Description
Like a fresh tilled field, the scent of moist, musky soil seems to
linger about this maiden. Standing at roughly five feet, nine inches
tall, her ivory skin has been tanned a healthy brown. Her once small
breasts have gained a natural curve, just as her slim hips have widened
into womanhood.
Thin but toned, her arms and long, muscular legs are covered in
swirling streaks of dyes and dirt. Ranging in colors from tan to green
and finally black, they combine to form a tortoise shell pattern
flowing down her arms and legs. Several faint scars cross her callused
hands while her long fingers end in ragged nails. In rich shades of
henna, an ornate circular design has been tattooed on her left palm.
About her waist, she wears a small sharp knife with a serrated edge
opposite the blade, though it seems more a tool than a weapon.
As your gaze drifts towards her face, the first thing you notice is her
chestnut hair with tawny highlights. Adorned with flowers and twisted
into a free flowing mass of spiky tresses, it cascades down to the
small of her back. Whenever she turns her head, you catch a glimpse of
her slightly backswept and pointed ears, though not quite as pointed as
most other wood-elves. Streaks of green and tan crisscross her smooth
forehead and rounded cheeks, while a black streak runs down her broad
nose. Her almond-shaped, azure eyes are an icy blue reminiscent of the
deep ocean, while her steady gazes seems to take in everything around
her.
Role
The Meaning of her Forms: An Evolution. ( Part II )
Added Sat Dec 18 23:14:18 2004 at level 48:
|
| Aesrira is still searching for the meaning of the beasts
| within, but here are her thoughts so far.
|
| Timber Wolf - On this she is fairly certain. She believes the
| wolf represents her pack nature. The need for family and the fact
| the she considers the other Hunters as her family.
|
| Porcupine - Protective and nurturing as the mother, yet not
| surprisingly with sharp quills. As a mother must often cuff the cubs
| to keep them safe or when they go astray. And yet, there is also a
| bit of the Crone to be as well, as even a blooming rose has thorns.
| And those quills that may gently cuff a cub, may one day also stick
| and cull the fields.
|
| Alligator - This is the beast she is least sure of, for the
| Crone has yet to come and she is still ripe with youth and a
| Mother's love. Something that will never truly leave her, she hopes.
| Yet, although this beast has the Bite of the Crone, one can see a
| bit of the maiden if they know how to see. It may swim the seas wild
| and free. It is full of life, regenerating, just as the maiden is
| full of youth.
|
| So, as she looks to the beasts that are within her, she is
| more convinced than ever that she was right and Alanathariella was
| wrong. There is no choice. She is proof of that. Now she must begin
| exploring fully these beasts within if she is to gain insight into
| her weavings. The insight, she believes Alanathariella is
| withholding from herself and her students.
|
Another Realization: A Conversation with Rixljyn about the Porcupine.
Added Wed Dec 22 05:23:24 2004 at level 51:
|
| It had been a long hunt. The Citymen were running in a mighty
| herd and had taken our bone. Karrel and I were sniffing about,
| slithering in to strike like the snake only to slither out again.
| It was hard fought but we eventually caught the herd unaware and
| retrieved our beloved bone.
|
| Afterwards, I caught the scent of an Armadillo near our Tree.
| At first, I thought it might be Rixljyn, so I began sniffing him to
| try and catch his scent. It turns out the Armadillo was actually
| another cityman, but we began speaking Rixljyn and I. I told him a
| bit about my beliefs on Shifting and how it relates to the Coven,
| and he shared how Shazirah released the snake within him. It was
| then that he told me of the Porcupine's Dilemma.
|
| The essence of the story is that porcupines who wish to mate
| have a problem getting intimate. The closer they get to each other
| the more harm they do. It's a lesson from the beasts and meant to
| describe peoples relationships and the trials and tribulations
| they place on themselves and each other in the name of love.
|
| It was later, as I was curled up around the tree that I
| realized this could very well describe myself. The pain of my birth
| that still haunts me. The void in my life that has never been
| filled. The fact that I still am not comfortable showing affection
| without becoming the beast within. This could very well describe
| me! Perhaps this is yet another reason why the Porcupine has
| emerged from my being.
|
| I think I've found yet another nugget of truth but as always
| the searching continues.
