Elliora Daergel

A Story by Purban

background story of my cleric

Elliora Daergel

A short story by Ruben Potthoff

The Short Story of Alvyn ‘The Playful’ and Lilli ‘Friend of the Forest’ Daergel

The Glory of Youth

Once upon a time in the woods of Aglarond, named Yuirwood, a child was born to a couple of Forest Gnomes. This couple happened to be part of the Daergel clan that resides within these woods and were mostly unremarkable. Their child, on the other hand, was a boy with a peculiar interest in the world beyond the trees. While he was quite a lonely lad during his formative years, as he was the only young child in the clan, this wasn’t meant to last as a girl was born to a couple of, once again, unremarkable Forest Gnomes living in another part of this forest a mere five years after his birth. This girl was his one and only childhood friend and they grew up playing around in the forest together. The boy was named Alvyn and the girl was named Lilli. They were usually playing hide and seek, but as Alvyn was too good of a hider Lilli would spend most of her time inspecting all the little parts of trees, flowers and small wildlife while pretending to look for Alvyn. After continuing this routine for most of their childhood, Alvyn managed to become quite the sneaky b*****d and Lilli had amassed a huge wealth of knowledge about nature. However, as their hunter-gatherer civilization demanded, they were forced to spend most of their time looking for food. Despite being quite mature, they still wanted to play around and have fun but this wasn’t much appreciated by the reclusive and timid Forest Gnomes, as they feared being discovered by other races. Thus, they fell into quite the boring routine. Around the age of sixty, which is still a reasonably young age for a gnome, Alvyn decided that he wished for more than just the world of Yuirwood. He spent many a day trying to convince Lilli, but she had no desire to leave the forest. Despite this fact, over the years their friendship developed into something more romantic, and after seeing Alvyn suffer for many a year with boredom she decided that it was time to grant him his wish.

Regret

As they felt that they would naturally be prevented from leaving by their clan, they decided to stealthily sneak out of the woods during the night. Without any knowledge of the outside world, they decided to head north. Once outside of the woods however, they were met with the seemingly insurmountable Dragonjaw Mountains and three options: They could turn back and hope the clan had not noticed their departure, attempt to cross the mountains or try to travel around the mountains. They decided to travel east in an attempt to travel around the mountains, but after a day of traveling they encountered a huge wall, The Watchwall. After much discussion they decided to traverse the mountains after all. They climbed for hours, and were visibly exhausted. Alvyn was still glad to have left the forests and was hopeful about their journey ahead. However, Lilli, as your normal Forest Gnome would, was starting to miss the forest and wanted to return back to the clan. Seeing Alvyn happier than he had ever been made her hesitate to tell him, but the exhaustion built up by climbing was starting to take its toll on the Forest Gnome. A few hours later and seemingly no progression made caused her to forget about the happiness of her beloved Alvyn and asked for them to return. Alvyn, who was indescribably sad by her request to return, told her that it wouldn’t be long before they would reach the mountain peaks and be able to have a comfortable rest. Night was steadily approaching, and Alvyn realized the mistake he had made. Inexperienced with travel, he forgot to pack food or take anything even remotely similar to shelter with him. His mind was filled with naught but regret, and as he turned around to see Lilli sobbing, he was realized the gravity of the situation.

An Unexpected Sight

Gimble ‘Sparklegem’ Murnig was a rock gnome beloning to the Murnig clan of the Dragonjaw Mountains. He loved exploring and discovering new things and was excited about the sight in front of his eyes. A female Wood elf had come to their little town the day before, for reasons unknown. She seemed somewhat frightened of something and Gimble had decided to go out to see if she was perhaps being followed by something or someone. What he found upon setting out, however, was something completely unexpected. What he saw was two very desperate-looking Forest Gnomes climbing the mountain. As Forest Gnomes would usually never leave their homes, this was something he couldn’t have imagined seeing upon setting out. After following them for a bit, he noticed that they neither food nor shelter with them and decided to help them. They seemed very surprised to see something approach them so suddenly, but as a member of the same race they were noticeably relieved after seeing that it was Rock Gnome. Both parties introduced themselves, and Gimble asked them if they wanted to be taken to his home, to which they responded with an excited nod.

