Here are my dreams...
Written for you on the diary
Of endless wandering
...Here are my dreams.
Written for you on the diary
Of endless wandering
...Here are my dreams.
Originally from a small remote village near the Urlingwood in Rashemen, Mirella was raised by her witch mother and warrior father in the harsh wilds of the land. Mirella’s father Annak was a barbarian of some importance in the local village of Kaur Korelege; a guide and protector of the local populace. Tall and muscular, Annak was of traditional Rashemi manners and look, covered in tribal tattoos on his neck, torso, arms, and head with hair shaved to the head except for a single braid of black hair that he kept at waist-length. Annak was a leader of a renouned berzerker legion, known for their bravery and allegiance to Reshemi witches. Her mother Alya’Kim was a durthan and secretive member (unknown to her husband) of the local sect of the Circle of the Dark Moon coven. Alya’Kim was a beautiful woman who had long black hair and wore the traditional Rashemi witch mask. From an early age, Mirella was introduced to the customs and traditions of the Dark Moon coven and learned of the need of their secrecy: the village elders were witches with views different from her mothers, in regard to the lands, magic and how things should be run in the village. This resulted in quite the power struggle in Kaur Korelege, for though the populace was made up with ¼ of those of the Dark Moon tradition, there was no representation among the witches comprising the village elders who saw the durthan as corrupt and evil for turning to the darker spirits of Rashemen. Perhaps if Annak had been around the home more he might have realized where Alya’Kim’s allegiance lay but he was away most of the time patrolling the routes around the Urlingwood. Mirella embraced the teachings of the Dark Moon and longed explore further these mysterious things she was learning about and occasionally observe while learning devotion to God and Goddess. As fate would have it, those things performed in secret are sometimes brought to light at inopportune times.
As Mirella grew into a young adult, she no longer stayed continually under Alya’Kim’s wing and began doing more things on her own without her mother’s knowledge. One day while attempting to commune with the spirits in Urlingwood, Mirella found an old weathered looking medallion upon what appeared to be an altar to the Goddess; there were some symbols which she recognized around the altar site and some strange looking runes as well which she could not identify. Mirella did not think much of it and put the medallion in her leather pouch to examine later, she then continued her rites. Days later she made a pendant from the old medallion and a silver chain her mother had given her in celebration of the day of her birth, and Mirella began wearing the pendant around her neck under her clothing.
One day while attending a village festival of celebration, she attended a meeting with Alya’Kim in which the village elder hathrans were speaking of the coming plans of the year and the growing threat of Thay. Her mother had begun earnest conversation which had gotten to the point of being heated regarding something or other; Mirella has grown bored and stopped paying attention. She had pulled the necklace from her shirt and absently rubbed it as it hung from her neck. In the midst of arguing, a few hathran not directly involved in the conversation began observing her and one of them, Kyetae, a witch who never had gotten along with her mother Alya’Kim, suddenly interrupted exclaiming loudly and demanding to know what the pendant was. Her mother was too caught up in whatever point she was trying to make to take notice. Things got very heated quickly and the next the Mirella knew, the hathran were in an uproar, calling it an artifact of evil and such. Politics began coming into play as the witches argued over the direction of leadership for the upcoming year, especially in regard to dealing with the growing Thayan threat, and finger pointing came from both sides. The next few weeks would result in numerous things coming to light as a power struggle ensued between the witches of Kaur Korelege. Annak discovered just how active Alya’Kim was with the Circle of the Dark Moon, and was none too pleased. As the village seemed near to splintering, her parents suggested a respite for her and that perhaps it was time for her to undertake the traditional dajemma, as it was normal for such witches to take a rite of passage that involved leaving their homeland only to return some time later.
