Songfire In a time of great unrest between the young provinces of the land, during the beginning of the first elven war, great scandal errupted in one of the noble houses of Therengia. The daughter of the house Parashi, it seemed, had had a child out of wedlock with a lowely halfling. This daughter, Rojanda, was already thought to be a child of pure evil, her blazing red hair and remarkable beauty made her an easy target of hatred; also, she spent much of her time playing with the baby dryads of the forest, the dryad being the symbol of poverty. When this rumor of a child circulated around town, the citizens were very prone to believe it. Little did they know, however, that she was actually carrying two children in her, a boy and a girl. Because she knew she would be outcast if it was ever found out that she had actually been pregnant, Rojanda knew she must get rid of the children. Giving birth secretly in a midwifery house in the country, she devised a plan that would rid her of the children forver. She deposited the baby girl in a reed basket and sent her afloat in a nearby river, hoping it would flow southerly to the budding town of Langenfirth, where someone would hopefully find the child. For the baby boy, she had a different plight in mind. She returned back to Therenborough, hiding her features in a deeply cowled cloak. In a patch of forest beyond the city, the hailed one of her dryad friends; kissing the child on the forehead, and handing him over to the dryad. Rojanda returned to Therenborough, forcing herself to erase any memories of the children from her mind... Twenty years later, the baby girl had blossomed into a shy, innocent young woman. Tayani, as she was called, lived in a small cottage with her parents (whom were the two halflings who found her floating down the river) in the sleepy town of Arthe Dale. On one blustery morning, the taffelberry bushes withered and the sky grew dark. The curious halflings, horrified at the withering of their most precious crop, investigated to what the problem was. When they reached the small gate to the village, a darkened mage clothed completely in black greeted the party of halflings. He proceeded to naughtly tickle the furry toes of the halflings until they told him where the river child was. Since all the halflings knew the legend of the child floating down the river, they fearfully led the hooded man to the cottage of Tayani. The mage then whistled an eerie tune, to which several dryads appeared and captured the halflings. The dark mage then entered the cottage, turning his chilling gaze to the frail woman huddled in the corner. The mage chuckled an evil laugh and smote Tayani’s father, seriously wounding him. Tayani, horrified, then watched as he drew back his hand towards her mother. As if by some unseen force, Tayani raised her trembling hands towards the mage and closed her eyes. Two balls of the brightest flame lept from her palms, striking the dark figure. Mortally hurt, the mage gasped to Tyani that he was her long lost brother and he had come to take her back to live with the dryads. Shocked and hurt, Tayani ran forward and embraced her brother, watching him perish in her arms. After that day, the dryads left Arthe Dale and the taffelberry bushes sprouted their jucy berries once more; Tayani was henceforth known as the heroin of the berry. Living out her days peacefully in Arthe Dale, Tayani had but one child, a baby girl, late in life whom she taught the ways of gentleness, humility, and respect. When Tayani perished in the winter seventeen years later, her child was left to be raised by her grandparents. This tartsniffer of a halfling, Songfire, turned very rebellious after her mother died. In one fatefull night, she snuck out of her grandparents house and headed out of the sleepy village of Arthe Dale to try her luck in the big city, the Crossings. She was taught the hard ways of citylife very quickly, forced to live in the Halfpint Inn, working as a barmaid. She eventually saved up enough money to join the Bardic Guild, music being her only passion in life, and joined at the age of twenty. She retained the characterisitcs her mother had taught her in the quiet sactum of the darkened performance halls and realized that she needed meaning in her life. Attending a lecture one day given by the Mentors of Lorethw, Songfire was amazed at how learned and special this group was. She immidiatly undertook to joining this group of people, studying long hours of the night in the Asmeth Academy on tomes from the flora and fauna of Bosque Deriel to the practices of good etiquette. Eventually, Songfire felt ready to ask submission to the Mentors and was accepted. I am that young halfling, Songfire, and have been dedicated to helping others of Elanthia since that lecture many many years ago. I now have a child of my own, a baby girl says the Moon Mage, and can only wonder what will become of the fifth generation of Elanthian woman... |
Last Revised: 06/16/03 |