The Journey

After being taken to the town of the Murnig clan, the Forest Gnome couple met up with the Wood Elf, Althaea Meliamne. Alvyn and Lilli were as surprised to see a Wood Elf as Althaea was surprised to see Forest Gnomes. However, they unexpectedly bonded over the fact that they had all left home for one reason or the other and were planning to go out and see the world. They resided in the home of the Rock Gnomes for a week, and after thanking them for their hospitality and being given supplies to help them on their journey they left the Dragonjaw Mountains. Gimble had decided to accompany them on their journey as he had been planning to depart to the Earthspur Mountains. As the journey progressed smoothly, Althaea and Lilli were happily talking about their shared love for nature, and Alvyn was asking Gimble many a question about the world. A couple of days passed when, after arriving in the city of Phent, Lilli told the group that she was pregnant with Alvyn’s child. This naturally made the party happy, and after celebrating this they continued on their journey. While one would usually take a ship to cross The Easting Reach, this company had no haste and wished to see all the beautiful places in the world. Therefore, they had decided upon traversing the Forest of Lethyr and Rawlinswood. After slowly having traversed the Forest of Lethyr, they finally reached Rawlinswood. However, as Lilli was having a significantly more difficult time keeping up with the group than before, they decided to build a small lodging not-too-deep into Rawlinswood to spend the remaining days of her pregnancy and the first weeks of the child’s life.

The Somewhat Less Short Story of Elliora ‘Seeker of Tranquility’ Daergel

The Peaceful First Months

Born in a hollowed out tree, the girl spent her first days after birth in the makeshift home with her mother. Her mother was a small, gray skinned creature with long brown hair and blue eyes. She was often in the company of a similarly looking man, her father, who had brown eyes and a long beard in addition to long brown hair and a gray skin. There was also a similarly small man with brownish skin with red hair and a red beard. In addition to these small creatures, a woman about twice as long with blonde hair, green eyes and a copper skin would often bless her with her company. Each of them had given her a name, as it was common for Gnomes to carry many a name. After spending a couple of days in or around this tree, they started slowly moving through the forest, spending the nights in lesser refined homes. The group was obviously capable of moving though the forest a lot faster, but the baby girl was shown a plethora of plants and flowers. This was mostly done by the Wood Elf and the mother of the child, in an attempt to get the girl to share their love for nature. Weeks turned into months and the group was peacefully progressing towards the edge of the forest. During these joyous months it had become quite obvious that the little girl liked the pretty flowers and other parts of nature her mother and the Wood Elf had presented her, but this was undoubtedly because of her Forest Gnome heritage.

A Rude Awakening

Things were going quite well for the little group, and development of the child was progressing smoothly. They were getting closer to the edge of the forest by the day, and it would probably only have taken them a day or three to reach it. However, as one would expect in a journey which had faced barely any troubles up until that point, they faced some troubles. Night had fallen, and the peaceful nature of their journey had caused the group to drop their guard quite significantly. The mother awoke to the cries of her baby. This was not very unusual, as infants are known to cry often. In addition to the cries, she heard a little bit of rustling around their camp. It appeared that the crying of the little girl had attracted some unwanted visitors. After getting up and checking the vicinity of their camp, the mother noticed something rapidly approaching her.

