Shandri
Sorcerer (wild magic), Far Traveller, Aasimar
Shandri was born to human parents on the mainland, and she was not very old when she first realized she was different. People would shoot almost reverent looks at her when she walked outside with her parents, whisper to each other as they passed. The other children her age played well with each other, but were always hesitant to include her. And she didn't look like the others, not really. Sure, she had her mother's eyes and father's hair, but it was different somehow. More. Where her parents were pale, Shandri almost glowed. Where her mother's eyes were a lovely chocolate brown, Shandri's were rich and deep and piercing. And where her father's hair was a deep auburn, the fire seemed to live in Shandri's.
She didn't like it. It set her apart, and while she didn't sense any malice from the other people in her town, she was excluded as thoroughly as if she'd committed the most heinous crime. No one dared to act like she belonged among them, and she didn't understand why. Despite this, Shandri loved her home. Though distant, the townsfolk were never mean, and she had her loving parents.
But everything changed the year she turned five. She still remembers the face of the man who took her. Kidnapped her. A slaver passing through who saw a chance to make some money on an otherworldly child, she supposes.
At first she was charmed by the kind man, the one who didn’t look at her with distant reverence, but rather what she then took to be kindness and a desire to become her friend. Her parents were distrustful, but she was too starved for closeness to heed them. And he hadn’t done anything at first - a pat on the head, an exciting story of faraway lands. And she was hardly the only child interested in the strange man from faraway lands.
Then he started asking her to do small errands - “Can you deliver this to the baker for me?”, “Can you show me the shoemaker’s shop?”, “Can you buy a few apples for my horse?” And she was so excited to be included, to be useful.
Then he asked her to show him the town. It should have struck her as weird - he had been there for a few weeks already - but he was kind and she was trusting. So she showed him the baker and smithy and general goods store, the shoemaker’s and seamstress and the homes of everyone she knew. She pointed out the roads leading from the town, told him which cities they led to even though she’d never been there herself. She walked with him to the outskirts of the town to show him their beautiful forest-
When she woke up she was in the back of a wagon, surrounded by unfamiliar roads. Her hands and feet were tied up, and her mouth felt like it was filled with cotton. She was not alone.
It wasn’t long after this the dreams began. Soft, comforting dreams. Guiding her, advising her, helping her. Explaining, showing, through feelings and impressions, that she was different. Special. Meant for great things. She was an Aasimar, chosen to be the champion of (Helm? Lathander? Selene? something else?)
Not written out:
She made friends with some of the other slaves, a halfling man and a sickly gnome amongst them. The slaver wanted to kill the gnome for his sickness - he wouldn't be able to sell, and he could infect the other slaves. Seing this Shandri's uncontrollable powers manifested for the first time, and she killed the slaver in a burst of power. Scared and in shock she was unable to do anything, and the slaver's guards sensed an opportunity to take over the business, and kill the sorceress child before she gathered her bearings again. The halfling man, however, was quicker on the uptake and managed to free the other slaves in the aftermath of Shandri's distraction, and managed to grab Shandri and run before the guards managed to get a firm enough plan of action - no one wanted to be the first one to approach after all.
She travelled with the halfling man for a few years - he was looking for his family as well, so they were looking together. She, however, was too young to remember where her home was, while he knew names and places, and so they found his home easiest. She was welcomed to stay with him, and she did for a few years. Until the dreams became unbearable, until her desire for seeing her family again became so strong she couldn't stay. She left on her own journey, looking for her family, guided by her dreams and her angelic protector.
Children
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