Let me tell you a secret that I've kept even from the emperor, from the love of my life, from my friends, from my enemies, from everyone; I have a twin sister. An identical twin. She was always the better of the two of us, but because of her strength, her intelligence, her beauty and, of course, her almost unbelieveable connection to the Force, her identity was to be a secret. The trouble was, there only came more danger in the prospect of revealing her true self over time, not less. So she left.
—Arius Valdayn revealing a secret much of his family had taken to their graves
Atheria Valdayn, known to the general public during early life as Atheria Zoral and later on by various pseudonyms, such as the Guardian Angel, the Grandmaster, the Protector, the Shining Lady and the Lady Saint, was a Ethereal Human female of House Valdayn born on Luctanem in 42 BBY as the identical twin sister of Arius Valdayn. Throughout much of her life, her true identity was kept a secret for the sake of ensuring her safety, and that of her brother Arius, and for the safety of the monarchy in the Kingdom of Luctanem under the belief that if something should happen to him, Atheria could replace him as heir. While both brother and sister were gifted physically and mentally, both being attractive, tall, healthy and intelligent, Arius had very little natural connection to the Force, whereas as a child, Atheria seemed to possess near-endless gifts with her Force-related abilities.
Biography[]
Birth to 19 BBY[]
Their mother, queen-consort Miraea Eredanus, died when they were young, leaving Atheria and her brother largely under the care of their father, king Atlus Valdayn, and the royal household at large when he was unavailable, though he made a point of ensuring both children should receive the best possible training and education on seemingly every subject accessible to them. Following Atlus' death near the end of the Battle of Luctanem during the Clone Wars, Atheria began preparations to honor the final request her father made of her; to leave the Galactic Republic and known space at large behind, in favor of travelling through Wild Space and the Unknown Regions, collecting artifacts, learning of and mastering her connection to and abilities of the Force. After she departed Luctanem aboard the royal household's personal starship, the Saber of Dawn, little was known of her life by anyone in the known galaxy.
Travelling Uncharted Space[]
While the Galactic Empire rose to prominence in known space, Atheria and much of the royal household, including the entirety of the royal guard, travelled those parts of the galaxy which were unknown to the Empire and to the Republic before it. While her brother spent this time achieving an artificial strength in his connection with the Force, Atheria was collecting bits and pieces of history, sometimes literally in the form of artifacts old and new, and learning more about her unique relationship with the Force. Eventually, her journey came largely to an end on an uncharted world which she named Arx Ultimium. This world was in fact a massive Force nexus, similarly to Mortis or Tython. Over the ensuing years, Atheria, the Luctan royal household and the Saber of Dawn crew formed their own small society on the planet, continuing to use their ship to explore other systems in the Unknown Regions while Atheria mastered her abilities with the Force.
Prophecy[]
Over time, Atheria came to realize that her abilities were unnatural. Thanks in part to her historical discoveries throughout the uncharted territories and in part to her connection with the Force, she discovered the history of her family and their people with the Ethereal Empire. At first, this led her to believe she, rather than her twin brother Arius, might be the rightful and logical successor to the leaders of the Astral Defenders, the part of the Ethereal Empire based on their homeworld of Luctanem. Eventually, however, she came to realize that the truth was much more complex. In truth, she was the culmination of generations of leading Ethereal families' intermarrying and deepening their connection to the Force, as well as the result of a centuries-old prophecy. This prophecy described the various Force-using orders within the Ethereal Empire, including the Astral Defenders, coming to be led by a great, powerful individual at some point in the future, who would come to lead all the orders simultaneously. However, as Atheria realized, this was misinterpreted; it was believed that each of the organizations would have their own great leader, but in fact, Atheria was the complete realization of the prophecy, not just one example of it. In essence, she was meant to be the leader of a new, reborn Ethereal Empire.
Lady Saint[]
As Atheria learned to master abilities which had previously been restricted to other leading Ethereal bloodlines, she came to create a great, albeit small, society for those who lived with her on Arx Ultimium. She also began using her abilities to help those in need around the galaxy, though primarily within the Unknown Regions. She rarely actually spoke to any of them, however, and so her name and origins were unknown. This led to her becoming known by pseudonyms, primarily the Lady Saint and variations thereof. During her time on Arx Ultimium, the society she came to lead slowly expanded, as Atheria led individuals from across the galaxy to come to the distant world, many choosing to remain there, including the Hutt Groda Kovajii Klarr and his criminal followers and servants. Following their reactivation, a number of Sabertroopers also came to reside in Atheria's society. As she continued interacting with the galaxy's beings from a distance, Atheria came to the conclusion she should pass on her knowledge of the Force to others, and so began searching for Force-Sensitives amongst those she led to her world. Over time, her efforts brought about the creation of a large, albeit almost dysfunctionally varied, nation-state complete with its own economy, military and political system; the Hallowed Dominion, protected by the various armed forces which joined them, along with Atheria's own unit, the Saintly Crusaders, made in the image of a military-religious organization of the Ethereal Empire akin to her family's Astral Defenders of old.