Varialde of Sebryne was an Ethmoniri tribeswoman born on the banks of the Hialto River, near to Maru-Tel c.2798, during an Ethmoniri winter moot. She left the Ethmoniri for civilized lands at an early age and trained at the Harpers’ Guild in Lairial. She was the most renowned harper of her day. Varialde wandered throughout the eastern lands of the Ukali and found employment with many of the noble clans of the region.

Varialde’s voice was an otherworldly instrument of amazing power, and it was said that she could toy with the feelings of her listeners at will. She carried a Telnori lute of magnificent tone and, great enchantment.

Varialde left the eastern Ukali in 2809 to seek new songs in other lands. She traveled with a few close companions into the lands of the Delfari Empire, arriving in Delfarin itself in 2810. Her skill quickly came to the attention of Jirela, the Delfari Empress, who summoned her to entertain her court. Jirela was so charmed by Varialde that she insisted the harper stay as an honored guest at the Imperial Palace. Varialde quickly became one of the most valued of the Imperial favorites.

This came to a sudden end when Jirela slipped into a coma in 2812. At first Varialde stayed to try and sooth the ailing monarch, and by the time she realized that the Regent, Koltorin the Astrologer, was intent on seizing power, it was too late. He forbade her to leave, and she became a virtual prisoner.

When Koltorin did indeed gain full power in 2816, on Jirela’s death, he began his rule by impaling many of his enemies and former rivals. Varialde, however, escaped this grisly fate when her captor demanded she compose and perform a paean to his “glorious ascension to power.”

Varialde defied him, singing instead, a satiric condemnation of the astrologer and all his followers that sparked rebellion and strife throughout the realm, taking months to quell. Her reward was to have her tongue torn out and her hands burned to uselessness. The would-be Necromancer then released her to show the measure of his vengeance. But though he ruled for 20 years, he was never able to stamp out her ballad, and it served always as a rallying cry for the oppressed and defiant.

Poor Varialde wandered, half-mad and aided by occasional travelers, back to the eastern Ukali. Eventually she made her way “home” to Maru-Tel. There, it is said, Varialde laid aside her lute, and entered the mystic lights, to seek a kinder world.