My father, Barthale Moonbow, is a priest of Corellon and was an active adventurer most of his adult life. However, after his own father retired to the elven place of rest, he returned to his hometown of Nym to look after his mother. There, he continued to serve the church as a devoted clergy ministering to the local parish.
He meet my mother, Leyanna, when he ministered to her father as he was dying. She was lovely, well read and highly educated with a beautiful voice and a gift for playing the Lyre. She and my father fell in love and were married, to the great joy of both their families. My mother's passion in life has been her husband, children, home and community in that order. Everyone loves her and she is the warmest and most giving person I have ever known. She has devoted her life to making life for us, her family, joyous and wonderful. She has also been the leader of many charity organizations and together she and my father are considers leaders in the community.
First born of my siblings was my brother, Brentle, who was born when my mother was 230 years old. He was a devoted son, following his father into the clergy, and has also served Corellon for most of his adult life. My other brother, Leighei, was also a devoted son, but has always been drawn to the forests and has been an elven archer for the last century, of course swearing his talents and allegiance to the service of Corellon.
The one thing my mother wanted to complete her family was a daughter. However, as my parents approached middle age this was becoming extremely difficult. They both believed that if they were meant to have a third child then Corellon would grant them this blessing in his own time. For over a century my parents tried to conceive a child; when my mother was ready to give up, she discovered she was finally pregnant for the third time. When I was born, I was, to say the least, the jewel of my family. I have always been adored and loved.
Leyanna always fawned over me, so I could usually get whatever I really wanted. "Oh mummy, I saw the most beautiful blue cloak yesterday. Do you think I could have it?" I asked her once. "Of course my darling. Father says you are doing very well in your studies, and I'm sure you deserve such a treat." she smiled. I got a lot of things like that. Persuasion is one of my strong suits.
My father indulged my every whim, and my brothers were the best any girl could hope for.
"Daddy, can Leighei teach me to ride, can he please?" I cooed.
" Now Lytha, you are much too young still." he replied in his characteristic manner.
"Oh please, pretty please; I promise to be careful and do exactly what I am told. Leighei thinks I can do it. Don't you Leigh?" I begged, looking at my brother with innocence in my eyes.
"Yes father, she is quite good around the horses when she helps me. I think it will be alright father, I truly do." Leighei stated as he winked at me, helping to 'play' our father for me (I told you he was the best).
"Alright then, but I expect an extra hour of study on your books each day for the privilege." he smiled. (Barthale was a wily elf, however, much more than his children gave him credit for. You don't get to be a priest without learning a thing or two along the way. He didn't mind in the least if his daughter began to learn to ride, and he didn't really believe her to be too young; he just wanted her to study more, and got what he intended all along, her promise to do so, for despite her short comings in initiative, she always kept her promises).
"Oh thank you papa. Thank you. I promise. I will study." She kissed him on the cheek, "Oh, and while he is at it, can he start instructing me on archery as well? I will give you two extra hours of study. I promise on Corellon's sword."
Her father gave a great belly laugh, "This is working better than I hoped. Maybe I can get more from her yet." he thought, for his wife had some concerns about her studies as well. "Yes, I guess that means we need to buy you your own bow tomorrow. See to it Leighei, and make sure it fits her properly. But Lythaura, your mother says you are balking at your music lessons. So I think for this you need to give her an extra hour of practice on your Lyre." he offered, waiting to see how she would respond.
"But daddy, I am so bad at it and she plays so beautifully. I will never master it." she pouted.
"Of course you won't if you don't try. Those are my terms. What do you say good daughter?"
"Yes, I will do my best father. Two extra hours lessons and," winking at him, "what was it you said? An extra half hour of practice on my Lyre a day."
He grinned at me and stroked his chin thoughtfully; "No, an hour and a half it was."
She gulped. "Father, you said an hour." she stammered, immediately seeing her folly the second she said it.
"Ah, so you did hear me. Yes, an hour. You are getting older now, Lytha, and it's time you learned with the privileges of age also come the responsibilities. You can do whatever you wish in this world, if you are willing to accept that."
So things changed a bit that day, but she welcomed the change nonetheless.
One day she impressed her oldest brother;"Brentle, I have finished classifying the plants you gave me." she informed him after only working with them briefly.
"What, so quickly?" he thought about it, and decided she must have rushed the job because she wanted something else. "Hmm, what is it you want my little sister? There must be something. " He chuckled, as he knew her so well.
"Well, now that you mentioned it. Daddy bought me a new long sword, yesterday. Would you give me lessons and teach me how to use it?" she grinned.
"OK, but only after you have finished both your herbalism and religion lessons." he smiled at me, "Now let's go see if you have classified those plants correctly."
My family's attentions to me have been so extreme that many outsiders and family friends have often sworn that I was going to be a spoiled brat as I grew older.
"Leyanna, if you continue to have that child believe the sun and both moons revolve around her, what do you expect her to be when she is older?"
My mother would simply smile and say, "A child of Corellon, ready to give to others what she has had all her life, unconditional love and support." That usually shut them up. But Lytha also over heard that complaint enough that she was determined to make her mother's words come true.
I am not a spoiled brat, but I have to admit, I do expect people to take notice when I walk in a room and listen when I speak. I am not used to hearing the words "No" and do not accept such lightly. I would expect any man alive to pay attention to me and do anything I asked of him, from helping me on my horse to defending my honor.
However, my heart is good and I do not abuse this power of persuasion. I see it is a gift from Corellon, as if I have been blessed with a great treasure. Perhaps my life was born of my parent's prayers to Corellon, springing from their love of god and life. Thus, my life has revolved around my family and the church. It seemed quite natural for me to decide to follow both my father and brother in the service of Corellon. This has also allowed me to care for the people of my community and continue the good works of my mother through charity.
