Tanisevania - expanded backstory

Backstory ~ Tanisevania, Gnomish Druid

In a small Gnomish town far away from any cities, there lived two Gnomes who loved each other very much. Their names were Uranvan and Faerlunal Fenow, and they were farmers. As soon as they were married, they decided to try to start a family out of both desire for children and need for more hands to do the farm’s labor. Their farm was small, and rival to a bigger farm in town that was owned by a bigger family. Because of all the labor involved in farm work, Uranvan and Faerlunal needed more workers in order to expand and turn a profit, and since they couldn’t afford to hire anyone, they needed to have children so they could help when they were old enough.

After some years of trying, Faerlunal finally became pregnant. Despite the fact that she was with child she still had to work hard alongside her husband to keep the farm alive. Throughout her pregnancy nothing seemed to be wrong, but when the time came for her to give birth, complications arose. A midwife was summoned to help her, and she gave birth to two healthy twin girls. The complications, however, had taken their toll, and a few hours later Faerlunal passed away. Still, she lived long enough to give her daughters their first names – Erfanebal and Kaerneba. Uranvan mourned as is proper in Gnomish society, but realized he had to stay strong as well to keep his new family alive. He gave the girls their second names, making them Erfanebal Janlena Fenow and Kaerneba Dalanna Fenow. In honor of his late wife, he chose to refer to them primarily by the names she had given them, and everyone else in the town followed suit.

As the twins grew up, the family continued to struggle, and the girls proved how different they were from each other despite their birth. Kaerneba was content to help their father with the farm work, perfectly happy with the goings on of the town and her place in them. Erfanebal, however, was not. She found the work involved with her family’s trade boring, preferring to wander in the woods and spend her time alone there. She had few friends, and though she was kind to everyone she met, she didn’t mind it. Kaerneba would often try to make her help with the work just as much as she did, though Uranvan had already failed, which often resulted in arguments that sent Erfanebal into the woods to fare for herself for a few days. One such incident resulted in the only nickname Erfanebal ever got. She was climbing trees, and Kaerneba saw fit to come find her and drag her back to her work. However, no matter how hard Kaerneba tried to pull her sister down, she hung on tight. From then on her sister called her “Clawfoot.” Despite the differences between the two of them, however, the sisters were and continue to be very close, though neither of them would ever admit it.

Life continued as it had for all of their childhood and into their adolescence. By the time Erfanebal hit puberty, she had learned to fare for herself very well. She also began to discover that she was not only attracted to boys, as expected, but girls as well. Love is very much encouraged in Gnomish society, so she tried very hard to be in relationships with several other girls and boys. Each attempt failed. Because of Gnomish views on love, this wasn’t as awkward as it might have been, and even though each attempted relationship did not end happily her promiscuous actions thereafter were generally accepted. Kaerneba was the exact opposite. As she grew older, she decided to seek a husband who would also be content to farm just as she was.

Then, shortly after they turned 30 (human age equivalent – 15), Erfanebal was wandering in the woods and went further than she had ever gone before or intended to go. She lost track of where she was, and by accident, stumbled across the grove of a local Druid. The Druid, a half-elf –half-gnome woman named Eden, was interrupted in her workings by Erfanebal’s arrival. She was shocked and actually impressed that someone had stumbled upon her by accident, so instead o f being angry at the interruption, she invited Erfanebal to stay for a while and share food with her. As they ate, Eden learned of the girl’s love of nature, and began to suspect that she might have a deeper connection to it. A few hours later, Eden helped Erfanebal find her way back home, then slipped silently back into the forest. A few days passed uneventfully. Erfanebal tried to tell her sister and father about the encounter, but they didn’t believe her, as no Druids had been known to be living in the area for hundreds of years. Then, unexpectedly, Eden showed up on their doorstep and asked to speak to Erfanebal and her father. After being invited in, she explained to them both that she thought Erfanebal had the potential to become a powerful Druid, and that she’d like to take her away to train and become part of the Druidic Order. Uranvan pressed her to be more specific, but she refused, telling him that the goings on of the Druids, especially how to become one, were guarded secrets. Frustrated, he told her he’d have to think about it, and bid her to leave. She did so, promising to return for an answer in three days.

Erfanebal desperately wanted to go with Eden and become a Druid, and pleaded with her father to let her. He had never exercised any such control over her before, but now he was worried. Despite the fact that he was closer to Kaerneba, he loved both his daughters, and did not want to send either of them into a life he knew nothing about. While he thought about it, Erfanebal left the house and hid from him in the woods. Over the next three days she would show up at home for only a few minutes, making clear to him that she was upset, then would vanish back into the forest. He knew it would be foolish to try and find her, and though he didn’t want to admit it, he also understood that to prevent her from going would be to make her miserable. So with a heavy heart, when Eden returned, he told her he would allow Erfanebal to go. Eden thanked both him and Erfanebal, who had come back home to hear Uranvan’s decision, and told them she would return in the morning to fetch her. Erfanebal spent that final evening at home with her family. Kaerneba was upset and tried to argue with her about it, but their father stopped them, and she spent the rest of the night trying to understand and accept it. In the morning, before her sister left, she gave her a new name – Pinabaera, and though Erfanebal accepted it as a gift, she has never used it. When Eden arrived, Erfanebal bid her family farewell, leaving her life there as well as all her belongings behind.

The Druidic training took several years, and was very dangerous. She learned with others, and not all survived the trials they were put through. She, however, did so bravely, proving her faith in nature itself. At the age of 40 (human equivalent 20), she was initiated into the Druidic Order. She also called an animal companion to her, choosing a Badger, whom she calls Gulnar, and chose a new name for herself – Tanisevania. Thereafter she would go by no other name; abandoning all the others she had been given. Now “graduated,” she had a choice to make. She could stay in the area of her birth, also near Eden, and await orders from her superiors. Or, she could strike out on her own, traveling the world to find a place she felt comfortable in, where she would then create her own grove to tend and protect.

Tanisevania chose the latter, and after bidding Eden farewell, she set off to travel the continent with Gulnar and find a place for herself in the world.