Content - Crysha Zaram

Born in the fall, in the year 163 AR, Crysha is the eldest child of two mages.  Her father, Petor Gregor, and her mother, China Zaram, are both mages of considerable skill in good standing with their community.  Before Crysha's birth their village, a small but growing community called Stern's Crossing, served as a trading point among the other communities of the region.  Resting at the intersection of two large rivers, where the River Frost merged with the much more powerful Tamalaht River, Stern's Crossing quickly became a haven for merchants who traveled up and down the two waterways.  Once a major road was also established through the town, the little community grew very quickly.

In the dangerous world that is Esaria, a town of merchants and traders who service the entire surrounding region is a very tempting target indeed.  Gnolls, trolls, kobolds, and other monsters of all types made increasingly frequent attacks against the little community as it became wealthier by the year.  Yet the citizens of Stern's Crossing were not about to leave their home or give up their hopes for prosperity.  They raised their prayers to the goddess Kelana, the Warior Queen, She of Blades, and their prayers were heard.  Champions, priests, and Holy Speakers of Kelana flocked to the defense of this faithful community.  With these faithful warriors, and the courage of the citizens themselves, Stern's Crossing weathered one attack after another.  For years they remained strong, building defenses, and the community grew into a full-fledged merchant town.

True problems arrived, however, in the form of a dragon.  As they so often do.  Armored in crimson scales and breathing flames that obliterated entire groups of brave defenders, the dragon people simply called Red Glare demanded the town swear allegiance to him.  For months this went on, and the dragon continued to slaughter and make his demand.  It was a small group of heroes, Petor Gregor and China Zaram among them, who stepped forward to defy this new tyrant.  Though many of this brave group died, so too did the dragon who had brought such terror and death to the people of Stern's Crossing.  Petor and China, two of the three survivors, were showered with praise and reward.

It was into this situation that Crysha was born.  She was expected to follow in the footsteps of her parents and become a mage herself, but this was not to be.  Though she was a very bright girl, not surprising given her parents' sharp minds, Crysha proved to be entirely uninterested in anything related to study.  She preferred to play outside, or chat with her friends, or daydream...anything but read musty old books.  In short; Crysha just didn't have what it took to be a mage.  The knowledge of bending arcane magic to mortal will, to channel it through a mortal vessel, required a dedication and interest in the craft that Crysha simply lacked.

Her parents had two other children, both boys, and these two followed nicely in their parents' footsteps.  Toren and Auden Gregor both took to the art of magic readily enough, only adding to Crysha's parents' frustration that she simply did not have the mindset to study magic.  Yet it was with the birth of their final child, Crysha's little sister, that everything changed.  Little Azraele Zaram took to magic like a bird to flight, and was studying at a level higher than her brothers at an age younger than when they had even begun studying in earnest.  It just seemed the girl's mind was built specifically to wield magic, and she progressed by tremendous leaps and bounds.  Crysha, delighted to have a little sister and overjoyed that she had such a talent for magic, felt vindicated.  To her, this was simply Kelana's will; any aptitude that Crysha might have had for magic had been instead passed to Azraele.  All was right with the world, for the eldest sibling.

With this change of events, Crysha settled down to live a life happily without magic.  She learned the trade of a blacksmith, despite her parents' wishes that she take up a less dangerous profession.  To help her build her skill, she has even taken to learning a bit about swordplay, so she might understand her craft that much better.

Thus does the world find Crysha Zaram in the year 181 AR.  Eighteen years old, working for the local blacksmith--a cheerful mountain dwarf named Dietrich--and happy with her life.  She dotes on her little sister, recently turned eleven, and is making a name for herself as a blacksmith.  Crysha sees a bright future for herself, with a promising career in a profession that her community values greatly.  Like many others who live in this period, she has no idea what the future holds for her.  She might flee, if she did.

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