Breena

Breena Nackle, or "Sparkle Svirf" as her friends and family call her, is not like most Svirfneblin. Like her kin, she was curious, and her ingenuity and craftiness remarkable; but whereas she exuded joy and excitement and was looking to the future with bright eyes, the others were rather sullen, fatalistic and frankly just dour company. She couldn't stand the confined life with her clan. She loved them dearly, but their cynicism and negativity were contagious, and she fought with all her might to keep her cheerful disposition alive. What was worse, their attempts at seeming sociable and fun were forced and artificial; they dyed their hair in bright colours and using whimsical nicknames but did not actually ever seem in a good mood. These things clashed so glaringly with their dour expressions that it felt like an insult; as if they were mocking her bubbly nature. She knew she had to get out before she turned into them.
But she was loyal. If she was to leave, it would have to be to serve the clan. She had to prove she was more useful to them on the surface, rather than down here looking for gems and brewing concoctions. Something she did not think was hard to prove, given she was not strong enough to lift, let alone handle a pickaxe, and was so clumsy she has broken more gems than she dared admit.
This to the great distress and anger of her mother Lilli (who was only known among the Svirfneblin as Sapphire Svirf), who saw her hopes of having her daughter follow in her footsteps as the lead alchemist dashed. She had affectionately nicknamed Breena 'Sparkle Svirf' as a child, because her light grey eyes shone almost like luminescent sparks in her face, but also in the hope of her future deft handling of precious sparkly gems in her trade one day.
To prove her worth and gain her freedom, she threw herself into study and books. She turned out to be far cleverer than most of her peers. A truly remarkable feat, given her kind were all clever and hardworking, always dedicating wholly to any task they set themselves. But so did she, and she just performed better than most of them; and as it turned out, that was especially true when it came to the Arcane. She became an accomplished wizard, but was unsure of what to specialise in. She was insatiably curious. It was all so interesting; how could she limit herself in that way?
Until one fateful night, she dreamed. She saw her mother welcome in a stranger. The stranger appeared to shimmer in her dream, as if he was not truly there. The stranger showed her mother a handful of gems, and her mother traded several trinkets for them. The stranger took the trinkets and handed over the gems. As they landed in her hands, they too shimmered, their image flickering between looking like precious gemstones one moment, and like simple rocks the next. He left, and her mother looked very pleased with herself.
Sparkle woke up feeling very strange. Her dream was had left a strange taste in her mouth, and she had tasted it before, when accessing the Veil. She told her mother of the dream, but she surly dismissed this nonsense, and told her to focus on practising her counterspells in case something bad happened and she needed to intervene. Breena went to attend her lessons, but when she returned, she found her mother bleeding in the workshop. She thankfully wasn't too badly wounded, and as Sparkle patched her up, she told her what happened.
A stranger had come, trying to sell her gems. Remembering what Sparkle had told her, she (knowing a few spells herself as an accomplished alchemist) dispelled magic, and the gems appeared to actually be rocks. The stranger also turned out to not actually be a gnome, but a drow. He lunged at her with a dagger and fled before she could raise the alarm.
Breena realised her dream was prophetic. She had caught a glimpse of the future. Without thinking she cast detect magic and tasted the familiar tinge of what she now knew to be Divination magic. It appeared the choice was clear then.
She would specialise in Divination, though, stubborn as she was, she made sure to study spells from all the other schools as well. This choice was lauded by her family and the elders of the clan, after her mother had told them what happened. Being a wizard of her talent that can look through the windows of the future would make her invaluable to the clan. Her wish to go to the surface seemed further away than ever. They needed her close, to inform them of whatever she saw.
She often dreamt of the surface, and this especially was important in light of the recently stolen potions. Through her visions and the efforts of others in her clan, they established that Aarakocra were responsible, somewhere in the Rachgarurt Mountains. How beautiful these dreams were, if only she could go see the places she dreamt of in person! She did not only see the surface in her dreams, however. A person named Keith sometimes visits Breena's visions. He appeared as an ethereal figure, a vague outline of what appeared to be a human, but it was impossible to be sure. He often guided her.
One day, he gave her a wand and told her it was called Irrefutable. He said that she was worthy of his gift, for “truth was the weapon of the good”. In her visions, he often pointed to a tree, a tree that seemed to be floating in the sky, and that she’d have to find it to unlock Irrefutable’s greatest power; for it would be needed for the things to come. Breena shared all her visions with the Elders of the clan. But for some reason, she chose not to speak of Keith, ever. Not even when the wand was in her hands even after she woke from her dreams.
Meanwhile, Sapphire continued trying to turn Sparkle into a true Svirfneblin, much to Breena’s frustration. After yet another argument with her mother about her not dyeing her hair, she went to the elders to inform them of her latest dream about Driders coming uncomfortably close to Svirvhaven and sending the Xorn in their direction. What an endlessly dreary existence she had! Her sole purpose now was to relay information, where was the fun in that?? Until it hit her.... She knew what she had to do. This is the story she told when she got to the elders:
'Elder Svirf, I have seen one of our kin climb to the surface to find the potion. She was hooded so I could not see her face, and she was climbing without hesitation as if guided by a higher power. I sensed that this was the only way to find what is ours; any other would fail. When she reached the surface, she pulled her hood down and I was shocked to see my own face. I do not know what it means. I only know with certainty that this was the only way.'
The elders have known and come to rely on her visions, proven correct more than once. And because of this, reluctant as they were to lose their connection to the visions, asked her to honour the vision and go find their potion. Sparkle had to contain her giddiness in front of the elders, or they'd know she was lying. She acted like she was hesitant and with a sigh agreed to make the sacrifice and leave her home behind.
Her mother took the news stoically. 'If that is what you saw, then that is what the clan needs from you. Go.' She betrayed a little emotion as she continued, 'I pray it does not take long before you can be back safe underground, lighting up our tunnels with your sparkle. Be safe.' She teared up as she kissed her mother and the rest of her kin goodbye. She then resolutely shouldered her bag, that despite being fairly light, felt so heavy on her frail shoulders, and made for the tunnel, and the long, long climb up...to the surface. She whispered to herself. “Hey Keith? I’m coming! I’ll go find that tree now, okay? Guide me once I get up there, will ya?”

Alignment Neutral Good
Current Location Burakrin
Species Svirfneblin (Deep Gnome)
Birthplace Svirfhaven (under Burakrin)
Current Residence Svirfhaven
Eyes Light grey with sparkles
Hair Grey, mid-length
Skin Tone Dark grey
Height 3'6"
Weight 45lbs
Quotes & Catchphrases After falling over yet again "Oops! Ok!" "Keith? Are you there?" "Brukon... you're really cool"
Aligned Organization Svirfhaven
Known Languages Common, Dwarvish, Gnomish, Undercommon