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Wed 6th Jul 2022 04:27

Calen's Backstory

by Calen Balleei

Aerin was born and raised in a Drow settlement that strongly worshiped The Spider Queen. When she was young, followers of the Arch Heart disbanded the Spider Queen's worshippers in this area, and, upon finding the young Aerin, took her under their wing. On their return to Bysaes Tyl, The Ring of Three discussed what should be done with the child, and despite Gwey Yethneiros' disapproval, Amra Balleei took Aerin in as her ward.
Aerin worked hard to lose her status as a child of followers of Lolth, and eventually earned respect as a noble in the house of Bysaes Tyl. However, after the Dwendalian Empire took over Bysaes Tyl she fell for a human, Maddock Baines, who was working as an Acolyte for the Dawnfather, assisting a priest at the repurposed church to the Arch Heart. They managed to keep their relationship secret, as it was frowned upon within Bysaes Tyl, but Aerin became pregnant with Calen. She lost favour within the nobility, and raised Calen quietly, teaching him from the library about the Arch Heart and various outlawed deities.
When exploring the library once he was fully grown, Calen and his best friend (Savarin) stumbled across a hidden door that led to catacombs that seemed to be used by a secret society. Listening in, they learned that many within Bysaes Tyl were protecting outlawed artefacts and continuing their worship of the Arch Heart. They were discovered, and forced to undergo a ritual to supposedly determine their acceptance by the Arch Heart as someone that could be trusted. Whether this ritual was truly capable of determining this or not, something happened that no one had expected.
At the center point of the ritual, Calen and Saverin were thrown back, and an image of the Arch Heart could be seen, speaking to Calen and selecting him as their Martyr, requesting that he deal with the uprisings of followers of Lolth.
However, the effect of the ritual was felt throughout Bysaes Tyl, alerting Starosta Uther Prent to the secret society and worship occuring in hidden locations throughout the city. Many of the artefacts were spread to various locations for "study" by the Dwendalian Empire, but others were lost, potentially stolen and hidden by the Elves of Bysaes Tyl. With Starosta Uther Prent blaming Calen due to the nature of the ritual in which he was found, he now hunts Calen down to punish him for inciting rebellion.
Calen, who fled as soon as possible, searching for signs of the Spider Queen's followers, has not seen Savarin since, but has experienced a connection with her on multiple occasions. Despite his main goal assigned by the Arch Heart, he also wishes to find her and ensure that she got out from Bysaes Tyl safely.

Continue reading...

  1. Calen's Backstory
  2. Erissa