It all started WAY back in Windurst as a tiny Tarutaru...
I was playing in the grassy plaints of Saratabuta by myself as usual. I'd been outcast by the Windurstian society as a "freak" because of my inability to speak the native tounge... Apparently, some of my rivals in the school of magic thought it necessary to play a trick on me. While stalking an interesting looking ant the size of a grain of sand through the blades of lush green grass, I was nabbed inside of a sack! How indignifying! A burlap freakin' sack! To add to my troubles, I was starting to be beaten by clubs until I decided it was a good idea NOT to move anymore. My tiny body was carried off the ground and I feel asleep inside the bag...
... Three days later, still not allowed out of the bag and not being fed anything, and still not being able to see my captors, the wagon I presumed we were riding in started to ride over cobblestones, and I knew we were reaching some form of civilization. Where the hell were we? I dared not move from fear of being beaten yet again for making a motion of sound. Nevertheless, a sharp pain came from the back of my neck and everything went black.
Again, I awoke, but this time in a cage. How much worse can it get... tall Elvaan people surrounded me, in cloaks and capes and bearing stern countenances. It made me shiver, the icy glare of these tall folk I'd only seen from the ocassional trade carrivan traveling across the sea from the port town of Mhura, which I'd only dreamed of visiting. Where was I, and why? I was pulled to my feet by the rope fastened around my neck. "You're mine, little one," smiled a vile Elvaan man, shorter than the rest and who bore ugly features. So my life of servitude began...
Cleaning and caring for the master's pets became part of my daily tasks for the next few years. If I did not clean something properly or dance for his entertainmen, I would be beaten and whipped so badly I could hardly stand. Yet, if I couldn't work the next day, the punishments would become even harsher. The sight of one of the other servants being dragged away with arms limp and neck hanging low leaving a trail of fluid behind persuaded me I either needed to get stronger, or get out.
Opportunity opened the door for my escape a few years later after that. My canary-blonde hair had turned to grey from the stress and worry placed on me. Tarutaru three times my age hadn't endured such trails, except for maybe the War Warlocks back in home Windurst. I remembered how poorly they'd treated me for being different, and how I was being treated now. At that moment, my life took another turn. I chose to become a killer. Although I wouldn't like to unleash the full details, I desposed of the master when on an errand run, incapacitating his guard hound with a poison I'd concocted through vigorous study, and using the same poison on his meal without him knowing. He died three days later, and I was released from my servitude. Finally, release, in a foreign land.
For the first time, I realized I wasn't outcast for the way I talked. Before, I'd been outcast because I was a servant to an evil, evil man, and now that stigma was gone. I was allowed a fresh start. From what I'd learned and sneaked from his tomes, I'd acquired some minor magical talents that I'd forgotten from my days as a child in Windurst. Things started to come back to me, such as how to fight with a knife, wildlife survival, all while living outside in an area I soon learned to be the Ronfaure region. Ronfaure... I hadn't paid enough attention in my studies to remember what area this was in, or if it was hostile, but most of the travelers seemed nice enough. I would make an attempt to enter the city walls the next day!
So, here I am, in San d'Oria, home of the proud and noble Elvaan people (I still have a problem trusting them), and while they're not warming to a little outcast Tarutaru, they sure don't beat me and call me names. I've honed my survival skills from my time alone in the wild as a thief, getting by on my wits which are sharp as my daggers' edges. Perhaps, someday I can liberate others that are persecuted. Afterall, those who are least suspected often happen to be those in control of things...
