| Lady Shea Bathory ~A History Untold~ |
| Shea was born into a typical European family...or so it seemed. Euric le Chevalier, her father, was a white knight, one of the true �Givers� of the world. He was an anonymous philanthropist who shared his wealth, time and life with others; merciful and heroic, yet impulsively decisive and misdirected. As a medieval knight, he fought the enemies of his feudal lord and was rewarded for his services with grants of land, thus he owned one of the most thriving kingdoms of the time. Shea, born to the name Shealy, also had a younger brother, Jourdain. Jourdain had inherited his father�s spirit, and at the age of eight he left their home by day to be trained as a page. Although Shealy was consumed with learning Shamanic magic by her mother, Katerina, she yearned for more. Each day after training, her brother would secretly share his teachings in body strengthening, wrestling, horseback riding, as well as how to properly use a spear and sword, and how to battle with a quintain with his devoted sister. The lady of the castle, Katerina, was to teach the knights in training how to sing, dance, and how to properly behave before superiors. Shealy�s mother alone was aware of her secret teachings, and allowed her to be present for these instructions. Jourdain was also taught to read and write by the schoolmaster, which he also shared with his sister. At the age of 16, Jourdain�s training heightened, and he reached the level of a squire, in which he provided services to his father. He would dress the knight in the morning, serve his meals, care for his horse, and clean Euric�s armor and weapons. He was further taught how to handle a sword and a lance, which he eagerly practiced with Shealy. When he was about twenty, Jourdain became a knight after proving himself worthy to their Lord. In the dubbing ceremony Jourdain was required to fast and pray (to purify his soul), bathe to show he was pure, confess, and finally be proclaimed a knight. The latter took place outdoors, before friends, family, and nobility. The squire knelt before the Lord, who tapped the squire lightly on each shoulder with his sword and proclaimed him a knight; afterwards there was a great feast with music and dancing. During Shealy�s illegal knight-teachings, she also received much instruction from her mother about magic. As Katerina was Shamanist, Shealy inherited the profession and the power it possessed. She became very successful in manipulating both natural and supernatural forces, healing (and resurrection), chanting, incantations, spells, shamanic state (trance), and metamorphosis, etc. Shealy regularly practiced her Shamanism by entering an ecstatic trance, the �shamanic state of consciousness�, where she was able to access the three zones of cosmologies: earth, sky, and the underworld. In this altered state of consciousness Shealy was lucid and was able to control what happened, and recall afterward what transpired during it. Shealy would often visit non-worldly realities, communicating with spirits and souls, make magical flights to the heavens where she served as a intermediary between the gods and his people, and descend to the underworld, the land of the dead. Such flights would often require her to shape-shift, and Shealy would typically chant, stare at a flame, or isolate herself in darkness in order to enter the state. Shealy�s Shamanic culture required her to have an alter ego, a guardian spirit, which she would shape-shift into. Her "animal power" was a young, healthy black panther. At the age of 18, Shealy�s mother gave her a unique gift, a blue-violet Amethyst gem enclosed in a silken thread to be worn as a choker. She had worn the choker since that day, aware of its powers, but had not yet experienced its true purpose. The Amethyst gem was known to sharpen wit, prevent drunkenness when worn at the navel, expel poisons (and render the barren fruitful), turn away evil thoughts, and render knowledge of the future or the past in the form of dreams. The night of Jourdain�s dubbing ceremony, at the age of twenty, Shealy had a most unusual dream. She had imagined herself walking alone through a beautiful forest, late in the evening, to find a deserted-looking lodge placed alone near the clearest of lakes. She found herself intrigued by the caliginous structure, and was unable to resist entering. Upon entering, she realized how out of place she was, every patron of the now distinct tavern had their eyes upon her. She was an outcast, very different from each of the dark creatures�Yes, upon a closer look, some of them did not even resemble humans. A tall, handsome man approached her, and she understood immediately; he had read through her, recognized her possibilities for greatness, and that he had accepted her. The great Euric Chevalier passed away that night. His son, Jourdain Chevalier honorably took his place in defending their Lord. Shealy approached Katerina Chevalier, but explanation was not necessary, her mother already knew what Shealy must do. �May thy gem protect you always, my child,� is the last thing Shealy heard from her mother before she haphazardly packed her belongings, and made her way into town. |
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