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300+ years ago, a changeling child was born, deep in the depths of the Underdark. She had snow white hair, and crimson red eyes. She was far different from most surface-folk, but her visage was not unique amongst Changelings. Her skin was pale and had clearly never seen the sun, and her nails a deep lapis blue. This girl was alike many changelings deep in the underdark, but alas her story was different. She was born to the royal family of the Garnet Empire, a vast empire of changelings. During these times she was merely a babe, a babe with a destiny written in stones and told across the farthest reaches of the empire. Her people believed she would usher in great change for her empire, and that she would bring a great awakening in shape changing. From the moment of her birth she was loved by the people of her empire. She was gifted everything she could ever want, anything she could ever dream of. She was utterly spoiled, her parents cherished her, the people celebrated her, her mere presence was treated as a honor. Whenever her birthdays came, they were the grandest in the empire, whole days would pass without repreve of pure partying, and wanton celebrations. These celebrations echo’d far across the walls of the caverns the empire was nestled in, even to the far distant granite walls. She was seen as the empire’s light amongst the darkness so deep below.

You may think the world she lived in was no different than the typical surface dwellings, but this was not true. Her lands were instead strange, odd, far unlike those of the surface. She lived far deep below the surface of the earth. The Empire of Garnet, as it was called back then, was far below the ground. It was hidden deep within it’s depths where no sun would ever shine. This did not mean these lands had no light, simply they had no sunshine. Light would glitter from the cavern ceilings from various glowstone deposits creating a sort of artificial sun. Even trees and grass commonly could be found wherever glowstone clustered. Alyssa’s mother often would take her to the palace gardens. Amongst the grounds pink grass grew all around. Red and yellow trees shed their leaves onto the ground. Whenever the leaves fell they would create swirls of color which mimicked splatters of paint. The beautiful gardens of the palace were not unkempt, but rather Empress Arleya loved the beauty in how nature handled these things. The smell of the dark caves always brisked it’s way far into the empire’s lands reminding you that you were always deep within the ground. You could never truly emulate the beauty of the surface, but of all the places this far below, this was the closest you could get. It didn’t bother Arleya, she had never been to the surface, and her people had not graced it for thousands of years.

It was usually impossible to see the ceilings far above you as the fog that filled the caverns blocked out the sights of the caverns above. There were rare times, when you could believe you were on the surface. When the fog would be blue, like the sky above. Alyssa was born down here, like her mother. It was indeed a strange home for a strange girl, but the people of the Garnet Empire made the best of it. The lands were blessed with bountiful blonde barley like grain. The closest you could grow deep down to actual wheat. Fields of it would plume, seasons weren’t a thing down here, due to this crop cycles would not stop, leading to continuous farming. The changelings worked hard beneath the glowstone above, uncaring that they were locked far below the surface, to them this was their home.

The palace was safe, the lands around it under guard from any and all danger. Guards kept Alyssa safe, and her over protective father, Ozin, would always keep an eye on her and endlessly dote upon her. Ozin and Arleya would take care of her every need and provide her with anything she needed. One might be lost and not want for the surface, because what would be the point? The empires caverns were dotted with great lakes, deep rivers, tall and magnificent trees. Grass patched all across the lands, and wildlife roamed in an ecosystem built to survive far beneath the depths. Elk, deer, boar roamed these lands, atypical of the underground, but common animals here. Honeyedbread made from the barley could be smelt baking across the local bakeries. The sounds of construction, and chatter from work, and companionship echo’d throughout the capital just like any other land. It was perfect bliss, in the darkness far below.

Shapeshifters were quick to grow, and quick to be able to learn. At nearly age 6, Alyssa was capable of complex speech, and had just begun to develop her powers of shapeshifting. Age six was incredibly important to the growth of a changeling, it was when they would begin to learn how to beable to change their shape, and morph their body upon their whim. Before her birthday she was explained the importance to the empire she would inherit, simple things a child would understand, that they will become important one day. That they will need to lead the people, with grace, and care. How she was destined to be the greatest changeling of all who came before her. And how she could lead their people to a revolution in shapeshifting. The people saw her as their shining light, their beacon against the darkness outside their great garnet walls. The people put their hope into her, and their every wish, for a brighter future. The seer’s prophesized that she would be capable of great things when she grew up, being able to shift into far more powerful beings than typical shifters. As well as that she would learn the passion of the shapeshifter, and would teach future generations her ways.