I spent the first ten years of my adventuring career doing small tasks for the church. Delivering messages to different parishes, helping local women during childbirth, helping a priest who needed assistance because he himself was ill, or his parishioners were and needed healing. My adventurers so far have been limited to my own island. My knowledge of the Alodarian language (Thari, aka trade talk, aka common) has come from other priests who have traveled to the continent such as my father and brother.
Shortly after I achieve the rank of 'Perfect' (5th level) as a priest, tragedy struck my eldest brother's family. His wife, after 60 years of marriage, died while giving birth to their second child. At this time my brother was very much still an adventurer for the church. I immediately took a leave of absence and went to take care of my brother's children and ran his household for him. Because of this I am very close to my nephew, Brantly, now 66 years old, and his little sister Meyanna, 18 years old, whom I raised as my own.
These last several years have allowed my brother to put his affairs in order with the church. My father retired as the parish elder and my brother took his position. It also allowed my brother time to heal after the loss of his wife and fall in love again. Brentle has now been remarried for several months and no longer needs me as his new wife is now in charge of their household.
So I have returned to my adventuring life. My parents and brothers were so proud of my behavior in my brother's time of need that they have all pooled their resources to give me a most precious gift. The day I returned to my duties at the church they all met me in the prayer chapel and gave me a suit of elven chain mail. It is beautiful, softly illuminated with a blue aura when the sunlight hits it just so, and magical, naturally. It appears they managed to keep this from me and surprise me because one of my sisters of the church, my height and approximate weight served as the model for the Armorer.
After that, the church took a more official hand in my role and bid me go to the capital city of Alderami. Unlike Nym, Alderami is a huge city standing proudly above the waters and amid the mimbar trees; a vast maze of tree houses, tree buildings and complexes, platforms, board walks, and rope bridges all resting 100 feet or so above the water.
I was stationed, as it were, in the main temple of Corellon, though there are nearly 30 such temples for Corellon in total for such a vast city, this was the largest and most well known, for it is rather unique. Corellon's Bowl, it is called.
On a mighty mimbar tree so well known it is often called "The One Tree," though there are many trees, all inter linked in some way, one of the busiest ports can be found. From the water's level one may travel up the stairs spiraling around the large mimbar tree until they reach the first level a mere 70 feet above. A business district, a port, the level is rather dirty and thickly populated with humans and half elves, all doing business with sailors and anyone else who may travel in from the sea. I like the place, for it's filled with action and excitement, rumors, news, bars and taverns, and all manner of the unusual.
The next 9 levels get cleaner and more elven as you go up. There is little reason for the masses to travel so high on The One Tree. Mostly, the well to do, affluent people and travelers, adventurers, and a more priestly or scholarly sort filter up into the residential districts above. And still, this is not the top.
Continuing upwards, the main spiral staircase wrapping around the trunk of the one tree gives way to a series of wide, straight, stone stairways (stone? in a tree?). It's as if the rock were a living part of the tree, though no one I asked could really tell me about it, only saying it had been there for 'many' generations (and for elves, that's saying a long, long time).
Moving from branch to branch, each only 5 or 6 steps in length before they make a turn, these short, stone 'bridges' take one up in actual height only a little, moving you back and forth, as if just to get all the various views and vistas afforded from multiple angles. On each walk you can see part of the bowl of Corellon, but its full majesty doesn't hit you until you swing around on the ninth stair case where you can't see it at all, then turning 45 degrees on the tenth and final stair case, the final 6 steps lead you onto the landing that opens up into a huge, natural grotto of rock, crystal, plants, water, and trees. If you didn't know you were nearly 200 feet in the air on the very top of a mimbar tree, you couldn't tell from here.
Perhaps 125 in radius, a circular, bowl shaped depression rest comfortably in the canopy, the walls a solid mass of leaves and branches, the floor now layer upon layer of fallen leaves, dust, and debris such that one would take it as normal ground in any given forest. Boulders, obviously placed here, ring the bowl, each one having been selected as unusual in crystalline structure or appearance, carved and sculpted with images of heroes, heroines, and gods, all of them somehow growing their crystalline formations with magic. Much of it is as if one were in an underground cave, but for the sunlight and plants easily taking up 75% of the room, covering the rocks. And the plants (even smaller trees other than mimbar) grew there as well (the great oak probably the most prominent of them all). A central pool of water collected from the rain born rivulets that flowed down the leaves at the sides of the bowl. The awe and majesty of the bowl was breath taking and any who saw it would never forget it.
The Bowl of Corellon could easily accommodate 2000, but if you really wanted, one could jam nearly 6000 people into it and still be able to breath. At best, however, only 4000 or so would come at its maximum height of attendance, the high holy day. Normally less than a 1000 would visit the bowl on any given Pholar. Still, that's an awful lot of visitors, and I was sent there to help out.
At first I was looking eagerly forward to my main duties of administrating to the masses, but Epsilar had other ideas (Epsilar is the high priest of Corellon for the Bowl, and thus, probably the highest cleric of Corellon on the planet). He directed Myliarra, my immediate superior, herself a high priestess, to have me perform more field work and spread the name of our lord through actions and deeds and adventuring. I am not sure what the church has in store for me, but I am sure that it will be truly enlightening and important.
Ages were current as of 746 A.E.
Mother- Leyanna (600) ____________________________Father- Barthale (655)
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Meyela (d. 350) Brentle (370) Leighei (322) Lythaura (221)
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Brantly (66) Meyanna (18)
Posted July of 2000
by
James L.R. Beach
Waterville, MN 56096