Dr. Darcy Saphor

**Dr. Darcy Saphor** is a changeling artificer and medic from the rural village of Sheoshys. She was raised alone by her father, Gillian Saphor, after her mother disowned her for being a changeling. Darcy was a sickly child and learned various home medicine remedies from her father, ultimately deciding to become a traveling doctor after her father passed. She traveled the lands of Thera with her automaton companion S.T.A.A.T., learning from various cultures and species, before eventually becoming a student at Annovius College in Silverland.

## Biography

Darcy Saphor was born in the remote village of Sheoshys, deep within the forests of Silverland. Her father, a human named Gillian Saphor, raised her alone after her mother, a half-elf named Xilfaen Kin'nar, disowned them. Xilfaen was a cleric of Sylvanus and a huntress of the wilds, who had pledged herself to an order of female worshippers. This order prohibited huntresses from taking husbands or bearing children, and Xilfaen believed Darcy's "condition" — being born a changeling — was a punishment for her relationship with Gillian. As a result, she abandoned both of them and threatened to expose Darcy's identity if they claimed any connection to her.

Gillian managed to raise Darcy on his own. As a hunter and survivalist, Gillian kept the two of them well cared for during the following years. Darcy proved to be a sickly child, causing Gillian to become a knowledgeable healer as he learned to care for his daughter, and the two of them managed to keep Darcy's changeling identity a secret from the rest of Sheoshys.

When Darcy was a young adult, Gillian's health declined. Despite their best efforts, Gillian's life as a hunter and traveler had taken its toll on his body. He passed away peacefully in his sleep and Darcy was able to say her farewells before he died.

Now on her own, Darcy left Sheoshys and wandered the lands of Thera. She changed her form often and adopted new identities to better fit in with the locals, allowing her to study medicine from all kinds of sources: firbolg druids from Zellitia, tabaxi monks from Felmond, and dwarvish artificers from Tesska. Darcy eventually built a robotic companion she referred to as S.T.A.A.T. — a "Servomotor Tomographer and Automated Assistant Technician" — and enrolled in Annovius College to learn from the wizards and artificers there.

At Annovius, Darcy met and befriended Isaac Blackstone, Big Man, Percentile, and her roommate Paeris Von Iardi. They got along fairly well, but during their first week of classes they were confronted by a fellow student named Zepherban Ruby. Ruby was immediately jealous of them and sabotaged Annovius' legendary M.A.P.S. device, sending Darcy, Isaac, Big Man, and Paeris across the planes and into the heart of Mechanus, the clockwork realm of neutrality.

Darcy and the others were attacked by a modron and destroyed it, only to be told by a modron named Nemon that they had slain the guard of a Chaosvine Nexus, a plant-like demon from the Abyss. Nemon promised to send them back to Annovius if they promised to cull the Chaosvine while they repaired the slain guardian. Darcy and the others agreed, and ventured down into the containment unit to battle the strange creature within its lair.

Their mission was successful, and Darcy and the others were sent back to Annovius. They explained the situation to Annovius' headmaster Erolkovith and had Ruby expelled, although they were asked to help repair the M.A.P.S. device to protect the school's reputation. Darcy then spent the next year attending classes at Annovius alongside her new friends, who she eventually confided her true identity in and revealed her changeling abilities to.

## Description

### Appearance

Dr. Saphor is most often in her human form, with pale skin and whispy blonde hair. The form is a copy of a woman Darcy once saw as a child, who she thought looked the most like her father, Gillian. She believes that, had she been born a human or a half-elf like her parents, her human form would have most likely been what she would have looked like.

Dr. Saphor's true form has pale, colorless skin, long white hair, and pupil-less eyes. She is rarely in this form, even when she is by herself, and only reveals it to those she trusts.

Other forms she has adopted and used over the years are a green-furred firbolg druid, a long-bearded dwarf researcher, a dragonborn cleric of Bahamut, a halfling herbalist, and a tabaxi monk from Felmond.

### Personality

Dr. Saphor is inquisitive and excitable. She often finds it impossible not to ask questions or conduct studies on concepts she finds interesting, even if it is somewhat uncomfortable for those at the receiving end of her investigations. Darcy is a problem-solver and a deep thinker, with a particular love for mechnical sciences and engineering. Her biggest passion is in healing and discovering methods of medical care that avoid a reliance on divine magic. She has a hard time around elves and clerics — thanks to her mother — but is not so stubborn that she can't be convinced of their character.