|
The Road to Mastery: A New Beginning
Added Wed Dec 29 13:13:02 2004 at level 51:
|
| I have finished my guildstudies, such as they were, but is it an
| ending? It does not feel like one. It feels rather like one cycle is
| ending and yet another beginning. It is as if I have come through a
| long winter only to begin anew in the springtime of my life.
|
| When I was just a cub, ignorant and innocent, it was my spring. I
| left my Once Kin in search of the guildhalls to learn their ways and
| study my art. But just as spring turns to summer, so too did I turn
| back toward my woodland home and leave the guildhalls behind. I roamed
| the wilds and felt the first stirrings of the beasts within. And as
| summer faded to fall, the beasts within began to howl. I found new
| insights into my being, my nature and my very soul. But now that winter
| has come and gone, it seems that springtime begins a new for me. What
| does it mean?
|
| Is there ever an ending, or even a beginning for that matter? The
| Cycle is truly Eternal, that I know. I have often said the same of the
| Hunt. Is this perhaps just a different kind of Hunt? If so, and I think
| it true, then my search has just begun. I must struggle all the harder
| to understand these beasts within me. I must delve into my nature and
| divine the meaning of these beasts. I will embrace these instincts,
| even when they frighten me. The Chase is on, as fresh as the first
| time. It almost makes me feel like a cub again.
|
Summary: Lifetime Goals and Pursuits (Part I)
Added Fri Jan 7 21:36:00 2005 at level 51:
|
| 1) Continue to embrace my animal instincts in order to better
| understand my true being and nature.
|
| 2) Continue to seek the Coven and embrace its wisdom and teachings.
|
| She sees this as a core component to her soul and perhaps a balm to
| ease her pain. It is not just a set of beliefs but a way of life to
| her. It saturates her entire being.
|
| 3) Continue to teach and nurture the cubs about the Wilds, the Outlands
| and the Coven.
|
| This is one of the true joys of her life.
|
| 4) Continue to teach the Village-Pack about living free though the
| Hunt.
|
| 5) Make contact with the Wood-elves of Eryn Galen to discuss their use
| of Adamantite.
|
| She believes this may help, at least in part, to heal the rift
| between her and her once kin.
|
| 6) Continue to hunt for teachers outside the guilds to train the cubs.
|
| Although her own guild studies are done, this is important to her.
| Perhaps she will even seek to encourage the wise woman, the ranger, and
| the hunter of the refuge to pass on their studies and teach the cubs.
| Perhaps even the Spirit, the Huntress or Lin-Ha as well.
|
|
| Most likely there will be more to come as time and people inspire her.
|
My Last Name, My Nature
Added Fri Jan 14 21:41:12 2005 at level 51:
|
| My last name connects me to my Mother, her Clan and her Kin.
| And although there is a rift between my once kin over their use
| of that foul metal Adamantite, I still treasure her unknown memory.
| Her last name, Tiril'Taureba is an ancient one. It harkens back
| almost to the sundering of my once kin from the high born. A
| sundering lost now in the mists of time. In my mother's tongue it
| means the Devoted Protector of the Forest Home. But I have often
| wondered about this name and its meaning to me.
|
| As with my beasts within, I believe its spirit lies within me.
| It is as I embrace my true nature that it will find expression through
| me. I believe it is through such searching within that one can truly
| see without.
|
| Of all the pack or perhaps I should say herd, I speak of hunting
| the most, yet do so the least. What does that mean? It is true I feel a
| bond with the Refuge and incomplete without our bone. When the Huntress
| cries out in pain, it is as if my own flesh is rended. But am I truly
| protecting the Forest Home, the wilds not just the Refuge? If one
| measures protecting by pulling down prey, then perhaps not. But I
| wonder, perhaps I do protect, just in a different way.
|
| I have shown young invokers not of the pack other ways to practice
| their art then disturbing the mating of the fishes in the streams. I
| have taught many young cubs how better to live off the land rather then
| supporting the cities. I often take young cubs seeking the pack to Eryn
| Galen to let them sniff the stench and see the foul metal.
|
| It is within me to teach and nurture others how to minimize their
| harm to the wilds that much I know. And if I raise cubs who will one day
| become hunters, then perhaps their hunt will be as my own. Will I one
| day take a more direct role in the Hunt? Perhaps when the Crone is upon
| me more strongly, or perhaps not. Who can tell what the future holds?
