Alena Gottlieb

Died twice, currently tied to the Well as its Warden.

Red hair and gray-and-gold eyes are by far Alena's most recognizable features.

Before Dianera

  Alena was born the youngest of two to a well-off family in Connecticut. She grew up in a pressure-cooker of a home, though her older brother tried to shield her from their parents' constant arguments. Her parents spent most of their time at work to support her and her older brother and send them to a private academy. When together, her parents’ relationship was fraught with arguments and threats of divorce that never amounted to more than that. As a student, Alena was captain of her high school debate team. She became an attorney to follow in the footsteps of her parents.   Alena felt bored with her life and unfulfilled, unsure of what exactly she wanted to do and lacking any real passion. She felt like there was no real challenge to her life or any real reason to do anything but just get by on the bare minimum, making her way through high school and college without much ambition beyond following "the plan" she had mapped out as a child to become an attorney. She found little that excited her about this future, though.   She found refuge in online chatrooms and games before discovering Coven Online. For the first time, Alena found a community of people she could genuinely connect with. She joined the Diamondbacks, a coven of occultists. She grew very close with them, adopting the Black Widow spider theme for her armor skins and hair color to go with the theme of predators.   She was online the night of May 7th and morning of May 8th when she received the invitation to become a Beta Tester. She quickly became disillusioned at the "fun" idea of Iliad Rising's Beta test, and distrusted the GMs, Arcadens in particular. She was killed during an event and was reborn into Dianera.  

Under King Semia

Once she was reborn into Dianera, Alena was hurriedly given the title of the King's Champion for Semia. Given the King's brutal nature, she was quick to try and prove her worth, throwing herself completely into the political scene in Tregaron. She was treated coldly and with suspicion by the king's advisors, barring the Earl of Ravensrodd.   While trying to prove her worth to Semia, she uncovered an assassination plot and turned in the would-be killer for Semia to deal with personally. The assassin was smote on the spot in the throne room, which was the first time she saw him draw on the Well. The unfortunate fallout of this triumph came soon: the assassin's employers, the Shroud, took the murder of one of their agents as a debt Alena was obligated to repay.   Alena trained as a Reaver with the Shroud, undergoing tests and exercises that bordered on barbaric. She was blinded, at one point, to further hone her other reflexes, and trained in Mithridatism to guard against poisons. At the end of her training, she was finally deemed competent and given a handler, a woman named Athenais who would pass down tasks and missions. It was decided Alena would serve the Shroud "until the debt was paid."   After becoming a Reaver, Alena was given command of some soldiers and told to reinforce the town of Beacon Hill. It proved to be a trap set by the Coalition, and many of her soldiers were killed. She retaliated quickly with 10 volunteers, slaughtering the Coalition's host. However, she was severely reprimanded by the King for failing to secure the town and the fortress, and was recalled to the capital.   After returning to the capital, Semia took a keener interest in her and claimed her for his mistress to try and sire an heir. This did little to change the opinion of the court, who at large viewed her as an opportunist and a harlot. While Semia's treatment of her was brutal, nothing was or could be done to stop it. During this time, Alena began an affair with Sir Karsen de Spencer, her assigned bodyguard and the son of a minor nobleman. They continued the affair in secret, with a strict agreement that neither would interfere with the other in the name of personal safety—meaning that neither would sacrifice themselves. Alena considered the agreement the only way to keep Karsen safe, given his moral compass.   Some weeks after the defeat at Beacon Hill, Ingrid appeared in the capital attempting to avenge the Coalition. Semia brutally put down the attempt, severely injuring Ingrid in the process. Having witnessed only a fraction of Semia's power before, Alena came to the conclusion there was no way the Coalition or any of her estranged friends could defeat him, and she again threw herself into a new pursuit: studying the source of Semia's power and finding a way to transport the other Champions home.   While studying the Well, Alena became aware of her status as a Vori and even communed with the soul of her host's body, Eridne. Eridne worked on the Champion's Walk as an "Incantor" or embalmer, and was able to fill in the gaps for Alena. Further studies of ancient texts helped her piece together prophecies concerning the Well and the consequences of Semia's untimely defeat or destruction.   At the Raid of Tregaron, Alena seized her chance and headed down to the Necrotic Temple where the Well was housed. Unfortunately, her preparations for the spell to take the Champions home were ruined when Semia was killed and the Well was unbound. After realizing the true extent of the potential damage, Alena decided to bind herself to the Well, as no one else knew the ritual. She disappeared after and was assumed dead.  