From Rashemen, Mirella took a boat across Lake Ashane and walked to Kront where she stayed only a short time. She managed to earn coin telling fortunes and selling various herbs and plants she collected from the surrounding woods. From there, Mirella journeyed to Uthmere and boarded a ship to Procampur. In Procampur, Mirella met a young mage by the name of Sirenna at one of the taverns who was a teacher at the local mage academy. The pair almost instantly felt a connection as friends, Sirenna was a smart young bookworm with a razor sharp wit and Mirella a wild heathen with a knack for saying what she thought even if being quiet would have resulted in the better outcome. Sirenna took Mirella in and after some time begin trying to teach her the arcane from various tomes. Mirella, prideful and naturally talented resisted often, being stubborn and wild. She did however learn several valuable skills, including furthering her arcane magic and learning the language of the elves, and was able to further her own natural talents even if it wasn’t in exactly the manner Sirenna was pushing for. Mirella clung to her old Rashemi way of life, honoring her Goddess daily and never forgetting the rituals and communes she had learned for many years. After some time, Mirella began reading about the art of necromancy, a practice she had seen various times as a witch in Rashemen but was then too young to explore. Unknown to Sirenna, Mirella began to more fully explore this forbidden art in her free time. Sirenna eventually discovered what Mirella was doing and demanded that she cease this activity, for it was illegal in Procampur, and as Sirenna stated, it was an evil art. Heated words were exchanged and eventually Mirella decided to leave Procampur and ended her friendship with Sirenna.
From Procampur, she then a ship took to Selgaunt before journeying through Ordulin, Highmoon, Arabel, and then through the mountains to Proskur, making her ways as always selling various plants and such, as she still retained all the knowledge of these things from her homeland of Rashemen. Mirella then ventured on to Easting and on to Iriaebor. From there, the journey went from Asbravn, Berdusk, to Elturel. Finally after traversing the Fields of the Dead she arrived in Baldur’s Gate. Not one much for cities, Mirella typically stays outside of the walls of most cities or in smaller villages and such similar to what she has been accustomed to throughout early life.
*****
The cool breeze of the early morning pre-dawn made its way inside the weathered tent canopy in which the Rashemi woman slept. Her near-naked body resisted a shiver but even so she absently tugged the deerskin blanket upwards, covering her bare shoulders in a subtle effort to trap more of her body’s natural heat beneath. At the same time, she consciously awakened knowing that although it was still dark outside, it was time to get up and prepare herself for the day’s activities ahead. She dressed in her usual black robe, the one she had worn for some time since she had it given to her as a gift from Sirenna back in Procampur.While still under the cover of moonlight, Mirella slipped out of her sleeping quarters and strode purposefully toward a small clearing in the woods ahead. She’d purposefully chosen this spot close to the clearing where she could have easy access to perform her daily rituals safely. Using the end of her large wooden staff, she cleared a small area of debris and then leaned the staff carefully against a nearby forest tree. From her tent she retrieved a small wooden altar, a rustic 2x2 structure standing around six inches high with an austere, nondescript surface and appearance which she placed carefully in the clearing. Nearby she placed a small cast iron holder and produced a few sprigs of dried rosemary which she placed within and lit by flame shortly thereafter.
Mirella sat in front of the altar, the light of the moon falling down upon her and closed her eyes, meditating. For some time, the thoughts of what she would be doing later that day entered her mind, but she forced herself to shed these thoughts and tried to think of nothing but instead to calm herself and listen to the sounds of the forest around her. After some time, from her robe she produced a carefully wrapped thick, white handmade candle. The candle was growing smaller and a little misshapen from a lot of use, nevertheless the homemade beeswax candle was quite clean after receiving care following each ritual use. From a small pouch in the robe, Mirella produced a vial of oil which she uncapped and poured into her hand. After capping the oil returning it to the pouch in her black robe, she placed her hands together spreading the oil from one hand to the other and then gently dressed the candle in oil and chanted softly the words which were now so familiar from her daily ritual: “I purify this candle in the name of the Dark Goddess. May it burn eternal in service to the Night.” Mirella then asked for blessing and guidance through the day and the journey ahead.
Following her prayers, Mirella cleaned up the altar site after packing away her things, and headed out to begin her day.