Shizen Moonwhisper is an
elf ranger originally hailing from
Alterus.
History
Growing up on the fringe of the city of Alterus, Shizen was always called to the forest. Shizen's father, Shenri, worked long hours and late nights as a member of the city watch, and this left the management of the household to Aurora, Shizen's mother. She ran a small apothecary out of the home. Most of Shizen's duties around the apothecary consisted of tracking down the items stolen by the mischievous fey creatures coming from deep in the forest.
On one such occasion, Shizen was hunting for his mother's mortar near one of the larger ponds in the
High Forest. He thought he could see something just below the water's surface. As he approached the water's edge, the image became his mother's face, crying for help. As Shizen leaned in to grab her, a crocodile lunged out of the water toward his head. With just enough time to realize the fey trickery, Shizen closed his eyes and waited for the end.
No end came. Seconds that felt like years passed before he opened his eyes to see the crocodile dead at his feet, an arrow protruding from just behind the beast's jaw. The ranger holding the bow introduced himself as Anbir Talon, and he explained to Shizen that there are many things in the forest that are less then friendly. Despite that warning, Anbir saw that the boy would never abandon the forest in exchange for safety, and he decided to teach him the laws and balance of nature.
One training session consisted of Shizen tracking a black bear and getting within 50 paces without being noticed. After three weeks of failure, Shizen had the bear in his sights and was creeping ever closer. It was the most magnificent black bear Shizen had ever seen. He achieved his goal, and just as he turned to go report his success, the bear was attacked by a green hag.
Blinded with rage, Shizen attacked and killed the hag. Unfortunately, it was too late for the bear. Shizen tried every healing spell he knew, but it wasn't enough for the bear. Shizen now knew the fey for what they really were: not just a mere annoyance, but a scourge upon the forest that must be destroyed. As he turned to leave, mewling sounds from the weeds drew his attention. Shizen found a bear cub, and on the spot, he vowed to protect him. Nowadays, Kuro is usually the one doing the protecting, but the bond they share is somehow more than just a friendship.
As Shizen and Kuro grew, the city seemed to shrink. Not everyone welcomed a 600-pound bear, no matter how friendly he seemed. Anbir passed, and Shizen continued the work he devoted his life to: ridding the forest of unnatural things, protecting the people of Alterus from things they didn't even know they needed protection from.
Shizen left his family home and, along with Kuro, moved deeper into the forest.
Comments