A Slaughter at Sunrise

Althaea awoke to screams of agony. She was sleeping in the trees a small distance away from her friends, and after awakening she immediately ran towards the screams. What she found there, however, was the sight of something she had not wished to see again in her long Elven lifetime. A dear friend she had gotten to know over the past few months was being torn apart by a pack of wolves, and she was beyond saving. While this was not the main cause of her reluctance to interfere, it can’t be omitted that it played a big part in her unwillingness. What played the biggest role in this, was her other dear friend shouting at her to save his child. She immidiately realized that the child of the two friends was still located in the tree she was sleeping in. Alvyn, who could have easily hidden himself, ran into the pack of wolves. He was shouting and screaming at the top of his lungs, commanding the wolves to release his beloved at once. The huge wolves did not comply. Alvyn, with his face broken down into tears, grabbed the skinning knife he had on him and stabbed the nearest wolf. The wolf shrieked, but this pack of wolves was not afraid of the little Gnome and were more than capable of tearing him to pieces just as they did with Lilli, and Alvyn had known this. However, he had to remain the focus of his attention so that his child might be saved by their Elven friend. The last thing he saw was Althaea running into the forest with his child in her hands. Where Gimble had been during this event, is anyone’s guess

Early Childhood

“Elliora?” The girl woke up to her mother’s calling. It was not her actual mother, she knew this, but as she had been taken care of her for the most part of her five years of living, she decided to call her as such anyway. Five years ago her actual parents had passed away in a wolf attack, and Althaea had been taking care of her ever since. The name Elliora was one of the names given to the little girl at birth. It was a custom for many a clan member to gift a newborn child with a name, but as the parents of this particular child had left their clan the honors of naming her had been giving to the close friends of the couple. Elliora had been the little sister of Althaea, but she never made it past her fourth year. Therefore, Althaea had given the name to the girl in hopes of getting the spirit of her little sister to live a life together with the little girl. As the rest of the party had either died or simply disappeared, there was only one name left the girl was familiar with. Althaea was also reasonably familiar with the Gnomish language, and taught this to the girl as a Gnome should know the Gnomish language. However, being a Wood Elf, Elvish came most natural to her and she usually spoke in Elvish to Elliora. “It’s time to depart” The voice continued, proclaiming that it was time for them to leave. Elliora and Althaea had been continuing the journey, carrying the wishes of both Alvyn and Lilli. They had been exploring the world, mostly visiting forests, groves, lakes and other beautiful parts of nature. The quiet places in nature spoke most to Elliora, and Althaea had told her of a Goddess protecting these places Elliora so loved. Eldath, The Green Goddess, Mother Guardian of Groves and Goddess of Singing Waters. Elliora instantly gained immense respect for this Goddess, and vowed to protect her beloved peaceful waters as well. They had traveled through both the Gray forest and Earthwood in the first three years of Elliora’s life, and had been residing in the forests around Elmwood.

A Slight Miscalculation

Today was the day that they would actually visit the small settlement of Elmwood, the first time Elliora would actually meet other people. Althaea had been mostly avoiding other people until now but realized that it would not be good for the development of her adopted child if she were to never meet any other people than her mother in her entire childhood. Thus, the two departed north. It only took a couple of hours to reach Elmwood, and despite some odd stares from strangers, everything was progressing smoothly. Elliora was extremely surprised by all the new faces, and wanted to talk to all of them. The population consisted of mostly Elves, Half-Elves and Humans. One of those Humans, whose name is irrelevant, saw an incredibly tiny little girl approach him. The girl seemed to be about twenty centimeters in height, had light-gray skin, brown hair and brown eyes. There was a Wood elf walking behind the girl, but as his attention was focused on the little girl he failed to notice this. The little girl seemed to be saying something to him in a childish form of Elvish, but when she noticed he didn’t understand a word she said, started talking in a completely unknown language. It suddenly dawned on him that this was probably a child-gnome, and she was probably speaking gnomish just now. The man decided to respond by greeting her in the common tongue, but the girl seemed very confused. This is when it dawned on Althaea, who had been standing behind Elliora, that she had completely forgotten to teach her Common.

