodas from ruin.

Appearance and Personality
Beautiful, even for a family rumored to be descended from the Valyrians of old, Aelinor's hair shines brightly like starlight on a clear night, and her eyes are faint lilac in color. In recent years, the youthful fire in her eyes has been replaced with a indistinct sadness.

In her earlier years, Aelinor was an avid connoisseur of the arts, especially music. She longs for sensory pleasures, and such pursuits have led her through many interesting experiences. She maintains this curiosity even after becoming Lady of House Rodas, and considers the necessary duties of her position to be rather dull in comparison. Despite this, she knows she must do whatever it takes to survive.

Typically, she is quite friendly to those who show kindness in return, but has mastered the art of the political smile. Though not quick to admit it, even to herself, what she desires most is a partner to share her life with.

Early Life (390-405 AC)
Born during a prosperous time, Aelinor's youth was filled with happiness. Being the fifth child of her lord father, she was granted a great degree of freedom in what she chose to pursue. Though she couldn't fully escape teaching lessons, Aelinor spent a great deal of time pursuing the arts. She developed a particular attraction to music, and made it the focus of her efforts. *The Pristine Gardens* was a favored spot of hers, and on the warm days she learned to play the lyre rather well.

At home, she did her best to make the time studying interesting. Her family made sure to emphasize the history of the Valyrians and the Targaryens, and naturally the stories of dragons were interesting to her. When the War of the Three Thieves began, talk of it reached her ears. There were actual dragons flying around - the monsters from her books had come to life. These were the first thoughts that confirmed to her that danger wasn't an unknown worry. Soon news of the dead returned, including her father and oldest brother both. This left her oldest sister in charge of House Rodas at a young age. Lyaena was someone Aelinor had always looked up to, but the position brought out the worst in her sister. Soon she could barely stand her, and spent even more time away from home. No matter where she went though, news of the war was always close at hand. So, she withdrew further into her music, and tried her best to ignore the worries of the world around her.

The forced bliss was not to last, however, as the war's end ushered with it the Scarlet Winter. Already shaken from losing her father and brother, Aelinor was distraught with the loss of her mother, and two of her nephews to winter illness.

This was only the begin of the hardships for her family.

Refuge from the Storm (406-415 AC)
Her sister was doing the best she could to keep everything together, but the losses were adding up - a missed opportunity here, and a dead ally there, eventually their house was in a rough spot. Of course this made Lyaena unbearable to deal with, so Aelinor spent less time than ever around her family. She would spend weeks away from home with little more than her lyre, a purse of gold, and untamed humors. Aelinor spent more and more of her time at the brothel run by House Rodas. While she certainly had the looks to be a highly desirable courtesan, Aelinor instead enjoyed watching the customers as they came to find the same escape she had sought for so long. Of course, she made sure to spend time with some of the more beautiful clients, but it was due to a desire to experience more in life rather than true attraction. As far as she was concerned, the world ended at the edge her skin.

With the decline of House Targaryen of Lys, the Magisters made their move. At first, her sister Lyaena stayed quiet over the change in politics, but ever her father's daughter, Lyaena eventually needed to state House Rodas' affiliation with the dragons. It was heard all too well, and in 409 Lyaena, her husband and twin daughters were slaughtered in the family estate by an assassin. Aelinor was distraught when she heard the news. After having all but removed her sister from her life, she now realized how much she missed her family. She returned home to find her brother Baelon in charge of the House, and he was nowhere near as nice as Lyaena was. Baelon demanded that she get in line or leave for good. Aelinor stayed for the better part of a year, but her personality didn't meet her brother's standards. She turned down his suitors in her grief, further isolating the already failing house. In a rage filled night, he banished her from the family estate until she learned to conduct herself like a proper lady.

In depression, she turned to drink and gladly let herself be taken by the customers of the brothel. These were truly dark times for the young woman of House Rodas, now into her 20's with her life going nowhere. Eventually she was able to break from this cycle due to the kindness of several of the working girls, and slowly regained her old composure.

The true wake-up call came in 412, the Year of Knives. Her brother had made no friends of the Magisters, and when bloodshed spread across the island, he and his family were butchered on the streets. Times were now truly desperate, as there were only two members left in House Rodas, Aelinor, and her older sister Visera. Always an odd child in Aelinor's mind, Visera was a shaky head for the House. She was plagued by indecision, and did little to prevent the decline of their House's wealth and power. The situation became even worse once Visera had her daughter. She had gotten pregnant solely to create more Rodas', but soon after the birth the little girl died. This broke Visera's mind, and she declined into madness, eventually committing suicide later that year. Left with no other choice, the youngest child of Sael assumed control of the House.

Lady of House Rodas (415 AC - )
The first years of her Ladyship were rocky. Aelinor was never meant to be the head of the House, and had only been given the bare minimum in education. Luckily, she was a smart woman, and with her limited resources managed to get a grasp on her position. It's been a gradual stabilization, but for now House Rodas has stopped it's rapid decline. Though it pained her to turn her back on the long tradition of support for the dragons of Valyria, Aelinor voiced support for the decisions of the Council of Magistrates, including the reformation of the Triarchy. In private, Aelinor doesn't wish to see a repeat of the War of the Three Thieves, but she knows better than to be so vocal with that discontent. She is the last Rodas, and it is up to her to save her house.

The world has begun to change, and despite the many setbacks, Aelinor is ready for what may come. Rumors from the Stepstones are very interesting to her, have the dragons come back to destroy the alliance so soon? Aelinor has traveled to Myr for the Festival of Three Daughters to find out more about these rumors, and hopefully to find some glimmer of hope to save her family...