Neristia Red Claw

[Ildoith]

// The history of my elven character on NWN2 (Sundren)

Neristia Red Claw

A. The Start of the lineage

To fifty miles of the doors of the Elven camp, Ararath Eagle Sight, a woman elf of three hundred years, was walking along the nearby forests supporting to the animals and keeping them calm.
Her sight, in the distance she observed the figure of a human being who was walking without worry among the trees like fusing with them. The intentions were good apparently, and then she allowed that the man should continue.
Hiding in the bushes not to be a sight, the elf hoped that the man was passing to remember his face. The human being went on to her side; the face was representing a young man of red hairs and harmonic facial features, and it he stopped.
The human being turned the head towards the elf and dedicated a smile: - "Greetings elf of silver hairs ". When the elf observed where she was she noticed because why he had seen her. Already it was not hidden in the bushes, but step on them.
-“Greetings fire hair human” said Ararath –“Which are your matters on the Elven Lands?”
The human smiles and scratches his nose –“Well. Really I don’t have any matter, I’m a traveller… Thirsty by the way. Are you going to show me about the elven hospitality and let me invite you a drink?"
The elven lady frowns and steps back, she has never been invited to a drink in her own lands, and the only mention of it makes her uncomfortable, with determination the lady takes a dominant position and said: “Well, I’m going to reconsider that if you may speak and say your name, if your name is not on the wanted list, I think what I must know it”.
The human smiles again with a fresh and bright smile and said: “Eldak Wyvern”.
Ararath takes her waist, the weights of the years are posing on her and only a century of life remains to her. Slings her bow to the back and staring to the human said: “Follow me”.

In the camp:
The lady takes some elven wine from a pouch and gives it to Eldak. The human smiles and takes the bottle and with a fresh smiling thanks to her. Ararath frowns and sits on a log near to Eldak: -“I know, this is not a glamorous place to be, but this is my life.” Taking her bottle of wine dedicates an inquisitive gaze to Eldak and drinks from the bottle.
With a smile on the face Eldak kept a long time studying and staring to Ararath and adventures a sentence: -“The years don’t come alone sis, yeah? I mean, you have taken your waist with a certain pain. Who old are you anyways?”
Ararath gives him a killing gaze and said: -“Don’t you think what you are a bit… an uncomfortable questioner?”
Eldak laughs: -“Maybe, but I want to know about my host and all about her” and blinks an eye to her with a complicity air. –“Actually I said you my name but I don’t know yours” and now was the turn of an inquisitive gaze to Ararath.
She nods and said: “Ararath Eagle Sight, keeper of the roads and forest, the humans are too busy fighting wars and adventuring to keep the natural resources on the way. Also, a lot of them are a bunch of block-minded and arrogant people what they only mind to take the name of a god and hide behind the name of the deity to justify slaughtering and non-sense killing to obtain a terrain or resource. You asked.”
Eldak smiles again and stares a while to Ararath: “Yes, I’m agree with you, the people of Sundren takes and don’t feels on the need to give to the nature, I don’t like really much the cities, I like the live green, not the pale grey of the rocks painting a urban stain on the view”.
The lady steps back a bit and she feels like a punch on her soul and heart. Finally a human who don’t act like a fool and don’t tries to go under her pants, a pity what he is a human. Anyway she continues the conversation for a while.
The fresh air was slipping on the bushes and the moon bathing the surface with a blue tonality. And the night indicates Ararath and Eldak about the amount of time what they spend talking about nature.
Ararath said: “The night has reached and I was too much time away from the roads, feel free to stay or leave” and she leaves to the roads.





