Emily
Emily was the fifth Pendragon of Slayer Dragons and widely regarded as the greatest Pendragon in history, second only to Eieber. She was also the longest-lived Pendragon in history, carrying the sword for 72 years. A protesia of Astrid Stador, she was chosen during training and groomed for the position, quickly becoming the second female Pendragon.
Born of Atayan descent, Emily followed the common (traditionally male) practice of eschewing a family name when she came of age. Though not in common practice, this decision was never the less with precedent within Atayan society.
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Early Life
Emily was born in Border Watch, but moved to Arindell while an infant. Her mother and father both worked at Valley Gale Keep, and while they did not live within the castle, Emily grew up mostly within its halls.
While still very young, she would slip away from her guardians and roam the halls, exploring the many hidden passageways and secret sections of the keep. On one of these adventures, she found her way into a secluded indoor garden reserved for the Slayer Dragons. Instead of encountering a guard or an over-protective servant, however, Emily found herself face to face with Astrid Stador, the recently anointed Pendragon.
Throughout her youth, Emily would often sneak off to spend time with her new friend. Her parents, both very busy working in different sections of the castle, saw little of her and presumed she was at the childcare center with other children. But nearly every day for six years, Emily spent time with Astrid and the other Slayer Dragons.
Squire to the Pendragon
At the age of 11, Emily was appointed Astrid's personal squire. Eieber had squires during the Mage Wars, but since then no Slayer Dragon had ever adopted the practice. The old stories of knights and other powerful warriors mistreating their squires and using them like slaves made the idea unfashionable at the time.
But Astrid created the position of Squire Dragon, making Emily the very first to hold the title and setting a precedent for the practice as equal-opportunity. Emily applied herself to becoming a capable assistant, and therefore accompanied the Pendragon on many fantastic adventures.
Attache to the Pendragon
At 19, Emily was promoted from squire to personal attache to the Pendragon. Eieber had also had personal attaches, and it was not considered uncommon even then for a Slayer Dragon to take on a young adult interested in pursuing The Trials as an assistant. Under Astrid, Emily completed the Trials in record time. Her record, however, would not be upheld because the Trials would change significantly over the next few centuries, becoming much longer and more difficult.
Slayer Dragon
Emily was anointed a Slayer Dragon at the age of 25, in A.Y. 1135. Astrid Stador was by now in her 60s and her health was begining to fail. There was no doubt that Emily was to become the next Pendragon; many had assumed it because she was a young girl. There was (therefore) considerable discord between her and the rest of the Ten. She was only 25 when she was anointed, making her then the youngest Slayer Dragon since one of the original Ten.
However, the discord quickly subsided when she joined the others as a full-fledged Slayer Dragon. All of the others had known her since she was a child, and it quickly became clear that she would carry the sword well.
Battle Standard
Emily's battle standard bore a tiger and a shield; however this was before the rules and traditions of the standards were firmly established. Her primary colors were gold and sage, but her standard also initially included white and later black. Only within the first century or so of the Golden Age was this permissible.
The standard also changed over time (again an extremely uncommon occurrence not allowed in later generations): at one point the black dragon wings on the shield were added with no clear explanation given. At this time the First File still numbered near 100,000, so at least 10,000 paladins carried her standard into battle.
Pendragon
At 28, Emily would become one of the youngest Pendragons in history, and carry the sword longer than anyone. Though young, she was a forceful and authoritative leader, commanding the Alliance when the Pendragon still held very significant power.
Under Emily's leadership, the Earth Sphere Unified Nations plan functioned almost perfectly. She was a dominant leader, always open to compromise, but only on her terms. It was only by the strength of her will that she maintained the peace, and through outright intimidation of other leaders.
She also served admirably as a Slayer Dragon, fullfilling all the roles and functions as Eieber had intended. She fought monsters, led armies, and still found time to counsel new trainees and ensure a fresh crop of new Slayer Dragons when the time came.
Later Life and Death
Emily was perhaps too successful, however, and never found time for a family of her own. the Slayer Dragons were her family, but Jack Shannon, the young man she'd been training as her replacement, died while taking The Trials, and in her late 90s, Emily found herself without a strong successor.
She had outlived her first intended replacement, another woman whom Emily had groomed since young adulthood to replace her. That woman became a Slayer Dragon herself, filled the role faithfully, and died at the age of 70, having lived entirely while Emily carried the sword.
At the age of 100, Emily was still very strong, and most wondered if she would ever give up the sword. She still walked without a cane and even excercised daily, though no longer left the keep; but the years were clearly begining to wear on her.
One day, very unexpectedly, she took her second, a Slayer Dragon by the name of Tanner Ruegg, to the garden where she had played with Astrid Stador as a little girl. She settled into a comfortable chair, placed the sword in his hand, then closed her eyes and died quietly. Tanner was already 81 at the time.
Legacy
Emily's legacy would be remembered all the way to the end of the Alliance and the fall of the Order. The longest-lived, and possibly greatest Pendragon of all time. It would be said by the historian Herbet Patric Galactis that Eieber ended the Mage Wars, and that each Pendragon to follow was tasked with one thing: making sure they did not start again. 'And none', he said, 'would do the job quite so well as Emily'.
Trivia
Emily was a silent partner in the founding of LWA, a fine clothier.