A backstory i wrote up for my new kobold character, Erity! Its been a good bit since i wrote down something proper so I hope I'm not too rusty haha

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Erity was born into a den deep in the mountains, one that had fallen under the tyrannical rule of a large and mighty blue dragon, Raltcharr. He was a prideful and cruel being that only saw worth in how well the kobolds could serve him, exacting quick and terrible punishment upon any that would fall even the slightest bit short of his expectations, seeing to it that they are made an example of. It took hardly any time after his arrival for the den to become a place smothered by ever present fear, each and every kobold within focused on their own survival, even some going so far as to sabotage others just so they won’t be punished themself. In such a place, Erity grew up with little comfort or care, simply being taught what she needed to know as well as the most important lesson of that den, to never dare to disappoint Raltcharr even slightly. From the first moment that young kobolds could work they were put under the very same pressures and expectations all others of the den were, given no mercy should they slip up.

No aspect of the lair could have a single flaw, every last little pawn having to meet the lofty standards of the tyrant, though his rampant perfectionism did come with some small boon for those who persevered. His hoard could have only the finest of treasures, the mightiest of magic items, and the most brilliant of gems, all other items being cast aside to the kobolds to do with as they pleased. It was among some of these thrown aside items, no doubt from a foolhardy adventurer that had tried to conquer Raltcharr, that Erity found what would become her own greatest treasure, an unassuming book the others had left behind, its cover drawing her attention. Two figures were depicted on its front, one dressed in gilded armor and kneeling before the second, a beautiful lady wearing a fine dress.

Even with little else to do in her sparse free time, Erity found it quite difficult to begin reading the book she’d salvaged, its words written in a language she couldn’t understand: the common tongue. It took her some time to even begin to tackle that language barrier, unsure how she would go about learning it since no one else in the den, save for most likely Raltcharr knew how to speak or read it, but she was determined to find a way. Slowly over time she gathered various scraps that the dragon had thrown away, searching for anything else written in common so that she might slowly build an understanding of the language, adding words to her vocabulary at what began as a glacial pace. Despite the length and difficulty of her task she didn’t allow herself to get disheartened, whenever doubt would began to creep in she simply thought back to that beautiful cover and the two people that graced it, needing to know just what kind of story awaited them within.

While it had been a task that had felt like it might take forever, eventually the words written upon those thin pages finally began to make sense to her, drawing her attention deeper now than simply the very front. The tale that began to unravel itself before her was one of a slow romance, a gallant knight courting a beautiful princess, wooing her and overcoming any hurdles that came in the way of their love for one another. In truth it was quite a cheesy story, one that most might find rather uninteresting but to Erity.. To Erity it was everything. All the time she’d spent even figuring out how to read it, the sleep she’d lost training in common and would lose now in reading through the book, it was all worth it. Time and time again she read through it from start to finish, never growing bored of that story of two people caring for one another so deeply and reaching such great joy. Even when she wasn’t reading it she would often find herself daydreaming about it, yearning for a day where she too might get to experience true love.

It was one of these times so deeply focused on her story that she was forced back into reality by a great roar: Raltcharr’s battlecry. As the sound echoed along the cave walls there was great unease hanging in the air. It was hardly an uncommon thing for him to roar, or for him to engage in battle, but this one was filled with an anger unlike ever before. Despite the unrest and confusion, they knew what had to be done; whenever Raltcharr let loose his battlecry, he expected a vanguard of kobolds to assist him. There was no true help that they could provide for a powerful dragon such as himself, at best only being able to act as a distraction, but everyone knew the punishment for not obliging him would be that much worse than the great risk imposed upon only a handful of them. In the coming rush, Erity was pushed forth to join into the vanguard, forcefully pulled along as everyone rushed toward the heart of the lair, fear helping them along just as much as it hindered them.

