Aulen

Aulen is an elven officer who brings Leylin Farlier into Silverymoon's city guard and commands a mixed patrol of warriors, spellcasters, and scouts. Her unit's work in Moonwood draws it into both military danger and internal conspiracy, culminating in a near-fatal wound during the defence of the city.

Biography

Recruiting a wartime wizard

Aulen handles Leylin's entry into the city guard while Silverymoon is expanding its forces. She explains the patrol structure, gives the newly enlisted wizard a place in her unit, and welcomes him socially through the art and food she enjoys. Leylin deliberately joins her faction because her political patronage can provide opportunities that talent alone cannot secure. Aulen, for her part, watches whether an unusually gifted foreign wizard will obey orders and work with ordinary soldiers rather than disrupt their trust. His conduct in the field earns her approval. (Chapters 886–890)

Blood in Moonwood

Aulen leads the patrol north into Moonwood to investigate missing guards. She identifies the remains of ranger Kell Rosa, performs a cleric's prayer for him, and orders a withdrawal when signs show that a werecreature has alerted its companions. The enemy closes the distance anyway. Aulen uses her bow to cover the retreat, switches to a rapier when the werecreatures reach close range, and keeps the patrol's wizard protected near the center of the formation. With Leylin's enhancements and Cloudkill and Jinx's healing, the surviving guards break out. Aulen records Leylin's precise support for her report rather than claiming his magic as her own success. (Chapters 887–890)

Factional pressure and Rafiniya

Back in Silverymoon, Aulen accepts Rafiniya into the unit because the knight's direct sense of justice and willingness to cooperate fit the veterans better than unreliable new recruits. At the same time, Aulen's rivalry with Cassley places political pressure on the patrol and contributes to it receiving an unusually dangerous assignment. She works with Leylin to assemble a team they can trust and to find a survivable response when the supposed punitive operation exposes a deeper infiltration. (Chapters 890–893)

Lanshire's betrayal

The conspiracy becomes personal when Lanshire, an old friend in whom Aulen placed confidence, is exposed as an infiltrator. The betrayal injures her judgment and emotions, but it does not end her command. Aulen continues directing her officers as hostile forces and werecreatures threaten Silverymoon, balancing the safety of her people against the need to defend the city. Her relationship with Leylin shifts from recruitment and patronage toward reliance on his tactical judgment as the crisis grows beyond an ordinary patrol mission. (Chapters 893–894)

Wounding and retirement

During the battle, a powerful werecreature drives an attack through Aulen's chest. Jinx prevents immediate death by freezing the wound and carrying her away; this is emergency divine or magical aid supplied by another cleric, not Aulen healing herself. Aulen survives, but when her former subordinates visit she is pale, bedridden, and unable to return to active duty. The injury and the political upheaval end her city-guard career. She resigns and thanks the officers who served with her, leaving alive but permanently separated from the command that defined her. (Chapters 894–895 and 902)

Appearance and personality

Aulen is a fair-skinned elf with pointed ears, long silver hair, and delicate features. In battle, blood and exhaustion strip away that elegance, and she shifts rapidly between bow and rapier while directing her patrol.

She is cultured and sociable, enjoying music, visual art, and good food, but is not merely a courtly patron. Aulen takes responsibility for her subordinates, honors the dead, recognizes capable service, and knows when an investigative mission must become a retreat. She is practical enough to value teamwork over glamorous recruits and compassionate enough to welcome Rafiniya's idealism. Her main vulnerability is personal loyalty: Lanshire's betrayal succeeds partly because old friendship carries weight with her. Even after that shock, she continues to command until physical injury removes the choice. (Chapters 886–902)

Magic, bloodline, and abilities

Ranger tracking and archery

Aulen is described as a powerful ranger and demonstrates the role through wilderness investigation, threat assessment, and archery. She reads blood traces and signs in Moonwood, recognizes when a discovered werecreature will summon its group, and chooses retreat rather than hunt a superior enemy on its home ground. With a longbow she can strike a werecreature concealed in the trees once Leylin enchants the arrow. The shot and accuracy are hers; the ability to pierce the target's abnormal defenses in that instance depends on Leylin's Enchant Weapon, an external spell. (Chapter 888)

Rapier combat

When ranged fighting becomes impossible, Aulen discards the bow and draws the slender elven rapier at her waist. She fights at the front of the breakout and leads the formation through close pursuit. The corpus establishes professional martial competence but does not name a special sword technique, supernatural bloodline, or personal damage-enhancing spell. Her eventual chest wound also demonstrates the limit of that skill against a sufficiently powerful werecreature. (Chapters 888 and 894–895)

Low-rank cleric practice

Aulen is also a cleric, though explicitly one of low rank. She can perform prayers and receives divine spell slots through daily worship rather than a wizard's meditation, spiritual force, or mana system. The text shows her giving Kell Rosa funerary prayer, but it does not provide a named combat or healing spell cast by Aulen. The healing light used during the Moonwood escape belongs to Jinx, the patrol's other cleric, and Jinx also performs the freezing rescue after Aulen is impaled. Those feats must not be transferred to Aulen's repertoire. (Chapters 888 and 895)

Mixed-unit command

Aulen coordinates archers, melee fighters, clerics, and a patrol wizard according to their different limits. She keeps Leylin protected while his finite spell slots support the group, orders a general breakout when attrition makes formation untenable, and times his final area spell after most allies have cleared its path. She also selects personnel, evaluates reports, and adapts when political assignments conceal greater danger. This is trained command and institutional authority; the city guard's troops, enchanted ammunition, Leylin's spells, and Jinx's healing remain external resources. (Chapters 888–895)

Relationships

• Leylin Farlier: Aulen recruits him, provides factional shelter, and learns to trust his precise magical support and tactical judgment. Leylin benefits from her patronage while privately pursuing his own goals.
• Rafiniya: A young knight Aulen personally accepts into the patrol. She values Rafiniya's sincerity and treats her as a comrade rather than disposable new manpower.
• Cassley: Rival city-guard officer whose factional hostility contributes to Aulen's unit receiving a dangerous operation.
• Lanshire: Aulen's old friend and trusted connection, later exposed as an infiltrator. The betrayal is both an operational failure and a deep personal wound.
• Jinx: Fellow cleric and subordinate whose magic helps the patrol escape Moonwood and later preserves Aulen after her chest is pierced.

Items

• Longbow and grey-feathered arrows: Aulen's primary ranged equipment. Her successful shot against a werecreature is strengthened by Leylin's temporary weapon enchantment. (Chapter 888)
• Elven rapier: A slender close-combat blade carried at her waist and drawn when the enemy closes past bow range. (Chapters 888–895)
• City-guard resources: Uniforms, spell-enhanced ammunition, personnel, and institutional authority available through Aulen's office. These support her command but are not personal artifacts or innate abilities.