Clem Trausch

## Appearance

As a gnome, Clem stands at a shorter stature than most. His pale skin allows the many freckles on his face to become more pronounced, and his bright green eyes are framed by round glasses. He wears simple traveler's clothes with a scarf, which some would consider "dirty" or "ugly". His hair, while not completely messy, is verging on unkempt due to being curly. Throughout his hair is an assortment of wildflowers he placed haphazardly while on his travels.

## Personality

Clem is, by nature, a researcher and a person very worthy of the title of “the Archivist”. He can almost always be found with a journal and pencil in hand, taking notes on the environment around him, notable people or features, and, more recently, significant happenings in his travels. He especially enjoys researching plants, which can be seen in his vast knowledge of them and many journal pages dedicated to them. However, he is especially awkward and soft-spoken around strangers, even when it comes to the research topics he is so well-versed in. This, along with his flowery appearance and small stature, causes many to underestimate him and his abilities, even though he has proven to be capable and self-sufficient with his newfound independence.

## Backstory

Growing up in Evadne, where the flowers always grow and the people work tirelessly to keep them alive and well, Clem was always a bit different from the rest. He could never keep plants the way his family and friends could no matter what he tried; some would say he has a “black thumb”. However, Clem was determined to correct this. Each day, he would go out to the flower fields with his journal, taking notes on the flora and their environment or simply meditating and breathing in the fresh, naturally perfumed air. For many days he would do this alone, not caring that some considered him odd for preferring the company of the plants on the outskirts of town or tried to drag him away from this tradition by inviting him elsewhere. That is, until the day he wasn’t alone.

As he made his way out into the fields that fateful day, taking care not to crush any flowers as he set his belongings down, he looked up and saw a figure sitting off in the distance. Clem was astounded at this newfound company; he didn’t realize other people came all the way out here like he did. After deciding to go sit near this new person, he learned more about her. Tall, elven, strawberry blonde hair with purple flowers strewn throughout, uncaring that the field’s dirt had soiled the bottom of her flowing dress. Together, they held a calm conversation about the flowers and plants. The girl’s cadence was soothing, and she always seemed to have a warm smile on her face as she would teach Clem about the flowers they sat among. Clem scribbled in his journal as he always did, but he soon found himself looking up and meeting her soft blue eyes more and more. Finally, she left him with a parting gift of an introduction: her name was Wisteria.

Later that day, Clem hurried back into town, eager to have something of interest other than new flower morphs or growth patterns to tell his friends about. However, the reaction he received to his tale of the mysterious girl he talked to was not what he expected. Rather than being amused or prodding for more about a potential date, they all stood slack-jawed. Little did Clem realize, he just talked to a deity. Wisteria was not a simple girl from somewhere in town; she was a goddess of nature whom people rarely saw. At that moment, Clem swore he would find a way to see her again.

Clem returned home very tired that day. His head throbbed with an ache of embarrassment; what if Wisteria thought he had shown disrespect by not acknowledging her godliness? Anyone else would have been able to do that, right? Despite this worry, he decided that the only thing he really could do was do what anyone else did when they wanted to reach out to a god: pray. Before bed, he clasped his hands together and shut his eyes, whispering an apology out into the air and a request to talk to Wisteria again, out in the fields perhaps. The sun rose over Evadne once more, and Clem went about his day, awaiting the moment he could spring out to the fields and replaying the vision of seeing Wisteria and getting to talk with her again over and over in his mind. Unfortunately, the fields were empty except for him and the flowers, as they had been long before any mention of wisterias came into his life outside of his journals.

For 100 days, Clem continued his normal routine, hoping that Wisteria would be there on at least one of them. His heart sank when he realized he may have lost his second chance a long time ago; maybe it was time to move on from the flowers and fanciful daydreams of a goddess among men daring to grace the dirt and sit beside him again. So, he did as many in a world like Dinami do, and packed a bag with a plan for adventure ready in his mind. However, as he made the first step out of Evadne, a light tap on the shoulder and a calm, airy voice turned him around.

*“Where are you going?”*

*“On an adventure.”*

*“Without me?”*

## Epilogue(?)

coming soon...

but he's definitely coming back someday it's not the end for this flower boy