Pheleia Morthos

[Dablu]

Tiefling Druid.

Seemingly washed up onto the doorsteps of a human town, Pheleia was taken in by a small human family on the poorer side of things before she'd even aged a single month. She spent years with the family, though she never got to play with other kids nor go outside much; For reasons she didn't know about at the time. When she'd reached the age of four, she was starting to understand that she was different from every other human of the town, even her own parents. She was starting to reach a higher degree of self-awareness. A month after her fifth birthday, her first tragedy descended upon her. Her parents were publicly executed, charged as criminals for "harboring a child of the demons". At this point, she understood that the other peoples of her village were revolted by her, and hated her for what she was. The townspeople let her watch her parents die in front of her. Before she herself would be killed off, she experienced an unearthly rage from which the deep infernal powers within her showed themselves. Her hands burst with flame as she began razing a small townhouse while the townspeople ran from her.

Following the events at the town, Pheleia cast herself away with guilt and hatred. She hated the humans for killing her parents, and felt strongly about the injustice of judgement thrust upon her. Even worse, however, was the guilt that she felt in proving the townspeople right about her inner demon when she burned the small town in a fit of rage. She wandered about the forests and swamps, traveling for days until she finally lost consciousness, her body loosely slumped at the base of a pond.

She was nuzzled to consciousness by a deer; The first thing that she'd seen upon waking up. She was perplexed, almost stunned- as this beautiful, graceful creature was rubbing the side of it's small, soft head against her. It had no fear in it's eyes, unlike the villagers of her past town. In fact, it seemed completely unaware of her red, tainted skin, her terrifying, demonic horns, nor even her unsettling, iridescent gold eyes. Over time, she'd grown to hate what and who she was. She'd grown to think she was a monster even towards herself- and then, with the deer simply approaching her as it had, the moment came as a shock to her. Slowly, Pheleia began to survive and become stronger in the forest in which she found herself in; Slowly gaining the aid and friendship of the beautiful creatures of the land. In fact, as time passed she began to grow and exist peacefully, serenely alongside nature. She was eternally grateful for the honest integrity of nature, and it's love and care for all creatures. She'd learned to accept herself, and see the value in who she was.

As the days progressed, however, things in the forest seemed to go astray. First it began with a small sickness in a few rarer types of plants Pheleia would use as herbs for injured or weakened animals. These herbs suddenly began losing their potency. This progressed, however, as the land seemed to somehow grow weaker and weaker. The bears and wolves were finding less fish to eat, the rabbits and squirrels less healthy nuts and berries. Over time, the land was becoming sick. Pheleia, with utmost heart and spirit, swore that she would do her best to tend to the creatures and plants within the forest. She would keep trying to nurture different flowers with small buckets of water, would feed bunnies the few healthy grasses and berries she would find, but it all wasn't enough. Somehow, right before her eyes, her land was dying, and there wasn't anything she could do to stop it. She was on the verge of giving up. She wandered, walking aimlessly around the forest, mostly in despair but with the intent that perhaps she could find any glimpse of hope for her sacred domain.

After traveling for days and still finding nothing, she simply stopped. She entered out into a small clearing, and simply- then and there, gave in. The clearing seemed familiar to her, though the trees had lost many of their leaves and the grasses had turned from green to a dying brown. At the center of the clearing; There was a pond.. The very pond she'd first awoken in all those years ago. With a single tear, she lay at it's side, knees tucked towards her chest. The tears flowed freely now, staining her beautiful dusty red skin. She lay there, allowing herself to be met with the silent embrace of sleep. Something stirred deep within her.. Her spirit had awoken, though her body and mind remained asleep. Entering into a dream, her mindscape saw a brilliant flash of light as she beheld some sort of existence or power within her soul the likes of which she had never felt nor seen before.

That night, in that dream, she was granted a power from the Gods of Old which ruled over nature. She was chosen to become a Druid, with her unending dedication to the life around her. She was chosen to become a champion of nature and life; Serving both domains with faith and compassion. It didn't end there, however. She was told that she had a greater destiny, thought one that couldn't yet be revealed; She wasn't ready. Waking up from the dream, she heard a call from a land far, far away. Before setting off on her journey, she tended to the forest which had actually tended and nurtured her for many years since her arrival as a youth. It was finally time for her to set forth on her own journey, to grow stronger and fulfill her destiny. She knew the call was a call sent by the Gods, and would quickly follow, no matter where it would lead. This was her chance to give back what was given to her.