When they finally reached the heart of the lair they saw something they could hardly even imagine possible, the tyrant on the backfoot. Raltcharr was heavily wounded, scales broken and electrically charged blood pooling onto the floor beneath as the invading heroes landed blow after blow upon him. His expression was one of sheer, uncontrollable wrath, the fury palpable enough to leave each of the kobolds frozen with fear. As his gaze fell upon them they were met with a terrible snarl, every ounce of his anger now being bared upon them instead. In an instant his claw was swung upon them, sending most of them to the ground or being struck away by the sheer force, though for a moment Erity remained standing. She felt no pain, wondering if the dragon had simply missed her or if she’d somehow managed to evade the attack, before her body suddenly gave out, sending her falling backwards onto the ground. Even so roughly colliding with the rocky ground sent no pain through her, something her confused mind afforded no consideration before her gaze trailed down toward her torso. As she saw the deep gash cut into her side she finally began to understand it was only through adrenaline she was avoiding the immense pain. As she lay there on the ground she understood her fate, that wound was a fatal one, only having spared her a few more moments of time. That time she’d been given was spent in thought and near silence, accompanied only by the ringing in her ears and her own slowing heart beat, as she contemplated her end: She never did get to find a gallant knight or a beautiful princess, she never got to explore the world outside of this den and find true love.

And then, her eyes fluttered open again. She was still in the lair, cavernous roof looming far above her, whole body sore and numb, save for a warmth at her side. As she weakly turned her head to look, she saw one of the heroes from before, her hands covering the area Erity had been struck, the wound seemingly beginning to close itself. Having been upon the brink of death, she could hardly understand what was happening, though she knew she was for some reason being helped. Raltcharr was nowhere to be seen, the only trace being scales and blood left behind from the battle. She had next to no strength left in her, but she still made herself mutter out a phrase in common that she’d only ever read: “..thank you”. She saw a look of surprise upon her healer, then a small smile, though any words that might’ve been said in response were lost on her as she once again fell unconscious.

When Erity awakened again, she found the lair now nearly entirely empty, only the other kobolds that had accompanied her to be seen, as well as some scraps of the once mighty hoard that had filled the room. Looking over the others she could see that they too had been given similar treatment, terrible wounds healed by that kind hero. Even though her body was still so sore she picked herself up, gaze falling down upon where her own wound had been, a large scar being all that remained. As she slowly wandered, a bit lost in her own mind and unsure what to do, she saw a small piece of paper next to the meagre remains of treasure, a note that had been left behind by the band of adventurers who’d defeated Raltcharr. Written in the note was that they had driven away the terrible dragon and that they hoped that the dwellers of the den would use their new freedom well. Toward the very end of the note there was even a small section dedicated to aiding them should they want to head out into the open world, featuring a small map to a nearby town, as well as a recommendation to bring some of the coins that had been left behind in the lair. Quickly Erity scrawled down a copy of the map and gathered some of the coin, eager to set out into the world and hopefully even meet those heroes again, part of her wondering if she might even be able to learn how to heal others as that one kind lady had done for her.

While she'd been out of the lair on short trips before, mainly just to help hunt more food for Raltcharr, travelling far away from the den was an intimidating prospect. She only brought so much with her, some food, a small pouch of coins, a simple weapon to defend herself with, and her wonderful book. The wide world was full of so many unknowns she'd only been given glimpses into via the romance story and some of the scraps she'd used to learn common in the first place, one of those things beginning to reveal it to herself shortly after she exited the cave. In the distance she could see a warm orange and red glow fill the horizon, painting the world with such vivid colors. It was a beautiful sight she simply had to stand and admire for a time, her very first sunrise.

For as beautiful as the sight was, the feeling of admiration didn't last all too long as once the sun began to peer further over the horizon she felt her eyes sting, the ever so bright light a pain for someone so used to cave dwelling as Erity was. She was tempted to duck back into the lair and wait for it to become dark out again before properly heading out, but decided against such a thing. She'd been given an opportunity to head out and explore freely and she wasn't about to waste time just because it was a little too bright for her comfort. With map in hand, she'd find her way to that marked town one way or another!

