Biography of Elanaele Nightstar
Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2014 9:24 pm
Basic Character Description:
First Name: Elanaele
Last Name: Nightstar (a pajoritive name given to her when she was a child that she kept)
Appearance:
Race: Moon Elf (or so she believes / never met her parents or family)
Age: 124
Height 4'8"
Weight: 82 lbs
Eyes: Emerald Green
Hair: Silver with gold tint
Facial Hair Style:
Personality Profile:
General Health: Normally Excellent - but often sleep deprived
Deity: Originally Solonor Thelandira but very recently began praying to Sehanine Moonbow
Initial Alignment: NG
Profession: Former Ranger, now apprentice (Wizard) to Kael, the Kor Vain of EDE
Base Class & Proposed Development: RCR'd from lvl 30 Ranger\Arcane Archer. Now as apprentice developing to: Ranger 3, Wizard 17, Aldich Knight 10
Habits/Hobbies: Recently taken an interest in elven history and magic
Languages: Many
Weapon of Choice: Long Bow
Background: (See full biography below)
Goals: Currently: The eradication of werewolves from the Wood of Sharp Teeth
Possible Plot-Hook Ideas and Misc Facts: Most of this laid out in her journal but quick outline:
1) Was\is a member of the Keepers of the Wild though does not know what happened to most of that group.
2) Has made new home within EDE and lived there for nearly a year now.
3) Currently on a 'terroristic' campaign against the werewolves of the WOST but only just beginning to question this plan.
4) Began magic apprenticeship with an elf she fears greatly to learn to generate fear herself & use it against her werewolf enemies.
5) Learning magic at a disturbingly fast pace & does not fully know why or how (possibly related to parents she never knew?).
Biography:
Elanaele is a young elf of only 124 winters. She of the Teu-tel-quessir (Moon Elf) bloodline though has some physical traits, such as the faint golden hue in her hair (but not her small stature), that cause some to mistake her for one of the Ar-tel-quessir (Gold Elves). She was raised initially among humans and signs of an early maturity show in her often serious demeanor. Later in life she came to live with the seclusive Or-tel-quessir (Wood Elves) living in the small and ill-fated village of Shantaolme (Hollowtree) within the northern reaches of the Moonwood.
She tells stories freely of her experiences in the Moonwood in hopes that the fate of that place is never repeated. Of her early life among humans she generally says little beyond the basics. When pushed for more details she usually responds: 'That was another life.' and one might detect a slight sense of shame or embarrassment from those years.
When asked of her past Elanaele tells that she was raised by humans for the first 48 years of her life. She has no idea who her birth parents are but was told by her human adoptive parents that they had both died suddenly shortly after she was born. Her adoptive parents could tell her little about them and no one claiming to be a close relative has ever entered her life.
Her adoptive parents ran a successful trading company with offices in Waterdeep and Silverymoon. She speaks little of them other than to say they were kind and loving and raised her to the best of their ability. Being raised among humans was not particularly difficult with the exception of her extremely slow development. She feared that she would always remain a child as generations of friends grew, changed and became adults themselves.
Her father passed from heart failure, then later her mother of old age when Elanaele was still a child of 48. Arrangements had been made to send her to live with her father's nephew in Silverymoon. However, en route through the marches the caravan she rode with was attacked barbarian marauders and everyone killed save for herself and the old family butler that served her family. She herself was wounded badly by an arrow and carried to eventual safety in a nameless human hunting camp nestled between the Rauvin River and the southern reaches of the Moonwood. There she was nursed back to health by a retired druid named Mildred (or more colorfully: 'That Old Witch' by the locals) and remained for a short time until the xenophobic humans became too restless at her presence.
Since word never returned from Silverymoon, Mildred, sent word to the elves of Moonvine to take in the girl. She was surprised however when at their meeting it was not the people of Moonvine she met but an elf she knew from her far younger and prettier days went she was known by the name: Vanyaele. Anorien Greenbow was a scout from the small, secluded, elven village of Shantaolme (Hollowtree) within the far northern reaches of the Moonwood. He had been in Moonvine when her message was received and insisted upon seeing her himself. During their meeting they both decided that some seclusion would do this child some good and he reluctantly agreed to the difficult challenge of bringing the child to Hollowtree and acting as her guardian.