But alas, fate was often not kind in the world of Avaerum. Soon came the 6th birthday of Alyssa. A happy joyous day of momentous occasion. The Empire was showering her in riches, and gifts. Celebration wafted through the air, carnivals, festivals, and parties were held across the whole empire. But something was coming… The Garnet Empire was at the peak of it’s wealth, and prosperity. It’s lands were rich, and filled with gold, and riches. The Emperor, and Empress had just forged new crowns for themselves, as well as a tiara for their sweet princess to honor the occasion. A gift to be bestowed later in the day, after much celebration. But something was coming for them, something big. Loud noises could be heard from behind the giant Garnet Wall on the opposite end of the Empire. A massive crash shattered the wall to pieces. A wall stretching 50ft+ into the air reduced to rubble within an instant. All the men on it flung from it’s purchases like ragdolls in the wind. A great red dragon flew through the hole like a streak of lightning. The first and largest defenses of the Garnet Empire were torn to shreds with little effort. A grin spread across it’s face like a treasure hunter finding a lost vault. It had meticulous eyes, it clearly knew what it wanted, as it started flying in one direction as quickly as it could. The empires wealth was widely known, with most of the gold reserves hidden within the capital. It knew the empire was lush, fat, and was easy prey for it. It set off post haste, running straight towards the capital. It flew overhead in the chilly caves, past villages, towns, and cities. It left a trail of fire and destruction on it’s way. The lands bathed in flame as it made it’s way, killing anyone it could for sport.

Yet, it did not end there. It got far worse. The Garnet Empire, had a foe, a foe that had long been held behind that wall, which was now allowed to spill through it, and pour into the unprotected land. The stragglers who managed to survive, were quickly rounded up by these men, these barbarians. The Derro, short stubby men, with lust for evil. Their souls corrupt, their bodies filled with evil, with sadistic tendencies breached through the wall, to launch it’s invasion of the Garnet Empire. The Derro were mad, they were insane, a craze filled their eyes and they were relentless. They slaughtered innocents, children, women, anyone they could get their hands on died to their spears. The Derro quickly flooded through the wall, pouring out of it like a cancer that spread across the pink fields. Their objective? Extermination. Blood sprayed across the pink grass of the Empire, turning the beautiful grass the color of crimson. The Derro with their sadistic tendencies made a game of it, they counted every person they killed. It was a high score to them, a game. Derro with the highest number of kills would be awarded, honored, celebrated by their comrades. They treated the slaughter with no hesitation, it was a game. There was no respect for the shapeshifters, no honor, no care.

Being at the height of their Empire one would hope they were strong, capable, fighters. That they could stand up to these threats, and fight back. But no, the threats were too great, far too strong for them. The empire was actually at it’s weakest. The massive wall they had built held off their enemies for them, letting them relax, letting them become complacent. They were sheltered from war, and from the egregious evils of the underdark. The people behind these walls were merely farmers, peasants, simple villagers. They traded coin and bartered objects they made. Cheeses, wines, simple goods. These were not fighters. Their kind were not built for war, they were not built for the ugly depths of the dark. They had created a good life, a life like the surface, unlike the typical nature of the underdark which was harsh and cruel, and so they payed for it. Many did try to stand up, tried to fight, but barely slowed the approach of the Derro.

The Derro wielded dark magic, turning off the light above the caves, turning the lands dark. As they marched they removed the light and beauty of the lands. As they progressed, the lands went dark. Slowly, but, surely the massive caves echoed with the sounds of war and destruction. Anyone they found were put to the spear, they were brutalized, and beaten. The Shapeshifters stood no chance, it was a massacre. As light after light went out, as town and city fell to the Derro. The natural state of the underdark was slowly coming back. Darkness engulfed, surrounding, and destroying the beauty of the land.

