Ethera Blackreyne was the Archhuntress of the Blackreyne Brotherhood from 3E451 until her death in 3E460. She was the daughter of Archhuntress Cîrhel Blackreyne and the adoptive mother of Viera Blackreyne.
Ethera was born to former Archhuntress Cîrhel Blackreyne before her disappearance. She grew up in Night's End and became a hunter alongside her human adoptive-brother Erryk Blackreyne.
At some point in her adulthood, she was also married to a man although it was never specified who that was or what had happened to him. However, in 3E444, a strike team led by Ethera rescued a newborn tiefling girl from a cult that wanted to sacrifice her. She adopted this girl as her own daughter, naming her Viera.
Check the main one-shot page for the detailed plot summary.
In 3E451, Ethera traveled to the city of Tromden to answer a call for Blackreyne aid. Along the way, she met the goliath werewolf hunter Voriak, and tried to convince her to join the Blackreynes. At Tromden, alongside a group of other hunters she managed to save the city from both an aberration as well as High Priestess Altia Blitzgott. She then recruited Voriak and Fieldor as Blackreyne hunters, taking them back to Night's End.
Only a few months later at age 123, she was elected as the twelfth Archhuntress of the brotherhood after the death of her adoptive nephew Leonhardt Blackreyne. Because she did not have a biological child yet, the next head of the brotherhood would've been elected by Ethera or would've been picked by votes, but it all changed when Viera got adopted. Ethera's right hand man, Zmeya Merkuriyev, a half-elf; was particularly frustrated with how this went down as he was confident he would be the next leader and he was done with how much Ethera valued honor over making money and believed it would lead to the brotherhood's downfall for sure. A low-ranking member of House Merkuriyev of the Lunar Collective, not of the main bloodline but a cousin of the main family- essentially just a noble without much power. Got into a disagreement with the main family, and went off to join the Blackreynes to make something of himself since he couldn't do so in the Lunar government.
In 3E460, Ethera wanted to see how Viera would manage on a hunt that was beyond her power level: an elder vampire terrorizing the Crimsonia country-side. However, the mission was entirely sabotaged by Zmeya and people loyal to his coup. In an effort to save Viera's life, Ethera got killed and turned into a vampire spawn whom Viera had to put down painfully and flee because she could not bear to face the brotherhood after what she deemed to be her failure. Her death was then blamed on Viera who had to flee to Eqos, and the brotherhood was taken over by Zmeya. An elf dying at the 'young' age of 132 was seen as a great tragedy.
Ethera's death haunted Viera's dreams for a long time, and in Azydos the goddess Theratis had Viera fight a ghostly projection of Ethera as a test. Viera returned eight years later as a part of the Chimera, and regained leadership from Zmeya in a strong-armed takeover becoming Archhuntress herself. She disbanded the Brighthunt, and years down the road Mash Vuhsen would kill Viktor who sought to take back the Blackreyne name from Cîrhel's lineage. Ethera's ghost alongside the ghosts of Daerron Blackreyne and Sirakos appeared to Mash and the Darklight Crusaders within the heaven of Asphodel to congratulate and challenge him.
3E328 - Ethera is born in Night's End to Cîrhel Blackreyne.
3E444 - She adopts a newborn tiefling child from a cult that she names Viera Blackreyne.
3E451 - She is sent to Tromden during the events of The Dissonant Dirge, after which she recruits Voriak and Fieldor into the Brotherhood.
3E451 - Ethera is elected as the twelfth Archhuntress of the Blackreyne Brotherhood.
3E460 - She is mortally wounded by an elder vampire in a hunt orchestrated by her successor Zmeya Merkuriyev. She is then put out of her misery by Viera who had to flee the continent.
3E467 - A ghostly representation of her is summoned by Theratis to fight and test Viera during the events of Tale of the Sunless Dunes.
3E498 - Ethera's ghost appears within the heavens to congratulate Mash for defeating Viktor during the events of The Light of Lunaria.