I was born 153 years ago as Anoron of Moonhollow, we don't use surnames in the Vale, simply the village we are from. Moonhollow sits in the northern part of the Vale; I am the ninth child out of ten, though there could be more now, I've been away for a long time. Our village was one of the nature-based ones, mostly druids and rangers occupied it. There are two types of villages in the Vale: the nature villages, which are surrounded by forest and near the river, and the mining villages, which are close to or on the mountains that surround the Vale.
My family has been the ruling clan of Moonhollow for many centuries. My grandparents are- or were at least, a lot can change in fifty years- the head of our family and clan, with both of them approaching a millenium of life. As a member of the head family, I was given certain freedoms that most children do not receive. I was allowed to explore our forest at length, and while I always felt a tug of power swirling the woods, it always took the form of music. I would wander for hours, making up songs as I went, then performing my favorites at gatherings.
While children in the Vale are taught instruments, stories, and songs, they are expected to use those only for leisure and as teaching tools for children. I fell in love with the stories and songs, and demanded to learn every instrument I could. I was a quick study, first mastering the bagpipes, which were developed in the Vale and brought to Flanaess by the gnomish traders who live in our valley. After mastering the bagpipes I moved on to string instruments, and the violin quickly became my favorite.
At age twenty-five every child of the Vale is required to begin a trade. Since I lived in a nature town and spent so much of my childhood in the forest, I was naturally expected to join the druids or rangers. My family sent me to the druids first, but after a few years I hadn't made much progress, I just didn't have the finesse required to be a priestess. I could see the magic swirling in the woods, but it refused to work with me unless I sung. Since I had shown promise with a bow, I was then sent to study under the rangers. While my ability to use their weapons was passable, I still just didn't have the magic needed to join them. It aggravated my parents, since our village seer had told them there was magic in me, and I knew I could somehow touch the magic, if only it would let me.
Shortly before my fortieth birthday I was sent south, to Seer, a town near the Black Keep, where our rulers have lived since before the Sundering. Seer is the home of our mage tower, there is no need for more than one in our little valley. This is the town of magic, in addition to the mage tower this is where our clerics are trained. In the old times, before the Spell Plague, this was also where the drow enforcer lived; she was the Mage's right and left hand, and she commanded our troops in his stead.
My parents thought my powers could be unlocked by the wizards; and they were wrong again. My family was humiliated by my failings at this point; someone of our station should have a prestigous career and not be stuck as a common guard or merchant. I wasn't good enough to be a druid, ranger, or wizard; they knew sending me to study with the clerics would do no good either, I had never truly followed Ehlonna, the only deity in the Vale, since no others would acknowledge us.
The closest thing to a deity I had ever followed was the Battle Bard Gabrielle, the legend who left her small town to accompany a great warrior who saved countless lives throughout all of Flanaess. I felt drawn to her, to music, but that was not what a Child of the Vale did. We knew all of our tales, and never had any new ones being forged, or transported in; we had sealed ourselves into the Vale, the Dim Forest only let those who carried a special insignia travel unmolested. This insignia was one of the hardest things to acquire, they didn't want us just roaming about, we can't afford to lose every restless child. The druids had awakened the Forest centuries ago, to keep out "undesirables," meaning the rest of the world. The merchants were permitted to leave, but they seldom ventured far out of the forest, we have had trade agreements in place with Geoff for centuries.
As a last resort, when I was fifty-two, my family sent me to Ebonwood, the capital city of the Vale, where I was to learn to become a guard. This was not something that many Moonhollians did, since we are a nature village; guards usually came from the mining villages, where people tended to be more muscular. Sending me to Ebonwood was the biggest mistake my dear parents ever made. It was in Ebonwood that I met my mentor, friend, and love- Ayre. He was fifty years my senior, and had managed to get around tradition and become a bard at a young age. Ayre had a similar outlook on music and tales to my own: these teach us who we are, where we came from, and could never be allowed to be forgotten. New tales were just as important though, since they can teach us of the outside world, lessons new and old could bring so much joy to our people, if only we could leave to collect them. He taught me how to play new instruments, I learned every story he ever wrote, and for a while he was the center of my world.
After five years I was ejected from the guard academy, my shortest apprenticeship yet. I was expected to return home within a tenday, to meet my failure and lack of future. My only choices now were to learn a trade or become a merchant, neither of which was the least bit appealing to me. I didn't want to go home, I wanted to stay with Ayre, so we completed the ritual that binds mates- this is similar to the human tradition of marriage, but more involved and lasting. My family was furious that their rebellious child had chosen her heart over duty. I was finally getting what I wanted: to be a bard.
For a little over thirty years, Ayre and I were quite happy. We lived in the bard college in Ebonwood, the only one in the Vale; though we were the youngest occupants besides the children that ran amok. We traveled some, visiting the other villages in the Vale to share stories. We even ventured out to the Citadel, the former home of our king of old, who vanished into the mountains several centuries ago. The Exalted One had taken it as his home when he rose to power, but he eventually had the Black Keep built, and filled the Citadel with nasty traps. The traps were too much for us, so we never made it inside; I vowed to return someday and unlock the secrets of the fortress.
One day tragedy struck, and my time with Ayre ended as quickly as it had began. There was a tavern brawl, and Ayre always had to be the hero- he loved a good fight. He died in my arms. Grief-stricken, I packed up our life, and taking few mementos, I spent the next ten or so years aimlessly wandering the Vale. I eventually ended up back in Moonhollow, though I am unsure exactly how much time passed between my leaving Ebonwood and my arrival back home. I know I spent a few years with my family, but I no longer could focus on the flow of time, so I do not know how long I was there. I only know that a decade happened in that time, for when I finally snapped out of my greif-zombie state, I learned the year and was shocked.
When my 100th birthday arrived, I knew it was time to move on. I had to give my life some sort of purpose or meaning again, so I decided to leave the Vale. I gave myself two missions: to find out what happened to our king after he went into the mountains to try to earn back favor with the gods, and to find and create more stories- stories can always motivate me. I changed my name to Aurora Isilime, which has a similar meaning to Anoron of Moonhollow, and after getting the insignia carved into my violin, which was no easy feat, I left.
I spent the next fifty years wandering the continent, collecting new stories and having my own adventures. I was finally living out the dream Ayre and I had whispered to each other so often, and I was doing it in his honor. I refused to let anyone get close to me, I couldn't bear to lose another person I loved; I had temporary friends, who were really just travel companions or lovers, but nothing real. It was when I was traveling as a caravan guard to Chendl that I became known as the Silver Tongued Siren. Fourteen bandits attacked our caravan, and I talked them down, and convinced them to join us as guards; there was more profit to be had that way. They were wonderful people, once you got to know them, they were just misguided. That's how Oryn found out about me and recruited me to join the Bane.
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