As the Dragon progressed, so did the Derro right behind it. The Dragon had quickly begun to advance towards the capital, going as quick as possible. Proceedings at Ozlin were proceeding accordingly. Celebrations could be heard at Ozlin, the beautiful capital. They were unaware of the impeding danger, and the lurking darkness. The Dragon was gleeful, smug almost. It loved money, like all red dragons it was what they lived for, what they fought for. This celebration that was going on only fueled it’s greed, it’s malice. Back at the capital, Alyssa had just been gifted a comb by a rather homely fellow. It was a traditional Garnet Comb, a celebration of a female of the dynasty becoming 6. It was seen as a high prestige in the Empire. It was a deadly weapon, which was disguised as a comb. To the typical person, it was merely a pretty garnet comb, beautiful and intricate in it’s detail. But it hid a deadly sharpness amongst it. It was enchanted, that when thrown it would pierce an assailant, and would come back to the hand that threw it. Typically they came in pairs, but the second was given at age 12, another landmark for shapeshifters. It was a deeply respectful gift for the heiress, and quite a beautiful one indeed. It came as a gift from the smiths of the land, a tradition to mark the beginning of the new reign. Changelings technically lived forever, but the Emperor’s and King’s from yore, always retired when they hit the age of 500, if they did not die sooner. It had become tradition to do this, as it would allow for an inflow of new and fresh faces, with new ideas. The Emperors and Kings of yore knew it would do no good to have an outdated Emperor rule which is why they created this tradition.

Her mother still teaching her, half-accepted the gift on her behalf. Alyssa was still young, still unexperienced in the etiquette of the world, so her mother helped teach her. Alyssa mimicked the prose of her mother. She tried to follow the ettiquite of accepthing the gifts as a small child would mimick their parent, but her mother always made sure the proper rites were followed by doing them herself. Arleya was smitten with her daughter, she had always wanted one, and she like her husband would always dote upon her, taking far too much care of her. Alyssa did not mind, she felt happy, and safe, in her parents arms. Happy without fault, a smile would always cross her face, and it would always spread to her parents, leaving them beaming with joy for their daughter. Ozin would continue to wave through gift givers, and anyone who wished to visit little Alyssa.

The celebration would not last much longer, guards burst through the doors to the palace. Interrupting the revelry and gift giving, people stared in shock at the sudden nature. The captain of the guard quickly shouted “A DRAGON HAS BEEN SPOTTED RAMPAGING ACROSS OUR LANDS, IT’S HEADING STRAIGHT TOWARDS US, SIRE, WHAT DO WE DO?”. The room was shaken, fear spread quickly, gasps and shouts ringed across the room, as panic began to spread. Ozin quickly tried to take control of the room to stop the panic. He quickly calmed everyone done and swiftly began to empty the room with all haste. The guards were ordered around the palace into defensive positions. Men rushed left and right, in a desperate tempt to prepare to defend the capital. All celebrations ceased instantly, as quickly as possible. Alyssa was panicked by the news of the incoming dragon. Arleyah quickly rushed over to her side to calm her down. The hunkering had begun. The Ozin and Arleyah begun to prepare defenses across the capital. Barricades were erected, strategical defenses were made to fend off the dragon, and were swiftly deployed. Ice cannons were brought out, from wars long ago from the depths of their storage. These cannons were slightly more effective against a great red dragon, but would be no match for it. The capital was chilly, the air around it became cold, in an effort to throw the dragon off as much as possible, putting it out of it’s element.

The guards would do their best to hold off the dragon. Shapeshifters would change into visages of ice elementals, and any cold monster they could think of. But their efforts were never enough to stop the dragon. The guards which defended the capital were swiftly defeated, and murdered. Giant slash marks raked their bodies, leaving pools of blood upon the steps of the palace. Death could be heard around, screams of terror as men died in defense of the Empire. The dragon reared it’s deep crimson head and burned all in it’s way. It destroyed the remaining guards at the palace, which barely put up a fight. The dragon seemed immune to the cold, or at the very least uncaring. It found the cold disagreeable, but it’s conquest of gold would not be slowed by a mere chill. Fighting drew near the doors of the emperor’s chamber, where Ozin, Alyssa, and Arleyah and the maids were hiding. Arleyah and Ozin hastily asked one of the mouse servants to take Alyssa, to take her as far away from the Empire as they could. They needed to keep her safe, they knew the situation was dire, and needed a way to save their child. Arleyah and Ozin knew they would not survive this, the Dragon was after the Empires crowns, and the Empresses rings. Their presence would merely endanger Alyssa.