Questions:

a] In the camp (to Eldak)

Eilnys Feline-Master, a very young and blonde elven girl of barely fifty years approaches the camp and stares wild and inquisitive to Eldak. Without losing time she reaches in front of Eldak: -“Greetings to you, human. I saw you talking to the elder Ararath. How did you achieve it? She is a very thought person, specially to the humans, she doesn’t like it a lot, but, you… talked with her, and for more than five minutes, it’s impressive!” suddenly the gaze of Eilnys turns a bit angry: “Speak! How did you do? Cast a spell? Drug her?”
Eldak smiles and looks calmly to Eilnys: -“No my dear, for much I desired to, I’m not a wizard, I'm not a sorcerer, but I'm a wanderer, a traveller a expectant soul on this vast land called Faerun, a free spirit who overrun every mile only following my will and feets. I only have me, my bag and my chat, I don’t need anymore” smiles to Eilnys and take a drink of another elven wine.
Eilnys trust the stranger because she feels what he is telling all of his life, and starts the leave but suddenly stopped and looked to Eldak: -“Be careful about her, she doesn’t have much time, leave her alone if you don’t have any intentions”, she frowns and leaves.

b] In the roads (to Ararath)

The high druid of the grove appears from the trees, an elder elf with wrinkled skin and Red hair, walking with a staff to help him on the walk, approaches slowly to Ararath.
The lady stares to the druid and said: “Elundel, you must not leave the grove if you die, the entire grove falls down”.
The elder raises softly a hand to stop the talking of Ararath: -“Shut Up now sister, I know my risks, but this situation grants my personal appearance. Talk me about the human being; the winds are talking about you and him. What’s going on Ararath? You felt in love with a short life human? That is not what your father was thinking about you. *does a gesture to the heavens* Mielikki wards him…”
Ararath throws a gaze of anger: “What are the wings talking about? Me? Fell in love with a pitiful human what are going to die before one hundred years? No way! Anyway I liked to talk with him; he is not a block-minded human.”
The elder denies with him head: -“Ararath, your services to the druid council are good, don’t stain them and don’t let stain your body letting a human to share your bed and your mind. The love is a sensation what you are not designed to it, forgive it! You are a druid! And you must not deliver you to the temptations of the flesh and lust until your time becomes essential and the successor of your breed may replace and succeed on this task! These are our rules, respect it!” the elder steps back and take the way back to the grove.
Ararath stays stepped on the same place for several minutes and thinking hard about the words of Elundel: “So, I must sacrifice my life, sexuality and relationships only for protecting this grove? No sir, I spent three hundred years to keep this place safe and pure, I don’t deserve to have a friend, even from another race? Idiots.” And she takes the leave to the camp with quick steps.

The gathering:
Ararath reached the camp and searched to Eldak, visibly angry steps in front of him and said: “I’m really mad, tell me why I cannot be a friend of you? Why I must stick on the rules of an elder elf who chooses the chastity and tries to drag the others?”
Eldak stares at her smiling and start to talk: -“Because I know very well the elves to know about their chaotic nature, to know what you right now are asking a answer about the meaning of this sacrifice and your task, you are digging on your soul to justify all this time of blind servitude to this place, and obviously, you don’t find the answer, you know what you must be more effective and happy if you set free of this senseless duty. But now is on your heart to take a decision: One, stop talking to me and continue your life, or… Two, keep talking with me and ignore the elders and be yourself one time on your life.”
Ararath steps back again, this human knows her more than herself, relaxing her body leaves a sigh and finally smiles: -“You are right, fuck the elders, I’m going to be myself and make a room in my life for a human male”.


The gathering <part II>:
Twenty years passed trough since the first met of Ararath Eagle Sight and Eldak Wyvern. The elder condemned the attitude of Ararath Eagle Sight every time what he can, but this time she doesn’t hear him and smirks to him and goes out leaving the elder talking alone.
In the Twenty first anniversary of the meeting on the forest, Eldak Wyvern comes like every year to spend a month with Ararath. When he reaches to the camp, Eilnys Feline-Master was waiting him, blonde and young, with seventy one years, gazes Eldak while she was playing with a parchment on her hands.
Eldak closes to Eilnys and asks: “Excuse me Eilnys, Where is Ararath?” The lady stopped playing with the parchment and gives it to him: -“Read this, I’m late to the training”.
He follows with the sight the leaving of Eilnys and then unfolds the parchment that contains this message: “Go to the north fifty miles and then six miles to the east, follow the roses”.
Immediately Eldak, with a strange feeling follows the indications of the note. Twenty minutes later he was stepped on the front of an ornamental arc with roses who drive to a passage of trees and roses. He starts to walk into the passage and let himself wonder with the decoration of the place, the smell of the roses and the flowers inflames the senses of Eldak, leaving her soul on a drunken state of joy and peace. To the final of the passage the whispering of a waterfall and the singing of birds leads outside. When he goes out, a hidden place on the woods with a waterfall, flowers and birds appears, and over a rock, Ararath with a white silk robe, without weapons, enjoying the view. Softly she turns her head to him and smiles; she calls him doing a sensual gesture with the hand.
Confused he walks softly to her and sits next to Ararath: -“What is this Ar.?”
The lady smiles to him: -“This is me, this is the elf who was been hidden all this years, I’m the woman behind the duty, a woman who wants to go outside, we have been twenty one years together, my time is fading out and I can’t think in a world without us, you have now forty years and your life is going to fade before mine, I want to give you a gift, a living gift. Eldak, I want to give you a child, the fruit of our tree, the top of our friendship, don’t say nothing, and just let it be” Ararath rubs the Eldak cheeks and kiss him, and Eldak gives Ararath this night a child.

