Post by djdas on Mar 29, 2008 21:37:36 GMT -5
Flora Nightgale –
It was a typical day for Flora. She was out wandering the woods near her home in search of special herbs and roots her mother used in making curatives and healing balms. It was a pretty peaceful area. Occasionally orc raiders or bandits harassed the area, and once in a while she heard of more awful things crawling out of the Troll Moors near Nesme, but here in the Rivermoot area it was… well mother said is was paradise. Flora was getting bored, but the yearly trip to Silverymoon was coming up and that promised some excitement, even if it was just watching people from behind mothers wares booth. Most people in the area were farmers. A unruly dwarven smithy made his home here too, always complaining about being asked to make tools and such stuff. He did have a nice selection of weapons on display and claimed to have made them all… but Flora wasn’t interested in that. She did find a learning about herb and plant lore a little interesting, but what really interested her was a well kept secret. If her mother ever found out she’d lock her in the shed for a year.
Arriving at her special hideaway, she began climbing the huge tree, going up and up to the weaker limbs where she had built a comfortable.. well.. nest. She had been coming here more and more.. her mother thought her at play of course, but she kept her most prized possession up here… an apprentice spell book she had found a couple years ago in the aftermath of one of those infrequent raids. She also had ring that she pretended was magical, but if it did anything she didn’t know how to work it. She desperately wanted her mother to send her to learn magic at a school in Silverymoon.. or even apprentice her to some other wizard in the area.. there were a few.
Finishing her climb, she laid the bag with the gathered herb beside her, picked up the spellbook reverently and began to try to make sense of it. She could read a little, having learned from reading her mothers curative recepies, so she knew the spell she was reading about could create magical light, but the language of magic meant nothing to her. Laying the book down, frustrated, she laid back and looked up at the sky, daydreaming of a day she would cast the spell and light her mothers workshop, to her mothers amazement and joy.
A few years had passed, and Flora was about to reach her 14th year. Unbeknownst to her mother, she had befriended a grouchy wizard that lived in a nearby town, called High Hold. The grouch ran a magic shop there, selling potions and other magical aids… as well as scrolls. He had been hard to get close to, but one day he mentioned his goddess, Mystra, and Flora found he likes to talk about her. He knew Flora’s mother though and wouldn’t teach her anything about magic.
One day, up her tree sanctuary, Flora prayed to Mystra, and asked her to help her learn the light spell she had been reading about so long. She sat down with the book and found she understood what she was reading. She practiced saying the words, intoning the syllables various ways until it happened. Suddenly the area around her was awash with a soft, clear white light. She felt a strange and exhilarating sensation go through her and the magic light came into being. She was ecstatic and couldn’t wait to show her mother. She was even more eager to read further in the spellbook though, and ended up staying there reading, studying how to create small balls of acid she could hurl, and rays of searing cold.
When she got home that night, hours after sun down, her mother was in a fright. Both relieved and angry she hurried her child into their modest home and asked what had happened, what she had been up to. Flora lied. It was the first time she had ever done that to her mother.
“I was with Galen mother… he brought me wild flowers, and we went down the river near the edge of the farms. I’m sorry, I lost track of time…”
“Galen! He’s three years older than you! Your not leaving here for a week girl… and I never want you out with Galen alone again!”
“Oh.. we weren’t alone mother. Ricky and Tabby were there too, we just played in the shallows and Galen tried to grab fish… it was so funny… i'm sorry mother, I wont stay out past dark again, please don’t make me stay indoors for a week!”
Flora was a bit surprised at how well her lie was coming together, but she was a smart girl, and beautiful, so her story was believable. Flora continued to study the cantrips in the spellbook and it didn’t take her long to master them. How was she going to continue her education? This frustrating thought plagues her constantly, and finally when she turned 16 years old she told her mother everything.
At first her mother was furious and disappointed. She had always trusted her daughter, and loosing that crushed her. Flora grew depressed as well for she could see the sadness in her mothers eyes. Soon, these worries would be forgotten… real trouble was coming there way.
The horrible stories of Obould’s armies sweeping out of the North brought real fear to the small community. When his armies laid siege to Nesme, just a short distance away, her Mother decided it was time to move. There was refugees coming into town everyday and there had been farms sacked and destroyed just a few miles from town. Packing up, they left for High Hold, a larger, walled town that offered a bit more safety.
