The Faery Godmother by Brian Froud
Have you ever lost something, anything, important or trivial, and after exhaustingly searching for it in every nook or cranny you give it up for lost only to one day find it again in a place you're sure, absolutely certain beyond a doubt, that you had searched a hundred times before?
If you have, you're not alone. Its so common-place as to almost escape mention. But really, how did the thing get there? Where was it during all those searches? Simpler folk may shrug and go on with their lives just a touch happier to have "found" what was lost. Wiser folk, those who've paid attention to the stories of their elders, know to say a quiet thank you to the Lady of Lost and Forgotten Things.
She's known by many names in the tales, Names such as: "Amanae;" "the Lady of Lost and Forgotten Things;" "the Woman Between the Cracks;" and to one young halfling "Mum."
Not much is known of the circumstances of his birth, but the halfling came to the Lady as most things do, a thing forgotten and abandoned -- for those are the things the Lady loves most. She gave the orphaned child a name from her great collection of names lost to history, and so the lost boy became "Jak."
A Room of Curiosities By Alector Fencer
Jak's early years were spent in the Mislaid Manor, the Lady's otherworldly labyrinthian home full of endless trinkets, oddities, and treasures lovingly collected and cared for. Jak was not lonesome. There were always lost dogs, or stray kittens, or fallen baby birds, or other such abandoned beast that had caught the Lady's fancy. These made fine playmates until the the Lady decided it was time to send them back into the world. And of course, there was Mum.
Perhaps it was wishful thinking or maybe just simple pride but of all the house's strays Jak believed that the Lady loved him best for it was only he that she took on her jaunts into the world outside the manor. Cloaked and hidden by the Lady's glamours they returned lost keys to unworn jacket pockets, placed errant wedding bands under bedroom rugs, and misplaced trade tools behind craft benches. And collecting, always collecting: bottles; hairbrushes; gears; arrowheads; gems of every size and color; lockets; journals; relics of distant ages; artifacts of strange and powerful magics; spools of thread; broken dolls; trash and treasure priceless and worthless each collected according to the Lady's whimsy and all of it lost and forgotten to the world. Jak never understood the sense of it, but that mattered little to him. It made Mum happy and so he happily carried along.
Life carried on in this happy way for many years until by some unknown test or simple whim the lady decided that it was Jak's time to be returned to the world. He was taken on a final outing beyond the manor where there were tears (his), matronly smiles (hers), loving farewells (shared), and dismay (his) after finding the path back to the Manor unknowable after his first meeting with mortal people.
His concern was not long lived. He soon found that the Lady had not left him completely. He would on occasion find a letter from Mum left in a pocket he was sure he had checked not a moment before or a package delivered by an abandoned animal freshly returned to the world. He discovered, with practice, that he could still call upon Mum's magic when needed. That need came often as the Lady's messages of love and affection were often accompanied by directions to return something lost and lovingly cared for from her collection to the world or to retrieve some forgotten object.
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Profile
Full name: Jak Dimburrow
Age: 19 (Unknown to Jak)
Race: Strongheart Halfling
Sex: Male
Date of birth: 29 Eleasis 1348 (Unknown to Jak)
Place of birth: Isle of Gwynneth (Unknown to Jak)
Alignment: CG
Patron deity: Titania
Profession: Retainer, House Vale (Master of the Watch)
Classes: Warlock, Fey-Touched, Shadow-Dancer, Dragon-slayer
Primary language: Sylvan
Secondary languages: Common, Halfling, Elven, Chondathan, Draconic
Pact:
Fey: Amanae
More commonly known as the Lady of Lost and Forgotten Things or The Woman Between the Cracks in peasant lore, Amanae is a collector and caretaker of things which are lost, forgotten, or abandoned. These things are stored in the Mislaid Manor, Amanae's labyrinthian home within the Fey-wild, and sternly protected from threat and harm until they are deemed 'ripe' and returned to the world of mortals at the proper place and time. The Lady is a timeless creature and her collection is vast. Objects may enter her care and remain for centuries, years, or days. If there is a greater plan or intent as to when and where such things are returned to the world it is known only to The Woman Between the Cracks.
Amanae tasks Jak with collecting (or returning) specific lost, abandoned or forgotten things from (or to) the mortal world. Such a things can be mundane as a house-key, as important as a living creature, or as powerful as an ancient artifact. The Lady seems to care for all such things deeply and equally. These tasks must be completed in stealth and secret less the object no longer be truly forgotten. Jak will seek out lost things on his own accord if not so tasked and deliver them to his Matron by leaving them in 'thin-spots' while briefly stepping into the fey-wild.
