Flicker
They call me "Flik", aka Flicker. I was born into an unusually large firbolg clan on the Western continent. To most today, we are just known as The Wanderers (feel free to change this, just let me know!), but to each other now and back then, we were just kin. No one really keeps track of who is connected to whom or how. We are all family and are treated as such. My people roamed the eastern forests, keeping a watchful eye, making simple crafts and trading with the network of islands that bridge the gap between the continents–a group of peaceful guardians to tend to the plants and creatures while tracking and taking care of anything unusual or mal-intended.
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My birth was no usual one, however. The night I was conceived, there was a fire set ablaze in my clan's camp that resulted in the death of my father–then on the evening of my birth, my introduction into the world was met with the spark of a nearby forest fire. The blaze was settled and no one else was hurt, but the events surrounding my existence made some members of our large clan worry that I was a bad omen for them all; that my existence was a threat to them and the peace they had cultivated. So after much debate and discussion, it was decided that it was time for the clan to separate. We had grown too large and unable to come to unanimous decisions anymore, and being a superstitious people, many were eager to get away from me. I was a Flicker that could burst into a flame at a moment's notice. I was not firbolg. I was firebolg. Flicker the Firebolg, they came to call me.
After that night, we began separating into core groups and going our various ways. Mine in particular would end up consisting of my birth-giver (Goldie the Weaver), her kin (Catch the fisher/hunter, Knock the fighter, and Hammer the builder/carver). From a young age, they noticed that more was different about me than my astonishing birth and strange reddish hues. I was stronger than they were–faster, and with quicker reflexes. But I was quick to anger and once pushed over the edge, it was hard to bring me down. They taught me to control my violent nature–to channel it into useful things. Catch taught me to understand the world around me; how to calm and center myself in nature and how to utilize what is around me to feed myself and my kin, especially when feeling lost or hopeless. Knock taught me how to wield a weapon and how to defend myself. Hammer taught me to channel my flames into my fingertips, using them to decorate my equipment and my surroundings. It allowed as a form of active meditation to control the rage within me, and it ended up becoming an occasional money-making hobby when we went to town to trade! (with DM approval, of course–the idea that maybe I can whittle and carve little things in my downtime and "woodburn" them with my fingertips using my flame cantrip?)
My strengths and my channeled energy into worthwhile pursuits in conjunction with the fact that I didn't seem to burn as the others did; I didn't seem to ache or feel pain as the others did–all came together to create the ultimate protector and fighter in my kin's eyes. Not long ago, I felt a surge of energy within and around me while training one day. [Primal Path of Ancestral Guardians feature: Ancestral Protectors] I looked around me and I saw visions of what I knew to be my ancestral kin surrounding me. In all shapes and sizes and species–they all burned like me. They surrounded me and they aided me in my fight. Now they appear when I call on them. I wish to know more about their nature. I wish to learn from whence those eternal flames are fueled. Where do I actually come from? The flames eternally burn inside of me, threatening the peaceful nature I've so grown to know and love about this world and my kin, ever waiting to burst free–but I wish to seek out more!
I've never been beyond these shores myself, let alone this forest, but I feel called to explore and learn more about this world into which I had such an extraordinary birth; such a blessed and yet seemingly cursed life. Many of my estranged and wandering kin still hold their totems close when I am near out of fear and superstition of my very presence. I am of them, but I am not one of them. I am different. I am genasi. My auburn fur, ashy-grey tattoos, and ombre flaming red-to-charcoal-tipped hair make me stand out wherever I go. I want to seek out others in pursuit of adventure or treasure, perhaps even find others that won't judge me so harshly before knowing me. I can use what I've begun to control and put myself to use out in the world, maybe even making a name for myself in the process!
After that night, we began separating into core groups and going our various ways. Mine in particular would end up consisting of my birth-giver (Goldie the Weaver), her kin (Catch the fisher/hunter, Knock the fighter, and Hammer the builder/carver). From a young age, they noticed that more was different about me than my astonishing birth and strange reddish hues. I was stronger than they were–faster, and with quicker reflexes. But I was quick to anger and once pushed over the edge, it was hard to bring me down. They taught me to control my violent nature–to channel it into useful things. Catch taught me to understand the world around me; how to calm and center myself in nature and how to utilize what is around me to feed myself and my kin, especially when feeling lost or hopeless. Knock taught me how to wield a weapon and how to defend myself. Hammer taught me to channel my flames into my fingertips, using them to decorate my equipment and my surroundings. It allowed as a form of active meditation to control the rage within me, and it ended up becoming an occasional money-making hobby when we went to town to trade! (with DM approval, of course–the idea that maybe I can whittle and carve little things in my downtime and "woodburn" them with my fingertips using my flame cantrip?)
My strengths and my channeled energy into worthwhile pursuits in conjunction with the fact that I didn't seem to burn as the others did; I didn't seem to ache or feel pain as the others did–all came together to create the ultimate protector and fighter in my kin's eyes. Not long ago, I felt a surge of energy within and around me while training one day. [Primal Path of Ancestral Guardians feature: Ancestral Protectors] I looked around me and I saw visions of what I knew to be my ancestral kin surrounding me. In all shapes and sizes and species–they all burned like me. They surrounded me and they aided me in my fight. Now they appear when I call on them. I wish to know more about their nature. I wish to learn from whence those eternal flames are fueled. Where do I actually come from? The flames eternally burn inside of me, threatening the peaceful nature I've so grown to know and love about this world and my kin, ever waiting to burst free–but I wish to seek out more!
I've never been beyond these shores myself, let alone this forest, but I feel called to explore and learn more about this world into which I had such an extraordinary birth; such a blessed and yet seemingly cursed life. Many of my estranged and wandering kin still hold their totems close when I am near out of fear and superstition of my very presence. I am of them, but I am not one of them. I am different. I am genasi. My auburn fur, ashy-grey tattoos, and ombre flaming red-to-charcoal-tipped hair make me stand out wherever I go. I want to seek out others in pursuit of adventure or treasure, perhaps even find others that won't judge me so harshly before knowing me. I can use what I've begun to control and put myself to use out in the world, maybe even making a name for myself in the process!
Children
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