Alyssa had yet to be crowned in her tiara, this was supposed to happen not long ago, but the destruction of the Empire was swift. But alas, it would never occur, as the Dragon would merely want their heads as trophies. What it wanted was merely a play to gain glory and fame, the heads of Ozin and Arleyah would do wonders for it’s prestige. The maid quickly took Alyssa and ran to the deepest tunnels hidden within the EMpire. The Derro swiftly arrived at the capital , and began slaughtering all they could in the chaos. The Derro usually tooks slaves, but not with the Shapeshifters. Shapeshifters were dangerous, and could shift into different forms, even Derro, they couldn’t be trusted not to rebel. They had already tried, but the Derro were extremely racist, and knew their own. Even willing to spear their own in spars amongst themselves.

Ozin and Arleyah held their ground for as long as they could. The Doors to the palace breached, and they slaughtered any Derro that dared to come in the palace walls. But alas, the dragons showed it’s head peering through the door. It crashed through the walls of the palace. Ozin and Arleyah knew they could not beat this dragon, but they had to try for their child. They worked in tandem, and together worked to strike at it. They managed to scar it’s right eye, leaving a deep wound. It reeled back in pain, but quickly recovered. The dragon reared and spat fire from it’s mouth, the hottest it could conjure. The fire descended upon Ozin and Arleyah, and killed them in an instant. They held hands as the fire lapped across their bodies, dying together getting burnt up. It smirked, knowing it had won. It took the lifeless body of the king into it’s claws, and grabbed the rings of the Empress, and the Emperors crown.

Deep within the tunnels surging from the empire, ran Alyssa with the Mice Servant. The Maiden would try her best to protect the hope of the empire. She led Alyssa through cave sand tunnels, passing through ancient lost passages which had been forgotten. Hours passed, eternities for the little Alyssa, as her mind was racing with the fear and panick for her father and mother. The Maiden quelled her fears as best as she could, while they ducked and weaved amongst monsters, carniverous plants, and deadly Derro. But in the end they just about managed to escape. They were behind the main Derro lines, but fate wouldn’t let Alyssa be free yet. The Maiden was ambushed by a Derro who lurked around the corner and he quickly engaged her with his spear. She had limited training in sword combat having watched one of her knight friends practice.She grabbed a small saber along the way and used it to defend herself. The Maiden tried her best to hold him off, fighting the best she could. She didn’t stand much of a chance against him it seemed. So, she yelled at the top of her lungs for Alyssa to run. Her voice was shakey, fear clearly piercing her voice as she yelled.

The Derro descended upon the maiden, stabbing into her, holes riddling her body. The maiden was barely hanging on, as she was used her life as a distraction for the Derro. She dodged and weaved to the best of her ability, but kept being glanced by blows. Alyssa screamed, fear and agony washing over her. She was terrified, unsure what to do. But she finally snapped to attention after a few seconds, she grabbed the comb she had recieved as a gift. She pulled it out of her hair, and her long white hair fell far beneath her shoulders. She quickly flicked her wrist as hard as she could flinging the comb in the direction of the Derro. It struck the Derro, but not before the Derro landed the killing blow on the Maiden. As they collapsed to the floor. Alyssa ran over crying, her only hope was dashed. The Mice Maiden who was to protect her and keep her safe fell before her, rasping for breath as a massive gash lined through her. She tried to stem the blood but it would not work. She wailed, endlessly, crying in anguish about the horrible reality that had just beset her. But the pain would not stop. She heard the flapping of large wings above her, through tear filled eyes she looked up from the corpse of her maid. She saw it flying overhead. The red dragon had taken flight. Not even mere moments after having witnessed the death of her maid, with tears still filling her eyes, she saw the lifeless body of her father, in the claws of the red dragon as it flew overhead.

