Zoey Kale'A

Zoey Kale'A, The Gray Flame
Zoey is the descendant of the legendary Mylnir, the hero who bested the Nyssaor on worlds long forgotten and gave his life to protect Mandalay. She rose as a Goddess with her axe, StormForge, after the cataclysms of the mid-fourth age, when the Nyssaor attempted to release KaelKarum from Mandalay's core. She destroyed the physical form of Vladimirith, their patriarch and leader, and shortly after elevated herself to deity status.

Heraldry
Zoey is heralded by a unique creature, the first of the Defector outsiders. Beshtath, an Incubus from the harem of Graz'zt himself, became incompatible with the forces of evil that composed him.

He appears before those whom Zoey has chosen for their Moral character, and often brings comfort to good people forced into bad situations.

Philosophy
Zoey is not a god in the traditional sense, who adheres to the Good-Evil-Neutral-Chaotic-Lawful axis. She is listed as True Neutral, but in reality, she defies both the concept of good and evil, and represents the need for "shades of gray". The circumstances and crises of her life showed her that you cannot possibly do the right thing all the time, and conversely, not all purely evil creatures are beyond acts of staggering compassion. She rules over Limbo and Purgatory, shepherding the souls who were scorned for their life choices and giving them the opportunity to prove their true worth.

She believes that the greater good is more important than the lesser, and that necessary evils are just that; necessary.

Life as a Mortal
Zoey was born to Mandalay in 4102 as the daughter of Manuku and Nika Kale'A. She grew up in Thaselon alongside her childhood friends Toxa (Tiain's daughter) and Mithaniel Darastrix (Laznogard's son). Often times, she and her friends was left in the care of their close family friend/uncle, Lizalfos Iz'Razek.

It was in the mage's care in her formative years that Zoey took a liking to magic. At the age of seven, she was enrolled in the Thaselon Academy of the Arcane, where she promptly showed zero aptitude. Her parents even had her take tutelage from Lizalfos himself, but there was just no knack to be found. Her dreams shattered, she began to take more after her parents than they intended; thieving, pickpocketing, and sneaking became her bread and butter. She took after her parents so well in this regard that eventually, rather than fight it, her mother Nika contacted the Shadow of the Wind clan.

Their leader, a powerful fae by the name of "Q", took her in and taught her the ways of the ninja, opening her mind to the power of Ki. Here, at last, she excelled; she had found her true calling.

As she and her friends grew, the troubles of the world grew to a boiling point. The battle of Locust's Gulch proved to be the catalyst for her decision to embrace Sagedom. Many times, the Silver Shield had offered her employment, and watching the majority of them perish at the hand of a singular creature made her realize that the Silver Shield would not be enough to stop the creatures coming for them.

Embracing her lineage as part Natrathian, she discovered that she was the direct descendant of the Mylnir, and by following in his footsteps, she located, assembled, and used the Nocit'Sym Geode, destroying the original Nyssaor, Tetchiklonoc included.

No one knows for sure what happened atop the BlightSpire when she and the other Sages confronted Vladimirith, but whatever did happen elevated both Zoey and Vladimirith to deity status.

Paladin Code
Paladins of Zoey are generally referred to as GrayGuards, though they do not necessarily have to actually take the Prestige Class. A Grayguard of the Grayflame must adhere to the following code:
 * Protect those who cannot defend themselves
 * Prevent the death of those forced into circumstances, regardless of condition (Mind Control, Possession, Coercion, Manipulation)
 * Offer Redemption to all those who oppose you once.
 * Destroy without mercy or quarter all those who have no soul, such as the unliving, or those who turn down your one offer for redemption.