55: LADY VAELOR`S BACKSTORY

Lady Vaelor was not born into nobility. She was born in the small, crowded servant's quarters of the palace, where the air smelled of old rags, hot stew, and the sweat of tired workers. Her mother, Elyria, was a palace servant who spent her days scrubbing floors and washing the fine silk robes of nobles who never even knew her name. Vaelor grew up watching her mother work until her fingers were raw, her back bent, and her eyes heavy with exhaustion.

As a little girl, Vaelor did not know what it meant to be rich. She only knew the roughness of servant clothes, the ache of an empty stomach, and the cold stone floors she slept on at night. But her mother had dreams for her. At night, when they lay on their small straw mattress, Elyria would whisper stories about the stars.

"One day," she would say, brushing Vaelor's tangled hair back, "you will not bow to them. You will stand among them."