Aethia

"In olden times of war this magical creature was said to help inexperienced pets learn to defend themselves, and, on rare occasions, teach the strongest ones a lesson they would never forget."

-NeoDeck

Aethia

Faerie

Talent:  Swordsmanship, Granting Abilities, Unique Appearance(s):  Neopedia Battledome Type:  Site Feature Character Neopedia Character Neopedia:  Aethia and the      Battle Faerie External Links:  The Battle Faerie Aethia Relationships:  Fiona (Enemy) Valeane (Predecessor) Dreeana (Mother) Shyvara (Mentor)

Quotes "Theres always a way out, it's just a matter of how dirty you want to get." "Courage, Neopian. Though it may be a difficult quest, you will find it worthwhile."

Aethia is a Faerie who currently bears the title of Battle Faerie and is the head of Queen Fyora's army. Both an excellent "swordsman" and skilled fighter, she'll occasionally grant users with special quests in order to fulfill her duties.

After an encounter with the long-lost Valeane in the Haunted Woods, Aethia gained the power of the Battle Faerie for correctly solving the riddle inscribed on the Sword of Flame and Sword of Ice. Fulfilling her promise to Valeane, she teaches others to protect themselves from harm by granting them special abilities.

History

Aethia is first heard of in the Neopedia article, Aethia and the Battle Faerie. Here, both her back story and the means by which she became the Battle Faerie are told.

Aethia and the Battle Faerie

After finding a mysterious note within an old book containing a name, a clue, a map, a tale of old twin blades and a tree, Aethia, not even a graduate of the Faerieland Academy, set out to solve the mystery herself. Following the map carefully, she eventually happened upon the Haunted Woods, for this was where the Mourning Tree was located, and where the Battle Faerie Valeane was said to have defeated.

For an untold number of days, Aethia helplessly wandered the woods looking for the spot in which the map led. She eventually caught the eye of Fiona, a Dark Faerie resident of the Haunted Woods, the very one who was said to have vanquished Valeane long ago. Tired, cold, and worn out, Aethia, too weak to fly, spent countless days running from Fiona and her Werelupe pack.

At the point of exhausted despair, Aethia collapsed on floor of the woods, unable to move any further, ready to accept defeat. At that moment, a voice called to her, "Aethia". Expecting to see Fiona, she slowly stood herself up, all while coming to terms with her surrender. To her surprise, it was not Fiona that stood before her, but rather The Mourning Tree, the spirit of Valeane. Still weakened, Aethia barely managed to utter the word "Valeane" back.

The Tree, complete with moving limbs and and a dreary wooden face, asked Aethia the question "What do you seek"? To this, Aethia replied "The sword of flame and the sword of ice.".

Satisfied with this answer, the tree asked another question, "Who wielded them?" to which Aethia replied "Valeane".

Asking yet another question, the tree asked "Why do you seek?"

Despite answering the preceding questions correctly, Aethia was unable to answer this the tree as she no idea as to why she had been seeking them. The tree repeated itself, only to be met with silence once again. At this point, Fiona had already reached the site, and offered Aethia a warning: If she were to hesitate any longer, or if she were to answer wrongly, the tree would swallow her and she'd never be seen again.

The tree repeated it's question one final time. Recalling the tales she had once heard of Valeane, Aethia finally said "To teach others to protect themselves." Accepting this as the correct answer, the Mourning Tree told Aethia she was worthy, and granted her The Sword of Flame and The Sword of Ice. Distraught, Fiona cursed in the ancient faerie language, and told Aethia that although she may correctly answered the three questions asked by the tree, she's still at risk of falling to the same fate as Valeane. And with that remark, Fiona faded away in darkness of the woods.

Pondering on Fiona's words, she examined an ancient riddle written in the an ancient language inscribed on the swords, though she failed to decipher their meaning. At that moment, a ghostly figure of a Faerie appeared before her, and told Aethia the the swords will only serve her if she solves the riddle. In despair, Aethia fell to her knees, only to receive words of comfort from the ghost: "No, I was not worthy. You may be. Go forth, go and find the secret of the swords."

