Genesis of Artura
According to legend passed down by the Shield-Saint order;
Approximately 2000 years ago, give or take a decade or so, lived a woman named Artura. Now, Artura never married, though she did have a son. On a starry night, raiders came through Artura's village, taking anything, and anyone of value, destroying and murdering whatever or whoever they deemed worthless, or couldn't carry off.
Artura frantically searched for her son in the chaos, but when she finally saw him, she also saw the vile marauder swiftly approaching him. As the marauder grabbed her son by the hair, Artura cried out. The marauder turned as he held the poor boy of all but 16 years by his scalp and saw Artura down the road.
When their eyes lock, the marauder's scarred face splits contorts into a large, toothless sneer. "Mom!" the boy cried out just before the marauder slit his throat.
Artura screamed in agony. The buildings burning around her began to collapse under the weight they could no longer support as the marauder dropped the body in his arms and began to set upon Artura.
As she retreated backwards, she tripped and fell. Before she could regain herself, the marauder was upon her. Reaching for something, anything, her hand closed around an object and she swung it at her attacker's head with all the force she could deliver.
A brutal cracking sound could be heard over the flames and the edge of a wooden shield met the side of the marauders head. As he fell to the side with the force of the blow, adrenaline took over Artura. Rolling over, and onto her knees, Artura raised the shield high over her head and struck the marauder again with the edge, and again.
Once the attacker had been subdued, Artura screamed again out loud. Every bit of rage and agony poured out of her in that scream, burning the night air as hot as the flames surrounding her.
Tears streaming down her face, Artura staggered to her feet. Realizing the danger still around her, she shakily moved down the road, away from the village. Still clutching the shield in both hands, she fell to the ground outside of town. As she looked up at the remains of her home, rain began to fall on her. Artura wept.
When the dawn came, the flames had died, and the rain had subsided. Artura reviewed the wreckage. She found nothing left, no one left alive. The whole village was leveled, only the ends of some docks remained undamaged.
As the sunlight spread across the beach of the coastal town, Artura strapped the shield to her arm. With a grim expression, and an empty feeling deep in her heart, Artura set off inland, leaving the remnants of her life and beginning a pilgrimage that would lead her to meet her companions, Gebbus the Bard, Ixion the Archmage, and Figbar the trickster rogue.
Today, the order of Shield-Saints pay tribute to Artura, the Shield Magess. The first Shield-Saint, and savior of D'vandia. For when The Calamity came to D'vandia, the World waited for a chosen one. Artura was the one that chose.