Two years later:
A cabin near the elven camp, inside of them, Ararath with a very advanced state of pregnancy, feels the contractions after the childbirth and screams. Eldak takes her and he laid her on the bed. The child was being to born. After one hour of working, the baby was out of Ararath. Both smiles and looks to they child.
Ararath very exhausted said: “This child… is our fruit… the sweet Maraver” before saying this, she collapses and dies.
The eyes of Eldak open very wide and take the baby and put him on a cradle.
Gazing to the death body of Ararath take the almost warm hand of her and cries over her body: “Sorry dear, is the price to get laid with a red dragon” and he laughs.
Then, a knocking on the door sounds, and Eilnys Feline-Master enters and saw the scene: -“She… She is dead?”
Eldak gazes to Eilnys and said: “Yes Eilnys, his life was gone forever, my respects to her is giving her a proper funeral and leave this place”.
Eilnys gazes at him: “What? Are you leaving? Without the child? How can you do that?”
Eldak gives her an angry look: “Don’t dare to judge me elf! It’s our child, but I can’t carry with them, when the time approaches I will get back and see him” saying nothing more, carries the body of Ararath and goes out the cabin.
He carried her body fifty miles of the doors of the Elven camp and steps in front of the bushes where he saw her the first time and digs, two hours later, he buries Ararath and using arcane powers sets the bushes on Red and leaves. In the night the elves saws a Red dragon flying fast to the west growling victorious.






B. Maraver Tarmikos

Eilnys Feline-Master saws Eldak leaving with Ararath’s corpse and saws the baby on the cradle: -“What I suppose to do? Keep it and be his mother?”
The steps on the door sound loud and an elf enters: “No, Eilnys, you are young enough to being mother, let me take care of the child now.”
Eilnys confused said: “Mister Tarmikos? Why you are interested to care a child?”
Kalled Tarmikos said: “Less questions young lady, you know what the elves thinks about the cross-breeding, this baby is filth, I’ll take care of him, I’m the only what he have now… and you, but you don’t qualify to be mother, so, step back and let me take him”.
Eilnys said: “Kalled, I doubt about your wisdom, but you are right. You qualify to be your mentor” and saying this, Eilnys goes out of the cabin.
Kalled closes to the cradle and takes the baby: “Yes… hello… Maraver, I’m your new daddy and you are going to make me rich”

Ten years later:

Maraver Tarmikos, now a ten years child, comes back to the cabin where he born.
Two years ago Kalled Tarmikos abandon him and escaped from the elven camp, with the charges of assassination and robbery. Inside, Eilnys Feline-Master has been expecting him.
When he enters, Eilnys looked at Maraver and said: “Hello my dear, I brought you some food”, and he said: “I thank you Eilnys but, you don’t need to worry about me”.
She stands up and laughs: “I’m not doing this for charity, I expect to get my reward on the future” and goes out the cabin.
Confused, Maraver eats the food who Eilnys gives to him and looks out of the window: “I’m tired of this place, the people feel pity about me, I’m not designed to live on pity, I must leave now and don’t come back”.
Immediately wrote in a parchment a message to Eilnys and leaves without anything: -“Dear Eilnys, I don’t know your intentions, but I’m leaving, maybe I will come back later or sooner, don’t try to find me”.