Flora knew she couldn’t use her simple spells to help the magi of the Arcane Circle in Nesme to fight off those armies.. but how she wished she could be one of them, throwing flames and destruction among the horrible orcs and giants. Times had changed, and knowing this she asked her mother permission to pursue her magical studies. Knowing the dangers about, and wanting her daughter to be able to protect herself, she agreed.
Their mage ware friend in High Hold agreed to apprentice her and teach her what she needed to continue her education in Silverymoon. A year later.. when Flora reached her 16th year, she was sent off to Silverymoon to finish her apprenticeship studies. The war still raged to the north, and though Flora hoped for a swift victory, she also hoped for the chance to join in the battle there and be of what little use an aspiring, but very inexperienced magi could be.
Her commencement from the her small, and sort of shabby, school came when she was about to reach her 18th year. The graduation games, as they were called, were held outside Silverymoon. All the senior classmates were to compete for the right of being that years top pupil. The games consisted of hurling a magic missile at a dummy target, and then destroying a large pile of timber, all while every student in the class did whatever they wanted to try to distract you. Flora was looking forward to it. She had a plan. Most student her age were only able to commit a couple spells to memory, but Flora had chosen to be an evocation specialist.. with thoughts of being more useful in the war against Obould and his armies. She was able to remember three..,. and that third spell would make the difference, and probably make her time the quickest.
The day came, and Flora had the honor of going first. Her fellow student we hooting and hollering, some throwing small stones at her, though none hit her. She smiled and began casting her first spell. The words of magic flowed through her, everyone expected to see a missile hurl towards the target dummy, but instead suddenly about half the students, blinked, and fell to the ground asleep. Flora immediately focused on casting the remaining spells, her magic missile flew and burst into the dummy target, and fan of flame shot from her hands engulfing the timber immediately after that. She had done well, but alas, she didn’t win. Another classmate had beat her time… he had only cast two spells, to her three, but had only beat her by a few seconds. Still. Flora won the day, everyone thought what she had done was not only funny, but showed some strategic intelligence. She was praised as well.
The next day the best and worse news Flora could have heard came to Silverymoon. Obould and his armies had been beaten back. They had taken to the hills. Unable to stomach the idea of returning home to her mother and the boring scrounging for herbs and roots, Flora sent word to her mother, saying she was off to see the world. She was going to go to Cormyr first and would send word and any coin she could spare to help out.
And so she did.
The end.
It was a typical day for Flora. She was out wandering the woods near her home in search of special herbs and roots her mother used in making curatives and healing balms. It was a pretty peaceful area. Occasionally orc raiders or bandits harassed the area, and once in a while she heard of more awful things crawling out of the Troll Moors near Nesme, but here in the Rivermoot area it was… well mother said is was paradise. Flora was getting bored, but the yearly trip to Silverymoon was coming up and that promised some excitement, even if it was just watching people from behind mothers wares booth. Most people in the area were farmers. A unruly dwarven smithy made his home here too, always complaining about being asked to make tools and such stuff. He did have a nice selection of weapons on display and claimed to have made them all… but Flora wasn’t interested in that. She did find a learning about herb and plant lore a little interesting, but what really interested her was a well kept secret. If her mother ever found out she’d lock her in the shed for a year.
Arriving at her special hideaway, she began climbing the huge tree, going up and up to the weaker limbs where she had built a comfortable.. well.. nest. She had been coming here more and more.. her mother thought her at play of course, but she kept her most prized possession up here… an apprentice spell book she had found a couple years ago in the aftermath of one of those infrequent raids. She also had ring that she pretended was magical, but if it did anything she didn’t know how to work it. She desperately wanted her mother to send her to learn magic at a school in Silverymoon.. or even apprentice her to some other wizard in the area.. there were a few.
Finishing her climb, she laid the bag with the gathered herb beside her, picked up the spellbook reverently and began to try to make sense of it. She could read a little, having learned from reading her mothers curative recepies, so she knew the spell she was reading about could create magical light, but the language of magic meant nothing to her. Laying the book down, frustrated, she laid back and looked up at the sky, daydreaming of a day she would cast the spell and light her mothers workshop, to her mothers amazement and joy.
A few years had passed, and Flora was about to reach her 14th year. Unbeknownst to her mother, she had befriended a grouchy wizard that lived in a nearby town, called High Hold. The grouch ran a magic shop there, selling potions and other magical aids… as well as scrolls. He had been hard to get close to, but one day he mentioned his goddess, Mystra, and Flora found he likes to talk about her. He knew Flora’s mother though and wouldn’t teach her anything about magic.
