Aervara's Story

Aer was raised by her mother, an elf named Lilia Beechwright, in a community of wood elves in Treefyre with a particular affinity for the crafting of high quality artisanal furniture, weapons, and instruments. Treefyre is known for its openness to commerce, and Aer's community of elves enjoys a longstanding creative partnership with the miners and metalsmiths who live and work at the base of the nearby mountains. Treefyre's elven artisans devote themselves to their crafts to an almost religious degree. Skill in woodworking is prized above all other traits, and determines individual and family standing in the community.

Unfortunately, Aer did not inherit any of her mother's family's skill in this trade. Her entire childhood, she was forced to practice her carpentry, even long after it was clear she had neither the talent nor the dedication to follow in the footsteps of her maternal line. She was finally allowed to give up trying after almost cutting off her left thumb with a saw.

Aer's most cherished memories are the times when her human father, Finnegan Prevost, would show up without warning and take her camping with him for a few days. This usually happened once or twice a year. During these times away from her rigidly disciplined community, he taught her the basics of wizardry, how to find and use medicinal plants, and the practice of meditative stretching to help center the mind and focus deeply on the currents of magic running through the world. She learned quickly that if she asked him questions about where he lived, or if he had some kind of profession, that he would quickly deflect with a joke or assign her a task to change the subject. He also never expressed any interest in seeing her mother again. So, she stopped asking, and just spent all the other days of the year looking forward to when she would see him next.

When Aer was 19, he stopped visiting altogether. She had known that his human lifespan meant that he would die while she was still quite young, but on his last visit, he'd mentioned no health difficulties or dangerous plans. She had no way to contact him or any of his family or associates, so she eventually chose to grieve him as if he'd died. There is some very small part of her that hopes that adventuring will perhaps lead her to one day find out what happened to him, even if it's just finding a gravestone to visit.

With the promise of her father's visits gone, Aer's life in Treefyre became increasingly frustrating. Her half brother, Elethir, was older than her in years, but because of his full elven blood, he still had the mindset and sense of humor of an adolescent. He was not expected to settle down into a specific profession for decades, but even so, he showed great aptitude for woodworking, and took every opportunity to remind Aer of that fact. While half elves were a common enough presence in and around town, Aer was still an oddity in her community. The elders of her family and community continued to treat her like a child, despite the fact that with her shorter lifespan, she felt more and more like an adult.

Since Treefyre offered no path to further magical education and she was tired of living with people who made no effort to understand, much less appreciate, her, she decided to start a new life as an adventurer in Gilding.