Finley Ray

Finley Ray was a powerful sorceress who lived on the Lowland Plains during the second-half of the Second Chaotic Period. Very little is known about her, but she was believed to be over 150 years old at the time of her death, and to have traveled extensively in her youth.

Early Life

Finley was most likely born Atayan, although no record of her in Ataya exists(this is common for most people at the time, Uther himself had no birth-records). She probably lived in one of the minor outlying villages who's name and location are now lost.

She must have traveled extensively in her youth, as she told stories of Rowen clear down to the Erum Range, and even claimed to be an honorary member of the Kepakemapa Tribe. Though her credibility was many times called into question, historians agree she was likely truthful about most of her journies. Uther himself even vouched for her, claiming she was there at the forging of Excalibur.

If her great age is to be believed, Finley was probably born sometime around B.G.A. 140, or in roughly the middle of the Second Chaotic Period.

Throughout the early part of her life, Finley traveled widely and became a powerful mage. A Sorceress, to be precise. because while she alter lived in a tower, she never practiced tower-magic.

The Lonely Mountain

By around 100 B.G.A., Finley had settled in to a little tower to call her own. She did not practice tower-magic and used the tower as a home. From her vantage point, she used powerful Anomancy to gain control of hundreds of feral dragons which did her bidding.

Finley used her dragons to protect a large area from incursion by the various groups then trying to take control of the region. She protected dozens of small villages that no doubt otherwise would have had their populations enslaved. And she did it all in near-secrecy.

The Lonely Mountain Flight

For much of the last century of the Age of Mages, a fearsome dragonflight romed the norther end of the Lowland Plains region, known as the Lonely Mountain Flight. Their eerie was, of course, located on Lonely Mountain. The flight was ruthless, territorial, and considered fiercely intelligent.

For nearly a century, the dragons of Lonely Mountain defended their territory against all comers, allowing only a handful of sparsely-populated villages to remain unharmed.

But the flight had a secret: it was not a dragon flight at all. Rather, a collection of feral dragons, gathered from all over the continent, and controlled through magic. They were the minions of Finley Ray.

Later Life

In 4 B.G.A., Uther was still on his Long March. He had heard that the dragons of the Lonely Mountain were sympathetic towards humans, and traveled their to climb the mountain and speak with their elders. He was, at the time, preparing to launch an invasion of Korrinth, but was faced with the obvious problem of getting his troops there.

Korrinth posed several problems for Uther. It was protected by a massive desert and an armada of ships. The only land-route his army could march through would require him to attack the well-defended Two-Fang's Pass. High Mountain Flight was too far to send significant aid, so he turned to the Lonely Mountain Flight.

Rumors had persisted that Lonely Mountain was not a 'true' dragon-flight, but Uther had to see for himself. Having grown up beneath dragons, he was well aware of their flight patterns and behaviors, and very quickly realized something was amiss. When he saw the tower, he knew a mage of signficant power must be involved(Finley was basically unknown at this time, even her "subjects" were unaware of her existence.

When Uther first visited Finley, he was surprised to see her tower looked more like a lonely homestead than the base of a power order of dragon-commanding wizards. Finley first turned him away, so he cut some firewood and piled it by her door before leaving.

The next day, Uther brought a basket of cheese and simply left it on Finley's doorstep, not even bothering to knock. On the third day, he arrived carrying a collection of rare scented soaps and freshly-baked cinnamon bread, and Finley finally invited him inside. They spoke for many hours, and finally reached an agreement.

Finley and her dragons would join Uther's march, and in exchange Uther would leave behind a contingent of soldiers to guard the lands in place of her dragons.