Her eyes glazed, jaded by tears, as she looked over it. She was in pure shock, and terror. The image of the dragon above her quickly was ingrained in her mind, she would remember it forever, it would haunt her till she died, and would forever mark her nightmares. It had sharp long claws, a massive body, crimson red scales, and a smirk that smeared across it’s face. It’s eyes were yellowed, gazing forward and beaming in enjoyment at it’s success. But what scarred her the most was her father hanging there, from it’s talons.

She screamed as loud as she could, crying out in terror. Desperation, sadness, they all quickly washed over her. How could this happen to her? Her entire empire crumbled all around her. The destruction of everything she loved, of everything she cared about. Everything gone, within hours and days, nothing but rubble and ash would remain. The Garnet Empire within days was reduced to mere ruins, all Shapeshifters were slaughtered. She was the last of her kind, the last survivor of the Shapeshifters. She was plagued with a prophecy, that she had no hope that she could fulfill. These horrors wouldn’t be easy to forget, and would haunt her over and over.

She began to run, just like her maid had wanted. She ran and ran in an effort to escape the Empire, the maid had managed to get her past the main forces of the Derro, but she had no idea where to go. But knew she needed to disguise through. She touched one of the slaughtered corpses of a Derro, assuming the form of the enemy. Her hair turned silver, she grew a scraggly beard and took on ragged clothing. Her skin became a meek blueish hue, and her eyes shaded over a pure white. There was one small tell it was her though, a slight redness in her eyes, she seemingly couldn’t change her eye color completely. She was weak, and young, so she couldn’t control her form well and had little practice with shapeshifting. Sort of like a fire of her spirit lasted and maintained in any form she took. She managed to mimick the Derro, but it’s rage and madness consumed her. Her young age made these emotions hard to understand, the unending rage, the pure anger in their hearts they were confusing and overwhelming. She thought about changing back, but she was deep within Derro lands, and would be killed on the spot. So, she held the form, the land around her darkened, the glow of the ceilings above vanquished. It was quiet almost, an eerie silence of the dead.

Her youth provided her with a unique ability to blend in with the Derro. Being incapable of fully controlling her actions and self, she imitated a Derro rather well. When she assumed the form of another, in this unpracticed state, it was like she was consumed by the essence of the being she was mimicking. Luckily for her this made her seem like a Derro, so she could walk amongst them and get out. She still avoided them in every way she could, minimizing contact, because maintaining the form was exhausting both mentally and physically. She traversed through the southern ends of her Empire, under the darkness that was now spread everywhere. The chill of the under dark pierced the lands now. Everywhere was shrouded in darkness, the scent of blood and death littered the lands. She avoided as much of the cities as she could, she needed to minimize the number of Derro she encountered, so she didn’t have to maintain this wretched form forever. Eventually she managed to get out the Empire’s lands, but the situation in the caves didn’t improve. She was now in the Derro’s homelands, they were less suspicious of changelings, so she had more breathing room, but they were still incredibly territorial, and isolationist. They wouldn’t let anyone of another race through their lands without extreme circumstances.

She pushed on, the form she took driving her mad, she felt purely insane. She managed to skirt from town to town eventually escaping even the clutches of the Derro lands. But he nation she found herself in did not enjoy her kind either, it barely tolerated her, a slight improvement at least. Cricket people were all she found. Tall, lean, with boney like figures and estranged mandibles. Her powers continued to awaken as time progressed, since she hadn’t been learning them, and had been using them to mimick other races, she became quite incapable of not mimicking people around her. Whenever her emotions heightened, whether it be anger, or sadness, or mere sympathy for someone else she would shift into their form. All who saw this would see it as mimicry, which caused anger at her abilities, and hatred for what she could do. A shifter to them is a danger, one who can perfectly blend into their society is a perfect spy, a perfect actor, especially if you take over a position of power. Her mere presence would rouse suspicion, resentment, and worry. Others believed she was trying to steal their form, or soul, or even just trying to make fun of them. Alyssa was not trying to, but she had no control over her shape shifting powers, and didn’t know how to gain control of them.