One day, up her tree sanctuary, Flora prayed to Mystra, and asked her to help her learn the light spell she had been reading about so long. She sat down with the book and found she understood what she was reading. She practiced saying the words, intoning the syllables various ways until it happened. Suddenly the area around her was awash with a soft, clear white light. She felt a strange and exhilarating sensation go through her and the magic light came into being. She was ecstatic and couldn’t wait to show her mother. She was even more eager to read further in the spellbook though, and ended up staying there reading, studying how to create small balls of acid she could hurl, and rays of searing cold.
When she got home that night, hours after sun down, her mother was in a fright. Both relieved and angry she hurried her child into their modest home and asked what had happened, what she had been up to. Flora lied. It was the first time she had ever done that to her mother.
“I was with Galen mother… he brought me wild flowers, and we went down the river near the edge of the farms. I’m sorry, I lost track of time…”
“Galen! He’s three years older than you! Your not leaving here for a week girl… and I never want you out with Galen alone again!”
“Oh.. we weren’t alone mother. Ricky and Tabby were there too, we just played in the shallows and Galen tried to grab fish… it was so funny… i'm sorry mother, I wont stay out past dark again, please don’t make me stay indoors for a week!”
Flora was a bit surprised at how well her lie was coming together, but she was a smart girl, and beautiful, so her story was believable. Flora continued to study the cantrips in the spellbook and it didn’t take her long to master them. How was she going to continue her education? This frustrating thought plagues her constantly, and finally when she turned 16 years old she told her mother everything.
At first her mother was furious and disappointed. She had always trusted her daughter, and loosing that crushed her. Flora grew depressed as well for she could see the sadness in her mothers eyes. Soon, these worries would be forgotten… real trouble was coming there way.
The horrible stories of Obould’s armies sweeping out of the North brought real fear to the small community. When his armies laid siege to Nesme, just a short distance away, her Mother decided it was time to move. There was refugees coming into town everyday and there had been farms sacked and destroyed just a few miles from town. Packing up, they left for High Hold, a larger, walled town that offered a bit more safety.
Flora knew she couldn’t use her simple spells to help the magi of the Arcane Circle in Nesme to fight off those armies.. but how she wished she could be one of them, throwing flames and destruction among the horrible orcs and giants. Times had changed, and knowing this she asked her mother permission to pursue her magical studies. Knowing the dangers about, and wanting her daughter to be able to protect herself, she agreed.
Their mage ware friend in High Hold agreed to apprentice her and teach her what she needed to continue her education in Silverymoon. A year later.. when Flora reached her 16th year, she was sent off to Silverymoon to finish her apprenticeship studies. The war still raged to the north, and though Flora hoped for a swift victory, she also hoped for the chance to join in the battle there and be of what little use an aspiring, but very inexperienced magi could be.
Her commencement from the her small, and sort of shabby, school came when she was about to reach her 18th year. The graduation games, as they were called, were held outside Silverymoon. All the senior classmates were to compete for the right of being that years top pupil. The games consisted of hurling a magic missile at a dummy target, and then destroying a large pile of timber, all while every student in the class did whatever they wanted to try to distract you. Flora was looking forward to it. She had a plan. Most student her age were only able to commit a couple spells to memory, but Flora had chosen to be an evocation specialist.. with thoughts of being more useful in the war against Obould and his armies. She was able to remember three..,. and that third spell would make the difference, and probably make her time the quickest.
The day came, and Flora had the honor of going first. Her fellow student we hooting and hollering, some throwing small stones at her, though none hit her. She smiled and began casting her first spell. The words of magic flowed through her, everyone expected to see a missile hurl towards the target dummy, but instead suddenly about half the students, blinked, and fell to the ground asleep. Flora immediately focused on casting the remaining spells, her magic missile flew and burst into the dummy target, and fan of flame shot from her hands engulfing the timber immediately after that. She had done well, but alas, she didn’t win. Another classmate had beat her time… he had only cast two spells, to her three, but had only beat her by a few seconds. Still. Flora won the day, everyone thought what she had done was not only funny, but showed some strategic intelligence. She was praised as well.
The next day the best and worse news Flora could have heard came to Silverymoon. Obould and his armies had been beaten back. They had taken to the hills. Unable to stomach the idea of returning home to her mother and the boring scrounging for herbs and roots, Flora sent word to her mother, saying she was off to see the world. She was going to go to Cormyr first and would send word and any coin she could spare to help out.
And so she did.
The end.
