This post will be a bit different from the others. A friend of mine decided to start an RPG campaign in the coming months and invited my to be a part of it as a player. I got excited, as I am a “forever DM” in my almost eight-year campaign - which I will finish next year, keep posted - and started thinking about the character I was interested in playing.
I came to the conclusion that… I had no idea what I wanted. So I decided to use an old resource to aid in these uncertain times: luck. I spun three wheels with D&D races, classes and backgrounds, and these are the results:
- Elf
- Warlock
- Hermit
I could work with that. Interested in sharpening my writing skills, I asked him if it was ok to post my character’s backstory here - to fill the void of this month’s post - and showcase a bit of my passion.
Behold, the story of Elduin Newleaf! Or… almost about him, for that matter.
The morning sun shone in Meril’s eyes through the elven glass window, inlaid with small, decorative silver leaves. After sitting up and slowly stretching her arms overhead, she heard small, hurried footsteps approaching the room:
Mommy, mommy! Can we play in the north woods today? Elros said he saw some crystal-dragonflies there yesterday!
Meril smiled, caressed her son’s rosy cheeks, and told him:
We can go after lunch, my dear. Your mother needs to gather some herbs this morning.
After Elduin ran excitedly out of the house, she put on her characteristic green dress and leather pouch, swallowed a slice of pumpkin bread, and, wielding her staff, walked westward.
Beside the wooden bridge, she cultivated her mint seedlings. They should have been ready to harvest at that time of year. Staring at the horizon, she felt the first cold wind that announced the arrival of winter. Lost in thought, she considered what was missing from her pantry while flipping through her notebook.
Wild-herb, no… Glade-grass, no either… Ah! Here it is!
At that moment, a gust of wind blew away some loose pages from her notebook and - without hesitation - Meril chased after them through the grove. She managed to catch one that got tangled in a branch; she recovered another that stuck to the muddy ground, and the last one finally came to rest on… a lake?
“There are no lakes near here,” Meril hissed, questioning how far she had walked through the forest. At the lake’s edge, she saw the page floating above the reflection of the moon.
But it’s already night? And that moon is bigger than usual…
When her eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, horror took over her face. Hundreds of blood-covered elves were strewn across the ground. Not just elves, but also centaurs, fairies, animals… All shared in the crimson glow of that night.
“No, no, no, no!” she screamed, as she ran out of that clearing. Her run was short-lived, as she was quickly grabbed by the heel by a dying dryad, who had only the upper half of her body.
As she felt its roots growing and sinking their claws from her heel up to her chest, she delivered desperate kicks while fumbling for her staff. She didn’t find what she wanted, but what she needed: a dagger. She quickly plunged the metal once, twice, three times into the creature, until she felt the pressure of its fibers around her body release.
Stunned, Meril got up, recovered her staff, and retraced her steps in a hurried, uncoordinated manner, until she reached the edge of the forest. Finally, she saw the stream in the distance and threw herself onto the dirt path. Leaning on the stone bridge, she managed to get back on her feet and limped home, with the help of her staff, leaving a trail of blood along the way.
“Elduin? Elduin!” she called for her son after entering the house, leaning on the kitchen table while searching for healing herbs, her pestle, and some bandages. “Who’s there?” a deep voice answered, announcing its arrival with heavy steps.
Meril looked down the hallway and saw a man standing there, fists clenched, with a look that went from anger, to confusion, to complete panic. Nothing could be heard but the heavy breathing of the two. Meril looked at the man and then at the kitchen. It was her kitchen, no doubt. But she didn’t recognize that man. Their eyes met again:
Mother? - said the man - I-I thought you had been kidnapped, run away, killed!
The man ran towards Meril. In a reflex, she tried to move away, but ended up tripping and falling into one of the chairs. As the man knelt, examining the wounds on her legs, Meril noticed the resemblance to the same cheeks she had caressed that very morning.
