Xanna Gelishma
Xanna Gelishma
“I do not simply sing history. I carry its ashes in my voice.”
Race: High Elf
Gender: Female
Hair: Lustrous gold, worn in a tide up braids intertwined with green silk.
Eyes: Deep gold, reflective like coins beneath candlelight
Homeland: The Emerald Isles
Class: Bard (College of Lore or Eloquence, with threads of Whispers)
Famed For: Wandering the realms chronicling lost histories, sparking revolutions with song, and surviving the world’s worst truths
Known Aliases: The Gold-Tongued Traveler, The Bell-Braided Bard, The Last Singer of the Isles
Born to Peace, Drawn to Ruin
Xanna Gelishma was born in 490 PR among the Emerald Isles, a lush and fertile archipelago of elven nobility, scholars, and songweavers untouched by mainland wars. She was raised in the Tower of Solinar, one of the oldest bardic academies, where music was used not only to entertain, but to remember—to bind memories to melody, and to record truth in tune.
Her gift was immediate. By age 20, her voice could mimic birdsong and ancient draconic hymns. Her presence quieted tempers and stirred emotions. And her teachers warned her of one truth:
“You are a vessel for memory. That means you must go where memory is most endangered.”
And so she did.
Travels Across the Shattered World
By her first century, Xanna left the Emerald Isles behind, crossing the sea to the mainland. From there, she wandered alone, driven by curiosity and prophecy.
Albion – The Kingdom of Thrones
In the stone courts of Albion, Xanna witnessed the royal masquerade of pride and shadow. She played for barons who poisoned one another and peasants who sang through famine. Here, she first learned how dangerous a song could be when tricked by a Bard from Tudor to sing the song "The Fall of Albion" in a Tavern.
Tudor – The Law of Steel
She stayed in the libraries of ancient churches, copying forgotten hymns and dissecting censored verses. In secret halls, she discovered old Tibur records that told of Zelistra's war—not as madness, but as righteous vengeance twisted.
Abritus – The Borderlands of Wyrms
Among half-dragons and warlords, Xanna listened to dreamsongs—melodies recorded in dragonbone flutes. She wandered ruined amphitheaters once home to Tibur Empire operas, and began composing her greatest work:
“The Symphony of Silent Empires.”
Goffik – Kingdom of the Dead Bells
A realm soaked in grief, ruled by funereal traditions. Xanna performed in ossuaries, where bones are burned into ash-ink for sacred scrolls. She composed elegies for kings whose names were forbidden to speak, and left behind a lullaby that makes spirits weep.
Fenris – The Frozen North
In the land of storms and honor, she sang for the Lodvar and Fenrisian clans, even witnessing the Cave of Sorrowing Winds—though she never dared enter it. She chronicled Agadra Gora’s myth in a ballad so powerful that hearing it causes Valkyrie cultists to tremble.
The Ruins of Tibur and the Scars of Zelistra
Xanna eventually made her way to the Tibur Empire's shattered core, walking through cities where statues had been melted, cathedrals repurposed for heresy, and blood still stained the stones.
Here, she composed in silence. She played only to ghosts. And she wept.
She then journeyed through the battlefields where Zelistra's armies clashed with Marcus Tibur's hell-legions. At the Black Cradle of Ozyrel Reach, she sat for three days and wrote:
“Even the dirt here remembers screams.”
Xanna’s understanding of history is now intimate and personal. She does not simply know what happened—she has walked its graves, listened to the wind as it carried voices of the forgotten, and bound it all to melody.
Legacy and Mystery
Now, in 620 PR, Xanna Gelishma wanders once more. She sings in taverns and temples, but never for coin. Those who meet her say:
She remembers things she never saw.
She has sung the name of a dead god—and lived.
Her harp plays without strings when she tells the truth.
She may be hunted by those who fear what her songs expose. Others seek to preserve her words, knowing that if Xanna Gelishma dies, a thousand unspoken truths may die with her.
Famous Works
“The Symphony of Silent Empires” – A 7-movement piece about Tibur's rise and fall
“Whispers in Wyrmwood” – A forbidden elven ballad learned in Abritus, said to awaken buried bloodlines
“Elegy for the Bound Wing” – A haunting melody about Agadra Gora’s sealing and betrayal
“Lament of the Isles” – A private song never performed in public, said to be about her longing for a home that can no longer accept her
Quote – Xanna Gelishma
“I have no sword, yet I have cut down kings. I have no army, yet my words have marched into battle. I am not a warrior. I am the reason they remember.”