That night, Eilnys found the note of Maraver, and stayed very still stepped with the parchment, several minutes takes her to recover from the shock, she closes the parchment to her chest and falls kneeled on the floor, whispering something and then, cries: -“Maybe if… I was gentler…” the guilt invades Eilnys very strong.

The step of Maraver Tarmikos has driven him to the walls of the city of Sundren, but for a child is not easy to survive for his own.
Standing surrounded of more fortunate people, Maraver feels the need of eating, and so, they close to a nobleman and ask: “Sir, can you give me some coins to buy bread?”
The nobleman examines him and said: “Bug off, scoundrel, I’m a very important person to lose time with peasants with pointy ears” and leaves.
Sensing the lack of charity of the humans, Maraver thinks about if was right to leave the elven camp.
But the hungry is intense and needs to be satisfied. Then, the actions take place naturally; he walks softly and a bit hurries, approaches the nobleman and steals his bag of coins like a professional and walked to a dark alley. He opens the bag and counts a hundred of Reds. That was easy, and the noble get what he deserves. This will teach him to help the less fortunate. Then he looks to the left and saw a Halfling who saw Maraver and asked to him: “What?” and gives a greedy gaze to the bag of Reds: “Where did you get that… let me see… the broken tip of the rope on there, illuminates me about you, you are a little smuggler”
The expression of Maraver turns serious: “Of course not! I’m not a smuggler, but he refuses to help me, so I give him what he deserves!”
The Halfling laughs: “Yeah, but… What stops me to give you to the Sundarian Guard?” and points to the bag. “Let’s do a fair deal, you work for me and I give you a place to rest, food and drink. It’s a cheap price… don’t look at me like that, no, I’m not going to stain your hands with blood, I’m not a murderer. Come on, follow me”


The back:
Ten years more have been passed since the encounter with the Halfling, Maraver lives from the smuggling for food and a place to rest. But the destiny may flip him destiny once more. That morning he woke up and hears an arguing from outside, he crawls to the window and saw the Halfling having a great discussion with a human.
The arguing grows on intensity and without warning the human pulls out a knife, lifts the halfling from the neck and stabs him three times.
Maraver extends his hand to the front trying to reach the halfling and unconsciously cast a Magic Missile, five blue spheres comes out from his hands and impacts on the human who fall death on the floor.
-“Holly Shit!” screamed Maraver with fear while gazes to his hand, and then looks to the crowd who gathered around the fight. The eyes of Maraver spotted a young man with red hairs and harmonic features, a heat burned inside him and then he faints on the ground.

The place was dark and a gust of wind surrounds Maraver:

Maraver: “Hello?”
Voice: “Hello…”
Maraver: “Who is there?”
Voice: “Me”
Maraver: “Who is “me”?”
Voice: “Eldak Wyvern”
Maraver: “And who the hell are you?”
Voice: “I’m the answer what you are searching, I’m the man what you want to see, and I’m your father Maraver.”
Maraver: “You lie; my father was killed by bandits!”
Voice: “That’s not the true Maraver, I see… the elves don’t tell you the truth, as I expected. Let me show you.”

The darkness and wind fades out showing the elven camp, and all the past history of Ararath and Eldak was showed to him.

Maraver: “What the hell are you, a kind of wizard?”
Voice: “I’m more than a simple wizard”

Eldak appears in front of Maraver in his human form and starts to change his shape.
Eldak transforms in a Red Dragon. Then, Maraver falls backwards scared: -“My father is a dragon? It’s a lie! I’m a low life smuggler”
The Red dragon growls and closes his head to Maraver: “Yes, but you don’t have the fault, all is my fault. You see… I not planed the death of your mother; my plan was live peacefully with your mother, a short term of time of quiet life on this five hundred years. When your mother dies I feared about your fate and mine, so I left in hands of the maiden and leave. But, the plan don’t was what I expected, you has been taken by an assassin and then you was alone again, and now this, condemned to live day by day smuggling, only a way of life to the normal people. You don’t have to live this anymore, son, come back to the elven camp with pride, laugh on the pity of the elves and the unkindness of the humans and show them why you are better than them. Farewell.”
A shock of heat strikes Maraver and he wakes up. His place on the world now is clear and he may return victorious to his land.