| Certainly not this cub.
|
The Ancients, Instincts and Slavery
Added Fri Jan 14 21:51:10 2005 at level 51:
|
| A cub is birthed from its mother. Its instincts are deep inside,
| sleeping, slumbering, much like the Ancients. In many ways, I see the
| Ancients as our instincts, yet we are still not aware enough to know
| them fully. I believe this is why only the wisest of us know even the
| smallest part of their mind.
|
| It has often been asked, mostly by foolish citymen such as
| Klendalstak, how we could be free if we obey the Ancients. But I see
| the Ancients as our unawakened instincts. They only ask us to do what
| we would wish to if we were but aware enough to know it.
|
| When I look out upon my Pack, my Family, I see hunters of the Night,
| the Sun, the Moon and more. From what I know of the Ancients, they are
| as varied or more so than all the hunters combined, each calling more
| strongly to certain wolves of the pack than others. I wonder if this is
| in part why Tjok may now give birth to any hunter in the Pack. He is
| ancient and wise and like me walks between the Sun and the Night. Which
| Ancients call to him the loudest? Can he hear the whispering of the
| Ancients of the Sun and Night just at the edge of his hearing?
|
The Language Of The Beast
Added Tue Feb 1 11:41:42 2005 at level 51:
|
| Its odd this human manor of speech. I feel very vocal, very social,
| like a wolf howling or an alligator with big jaws. Yet, when speaking
| with some of the hunters, tis broken speech I use. Is this the
| beginning of the beast taking hold? It's true that when it comes to
| human customs and rituals I look to the beasts for guidance. Whether it
| be the touching of paws on meeting or the sniffing of strangers to get
| their scent. Maybe there is a little Chameleon with in me, mimicking
| what I see. Or perhaps it is just my way of bonding with those to whom
| I speak, for I often switch depending on who is howling in my ear. Tis
| an odd feeling and one I must explore, perhaps it is a bit of both, so
| much is still a mystery to me.
|
The Meaning of her Forms: An Evolution.
Added Fri Dec 3 22:59:22 2004 at level 29:
|
| Aesrira believes that by embracing her animal instincts she will
| learn of the beasts within her. These are not just words to her.
| Rather, she will begin to take on the behaviors and mannerisms of the
| beasts she learns.
|
| HedgeHOG, Pachyderm - represent an increased appetite.
|
| Perhaps this is just her quirky sense of humor, or perhaps its
| real. It will start as an increased appetite for food and gradually
| progress to an increased appetite for her desires. These animals
| represent what is driving her forward in her dreams and desires.
|
| Turtle - Steady progress toward her goals.
|
| The means to achieve her desires and dreams.
|
| Ultimately these changes in behavior and mannerisms will extend to
| include physical aspects as well. These aspects will be subtle, not
| dramatic, and include things such as eye color, eye shape, skin tone,
| hair, etc, similar to Alanathariella, headmistress of the Darsylon
| shifter guild, a major figure in her young life. The evolution of these
| physical aspects is meant to represent her mastery of her craft so it
| will only begin as she nears the end of her studies and will only
| involve the major beasts with in her.
|
Animals in Pet shops, Tjok's Wisdom.
Added Wed Dec 1 04:17:52 2004 at level 23:
|
| I have discussed the matter with Tjok. He was not as shocked as I
| feared he would be, but after meeting him I am not surprised. Even my
| young eyes can see the great store of wisdom in him. There is much from
| him that I can learn. Yet, their pain still calls to me. So with Tjok's
| blessing, I will still seek the council of Amaranthe. There must be a
| way, their pain can not continue.
|
Induction
Added Wed Dec 1 00:11:51 2004 at level 23:
|
| It seemed liked the hand of Amaranthe was guiding me. After a
| successful hunt, I returned to the refuge to tell the Huntress, when
| out of the bushes came Tjok. We began speaking of Thar-Eris, the Coven,
| and shifters past. I could tell that he was sniffing me, checking my
| scent, as is only proper. When he asked me to follow him, and then
| casually asked if I knew the forest way from the Refuge to Tahril, I
| thought he might want me to show him. Instead, he brought me into the
| fold and welcomed me as a hunter-born. If I had known his mind I would
| have asked him to wait, but he is older and wiser and I can not yet
| fathom his mind and his ways.