Among the wood-elves she was given the elven name Elanaele and it fell to Anorien to teach her the ways of the people. Her early days in Hollowtree were very difficult. Humans of her age were old enough to have grandchildren but here she was treated as an ignorant child by nearly everyone. She didn't understand what anyone said and she missed the bustling streets, comfortable life and trinkets of which she had grown accustomed. The younger children began to tease her by calling her Nightstar, reminding her of a foolish answer she once gave their teacher when asked how she would find her way home if lost within the ancient and dark wood.
But with time and much patience from her teachers she eventually came to learn and love the ways of her people. Her home within the treetops was the type of home a city child, even on of moderate wealth, could only dream of and the village was constantly filled with the sound of music.
Anorien was an expert scout and marksman and with time she learned to respect the ways of Solonor Thelandira. When she was finally old enough, some 50 years after her arrival, he allowed her to accompany him on his patrols through the wood; visiting the elves of Moonvine and settlers in Quearvarr. She even once got a glimpse of the great city of Silverymoon, shining in the distance from the southern reaches of the Moonwood and could even see its magnificent bridge, said to be made of moonlight itself! In time she would finally learn to regard Anorien as her father.
But the northern Moonwood was a dark place and getting darker by the year. It was old and wild and blessed by inconvenience to the southern settlers. But it was also prone to desperate incursions from the northern mountains: orcs, Uthgart, Dhearow, and even bands of starving goblins foolish enough to face certain death in the wood. Shantaolme was the only refuge in the northern wood to those that even knew of it save for the village of Moonvine far to the south and the people of Shantaolme had defended their home efficiently and without mercy for centuries.
Things were different however when the People of the Black Blood arrived from the north. The Black blood were (are) a clan of lyncanthropes: werewolves, wererats, werebadgers and many others cursed by the blood disease. Their coming would spark the final fall of Hollowtree.
Elanaele tells that it started with the disappearance of two scouts, then an entire patrol. Some patrols reported sightings of unusually large rats moving at great speed within the northern and western edges of the wood.
Her own first encounter was with a patrol led by her father. A mother orc and her cubs had entered the wood and were running through the thickets with reckless abandon. The penalty for all outsiders who dared enter the northern wood was death. Her father gave the order to aim at each and every orc but another large crash nearby caused him to stay the firing. A huge wolflike beast crashed onto the scene and likely had been stalking the orcs from outside. The patrol turned their bows to the creature only to be ordered off by Anorien. Their simple wooden arrows would do nothing against such a beast. As the beast jumped upon the mother the elves turned their bows back to the cubs. What was to be a death sentence turned into a mercy killing and rapid retreat.
In time the Elders of Hollowtree learned that it was not one or two lyncanthropes they were dealing with but many of an advancing front coming from the mountains. They sent word to the elves in Moonvine and requested aid. Immediately recognizing the danger Moonvine sent warriors and many enchanted and silvered weapons to help defend Hollowtree. The aid was needed critically but the onslaught from the werecreatures was massive and vicious. In the end however the combined forces of the elves were victorious against the Black Bloods and they decimated the hoard.
However that battle was still only the beginning. Many elves were lost in that battle but not all on that day. The clerics took the proper precautions with the wounded but there were many not found for many days and still more that simply disappeared. In the following year, more scouts disappeared from patrols and cases of lyncanthropy began appearing among even elves that had not taken part in the battle. After the assassination of Solonor's high-priest in Hollowtree, fear and suspicion grew and villagers began to each other on the mere suspicion of contamination.
At the end of a year the hoard came again regrown by many of the very elves that fought and had disappeared in the first battle. Aid was sought from Moonvine but this time turned down. The Black Bloods had begun appearing farther south within the wood and Moonvine said they could spare no aid for Hollowtree. Many in Hollowtree suspected however that it was really the fear of contamination that kept them away. Anorien, Elanaele's adoptive father, argued for the elders to seek aid from Silverymoon and Quaervarr. But his arguments went unheeded. The Elders said that the Quessir need not seek the aid of outsiders. Anorien's past associations with outsiders also undercut his credibility with such arguments.
By the grace of Solonor the hoard was beat back a second time. This time the battle was not won through strength of combat but through layers upon layers of traps and snags and keen-eyed archers equipped with enchanted arrows used sparingly. Hand-to-hand combat was avoided as much as possible to avoid feeding the hoard further. The strategy would not likely work a second time however.
The following year the Black-Bloods did not attack Hollowtree but circled south to Moonvine. It was Hollowtree this time that received a call for aid and the request was turned down. Fortunately however Moonvine successfully turned away the attack and bought the entire Moonwood three more years of peace from the Black-Blood.
