Melonie Mirkana

by Jackie Whisler

## History

*Read in common with a country accent from the outskirts of town*

I'm Melonie Mirkana, and I have a secret, but before I go on telling y’all about that, let's start at the beginning.

I was born on in the Midwinter between "Hammer" and "Alturiak" in 1471 DR. It was raining like cats and dogs as my papa would say. The moon was blood red, barely visible behind the dark clouds. It was a storm like nothing they’d see in quite some time. Pops welcomed it, unlike others. When you're in the farming business, you come to appreciate what rain has to offer a bit more than them city folks.

Momma, on the other hand, wasn't having the easiest of times. My twin brother, Maven, was causing her pain worse than a horse dragging you by the ankles - Her words not mine. With patience and time, Maven surely did arrive, and it was that moment that momma and papa knew their lives would be changed forever.

Katy and Steve, my mom and pop, lived that perfect noble life. Pop's family owned the Mirkana Apple Orchard in the country on the outskirts of the city. Momma was the beautiful daughter of a family friend of the Mirkanas. The two of them were arranged to be wed at a young age. It kinda just worked for them. They fell in love. Got married. Had cats and a dog, and then me and my brother.

When Maven arrived, there were whispers and gasps! Everyone crowded around, bewildered by what they saw - as one of his arms was lined in red scales. They all had their theories - the worst of them being it was a sign of evil, the gods plaguing our bloodline - but the second my momma held little Maven in her arms, she was far too in love with him to believe such a thing. Papa was quick to pay those in audience to keep their mouths shut, and so the secret of our family stayed with those in that room, or so we thought...

As we grew up, I lived the normal life of a noble kid growing up in the country. I'd run around with our childhood mastiff, Oliver - rolling down hills, grass getting stuck in my curly red hair, playing little tricks on the local children, and generally being a carefree youngster.

My brother, on the other hand, was sheltered.They treated him like a sick kid with a rare disease. He was often kept in doors, hidden away, but that didn't stop me from bringing the adventures to him.

Maven and I were close, even with him being locked away in the house like a princess from a fairytale. We could finish each other's sentences, and sometimes, I swore I could feel how he was feeling even when we weren't near each other. People always tell me that's a twin thing, like we have some kind of superpower because we’re twins. I kind of liked that idea though.

I'd come back from my adventures out in the country or the school house, and tell Maven everything. He'd ask the silliest of questions. He wanted to know what everything was like, every-little-detail. Sometimes down to the smell of the grass! I enjoyed telling the stories though. It was kind of fun, like I was an author in one of them books Maven would read to us. I always saw him reading when I arrived home. For a kid who rarely went outside, he knew a lot of things. Sometimes, useless facts, but I quite liked hearing them.

As time went on, I got more clever, and I even figured out how to sneak him out of the house. I had to time it just right, so momma and pops was busy, and it had to be in short bursts, since momma was always checking in on him. Sometimes, things didn't go so well, and we got caught.

Like this one time, we snuck out to meet up with a few of the local kids. They wanted to check out the old well near Mr. Tallfort's house. Some of the kids started making fun of Maven, who was wrapped in cloaks and heavy clothing in the middle of summer because we didn't want anyone to know about his “thing.” Timothy, the main instigator of them, went to tug at Maven's cloak, and well, I didn't like that, so I tripped Timothy and swung at him, and he went flying into the well. Realizing quickly what had happened, I reflexively tried to help him out, but Timothy was too heavy for me to lift up, and his hand slowly slipped out of mine, falling to the bottom.

Korbal, Mr. Tallfort's son, saw what had happened, and came rushing forward, leaving his cart filled with wood at the side of the road. Korbal was a few years older than us, and easily lifted Timothy out, and started trying to gather what had happened. Of course, Timothy and his friends made it seem like it was all my fault. I tried to defend my actions, begging him not to tell our ma and pa, but it didn't matter, Korbal took Maven and I back home, and told them what happened. I was grounded for the rest of that summer.

Eighteen years have passed, we’re young adults now, and Maven and I are still as close as ever, but there's something...I haven't told him.

Recently, ma has been talking a lot about marriage, mostly for me. Pa and Ma have tried to set me up with a few fellows over the years, and I guess, I might have ruined it for them, and Maven might have helped me with these little plans. I want to marry out of love, and everytime they set me up, it's always with someone I just can't see myself with, and besides, who would take care of Maven if they go whisking me away into an unhappy marriage. I get that it worked for ma and pa, but it's just not for me. Maven seems to be the only one who understands.

I’ve also confided in Korbal, but he seems to think as a lady my duty should be to get married, and start a family. I think he has well intentions, but perhaps, he just can't understand what it's like. Since his knighthood, the pressure of marriage isn't as high-strung for him.

I got a job to try to show everyone that even though I am a lady, I can do other things than just get wed and have kids. I started working for a local mage named Sidrick Beronin. The job just kind of fell into my lap.

I have been researching everything I can about dragons. It's kind of become an obsession the last few years, especially anything to do with red dragons. I’ve even done my fair share of research on Dragonborn. We’ve seen a few of them in town, and I have even spoken to a couple of them. At first, I thought maybe Maven was one of them or partly one of them, like a halfbred or something, but my research slowly deterred me from that. One day, while purchasing books at one of the stores in town, this mage caught a glimpse of what I was purchasing and started chatting with me. He invited me to join him for a lecture, and I agreed.

Little did I know, I had joined the The Cult of the Dragon. At first, it was exciting. Everyone around me was just as interested in the goings on and history of dragons. All types and kinds. They even had books I had never read before, and knew things I never knew, and I don't think I would have ever found otherwise.

...But as time went on, and the deeper into their cult I got, the more I learned, and I realized there was far more nefarious things going on within these gatherings. At the core, they were plotting something, something dark, and I just couldn't let them go through with what they were planning. I had to stop them, but I was too far into it all. So far that I learned, that there was more to Maven's scales than I could ever have imagined...And this...This was the secret I would hold onto. Maven is my brother. My blood. He's a good guy. His fate has to be more than what these books say.

I told Maven what had happened, but not everything. Just what they were plotting. I still didn't believe what the books said about him. This prophecy couldn't be true, and I didn't want to awaken something inside of Maven. Something, I...I just couldn't.

Maven thought it best we tell Korbal what the cult was plotting, and good thing we did. Korbal has been helping us plan, and knows of others who might help us. Maybe, we can use my relationship with Sidrick to gather more intel, and we can stop the Cult of the Dragon before it's too late.

And maybe, we can help Maven...Maybe the prophecy isn't true...At least, I hope it isn't true. No...I know it can't be. I won't let it...

## Personality Traits

* Despite my noble birth, I do not place myself above other folk. We all have the same blood.

* Clever, snarky and one to play a practical joke, but if you do my family an injury, I will crush you, ruin your name, and salt your fields.

## Bonds

* Nothing is more important than my twin brother, Maven.

## Flaws

* I hide a truly scandalous secret that could ruin my family forever.

## Weapon Proficiencies

* Hand Crossbow
* Shortsword, Longsword, Rapier
* Simple weapons
* Whip

## Tool Proficiencies

* Thieves' Tools
* Dice Set
* Disguise Set

## Feats

* Sneak Attack, Thieves' Cant, Position of Privilege, Cult of the Dragon Infiltrator, Cunning Action, Skirmish, Survivalist, Crowbow Expert, Uncanny Dodge,

## Equipment

* Rapier
* Whip
* Studded Leather Armor

## Languages

* Common, Draconic, Elvish, Thieves' Cant,