Nella Wormwood
26 years ago a human settlement on the edges of the borders of the Telkarion Empire Human Settlers were suddenly attacked by Orcs. The settlers, aided by the Goblinoid Legion were victorious in defeating the Orcish presence, but several settlement and camps were raided by the Orcs. The Orcs who had raided the camps left few alive, and they were not known to be gentle to their captives. The Men were frequently tortured and used as hunting game for sport. The women were frequently raped and left for dead.
These tragedies led to the prominence of a new race. The half Orc. The children of the wastes were often hulking monsters with impressive strength. Much taller than a regular Orc, they shared many traits with humans. However, they had just as much in common with the orcish heritage. They were adept with Nightvision, capable of performing impressive feats of strength, and also possessed a violent rage within their blood that made them dangerous. Abhorred as children, they were often abandoned and left for dead. As such, those left remaining were some of the most stout and strong of them all. Poorly educated, as no human school would welcome them, they were forced to excel in street smarts in order to survive. Some Half-Orcs, do not follow this common shared background.
Neela Wormwood was born several months after a Orcish raid (as most Half Orcs were). Her mother, Fiona Wormwood had lost her husband, Orin, in the raid and had hoped beyond hope that the child was to be human. Rumors persisted while Fiona was pregnant that Orin had consorted with Genasi powers and had allied with the Orcs themselves. Fiona was forced to move away from her home and find sanctuary. When Neela was born, she showed fewer than normal traditional Half Orc features but still retained the unmistakable Greenish skin. Fiona knew that Neela would find no place on the frontiers of the Telkarion Empire. She would be shunned and despised by her peers for her appearance alone. Or worse, Fiona might be condemned for rumors that followed her that implied that Orin had been consorting with Genasi and had the others killed. Neela’s mother love for her new daughter, despite her mixed heritage, forced her to offer up the baby to the Monastery run by Master Asayar Zsigmond in hopes that with training, Neela might be able to become a monk that could help others.
Neela grew small and skinny by Half Orc standards. In fact, her greenish skin aside, she bore few of the traditional Half Orc features. Her size allows her to easily be mistaken for a human. Despite her Human looking exterior, inside her harbored the animalistic rage of the Orc. Neela was able to keep her base instincts in check thanks to the training, but she will often come close to unleashing her inner rage if she does not focus her discipline. This led to a few unfortunate incidents in the monastery when training when Neela beat a fellow monk close to death. Punished and disciplined by Master Zsigmond, he offered advanced techniques to Neela to help her control her inner instincts in check. This has made her unpopular with several of the students (her tendency for violence and the apparent favoritism by Master Zsigmond). As such, she focused on becoming a student of stealth to help her avoid confrontation. Despite her powerful instinctive urge towards violence, her skill and strength have helped Neela stay calm and disciplined. She has grown to become one of the most promising students in the monastery.
Neela grew up never knowing her mother of her father whatsoever. She knows their names thanks to a small letter that her mother Fiona wrote to her when she left Neela at the monastery. While the Masters of the monastery would become her surrogate parents, she adopted the name Wormwood to honor her parents sacrifice. Neela had little in common with other Half-Orcs in the land having been educated in a most unusual way when compared to other half-orcs. However, despite her skinny appearance, Neela grew capable of amazing feats of strength like other Half Orcs. Neela studied hard and elected to become a student in the Cobra Style School of training. Her natural quickness and strength combined created a nimble and deadly adversary.
<<Neela's insights through meditation - September 2010>>
Everything that my Master feared would happen if I pursued material goods and coveted wealth has come to pass. He always warned me that I possess a beastly and grotesque nature that I would have to control. I have fallen prey to materialistic desire. I have ignored the plight of the weak and disadvantaged. Madness is afoot in these lands. Leandrie, a priest of Isten, went mad and sought revenge on those innocent young elves tonight. What caused Leandrie’s madness? How did one who cherished life become twisted to the vile corruption of madness? I cannot condone what he has done. I now suspect that the malevolent power of the eerie tree in the Tarminaster lands must be connected to how his mind was corrupted. What could its influence be doing to my other comrades? I must assume that I too have been affected by this evil. I must hold fast to my monastic training and seek to redouble my efforts to control my inner rage and violence.
That is of little comfort to the Elves who died tonight. I must find a way to make amends and right this terrible wrong. The law demands that I must return and face these elves to be held accountable for my crimes. However, I cannot surrender myself knowing that the fate of the world is at stake. The horrific corruption that I am increasingly attuned to must be addressed first. My quest will be a trial of my conscience now that I am now an outlaw in these lands. Despite knowing that I am innocent of the deaths of the elves. I will be persecuted and chased by the authorities until I am brought to justice.
I must do as my master instructed and learn to live among those that seek to profit from the misfortune of others. I know what is right and wrong. Dignity, respect and honour are essential to following the noble path. I must learn to ignore the taunting of other creatures that have followed me my whole life. I now re-avow my life to the principles of justice and honour. The corruption that warped Leandrie’s mind must be addressed before I surrender myself to the authorities. Something evil is afoot that will affect us all.
<<Neela's insights through meditation - November 2010>>
Tarminastir and Tarminvatur Elves should not be trusted!
Tarminastir is the House were the corrupt tree was located. They were using human children for unnatural experiments! What other Elven House have we encountered with an intrest in the return of the Genasi and humans? House Tarminvatur! Remember them??
Elros Tarminvatur who we caught at Wasteard Keep alluded that House Tarminvatur had sided with the Genasi in the war against the Empire, and that this was done for purpose of the greater good.
Gimilzor Tarminvatur who we encountered with a group of more than 50 human women and children. Gimilzor claimed to have struck a deal with the Genasi to escort them from their village to an area of safety near the elven homelands in the Fey Wild. Originally forced to accompany the party to Wasteward to answer for the actions of his relative Elros and his House, he earned his parole by rescuing the party from an attack by the Genasi. We left him with Sebestryn Molnar who may be in great danger if he is still alive.
Now that the Tarminastir tree has been neutralized, the Tarminvatur Elves should be questioned. In particular, Gimilzor Tarminvatur should be tracked down and questionned again.
And then there is the connection between the Tarminastir Elves and the Return of the Genasi
20 B2E - Faced with the advancing legions of House Telkar, the Magi of Gena make a desperate attempt to tap into powerful elemental magical forces. The resulting explosion of elemental energy, henceforth known as the Gena Disaster, ravages the land for a hundred miles in every direction with energies that warp its plants and animals, tainting the ground itself.
Wait... This sounds familiar... Corrupted Tree anyone??? And what of the Large Elf-like creature we was as the centre of the dias were we rescued the Child? Is this what Gimilzor had in mind with the Human volenteers? Is House Tarminastur involved?
This happened 107 years ago! Yet the Magi of Gena seems to have returned to its former power with the foundation of New Gena, the sacking of Wasteard Keep and the destruction of the XIIIth Legion. No upstart group could have done this with signifigant assistance from outside (or Outsiders??). Lest we forget the omnious "Portal" marked on the Map that we possess.
One Elven House should not be enough to give the survivors of Gena the power to rebuild the Magi of Gena to their current level of strengh.. But two or three houses? Who knows how far this corruption goes?
Tarminastir is involved. Tarminvatur is suspect. Taramandil is still (or at least WAS) an ally of the Telkarion Empire. Taramandil appears to be the safest haven to debrief and assess the situation further. Despite this, I refuse to ignore the persistant threat in my mind presented by Tarminvatur.
