Oneshots, ideas and rejects.

3. A Dungeons & Dragons character backstory.

Maeve the Moonchild

Pallid Elf
Rogue lvl 3 - Sorcerer lvl 1
Outlander

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During the Calamity, under the Crawling King's attack, many elven denizens were dragged underground and tortured, but some survived amongst the sunken roots of the Pallid Grove under the protection of the Moonweaver, Sehanine.

These elves came to be known as the pallid elves.
The pallid elves did not start to venture out of the Pallid Grove until some time before the War of Ash and Light, confused and curious about the world that had developed without them.

The very first group of elves to leave their home amongst the sunken roots of the Pallid Grove, moved to Xhorhas a hundred or so years before our story starts, in 835PD, where they made a home of one of the mountains near the Vermaloc woods.

Velaris.

An entire city carved into the dark stone under the mountain itself.
With little streets, separate buildings with small spires, homes, and bridges.
On every surface is carved artwork: figures dance and pray to the moon goddess Sehanine, pillars are carved to look like the curling roots of Pallid trees.
Water runs throughout the city in little streams and rivers tapped from the heart of the mountain itself, and the entire place is bathed by a magical moon-like glow.

Amongst that group of pallid elves is where our hero's story starts.
Inside the mountain, the first child born in Velaris.

Maeve the Moonchild.

Maeve was born into a family of a mother, a father and an older brother.
She had a wonderful childhood adventuring Velaris.
And when she got older and tired of Velaris and reached her rebellious young adult years, she started venturing outside the mountain city to look at Catha, the moon.

Maeve's obsession with Catha started at a very young age when her mother started telling her stories of Sehanine, the moon goddess.

With her love of the moon, came a natural love of the night. But Maeve didn't love the night for the obvious reason that was sleeping.
Instead she loved the night for its serenity and solitude.
There was nothing better than being awake at night.

Though right now, in this moment, Maeve found it torturous as she laid confined to her bed having been grounded for being caught going to The Outside.

She wanted to explore, go for a climb up the mountain and touch the stars above her. But her father had placed her under house arrest immediately after her return from The Outside, forbidding her from ever going out there again.
His worries were understandable considering what he and the other elders had been through, but Maeve felt he was being a bit too overprotective about The Outside.

It was forbidden to go Outside for the citizens of Velaris.
A rule put in place by the elders, punishable by banishment... unless your father was on said council of elders. Then the punishment was a simple house arrest.

It had only been a couple of hours since dinner, where her father had put her on lockdown, but she was already going mildly insane, especially knowing he intended to keep her inside Velaris forever.

Maeve shifted onto her side and hopelessly tried to close her eyes and find sleep.
But a needy tugging, like a string bound to her guts, had her opening her eyes again.

A little spark fired in Maeve's brain as she recalled her mother's stories about Sehanine and how she sometimes bound destined lovers with invisible strings to reunite them.

After tossing and turning for a couple hours, enough was enough.
The heart wanted what it wanted, and after all, her mother had said that the bond between destined lovers which Sehanine creates is considered sacred to the pallid elves.
So who was she to deny a possibly destined love?

Slowly, and silently as a cat, Maeve snuck out of her bed and carefully went to the door, finally caving and succumbing to the tug on that needy little string around her guts.
Step after step she listened for any signs that her family might have woken, but there was none.
The house was dead silent.
The thought of the mountain perhaps even aiding her in her escape, crossed her mind and made her smile as she reached for the doorknob.
The hallway was bathed in only a soft eerie glow, and light snoring could be heard from multiple rooms.

The stairs barely made sound under her footsteps as she descended, so far successful in her escape attempt.
Maeve made it to the entrance, opting not to put on shoes before she headed out. The front door closed behind her with a soft click that had her cringe for a moment, but no one seemed to stir inside the house.

Maeve sprinted down the streets of Velaris and quickly ascended the stairs that led to the entrance of the entire city.

Her warm breath hang softly in the cold air behind her as fog as she immediately started climbing the outside of the mountain.

It was exhilarating. The chilly night breeze ruffling her hair and clothes on the exposed mountainside.
The clear night sky, stars twinkling like small eyes at her, and the white moon illuminating The Outside, bathing her in its magical glow.

The tug on her insides lessened infinitely as she climbed closer to the sky.
Maeve felt like bursting into a scream of pure fucking joy as she reached the top of the mountain.
She never knew she could feel so complete and truly free as she spread her arms as if inviting the moon goddess herself in for a loving embrace.

Get back. Now.

The way his voice rang in her mind like a haunting echo and words clawed against her skull, let Maeve know that her brother was not pleased at all.
How he knew she was gone from the house was beyond her though. She was sure he hadn't woken when she left.

Begrudgingly, the sight of winking stars in the distance was traded for dark stone walls, and the moon was left to cast its longing silvery fingers after her as its lover turned to head back home under the mountain and face the fury of her family.

It took Maeve one week after that to pack her things and leave Velaris behind.
She wanted to find the end of that little line tugging longingly at her insides, she wanted to meet Catha, the big white moon where she connected with the land, she wanted to see the Pallid Grove where her people came from, and she wanted to experience everything the Outside could offer her in color, lights and culture.

Maeve had spent her first hundred years in Velaris under the mountain, and now she wanted to spend at least twice as long exploring The Outside.