Aeliana
Sobriquet: Vestālis, Liana {very familiar}
Appearance: Aeliana is a beautiful woman with hair so pale it is almost white and eyes of sky blue. Only five feet tall, she still manages to dominate a room with her entrance. She is attired as a high ranking Vestal, perhaps a Vestalis Maxima or Chief Vestal, all her clothing is white like that of a virgin bride and includes a stola (a long gown that covers the body) tied with certain knots meant to make removing the garment difficult, the vittae (a ribbon worn in the hair), the infula (a headband similar to the vittae and worn by all members of the Roman priestly class), the suffibulum (a white veil worn during rituals and sacrifices), and the palla (long, simple shawl, a typical article of clothing for Roman women); the palla, and its pin, were draped over the left shoulder. Aeliana wears an elaborate hairstyle consisting of six or seven braids in which ribbons of red and gold are arranged to symbolize the sacred fire of Vesta. Being a semi-divine creature, she goes barefoot as proof that nothing can harm her.
Behavior: Aeliana is a woman in mourning. A air of sadness clings to her and dampens the spirits of all those she encounters, her entrance into a room cause the room to cool by several degrees and aborts anything like a festive mood. While a she is a woman of pride and power, she exudes shame like an acrid scent and her penitence is pestilential. The breadth and depth of Aeliana's knowledge is only balanced by her wisdom which is legendary. She is very formal and clings to ancient traditions that no one still living observe, but her understanding of current events comes from her constant observation of those around her, a skill honed to the keenness of a razor by centuries of practice.
History: Aeliana has thus far revealed little of her history. She has revealed that she was a virgin priestess of the Vesta sometime between the first and second century before the birth of Christ. She was accused of sexual activity which was treason for a vestal virgin and buried alive. The pain of slow starvation and thirst turned her into a wraith and for centuries thereafter she wandered the streets of Rome until a foul necromancer bound her to the Forest of the Dead (the collection of statues found beneath the Colosseum). She was alone for a long time and then Roderic was likewise bound to the forest by a Christian sorcerer. The two became companions after a fashion and while she is quite critical of Roderic, she is also the first to come to his defense.
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