Ancestor: Fey-Ancestry (Brownie)
Though the ancestry is diluted by several generations the goodly fey-folk's nature of serving a house who's morals match their own has manifested in Jak as has their nature of gifting treasures to those deserving.
Physical description:
Jak is a small framed, pale-complexioned, youthful halfling with handsome thin features. His large grey-blue eyes accentuate his youthful countenance and are topped by dark brows giving him an appearance of slight worry at most times. He wears his fine black hair styled in an undercut and dresses in the dusky blue and gold of House Vale.
Psychological description:
Having been raised largely isolated in the the Mislaid Manor, Jak is in many respects an autodidact. Most of his knowledge of the outside world comes from the endless books and works of art around the manor or from his brief excursions at the side of his Matron. He is often naïve to the world's many complexities due to his sheltered upbringing, and wholly ignorant on many subjects which might be common knowledge to most. He is a perpetual optimist who largely sees the good in people, and seeks to care for and protect those in need out of a sense of repaying the protection and identity given to him by his adopted mother. He has a hard time understanding the motivations of those who act with evil or cruelty and instead thinks of them as a some aberrant force to be avoided or overcome. He possesses a natural curiosity and excitement for the new great new world he has been thrust into and a playful nature that emerges once his shyness if overcome.
Religious views:
Jak was not brought up with religion. Instead, he has adopted his Mum's view of maternal fealty toward Titania. His experiences in the Godswar and encounters with actual mortal gods (such as Deneir) have only reinforced his view that the gods of mortals are largely unworthy of his attention. He does, however, understand that the people of the world do not agree with him and place great imporantance upon their many religions. He has therefore made efforts to learn more of the various pantheons from the libraries and other resources around the Gate.
Shar from the little he knows about her seems like a terrible perversion of his Mother's efforts to keep and care for that which is lost. He has a strong revulsion and great unease at the idea of the Lady of Loss.
Biography
Family
None living.
History
Born on the isle of Gwynneth in the Moonshaes Jak's family fell victim the rampages of the great beast, Kazgaroth, during Jak's first year of life. Perhaps drawn by the the remnants of fey-blood within his veins Jak was collected by the Lady of Lost and Forgotten Things and raised within the shelter of her manor in the Fey-wild. Jak's childhood was spent exploring the oddities and treasures comprising his adopted Mother's collection and caring for the various birds and beasts which came into her home much as he did. Despite the company of the many animals which entered and left his mother's care, Jak found himself longing for a playmate like himself. So the Lady used her skills and magics to animate Jak's own shadow and bestowed upon it a measure of sentience. Now capable of stepping from Jak's feet and moving by its own will, his shadow became an ever-present companion occupying the young halfling's days with play and games. Above all they enjoyed reenacting tales from the storybooks in Amanae's collection of great dragons and the brave knights that fought them. As Jak grew older and entered adolescence he was taken along by Amanae on her jaunts into the world outside the manor and began assisting with her 'work.' As his skill grew from practice he became an apprentice of sorts, learning the art of shadow-play and how to draw upon the Lady's magics and glamours for himself. And as he grew into maturity his Matron deemed him 'ripe' and took him once more into lands of men to the outskirts of the city known as Baldur's Gate. He was told it was time for him to be given back to the world, and that he would not longer be lost to it. 'Pushed from the nest' he strove awkwardly to find his place in a strange new world, eventually finding a home, then friends, and a family of sorts within the Vale Estate.
Future
Jak is fiercely loyal to his Adopted Mother and hopes to honor her through his actions.
Jak is supportive of the Vale estate and pleased to have found his place within the mortal world. He hopes to further the house and potentially bring his two worlds together -- for example allowing Brownies, Dobies, Domovoi and other beneficial house sprites to flourish within the Vale estate's new farm initiative.
Jak hopes to help those suffering under evil fey influences such as those pacted to evil fey entities or those harmed by creatures such as 'She who walks in Roses.'
Jak hopes to learn more about the world and leave his mark on it for the better.
Heirloom item
A shawl gifted by this Adopted Mother and worn during their trips into the mortal world.
A ____________, among the oldest things in Amanae's collection. Given to him when returning him to the world without explanation or instruction.
A charm filled with water drawn from a sacred Moonwell. The only remaining trace of Jak's life before the fey-wild.
Plot hooks
Jak may be tasked with returning an important and/or powerful object to the world from Amane's collection. The new presence of which may bring conflict to the lands of Baldur's gate.
Jak may be tasked with collecting an object (either important or mundane) from a place of danger or intrigue, and in so doing witness an event he was not supposed to see.
His Matron serves within the Court of the Queen. She (and thereby Jak) may come into conflict with evil Fey.
As House Vale's Master of the Watch, he may come into conflict with those who view the House as an enemy such as Zhentarim.