Time passed, nearly 300 years of time passed. She continued to roam the underdark, becoming an expert in it. She would gain no friend, no sympathy, and no care for her plight. Eventually throughout all this she stopped trying to interact with people, her vocabulary was crude, and simplistic due to her lack of talking to people for so long. She would communicate as little as possible in an attempt to stop the shifting. She still had not mastered her shifting powers, she felt they were a curse, a scorn upon her. Anyone and everyone she met were never friendly. At most they were neutral to her, uncaring for her, but as she interacted with them they slowly began to ask questions, ponder why she was here, who she was. She slowly alienated anyone she came into contact with. She in her typical form was a rather punchy woman, she bantered with friend and foe, it was just how she spoke. This would rub people the wrong way, but she didn’t care by now. People would never like her, so she spoke how she wanted, speaking the truth at every turn, not matter the costs of the truth. She didn’t bother making friends anymore as she traveled. Anytime she mentioned her shape changing people grew suspicious, cold, and defensive. There were no friends here, because none could trust her.

She would try to roam back to the ruins of her lands, but they were occupied by the Derro, and surrounded on all sides. She couldn’t get in, and did not want to be consumed by the Derro’s madness. It pained her so badly that she couldn’t make it into the ruins of her empire to see her old home. But, the Derro were mad, they distrusted everyone, and even themselves. It would make it nearly impossible to get through them, and she was lucky to have done so the first time. She longed to see the palace again, the beautiful gardens, but could not.

Her journeys took her to many a strange place, most were not friendly. She journeyed across kingdom, and empire, and even tribes. She encountered goblins, dark elves, dark gnomes, and even monsters. She was stuck, learning from the crude gestures these dark races made, she wasn’t properly educated, or socialized. So, she had to learn from something. She was hardened by this, unwilling to show her true form, out of the fear she would be persecuted and killed. She toned herself down, A shapeshifter usually has quite extravagant hair, their clothing glowed and shifted colors, hers flickered separate colors of red, like flames licking a kettle. But this clearly marked her a shapeshifter, so she changed, a simple red dress, her hair shortened to a normal length. She could do nothing about her eyes or her hair color, whenever she shifted into another humanoid form, they would maintain. But so be it, it was not the strangest of colors especially this deep underground. She tried learning from people directly initially, but was always rejected. She was eager to learn other cultures and races, but was constantly pushed away. She was often treated like a stray cat whenever she did find anyone who would humor her. She stopped caring, what did it matter if others approved of her? What did it matter if she conformed to societal norms? She had tried to do good, but good was not the norm down in the underdark, the opposite was true. Endless evil ruled down in these depths, cruelty and spite were the keys to these shadowy lands.

The problem is she was not an evil person, she didn’t like doing evil things. So, naturally people were suspicious and hostile. The people deep below were startled easy, quick to arguement, and hostile from the bat. Her strange nature only fed into the rumors about her whenever she came to a settlement. This always quickly led to her being swiftly exiled or ostracized from society. Her home was unlike this cruel place. Kindness and care reigned. Neighbors trusted eachother, everyone cared even a little bit about others plights. People were nice, and good ruled her lost lands. But, not here. The danger down here forged darkened souls, creating people hardened against outsiders. The evil was not unfounded, not everyone had luxurious lush walls like the Garnet Empire. Dangers roamed, giant flying monsters, eyes that would fire destructive beams wherever they went turning men to stone. Beasts with giant claws for hands that could take hundreds of arrows before going down, trampling man after man. Enemies that blended in with the terrain, looking like mere stalagmites, and then quickly roping up unsuspecting people and eating them. Anything and everything was trying to kill you down here, so it was no surprise people viewed outsiders, especially those of other races as bizzare, and potential threats. Subversion, and lies were all too common amongst the people in these lands, everyone needed an edge against their competitors.

