Theren

Backstory

Theren was born and raised in the Haelcin region of the kingdom of Ethasadril, the son of eladrin orchard keepers. As a winter oriented fey, the symptoms of his heritage went largely unnoticed unless the migrant forests were nearby. Even with their arrival he merely noted dampness on the corners of his clothing, as if he had been outside working in the slushy, wet snows of late winter and early spring . He spent much of his young life with his parents and younger sister tending soil and trimming evergreens, waiting on these migrant forests to bring production to the orchard. While not working, Theren was mostly left to his own devices when it came to finding entertainment, and often ended up wandering to the small library in the nearby town. The resources there were minimal and heavily favored the agrarian style of life that prevailed in the surrounding area, but curiosity and boredom kept steering the young eladrin to the small bookstore’s old shelves.

Theren was fascinated by the anatomy presented in veterinary books and started an apprenticeship under the local animal healer, Eledin. For 4 years he learned how to care for animals and was trained to use all the tools and techniques required for such work. He had such a propensity for the tools, in fact, that he devised a few gadgets of his own that could assist in his care. Through his practice on livestock (particularly on the domesticated primates used for harvesting in orchards like his family’s), Theren gained increasing interest in the anatomy of the humanoids of the world. After months of pestering Eledin for information he learned of an academy in the west that was founded by an old healer and physician. To the chagrin of his family and Eledin, Theren immediately left for Doveland to study anatomy. He studied at the academy for 6 years and was preparing to begin work on a thesis about the effects of lightning and lightning magic on humanoid anatomy when the anatomy and medicine departments were suddenly closed.

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The sound of shuffling paper and a scratching quill hovered above his bent frame as his eyes (probably too close to the table) tossed around ideas both written and not. The sky was clear and blue outside the dorm window and the tower bell rang out clear, bright tones. 'Whoa!' The young man's voice rang in turn, his mind snapped to reality. Rising quickly from his seat, he slid to the door and spun his coat over one arm on the way out. Cool air frisked his face, and the man jerked to a halt as he was spun off balance by the rest of his coat still caught up in the other room. Theren sighed, 'Oh no,' and after a few hasty, unsuccessful tugs he cracked open the door, threw on the rest of his coat and continued the assembly he was already late for. Among the papers strewn on the floor by his hurried exit was a letter from the dean:

[Letter says something something you suck goodbye]

The young man was undaunted, despite the letter, as he sat down for the end of term assembly. If he could gather up all his research from old anatomy room, then he could find some way to make the rest of it work out. 'There's always work for a curious scholar,' he thought to himself, 'Well, usually... right?'