The unassuming story of Triel DilShanae

[magustaliesin]

((This is to be considered OOC knowledge unless this story is relayed to your PC in game))

Early life of Triel

Triel was born to a poor couple that were workers on a large farm near Waterdeep. Her father was a field-hand, and her mother worked with the other women washing clothes and cooking meals for the workers. Her mother was a loving woman, but unaware of the demonic blood that flowed in her veins from a liaison generations past. Her father was indifferent to his child and generally kind to his wife, except when he was drinking. When in his cups he was abusive to Triel's mother and could be set off by the simplest thing.

Shortly after Triel's tenth year her father's abusive interests began to include his daughter. He did not keep his abuse to merely hitting her or verbal abuse. It wasn't long before he was sharing her with his friends for a few coins. Her mother tried to stop him, but he just beat her and told her to stay out of it.

Near her thirteenth year Triel started to go through a change, but not the one her parents expected. As her body became more womanly the beginnings of her unknown heritage began to emerge. The emergence of horns scared her parents. Her father took it worse, threatening to kill the 'abomination'. Her mother could not help feel the instinct to protect her child. They escaped during a night when her father was at the tavern, and moved east.

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((First letter of those recovered from the burned wreckage of the home Triel shared with her mother.))

My baby,

I hope you are not too angry that I kept these from you for so long. I don't know why I did, but hopefully you can forgive me. I know you have many questions about yourself, but I don't have all the answers. I'm sorry. I had hoped that learning to read and teaching you would help you find those answers.

We both know you are different, but that doesn't mean you should be ashamed. Hold your head up and never hide who you are. You are beautiful. You are good. Don't let anyone tell you different.

When you decide to set out in the world you must follow your calling. Be good to people. Remember your manners and treat others like you want them to treat you. Be kind, and help those in need. That's what good people do.

With Love,
Your mother

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Triel's Middle Years

Life was tough for Triel and her mother in the tiny village. They lived in a small house outside town that was so rundown that no one else wanted it. The roof leaked, the walls were drafty, and the dirt floor was prone to becoming a muddy mess. Her mother took work mending clothes and Triel helped, out of sight of the customers.

Triel's mother went to the Temple to learn to read so that she could teach Triel. She did not want her daughter to live like that for the rest of her life. She hoped Triel could get out of the village, maybe become an apprentice or scribe. They both learned slowly at first, but eventually they could both write their thoughts, and read, though slowly. Triel's mother was very careful to keep her daughter hidden away from the townspeople, lest they react as many others had on their trip east from Waterdeep.

Triel spent these middle years living in the hovel, learning to read, sew and cook. She also got lessons in kindness and manners. Her mother told her that the world would be a hard, dark place for Triel, but a good heart and kindness would make it easier for her.

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Triel grew into a young woman without having much contact with the outside world. She worked in the small back room of their house, helping her mother mend clothes for the workers and citizens of the small village. Her mother told her that she must never show herself to the customers because they would not understand. Triel herself, did not understand, but she did as her mother told her.

One evening, after her mother's business was closed for the night, the two were sitting in the main room, eating their meager dinner. They made light conversation about the day, and the coming lessons in reading and writing. In the middle of dinner the door burst open and one of the wealthier, unmarried, merchants entered the house holding a torn coat. He was a regular customer, and expected to be able to have the coat mended for an important meeting in the morning. He started to explain the situation to them, but his words slowly died off as he became aware of Triel.

Her mother tried to get the man's attention, to get him to look anywhere but at her daughter. The man stammered and slowly backed toward the door as if caught in some sort of trap. Finally he shook his head, tossed the coat in the air, and ran like his pants were on fire.

Triel's mother flew into a rush of activity, telling Triel to eat the rest of her dinner while she packed their few belongings into a small battered bag. He put in a the few coins they had saved, a bundle of papers, some from their writing lessons, and the little bit of food they had in the house. After that was done, and Triel had eaten they went back to the small chamber they both slept in and waited.

"It isn't safe to travel at night dear, otherwise we would leave now. As it is we will have to get out of town before the sun comes up," her mother told her, trying very hard to hide the look of panic in her face.

Triel nodded, and slowly drifted off to sleep, held in her mother's arms. She didn't know how long she had slept, but she awoke to the smell of smoke, and her mother's screams as she pounded on the door of the house. She could see that all but one of the walls of the house was aflame, and the house was full of smoke. As she watched in stunned panic a roof beam collapsed, and her mother was buried under the burning debris. She screamed for her mother, but only succeeded in inhaling smoke. Coughing and choking she looked for any way out. One of the side walls was nearly burned away and she could see the outside through a hole in the wall.

