Ashley Norstrom

Name: Ashley Norstrom
Gender: Female
Lived: 959 IY – 2900EC (1047IY)
Location: Atalan & High Reaches
Titles: Sybil of the Temple of the Hymn, Vested of Lethe, Maestra of the University, and previously Curate of the House of Concordant Cycles

Before Atalan's fall, Ashley was well known in the city, holding the well-known position of Curate of Lethe in the House of Concordant Cycles, as well as being known for her research into the Restless. She was one of the last people to flee the city after it was sacked, resorting to tenacity and the limited supplies she had to keep the remainder of the last surviving party alive.

Once arriving in High Reaches, she seized control of and brought order to the haphazard medical aid effort for Atalan refugees. Once the worst was over, she ventured off to aid the reconstruction of the bridges across Daggershard Island. Afterwards, she had relegated herself to infrequent but crucial jobs within High Reaches best suited to her skills.

She remained with her former brothers and sisters of the House of Concordant Cycles, forming the Temple of the Hymn alongside them, alongside new members in the process. She was named Sybil amongst them, but often attempted to leave larger decisions in the hands of the other Sybils.

Ashley picked up the title of Maestra in the Arcane University when she offered to become its librarian, taking on the considerable task of organizing, protecting and duplicating the remains of the Obsidian Academy's archives, as well as the numerous other tomes collected over the years. Of all the things she did, this appeared to be where she has seemed the most comfortable for many years - being surrounded by unending volumes of all topics. She also regularly taught the younger students the basics - writing, history, arithmetic, the sciences, and so on.

Over the years, Ashley appeared to become more mellow and reserved since her days in the House of Concordant Cycles, and wielded the blessings of her patron less. Her marriage to Marcus Toren, the original human Councilor of High Reaches was well known, as well as their three children living within the town.

In her twilight years, Ashley continued to pursue the occupations she had held in High Reaches for so long. While her official duties had her as a Sybil and Vested of Lethe, as well as the chief librarian of the Arcane University, she also opened a private medical practice on the same plot of land as her and Marcus' family home. While it was apparent to most that she was content in the University and Temple, most knew the practice was her real dream, a place where she could practice medicine at her own pace, tending to those who wanted more privacy and discretion than were available in the Temple.

However, one fateful day, this would all change.

In the summer of EC2899, a large, wrapped object would have been seen by many while being moved from the caves behind the Temple of the Hymn to Ashley's private laboratory. This was unremarkable in and of itself, as Ashley had things delivered to her laboratory all the time. But she turned into a recluse overnight. Many students in the Arcane University took over her duties in the library, and Lethe's alcove in the Temple of the Hymn often went unkempt. Even at her medical practice her appearances became more and more sparse, until only her daughters were staffing it. Anyone who inquired into what was going on was rebuffed, even Council members. Soon, her only appearances in the city would be in the company of the Bronze Lady.

This all came to a head on the day of the winter solstice in EC2900. In the late evening, everyone in and around the vicinity of High Reaches was greeted by a near-blinding flash of light from the top floor of Ashley's laboratory. This was immediately followed by a magical field of unknown origin and function inundating the city. Then, Ashley was seen staggering out of the bottom floor of the tower, sealing the wards behind her. Her only words were "I failed..." before she collapsed on the snowy ground and fell into a coma from which she never recovered. She was carried off to the Temple of the Hymn, but there was nothing the healers could do for her. She passed away a week later.

The magical field remains to this day, but no one is certain of what its function is. No one has been able to examine the source of it, as it is sealed within the laboratory which no one has been able to enter since that day. The wards have defeated all attempts to breach them thus far, and anyone attempting entry through mundane means have had strange things happen to them. Stories of thieves and miscreants being (temporarily) turned into frogs, lizards or snakes, or afflicted with diseases in embarrassing places abound.

The only physical effect of the field so far, is that it seems to be slightly more difficult to teleport into High Reaches in anything larger than very small groups.