Tradition is important. Without it the delicate fiber of nobility blurs with that of the common people, and what sort of distinctions are drawn then?
It is with such a mindset that Edwina l'Corren was raised, the third child, tradition-bound to spread her pious wings and fly to Sanctum for formal religious training to become a priestess when the time came. It was her only wish as a young child, and she embarked on her education in earnest at home before the age of six. Her mother's influence made her acutely aware of just how 'everyone else was doing it,' and she wasn't about to fail in her studies and cast shame upon the family when theirs was one branch of the tree that didn't blossom. Besides, an education in Sanctum would take her far away from the bloody war she'd been born into, and keeping the family successful in every way was her parents' priority. It all seemed to fit so well for her mother, to maintain her daughter's safety while keeping up with the proverbial Joneses. Her brothers' influence made her hardy and appreciative of the rich knightly culture her family espoused for generations. The longer the War raged on, the more nervous Edwina became that her brothers would become embroiled in fighting as her father already had. She became anxious to see an end to the war, if only to keep those she loved safe while enabling her to study still more and with fewer concerns. At times her focus seemed to shift, though ultimately she always fell back on her beloved and guiding faith in the One. She spent much of her early adolescence waffling about, down on herself for her thoughts straying away from vigorous study, following up with periods of contemplation and prayer. No excuse was good enough, and she was often found asking forgiveness when she thought she'd gone unobserved.
Her father's influence, perhaps the most meaningful whether she'd admit it or not, taught her that genuine wit and care were not enough for success and that the study of other peoples' mannerisms and comings and goings would serve her as well as memorizing chapters of holy writ. Compounded with her continued hope to impress through her studies, as well as her ardent desire for her family to remain intact, Edwina began to pay closer attention not just to her books, but also to her parents' communications and to those they entertained. She wasn't about to let her smarts desert her, especially not when her future and that of the Kingdom hung in the balance with the War looking like it'd continue on forever.
Equipped with these tools, a knack for learning, and the typical l'Corren predisposition to be polite as can be, Edwina excelled and departed for Sanctum at age ten. Her knowledge of religious lore has been extensive since childhood, and her reputation for being able to spout off any legend with attention to finer detail at functions, first as a precocious youngster and later as a smug young lady, preceded her. Her sharp mind and sharper tongue endeared her to her tutors (though not so much others studying with her) during her days spent in Sanctum. Her studies consumed her, and while she spent much of her time continuing to prepare herself for ordination, she seemed less preoccupied with her far-off family and the cares that had previously burdened her. Everything seemed to be falling into place; the older she became the more accomplished she appeared, and while there were fewer instances of being caught begging for forgiveness from sin, what's to say she did not continue to feel truly convicted?
With the end of the Thirty Years' War came many changes. Of course the end of fighting had obvious differences for the factions involved as a whole, but, like ripples in water, the effects moved outward from the Conclave to change the lives of everyone living in the Edge. It's uncertain whether a decision was made before or after the death of her father, or who made it, but the entire nuclear family has become mum on the details - no doubt a result of Edwina's mother looking to keep up appearances and her daughter's ingrained desire to follow her lead. Regardless of the particulars, something drastic changed around the same time peace negotiations succeeded between Rivana and Couviere. When Edwina was sixteen, she received word that she was to return to Murnord immediately, and Sanctum would cease to be her permanent home. A marriage to a l'Faust was being brokered and plans weren't going to continue the way they'd been going. Years of religious study for nothing, it seemed. She would not become a priestess after all.
Her habit for spouting off charming facts hadn't died and, in fact, said habit appeared to endear her to the many new noblemen and noblewomen she was meeting as part of her betrothal process, much as it had been with her tutors back in Sanctum. Some say the High Priest's involvement in ending the war, a war that didn't always show House l'Corren in the most positive light, and the threat of excommunication as punishment offended one too many of the people between Edwina and her formal training to become a priestess. Others say her ambitious mother saw opportunity with the budding relationship between Archbishop (now Cardinal) Ramius and the royal family of Couviere. Whatever the true details are, it seemed that training in Sanctum was no longer a priority immediately preceding the time of her marriage to Carey l'Faust in late 1851, just as Edwina had celebrated her seventeenth birthday.
Over the years between the great 'change of plan' and now, Edwina's honed her skills to further accentuate her courteousness and good manners and it's gotten her far. She's provided her husband with multiple heirs and has educated them to the best of her ability. She's taken up shop in her husband's family's lands and excelled at court. Her interests and disposition shared with the Dowager Queen Cynthia l'Valdan have provided her with companionship and position both. Perhaps blindly, Edwina had admired Cardinal Ramius as a man of moral fiber and one on whom Couviere could rely for advice with delicate situations. Most recently, however, with the barbarians encroaching on Murnord and the death of King Maris, she's begun to doubt whether her faith was in the One, as she'd previously thought, or if it'd been in the now-disgraced Cardinal Ramius. Looking to the Dowager Queen for guidance, Edwina's retreated somewhat into herself in recent months, spends less time talking, and much more time listening as she tries to process the recent events.
Was it fate, then, that stopped Edwina l'Faust from becoming a woman of the cloth? Try as one might, speculation is all that will come of thinking on it as there's likely no one alive that'll gamble with that knowledge freely. Perhaps now, after such disgrace as the Cardinal's Gambit, more of the truth will come to the fore at last.