Petra

Appearance
A petite woman with light complexion and short dark hair sporting a determinate and severe outlook, wearing an ancient bronze cuirass of Traldar or Milenian tradition and wielding a round shield in her left arm and a heavy mace in the right hand.

History
Petra was the Queen of Krakatos and the most influential and charismatic priest of Khoronus in the Traldar lands when the gnollish invasion began in BC 1000. After losing her husband in a humanoid ambush, she sided with Halav in his effort to unite the Traldar Kings and withstand the beastmen's mayhem. Her help was indeed pivotal in convincing most of the other Traldar rulers to support Halav's battle plan, and because of her charisma and wisdom, she became first Halav's second in command and later his lover and Queen.

During the dark years of the Beastmen's Invasion, Halav organised the offensive tactics and the assaults against the gnolls, Petra was in charge of preparing the Traldars' defences, while Zirchev monitored the enemies' moves and kept the communications among the Traldar cities. When the final showdown came and Halav killed the gnoll warleader at the cost of his own life, Petra herself held the funeral with high honours and a mask of grief on her face. Later however, she and Zirchev stole Halav's body and she raised him as her final demonstration of love.

Once the gnoll menace had finally faded, Halav decided to continue his war against the beastmen in the unknown north, so he left his homeland and the crown to his beloved Petra, sure that she would have ruled wisely and protected the kingdom in his absence. And Petra did as she was expected, strengthening and enriching Krakatos despite the miserable conditions of the surrounding Traldar lands. Only later did she understand that she was only a few steps from immortality, and following the indications of her patron Khoronus, she found a time travelling artifact which she used to assure that her lineage continued to rule Krakatos for five generations, thus completing the Path of the Dynast in the VIII century BC, just before the fall of the last true Traldar settlements. In the upper planes she is usually grouped with her old friends, Halav and Zirchev, and they banded together to protect their descendants all over the world.

Personality
Petra is a very practical immortal who doesn't like nonsense and trivialities. She does not feel pity for those who do not have the courage to challenge fate and adversities and prefer instead to cry and mourn. She prefers those characters who go on despite the hardships and never fear to face the impossible. Petra is patroness of many warrior clerics, of those who defend besieged settlements and of Traldars and Milenians (and their descendants) all around the world. She is often in open conflict with Vanya because of Vanya's mood for conquering anything (including Karameikos). She also despises Leptar (aka Hircismus) who had a big part in the collapse of the last Traldar cities.

The Long Bow of Petra
Petra was given this artifact by the Immortals to learn the art of the bow, the craft of medicine, the use of the potter's wheel and so on. The Long Bow of Petra looks like an old bow made of wood and it hasn't got any hit bonuses. The Immortals wanted Petra to be a symbol of peace and they wanted her to use the bow for hunting and not for killing foes: for this reason they didn't create the artifact with hit bonuses, so that the hunter was not advantaged on the prey.

Special powers Penalties Location
 * Weapon damage bonus: it triplicates the damage, so that the prey might die without suffer from wounds.
 * Knowledge of the art of bow, the craft of medicine, the use of the potter's wheel, the spinning of flax and the use of the loom.
 * Repair normal object
 * If it is used more then four times a day (enough to get food), the arrows hit the user and do the biggest damage possible (with the weapon damage bonus).
 * The Long Bow of Petra belongs to the Church of Traldara. It was not built as a weapon and for this reason it is now used by the church as a symbol of peace.

The Holy Symbol of Petra
This is a normal holy symbol made of wood, used by Petra during her mortal life. It is located in a forgotten church, which was destroyed long ago by goblins, somewhere east of Krakatos (the city ruled by Petra in her mortal life).

The Church of Traldara would pay a lot of money for it.

The Robe of Petra
It is an elegant robe made of silk. It is red and yellow (a picture can be found on page 6 of KKoA) and she used to wear it in the throne room of Krakatos. It will be found in a locked chest in the ruins of Krakatos in 1010 AC, during the construction of the Karameikan School of Magecraft.

Now it belongs to the Church of Traldara.