|
| So I was born anew by the hand of Tjok and not Amaranthe. Will I ever
| find a mother to fill the void?
|
| Perhaps this is the way it was meant to be. There were two wounds in my
| life. Having lost my mother with my birth and having never known a
| father. My Grandfather did try but he was too consumed with grief over
| the loss of his daughter.
|
| Does Tjok know? Or even suspect, he has a daughter now? Well no. It
| takes more than birth to make a father. I know that only too well. But
| I do feel a bond to him. And who can tell what will grow from this
| seed? I feel like a cub nipping about his heels.
|
Searching for a guild: The Cities
Added Sat Nov 27 03:37:10 2004 at level 5:
|
| After helping Simon in the academy, and then doing a favor for
| Olgakar, I spent some time wandering the lands and ended up visiting
| more cities than I ever thought existed. I feel I've seen just about
| every city. The stink, the noise, the waste. The hopelessness in the
| eyes of beggars. The unabashed greed of the thieves in the streets,
| matched only by the merchants lusting after shiny golden coins. The
| guards on the street holding the masses at bay. But the worst, the
| absolute worst, were the pet shops I saw in Hamsah and Galadon. I
| shudder to think there may even be others I do not know about, I may
| have to search the stink of the cities for them. Those poor dear caged
| animals denied their freedom to roam the untainted woodlands. Oh, how
| it makes my blood burn! But more on that later when I am calmer and
| can think straight.
|
| For now I need to find someplace green, a small village perhaps. I
| think I will visit Hillcrest and Darsylon next.
|
My major and minor focus chosen at Galadon.
Added Sat Nov 27 03:38:48 2004 at level 5:
|
| Before heading off to Hillcrest, I found myself passing through
| Galadon. I am not sure why but I decided to stop by the guildhall
| there. I met the guildmaster and he was as disagreeable a man as any in
| that stinking city. You could practically smell the stench of it on
| him, even through his dark fur robe. He immediately began demanding I
| choose my focus of study. When I hesitated, he pounced and would not
| relent. Like a deer sighting a hungry bear, I panicked and squeaked,
| defense and offense, before running out of the guild and almost
| knocking Caelruli off his feet as I passed. It was only later when I
| was calmer that I realized the truth, my interests lie in all animals,
| as each is beautiful in its own way and manner. I am not sure I believe
| in these preconceived notions that the guildhall teaches.
|
Training Wisdom
Added Sat Nov 27 03:39:49 2004 at level 5:
|
| I've arrived in Hillcrest. It is better than the others, but still
| far from the clean woods. There is a farmer but at least he confines
| himself to a small side of the village. Yet there are guards running
| around and worse, a mine. A stinking hole dug into the ground like a
| gaping wound, even though a small one and nothing like the scars the
| dwarves have wrought.
|
| Still the gnomes have some wisdom, and that is part of the Crone.
| So I will train here with them for a time and learn what I can. Though,
| of course, true wisdom will only come with time and seeking. Tis good
| to keep a swift eye and a sharp ear.
|
Choosing a guild: Darsylon
Added Sat Nov 27 03:41:22 2004 at level 5:
|
| I think my time with the gnomes was time well spent. But now I
| wish some green under my feet, so I have made my way to Darsylon. It's
| good to be back in the woods, and the elves of Arendyl seem to have
| some understanding of nature and its ways.
|
| However, I was disappointed to see the city itself. The huge,
| ornate palace and grand marketplace seems to be its heart. You can not
| walk three paces without bumping into a guard. If they are so worried
| about an invasion, then why do they not hide in the woods outside the
| city, waiting to pounce on anyone who dares attack? It seems they are
| more concerned with keeping the masses at bay. And, of course, the same
| old attitudes about half-elves seems to have followed me from Eryn
| Galen.
|
| Still the guildhall seems to have been formed from within a living
| tree and the headmistress, Alanathariella, seems to have a great store
| of knowledge. I look forward to finding out if she has the wisdom to
| match it. I have begun my studies.
|
Life in the Daryslon Shapeshifters guild.