That night the footstep of Maraver was one hundred miles from the doors of the Elven Camp. A dire badger jumps to Maraver; the badger has the strength of a bear. In the ground Maraver stared at the badger, and this, transforms to a blonde young elven girl.
Mounted on Maraver, Eilnys Feline-Master gazes intensely to Maraver, and closes to Maraver’s mouth: -“At last, you are here, my dear” and kisses Maraver.
Maraver was surprised about this, and feels a bit embarrassed of this; Eilnys was a friend of the childhood. Why now may he see her like a woman?
But seeing the beauty on him, the doubt has been dissipated and taken all of Eilnys right there.



The sun appears on the horizon and the rays of the sun hits the eyes of Maraver.
Barely remembering last night wakes up.
Eilnys naked to his side, smiles him while playing with a finger on the chest of Maraver: “Hi Mar, how your travel was?” and she giggles.
Maraver yawns: -“Not really good, but the last night erased all the bad memories, oh Eilnys, I’m sorry, I don’t know about your feelings… I just leaved, I was a young boy, I don’t know about my past and… I think about you and all you have been losing while you take care of me.”
The elf throws an angry look to the half-elf: -“You are an idiot, you left me with a lot of things to say to you, every night when I prayed I asked to your back, my soul died every night alone in the cabin, and when I hear about you living like a smuggler I barely taken it. Every day I hoped to see you coming back. Idiot! Don’t ever leave me again!”
Maraver hugged Eilnys: “No, Eilnys I’m not leaving anymore, no more escaping, I’m a son of a dragon, you helped my fathers, you helped me. Now it’s my turn to thank you for all of these years. And let me tell you this, you are the only person what I care, the rest are shit and deserves to be crushed like the rats like they are”.
Eilnys said: “I know every secret of you Maraver. I’m your destiny. Fuck the others.”
And that morning, in the bushes, they were sworn eternal love.

One hundred thirty years later, Maraver Tarmikos and Eilnys Feline-Master walked up with the passage of roses and reached the waterfall.
-“Finally we are here… I saw this place on the visions, but doesn’t compares to the reality. Eilnys, are you sure? Don’t step back now.”
-“Yes Maraver, your life is going to end soon, and I want to have a child for remember this history of tragedy, love and power. Don’t talk anymore Maraver, come here”.
Like one hundred fifty two years ago, the waterfall was the main observer of the breeding of a child.

Two years later Eilnys brings to the world a cute lady elf baby, with a soft and barely brown skin like her mother and a red fire hair like her grandfather. They named Neristia Red Claw in honour of her grandfather Eldak.


C. Neristia Red Claw

Thirty years later of her born, Neristia loses her father because the father was reached his one hundred eighty years and dies by natural causes.
When her father dies, Eilnys gives Neristia a book: -“Dear daughter, your father don’t wanted to give this book, but I suppose what now he is dead you may know your past. Your father descent for the cross breed of an elf and a dragon, a Red one.”
Neristia gazed at her mother and asked: “What are you saying? A dragon? And what he… *blushes* you know…” and looked to the floor.
Her mother laughs and explained her about the transformation to a human being and then: “The important matter is this, you can take advantage of your lineage and with hard work you can increase your power and take outside the heritage. I read this book and I was surprised about, I warn you, you may have transformations… read it”.

Neristia read the book; she showed interest on the transformations and benefits. She lacks of the knowledge of a sorcerer to wield the arcane powers spontaneously, but she was young and focused her studies on the combination of arcane runes and the music.
Seventy years later, her studies has ended and her mother died also by natural causes. Looking at the elven camp, she decided to travel, she don’t want to be stuck on the camp all her life, she want to know the world like her grandfather and earn a big fortune. And, by the way, wake up the heritage inside and laugh on the face of the humans and the people who don’t have the power of the dragons flowing on the veins.