Nettle Starborn
Nettle
Nettle was born the bastard child of king Rurik. She and her mother fled the city of Chikovsky in the province of Samara to ensure her safety. They became citizens of the Duke, Anton Fontaine town in the duchy of Vasianor.
She grew up there in relative obscurity and without any knowledge of her royal origin. Her mother tried her best to provide an income for them both despite not having a husband to help earn a living. For this reason Nettle learned from a young age that if you're going to survive in this world then you need to have your wits about you and most of all you need to be able to stand up for yourself.
When she was older she witness the cruelty of a notable businessman in her town and saw how it went unpunished. She decided that she could not stand by and let such people get away with their crimes and so instead took to a life by the sword doing her best to protect the innocent. She joined the local militia and received basic training attaining the rank of scout in the local garrison. During this time she was also taught by an enigmatic mentor and longstanding friend of her mother's, Vass Tunde. She was a woman who she had often referred to as "auntie" when she was a child and she would often disappear for long periods of time before returning with gifts from far away She taught Nettle more advance fighting styles and techniques and it wasn't long before she earned somewhat of a reputation for her brutal proficiency with the sword.
For a while she was stationed as a guard of the town of Sovata playing games of dice to pass the time dealing with petty squabbles, criminals and general security. She learned a sense of respect for guards and the lives they lead. She always has a place in her heart for the stalwart protection these often underappreciated servants of the realm have and offer freely. That is of course unless they use their power for ill.
Everything changed when she turned eighteen. Her mother told her on the eve of her birthday about her father. Not who he was, but what. She knew now that she had to find this man, who had been absent her whole life if not to be accepted by him, then to at least gain some measure for who he is. However, her mother refused to tell her who he was. She was left with little choice but to wonder who he might be? The just and fair king Denothar of Xandria? Maybe the tyrannical Emperor of Garlemald? All the while pushing the thought from her mind that it could be king Rurik. Deep down she didn’t want to confront this reality yet.
One day a few years later the worst happened. An attack on the city, in the night and from within. Before they knew what was happening enemy troops were upon them. She and her brother at arms fought hard and well but many of them fell in battle. As they were fighting one of her closest friends saved her life by putting himself between a bolt mean for her. The battle was lost before it began and she tried her best to drag her fallen comrade through the tunnels that led out of the city. Soon his weight became too much and she left him behind to an unknown fate. To this day she is haunted by the memories of the day and she has sworn two things. Firstly that she will never leave a man behind again and secondly that she will one day have revenge on the scheming vonNeuman family that instigated the surprise attack.
After this she began a journey south east to Yita where she could better come to learn of King Denothar and whether he could be her father. She spent some time in both Nulty's Harbour, Drilwood and Taramont on the way but spent the last couple of years predominantly poring over dusty tomes for traces of lineage.
However, despite all of this she had no reason to realise there was another far more ancient heritage. One of divine origin. Bhaals blood quickened in her veins as unseen dark forces conspired against her. As the strands of destiny unravelled she found herself thrust into the centre of a bitter struggle to which she was a stranger. Captured in the grand library of Yita in the dead of night by unseen assailants she now finds herself awakening in a strange unfamiliar place. Bound and locked within a jail cell after being subjugated to a strange variety of magical experiments and torture.
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