History[]
Aurellia's parents wanted a second child, and ended up with three. The youngest of three children, she grew up a bit spoiled and a bit wild. Her older sister and twin brother followed in the footsteps of their father, learning weaponry and combat. Aurellia took to magic, following her warlock mother. She never chose to form a pact with an otherworldy patron, but she studied with tutors and experimented with the arcane. She climbed through catacombs, teaching herself how to conjure light when it got too dark, and dragging her brother along when she was told to stop wandering off alone.
They lost their father when the twins were thirteen and Aurellia took to the wild forests, looking for more sparks of the arcane. It kept her busy and made the loss hurt less.
On her 16th birthday, Aurellia chose to speak with the Farseer and asked what school of magic she should focus on. She was given two things: the School of Necromancy (odd choice, but okay, sure!) and she was to marry Emrys Draigtheryn: the nephew of the high king, and crown prince of Eastel. (that was ... not expected. At all.)
She might have decided to ignore that second prophecy (temporarily) and scoured the family library for books on necromancy. And books on Eastel. The ignoring worked very well until an ornate carriage rolled up to the gates of the Greyspire Estate and Emrys Draigtheryn himself stepped out.
The Quest[]
Aurellia agreed to return with Emrys to his city of Eastel - Arden tagging along - and a formal ball announcing the betrothal. He seemed to match her own feelings on the situation: not excited, but willing to make the best of it. Emrys seemed more comfortable with an arranged marriage than Aurellia, but she assumed he'd expected it more than she had.
He was kind, he was trying, and she was fully willing to meet him halfway.
On the night of the ball, they were approached by the High King's Soothsayer, who asked to speak with them privately. He seemed concerned but stoic as he relayed a second divination confirming the marriage, but adding that first Aurellia needed to complete a quest. She had to learn and cast Speak With the Dead, as a Wizard, before they could be married. She would have to undertake the quest alone, with only the allies and funds she could muster on her own.
Aurellia was unnerved - a vision quest was not exactly something wizards did. Clerics and druids, yes. This quest would have made plenty of sense for Emrys - who was a cleric - but made no sense for her. Arden objected strongly to the idea, and demanded that he be allowed to go with her at least. The Soothsayer told him that his path lay elsewhere. This led to Arden becoming a monk and forswearing magic.
Aurellia refashioned herself into a mercenary, joined the Adventurer's guild, and found she really enjoyed travelling. She kept in regular contact with her family - or at least she regularly sent letters - and spotty contact with Emrys - far less frequent letters. And she sort of forgot about the purpose of the quest, at least for a while.