Lore:Arana

Wayward Guardian Arana
Wayward Guardian Arana
Race	Reachman	Gender	Female
Born		2nd Era The Reach
Resided in		Lost Valley Redoubt Karthspire Markarth
Reign		2E 582-
Appears in		ESO

"Arana's our king, queen and clan-witch combined." —Tayfaern of the Wayward Guardians

Arana of the Ghostsong Clan was a Witch who held the position of the Matron of her people in the Second Era at some point before 2E 582. She was a proponent of the new, more peaceful and moderate traditions for the clan but as the darker days for the Reach in the Second Era approached, Arana's younger sister Nathari promised Namira's blessing to the Ghostsong if they followed the old ways. Soon afterward she left the clan. Whether her self-exile was voluntary or due to the banishment is unclear. After leaving her clan behind, she quickly gathered a following of Reachfolk among numerous clans opposed to Ard Caddach's rule and the presence of the Gray Host in the Reach. They were known as the Witch-rebels and later, after the rebellion was over, as Wayward Guardians. Ultimately the conflict between Markarth and the rebels died out as both groups needed to work together against a common foe. After the Gray Host threat in the Reach was ended, she took the position of the Keep-Witch and adviser of the Ard in the Court of Markarth. In that role, she continued to lead the Wayward Guardians whose purpose changed to serve the people of the Reach in need.

History

Early life

Lost Valley Redoubt - a sacred ritual site of the Ghostsong Clan

Arana was born at some point in the 2nd Era in the Reach to the Matron of Ghostsong Clan. She was the older sister of Nathari. When Arana was a young girl, her mother oversaw the concealment of the entrance to the barrow in the Lost Valley Redoubt which was an ancient ritual site of the clan. The barrow led to the ancient cavern known as the Dark Descent.

During her youth, the Ghostsong clan was visited by the vampire matron of the Nighthollow Clan, Belain. She arrived under the guise of a mortal and asked Arana's mother, the Clan Matron, and her fellow witches about the ancient Reachfolk secrets regarding the subject of the prophecy of the Dark Heart. She officially received only general and brief information on the topic, though Arana suspected that she was taught more by her aunt.

Exile of the Ghostsong Matron

Sometime before 2E 582, she became a Witch and passed the final test of wisdom and power set by her clan elder, gaining the privilege to craft her own witch headdress in honor of the ancient witch, Naenra Waerr and succeeded her mother as Matron of the Ghostsong Clan. In her adulthood, Arana met Lady Belain again during her visit to Markarth. This time, the Vampire Matron held the position of the Keep-Witch and an adviser of Caddach of the Blackdrake Clan, the ruler of Markarth.

As a leader of the Ghostsong Clan, Arana's policy was to shun the dark practices of old which involved blood sacrifice and dark magic, in favor of forging new, less dangerous ways. Her ways were in stark opposition to the ideas of her younger sister Nathari who was an advocate of the old ways. Eventually, Nathari took leadership of the clan after she managed to convince the Ghostsong Clan to follow her. Arana left the clan soon afterward, although whether it was her decision or forceful banishment is unclear.

Formation of the Witch-rebels

In 2E 582, Ard Caddach was approached by the Gray Host, who had sundered through the kingdoms of Skyrim at that point. They proposed that if the Ard left them to search the Reach for an ancient relic and kept his people in the city walls, Markarth would be left unscathed during their impending conquest. While Caddach staunchly agreed, this deal proved undesirable to some of the Reach. In response to Ard's actions a rebel faction called the Witch-rebels was formed under the leadership of Arana, the former Ghostsong witch. She advised the people of Markarth to leave the city and join them at their foothold in Karthspire, the camp called Rebel's Retreat, in the foothills east of the Markarth. Much to the dismay of the Ard, the witch-rebels became public enemy number one to the Court of Markarth.

Jano Vestalis, an Imperial Cartographer encountered Arana leading a commando of Witch-rebels through the hills and ravines of the Reach southeast of the Markarth. They were hunting for the vampires and werewolves associated with the Gray Host. After a brief interrogation, Arana let Jano and his escort leave unharmed. She was described as tall and commanding presence yet without pretense.

Arana surrounded by her followers

Alliance with the House Ravenwatch

In 2E 582 House Ravenwatch started the investigation in the Reach regarding the activity of the Gray Host in the area. One of the objectives of the House was to aid both Arana's and Ard Caddach's followers in dealing with the threat posed by the army of vampires and werewolves. Count Verandis Ravenwatch worked together with the Vestige who was sent by him to meet with the Ard of Markarth. The audience was granted and a representative of the House Ravenwatch was requested by Ard Caddach and his adviser Lady Belain to find the rebels and convince Arana to stop meddling in Markarth's affairs.

Arana and her followers continued to hunt the Gray Host vampires. During one of their missions they accidentally hurt a city Reachman Malkor, but upon realizing he was not an invader they spared him. He later directed the agent of House Ravenwatch towards the base of the rebels and expressed intentions to petition the Ard to let him take a war party out to find the rebels.