Elduin? How… did you g-grow up so fast? Just this morning you were a child asking me to take you to play in the woods…
Mother… - Elduin paused, as he pulled the roots stuck in Meril’s body - You were gone for over a hundred years. I travelled for eighty years searching for you. Everyone declared you dead. We even buried a portrait of you here in the yard!
But… I… - she looked around the house, confused - ARGH!
Meril felt a deep pang in her chest. Trying to grab the roots, her hands found the bud of a flower dripping blood. Before either of them could act, Meril began to thrash, losing control of herself, and fell to the floor. Elduin supported his mother’s head on his thighs, trying to control the spasms.
Mother, hold on! You just got back, you can’t die now!
The… cup-board - Meril mumbled, as green foam spewed from her mouth.
Elduin ran to the cupboard, gathered all the vials he could find, but when he turned to the floor beside the table, his mother was no longer moving. He quickly slid to her, showing her all the vials, but his mother’s eyes were already empty, unresponsive. Staggering, he leaned on the sink and, screaming, flailed his arms, knocking over everything in his path.
After long seconds, silence took over. Elduin couldn’t face his mother’s body. He couldn’t even see it if he wanted to, through such a torrent of tears.
After a few minutes, he snapped out of his catatonic state and turned to where the body had been - which had now transformed into a large, pulsating cocoon made of branches and leaves, with that now-larger flower in the center of where his mother’s chest was.
Startled, he spotted - fallen beside his mother - the dagger she had found. He didn’t question the copper and emerald adornments, so similar to the living tissue that had wrapped his mother’s body; he just brandished the knife and plunged it into the middle of the cocoon.
Upon breaking the fibers, an explosion threw Elduin against the wall, and from the bluish glow emanating from the cut, an amorphous mass crawled out, slowly taking a humanoid form. Thick hair resembling branches grew from what would be the head, while skin enveloped the entire body. Finally, with a relieved sigh, red eyes stared at Elduin, and the figure said to him:
Thank you, elf. I owe my return to you and your mother - she moved her shoulders, as if testing her mobility. - Her body should be strong enough to maintain the bond of my spirit here in the material plane.
Elduin’s first instinct was to reach for the knife that had fallen beside him, but the movement was stopped by a snake, which had coiled tightly and quickly around his arm, forcing him to remain still.
Don’t try anything risky or I’ll rip your arm off - said the mysterious figure, now in rustic clothes made of fibers and leaves. - This should do - she said, looking at Meril’s staff, as her mere grasp made it grow leaves and enlarge the buds that had existed there for years. - Are you calmer?
She stretched her arm towards the snake, which quickly climbed up her body, and then extended her hand to Elduin:
My name is Baya-Baga. I am originally from the Fey plane, but I am trapped in the shadow realm, for now.
Elduin pushed her hand away as he leaned against the wall to stand up.
We were always taught not to interact with you, you lying murderers. GIVE ME MY MOTHER’S BODY BACK!
She gave a slight smile:
I can’t do that… Not right now, at least. I can give your mother’s body back, but only if you’re interested in what I have to say. How about we make a deal?
Standing, Elduin stared at the two pairs of red eyes, startled by the snake’s hiss. Backed against the wall, he asked:
What do you want from me?
You see, this body is merely an anchor for my soul in the material plane. My true body is being held captive in the shadow plane by a few… Objects, here in the material plane. Objects and… - Baya-baga shrugged - some people. Destroy and kill everything that keeps me from here, and I will return your mother’s body to you.
Not just the body. You will bring her back to me alive! Just as I saw her, a hundred years ago.
Baya-baga let out a laugh, looking down:
A deal’s a deal - she extended her hand to Elduin - allow me to give you the tools so we can achieve our goals…
And that’s about what I wrote for Elduin and Meril. I had fun applying some writing and storytelling technics, but this specific subject will be the focus of another post, entirely.
Thank you for your read and have a nice month!