Zephirys
My mother rarely spoke of her childhood. She did tell me that her father had been
Human, nae Elothean like her mother. My father’s parents were pure Elothean, and they
could nae bear the thought of a “half-breed” in their family. They swore they
would disown my father if he continued to see my mother. My parents were wed on the first
day of the year 326, and my father never saw his parents again. My mother became pregnant
almost immediately, and my parents were delighted to have a child on the way. A month
before I was born, however, my father was killed while hunting alone and his body was
never recovered. My mother struggled to provide for me during those first few years.
When I was three, my mother met and fell in love with a kind Human man. He took me for a
walk along the river one day to tell me of their plans to marry. Years later, he loved to
tease me about my reaction... I had told him that my mother and I were a “package
deal”. They were married in the year 330, and I finally learned what it was like to
have a loving, attentive father. I adored him.
My sister Danaye was born in 332. She was very small, and nae at all plump the way I
thought babies should be. She could nae seem to tolerate mother’s milk, and naturally
my parents were worried and preoccupied with her frailty. I was allowed to hold her,
but nae to feed her or otherwise help in her care. I suppose it is also natural that
I would feel ignored, with all the attention the new baby was receiving. I spent long days
in the woods, roaming farther than a six-year-old probably should. Looking back, I’m
lucky I was nae eaten by a cougar or a bear.
On my seventh birthday, I was feeling particularly neglected and cross. I followed the
river upstream farther than I had ever gone before. Something caught my eye amongst the
boulders, and I went to investigate. I was surprised to find an unconscious Elven girl,
bruised all over, lying half in the water on the riverbank. Her skin felt cold and clammy,
and at first I thought she was dead. When I saw that she was breathing, I rolled her over
and dragged her away from the river to a drier spot. She was as big as I was, and it took
quite an effort just to drag her that short distance. I covered her with the woolen cape
my mother had made for me as a birthday present and sat with her until almost sunset. She
never awoke.
I made my way back downstream, but it was after dark when I arrived home. My parents were
frantic with worry, and my mother was none too happy that I had returned without my new
cape. My mother forbade me to leave the house the next day, but I could nae leave the
Elven girl to die! Why I didnae tell my parents about her right then, I donnae know.
Perhaps I didnae wish to share her. She was my discovery, my project, my secret. The next
morning I quietly grabbed a blanket, some warm clothing, dry food, and a waterskin, and
climbed out my window.
I found the Elven girl moaning and partially aware. I helped her into the warm pants and
shirt I had brought, and got her to eat a bit of food and drink some water. At last I was
useful! Someone needed ME! I spoke to her in Common, and she told me her name was
Dazzielle. She would nae tell me what had happened to her, just that all of her family and
friends were gone from this world. She said she was too weak and sore to move, so I left
her alone again when I returned home. I climbed back through my window before sunset, and
my parents never noticed I had been gone.
For several days, I brought Dazzielle food and kept her company, leaving her alone each
night. It gets very cold at night during that time of year, though. I decided I had to
bring her home with me the morning after the first snowfall, when I found her shivering
and damp. She leaned on me and I helped her all the way downstream to our house. My
parents welcomed her into our home, and adopted her soon after. While Dazzi is actually
some years older than I, I have always thought of her as my “younger sister”.
Elves do mature so much more slowly, ye know.
Danaye was almost a year and a half old when I discovered Dazzi. By the time she was two,
Danaye was as healthy as any other toddler. We three sisters grew up happily together.
When I was 19, I left the homestead to travel and learn more of our world.
Eventually, I found my way to The Crossing. It was so overwhelming! I must have found my
way to the biggest city in the world (or so I thought at the time). One of the first
people I met was a Paladin. He told me about the Moon Mage guild when I mentioned my
interests in magic and astronomy. He helped me buy armor and a weapon, and he took me
hunting for the first time (where I fumbled around holding a weapon in my left hand and
waving it at rats that were at missile range).
I was determined to be an independent woman. When a friend offered to open my
first goblin boxes, I asked him to teach me how to do it instead. Now I am better at
disarming and lockpicking than many Thieves. I loved climbing and swimming. Whenever I
traveled the Northern Trade Route between Crossing and hunting areas (like Rock Trolls,
Reavers, or Crocodiles), I would always stop at the park in Arthe Dale to climb the oak
tree and swim in the waterhole. Some of my Moon Mage friends called me a “Moon
Ranger” and scoffed at my pastimes. Many asked me why I would practice skills that
were nae required by my Guild Leader. The answer, of course, is that I enjoyed them!
I must admit that I do regret nae keeping as closely in touch with my family as I should
have during those carefree days. I sent them parchments about once a month, and despite
the dearth of reliable travelers heading that far in that direction, my family received
most of those letters. If I trusted the traveler, I sometimes sent money. In Crossing I
found that ye really can choose your family. It seems that adoption is the norm in these
lands. When one of my dearest friends said he would like to adopt me as his sister, I
agreed wholeheartedly. He’s a wonderful brother. I myself have adopted two sons, as
well.
Danaye and Dazzi made their way to Crossing to find me after our parents were murdered in
the year 351. They had been climbing up the hills one morning to enjoy a picnic with a
panoramic view. When they reached the top, they saw a dozen longboats filled with pirates
heading upriver towards our parents’ home. To our knowledge, nae pirates had ever
before come that far upstream. They must have carried their boats overland several
times to accomplish it. From a distance, over an hour away on foot, Danaye and Dazzi
watched in horror as the pirates killed our parents, torched the house, slaughtered the
animals and loaded the carcasses into their boats. The pirates had headed further
upstream, and would probably pass by again on their way back downstream. So, after my
sisters buried our parents they began the long trek to find me. They were young adults
themselves, and longing for adventure much the way I did at that age. They each joined a
guild, and I helped them get started in their new lives.
I grieved deeply and long for my parents. I hadnae seen them in years, hadnae hugged them,
couldnae say goodbye. During this period of my despair, a fellow Moon Mage (my favorite
teacher and a good friend) told me that he and his wife would like to adopt me. So what if
I was twenty-five years old? Do we stop needing parents when we become adults? I accepted
their offer, leaned on them, and cried to them, and their strength and support helped me
through that difficult period.
One day in the year 354, I was practicing magic and celestial observations alone on the
rooftop garden of the Pierless Inn in Riverhaven. It was a time of great frustration for
Moon Mages, some of whom complained that they would “never circle again”.
Circling was never that important to me, and I had excellent survival skills (part of
being a Moon Ranger), but I too was feeling some frustration. Suddenly, Saint Viani
appeared before me! After a brief silence, I asked if she wished to speak to me (good
guess, since I was the only one there). She said yes, and then said nothing more for a
long time. I suppose Saints have many distractions, aye? I waited quietly and with some
trepidation. Finally she smiled at me and asked if I would like to become a Mentor. Thus
began one of the most fulfilling phases of my life, helping newcomers to our realms.
Also in year 354, my friend Gavan (the Paladin who helped me so much when I first came to
these lands) returned from a lengthy pilgrimage and we began hunting together. I had
always admired his kindness and his honor. But now my feelings of respect and friendship
for Gavan blossomed into a deep, trusting love. In the month of Shorka the Cobra in
the year 356, Gavan proposed and I accepted.
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