Ashen Warden
Emerging from the mist-shrouded depths of Keltus, the Ashen Wardens are an enigmatic faction dedicated to safeguarding the ancient and mystical Worldroot. Cloaked in secrecy and draped in the relics of a forgotten age, they traverse the rugged terrain, guided by the whispers of the land itself.
Age
2025
Faction
group
Type
clan
Location
keltus
Overview
Age: 17
Origin: Southern Keltus (Grimholdt ruins)
Faction: None (aligned only through player choice)
Heritage: Daughter of a fallen noble and an earth-marked healer
Companion: Veyr, the ashfang wolf
Combat Role: Agile frontline blade-user; hybrid duelist and beast-wielder
Narrative Role: Fixed protagonist; mythos anchor and alignment catalyst
Core Traits: Loyal | Silent | Decisive | Myth-shifting
Design Pillars: Clean silhouette | Practical gear | Layered identity | Ethereal presence
Kaelen is the fixed player character in Aetheris, a grounded, narrative-first protagonist with dynamic myth evolution. She cannot be customized visually or narratively, but the world’s reaction to her changes constantly through decisions, region-based ripple effects, and myth perception.Her role is to carry the weight of player agency without being a blank slate: she’s deeply written, but allows the player to steer her reputation, factional standing, and influence across the world. The design favors clarity of silhouette and identity, but with evolving perception systems.
Kaelen is always accompanied by Veyr, a bonded wolf companion with light combat support and stealth assistance. Later, she is joined by Maera and Tarin, her two childhood companions, forming a squad that grows emotionally, not numerically.
Design choices
Kaelen Thorne - Faction Outfits
Every outfit starts from the same core silhouette- silver-white hair, cloak, layered half-skirt, and signature weapons. Each faction unlocks its own variation: unique colors, symbols, and materials, all layered over the base design.
No matter the allegiance, Kaelen’s identity stays constant. The spirit of the character never changes, only the outer marks of culture and loyalty shift.
Combat style & Loadout
⚔️ Combat Style & Loadout
Combat Identity:
Kaelen blends fast, intentional strikes with terrain awareness and Veyr-assisted synergy. Her playstyle rewards spacing, stamina management, and myth-triggered abilities. She excels at interrupting rituals, disrupting heavy foes, and quickly relocating.
Weapons:
Alesdair (Primary)
A long, living blade — 65/35 handle-blade ratio. Semi-sentient. Attuned to the Undertrace. Heavy, brutal swings with subtle earthbound powers. Parry-heavy style.Secondary Sword
Shorter, fast-reacting blade. Used in dual-wield rituals, traversal moments, and tight interior spaces. Lighter damage, high precision.
Core Mechanics:
Light-heavy attack combo strings with animation cancel windows
Dual-weapon synergy with ritual-activated stance switches
Veyr-assisted takedowns, distractions, or pathfinding
Terrain-aware stamina system (echo zones affect mobility)
Interrupt-focused parry system
Faction-dependent passive buffs (based on myth perception)
Design Language
Kaelen’s design prioritizes recognizability, weight, and functionality. Her visual identity never changes — only its accents and cultural markings shift based on faction alignment. This preserves her presence across versions.
Visual Anchors:
Long, white-silver braided hair
Layered asymmetrical cloak (heavy, black, torn with utility)
Half-skirt over rugged loose trousers
Tight-fit black top with flared sleeves
Minimal armor (only forearms / shoulders, no full plating)
Understated face markings (subtle ivory glyphs, not warpaint)
Wolf companion always present
Glyph on back of cloak (only visible in motion)
Core Color Palette:
Muted blacks, soft silvers, mossy greys, under-earth greens, ash-white highlights
→ Palette adjusts subtly with faction, but always rooted in “Moon & Hollow”
Faction Outfit Variants (modular, same base):
First Hand: Symbolic shackles, light plate over cloak, Order glyphs
Tainted Hand: Prayer ribbons, bone-white cloth, blackened leather
Kyadamri: Sealing thread patterns, contract mask, blood-signed bracers
Keltus (default): Earth-toned wraps, relic cloth, fur-lined collar
Base/Neutral: As shown — minimal, clean, survival-based
Lore
Kaelen Thorne was born in the broken halls of Grimholdt, a southern Keltan fortress long since overtaken by moss and ruin. Her father died defending their collapsing keep from Order incursion. Her mother, marked by the earth, kept them hidden, until she vanished beneath a blood moon, leaving only a woven heirloom tied to the Undertrace.
Alone at thirteen, Kaelen wandered until she found Veyr, an ashfang wolf, also wounded, also lost. Their bond was instinctual, immediate, and absolute. From that moment, Kaelen became ghost and myth. Stories of a white-haired girl roaming ruins spread quietly, too precise to be folklore, too wild to be Order truth.
Kaelen never pledged to any banner. She has learned to avoid the reach of all Hands, all factions, all chains. Yet she is not passive , she acts. Protecting relics, disrupting Order movements, or simply surviving. Her presence alone shifts the mood of regions. Some see her as a heretic. Others, a ghost. A few, a savior.
Her identity is shaped by what others believe, not by what she says. Because she speaks little, and acts in silence. But her story is written in the ripple she leaves behind.
Palatinus Dolor is the legacy-bearer of the Tainted Hand, an institutional saint of ideological rot seated in the Spiral Sepulcher of Alanik. Their true name is erased upon succession, replaced by “Dolor,” a title that mutates with each bearer. Dolor’s doctrine is simple and horrifying: suffering is the only truth untouched by doctrine. They engineer ritual collapse as purification, breaking logic, identity, and even the body until faith becomes submission. Dolor moves rarely, sometimes remaining motionless for days, speaking in spirals and unfinished thoughts, rising only for eclipses or executions. Where Dolor’s influence spreads, rules of reality destabilize: enemies self-destruct in death, allies turn on allies, healing becomes punishment when abused. They do not seek Kaelen’s death, they seek to overwrite her, to make her forget who she was so the Order can decide who she must be.
