Getting the background
When I first read through the Zeitgeist Player’s guide, I was instantly fascinated by the different peoples of Lanjyr and the premise of a philosophical conflict. Also, the promise of a deviation from a typical, pseudo-medieval European setting felt like a fresh breeze of air. So I wanted to take the deep dive into what made the setting special and was at first a bit torn between playing a Deva and playing an Eladrin. As I’m generally not that much interested in tech classes or themes (at least not in fantasy settings), going the mystical route seemed like a solid plan.
As my fellow player was drawn to the Deva as well, I opted for more diversity and chose the Eladrin. After reading a bit more about the race and their history, I didn’t want to go the easy route of playing a native Flinter, but instead took the full dive into Elfaivar territory. What hooked me up most was the backstory of the race: First the idea of a once proud “nation” that had been reduced to ash over a divine catastrophe and the internal strife that happened afterwards. Second the way that these people managed to survive and recover, by not choosing the cliché route of going down with a bang, but to liberate those who had suffered most after the Malice and to make them the pillars of their new revival movement. Third the possibility to play a daughter of a non-evil (but also maybe problem ridden) matriarchy with all its resulting social awkwardness should such a character come to a country like Risur.
I then started digging for more information as I needed to know about how such an enclave would work in the present time. Fortunately, my DM ploughed through all the adventures and gave me some hooks, although he ultimately let me design my own enclave, as long as it didn’t happen to be some big, influential city-state. After a bit of back and forth (and reading up on existing cultures with matrilineal or matriarchal structures), I came up with a quasi-clan like society ruled by a matriarch who was counseled by influential adult women (her daughters, nieces, granddaughters etc.). As having daughters was pivotal to the society’s survival, it was considered a woman’s first duty to give life to at least one baby girl. Consorts or husbands (one woman would have more than one at a time) were chosen by the council, depending on omens, contests or whatever reason the matriarch would deem important enough. And being chosen as a consort would be the greatest honor every boy or man would try to aspire to. As every woman was supposed to continue, and possibly broaden, the bloodline, she was held up to very high standards, as she had to train to increase her skills, magic and combat arts constantly. I wanted to portray a functional, yet far from perfect society which put the strains of survival on both men and women, albeit on very different levels. For the culture itself, I used the idea from the Player’s Guide and imagined a mishmash of a primal, arcane, Indian and Japanese inspired culture.
Then I needed a reason why a member of such a society would end up in a foreign country and especially be a member of a special CIA-like institution. First, she had to move out of her enclave. Again, I wanted to avoid clichés like being married to dudes she didn't like or being forced to live a life she didn't want to. I came up with the idea that an only daughter whose parents had been chosen by mystical signs and rudimentary "genetics" would maybe face a lot of pressure to be "the perfect daughter", albeit in a different sense than it is often used in tropes (think of Azula in AtlA minus the crazy dictator dad). But I didn't want the pressure to mainly come from her environment. Instead, she herself would be her greatest critic, trying to be an Exemplar of the Eladrin and (in her opinion) failing to be one. So in the end I made her run away from a situation she created herself. This way I was able to let her stay rooted with her culture and even fondly remember those she left behind.
Next, I had to figure out why such a character would forge such close ties to Risur and Flint. I deduced that honor and duty would be important values to my Eladrin and so I thought that she would certainly want to repay any debt she'd owe to someone. Another possible approach was a true identification with the foreign values and the foreigners themselves. And then I came up with the idea to combine both aspects into one storyline. Turned out that I was also lacking a bit of drama (I really like drama AND flawed heroes), so took a bit of a risk and went the "trophy wife" route. Kind of. I realized that I wouldn't be too happy if my character had been sexually or violently abused for years, or even decades, so I thought about why not have someone who, at first, simply wants to own an Eladrin woman because having one would be among the greatest status symbols one could attain. As I imagined my character to be a great negotiator (I'm also really into the diplomancer approach), I then asked myself why she wouldn't be able to simply set a price for her freedom and succeed. So I made the relationship between captive and owner both personal and obsessive in a way that he would want to keep her at any cost, yet still feel the need to keep his promise that he wouldn't do her any harm. Not that this wouldn't mentally hurt the character (who still was used to be treated like a future matriarch), but this way I could avoid the all too common tropes.
Now for the Risuri and Auryn's reason to connect with them... I was discussing this matter with my DM for quite a while and at first I suggested that a really wealthy noble or industrialist could have bought her from her captor (back then I wasn't that settled on the obsessive route and her captivity could alternatively have been a very brief experience) and we kind of agreed on a certain Guy Goodson to be her benefactor. I asked him a bit about Goodson's personality and role in Risur and everything was fine until... I decided that I would want take the Vekeshi Mystic as background feat (my DM wasn't too fond of the Skyseer and the other player wanted to play a spirit medium) and realized that choosing Vekeshi plus Goodson would easily lead my Auryn into conflicting loyalties. When he explained that, at least in Flint, there would be only Goodson who would be wealthy enough to even consider buying an Eladrin, I had to think of a different plan. My DM was then suggesting that maybe a Vekeshi or a soldier from Flint could have freed her in an undercover or commando mission and I happened to really like that idea, as it would open up a possible hook-up point for other players. He then came up with Old Stag whom he described as the powerful leader of the Vekeshi conclave of Flint and whom he could imagine of putting off such a feat. As he researched a bit further, he revealed to me that using Old Stag would actually make perfect sense if I wouldn't mind having a major character reveal before the campaign even started. I agreed, as long as it wasn't some major plot point which could have upset my other player. The resulting reveal that Old Stag = Rear Admiral Dawkins wasn't too bad, in fact, it suited my story perfectly. I quickly envisioned a tale of the last Yerasol war where Dawkins was still a captain and he "coincidentally" had to conquer an island from Danoran occupation. Well, turned out that he also heard from a fey that a certain Eladrin woman was being held there against her will and, being both a Vekeshi and a true Risuri gentleman (as my DM envisioned him... and I happen to really love his characterization), he decided to give the island top priority. This way I was able to beat two flys in one stroke: Figuring out why my character would feel indebted to Risur and why and how she would join the ranks of the Vekeshi.
Last but not least, I had to think about her way to join the RHC. She had to somehow feel more than just a debt, but also a love for the Risuri. I thought about giving her the need to build a network for personal safety as she now understood that an Eladrin was very vulnerable on her own. I figured that the Docker community would openly welcome a talented artist and that she would be able to greatly expand her repertoire and knowledge, thus easing her need to be perfect. The same reasoning could be applied to her ability to lead, protect and negotiate and her wish to join the RHC. As she knows that she'll live for centuries and will eventually lead her own enclave, she kind of sees her time in Risur as some sort of internship. She... just happened to have a bigger heart for the people than she expected.