Added Sat Nov 27 08:11:09 2004 at level 9:
|
| What a foolish notion I had, the coldness I have known all my life
| has followed me here. If anything, it is even worse. I am far behind
| most of the other students. They seem a pampered sort, coming from rich
| families. What do they know of survival? They would be lost in the
| woods with no choice but to curl up into a ball and die. Most of these
| elves seem almost as bad as city-men. They laugh at my dress, and make
| sport when I miscast a cantrip.
|
| Alanathariella is different though. I'm always asking odd
| questions, and she never laughs. Her knowledge is great and I can see
| there is some wisdom within her. Though, I'm not sure I agree with her
| philosophy of magic.
|
Ventriloquate
Added Sat Nov 27 08:12:09 2004 at level 9:
|
| She often uses Ventriloquate as a tool to interact with mobs.
| Sometimes, it actually feels as if they are truly talking back to her.
| Other times she does know on some level that she is just talking to
| herself, perhaps a symptom of her loneliness and longing for a family?
| Yet, still other times it is just the girlish nature of the maiden
| playing a harmless trick.
|
My view on shapeshifting: A discussion with Alanathariella
Added Sat Nov 27 11:56:35 2004 at level 15:
|
| I've been uneasy for some time with the teachings of
| Alanathariella. It's not that I doubt her knowledge, you have only to
| look into her eyes to see her success. It is her emphasis on formal
| weavings, formulae and ordered patterns of magic that bother me. She
| has us practicing standard weaving techniques over and over again. I
| believe her orderly approach to magic will eventually limit us from
| making the next leap forward in our craft.
| Perhaps it's just the impetuous of youth, of the maiden, to doubt her,
| but I feel it in my very soul. I may well be wrong, but I will never
| truly know if I do not try.
|
| There are two main points on which we disagree. The first is that
| I believe our animal forms come from within us and that this insistence
| on a choice of focus is irrelevant. Of course, Alanathariella believes
| this is nonsense, and says so every time I bring it up.
|
| The second and more important point is that I believe one needs to
| embrace their animal instincts to better their weave. It is through
| such an embrace that new insights into the weave itself can be gleaned.
| This is why I think Alanathariella is holding us and to a lesser extent
| herself back. By only studying the formal weavings, we will never gain
| the next level of insight to better our weave and truly become one with
| our inner beasts. She seems on the cusp of it, but I intend to try and
| take it further.
|
| I do not know what forms will manifest within myself, in truth, it
| does not matter as long as they are a true reflection of my inner
| being, as I believe they will be. I fear there is nothing more I can
| learn here. I will never find my first form in this place and under her
| instruction. So I am leaving to seek myself in the woodlands. It is
| only there that I will be able to release my first form from my being.
|
| Alanathariella herself wished me well, and bade me to return if I
| grew tired of the wild woodlands. I am glad for that, but I wonder what
| she will do when I return to the city one day and deprive her of the
| services of the merchants and those guards that always looked askance
| at me?
|
Wands, Staves, Scrolls, Potions, Pills
Added Sat Nov 27 11:57:16 2004 at level 15:
|
| Perhaps it is a foolish notion, but it seems to me as if the magic
| within these artifacts wants to be free, much as the forms within me
| bide their time waiting for their own release. I'm beginning to think
| that magic is more chaotic than orderly, so if there is some truth in
| that, then perhaps there is some truth is this. In any event, it gives
| me great joy to use these artifacts and release their magic.
|
Shapeshifting and the Coven
Added Sat Nov 27 23:40:28 2004 at level 16:
|
| Sitting in the woods, communing with the animals, has given me
| time to contemplate the relationship between my shapeshifting and
| the Coven. I know that foul Guildmaster in Galadon pestered me into
| choosing Defense and Offense as my foci, but I still question if it
| really has any meaning.
|
| I believe my forms are within and not without. So, perhaps it
| was Providence taking a hand even if that guildmaster knew it not.
| Within the Coven there is the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone. As
| I ponder it, I am beginning to think that the aspect of the Mother
| within me is what gives rise to these more defensive animal forms,
| since the mother is a nurturer and protectress. Just as it is the
| aspect of the Crone that will one day manifest itself in me that
| will give rise to the more offensive animal forms, since it is she
| that culls the weeds of the garden. But for now, I am just a
| maiden.