She was lost, confused, unsure where to go. Her movements listless, without purpose after a while, she wandered for so long, finding nothing of note. Endless suffering, pointless wars, looters, bandits, extortionists. She was growing tired of these things. But she found a purpose, she knew what she wanted to do. She swore she would slay that dragon, and that she would bring goodness to the underdark, to purge all evil amongst these caves. The Darkness would be eradicated, it would be lit by a bright light, forcing them to scurry like rats to the deepest parts of the underdark. She would do this in the name of her parents, in the name of her empire. But she could not do it yet, she needed to find aid. Her movements gained purpose, she was searching for people to help her, looking for anyone to aid her in her reconquest of her empire and expunging of the evils down here.

She would try to practice shifting whenever she could, she still could not control it well. She would still adopt the forms of others while mimicking their personalities and demeanor. Shifting into an old man, made her grumpy, easy to annoyance, and she felt like her bones would break. It was a strange thing her shifting powers, but this was mostly due to the fact she hadn’t learned how to properly modify how she shifted. Her shifting nature plagued her, and it would continue to do so.

One day she was roaming outside the Verez Kingdom, the kingdom of the white mice. Endless destruction was outside of the walls which the fire monsters she encountered had created. Upon seeing this she was vividly reminded of her fallen empire. Her fathers lifeless body clutched in the talons of the dragons. She became filled with grief, and anger about the Red Dragon and it’s destruction, and it got the better of her. Her bones snapped, her body cracked and so she transformed again. She turned into what she hated, into what her emotions focused on. She became the Red Dragon. The form she took was extremely powerful, beyond overwhelming. The emotions it pushed were like commands to her. Rage, greed, anger, all of them consumed her. They ate her up, clawing at her soul. She couldn’t stop, she couldn’t go back to normal.

She lashed out, attacking the walls of the Verez Kingdom, bringing down huge chunks of the wall down. The mice were scared, and others were flung off it’s walls. She looted the nearest town, and brang the gold back to her cave she had been resting in. She headed back to the Verez kingdom, still wanting more riches, but as she was about to fly over again, she finally managed to put an end to the form. She came to her senses. She panicked, which was quickly followed by pure fright and confusion, and she changed out of the dragon form mid air, and she fell out of the air. She crashed into an uninhabited building, and the only thought in her mind was being scared of herself. She was worried a mob would come to kill her, to finish her off, for what she had done. She was scared and worried if she had hurt anyone, if she had killed any innocent people. She cried endlessly in the uninhabited building. She stayed there for days, deep in the white and red woods of this place, sitting there awaiting her execution. But nobody came, nobody seemingly knew she was even here. Eventually after getting a handle on herself she got up and started to blend into the mice lands. She would try to help right this wrong, by dealing with their fire beast problem, as a way to repent .

So, she would gather up supplies, she would work with the mice. The mice were one of the few amicable races to her, reminding her of her long lost maid, she began to open up to them a little bit. They were one of the few races that didn’t outright shun her, so she swiftly set off into the fire cave south of the wall she destroyed. She walked a long journey to take out some fire beasts. She found a pack after a while having sifted through the hot coals that loitered the ground, and began combat with them. Her combat technique unlucky for her favored the use of punches and kicks, of which she enfused with fire. They unsurprisingly were not very effective. She struggled to fight a basic pack of them, and grew quickly annoyed. But lucky for her, a group of adventurers came along. A strong female knight towering 8 feet tall, a woman dressed in green, a polar bear dawned in armor, a wise man wielding a frost axe, and two governors.