Triel did the only thing her panicked mind could think of. She grabbed the bag off the floor, and jumped through the burning hole in the wall. Her clothes and the bag were singed, but she was surprised to find that she was unharmed. Patting out the small flames on the bag, she quickly ran into the darkness, away from the village. She cried as she ran, feeling awful that she could not help her mother, but knowing that if she had tried, or if she went back, she would die as well. She knew her mother would be very disappointed if she did that.

She traveled east, and eventually came across a circus caravan heading in the same direction. Of course the gypsies and performers of the circus were much more accepting of the strange young woman they met on the road, and agreed to give her safe passage to the next large city as long as she helped out around the caravan.

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Character Bio

Triel Dilshanae

Physicals
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 125 lbs.
Race: Tiefling (horns only indication)
Gender: Female
Body type: Athletic and muscular while still feminine
Skin type: Light, tanned from the sun
Hair color: Blond
Eye color: Blue
Profession: Knight of Torm (Paladin)
Aliases: None
Languages: Common

Mental Info
Alignment: Lawful Good
Philosophy: Protect the the weak and innocent, honor the code and Torm
Deity: Torm

Additional Info
Gear: Padded armor or Plate, tower shield and great sword. A worn pack, and writing utensils.
Jewelry: None
Habits/hobbies: Charity, writing and reading, learning as much as possible
Favorite drink: Water or tea
Weaknesses: Men who get too close or touch her deals a psychological blow that invokes events of her childhood.

History

Triel's life is covered in the passages above. The source of her heritage is from a woman on her father's side of the family who had a dalliance with something otherworldly. The details of the affair are lost to history.

Personality

Triel is quiet and polite, kind, generous, and friendly to a fault. She experienced so many horrible things in her past that her personality could have gone either way. She chose to not turn down the easy path of hatred and bitterness, and instead seeks to throw the balance the other way in hopes that another soul that may be as hurt as hers might find some hope. She is staunchly defensive of the weak, and women, clinging to an almost story-book code of chivalry she had heard about it tales at her mother's knee. Her desire to be a knight, after seeing a company of them in her childhood, has essentially molded her into the woman she is today. Whether her fantasy of knights in shinning armor and damsels in distress were ever real or not, she is determined to make it so through her own example.

Much of her personality is also due to her mother who taught her to be polite, mind her manners, and work hard all in the hopes that the world might accept her daughter if she passed on these traits.

She does suffer from adverse reactions to close proximity of males, and even moreso physical contact, due to events of her past. She is better if she knows and trusts them, and has seen the problem get easier over time. In the past even being in the same room with a male caused her to suffer an anxiety reaction, but most times now it is if they get close or put their hands on her. She still has trouble bearing the touch of men she trusts, though if the contact is obviously benign it is better. The reaction is worse when it is unexpected, or she is surprised, almost like an animal's flight reaction.

Appearance

Triel is tall for a woman, and broad through the shoulders and arms due to her training. She is pretty but not what some consider gorgeous. Most of her charms are in her personality rather than looks. Her hair is reddish/blond and is always pulled back in a neat pony tail to keep it out of the way. She is meticulous about her hygiene, as well as the cleanliness of her arms and armor.

The only evidence of her bloodline are the small horns growing from her forehead. Most likely due to the distant nature of the taint, she does not carry the strange eyes, brimstone smell, fangs, tail, or any other evidence that she is a Tiefling. She is self-conscious about her horns, but tends to forget about them unless attention is drawn to them.

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The Distant Past

((This portion of Triel's story is unknown to her and has been lost to the ages. It's possible that one or two of the persons involved may be a footnote in some obscure history text, but for the most part this is simply for DM fodder should they want anything, and pure entertainment...if my writing is entertaining that is.))


Too many generations have passed to remember the events of the fall of the house of de Ashanae. The house was established by a young land owner by the name of Jonathan, whose surname makes no difference even if it were remembered. He, and his wife Ashanae, became minor land owners on the Sword Coast, having established a small manor and staff to oversee a few tenant farms in the area. Jonathan had aspirations to become a lord in the area, and a knight of the realm, but with so little money to start his dreams would require hard work and sacrifice.

The young couple worked their own farm as well as those of the tenants that were beholden to them. They were well liked by the people who saw them as hard-working and compassionate. They allowed the families to keep enough to feed themselves, even if it meant the tenants could not meet the rent owed. While this was one of the reasons they were so liked by the people, it was also why they had to work harder to earn the money needed to purchase armor, a sword, and a horse for Jonathan's aspirations.

As the years passed, the couple grew concerned about their lack of a child, but they were occupied by the work and drive to reach their goals. They made minor additions to the manor, eventually building a wall around it, and helping to fund a trade outpost nearby. That outpost would eventually become a village under the protection of Jonathan's house. Eventually they made enough money that Jonathan was able to buy the accoutrements of knighthood, and set off to pledge himself to the service of his lord and prove himself worth of a title. Their last night together saw the second miracle as Ashanae would begin to show the evidence of a child a few weeks after his departure.

