The Stranger

Dessriel

Dessriel came to Thelekar an outsider, traveling with her holy people to the planet from the distant realm of Draymor. Her people once sat atop the world in the Bloody Mountains, named for the constant bloodshed of a thousand wars to keep their position at the top of the ladder safe. Every fledgling king, every overconfident warlord at some point attempted to climb up the ladder after the blood elves, and every one had to be cast back to the canyon below. Eventually, one upstart began proclaiming blasphemies and falsehoods in her name, rallying the rest of the world behind him and calling Dessriel's chosen pontiff a fraud. Rather than fight yet another war and watch more of her people die, Dessriel and the Pontiff Wilhelm cast a mighty ritual which spirited away the entire city of Strey to a different location.   However, while her holy city landed safely within the Voletarian Mountains, Dessriel herself could not join them. After the Siege of Aravandor, the new Stormlord Khora had rebuilt the Divine Gate between Thelekar and the Far Realm, which Dessriel herself had travelled through to arrive there. It was designed to prevent immortals like the divines and the uvuudaum from passing through while allowing mortals and lesser beings to pass as normal. As a result, the city and the mortals inhabiting it passed through harmlessly, but Dessriel was trapped on the outside of a barrier of unmatched strength. Wary of any beings travelling through the far realm steeped in as much bloodshed and ill will as she, the Stormlord denied her entry, as he'd done for many interplanar beings before her. She survived on the dedicated worship of her people alone, speaking through her new Pontiff Elvira as best she could from her far off new home. However, she would not sit idly by and allow such a young upstart like Khora to keep her from her people. With help from Elvira, she came into contact with The Orphan, a fellow alien to Thelekar who wanted nothing more than to cross the Divine Gate. Should he reveal himself, however, the rest of the gods would surely cut him down without mercy. And so, the two developed a scheme to shatter the divine gate like the Outer Wills had done during Celestial Fall, allowing Dessriel in and the Orphan out. This plan was famously foiled by The Chain, a group of heroes who came together during Thelekar's time of need while the powers that be were too busy fighting each other to do something about it. Though the Divine Gate was not shattered and the Orphan was defeated, enough of Dessriel's essence was brought through the opening during the ritual that it could be considered a success. Though weakened, Dessriel chose to discard the parts of her that were still within the Far Realm so that she could remain near her people, even if it meant being imprisoned and watched by the Stormlord. As tales of her nearly successful defiance of the Stormlord have spread, she has gained followers in dark corners of society, naming her "The Stranger" and worshipping her enough for her to gain a minor Divine Mantle for herself.