Shays Z'Yair

Shays emerged from her pod in a small clearing not far from the edge of the main grove. There were
several other sproutlings near to her in age, and though her father, Aahs, had taken root many decades
earlier, she didn't lack for either playmates or caregivers. The trees surrounding her clearing were all
kin, and several of their unrooted family stayed in the grove to help look after any sproutlings born
there.

From the start, Shays was fascinated by exploring the world around her. She wanted to see what was
over every hill and sought out new places, much to the chagrin of her minders. She was more likely to
leave the other sproutlings behind and strike out on her own than she was to join in their games. But
she was also drawn to stillness, to simply observing the world around her. She could sit for hours, and
just watch how things changed. She found the more she settled into the stillness, the less the animals
reacted to her, and after a while they ignored her completely.

She would often feed the small critters of the forest, offering them nuts and berries. She found that she
had to put the food out and then move away and wait, but eventually they would start to come forward
and eat the treats she had left them. She hoped to one day be better able to tame, and possibly train, her
forest companions.

Once she learned to listen to her rooted elders, her minders knew that if she wasn't with her playmates
they could probably find her sitting at the base of one of the trees, listening to their tales. Shays was
captivated by stories of a world far bigger than the forest she had grown up in. She could sit for hours
and listen to descriptions of far away cities, vast oceans and people different from those she had
known. She tried to imagine all the things she heard, and yet always felt as if the images in her head
could never live up to the real thing.

One thing that quickly became apparent to her was how much stories told by different trees varied.
Several of the trees in her grove had traveled together throughout the years, and they spoke of places,
people and events that were familiar to the group, and yet the details were always different. And not
just about small things or stuff that only a few of them might have noticed, but the entire thread of the
tale.

She asked her father about it, and he told her that truth was relative, and often in order to truly
understand a thing, you had to look at it from many different perspectives. He also warned her that
many people could never see any truth but their own, and they would defend that truth to the end, no
matter how much evidence to the contrary they were faced with.

Shays thought long and hard about this, and decided that she needed to go out into the world and learn
more. All she knew was the ways of her grove, and through listening to their stories she knew there
was so much more out there to learn. Her father had a friend in a nearby town, and after learning of her
intention to see more of the world, he gave her a name to seek out. His friend worked in a small
school, and her father assured her that he would be glad to take her on as a student.

Though she was younger than most that left the grove, Shays wasn't afraid. She knew many of the
stories of her grove by heart and was eager to expand her knowledge. One of the tenders escorted her
to the town, and made sure that she was settled in with her father's friend. His name was Kyriel
Ellendi, and he agreed to take Shays on as a student, in exchange for her help in the library.
Shays was as fascinated by the books as she had been by the tales of her grove. She devoted herself to
learning to read and write, and read anything she could get her hands on in her spare time. Kyriel
taught her how to read for content as well as enjoyment, and she quickly became adept at seeking out
specific information in the selection of books at the library.

One subject that had always called to Shays was magic. Her father had been quite skilled at both
manipulating the shadows and playing with fate. Before he was rooted, he would patrol the area
around several of the smaller groves, seeking to drive away those who would harm his people. In the
books of her school, Shays learned of more ways that magic could manifest, and she read every book
she could find that talked about it.

Most of the stories were just stories, but there were a few that contained instructions, and Shays began
to practice. The first time she summoned water, she drenched herself and the book she was reading,
and though it took a lot of effort to save the book, she couldn't be happier.

Kichari are raised to protect the forests, but having been out in the greater world, Shays saw that her
people weren't the only ones who needed protection. Through the stories she had read, she learned that
those in power often cared only for themselves, and often hurt a vast many people in their quest for
more power. She wanted to help anyone she could, and so she studied healing magics as well, knowing
that life itself was often dangerous and injuries could quickly take a turn for the worse.

After a handful of years at the school, Shays decided it was time for her to set out into the world and
find her place. She felt confidant in her skills as a healer and was decent with a morning star and staff.
She took her leave from Kyriel's school and started traveling. At first, she had no real goal in mind, she
just picked a road and began walking, seeing who might need help along the way.

But then she heard wind of King Thybor's request for people to come to the aid of the Kingdom.
Though she had only heard good things about the King, she was still wary of anyone in power. She
decided to go and offer her help, if only to make sure that he was actually looking out for the people
involved, and not trying to take advantage of those who volunteered.

Appearance

Shade is 5'4, and has a slender build. Her Kichari nature is just starting to show with rainbow patches
of skin and in the rainbow hues of her hair.

She wears a long skirt, fitted with clasps and buckles that she can raise up to have better
maneuverability as needed. She has sturdy leather boots and a simple shirt that has been well patched.
She also wears a hooded cloak and fingerless gloves (which are also well patched). A wide belt at her
waist holds two beltpouches, and also has many strips of colorful cloth tied onto it. She always has
bangles and braided bracelets, which she likes to give to children who admire them.

Gear carried

Backpack: waterskin, bedroll, dining utensils, 20 yards rope, 3 weeks rations, spike, crowbar

Left beltpouch: flint and steel, skinning knife

Right beltpouch: chalk, small metal mirror, a few nuts and pieces of dried fruit (from her rations)
Her morning star hangs from her belt (or across the shoulders?), and her quarterstaff has a strap she can
use to hang it from her back. Her arcane device is a small cauldron, worn across her chest on a chain
(she uses it to eat from, gather berries and such from the forest, ect)