The govenors aided her in combatting the obsidian dogs. However, one of the governors was clearly suspicious of her, and the other wasn’t taking to her either. The suspicious one concerned her, his questioning, his prodding, that sinking feeling and pain she felt whenever she dealt with other people. She loathed this, it would always be the same, anyone she would encounter would feign interest, and then turn away from her in disgust. The other tried to ask her friendly questions but they were all prodding, and poking. He was asking her what she was doing, and why. Where she had come from, asking for riches, and fames, the people down here always wanted treasure. She obviously lied to them, she didn’t feel safe telling them her true intentions, asperations, and especially not where she had come from. She asked similar prodding questions, what were they doing here? They told her they were here to find a dragon, in an attempt to tame it. Foolish, she thought, even if the dragon were real, they’d have no chance to tame a beast that strong. She was scared however, did they know she did it, did they know she was the one who did it? She had stark similarities to a red dragon. Her punches and kicks were lit with fire, her eyes were a deep red, and her hair an odd white, and if she stayed with them too long she might shift shapes. She stayed those thoughts as they mentioned looking for it, so she figured they weren’t sure. They set off wandering around the cave, looking for it. Eventually stopping at it’s supposed lair. She didn’t remember this place, but assumed she might have stayed here when she was changed into the dragon.

They camped there for almost 4 days. To pass the time she talked to the green robed woman, chatting with her. She was very interested in her nature, and what she was up to. She seemed like one of the few kind people in the group. She learned her name was Eva, a sort of cleric or sorceress, she wasn’t sure from a land above. She learned all about her favorite things, and what she enjoyed doing. How she was interested in books, and what she cared about the most. Alyssa opened up a bit with her through hushed whispers. Telling her of her journeys and the peoples she saw. She neglected to mention her homelands, but talked about her strife, and struggles. She would also talk to the others of which would be an old white bear, who came off as incredibly wise. He would talk about stories of his grand lands, and the ice covered north. How his lightning would pierce any enemy, and battle down foes. She quickly befriended both of them, an oddity for one of the govenors, as the grumpy old bear would barely talk to him.

However, the paladin of the group would stare at her, watching attentively. She was ever suspicious, clearly perusing her with an eye of judgment. She wouldn’t talk to her much, but a fight almost broke out between them around day 2, as they started bickering at eachother. The time they waited here was slightly driving them a bit crazy. As she was speaking to them she would accidentally assume the forms of them as she connected to them, which further emboldened one of the governors suspicions. The govenor was quite old, practically senile, but he looked like he knew something. She kept an eye on him, feeling he would oust her, or convict her of something. They always did, and she saw no reason why this would be different now. She hoped it wouldn’t happen, but was worried. She learned the names of her compatriots, Jammey, Hallu, Anik, Eva, Stella, and Hanz. Eva was clearly the least hostile to her, taking great interest even in her. This surprised her, usually people didn’t care about her. The two clearly clicked with eachother, however. Stella though, an 8 foot tall paladin… didn’t. She remained disinterested, and almost annoyed at her, the almost fight was the boiling point between them. She knew what was happening, parts of the group were becoming suspicious of her, debating amongst themselves if she was a hassle, if she was or wasn’t worth anything. But, on the 4th day of waiting, the old governor snapped. Screaming at her, yelling that he knew she was the dragon. Visions flashed back at her of her fathers death, the trauma from it, the trauma from being ostracized and hated.

She was shook to the core, she started crying, her emotions overwhelming her. She reverted to her 6 year old form, which was born of the crux of the trauma. Memories washed over her as the tears poured from her. She ran to a corner in the cave. Hearing shouting from behind her. She saw a bright light appear, Eva had sprouted wings shouting the old governor out of the cave. In that moment the rest of their suspicions clearly were stopped. She clearly wasn’t the dragon they were looking for, or if she was this clearly wasn’t the way to work through it. The other governor, Anik, and Eva tried to calm her down. Anik a grumpy old bear, who hated his governor, and thought most humans were trashy, supremacists, melted a bit. He snuggled up to her popping her onto his back. He let a humanoid ride him for the first time ever sort of like a piggy back ride. He jogged around the cave and soon her tears dried, replaced by laughter and joy. She was happy, and felt sort of accepted in a weird way here.

She heard whispering from Eva towards Jammey, the other govenor, but she didn’t care. She hoped they wouldn’t kick her out and leave her to the depths, but they seemingly didn’t. Eva opened a portal, allowing her, The governor Jammey, Stella, and Anik to leave. She was speechless, but followed through. For now it seemed as if she was being accepted. In the end she lived happily, getting married, and enjoying her time along the surface, there were hardships along the way, but she made it.

Alyssa Strahh's Biography