Elphana

Short Bio
The leader of the Tearless clan and mother of Finn, Grainne, Tulcha, Luana and probably lots of other children, kind of similar to a mother bee.

The only way to become the clan leader is to be born as a set of twins, and to kill the other sibling, which then releases the present clan leader from their duty (and their immortality). The new leader then spends their entire life feeding and multiplying the clan, until a new set of twins appears – in many cases, this can take multiple centuries.

Personality
Elphana has grown cold and ruthless over the centuries, since as the victor of the sibling fight, she cannot die until she gives birth to a new pair of twins as her potential successors. Although still remaining rather young and beautiful in appearance, her heart is pretty much dead inside and she can't feel love for anyone or anything.

History (under construction)
After living a seemingly endless life, Elphana's only goal is to give birth to a a pair of twins who release her from her fate. After Grainne and Finn are born, Finn is soon abducted by Liath and Bodhmall as a baby, who want to save him from his fate of kinslaying. Elphana grows furious and searches the entire country for them, only to find out that 13 years later, Finn has accidentally killed his foster mothers himself. She rejoices and takes him in, although he never really trusts her.

Despite her try to raise Grainne to hate her brother, the two siblings grow close and flee from the clan when they find out about their fate. Elphana then dedicates her entire life to bring the twins back home and make them kill each other so she can finally find her rest.

Finn
Since Finn was missing as a child, Elphana takes a special "liking" to him when he is finally found again. She focuses her entire being on him and Grainne, since they are the key to her salvation. Due to his gentle character, who resembles her when she was still young and with her twin brother, she secretly wishes for him to be her successor in order to pass her cruel fate unto him.

Grainne
Unlike Finn, who is raised up far away from the clan's castle, Grainne grows up with her family, constantly striving for her mother's approval. However, Elphana often gets irritated with her because Grainne alone cannot save her, and she nurtures her inferiority complex in the hope that Grainne might grow jealous of her brother once he has been found.

Luana
Although Luana, similar to Grainne, constantly gives her best to please her mother, Elphana hardly ever notices her at all since she only has eyes for the twins. Nevertheless, she thinks that Luana is a precious tool in order to breed discord between the twins, especially because of Grainne's former close relationship with her younger sister.

Tulcha
She discarded her once she was born. Afterwards, she never thought once about the child (which is why Tulcha is desperate to get her killed one day).

Goll
They have an affair despite Elphana's marriage, which results in the birth of Tulcha and the death of her husband. Although Goll honestly cares for her, Elphana simply sees him as a tool, just as everyone else around her.

Trivia/Writer's Corner
There's still lots to explore about this character, and many aspects of her backstory are still a mystery to me. But I mostly feel sorry for her.;;;; Although she might seem like a villain from Finn's and Grainne's POV, she's pretty much the biggest victim in this mess.

The name "Elphana" stems from Elphane, the Celtic goddess of death and disease (similar to the Roman Hecate).