The path to the town wasn't a particularly long one, in two days time one could get from the den to it, at least that was the case if one was used to following paths or using maps. For Erity it became quite a journey, taking several days and exhausting her food supply before she finally arrived. It was a rather modest town, simply built as a stopping point between two larger settlements, but despite that small size it was ever so fascinating to Erity, paging to a particular section of her book as she looked over all the various types of buildings. With wonder and that lingering hope of meeting back up with the heroes guiding her along, she set into the town proper.

The townsfolk were more than a little surprised to see a kobold, the most frequent visitors being a bit more.. human. While at first they were a little wary, they began to calm down when they realized Erity had no hostility in the least, more so just a giddy curiosity. She was eager to talk with and ask questions to any and all people she could, though quickly found the language barrier that had previously prevented her from reading her book rearing its head anew as she realised the pronunciation of words in common was so very different from draconic ones. For a time she was a bit crestfallen, finding a place to sit down and think about her situation, here she was now in this town and she could hardly even ask if the heroes were here, or ask much of anything at all for that matter. With little else for her to do, she retrieved her book and began to read through it again, hoping she might figure out something to do while she set herself through that comforting story.

While she was unsure how long she had been sitting there, having gotten quite absorbed in her reading, Erity did eventually find herself approached by another one of the townsfolk. While at first she didn't give too much thought to it, expecting the same failure to communicate, as she turned her gaze upward she saw that the person before her was clad in robes that were more than a little similar to what the hero that healed her had worn. Excitement overtook her in mere moments, it had seemed that the hero had known what she had said, possibly there was just a different language or accent that Erity had learned that maybe this person too would know! She asked question after question to this stranger, energy overflowing in her words as she let loose all her thoughts and wonderings. Though as she began to slow down and look up again, she saw once more a look of confusion, of someone who didn't quite understand her. While she was about to give up again, the lady before her seemed a bit more determined to reach some level of understanding, taking a moment to think to herself before crouching down and pointing to the book.

It took some work but the lady that Erity would soon find out was called Telirytha, figured out that the two of them might just be able to communicate via writing. At first they used sentences and passages from the book to roughly talk, then via some paper that Telirytha was able to procure. The two of them introduced themselves to one another, Erity simply gave her name though Telirytha also introduced herself as a cleric of Evening Glory. While the words on their own didn't carry much weight, as she inquired further she came to know that clerics were often healers, ones able to call upon divine magic to aid others.

Their written conversation carried on for some time, in part due to Erity's skill in writing being rather unpractised, but also just due to sheer amount of things she wanted to talk of. She wrote at length of her thoughts on the book, discussing love with the cleric, learned that the heroes had continued on their journey to elsewhere, and even inquired a bit about a cleric’s magic and how one might learn it. She'd fully lost track of time, only realising how long they'd been talking for when she saw the sun beginning to set. Before Erity could think too far into what to do now Telirytha offered her shelter at the nearby temple, that she might spend the night and get some food. Having found someone that she was finally able to talk to and even someone who seemed to share her interest and fascination with love she was happy enough to stay the night.

What had at first been intended to be a simple night’s stay grew into something more as Erity came to the realisation she ought to learn how to properly speak common before she met again with the heroes, after all there’d be little point to her catching up to them now if she couldn’t actually communicate. She came to a simple arrangement with Telirytha, she would help out at the temple doing simple tasks such as cleaning and arranging things, in exchange she would be allowed to stay and be taught the language. Over time as she was taught how to pronounce various words along with understanding others better, she also came to learn more about the temple itself and the goddess they worshipped: “Evening Glory”. She was a goddess of love and beauty, one who offered her favor to those seeking everlasting love. Hearing about a goddess so aligned to her own beliefs brought a warmth to Erity’s heart that she couldn’t quite describe, before long even inquiring with Telirytha as to how she might offer prayer. Adding itself to Erity’s daily activities became that of writing and reciting a love poem that she might offer to Evening Glory, as that was what she’d been told was the goddess’ most appreciated form of prayer, expressing some of her own dreams and fantasies as she devoted her truest feelings to paper.

