Caelinda Dewfall

Caelinda Dewfall is a proud merchant and owner of the prestigious, wandering storefront known as Treasured Treasures. Once a mere victim to the horrible events perpetrated by Arthas Menethil and his army of the undead, Caelinda strove to better herself after many years of aimless drifting. Stowing away on a military vessel headed for the recently rediscovered continent of Pandaria, she dedicated herself to following the ways of the Pandaren monks she met inland. After months of study, and witnessing the atrocities of war firsthand, Caelinda returned to Quel'thalas to seek out a new path to follow. It was then that she joined the Sunguard.

Presently, Caelinda serves as a Pathfinder in service to the Sunguard. Caelinda has been praised for her commitment to the cause of the Sunguard, and has subsequently been promoted three times to her current rank of Duskward for her actions in combat. In addition, Caelinda rediscovered her family possessions and cleared her family name of all past debts that had kept her in poverty for decades. Now, she tends to her mercantile affairs with a smile on her face as Treasured Treasures opens for business in new locations around Azeroth.

## Appearance

With dazzling, emerald eyes and hair so orange it could easily be mistaken for a fruit, Caelinda is a hard person to not notice. While she may not be the prettiest birdsong to ever make her way through Silvermoon, Caelinda isn't someone to be ignored when she enters a room. What she lacks in dazzling beauty she makes up for with bright outfits, brighter hair, and perhaps the brightest attitude the ballrooms of the High Home have ever seen. But mostly, Caelinda likes to keep it loose and casual. She keeps her hair tight and pulled into a braid so that she doesn't need to worry about it during a fight. She wears loose clothing that's easy to move around in just in case a brawl breaks out. The only accessories she bothers to carry are a set of matching green bags for hauling around coin, goods, and anything else she may need. She's very fight-centric in her thinking, and it shows in her appearance as well. There may never be a day when Caelinda isn't ready for a good bar beatdown.

Underneath all of her bags and clothing, Caelinda has turned her body into a veritable canvas of art. Up and down both of her arms are long tattoos of cherry blossom branches blooming vibrant flowers. On her back is her most prized work; a tattoo depicting the Pandaren symbol for 'individual'. She tends to be very cryptic as to why she chose that symbol if she isn't outright lying about the translation in the first place.

Many scars and stitched spots of flesh wrap around her body and warp her tattoos in some places. Through training, combat, and many accidents, Caelinda has acquired dozens of scars. She prides herself in knowing that each has a story to be told.

## Early Life

   Caelinda was born on one of the many roads crisscrossing the kingdom of Quel'thalas. The only child of Natham and Faye Dewfall, she was raised in the family caravan as the trio ambled across the kingdom with only their elderly horse, Miss Thatchery, and the goods they sought to sell.

In her youth, Caelinda was a sponge for information. Though she never once attended any formal institution, her education never lacked. From her mother, she learned nearly every practical skill a young woman might ever find herself needing. She took to sewing, hunting, painting, and just about anything else her mother had the time to teach her. It was cooking was her particular passion though, and she excelled in the art. Her special dish; apple pie. From her father, she picked up her lessons in merchantry, and her charming nature only made it easier for her to succeed in the profession. Where others could only see a dead end, Caelinda learned to see opportunity in all shapes and sizes. If there was even a single gold coin to be sniffed out, Caelinda was likely not far behind.

Life was quiet for the Dewfalls. Certainly, they never reached the levels of wealth and sophistication as some of their counterparts in the mercantile, but they were, above all, happy. While the roof may occasionally leak, and the wheels may sometimes break, there was never a day that the family needed to fear for their well being. Through it all, they had one another, and Caelinda was thankful for everyday of it. Things might have never changed for the family, but fate was not so kind.

On a quiet night in the very middle of summer, the Dewfall family had made camp. In those days, the caravan was small and tended to get quite heated in the summer nights, so the trio made their beds under the stars. The fire had fallen low as the moon and stars watched over the family, but even they were surely unaware of what was to happen. In a flash, the youngest Dewfall and her father were awoken by a cry. In the distance, there was Faye, being dragged away by the vengeful forest trolls. Her screams for aid did not fall on deaf ears, and Caelinda, perhaps blinded by her own fear, chased after her mother to her father's dismay. Soon enough, the young Dewfall was lost, and the fading cries of her mother were only barely enough to guide her. But guide her they did, and she did find her, but much too late. Perhaps the forest trolls had realized their quarry was hardly worth the effort, or maybe they just wanted blood for blood's sake. Either way, the results were the same. There, in the deep forest lit only by moonlight, Caelinda found her mother with her life torn from her body. Despite her cries and pleading, there was nothing that could be done. The event would mark a dramatic change in pace for the family and in Caelinda, one that neither would never truly recover from.

## The Fall of Silvermoon

For years after the loss of Faye, Caelinda and Natham were resigned to their loss. Business took a headfirst dive into the ground. Try as he might, Natham could not continue his life with the same vibrancy without his beloved, and Caelinda could hardly blame him. The two became closed off from the outside world, slowly believing that only they could support one another. Though they did there best to continue a relatively normal life, it was never easy. Yet, after so many years, life did return in earnest to the caravan. The shutters were opened, the stove was lit, and even the passage of coin returned to the family. While they had not recovered from their loss, Natham and Caelinda had resolved to make a fresh start of it all, and for a time things were better.

