Muireall Whelani

She was born to a young mother and an elderly father. A former pirate and smuggler, he’d had a change of heart when the cargo turned out to be a Dwarven woman. Leaving instructions for his crew on his study table, he fled his anchored ship with the woman and his treasure in tow—rowing to the mainland, never to return. Changing his name and appearance, he reinvented himself as a blacksmith in a remote settlement. He offered the woman freedom; she remained. A child was born. Weapons were forged in her name. Training was given. All was well until the slavers’ bandits came in search of the traitor. He’d planned for this day—the wagon, the weapons, the escape route, the means to start over. Sending a messenger boy with a red ribbon and a piece of silver, he met the bandits head on. Fighting with the ferocity that only a husband and father can truly know, he felled many before finally being overcome. The family lived on. Another name in another place; another chance. “Muireall” (“Sea-Bright”) contemplated revenge, but knew it would endanger her mother. She chose instead to become a warrior in her own right—one worthy of her father’s sacrifice. She is the half-sister of Máirín Nolani (page 49) though neither is aware of the other’s existence. If they were to ever meet and learn the truth, both might feel differently about their father than they do now.