To begin with, it's one of the House Rules I have in operation that any new character gets an XP bonus for providing me with a character history. (This is to help the players be more attached to their characters and make the game more of a roleplaying session than might otherwise happen. I therefore present: -
The Life of Jared Blackspawn
Jared Malyk Jaelre was born to Chalithra Jaelre and a male human slave whose given name at that time was Lecktor (which in Drow Elven means Beast). His mother had mated with his father out of a sense of curiosity and simple lust, his fathers figure being larger and more muscular than most drow males, she saw him as something different. The pregnancy was not wanted, but for whatever reason she did not down medicinal herbs to kill the result of their brief union.
From birth Jared was raised in a cruel environment, where the weakest were weeded out systematically, for the good of the species. He relied to a great extent on his dexterity, a trait carried over from his mother’s blood, which ran stronger in him than that of his father (who he has never known). The children of the House were raised together, and fights were commonplace, the nurses assigned to watch the children, even encouraging such, and placing bets on the survival of certain children. Jared never got good odds... he defied them all the same. By the time he was 5, the other children had already dubbed him “The Blackspawn”, and as he grew older, this nickname would come into greater use by those of House Jaelre. Intended as a derogatory comment on his birth, he nevertheless adopted it, and made it his sobriquet. From the age of 5 his mother raised him, along with his younger sisters Qilue and Malise. What they lacked in age, they more than made up in evil intent, and it was a rare tenday that went by without them trying to kill him. He, however made no attempt to kill them, as he suspected that his mother, who made plain that she had little love for her bastard child, would have killed him for the deed.
When House Jaelre moved to the surface, to take the abandoned lands of the Elven Court in deepest Cormanthyr, Jared was brought along, and here he flourished. Not affected by the sunlight that hampered many of his tribe, he was finally able to stand as an equal, or so he thought at first. It soon became apparent that despite his sudden usefulness to his people, he would remain at best a second rate member of the tribe, owing to his "polluted" blood. His mother, who he at best could reach an understanding with, refused to intercede on his behalf, stating that if he wished to stand as an equal, he would have to earn that right by deed. This being the only wisdom his mother had ever imparted to her misbegotten offspring, he took this to heart, and began to train as a scout alongside several other youths, as such were now needed in the dangerous world they had invaded.
The youths were trained ruthlessly in typical drow style, those who could not pass the tests of strength, speed, wit and more that they were forced to endure were terminated. Jared knew that to fail was to die, and that terrified him. While others might have given into that fear, and despaired, Jared was determined to conquer it. If his worst fear was failure, than he would have to ensure that he did not fail.
While training he struck up a friendship of sorts, along with a fierce rivalry with another youth, a pureblood drow girl by the name of Akordia Coloara. In everything the two did together, they excelled, but neither could beat the other, and while they began as friends, the rivalry and intense training the drow elders put them through, soon drove a wedge between the two. For his part, Jared did not understand why this had to be, and for the first time doubt about what he was doing entered his thoughts, though he made sure never to reveal this to anyone, as such would be termed weakness, something he was intent not to show. The best of the scouts were a group called The Shivs, despite beating nearly every member at the various trials, he was not invited to join, Akordia was, and he grew angry.
Confronting his mother he questioned her advice, pointing out that no matter how well he did, he would never be accepted as an equal. She nodded and laughed at him, pleased at her own cruel joke. Blinking in disbelief, he turned and walked away, the hatred gnawing at him, muttering dire revenge upon her some day, her laughter ringing in his ears.
He went to see Jezz the Lame, one of the four rulers of the House, and asked for a mission, something, anything, to get him away from the rest of the House for a time. Jezz, not known for his acts of kindness, but knowing from reports from the trainers of this youths ability, nodded and assigned him a mission to observe and infiltrate Daggerdale.
While sounding ostentatious, in reality it was a suicide mission. The Drow have no interest in Daggerdale; after all, it does not abut the Cormanthyr forest, and after decades of battling the Zhents, the place is an armed camp, the people more inclined to "shoot first, and ask questions later". Jezz did not expect Jared to return... for his own part, neither did Jared. Pleased at such an assignment, it putting him a long distance from the rest of his people, and giving him an opportunity to study those of his fathers people. As he had never known his father, save for the few lewd remarks his mother had made about him, the chance to see where the other half of him came from, the "pollution" in his drow blood originated from was a godsend. He did not bid farewell to his mother, but as he packed up his few things, his sisters noticed and asked where he was going. Far away from you, was their only reply. They laughed and went off to tease the boys who sought their embraces, as the two girls had grown into beauties, much coveted by the young men folk of the House.
Making his way through the Cormanthyr forest with a raiding party was easier going than he had imagined it would be, the group staying well clear of the area of Myth Drannor, it's fell reputation known even to the Drow. When the group reached the outskirts of Mistledale, he parted company with them, seeing Akordia for the last time. Before he ran off to head towards his own mission, the two met in private and with no one to drive them to exceed each other, they embraced and coupled beneath the trees. When he woke up, she was gone, leaving only the memory of her in his arms. He headed northwest, staying clear of any trails, hunting for supplies as he needed them, occassionally raiding a trap some logger or farmer had set, and taking the catch that should have been theirs.
Reaching Daggerdale, he made sure to remain always out of sight, studying by day, wrapped in a green cloak, his dark skinned face concealed in the shadows of the hood. Curiosity burned fiercely in him though, as he noticed that far from being a human-only settlement, the village he was camped near, called Clearwater by the inhabitants was teeming with races. In the space of a tenday, he noted Dwarves, Elves, Humans, Halflings and even a Gnome visiting or resident in the area, all dealing with each other without any of the antipathy he had experienced from his own people towards him. Even a passing half orc was able to buy supplies, with nary a raised eyebrow from the people, and he began to crave the acceptance he was witnessing here. He knew, however, that should he make his presence known, that he would not find any such welcome... not yet anyway. He needed top put the people in his debt, and as chance would have it, he got the opportunity a couple nights later.
While studying a farm on the outskirts of the town, he noticed that one of the young girls of the family, who earlier in the day he had heard called Lora, was out at the back of the house, despite it being dark. She was watching rabbits that had come out in the twilight, and doing so, was heedless of the wolf that was stalking those same rabbits. Watching the scene unfold, Jared was unsure how to proceed. While he had been taught all his life that the weak perish so that the strong may survive and thrive, he had no wish to see the little girl be torn to shreds, as the wolf would undoubtedly attack her, as a far better meal than a puny rabbit would offer. He began to stalk the wolf, as it approached the farmyard. His reflexes honed, he closed in on the wolf, careful not to let it hear or smell his approach, and waited for it to make its move. As it pounced forwards and landed in the farmyard hurtling towards the girl, he took aim and fired, as her scream of terror pierced the night. His eyes well adapted to the darkness, his bolt flew true and struck the wolf clean through the heart felling it instantly, its lifeless body flopping to the ground beside the hysterical girl.
Her parents, drawn by the scream burst out of the farmhouse, her father brandishing a sword, her mother a bow, and stopped stunned, as they saw the dead wolf. At that point, Jared stood up, revealing his presence in the field nearby. He nodded silently to the astonished family, his hood down, the darkness disguising him somewhat, and turned, heading back to the nearby trees. Studying the village the next day, he was pleased to hear several people commenting about the mysterious silver-haired ranger who had saved Lora Krebble from a wolf. He knew then, that though it would take him a while, he could ingratiate himself with these people, and perhaps someday walk into town openly, and not be shot.