Jonathan learned of his impending fatherhood by courier four months into his service. He was on the frontier, fighting alongside others devoted to their lord's cause. He had proven himself strong enough to fight, and smart enough to learn the skills necessary to be a knight. He squired for one of the older lords, learned all he could of armor, horses, weapons and warfare. He longed to be with his wife during her pregnancy but as she told him before he left and in every letter she sent. His duty was to follow his dream, for the benefit of both of them. He would not return until he had fulfilled his duty, as was her wish.

After a year of fighting, learning, and growing, Jonathan was released to return home with his title and knighthood. He was made lord of the land he oversaw, and ordered to build a keep for the defense of his land and his lord's. It was a small title, not even worth noting in any book on heraldry or history, but it was his dream come true. It was quite possibly the last of his dreams he would ever see fulfilled.

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Jonathan arrived home late in the year to find a young daughter, and a wife ill from a hard childbirth and subsequent sickness. The staff cared for his family while he was away, but Ashanae only seemed to get worse even after Jonathan returned. Jonathan's elation at achieving his goals, and finding himself father to a beautiful girl was tempered by the impending loss of his loving wife. He prayed, and sought the help of a local healer, but in the end he knew it was inevitable.

Ashanae lived for two more years before she succumbed to the disease that ravaged her body. Jonathan was grief stricken, but had a young girl to raise now. He threw himself into his work, his land, and his child, using his duty to fight his grief. He soon ordered the building of a keep he called Ashanae, and the village nearby took the same name. With the completion of the keep, and renaming of the village, Jonathan became the Lord de Ashanae.

Jonathan doted on his young daughter, giving her everything she could want. He never remarried, though there were many interested women looking to earn an easy title themselves. The young girl grew into a rebellious young woman, who took advantage of her father's disposition toward her. She ran wild on her father's lands and gave him endless grief with her habits, but he never did anything substantial to stop it until the day she brought home the exotic man with the horns, and the strange eyes.

Jonathan was no fool. He knew what the man was, and knew the danger of the situation. The tiefling was not interested in loving his daughter, that much was clear, but she was blinded by the novelty and the smooth words no one had ever said to her before. Jonathan forbade them to see each other, threatening to lock his daughter away. Of course this had the opposite effect, and he despaired when she disappeared from the keep. He searched for them for days, and eventually found them in a town nearby. She refused to return home with him so in his anger and pain he disowned her. The tiefling, who had hoped to garner some of the man's fortune before taking his leave of the family, was upset but he decided to bide his time, hoping the loving father would change his mind.

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Some months after Jonathan returned to his keep he received news that his daughter was pregnant and the silver-tongued tiefling had fled the area. His heart broken for his only child, Jonathan invited her to return and have her baby at home, but the girl was still hurt and refused. The last they saw of each other, angry words were exchanged and the Lord De Ashanae returned home grief stricken. His lands began to suffer for various reasons but Jonathan began to believe he was cursed. The loss of his wife, his daughter, and now his lands seemed a sign that he had failed at something.

Unknown to him his daughter gave birth to twins, a girl and a boy. The girl appeared normal, as any human baby born to a human mother. The boy, however, was already showing signs of his father's heritage. The midwife in the small town, taken by great fear, took the infant to the local elders. It was determined that the child was the spawn of evil and cursed which was evident to them because of the budding horns, sharp nails, and yellow eyes. It was determined that the child would be left in the wood for the Gods to determine what the child's fate would be.

Back in the town, the normal-looking child was given to her mother who was told she had only one child that survived. The pregnancy, due to the boy's abnormalities, had been hard on the young woman. It was not readily apparent but the internal damage would claim the girl's life before anyone knew what was wrong. She died on the third night, of internal bleeding. The news was sent to the keep, along with a request for instructions on what to do with the child that was born out of wedlock and outside the protection of her Lord Grandfather.

Jonathan was devastated, and the events cemented his belief that he was cursed. He sent back to the midwife that she should find a suitable home for the infant, a family that could raise her as their own. He feared to accept anyone else into his life lest the curse take them as well. He sold his keep, and the lands around, took what little possessions he had left, his armor, sword and horse, and left his lands for good. It is believed he headed east to join a religious sect of knights somewhere near the inland sea, but no one in the area of Ashanae heard from him again.

The girl was given to a loving family, and eventually told a little of her family line. Over the years the name was altered and bastardized, as memory faded and families changed. The name DilShanae, the blood of the silver-tongued tiefling, and perhaps even the family curse was passed down through time to a poor farmer near Waterdeep, and eventually his daughter Triel.