The Temple

While they were eating in a local inn, Elliora and Althaea were talking to some local Elves. Elliora was happily talking in Elvish about what they had been doing, and at some point the topic of Eldath had come up. Elliora had told the Elves about her respect for the Goddess responsible for the protection of her beloved groves. The Elves, in turn, told her about a local temple devoted to the Goddess Eldath. The Temple was apparantly tended to by a druid named Ezril Treewarder. Naturally, they decided to visit this temple. Seeing the beauty of the temple, Elliora was once again determined to visit all the places in the world under the protection of Eldath, and wished to assist in protecting them. The Elves were quite surprised with the devotion of the small Forest Gnome girl to the Goddess Eldath and her cause. One of the Elves had also gifted the girl a small harp, telling her that playing the instrument in tranquil groves would make them even more magical. Naturally, the girl was incompetent when first playing the instrument but she would go on to practice whenever they encountered an area under Eldath’s protection.

Duathamper

The locals that had gotten to know the two over the last three months were waving the two farewell, as they were continuing their journey. Althaea and Elliora had been in regular contact with the locals, and the locals had grown to love the little girl. They had been surprised by the speed at which she was learning the common tongue, but it was by far the easiest language in the continent. They were walking along the coastline, and after following it they noticed the water was turning back into the forest. This was the river Duathamper, and Elliora immediately grew in love with the sight of it. Thus, they decided to follow this beautiful river and see where it took them. They encountered many more awe inspiring sights while following this river, and Elliora, as she had done many times before, had thanked the Goddess Eldath for protecting such a river. Unlike they had done before, they were no longer avoiding people they would meet along the road and they encountered a few such people. They were all surprised by the cuteness of the little gnome and were happy to share a meal and discuss their adventures. This was naturally helping the development of the linguistic abilities of the child.

Ashaba and the Desertsmouth Mountains

Around the age of six Elliora, together with Althaea, had left the Duathamper behind her and after about a few months of traveling they arrived at their next guide, the river Ashaba. Instead of the normal occasional traveler, they encountered small groups of Orcs along this river, fishing. While Elliora really wanted to greet them and ask them what they were up to, Althaea convinced her that Orcs were dangerous and they had to sneak around them whenever they encountered one of these groups. Despite this, they had seen many a wonderful sight along this river and they smoothly traveled northwest along the river. After following the river for about half a year, they reached a natural barricade, the Desertsmouth Mountains. They decided to travel around the mountains instead of trying to pass over them, as they weren’t in any kind of hurry and decided that it would be safer. Althaea, who wasn’t a particularily strong fighter, had decided to teach Elliora some simple dodge movements in case they were attacked by Orcs or Bandits. Naturally, one wouldn’t teach a small child combat. After having traveled along the mountains for a while, they encountered the most stunningly beautiful sight in all of their journey. The river Tesh was flowing from the Desertsmoutn Mountains in the most glorious yet somehow tranquil waterfalls imaginable. Once again, Elliora thanked Eldath for protecting its beauty.

Dagger Falls and The Black Road

It had already been over a year since they had encountered the river Ashaba, and they were currently visiting the small town of Dagger Falls. The reason for their visit was their desire to cross the desert land of Anauroch as quickly as possible, and were looking for a trade caravan to travel with along The Black Road. As per usual, the locals were surprised to see such an odd duo but, as they were both looked quite harmless, they were easily accepted and loved by the locals. It was rather unfortunate for the two, but a rather large trade caravan had left the town only a day prior, and it was expected that the next trade caravan to travel through the desert land of Anauroch would not depart for a few months. Luckily, however, they managed to find the person who would be in charge of leading said trade caravan, and after befriending him they arranged that the trade caravan would camp in the Border Forest for a day, as that was where Althaea and Elliora were now planning to stay the next few months. This was only natural, as they were both lovers of the forest and members of forest dwelling races.

The Black Road

After spending a few months in the southern area of the Border Forest, the trade caravan arrived and were happy to take the two with them. They traveled quite smoothly along The Black Road, and Elliora spent most of her time discussing adventures and lore of the world with her travel companions. While they did encounter a few bandits and other obstacles along the way, the caravan had employed a few adventurers to defend their caravan. Elliora also played for the member of the caravan on her harp quite often, and they loved the tranquil sound of it. For many of them it seemed like they were taken out of the desert and into a very quiet place within a forest. Elliora longed for one of those places, and while the desert did possess quite a few oases they were quite different from the places she wanted. She felt guilty for leaving the forests behind her and thus praised the efforts of Eldath through song.

