Renalia Nemara


 * For the ranger of Aminira Glade and rescuer of Ace and Taf, see Renalia Irebar.

Renalia "The Plague" Nemara is, at first glance, a business-driven ranger. Focused, disciplined, and intelligent, she is a force to be reckoned with--though not without her faults. A former member of the king's Royal Guard, Renalia left his service to provide aid and intelligence to the Rebels. Despite the aid she has provided to the Rebels, it's clear that she has a strong sense of pride and is inherently stubborn. Some Rebels chafe at what they see as a bossy attitude from a former enemy.

As an elf and Zelmeon halfbreed, she is taller and stronger than the average human woman. She is one of the few elf-Zelmeons who possesses wings and the ability to fly. Her appearance is attractive: long black hair, soft brown eyes, tan complexion--all marred only by a long, thin scar on her right cheek. She wears a single silver earring in her left earlobe, which marks her as a ranger captain.

Personality
Tough and no-nonsense, Renalia is a stoic. She excels at concealing her true thoughts or emotions. She pursues her goals with an almost ruthless drive, not caring if she has to hurt others in order to achieve her goals. That said, she does have a softer side, and she shows exceptional loyalty... to whatever side she happens to be on at the moment. Win her trust and you will have a constant companion who will be the first to take an arrow for you. Betray her, and you will have her eternal scorn and her drive for justice and vengeance.

Skills
Renalia is an expert archer and warrior. As a ranger, Renalia possesses survival skills and is familiar with the forest, enough to know what berries and roots are edible and how best to hunt. Despite her professing to be "the best ranger in King Leon's service," (Keibear, Gateway: The Return, post #1) however, Renalia's strongest suit is not tracking but rather military tactics and discipline. She devotes a good deal of her time at the rebels to training troops and reorganizing the base for maximum efficiency. Having commanded a battalion of soldiers in the king's Royal Guard, she is used to giving orders. Because of her race, Renalia also possesses enhanced senses and is quite perceptive of her surroundings--even Arawn, an elf, considers it difficult to follow Renalia without being detected.

Arawn

 * Arawn is a fellow Rebel and an elf, and as such it perhaps makes sense that the two of them form a bond throughout their adventures. Arawn helps Renalia frequently, whether it is finding her way back to the camp, scouting for trouble outside the Rebel camp's borders, or chasing down runaways. Arawn holds Renalia in high respect since Renalia came to the Rebels and frequently calls Renalia "Ma'am," or "Cap'n." Even so, Arawn's not afraid to be honest about Renalia's flaws to others.

Captain Derick

 * The leader of the rebels owes a great deal to Renalia, but their relationship remains a shaky one. With Renalia having given the rebels so much help, Derick sees her as a challenger. Though he respects Renalia, he keeps an eye on her at all times, always fearing for his position. Renalia, however, has no plans of grandeur and is simply trying to help the faction she believes has the best chance of overthrowing the king.

King Leon

 * Renalia's relationship with the king is complicated. She was once known as a loyal follower and ranger in service to the king, as well as a vital member of the Royal Guard. However, Renalia had secretly been harboring a grudge all along against the king since she came into his service. When she left the Royal Guard's ranks and joined the Rebels, it was a motion that was a long time in coming. Leon, unaware of this, was heartbroken. He had considered her a friend and confidant for many years, and even goes to extreme lengths to contact her once more.

Mariella

 * Renalia stumbles across Mariella by accident as the girl is lost and has wandered into the rebel camp. Although Renalia treats the girl with kindness, it doesn't stop the ranger from chasing down the girl when Mariella insists she doesn't want to be a Chosen Ruler or have anything to do with the Rebels. Renalia has Mariella's back, however, and insists on being one of Mariella's personal guards.


 * Renalia seems to listen to Mariella's concerns about being a Chosen Ruler, even if she doesn't seem to understand Mariella's rejection of her destiny.

Sir Seymour

 * A former comrade of Renalia's, Seymour was a warrior of King Leon's. His service to the king ended when he was bitten by a werewolf while leading his troops in combat.


 * Despite Renalia's stonewalling, mentions of Seymour or werewolves dredges up memories that cause her to react, so it is clear that Seymour was at the very least a friend of hers whose loss has affected her strongly.

Werewolves

 * Renalia meets two werewolves in the forest shortly after waking from the first of her strange dreams. Although she is cautious at first, it's clear she harbors no ill-will toward them. She even bids them farewell using a common werewolf saying.

Family

 * Renalia's family is unknown, as she was taken from them at an early age in order to serve the king. She never speaks of them, and the most she has revealed about them is that she has not seen them since she was taken away.

Backstory
Renalia was born a halfbreed, part elf and part Zelmeon. She was taken from her family at a very young age to be trained in the service of the king. Since that day, Renalia swore she would escape.

It was only after Renalia had become captain of a division of rangers in the Royal Guard that she finally found her opportunity. Renalia located the rebels after a time and joined their ranks. Despite their initial distrust, Renalia convinced the group of her loyalty to their cause by doing what she could to help the rebels, from training troops to suggesting rearrangements for living quarters and hunting food.

