Mendira

Mendira
Status
Race	Elf
Gender	Female
Guild	Bard
Instance	Prime

You see Mendira, an Elf.
She has pointed ears and faded lilac eyes. Her dark brown hair is long and wavy, and is worn loose, tucked behind her ears. She has copper skin.
She has a delicately painted design of jade green ivy leaves radiating out from your eyes.
She appears to be young.
She is in good shape.

She is wearing a dusk-hued tapestry cloak clasped at the shoulder with a dark sapphire cabochon, a carmine Passion rose, a fitted black silk bodice with a lace-filled sweetheart neckline, a pale amethyst faesilk dancing skirt edged in sparkly gold sequins and some thin-soled velvet slippers with spiraling straps.

Background

Her mother, Oramaztu, was a young Elven woman of the Wind Elf tribe who fell in love with the Falconer of Zaldi Taipa, Kunzen. After a prolonged and turbulent courtship, he confessed that he did not return her affections, and urged her to find another. Heartbroken, Oramaztu fled the village with nothing but her horse and a small purse of coins, eventually arriving in Leth Deriel.

Oramaztu lived in a room at the Rest of Ages Inn quietly, but after some time was surprised to discover that she was with child. The effusive joy of her condition was clear to anyone who saw her, however she herself could not be certain whether the joy was for the rare blessing of an Elven child, or for her certainty that Kunzen could not refuse such a blessing. She immediately set off for home.

Stopping for lodging overnight at Fayrin's Rest, the restless Oramaztu sat in the greatroom of the Inn, unable to sleep. Ivo Marachek, a distant acquaintance from her childhood in Ilithi, came across her there and instantly recognized her face. They sat before the fire for some time, discussing the past and the trivialities of daily life. As was her way, Oramaztu revealed little of her situation. However, curiosity eventually overcame her, and she asked Ivo for any news from Zaldi Taipa. The Olvi beamed happily and began to gush of the recent influx of trade from Zaldi Taipa, as the Elves there ordered weapons and supplies for a grand hunt and feast. Oramaztu inquired as to the cause for such a celebration, and Ivo was only too pleased to inform her that the Falconer of the village was lately bonded.

In her shock, Oramaztu could make no reply. However, a few moments later she was able to collect her senses, and, after quietly excusing herself and leaving word with the proprietor to have her horse sent to Zaldi Taipa, began the long journey back to Leth Deriel in the dark of night and on foot.

Many months passed, and Oramaztu one day gave birth to a frail Elven girl, tiny but with a head of dark curls. Inspired by the babe's delicacy and unable to forget her father, Oramaztu gave her the heart name of Cichiscimi, or "tiny bird" in Common. Still, the girl grew quickly, outgrowing her seeming fragility and, while she could not completely blend in with the children of the Forest Elves, with her dark complexion and hair she did not stand out too awkwardly either. As the girl grew in strength and beauty, her mother seemed to languish. Distracted by her ever present grief to the point of obsession, she left her daughter mostly to the care of the kind inhabitants of Leth Deriel. Eventually, she abandoned her motherhood completely, disappearing one night into the forest, never to return.

Her daughter was by then called Geshemendira ("frozen treasure," in Common), or Mendira for short. The child was nearly 9 years old, and she was sent to an orphanage in the Crossing. The filthy orphanage was teeming with miserable urchins, as seemingly every child in the city had lost his or her parents to some tragedy or other. Therefore, she ran away. With no parental supervision to speak of and able to wander about the streets as she pleased, Mendira sought refuge in tiny hidden spots about the city. One such spot was beneath a workbench in what appeared to be a small instrument repair shop on Clanthew Boulevard.

One day, as she sat beneath the workbench singing quietly to herself and playing alone, she found herself being yanked to her feet, a sharp pain shooting through her right ear. She gazed up at the frightful visage of an apparently very angry Elven woman, who held her ear in a tight pinch. "So this is the wretched sound I've been assaulted with all morning! Child, if you must open your mouth, let it not be to sing... You've no talent for it at all." A glimmer appeared in the woman's eyes. "Let's find something useful for you to do."

So began Mendira's training. For many years she remained an apprentice, first studying under Silvyrfrost. Under the care of the Master Bardess, Mendira flourished, excelling at playing instruments and especially dance. While her shy nature and complete inability to sing in tune precluded any such performances or storytelling, the girl found a powerful method of communication in the art of movement. Eventually, she found her way back south to Leth Deriel, apprenticing under Sinjian to carve simple instruments.

Finally, years after her initial encounter with the fiery Elf, she stood before Silvyfrost and became a guilded Bardess. Today Mendira has returned to Zaldi Taipa, and while still an outsider in the village, she has found a home atop a wide cedar tree in the grasslands outside of it, training and hunting alone. While none of the Wind Elves know her true background, including her father who is still the Falconer there, Mendira senses some recognition in the graceful nod of the Sulde Taala, and in that moment she feels the sort of belonging she seeks.

UPDATE: It didn't work out.