Under Queen Aevis

A month after her "death" and sacrifice to the Well, Cyd retrieved her from it. She begged him to keep her revival a secret, before leaving to find both Karsen and her brother. After reuniting with both, she came to realize that Dianera was in utter chaos after Semia's death. She resolved to help clean up the mess, returning to Tregaron. She and the Earl of Ravensrodd came up with a plan to more or less interfere and influence the signing of the treaty between the Crown and non-human peoples of Dianera. This succeeded, though the Hellgate interrupted the signing.   Once the Hellgate in Tregaron was stopped, the Champions were dispatched to take care of several other Gates that had appeared around the country. Alena continued to try and work with Queen Aevis, though she was mostly rebuffed at every turn. Having no real title other than Champion, the queen gave her the thankless task of rebuilding the city of Tregaron—though it was mostly in the hope of giving Alena busy work. Instead, she took to this task with enthusiasm, planning out new ways to raise revenue for the city and boost trade.   While the Champions were away, Alena continued her day-to-day work and finding an ally in the Earl of Ravensrodd. His assassination left her devastated.

Alena went to a local private school before going on to college and law school. In Dianera, she devoted hours to studying politics, local law, and philosophy to get a grasp on the landscape of the country.

Alena was an attorney before the events of the Beta Test, having joined a firm as a summer associate, and then junior associate. Her career was short-lived, as she left for the Beta test in "Tregaron" and wasn't seen again.   In Dianera, Alena has become an accomplished politician, becoming Minister of Reconstruction as Tregaron recovers from both the Raid and the Hellgate appearing.

Loss has weighed heavily on Alena. Her own death, mistreatment, and pain has has a profound impact on her and how she view the world around her. She has come to believe that there's truly no such thing as real forgiveness. She represses negative emotions in public, feeling that if she fails to act, no one else will.   Alena thrives on possessing and exercising power, especially if she can defy expectations. This comes from her time under both Semia and the Shroud. Being robbed of personhood was deeply traumatizing to her. Autonomy and self-actualization as a result are her primary ambitions and underlying aim for possessing her own power.

Alena always tries to be prepared with at least three different contingency plans for a scenario. She's not above lying and manipulation to get what she wants, or extracting favors from others. She often ends up smirking when she believes she's won an argument.

Alena is a believer in Machiavellian philosophy, though she also keeps the belief a check on power is absolutely necessary in Dianera. Doing terrible or unspeakable things for a good cause is a pillar of her ideals, as is making the hard choices and shouldering the responsibility of both. She has taken great pains in her own personal growth to think three or four steps ahead of anyone she deems an "opponent," never disqualifying the worst-case scenario. Alena has vowed to bring Dianera into the future, even if it's "kicking and screaming."   The rule of law and equity are what Alena truly values most. She believes a truly equitable society doesn't just mean elevating others, it requires the removal of barriers. Thus, access to trade, better and fairer means of justice, and a responsible check on the Crown's power would shape a better and more stable future for the country of Dianera. Establishing at least a parliament and then a constitution are on her "checklist" for equity in Dianera.   The appearance of the Fellwings and their attacks has solidified her position that the only way peace can truly flourish is if it's enforced. Though ironic, that includes violent means.

Alena's motivations are closely tied to her morality and philosophy. She's willing to do terrible things for Dianera's future, especially to further her own goals. She believes achieving these goals will keep her family and loved ones safe, and so she acts with little hesitation to do what she believes is best.

Alena can be described as liking luxuries and the finer things in life. These all symbolize comfort and security to her. On the flip side, she intensely dislikes those who personally wronged her or tried to rob her of that security, such as Calary and Rutledge.

Alena especially values her close relationships, especially with the Champions.  

• Karsen de Spencer: Lover and her former bodyguard
• Cyd Shale: Best friend
• Sanya Shale: Good friend, "little sibling"
• Zephyr: Good friend, "little sibling"
• Ingrid: Former protege, status unknown

Given her upbringing, Alena is particularly keen on keeping her family safe.

• Emory Gottlieb: Brother
• Khaluun: Sister-in-law
• Khaliin: Niece
• Charlotte Gottlieb: Niece

Alena was raised in the Reform Judaism Movement. However, she never had any particularly strong views on religion. After being reborn in Dianera, Alena found herself drawn to the tenants of the Church of the Many and the None. She was particularly drawn to the tenant on acting in addition to prayer.

Alena is a confident extrovert in public, putting on an air of arrogance and charisma when needed. She can change at the drop of a hat, however, to be more persuasive to the situation. In private, she's often drained from this extroversion, withdrawing and becoming difficult to read at times. She hides her negative emotions from nearly everyone.

Alena often smirks, drumming her fingers or crossing her legs when she believes she's "won" a confrontation.

When she isn't exhausted, Alena enjoys reading—particularly outside. She enjoys titles that are about the overall culture of Dianera, including history, so she can better learn as much as she can about her adopted home.

While technically a Minister, Alena has no lands or noble titles of her own. In the past, the Crown footed the bill for her needs as Semia's Champion. This makes her current position at court uneasy at times, especially when ostentatious displays of wealth are compulsory.