When Alsbeth Rothman came to the Court of Mathos, she was a quiet young girl with sallow skin and dark hair who always stood behind the crowd, alone. She traveled under the shadow of her family’s grave dishonor and was not warmly received by the court. Rothman was an ancient name, but since the days when Phynnious Rothman, the first of the pyromancers, originally brought it glory, it had been under a slow but steady decline.

Her father had murdered her mother when he discovered the woman’s adultery. He was executed in turn, and young Alsbeth then found herself an
orphan. She was soon also without a home, as her uncle inherited the family estate and promptly turned her out of it.

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Out of pity, Queen Lenia Mathos, wife of King Jostir Mathos, offered shelter to Alsbeth and took her in as a ward of the court. Lenia died shortly after from an incurable disease, and though young Alsbeth was not turned out, she had lost her only advocate and Jostir was indifferent to her status. She did not play with the other children in the castle. Instead, she would spend her time reading in the library or walking alone through the hills around Caer Mathos.

It was not until she attended Quicksilver College that Alsbeth began to emerge from her shell. She distinguished herself, and gained a voice as her accomplishments bolstered her in the eyes of the other students and of the professors. While it never seemed she had many friends, she did have many followers. Only Asha Catari was as infamous as Alsbeth, and once Asha was expelled, Alsbeth took sole reign over the school.

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She returned to the Court of Mathos a powerful mage, and her family’s ignoble past was buried beneath the weight of her accomplishments. After King Jostir died, both princes tried to curry her favor to join them in their fight for the throne. While it was believed she would fight for Aedraxis, if she took an interest at all in the squabble for succession, Zareph must have offered her the better prize, for she ended up riding beside him in his honor guard.

How it is that Alsbeth Rothman became Alsbeth the Discordant after her death on the battlefield is a matter that remains a mystery to any but Alsbeth and Regulos himself. It is this author’s estimation that her rise to power exhilarated her, and left her willing to do anything to continue rising, including accepting an offer of power from the Destroyer himself.