|
| It has raised an interesting question though, what animal
| forms would best represent the Maiden? At first I could not decide
| between Air and Water, since each give a freedom that I think is
| representative of the maiden. But now I wonder, could she be best
| represented by Utility? It is a blending of both offense and
| defense, just as the Maiden is the precursor to both the Mother and
| the Crone. Tis something I will enjoy pondering and discussing.
|
Pet Shops in Galadon and Hamsah, perhaps elsewhere
Added Sat Nov 27 23:47:15 2004 at level 16:
|
| I have been considering the plight of the animals now that I
| am a bit calmer, and have come to the following conclusions:
|
| 1) The suffering of these animals can not be ignored. They must be
| liberated and taught to once again live free.
|
| 2) The people hunting and capturing these animals must be
| slaughtered as prey.
|
| 3) The shopkeeper must be stopped by any means necessary. It does
| not matter that they may love these animals as pets, that is akin
| to a master loving his slave before selling him to another, it is
| no love at all!
|
| I have to balance the use of coins against the continued
| suffering of the caged animals, both are evils that must be
| stopped. If I buy an animal I can teach it to live free, but if I
| do not they will suffer in their cage or live as a pet for some
| cityman, never knowing true freedom. Still it is supporting the
| industry, but at least the animals they hunt have a chance at
| freedom, which is more than these poor creatures have.
|
| The only other thing that troubles me is a chance meeting I
| had with a druid of the Refuge, by the name of Viviarong. He took
| one look at me and saw a shimmering stone I carried and a copper
| ring I wore and decided I stank of civilization! He assumed I had
| purchased them from a merchant. And assumption which was wrong and
| things did go better when I explained that I barter for my needs,
| and only found the ring. Still, can you imagine what he would say
| if he saw me leading an animal from one of those shops?!
|
| However, I must be resolute. This is too important an issue.
| What mother could willingly see her children enslaved and do
| nothing? If the gods, goddesses, or leaders of the Refuge tell me
| it is wrong then I will stop, even if it breaks my heart to do so.
|
Hometown: Jade Mountains and the Mask of Jade.
Added Sat Nov 27 23:55:21 2004 at level 16:
|
| Hopefully I will one day move to the Jade Mountains and have the
| chance to live among the jade elves. I am still an outsider there but
| at least it is not because of the circumstances of my birth or my half-
| human nature. They seem to treat all outsiders the same. Perhaps I will
| have better luck than Tyluthien did and one day earn their trust.
|
| The Jade mask seems to have some ritual significance to the tribal
| Jade elves, so I have taken to wearing it. But there is another reason.
| Perhaps it is the maiden in me, but the story of Tyluthien and
| Lallenyha has struck a cord within my heart. It reminds me of my own
| loss of mother and home.
|
Induction as Birth
Added Sun Nov 28 02:32:15 2004 at level 18:
|
| Perhaps it is a foolish notion, but I have come to think of
| being brought into the refuge as being born. A birth untouched by
| sorrow and pain. If the Harbinger and the other wild ones of the
| outland accept me as one of their own, then it would delight my
| heart, if sacred Amaranthe would bring me into the refuge by her
| hand. Perhaps then I could call her mother and truly fill the void
| left in my life.
|
| And perhaps, just perhaps, when the Mother begins to manifest
| itself within me, and I grow wise enough in the ways of the woods,
| I might serve the Refuge as Harbinger. Nothing would please me more
| than serving as its mother and bringing new life to the Refuge. Oh,
| such silly dreams I have! Am I still awake? I must have fallen
| asleep while scribbling, but who can tell the future?
|
Outlander: A Home at last.
Added Sun Nov 28 02:31:24 2004 at level 18:
|
| Having heard of the wild men and woman of the Outlands, I now seek
| to find them. There is something about their way of life that calls to
| me, a unity of spirit that is most appealing. Perhaps with them I will
| find a family. I shall begin seeking them out to learn of them and
| their ways.
|
As with all entries concerning my beliefs...