And with that, the spirit vanished. Realizing that the ghost was in fact Valeane herself, Aethia lifted herself up off the ground, and swore that she would find the secret of the swords.

A Faerieland Bedtime Story

Main article: Raitorn

Note: As the Neopedia entry this section is based on was published long before the article describing how Aethia became the Battle Faerie, it's possible that the Faerie being referred to in this story is actually Valeane. This is further evidenced by the fact that it refers to the story having taken place "Long ago" in the Battledome, implying it took place before the Battledome was rediscovered.

In the Neopedia article, A Faerieland Bedtime Story, a young Poogle named Kora asks her mother Eppa to tell her a bedtime story about a Faerie. Certainly willing to do so, she begins to recite the ancient tale of Raitorn:

Raitorn, a fierce Battledome opponent, boasted a successful career as a fighter. Becoming overly proud of his fighting abilities, a Dark Faerie sways him to join her on a mission to overtake Faerieland after describing what a fantastic general he would be for her army. Having had accepted the offer in pride, he prepared himself to Battle against Queen Fyora's army, who was led by none other than the Battle Faerie.

Deciding to perform a sneak attack on the Battle Faerie's camp, Raitorn confidentially led his troops into battle. Caught off guard, the Battle Faerie and her troops fled to Queen Fyora's fortress. Having heard of their terrible defeat, the Soup Faerie quickly sped towards Faerieland to offer a magical soup to Fyora's troops that would nourish their bodies and heal their wounds. In full strength the next day, the Battle Faerie and her army engaged in fierce battle with Raitorn and his troops.

Having had been greatly outnumbered, Raitorn was ordered to surrender by the Dark Faerie that had devised the scheme, and had finally tasted defeat at the hands of the Battle Faerie.

The Faeries' Ruin

Main article: The Faeries' Ruin

Like all other Faeries, Aethia was imprisoned in stone during the duration of The Faeries' Ruin.

On Neopets.com

Outside of any story or plotline, Aethia makes a several of appearances within the site's various features and activities.

Aethia's Ability Academy

Main article: Aethia's Ability Academy

Following the revamp of the Battledome in Year 15, Aethia opened up Aethia's Ability Academy. Here, she rewards pets with special abilities they can use in Battle based on their level and number of Bottled Faeries they've released.

Faerie Weapon Shop

Aethia is in charge of running the onsite shop, The Faerie Weapon Shop. Here, she sells a variety of Faerie themed Weapons.

Faerie Quests

Main article: Faerie Quests

On occasion, Aethia will grant a user with a special quest, which usually requires high-tier items that are difficult to find.

If a user manages to complete one of her quests, they're active pet be granted highly increased Battledome statics.

Companions

Aethia (Or perhaps previous Battle Faeries) has had at least two battle companions during her/their time of existence.

Battle Uni

When the concept of the Battle Faerie was first introduced onsite, The Neopets Team had decided to give her a companion which she would ride into battle.

The first of these, the Battle Uni made it's debut in Year 2 at the same time as the Battle Faerie. Other than being used in several pieces of artwork, not much else was known about it;s short existence.

Battle Eyrie

The TCG card, The Battle Eyrie features Aethia/a Battle Faerie riding an Eyrie known as the Battle Eyrie.

While what The Neopets Team decided to do with the Battle Uni remains unknown, this Eyrie is often thought to have replaced the concept it had presented before.

Appearance & Design

Like many Faeries, Aethia has undergone a number of redesigns and redraws throughout her existence. It's worth noting that the following images may depict Valeane, or another Battle Faerie:

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And lastly, two "modern" designs of Aethia exist, one used in Faerie Quests, and the other used in Aethia's Ability Academy. It's unclear which accurately represents her:

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  In Aethia's Ability Academy

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  In Faerie Quests

Trivia

• Aethia is one of the few Faeries shown to have atleast one family member, her mother Dreeana. The only other case of any Faerie having a known relative would be the Dark Faerie Sisters Malice, Spite, and Vanity.
• The Battle Faerie was featured as the Random Theme in the New Features on November 24, 2004, and December 14, 2005.
• A Battle Faerie avatar was released on November 24, 2005. Randomly awarded on the Winner page after winning a fight in the Battledome.