Artaba Saraja

Artaba Saraja was the first child of Aysha, Haru, and the Observer.   Artaba was raised with immense pressure to be perfect, as the first biological child of gods born in the Modern Era. They were trained from the moment they could talk in moral philosophy, Life Magic, politics, rhetoric, law, and theology. They lived their life as one ceaseless chain of duties, responsibilities, and divine purpose.   Artaba was a celebrity for their time, in the Empire of Shirpatra and beyond. They were always apart from the rest of mortal-kind, not quite a god but not quite a person. They clung to the idea that their purpose was righteous and their duties were worthwhile and they kept their rebellions small and personal. They wrote legal opinions, reviewed Shirpatran imperial legislation, managed charities, healed the dying, resurrected the righteous and innocent, lobbied foreign governments for more merciful policies, went on diplomatic missions, mediated disputes, and defended their parent's theology to foreign priests. Life was like an endless pre-scheduled crusade for Artaba and they accepted this fate with as much dignity as they could muster.   Artaba married two esteemed Solars of Shirpatra: Presella Relicbearer and Winter Of-Dawning-Sands. Presella was a capable magician, who had won acclaim for their analysis of comparative magical arts and their analysis of early Wizardry, who was raised by the pious solar clan of the Relicbearers. Presella was polite, eloquent, and a hopeless romantic who was enchanted by what Artaba represented more than Artaba as an actual person - they were always Artaba's most outspoken advocate, yet they constantly set themselves up for dissapointment in their marriage by expecting too much from the Saraja. Winter Of-Dawning-Sands was a traditional nomadic solar, the polar opposite of Presella. Winter was a very worldly solar, who spent time among the distant solars of the eastern continent and had mastered several of the trial chambers left by The Chimera. Winter was chipper and friendly and seemed like the glue that held the marriage together, but they had a terrible tendency to test the limits of their partners and to put them in stressful situations to "grow out of their familiar habits". While Artaba chose both of their spouses, they did so in an incredibly calculated way that left a lot of emotional distance between all three of them. Later in their marriage, Presella filed a wedding amendment to allow them to date around, which at times helped the marriage but added extra stress and difficulties at other times.   Artaba was a jack-of-all trades, competent in a hundred skillsets yet never truly exceptional at any of them. This flexibility helped them play the role of family repair-person, always running to help put out some obscure fire in the Empire or taking care of some problem with a family member or helping resolve some foreign political issue.   Over time, Artaba grew increasingly unhappy with their life. It was around the birth of their first child, Harret Saraja, that Artaba began having panic attacks and extreme anxious-depressive episodes. These episodes were always well-hidden and Artaba claimed to be sick often to explain their sudden absences, but Aysha quickly figured out what was going on. Aysha, Haru, and the Observer all did their best to try and work Artaba through their stress and to repair the emotional damage they had done. They hadn't been cruel in how they raised Artaba, but the three immortals had been influenced by fears that their child would become a spoiled tyrant like demigod children of the past.   While the intervention of their parents helped them stabilize, Artaba never stopped being an anxious workaholic perfectionist. Ironically, they were even more demanding of their child Harret than their parents ever had been to them - Artaba seemed to pour their own insecurities into how they parented. In their old age, Artaba became rather proud as well and even quietly began to view and act as if they were more competent than Haru. They also turned more towards Architects worship in their older age, rejecting Ayshanism entirely. Even when they were proud and set in their ways, Artaba never stopped being kind, tolerant, and helpful; they listened to outside views, encouraged discussion, and did their best to help people. And while Artaba could be outright mean towards their own child, the old solar was always a kind and guiding presence in the lives of their nieces and nephews.   When Artaba's three parents began feuding in 1300 ME, Artaba stayed at Aysha's side physically but refused to take her side in the fighting - a stance which may have influenced their rejection of Ayshan religion. Artaba spent the next few centuries leading a "neutral" faction in the family and building bridges between the three factions. This group dissolved with Artaba's death in 1500 ME, especially given the rise of Virtue Saraja's heretic faction at the same time.   Artaba has been working diligently even in death and is known as a benevolent authority and teacher in Paradise.