In the time after the battle at Moonvine, Anorien argued strenuously for Hollowtree to repair relations with Moonvine and to develop alliances with Silverymoon and Quearvarr. But emotions still ran high and his counsel was eventually censored. The Elders instead placed their energies to developing even more traps and blinds and using clever magics to hide trails and close passages to make their home more difficult to find than ever. When the Black-Bloods came again Hollowtree did not even bother sending out requests for aid.
The defenses however were not enough. They were eventually pierced by clever wererats opening the way for the remaining hoard to follow. During the final battle that ensued Anorien ordered Elanaele with no uncertain terms to flee the Moonwood with anyone that would follow. She gathered a few other rangers who would come and together they led the children and others unable to fight out of Hollowtree and away from the battle. The rest fought the hoard until the end. Cut off from Moonvine by the hoard they went east around the outer edges Moonwood then south and eventually to Silverymoon where the children and wounded found refuge.
Elanaele herself was suddenly taken by wanderlust and traveled south to see what wonders she could find there and hopefully clear her conscience from fleeing the final battle of Hollowtree.
Since arriving at the Sword Coast she has made a few close friendships; early on with Caelam Hawkeye who eventually encouraged her to the druid group: Keepers of the Wild led by the Orcen Druid Kalytra Greyfang. Her relationship with Kalytra began with Kaltyra saving Elanaele's life very shortly after they met. When she saved Elan two more times she earned a level of trust from Elanaele and Elanaele eventually joined the Keepers of the Wild.
Elanaele later joined the elves of Dharasha in the Misty Forest where she now called home for many months now. She has made many friends there quickly and even helped fight back the final attack of the Black Orcs on the village shortly after joining that community. She served as a simple ranger for many months until very recently and quite unexpectantly taking up the study of magic with the Arch Mage Kael of Dharasha.
OOC: The fall of Hollowtree is not canon, but in my research canon provided few details on that region's past. I attempted to weave a story into existing (1370's) canon around Claw Hollow, the People of the Black Blood and their current slow advance on Moonvine and Quearvarr. The theory here being that lyncanthropes as a group are not known for building things but more likely infesting existing structures. If that argument is sound then, Claw Hollow was likely a prior, little known, human or elven settlement of some sort with strategic value to that region.
First Name: Elanaele
Last Name: Nightstar (a pajoritive name given to her when she was a child that she kept)
Appearance:
Race: Moon Elf (or so she believes / never met her parents or family)
Age: 124
Height 4'8"
Weight: 82 lbs
Eyes: Emerald Green
Hair: Silver with gold tint
Facial Hair Style:
Personality Profile:
General Health: Normally Excellent - but often sleep deprived
Deity: Originally Solonor Thelandira but very recently began praying to Sehanine Moonbow
Initial Alignment: NG
Profession: Former Ranger, now apprentice (Wizard) to Kael, the Kor Vain of EDE
Base Class & Proposed Development: RCR'd from lvl 30 Ranger\Arcane Archer. Now as apprentice developing to: Ranger 3, Wizard 17, Aldich Knight 10
Habits/Hobbies: Recently taken an interest in elven history and magic
Languages: Many
Weapon of Choice: Long Bow
Background: (See full biography below)
Goals: Currently: The eradication of werewolves from the Wood of Sharp Teeth
Possible Plot-Hook Ideas and Misc Facts: Most of this laid out in her journal but quick outline:
1) Was\is a member of the Keepers of the Wild though does not know what happened to most of that group.
2) Has made new home within EDE and lived there for nearly a year now.
3) Currently on a 'terroristic' campaign against the werewolves of the WOST but only just beginning to question this plan.
4) Began magic apprenticeship with an elf she fears greatly to learn to generate fear herself & use it against her werewolf enemies.
5) Learning magic at a disturbingly fast pace & does not fully know why or how (possibly related to parents she never knew?).
Biography:
Elanaele is a young elf of only 124 winters. She of the Teu-tel-quessir (Moon Elf) bloodline though has some physical traits, such as the faint golden hue in her hair (but not her small stature), that cause some to mistake her for one of the Ar-tel-quessir (Gold Elves). She was raised initially among humans and signs of an early maturity show in her often serious demeanor. Later in life she came to live with the seclusive Or-tel-quessir (Wood Elves) living in the small and ill-fated village of Shantaolme (Hollowtree) within the northern reaches of the Moonwood.
