Anastriana Oakenheel

## Backstory - My Notes

Ana is kind of a bad ass, she's harboring a lot of rage against Drow who killed her parents. She worships the goddess Nephthys, sorrow and grief.

## Backstory - Player Generated

The sun peaked above the horizon of the Sword Sea. The town of Leilon began to awaken and greet the new day. Shops opened their doors, children ran through the streets, and mothers prepared the meals of the day.

A lonely woman stood on the shore of the Sea and stared out towards the horizon,dreaming of greater adventures than what Leilon had to offer. Anastrianna always knew that she was somehow different than her friends in town. She longed to learn of her Elven history. Unfortunately, whenever she would bring up the subject with her mother, arguments soon followed.

“These humans welcome us. Why would you risk leaving to the Elven towns where nothing but scorn would meet you? Yes, you are a half-elf. But, anything you need to learn of Elven culture I can teach you.”

“You always say that and then you always get mad when I ask you anything about Elves,” was the usual frustrated reply. “I know everything about being human from father and his family. Why can’t we travel to where you were raised? Why can’t we meet your family?”

“That’s enough Ana,” her mother would interrupt sternly. “We have gone over this multiple times. The elves of my kind are not very welcoming of other races. When the elders learned of my relationship with your father, I was asked to leave and never return. It would be a great risk to our family…”

Much closer in height to her father, but with the bronze skin, copper hair and golden eyes of the High Sun Elves of the Forgotten Realms, her sense of being out of place and her source of loneliness was not solely based on her appearance. Her mother’s magical traits were starting to become evident within her. She feared to tell her parents or friends; she was not sure how they would respond. She therefore came to the Sword Sea shore at dawn to experiment with these new mysterious powers. A loud crash came from behind her and brought her back to the present moment. She quickly took cover behind a large boulder along the shore. Perplexed, she wondered what this could be. She had been coming here every morning for the last several months and did not meet a soul. The crashing continued as she searched for the source of the noise. She soon realized that the sounds were not coming from the beach, but from Leilon itself. Looking up, she saw a black sphere surrounding the town, giving the appearance of a very dirty snow globe. There was screaming and cries of pain filling the air. And then, there was silence.

Anastrianna was frozen in place. She knew that she just witnessed powerful magic, and something inside her told her that the source was a great evil. As the sun began to set, feeling began to return to her legs. She slumped to the ground. Unable to fall asleep, the image of the black sphere was all that she could see whenever she closed her eyes. She was not sure how much time had passed, but she awoke to a rustling from behind the boulder that was shielding her. Her heart raced. Her breath quickened. She could feel herself trembling. The deafening silence that ensued was broken by a warm voice that seemed to contrast the chill Anastrianna felt in her bones. “Do not fear young elf. I am not here to hurt you.” Her eyes widened. How did he know that she was there? How did he know who she was?

“I am Ereven, a fellow elf. You can trust me. You have my word.”

There was something in his voice that brought a strange peace over her. Before realizing what she was doing, she found herself rising and coming out from behind the boulder. About one hundred yards from her safe haven stood a tall, slender man not much older than herself with smooth alabaster skin, flowing black hair and eyes that seemed to speckle like the sun hitting the calm sea.

“My! You are a half-elf. With gold elf heritage if I’m not mistaken!” he exclaimed, with surprise and intrigue filling his voice.

“Who…who are you? And how do you know who I am?” she questioned, feeling her strength returning.

“My name is Ereven. I am a high moon elf. My people live in a small village in Neverwinter forest. I sensed your presence behind the boulder. You must understand given the Elvish blood that runs in your veins.”

She looked down, embarrassed to admit that she did not understand how he could sense her presence.

“Why are you so surprised that I am a half-sun elf?” She asked, attempting to change the subject.

“Your skin, your hair, your golden eyes,” he said, his voice filled with awe. “No one can mistake the Gold Elf within you. What is your name?”

“Anastrianna.”

“Anastrianna.” Ereven seemed lost in thought for a few seconds and then shook himself back to his senses. “My friends and I were traveling along The High Road heading to Greenest when we saw the Circle of Death spell envelop the town. How did you escape?”

Anastrianna suddenly remembered the events of the previous day. The memory of the black sphere and the sense of evil in the pit of her stomach came rushing back to her. “My parents! They were in Leilon when that, that thing surrounded the town. I must go check on She began to run towards the town. Ereven grabbed her and turned her towards him. She looked up into his face, ready to let out all of her fear, anger and frustration on him, but what she saw in his face paralyzed her. She could read in his deep blue, gold-flecked eyes what she had feared most. Collapsing at his feet, she wept.

Ereven knelt down beside her and embraced her. He knew that there was nothing he could say or do to comfort her. They sat in silence. He was not sure how long they stayed on the shore. Anastrianna finally spoke. “Who…could…who?”

“Drow. There was a small community beneath the Kryptgarden Forest."

“Why?” She looked up into Ereven’s face, hoping to find some sort of answer.

He struggled to find words to respond. “There is more evil and hatred in this world than I could begin to explain. But there is good too. And in the end, good will always overcome the evil in the world, though we may not see it in our own lifetime.”

Suddenly, Anastrianna got to her feet, and Ereven quickly rose with her.

“I must go,” she said in a very matter-of- fact tone that reflected the numbness she felt

“I don’t know if it is good for you to be alone right now.”

“I want to be. I, I need to be…I just need to go away.”

“Anastrianna, it is not safe for you now. If the Drows learn that someone from Leilon has escaped, they will certainly come after you. And from what I understand, you are only beginning to learn some of your Elvish power. I can help you. I can train you. My friends and I, we can protect you. Come with us to Greenest.”

She gazed at Ereven for a few moments. Although there was a part of her that longed to go with him, she knew at that moment what she needed to do.

“Ereven, thank you. But, I need to discover who I really am before I can go anywhere else. Half-human, half-sun elf, whatever that means. I can handle myself. I promise. I just need time. I will meet you in Greenest, but for now, I need to be alone.”

Seeing that he was fighting a futile battle, he said, “Very well. We will wait for you there. Please take care of yourself. And may The Undying Court be with you on your journey.”

After saying their good-byes, Anastrianna headed East and found refuge in the valley between the Lost Peaks and the Star Mounts in the High Forest. There, she settled as a hermit and spent her days in meditation.

…

Nearly half a year had passed. Anastrianna met a small sect who chose to live life in the High Forest separated from society. Each of them had suffered a great loss, which led them to leave the life they once knew and turn to a life of solitude. Bound by their mourning, they were worshippers of Nephthys, the goddess of death and grief. Anastrianna immediately felt drawn to these people as well as to Nephthys.

Over the months, she continued to grow in her faith and devotion to her new Lord. Her grief, however, soon developed into rage. Her companions helped her to let go of the rage and hold on to the grief and mourning which have guided her in these last few months and which Nephthys honors and comforts. They taught her to channel her mourning into fighting for a righteous cause. She would become a messenger for Nephthys and bring comfort to those who are morning in the world. She would become a defender of those who suffer and those who are oppressed by the evil of this world. Good will always overcome the evil in the world. With Ereven’s words continuing to ring in her head, she knew that this was her calling. She was to be the Avenger. She was to ensure that good triumphed over evil in her lifetime…by any means necessary. She would take the Oath of Vengeance and serve Nephthys.

Only one thing remained – she must hone her Elven magical powers to aid her on her quest. She said her good-byes to her newfound friends and set off for Greenest to reunite with Ereven. She would submit herself to his training and perhaps recruit him to help her fight the evil in the world.

## Tie-ins

Ereven is the Monk that has been kidnapped in Episode 2.