The High Forest

Elliora was already nearing the age of ten at this point, and the trade caravan had arrived in its destination; the city of Llorkh. After saying their goodbyes to the people they had been traveling with, the two headed north and after a while they set foot in The High Forest. Elliora and Althaea were both very grateful to be inside a forest again, and Elliora immediately thanked all the gods responsible for protecting this forest. Naturally, the goddess she worshiped most got the most thanks and Elliora devoted a song to her on the riverside of the Delimbiyr river they were following. They spent the next three to four years traversing The High Forest with just the two of them, running into the occasional traveler along the way. They were traveling quite leasurely and whenever they found a peaceful area in the forest they would spend a couple of days there to ensure there were no lumberjacks or any other being that would dare disturb the peace of the forest.

The Wood Elves of the High Forest

A Forest Gnome and an unknown Wood Elf were currently visiting this particular tribe of Wood Elves residing in the High Forest. While Wood Elves were usually quite wary of outsiders, these visitors were a member of their own race a child of another forest dwelling race. They quickly opened up to the two visitors and the visitors opened up to them as well. They introduced themselves as Althaea and Elliora, and told the tribe of their journey. Naturally, the Wood Elves appreciated the devotion Elliora had to the Mother Guardian of Groves. Apparently the two were traveling the world and exploring its forests, as one devoted to Eldath would. They both seemed to have little to no combat experience, and this made it easier for the tribe to accept them. Althaea, who had secretly been missing the company of fellow Wood Elves quite severely, started to feel quite at home and slowly forgot about her desires for travel over the course of a few months. Elliora, who still wished to travel, noticed this and immediately attempted to get them both to leave before her dear mother had lost all desire for adventure. However, it seemed to be too late, as Althaea refused to leave. Althaea also attempted to convince her dear daughter that staying with these Wood Elves would be a lot safer, and she could spend her days protecting the High Forest instead, as it possessed many beauties of nature.

Departure

Elliora, regretfully, valued her vow to Eldath to protect nature’s beauty all across the realm more than being with her mother and the Wood Elves. This was quite the though decision for a fourteen-year-old small Forest Gnome, but she made it anyway. The Elves held a farewell party where all participants shed many a tear. However, Elliora had promised to return at least once every decade or two. While not being as long lived as Elves, Gnomes could also reach quite old ages relative to humans and Elliora was aware of this. After the party Elliora departed and after traveling through the remainder of the forest in less than a day, the girl arrived at the river Dessarin. As she turned around to remind her mother of it’s beauty, she remembered that she was currently all alone. While the thought saddened the girl, she decided to stay determined and carry on with her path, her goals perfectly aligned with those of Eldath

Blessing of Eldath

It should come to noone’s surprise then, that our little protagonist had been blessed by Eldath. The Goddess was glad to have someone as determined as Elliora assist in her task of protecting the peace of the forest. She had heard the voice of the Goddess whilst sleeping in the Kryptgarden Forest, next to a small creek. It had taken place as Elliora was nearing the age of sixteen. The Goddess had essentially rewarded her commitment, even going as far as to abandon her closest family for her journey. She was told that these powers might assist her in the future, and that these would probably assist her in surviving the hardships that she was fated to come across in her journey. She was blessed with the powers of life, for she had mostly been dedicated to the peaceful nature and tranquil nature of the forest. “Go on, little Seeker of Tranquility, for I shall be watching over you while you watch over me”

A New Adventure

Elliora stepped foot into the city of Neverwinter. She had recently turned eighteen and had been living in Neverwinter Wood for the past year or so. She has relatively long brown hair, brown eyes, light gray skin and is about 70cm tall, thus the locals are quite surprised to see her. Whatever adventure is awaiting her beyond this point, will soon become clear.