Added Sat Nov 27 00:10:16 2004 at level 1:
|
| Just as life itself, my beliefs are an evolution. I have no doubt
| that some of what I write is just the foolishness of a young maiden,
| all I can say is that at the time it seemed important and true. But
| just as the cub must learn to be the adult, so too must I learn as I
| grow. If my beliefs stand the test of time then I will build on them to
| reach new heights of wisdom and knowledge. But if they are proven
| false, I will tear them asunder and build anew.
|
Last Name
Added Sat Nov 27 00:09:25 2004 at level 1:
|
| I've taken the last name of my mother, since my father is unknown
| and I would not want his name even if I knew it. It is because I never
| knew my mother, nor had the chance to know her love, that her name is
| so important to me. It is the only way I have of remaining close to
| her, even if only in this small way.
|
Thoughts on Alignment and Ethos
Added Sat Nov 27 00:07:59 2004 at level 1:
|
| She is neutral in Alignment, in part because she was raised among
| the wood-elves but mostly because she sees animals as being morally
| neutral. Neither good nor evil, their actions are guided by instinct
| not morality. It will be a growing process for her as she learns to
| embrace her own animalistic instincts.
|
| She is neutral in Ethos. Her actions have started out orderly and
| her chaos is expressed mainly through her magic. As will all things,
| this will ebb and flow. Most likely she will become more chaotic as she
| begins to embrace her forms. If asked, she might talk about the
| predator deliberately stalking its prey vs the wild growth of a forest.
|
| See future entries on her thoughts on shapeshifting for more
| information.
|
Leave taking: A broader view
Added Sat Nov 27 00:06:48 2004 at level 1:
|
| She is leaving to study shapeshifting that much is true, but there
| are at least two other reasons and it is not clear if she realizes them
| yet. If not, they will undoubtedly become clear to her in time.
|
| The first is that she terribly misses not having a mother. Having
| never known her own mother has left a void in her life and she is
| seeking someone to fill it. Even if she does not realize it yet.
| Possibly this void might be filled by Amaranthe, but more on that
| later.
|
| The second is her longing for a home and a place where she truly
| feels she belongs. This is one of the reasons she will be seeking the
| company of the Outlanders. She feels a shared belief and a bond with
| them.
|
Leaving to learn the art of Shapeshifting
Added Sat Nov 27 00:04:18 2004 at level 1:
Illegal name, try another.
Name: rs I think, I'm not really sure. I live by
| the rising and setting of the sun and the changing of the seasons. The
| tugging at my soul has never gone away, if anything it seems stronger
| now than ever. At times, I can almost, though not quite, feel what my
| animal companions are feeling. When a deer darts it head up at a sudden
| noise, a muted sense of fright comes over me. When a wolf growls in the
| forest, guarding his kill, I can almost taste the blood in my mouth.
| Perhaps it is a foolish notion, just the silly daydreams of a young
| maiden, but it has brought me to a decision. I intend to start studying
| in the guild of shapeshifters. After all, I've always felt more at home
| in the woods with the animals than I ever did in Eryn Galen.
|
| As I was heading back to tell my grandfather, I was met by a
| messenger with the news of his passing. I did not think I had been in
| the forest that long, but it seems my grandfather had finally succumbed
| to the grief that had haunted him most of his life. I rushed home and
| offered a prayer to Amaranthe over his body, and as we laid him to rest
| in the ground, my grief was tempered with the knowledge that he has now
| joined the great cycle.
|
| With no other ties to Eryn Galen, I decided it was time to leave.
| After so long alone in the woods among the animals, the wood-elves
| attitude toward me felt like a slap in the face, even though in truth
| they were not unkind, just distant. Still, I had little interest in
| studying here in their guildhall. Instead, I decided to find another
| guild in another city to begin my training. So, with one last,
| lingering look at the woods of my home, I left to find my calling.
|
Life in the woods among the animals
Added Sat Nov 27 00:01:26 2004 at level 1:
|
| Living alone in the woods was the most peaceful time I had ever
| known. My closest companions became the animals of the forest. There
| was a bond between us, almost an unspoken understanding of each others
| needs. I spent days simply watching them stalking each other, prey
| running from predator, only to turn predator themselves when they found
| their own prey. I would practice stalking them as they stalked me,
| becomming one with the great circle of life.
|
| I lived in the open and washed myself in the blessed rain. There
| were no prying eyes, or shame at my human heritage. I often walked
| naked through the woods, letting the sun dry and tan my skin. For the
| first time in my life I could almost say I was happy, except there
| still seemed to be something missing... Some tugging at my soul that I
| could not quite explain or even put into words.
