Pathfinder - A New Journey
I was not one of the "cool" kids that played D&D when I was younger. Not that I wouldn't have, I was just never friends with anyone who played. I tried to get a campaign going a few years ago with some friends, but it never really took off. Flash forward to nearly 36 years old. I found a group of friends/coworkers who want to get something going, including an exceptionally creative person who graciously agreed to be our DM.
I've been working up a character for a while for this game we should be starting soon. I've gone so far as to write up a back story and design a custom miniature using heroforge.com. And I wanted to share those here.
My character's name is Sylrora Wysamaer - a Half-Elf Ranger. And this is her story:
Sylrora’s story starts with her father Beneger, a wealthy Ealdorman, calling for an healer when the Countess of Sterleigh, his wife, fell mysteriously ill. In a Elven village a couple days journey away Jhanandra Wysamaer, a beautiful, naieve, young elven healer, heard word of the humans need. Being of little means, she saw this as an opportunity to strike out on her own and and make a name for herself. Beneger, incredibly grateful that anyone had responded to his pleas, welcomed her into their home.
Over the weeks that followed the Countess showed little improvement. Beneger spent many nights along side Jhanandra caring for his wife. It looked bleak for the Countess and all the while Beneger fell more and more infatuated with the young elven healer. Thinking his wife was not long for this world, he allowed himself to act on these feelings. Jhanandra was reluctant at first, but Beneger’s charm and compassion won her over. It wasn’t long before the two of them would start sneaking off to spend time alone together.
The fates had other ideas for this trio though, as one day the Countess finally started to respond to the treatments. Within days she was vastly improved. Beneger was panic stricken with the position he was in. Thinking he could loose everything, he quickly sent Jhanandra away before his wife could learn about his indiscretion. Jhandandra left to return to her people, heartbroken and unbeknownst to Beneger, pregnant.
Being half-elf, Sylrora was never accepted into the elven world. Raised mainly on the outskirts she spent nearly all of her time in the woods. She preferred nature to people, particularly her best friend - a young forest fox she calls Arrow. Because of her half breed status, she was often a object of torment by the other young, full breed, elves. By necessity she learned to fight to survive and to hunt to provide for her family.
Growing restless as a young adult she started to press her mother to find out more about who her father was. Reluctant at first, Jhanandra eventually gave in and told her the story of her time with Beneger and the Countess. Youthfully excited and blind with dreams of a father she never had, Sylrora set out to find Beneger. Thinking he would be happy to find he had a long lost daughter, she naively ignored the potential danger of showing up unexpectedly.
The meeting with her father did not go as expected. He immediately denied her as a daughter and rejected her story. Beneger grew paranoid that this young girl would destroy his marriage, his title and everything he had worked to build. So when Sylrora left dejected, he sent an assassin to follow the young girl and kill both her and her mother.
A few nights later, the assassin quietly slipped into the unlocked door their home. Finding Jhanandra asleep in her cot, he slit her throat without a sound. Moving silently he located Sylrora in another part of the home. Raising his blade he moved to kill her as well. Just before he could finish the job though, Arrow awoke and alerted his companion of the threat. Groggy with sleep Sylrora managed to just dodge the assassin's killing blow. She reached behind her cot pulling a small knife from it’s hiding pace and plunged it into her attacker’s side, just below the arm pit. They struggled for a brief moment, but the attack had hit it’s deadly mark and the dark figure crumpled to the ground.
Finding her mother dead, Sylrora realized that her father was behind the attack and the horrible mistake she made when she set out to find him. Racked with guilt and sorrow for the loss of her mother, she and Arrow fled their home. She knew that Beneger would eventually realize that the assassin hadn't returned and would send more. Sylrora and Arrow set off to find a new home elsewhere, knowing that one day she would return and kill the father she never knew for what he had done.