Then Arthas came.

For the Dewfalls, it was an innocent enough day. They'd heard the rumors of the undead, but they were both certain the defenders of Quel'thalas would be able to keep any threat at bay. For them, there was not a reason at all to fear for their safety. Little did they know that by then the wards protecting their home had been breached, and soon their kingdom would be in ruin. The undead were quick in their advance, and for the pair of oblivious travelers that surely meant death was at hand. The pair had decided to take the day to head into a nearby town, and just as their venture was coming to an end the undead fell upon the area. Caelinda, at first, did not know what was happening. She could hear the screams and see the bodies, but the confusion of it all kept her from realizing what was really happening. Her father, thankfully, was much faster in his response. With Natham at the lead, the two fled town towards their caravan, but, as many would learn that day, it is not so easy to escape the Scourge.

With the undead hot on their heels, Natham made a decision. As they rounded the bend towards the caravan, the elder Dewfall unhitched Miss Thatchery from the yoke and hoisted his daughter onto the elderly steed. Caelinda could see through his plan, and though she tried to argue, Natham would hear none of it. He forced Miss Thatchery off with Caelinda, and the old nag was only too happy to oblige. As the horse and her rider made off to the north for Silvermoon, Caelinda could only listen as she heard her father's screams of agony echo through the woods as the undead claimed him. In a single instant, she was the last Dewfall in the world.

Miss Thatchery dutifully carried her to Silvermoon, but was unable to go any further. The tired horse breathed its last, having fulfilled its final duty. In the city, Caelinda sought what little refuge there was to be had, and in silence she awaited either her death or the end of the Scourge invasion. When the latter came, she was indifferent. There was nothing left for her in Quel'thalas except for heartache, and so she left.

## Wandering

There is a time period lasting for many years in Caelinda's life that she finds very hard to recall. During the years between the Fall of Silvermoon and the rediscovery of Pandaria, Caelinda wandered aimlessly across the breadth and width of Azeroth. This time period is very hazy in her memory, so much so that she can't even be sure that the few events she can recall really happened. Though this has never presented much of a problem before, it is one of Caelinda's greatest concerns that some part of her past from this gap will come back to haunt her one day.

## The Journey To a New Land, and the Journey Home

Not long after Horde ships first made their way to Pandaria, Caelinda felt a sudden compulsion to make her own journey to the rediscovered land for her own purposes. Stowing away aboard a vessel bound for the Krasarang Wilds, Caelinda jumped ship a mile from land and made her way to the beaches of the Jade Forest. As an outsider with little knowledge as to the exact nature of Pandaria, she was ill equipped to make whatever trek she had felt compelled to complete. She wandered for days, aimlessly stumbling through the bamboo forests without much hope. A part of her began to wonder whether it was simply her desire to let her life end quietly that brought her to this isolated land, but her own loathing for that idea kept her going. Eventually, she managed to stumble onto a road leading into the distance, but she could not go on. Falling to her knees from exhaustion, she was sure this was the end, but by sheer luck there happened to be a traveler passing by. This oversized bear, or Pandaren as she would soon learn, carried her all the way to the Temple of the Jade Serpent where her injuries were tended to by the monks. For her help, Caelinda promised never to forget the name of the woman who had saved her life; Min-Sun Goldwind.

Feeling indebted to and fascinated by the monks and their passionate lifestyle, she begged to be trained in their ways so that she might find her own purpose in life. The masters were skeptical at first of this malnourished outsider especially after similar outsiders nearly destroyed the Temple, but at her continued persistence they relented and allowed her to be trained in their art. Though she was slow at first, Caelinda quickly caught up to the other students, and in some ways surpassed them. She was an excellent fighter, and performed techniques more complex than her masters thought her ready for with ease. Unfortunately, her relative inability to sit still long enough to master the finer points of Pandaren philosophy, history, and almost anything else that required reading or writing did hold her back somewhat. However, she made many friends during her time at the monastery, and eventually she took her leave to learn from the other masters across Pandaria.

Her journey was fraught with danger. By the time she had felt ready to leave the Temple of the Jade Serpent, the continent had fallen into outright war. Before she had even left the Jade Forest she heard the rumors of the conflict in Krasarang and Kun-lai. Deciding to keep her head low, Caelinda continued on her pilgrimage to meet the various masters. During her journeys, she witnessed the many conflicts between the Alliance and the Horde, and could only watch as the Horde, at the command of Garrosh Hellscream, tore apart the land she had come to hold as her second home. By the time of the destruction of the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, Caelinda had rededicated herself to aiding the Pandaren in reconstruction and combating the remnants of the sha. She remained for some months, but she could not help feeling that her journey would see her to familiar shores.

Eventually, the call to return home would prove too great for Caelinda to ignore. Saying goodbye to her many friends, she boarded the first ship to the Eastern Kingdoms, and slowly made her way back to Quel'thalas. It was a much different landscape than she remembered. Much of the destruction had been swept away by the tireless work of the sin'dorei in their reconstruction, but a great many signs still showed that the Scourge had left their mark. Still, Caelinda tried to make the best of it. She began her search for new allies, family memories, and fresh path to continue to walk. She would find all three of course within the Sunguard and in her own endeavors to build a legacy for her family.