The Dreams Begin
Some time later, Derick approaches Renalia about the Rebels needing an advantage in the fight against King Leon--mainly, the Chosen Rulers spoken of in prophecy. Renalia does not argue, but she avoids the discussion as she insists she is going to look for food. When Derick continues to hound her about the Chosen Rulers, Renalia cooly replies that she will find them--after getting food--and leaves the camp.

Her hunting mission proves useless, and after foraging for some berries, Renalia turns to head back to camp. However, despite eating a little of the foraged rations, Renalia begins to feel inexplicably tired. Contrary to any precautions, Renalia falls asleep in the middle of the forest and begins to have strange dreams in which she is a young girl called Bec, in a world with such remarkable inventions that Renalia has no idea what to make of them. She wakes with a start, puzzled by the strange dream, especially by the fact that--as Bec--she had thought that she herself was the dream.

As Renalia walks back to camp, she encounters two werewolves, Rachel and Elisha, and a fellow Rebel by the name of Arawn. She converses briefly with the werewolves, but when Elisha presses as to why she and the Rebels seek to bring down the king, Renalia becomes testy. She insists that the king needs to be dethroned as he has been in power for too long, but also denies wanting the throne for herself. When Elisha presses further, Renalia disengages from the conversation as memories flood her mind. She quickly returns to the camp.

While sleeping in her tent later that night, Renalia hears someone call just outside. She emerges to find a young girl wandering around the Rebel base. (Renalia, notably, does not give the scouts a beating for allowing in an intruder and potential spy. After speaking with the girl, Renalia seems decided that the girl poses no threat.)

Renalia invites the lost girl, Mariella, to rest awhile, despite the ranger's insistence that the Rebel base "isn't exactly the safest place to stay" (Keibear, Gateway: Gateway: The Return, post 383). Mariella and Renalia quickly drop off to sleep.

Renalia awakens abruptly again... on the night of the next day. Her neighbor in the tent beside her, Ella, has been sitting at her side and now rejoices that she's finally awake. Renalia assures Ella that she's fine, though she fails to mention the dream that she had, again starring herself as the girl Bec. Renalia rubs her forehead, confused that it feels bruised, as if Bec's injuries have filtered into the real world. Ella leaves once satisfied that Renalia is safe, but not before mentioning how the moon has turned blood red tonight.

Princess Mariella
As soon as she sees the moon, Renalia races for the forest. She feels compelled by a sense of anticipation and is driven by a voice that giggles in her mind like a child's. Renalia briefly fears for her sanity.

In the forest, Renalia once again bumps into Mariella, who has been wandering around lost in the forest again. As the moonlight falls on the girl, Renalia's eyes are opened to realize that Mariella is fully human and thus, a Chosen Ruler. Renalia insists that Mariella come back with her to the camp, just before falling into a dead faint. Though Renalia revives quickly, she continues to insist that the Rebels need Mariella. She remains cryptic, however, as she leads Mariella to Derick's quarters. After an equally mysterious encounter with the Rebel leader, Renalia feels the voice in her head return. It convinces her to request to be one of Mariella's guards, which Derick approves. Renalia prepares a tent for Mariella at the center of camp as per Derick's instructions, while Mariella is still trying to make some sense of the situation.

Once preparations are made, Renalia explains to Mariella about the great prophecies that say the Chosen Rulers will come to Olmarin and how she can tell that Mariella is one of them.

As Mariella struggles to come to grips with this new information, she expresses an even bigger concern.

Renalia is torn about how to reply, but eventually, she insists that she will not let it happen.

The two talk into the night about Mariella and the Chosen Rulers, until their conversation is interrupted by a howl of alarm outside. In the ensuing confusion, Mariella escapes. Renalia and Arawn quickly chase after her. While pursuing Mariella, Renalia and Arawn are separated. As her search wanes, Renalia encounters a young man named Prime, a loyal messenger to the king. Despite Prime's insistence that he is only a messenger, Prime questions Renalia in exchange for information as to where Mariella ran.

Prime reveals that King Leon seeks an audience with her. It's all Renalia can do to keep from spitting in Prime's face, and she refuses. Renalia has heard enough and struggles to get past Prime. When Prime bars her way with his sword, however, Renalia unfurls her wings and flies over him. A new chase begins as Prime pursues Renalia into the forest.

As Renalia flees, she hears Arawn calling her. As it turns out, Arawn had caught up to Mariella at last. Renalia comes across them just in time to hear the latter half of their conversation. Mariella had explained her fears to Arawn, and Arawn had promised Mariella that she was free to come and go as she pleased with the Rebels. Despite this assertion being quite contrary to Renalia and Derick's wishes, Renalia has no choice but to go along with it as she leads the way back to camp.

Unfortunately, Prime has been following Renalia the whole way. She tells Arawn and Mariella to go on ahead while she deals with the armed Prime. Prime continues to question her, asking why she was chasing Mariella and what her importance is to the Rebels. Renalia struggles to divert his questions, her mind plagued with the strange thoughts that encourage her to tell Prime the truth.

Eventually, Renalia is captured and remains in the palace for some time.

Appearances

 * Gateway: The Return
 * Gateway: The Return, Part II
 * Gateway: The Return, Part III