She tells stories freely of her experiences in the Moonwood in hopes that the fate of that place is never repeated. Of her early life among humans she generally says little beyond the basics. When pushed for more details she usually responds: 'That was another life.' and one might detect a slight sense of shame or embarrassment from those years.
When asked of her past Elanaele tells that she was raised by humans for the first 48 years of her life. She has no idea who her birth parents are but was told by her human adoptive parents that they had both died suddenly shortly after she was born. Her adoptive parents could tell her little about them and no one claiming to be a close relative has ever entered her life.
Her adoptive parents ran a successful trading company with offices in Waterdeep and Silverymoon. She speaks little of them other than to say they were kind and loving and raised her to the best of their ability. Being raised among humans was not particularly difficult with the exception of her extremely slow development. She feared that she would always remain a child as generations of friends grew, changed and became adults themselves.
Her father passed from heart failure, then later her mother of old age when Elanaele was still a child of 48. Arrangements had been made to send her to live with her father's nephew in Silverymoon. However, en route through the marches the caravan she rode with was attacked barbarian marauders and everyone killed save for herself and the old family butler that served her family. She herself was wounded badly by an arrow and carried to eventual safety in a nameless human hunting camp nestled between the Rauvin River and the southern reaches of the Moonwood. There she was nursed back to health by a retired druid named Mildred (or more colorfully: 'That Old Witch' by the locals) and remained for a short time until the xenophobic humans became too restless at her presence.
Since word never returned from Silverymoon, Mildred, sent word to the elves of Moonvine to take in the girl. She was surprised however when at their meeting it was not the people of Moonvine she met but an elf she knew from her far younger and prettier days went she was known by the name: Vanyaele. Anorien Greenbow was a scout from the small, secluded, elven village of Shantaolme (Hollowtree) within the far northern reaches of the Moonwood. He had been in Moonvine when her message was received and insisted upon seeing her himself. During their meeting they both decided that some seclusion would do this child some good and he reluctantly agreed to the difficult challenge of bringing the child to Hollowtree and acting as her guardian.
Among the wood-elves she was given the elven name Elanaele and it fell to Anorien to teach her the ways of the people. Her early days in Hollowtree were very difficult. Humans of her age were old enough to have grandchildren but here she was treated as an ignorant child by nearly everyone. She didn't understand what anyone said and she missed the bustling streets, comfortable life and trinkets of which she had grown accustomed. The younger children began to tease her by calling her Nightstar, reminding her of a foolish answer she once gave their teacher when asked how she would find her way home if lost within the ancient and dark wood.
But with time and much patience from her teachers she eventually came to learn and love the ways of her people. Her home within the treetops was the type of home a city child, even on of moderate wealth, could only dream of and the village was constantly filled with the sound of music.
Anorien was an expert scout and marksman and with time she learned to respect the ways of Solonor Thelandira. When she was finally old enough, some 50 years after her arrival, he allowed her to accompany him on his patrols through the wood; visiting the elves of Moonvine and settlers in Quearvarr. She even once got a glimpse of the great city of Silverymoon, shining in the distance from the southern reaches of the Moonwood and could even see its magnificent bridge, said to be made of moonlight itself! In time she would finally learn to regard Anorien as her father.
But the northern Moonwood was a dark place and getting darker by the year. It was old and wild and blessed by inconvenience to the southern settlers. But it was also prone to desperate incursions from the northern mountains: orcs, Uthgart, Dhearow, and even bands of starving goblins foolish enough to face certain death in the wood. Shantaolme was the only refuge in the northern wood to those that even knew of it save for the village of Moonvine far to the south and the people of Shantaolme had defended their home efficiently and without mercy for centuries.
Things were different however when the People of the Black Blood arrived from the north. The Black blood were (are) a clan of lyncanthropes: werewolves, wererats, werebadgers and many others cursed by the blood disease. Their coming would spark the final fall of Hollowtree.
Elanaele tells that it started with the disappearance of two scouts, then an entire patrol. Some patrols reported sightings of unusually large rats moving at great speed within the northern and western edges of the wood.
Her own first encounter was with a patrol led by her father. A mother orc and her cubs had entered the wood and were running through the thickets with reckless abandon. The penalty for all outsiders who dared enter the northern wood was death. Her father gave the order to aim at each and every orc but another large crash nearby caused him to stay the firing. A huge wolflike beast crashed onto the scene and likely had been stalking the orcs from outside. The patrol turned their bows to the creature only to be ordered off by Anorien. Their simple wooden arrows would do nothing against such a beast. As the beast jumped upon the mother the elves turned their bows back to the cubs. What was to be a death sentence turned into a mercy killing and rapid retreat.