Time passed by so quickly for Erity, days, weeks, and months rolling by as she learned more and more, able now to engage in proper conversation with Telirytha and the other temple goers, now spending more of her time that would’ve been dedicated to language studies to instead learning more Evening Glory, speaking with the other faithful and hearing of how they came to learn of the goddess and what it was they prayed for. She had become a respected member of the temple, so much so she was even asked to help as they prepared for what they described as a very special and important rite, an “eternal marriage”.

The temple was busier than it had ever been before over those next few days, everyone working together to make sure arrangements would be perfect, even a pair of heavily robed clerics to Evening Glory having travelled from afar to help the rite along. As intense and stressful as it all was, Erity was still overjoyed to be able to help, ever so excited to see what such a holy rite to the goddess could entail, her anticipation reaching a peak as the day of the eternal marriage finally arrived. Finding a place for herself off to the side of the room, watching with bated breath as the two lucky lovers to be wed entered the room, the warm glow of the candles that had been arranged in the room bringing a beauty not unlike a sunrise to their already gorgeous dresses. Her own heart raced as they made their way down the aisle, thinking about just how the two lovers might have met, and what blessing would be delivered unto them. While each passing moment felt like it dragged on forever, her excitement at its peak, the two lovers finally reached their vows.

As they finished talking to one another, one of the heavily robed clerics guiding them along through the rite, the two souls being bound in holy union as they concluded with a kiss, or at least that was where Erity believed it would conclude. After they parted from one another, each reached for a small cup before them, their eyes meeting once more before drinking deep the contents, and shortly after collapsing to the ground. Erity was completely stunned, entirely unable to understand what had just happened, they’d.. Died? No one else in the room seemed panicked like she was, acting as if this was all normal. Noticing her discomfort and worry, Telirytha crouched down a little and put a hand upon her shoulder, whispering as to not interrupt the rite. “It’s not done just yet”. Indeed, after a few moments had passed from the two newly weds collapsing, the heavily robed cleric began to channel a magic of her own, one that seemed from a glance not dissimilar to the healing glow that she’d seen clerics conjure before, though even from a distance this one seemed so much.. colder. The spell began to wrap itself around the two bodies, shrouding them in that strange holy magic, enveloping and seeping into them. As the conjuring came to an end, no one in the room spoke even a word, simply looking on as just as suddenly as they had fallen before, the two newly weds began to rise anew, quickly embracing and kissing one another, so incredibly overjoyed and unable to contain themselves.

Erity had to take some time to gather herself after the rite finished, still entirely confused about what had happened, though after the room had been cleared out Telirytha returned to wholly explain. The rite of eternal marriage is one of Evening Glory’s greatest gifts, a means of allowing two lovers to be granted a preserved undeath so that they may share in their love eternally without any fear of age harming it, giving them a chance at a true eternal love. Even with the explanation she still needed some time to herself, doing her best to come to an understanding of it. She allowed her thoughts to wander, thinking of all she knew of love, of what she had read, of what she’d talked to others of, and as well.. of what she knew of death. She thought of that moment after the dragon attacked, of her time before being healed, of her world darkening before she’d gotten any chance to experience true love. And then, she considered that of eternal love, of having a life’s companion to be there for oneself, to always have each other for comfort and affection. In that moment, it all began to click into place for her.

Her doubts that had arisen for a moment began to wash away as she realised the true beauty of what she’d witnessed, the immense kindness of Evening Glory to grant such a wonderful gift. A new want arose within her heart, one to accompany her want to reach such a true love herself, the want to one day be able to help a couple receive the gift of her goddess, just as that heavily robed cleric had. She would dedicate herself wholly to it, learning of necromancy and spreading the divine word of true love to others.