Oriann¶
You feel an arcane presence...
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Oriann (pronounced similar to "Orion"), also known as Dragon Rider Oriann, was a Ro'Tehrmari champion of the Sky Aspect Rihelma. Famed as the only mortal to ever truly befriend the eccentric Star-Rise Drake, she was known to have ridden on Rihelma in battle during the Divine Schism, acting as General of the Anti-Palaesidan/Loyalist forces.
Oriann is laid to rest in the Augural Tangle, and was the owner of the legendary pair of leggings found in that location.
Known History¶
Biography of Dragon Rider Oriann, a book in Mari's room in Ytaj, tells the story of Oriann's life:
Ya’Kruul of the True Way. Commander Sereven. Amohn Aihura. Cehris Stonebreaker. Aside from being dead, these heroes of the Divine Schism all share another thing in common: being La’Tehrmari.
But there was one other warrior who stood among them who never set foot on Drehmal- the Queen of the Infinite Sky, Dragon Rider Oriann. Born in the floating town of Rihanar to Zellos and Serinn of the Coven of Breeders, young Oriann grew up around phoenixes and obtained their trust from a young age. As Oriann grew into adulthood, she developed a passion for the written and spoken word. Enchanted by the savage beauty and transience of the phoenix, she saw parallels between their brief but powerful fire and the mortality of the Ro'Tehrmari. As a result, she became a staunch devotee of Voynahla, Rihalae, and Rihelma before attaining the age of twenty.
It was only natural, therefore, that when Lahrs announced a moonwide poetry contest, Zellos and Serinn pressured their precocious daughter to make a submission. With her dramatic and introspective metered verse, “On Candelabra Wings”, it was equally natural that Oriann won first prize: Ascension to La’Tehrmari.
After winning, however, Oriann shocked the world by declining Ascension. Even more worrisome to her parents, she never returned home. Only second-hand accounts describe what happened next, but two things were clear. First, Rihelma was greatly moved by Oriann’s work. Second, Oriann left to live at Aldregakar, and was not seen again for nearly a century.
When she was seen again, it was well into the Divine Schism at the Battle of Kin, fighting against Palaesida and Rihalae while perched on Rihelma’s back. Commanding a squadron of phoenix riders, Oriann wore a strange cosmic armor that seemed to allow herself and Rihelma to see danger before it fully manifested.
And yet, Oriann and her Aspect were bested by the masters of aerial combat. After taking a single thunderbolt from the siblings, the precognitive powers seemed to lessen, and Rihelma was very badly injured. For several years, neither emerged from the caves beneath Rihelma’s great mountain.
But they would fly together one more time in the Second Battle of Ytaj. In that conflict, Oriann’s aerial support was crucial to the success of the Anti-Palaesidans in their siege of the Ophidium. Coordinating charges and retreats, flanks and advances from the back of the soaring Aspect of Sky, she proved to be an able general. If not for that battle’s ill-fated conclusion at the negotiating table, Oriann and her army could have secured a decisive victory.
In her retirement and final years, Oriann continued to live at Aldregakar with Rihelma, writing poetry and occasionally visiting civilization in an advisory capacity. It is even said that she had a hand in Naharja’s legendary Second Revision to its City Code.
Though she did not live long, Oriann ultimately left behind a rich legacy. She burned as brightly as a phoenix and is the only one to ever truly befriend Rihelma. She was not merely as great as the other heroes. Despite her transience, she was greater.
Oriann's "strange cosmic armor" referenced in the Battle of Kin is Aeongale, a legendary piece of legwear that is found in-game at the Augural Tangle, and whose lore text reads:
Prior to the Divine Schism, La'Tehrmari were largely ascended because of their friendship with Aspects. Their mortal Ro'Tehrmari children were not as favored. But there was one notable exception: Dragonrider Oriann, the only being ever to understand Rihelma. The Star-Rise Drake crafted this armor for her beloved, and laid it in a crystalline tomb after Oriann's natural death.
This seems to suggest that Oriann and Rihelma's relationship was not only one of close friendship, but also romantic in nature.