Arina

Her Lady Furriness Arina of the North

Even with thick fur, the winds of the north cut through her, making her question why she had chosen to leave the warmth of the igloo that she had built with her sister in the shadow of the Mammoth Glacier. She had made the choice to walk this path months ago when the magic and prayer began to drain both of them, when failure was more common than success. This path she now walked alone was what her sister had wanted for her, a final request as the wind howled and hid a last breath as it ghosted in a warm cloud on a cold day. There was nothing left for her here, so she would press on, no matter the cold, no matter the impossibilities, she would fulfill her sister's dying wish.
That wish would lead her into the Elven Forest, stumbling through the teachings she had been left with by a wayward Dwarf, teachings that she did not truly yet grasp. She would find herself slowly becoming part of an adventuring party, moving from someone to question because of her heritage to taking up the mantle of den mother that her sister had proudly worn. Across the world they would travel, through forests leaded with snow, to plains with towering grasses, and lake shores that stretched like oceans to the horizon. With every mile further from home and every day she survived, she began to understand what the Dwarf had left her with.
Arina of the North had come a long way since those first days of crossing the Neither Tundra. She had become a Paladin in her own right, letting the teachings of Crommel guide her through the worst and best of days. A new family had been made of misfits and meddlers, those that society had already let down. It was not so difficult to embrace the role of den mother and protector, once something her sister had been for her, raising her shield against those that would harm her little family. While the hard north had shaped her, the rest of the world honed her strength, shaping something of pride from the snow she came from.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Born as the second daughter of parents whose names have been lost to the chill of the north, there was little in the way of expectations for Arina. The Ursakin of the Neither Tundra were hunters, trading in fish, meats, and goods instead of the precious metals that others of the world traded in. She would live with her family until a point when she would start her own, contributing to the hunting and gathering of the family once she was old enough to hunt in pairs or alone.
Tragedy struck Arina’s family at a young age as her parents were killed by the Giants of the north when she was barely five years old. Her sister took up the mantle of protector and mother, being a great deal older than Arina. For most of her life, Arina and her sister kept to the lands closest to the Mammoth Glacier, but that would begin to change when Shura became ill shortly after Arina’s eleventh birthday.

Meddling Misfits

Crest of the Meddling Misfits by Crest via Armoria, created by RiverFang

The Meddling Misfits is an adventuring group of the Dagger Guild established in 301 EA by a handful of friends that had first met in the Elven Forest.

Path of Crommel

Early on, Arina learned to gather the herbs closest to the Mammoth Glacier that would calm the fever, allowing her sister precious moments away from bed rest. Within a matter of days, she went from the protected to the protector, braving the wilds of the north not only for the herbs that kept her sister’s sickness at bay but whatever meats could sustain them through the deep snows. Three years went by in this manner, Shura was chronically ill, but still well enough to live as much as she could.
By Arina’s fifteenth birthday, the sickness had settled deeper in Shura’s lungs, the herbs gathered no longer allowing her time away from rest. In an attempt to aid her sister, Arina reached out to the other Ursakin in the area but little came from that other than pity. It seemed there was little to do other than wait until Shura’s lungs finally failed, but a miracle waited outside their door one morning when the storm raged particularly strong.
A Paladin of Crommel appeared, turned from his path by the Crystal Blizzard raging across the Neither Tundra. He asked for sanctuary that he would rightfully pay for, but upon seeing the state of Shura, offering healing and teaching in payment for warm meals and a dry bed. Over the course of the winter, the Dwarf healed Shura as much as he could, allowing her days that she could walk in the sun. As Shura slept, he taught Arina the ways of Crommel, a god the Ursakin already followed, and the oath of the defender, a Paladin that wielded a shield. But soon the snows would calm and the Dwarf would leave, not before leaving Arina with the final teachings of a god she had come to love.

Her Lady Furriness

While Shura’s condition remained stable, albeit still far from healthy, for many years, a day came when the prayers and healing no longer stopped the wheezing in her chest or the pain that burned through her body. With her final breaths, she made Arina promise to live, to build a life that would fulfill her. She was to leave the Neither Tundra and make her home elsewhere, using her Paladin teachings to make a living. After burying her sister, she set out on the path that had been asked of her.
Over the next months, Arina would make her way to the Elven Forest, joining a wandering adventuring party. This was meant to be a temporary arrangement, at least until she decided where she truly wanted to travel. But soon enough, she would become the leader of the Meddling Misfits, the den mother that protected all with her shield, claws, or fur. While she received many titles over those months of travel, there was only one that she truly loved.
Her Lady Furriness. Once a title she had scoffed at, she now accepted it as a term of endearment from the misfits that had become her found family. The Bard and Rogue, Gunslinger and Barbarian, Sorcerer and Necromancer, all people that had accepted her when most of the world was somewhat skeptical of the Animal Kingdom races. More would join throughout their travels, each leaving a mark on her that shaped her into what she is today.

Species

Nether

Ethnicity

Nether Culture

Other Ethnicities/Cultures

• Ursakin Culture

Date of Birth

11th of Winter's Morning, 282 EA

Year of Birth

282 EA 18 Years old

Birthplace

Mammoth Glacier

Eyes

Purple

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

White

Height

7'2"

Weight

500 lbs

Belief/Deity

Crommel

Aligned Organization

Meddling Misfits

Other Affiliations

• Dagger Guild

Appears in...

• Misguided Faith

Ursakin Heritage

The Ursakin are one of the lesser-known Animal Kingdom races. They often choose to live by themselves in remote areas and rarely form any sort of village or city. Like the bears they come from, these people prefer living in small family units and will work with others to trade for necessary goods to live in peace.
The Nether, resembling the Nordland Bears common in the frigid regions of the north, live in some of the most remote places in the world, where the weather often makes travel difficult. Even so, their thick fur allows them to live in colder climates with little detriment, and they can swim in icy waters as well.