Arana found the Vestige at a gathering circle northwest of Valthume in the southern part of the Reach. She learned that during their search for her the agent of the House Ravenwatch aided her group in the investigation of the movements of the Gray Host. They found the correspondence between Lady Belain and the pentarch of the Gray Host and soon Arana shared her knowledge regarding the vampiric nature of the Ard's adviser. Arana's rebels have been trying to hunt her down for several weeks to no avail. The correspondence revealed the place of the meetings between Belain and Gray Host. Intrigued by the prospect of Lady Belain meeting with the leader of the Gray Host she decided to temporarily join forces with the Vestige and asked them to spy on the meeting and learn as much about the Gray Host's plans as possible. During the meeting Vestige learnt that Gray Host plans to attack Markarth and informed Ard Caddach about Belain's plans.

Arana agreed to form a proper alliance with the House Ravenwatch and the Vestige but only once the ritual honoring the Spirits is performed to finalize the binding pact between parties. The Ritual was successful and revealed a sigil of the Snake in the Stars. She learned from Count Ravenwatch that Gray Host and Belain are searching for the Arkthzand Keystone in Bthar-Zel. Arana aided the agent of the Ravenwatch in searching for the ruin. Aside from the Keystone, there is a huge deposit of enchanted silver in the vault, which the rebel's crafters could use to forge weapons and armor for use against the Gray Host. Although the Gray Host took the Keystone as they planned Arana managed to secure the tunnels and later sent her crafters down to the tunnels to mine the silver ore and retrieve the enchanted silver from the vaults as soon as it was reasonably safe.

After learning from the Vestige about the Belain's plans regarding the Dark Heart Arana decided to seek the assistance of her sister Nathari, the current matron of the Ghostsong Clan and met with Bradan, a member of the clan and her childhood friend in Hroldan Ring to ask him about her sister and the clan. She learned from him that Nathari moved the clan to the Lost Valey Redoubt, an ancient religious site of the Ghostsong Clan. Soon they found out that Nathari was an ally of the Gray Host and received assistance from them to ensure the activation of the Dark Heart. Ritual sacrifice of her fellow clansmen was a price needed to awaken the heart. Arana and the Vestige interrupted the ritual and killed Nathari in combat. Despite their efforts the energy of the sacrifices was still able to stir the Heart, even if not to a degree Nathari planned. According to Count Verandis Ravenwatch, the souls were enough to prime the heart and opened a path between Nirn and the Void. Arana then prayed for her fallen clansmen and hoped to free her sister's soul from the darkness that had taken her, offering her some measure of peace. However, it is unclear if she was successful.

Gray Host Invasion

Arana in Blackrech after her first duel against Belain

Arana and her soldiers approached Ard Caddach and offered their arms to protect the city. Ard agreed to accept the help from his former rival. Arana soon proved her usefulness to the Ard as she prevented Lady Belain from assassinating the Ard Caddach and chased her down into the depths of Blackreach where they fought to a standstill. Belain summoned members of the Gray Host to aid her in combat. Arana managed to defeat her minions singlehandedly but Belain managed to escape to the Arkthzand Orrery. Arana suffered great wounds during that combat and rested in Dwemer ruin until she was found by the associate of the House Ravenwatch.

Together with Count Verandis' associate, she followed Belain who escaped to Arkthzand to harness the Dark Heart's power. In an epic clash, Arana and her ally managed to defeat Belain but not without sacrifices. According to Arana's words Namira required a champion and granted her strength to press on despite her lethal wounds, but once Belain was defeated the boon from Namira waned and Arana died. Her efforts contributed to the withdrawal of the Gray Host forces and their leader Rada al-Saran from the city of Markarth. Local Reachfolk and their homes have been saved from further destruction and Arana's followers remained in the city to protect the citizens from future dangers.

Miracle at Markarth

The moot during which the peace between Reachfolk and Nords was signed

Following the defense of Markarth, the Witch-rebels who followed Arana took the new name and were known as the Wayward Guardians. After Rada al-Saran was defeated by Verandis Ravenwatch, Lyris Titanborn and the Vestige the souls collected by the Dark Heart remained within the artifact. Once Verandis absorbed the powers of the Heart he released the souls of the fallen during the Gray Host invasion of Markarth and brought them back to life, Arana included. She described it as 'nothing but a cold, icy current dragging her under until a warm hand fished her out and that the souls trapped inside the artifact felt suffocating and had a different perception of the passage of time. Every moment was an eternity.

Soon after she was returned to life she headed to Markarth, where she was requested by Ard Caddach to become his new counselor and took the position of the Keep-Witch previously held by Belain. She agreed and attended the moot announced by Ard during which Jarl of Solitude Svana, Skald-King Jorunn of Eastern Skyrim, and Ard Caddach of the Reach signed the peace treaty between the Reach, Eastern Skyrim, and Western Skyrim. She resolved to continue serving her people and guide Caddach as a ruler the Reachfolk need. She expressed the need to rebuild her coven to provide guardians to the people of the Reach in need. Her followers remained in Markarth to serve the citizens and protect them from threats of remnants of the vampire army.

Notes

• Arana is an author of a theory regarding Dwemer disappearance. According to her: "The Deep Folk disappeared long ago. People ask what happened to them, but the answer's simple enough. They asked the one question no god will suffer: 'Why?'"

See Also

• For game-specific information, see the Elder Scrolls Online article.

Books

• Meet the Character - Arana by Jano Vestalis, Imperial Cartographer — A cartographer's account of a meeting with a Reach Witch
• Crafting Motif 97: Wayward Guardian Style by Arana of the Ghostsong Clan (as recorded by Count Verandis Ravenwatch) — A guide to crafting armor and weapons in the Wayward Guardian style