Jaela Daran, Keeper of the Silver Flame
Jaela Daran is the Keeper of the Silver Flame, and leader of the Theocracy that governs the nation of Thrane. As the Keeper, she acts as the High Priestess of the Church of the Silver Flame, and she is the only known person currently able to consistently and directly hear the Voice of the Flame. The Voice is the immortalized spirit of Tira Miron, an ancient Paladin who re-sealed the Rakshasa Rajah Overlord, Bel Shalor, back into the essence of the Silver Flame, which acts as a prison keeping many such Overlords bound and unable to subjugate the Material world.
Around the year 991-993 YK, the Voice spoke out to a four-year-old girl living in the city of Flamekeep. Tira whispered warnings of catastrophes through the girl's dreams and nightmares, leading her Father to bring her to the Cardinals. When the Cardinals brought the girl before the flame, the Voice spoke through Jaela, revealing a cabal of disguised fiends under the umbrella of the Lords of Dust. Once the cult was destroyed by Thrane's knights, the Keeper at the time, Lavira Tagor, was replaced by Jaela Daran, a girl of only six years. By the time most Eberron campaigns and stories are set (998 YK), Jaela is eleven years old.
In my Eberron, Jaela proves a much stronger leader than most around her expected to be. Even when she was a child, she acted with more wisdom and foresight than the most experienced Cardinals, Generals, and Nobles. It is largely thanks to her efforts and outreach in the aftermath of The Last War that have ensured the war has not reignited.
The church has long been frought with problems, from corruption to zealotry to tribalism. Many officials such as High Cardinal Krozen, whose actions caused harm to many and went against the tenets of the Church, were either reined in or excommunicated. In Krozen's case, he concluded of his own volition that he would serve the flame better by simply adding his soul to the fire, and he submitted himself to be executed for the crimes he would then confess to.
Jaela observed that the Theocracy of Thrane brought with it incentives for the Cardinals and Bishops to serve their own interests, rather than to serve the values of the Church. Since Jaela became Keeper, the structure of Thrane's government has seen much reform, and whispers of abdication and a new form of government for the nation have been abounding.
For the groups such as the Servants of the Pure Flame, which have proven themselves to be violent fanatics espousing Machiavellian ideals to justify evil deeds, Jaela offered an ultimatum. Repent and look inward to see the corrupting evil that had festered in them, or be excommunicated and branded as heretical terrorists. The Puritans, as they called themselves, were split. By the words of the one who communicates directly with their god, some were convinced of their own wrong. But many, including a handful of Cardinals, doubled-down and were cut off from the Church. The removal of such violent zealots, whose hearts were corrupted by the Shadow in the Flame, was most felt in the city of Thaliost, a formerly-Aundarian city that changed hands between Aundair and Thrane multiple times during The Last War. Jaela has even begun negotiations with Queen Aurala of Aundair to discuss ceding the territory to put an end to the animosity between the two nations.
By 1020 YK, Jaela has grown into an extraordinarily powerful woman, and has been the cause of much growth in the Church of the Flame. She continues to lead, being seen by the people of Thrane more and more as she grows more able to see the will of the Flame done. As a high-level cleric in her own right, she is unmatched when within the Grand Cathedral in Flamekeep. Even if an assassin or other opponent could match her, they would be too distracted by her to see that she still keeps Skaravojen the Dragonhound by her side.
In the brief time I wrote Jaela on this blog (I believe it was only a post or two), my image of her has solidified and intensified. She's easily one of my favorite characters in any D&D setting, and I hope future publications of Eberron have more of her and her faithful Dragonhound.