#theres probably some plotholes in her backstory that im not seeing

[lilisette]

so i mentioned that my arcana has a backstory... here it is! its very extensive with a lot of rohendel headcanons (blame smilegate for having almost ZERO lore for that place) so beware! this post is EXTREMELY long 

im sorry i have chronic cant shut up syndrome 

In one’s coming of age ceremony, only those who are the soul’s descendants may receive said soul, i.e., only Enviska’s descendants may receive her soul during their ceremony. 

There are a few prominent families in Rohendel that claim they are Enviska’s descendants and they would also often say that Enviska’s Successor would be of their family someday. 

While it is true that they are related to her in some way, they are related to her via Enviska’s siblings/cousins, not directly to her.

Enviska had a child once upon a time but she hid her child’s existence and identity due to the dangers of being her sole offspring. If society or her enemies ever learnt about said child, they would no doubt try to either cause harm to her baby or bombard her with proposals and offerings in hopes of linking their family with her. So Enviska hid her in order to keep her safe.

That child grew up and had a family of their own, and eventually her offspring would have Yerenia, Lyudmila’s mother, making Lyudmila a direct descendant of Enviska.

A lot of mages, including Inanna, kept track of Enviska’s bloodline in anticipation of the Successor. But since Enviska had done a great job hiding her child and the truth, no one knows that there was a direct line of descent, including Lyudmila and her mother themselves.

-

Lyudmila was born to Yerenia, a well known Arcanist. Her father belonged to one of the prominent families in Rohendel and Lyudmila’s parents were lovers until his family found out and forced them apart due to Yerenia not of noble blood, and her father married another woman instead.

Yerenia forgave him at first, thinking it was a decision that came from the head and not him. But later on she learnt that that was not the case and she was a mere plaything to him and nothing more. 

She was outraged of course, by his betrayal and his family’s constant slander of her character. What’s worse was that she was pregnant and Rohendel being a conservative place, she was judged heavily for her pregnancy, on top of her former lover’s family’s slander. 

Yerenia ran away to live in the outskirts of Xeneela, where the people would not judge her as they were also subject to discrimination as well. 

The people of Xeneela weren’t strangers to foreign faces, as it was a common place for runaways to be whenever they wanted to escape the capital. But a pregnant woman seeking refuge was something they hadn’t seen before, so they took her in and soon enough, Yerenia had her child Lyudmila in the midst of the desolate Xeneelan landscape. 

Despite living in such a dreadful place, they were happy living there. Until Yerenia passed away due to all the stress and inability to adapt to the hostile Xeneelan environment. The people of Xeneela took Lyudmila in and took care of her in her mother’s stead, with some former mages of Moonkeep teaching her everything they knew about magic.

Said mages eventually told her to go to the capital to seek further education as there was only so much they could teach her, with their deformed bodies and faulty mana due to the explosion. So with their blessing, Lyudmila set off for Rothun, the place that gave her mother so much grief.

Seeking an apprenticeship with her status as a Xeneelan was nigh impossible. A lot of mages thought she was the child of mages who caused the explosion and steered clear of her. Some who knew the truth of her background, also avoided her because she was an illegitimate child. 

Lyudmila had a difficult time finding a mentor because of the discrimination. In a last ditch effort to garner the attention of a potential mentor, she joined a tournament to display her skills.

It wasn’t easy winning the tournament, but it was a victory nonetheless. Lyudmila hadn’t expected to win, much less gain the attention of Azena, of all people. But she did. 

“You. You are from Xeneela.”

“Y-yes, your majesty.”

“Those cards of yours... Are you Yerenia’s child?”

“Yes. I-I am Lyudmila.”

“Interesting.” “Come to Sunkeep tomorrow morning. No talent like yours should be wasted.”

-

Having Azena as a mentor was tough. Lyudmila was constantly pushed to her limits but she wouldn’t have it any other way. She was absolutely terrified of Azena at first, with her cold demeanor and blunt criticism, but Lyudmila warmed up to her after a while, eventually aiding Azena with day to day affairs and administration as she grew older. 

Despite being the queen’s apprentice and her hard work, many still saw her as that Xeneelan mage who tricked the queen or that illegitimate child that got lucky, and often sent snide remarks her way or hindered her work whenever Azena wasn’t around. 

This treatment went on until Lyudmila’s coming of age ceremony, when everything changed. She went from that Xeneelan/bastard child, to Enviska’s Successor overnight. Those that once sneered at her groveled at her feet, begging for a second chance.

The family that her father was from, the family that did so much to her mother and her, came to her as well, offering her acceptance into the family and so much more.

If they had asked her years ago, when she was a mere child, she would have accepted it without any hesitation. All she had wanted then was to be accepted. She still has that same desire but after learning the truth of her mother’s silent tears every night, and having her hard work not recognized until she was announced as the Successor, something that had nothing to do with her work and was only Successor because of bloodline, she grew tired of it all. So with the queen’s blessing, she hopped on the next boat out of Rohendel in hopes of finding some place else that would accept her, and eventually makes her way to a place called Trua, where her destiny begins.

-

when i said extensive.... i really meant it lmao. i have a lot of rohendel related headcanons still but they’re not really relevant to her backstory so i didn’t add. 

but yeah there you go, an unnecessarily long backstory for my arcana LOL

#lost ark #lost ark oc #ngl its very manhwa ish #i blame all the manhwas i read for her backstory #trope after trope after trope #but idc it is how it is LMFAO #theres a lot more in the middle but i dont want to make this post any longer soooo #feel free to ask if anyone is curious #theres probably some plotholes in her backstory that im not seeing #if there really is then welp #also yes her first meeting with azena is a parallel to thar's with ealyn #yes i am a sucker for parallels