|
Growing up in Eryn Galen
Added Fri Nov 26 23:59:58 2004 at level 1:
|
| After my mother's death, I was taken in by my grandfather. He was
| a kindly, old wood-elf who had been a ranger in his youth. I did not
| lack for food or clothing, or any other necessities of life, but he was
| distant. I was told that just after my birth he was too grief stricken
| to even take care of me and that instead a neighbor woman took me in
| for a time. But just as winter must eventually fade to spring, his
| grief lifted slightly as I grew into a child.
|
| Some of my fondest memories are of him teaching me his woodcraft.
| He began by showing me the proper way to make a fire. protecting the
| forest from the flames. We ground up berries to make dyes, applying it
| to my face and body. He explained that one should only take what the
| forest was willing to offer, such as berries that have fallen when
| ripe, or branches that are on the ground rather than off a living tree.
| It was in this way that he taught me the respect for nature that both
| he and his daughter had shared. He also insisted I learn to use the
| dagger, staff and whip to defend myself, it seemed very important to
| him. Perhaps he feared I might fall to my mother's fate here in these
| same woods. Yet during all his teachings there was a sadness in his
| eyes and a distant tiredness in his voice that would not go away.
|
| Our time together in the woods was a welcome relief from life in
| the city. Word had spread quickly among the close knit wood-elves
| concerning the tragedy of my conception and birth. Perhaps my presence
| was a reminder of the dangers they faced every day with vile, Velkyn
| Oloth so near, or perhaps it was my half-human nature or that they
| blamed me for causing my mother's death. Though now years in the past,
| they still tended to be cold and distant. If I came across a group of
| them, more often than not they would simply make polite excuses about
| other matters needing their attention and leave me alone. When I was
| but a child and looking to play with the other children, where ever I
| looked I would always find they had just moved elsewhere.
|
| As I grew older and began to look more and more like my mother, my
| grandfather's grief returned as winter after an all too brief summer.
| He began to retire to his home and I was left alone. I could see that
| my presence was only bringing him pain, so I took to spending more and
| more time alone in the forest.
|
My Birth
Added Fri Nov 26 23:55:43 2004 at level 1:
|
| By all accounts, my mother was a beautiful young maiden, a druid
| in the service of Lady Amaranthe's Coven. Petite and slim hipped, she
| was unsuited for childbirth, as was her mother before her. Perhaps that
| is why she sought to sow life through her plantings in the woods
| outside of Eryn Galen, it was her way of honoring the Maiden.
|
| I say, by all accounts, because I never knew my mother. Some of
| the more spiritual of the wood-elves would say that my birth was an ill
| omen, the harbinger of my mother's death, just as her mother died
| birthing her. Perhaps there is some truth in that, or perhaps she so
| loved me that she was willing to take the risk in my birthing, or just
| perhaps it was fickle fate. Sadly, I will never know for sure.
|
| What I do know is that one day while walking in the woods,
| planting her seeds and tending the new growth, my mother was taken upon
| by a man, a human guard from Velkyn Oloth. I can only shudder at the
| thought of his black armor burning her as he pushed down upon her and
| had his way with her. Ravaged and weakened, she managed to crawl away
| when he fell into a drunken slumber, his lust sated. But on that dark
| day, a child was conceived, and as the seasons passed, I was born.
|
Family Synopsis
Added Fri Nov 26 23:54:00 2004 at level 1:
|
| Mother: Aelandil
| Father: Unknown guard in Velkyn Oloth
| Grand Father: Cerridwyn
| Grand Mother: Asarayeme
| Siblings: None
| Family Name: Tiril'Taureba
|
| Her mother was a druid of the Coven dedicated to fertility and the
| Maiden. She was raped by a guard in Velkyn Oloth. She died in child
| birth, as did her mother before her.
|
| Aesrira was raised by her grandfather in Eryn Galen
|
| Meaning of her Family Name as Per the Lyceum:
|
| tir - to watch over, protect -> tir
| -(n)dil - suffix, implies devotion -> -il
| taure - woods, forest -> taure
| bar - dwelling, home -> ba
|
| Tiril'Taureba - Devoted Protector of the Forest Home
|
| Attempted to convert to wood-elf by making it a bit simpler, and more
| primitive.
|