Winett

**BACKSTORY**

Growing up as a woodland elf in the elven nation of Ancoa, Winett always wanted to explore the outside world, discover new places and people. The city where she is from is called Antas. It is a small fishing village at the edge of the forest and the beginning of the Harcoa Sea, where tree elves and ocean elves live in a stable truce. During her education, she was forced to study all the most sacred spiritual practices of the wood elves, and although she never liked it, she was always good at it. She became very spiritual out of necessity and quickly became very close with the elven deity Erevan IIesere. Although this connection seemed sacred, This deity was one of trickery and deceit, so she was forced to keep this worship a secret.

The god would send her on small missions and errands throughout the years to prove her loyalty to him. One mission she was sent to befriend the Princess of the Sea elves, Ryo of Caslad. This divine order became a blessing within a short time as Princess Ryo and Winett became the closest of friends, trading knowledge and skills from either culture with one another. Ryo taught Winett how to fish better than anyone in Antas, and became the first wood elf in all of Ancoa to learn how to swim. Winett taught Ryo how to shoot a bow and arrow with exact precision, and also how to become virtually invisible to the untrained eye using the power of her patron Erevan IIesere. She ended up splitting her time between Caslad and her home town of Antas, spending the cold months on Arcoan land and the warm months respectively in the Harcoa Sea. Whether she was in the sea or walking on land, she always pledged her loyalty to her divine leader Erevan IIesere.

Winett’s loyalty did not go unseen as she was given three divine gifts. The first of the three gifts was the ability to never get lost as long as she is somewhere familiar; if Winett has been there before she knows exactly where she is and where to go. The second divine gift was that as long as she was completely alone; being miles away from any other conscious being; she could tell the near future. The last of the three gifts was being able to truth tell. Winett was given these gifts on one condition and on condition only. She had to remain loyal to Erevan IIesere, no matter what happens to her, or she will cease to have ever existed.

Ancoa is a powerful force in the world, its army in the tens of thousands, its leaders the wisest in all the lands. They have won every battle, but they have never started a war. Lets just say that Ancoa wants peace and has no problem keeping it. As the land of Ancoa is peaceful, its elven population is satisfied and cheerful, as the city is surrounded by a thirty foot wooden wall, they never have to think about their safety or financial wellbeing. Antas is the capital city on the most northern coast of Ancoa. The large population of wood elves that live here are mostly elves of science. The next biggest social group is the spiritual community where Winett has found her own. Although Winett worships Erevan IIesere, the main deity of Arcoa is Rillifane Rallathil, the god of nature. After receiving the three divine gifts from her patron, Winett would go on an exhibition with Ryo out into the great northern sea of Harcoa every quarter year. They would always visit the small, desolate island of Pelduin. This was about a week-long voyage there and back, and all that would happen is that Winett would venture out on her own, miles away from Ryo and the shore, and use her divine gift of seeing the near future to tell if the great cities of Caslad and Antas were going to be kept safe for the next couple of months.

After receiving the three divine gifts from her patron, Winett would go on an exhibition with Ryo out into the great northern sea of Harcoa every quarter year. They would always visit the small, desolate island of Pelduin. This was about a week-long voyage there and back, and all that would happen is that Winett would venture out on her own, miles away from Ryo and the shore, and use her divine gift of seeing the near future to tell if the great cities of Caslad and Antas were going to be kept safe for the next couple of months.

Most months there was nothing but peace. But on one special expedition in the middle of the cold season, that was about to change. Winett did her normal routine of venturing off into the wild to see the future, but when she looked afar, she saw something terrible. The wooden city of Antas was in flames from top to bottom. Chaos ensued while the militia of Antas and the ocean crew of Caslad were loading the citizens onto boats as an effort to evacuate the city. Orcs had somehow made it into Arcoa and made their way into Antas, and Caslad was their next target.

Winett rushed back to Ryo and told her the visions; they went as fast as they could back to the ship and sailed to the great city of Antas. The whole trip back, Winett prayed frantically to her patron Erevan Ilesere, but didnt get a single response in return. When they arrived in view of Antas it was too late, the city was in flames, and the citizens were gone. They quickly rushed to Caslad. The great Harcoan city had suffered the same fate. Not having many options, they decided to sail back out into the ocean and try to find the survivors.

Weeks went by without any luck. No traces of elven people, no traces of Orcs. They couldn't find any land at all, and as this was somewhere they had never been, they were lost in the great Harcoan sea. One night in the middle of the night they heard a loud flapping on the deck of the boat. Winett stepped onto the deck to see a giant green pixie the size of a giant weighing down the ship, almost drowning it. This green pixie was Erevan Ilesere taking his natural green form. Erevan informed the two sea-bearing stranded travelers that he knew where the rest of the Antas and Caslad residents were, but he would only give them one hint as to where to find them. Right then a giant sickle came down and cut the ship in half sending the boat flying apart in two distinct pieces: one with Winett, one with Ryo. Then Erevans gloomy voice boomed “have fun dreaming about me.” Before Winett or Ryo could say or do anything, they both fell asleep, drifting apart in separate directions.

In this dream a green face spoke. “Thank you for being so loyal to me, I wish this could have ended differently for you, but I needed my fun. You see, Antas is special to me as it was the same land that I was born into and I wanted it back, simple as that. And although I could have made it easier for you to escape and find your people, I wanted to challenge you as my follower, see how loyal you really are. So now I have taken away your people, taken your closest friend, and sent you adrift into unknown land. Let's see how you handle this. When you wake up, you will be on an island called Sherr. Hopefully you can find the clues I have laid out for you within your time there. Good luck.”

And Winett woke up frustrated, confused, and bound by loyalty to a greedy deity who had destroyed the only home she ever knew.