In time the Elders of Hollowtree learned that it was not one or two lyncanthropes they were dealing with but many of an advancing front coming from the mountains. They sent word to the elves in Moonvine and requested aid. Immediately recognizing the danger Moonvine sent warriors and many enchanted and silvered weapons to help defend Hollowtree. The aid was needed critically but the onslaught from the werecreatures was massive and vicious. In the end however the combined forces of the elves were victorious against the Black Bloods and they decimated the hoard.
However that battle was still only the beginning. Many elves were lost in that battle but not all on that day. The clerics took the proper precautions with the wounded but there were many not found for many days and still more that simply disappeared. In the following year, more scouts disappeared from patrols and cases of lyncanthropy began appearing among even elves that had not taken part in the battle. After the assassination of Solonor's high-priest in Hollowtree, fear and suspicion grew and villagers began to each other on the mere suspicion of contamination.
At the end of a year the hoard came again regrown by many of the very elves that fought and had disappeared in the first battle. Aid was sought from Moonvine but this time turned down. The Black Bloods had begun appearing farther south within the wood and Moonvine said they could spare no aid for Hollowtree. Many in Hollowtree suspected however that it was really the fear of contamination that kept them away. Anorien, Elanaele's adoptive father, argued for the elders to seek aid from Silverymoon and Quaervarr. But his arguments went unheeded. The Elders said that the Quessir need not seek the aid of outsiders. Anorien's past associations with outsiders also undercut his credibility with such arguments.
By the grace of Solonor the hoard was beat back a second time. This time the battle was not won through strength of combat but through layers upon layers of traps and snags and keen-eyed archers equipped with enchanted arrows used sparingly. Hand-to-hand combat was avoided as much as possible to avoid feeding the hoard further. The strategy would not likely work a second time however.
The following year the Black-Bloods did not attack Hollowtree but circled south to Moonvine. It was Hollowtree this time that received a call for aid and the request was turned down. Fortunately however Moonvine successfully turned away the attack and bought the entire Moonwood three more years of peace from the Black-Blood.
In the time after the battle at Moonvine, Anorien argued strenuously for Hollowtree to repair relations with Moonvine and to develop alliances with Silverymoon and Quearvarr. But emotions still ran high and his counsel was eventually censored. The Elders instead placed their energies to developing even more traps and blinds and using clever magics to hide trails and close passages to make their home more difficult to find than ever. When the Black-Bloods came again Hollowtree did not even bother sending out requests for aid.
The defenses however were not enough. They were eventually pierced by clever wererats opening the way for the remaining hoard to follow. During the final battle that ensued Anorien ordered Elanaele with no uncertain terms to flee the Moonwood with anyone that would follow. She gathered a few other rangers who would come and together they led the children and others unable to fight out of Hollowtree and away from the battle. The rest fought the hoard until the end. Cut off from Moonvine by the hoard they went east around the outer edges Moonwood then south and eventually to Silverymoon where the children and wounded found refuge.
Elanaele herself was suddenly taken by wanderlust and traveled south to see what wonders she could find there and hopefully clear her conscience from fleeing the final battle of Hollowtree.
Since arriving at the Sword Coast she has made a few close friendships; early on with Caelam Hawkeye who eventually encouraged her to the druid group: Keepers of the Wild led by the Orcen Druid Kalytra Greyfang. Her relationship with Kalytra began with Kaltyra saving Elanaele's life very shortly after they met. When she saved Elan two more times she earned a level of trust from Elanaele and Elanaele eventually joined the Keepers of the Wild.
Elanaele later joined the elves of Dharasha in the Misty Forest where she now called home for many months now. She has made many friends there quickly and even helped fight back the final attack of the Black Orcs on the village shortly after joining that community. She served as a simple ranger for many months until very recently and quite unexpectantly taking up the study of magic with the Arch Mage Kael of Dharasha.
OOC: The fall of Hollowtree is not canon, but in my research canon provided few details on that region's past. I attempted to weave a story into existing (1370's) canon around Claw Hollow, the People of the Black Blood and their current slow advance on Moonvine and Quearvarr. The theory here being that lyncanthropes as a group are not known for building things but more likely infesting existing structures. If that argument is sound then, Claw Hollow was likely a prior, little known, human or elven settlement of some sort with strategic value to that region.