[hider=The Mongrel Mage]
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[indent][i]How did she get here?[/i]
Miles from the wreckage, a little girl, no older than a tot, trudging through Northern snow on diminutive legs. Pudgy with frost pasted to her face, positively freezing, and drained in her delirium; near unconscious. The staggering, abandoned soul dared to fall into the frozen bank. (Her story nearly ended there.) 

She was caught. Hoisted before a bonfire, where within a smoke-suffused indentation in the mountain face, a lone adventurer's apparatus turned ice to fresh water. His last image of her was framed in the fur of the freshly-slain beast, whiskers tickling her forehead; her eyes pooled with wonder as the adventurer led her true family towards her through the backing incandescence of the flame. Meanwhile, the child sat in ponderance as the orc's footsteps vanished in the blizzard's white haze. In a few years, she might think to follow them. 

For now, another unaffiliated party had discovered the wreckage, what remained of the minister and his wife buried under slabs of splintered-off wood. And, of course, in a neighboring hollow.[/indent]
[center][h1]ÉDAIN STYX[/h1]
[img]https://s26.postimg.org/hvtyiczdl/fae.png[/img][/center]
[indent][right][i]... art by [url=https://fukari.deviantart.com/art/one-day-auction-Mushka-CLOSED-487330455]Fukari[/url][/i][/right]
Miles from her birthplace — one so long forgotten, it proves insignificant to her —, a little girl, no older than thirteen years, wields the tallest staff she can possibly brandish in hopes of feeling taller. The offspring of elf and dwarf — either so long forgotten, she wished their memories would prove insignificant sooner or later —, it's blatant where the latter succeeded in stature, the former in musculature; the girl's both bungling and willowy with point-ears and button nose. Who the owl-eyes came from is uncertain. And Édain herself refuses many things: a smaller stick, for one. To cut her hair, ash-blonde and braided, as well. And to change the pelt blanketing her attenuated shoulders and psuedo-developed form, the flank of the "mystery beast" whose identity has stumped all her compatriots thus far. It's fun to imagine she slayed it herself, even when it starts to smell a tad.  

Background:
A sorcerer born into the equivalent of dwarven luxury in Westhaven, the Minister had power; with that came privilege, namely the exclusivity to confidentiality. Unknowingly, he united with a seafaring elf maiden, a merchant and a witch, labeled the latter due to dabbling in unscrupulous magical arts: rituals, oaths, and the people of Stonehaven later gossiped frantically amidst themselves about evidence of [i]necromancy.[/i] But, at the time, the Minister and his mistress practiced their arts undiscovered. The Minister, of course, had a true wife to which fellow dwarves would not throw up arms over controversial bloods like "incidental mixed blood offspring" and the like. Unfortunately, when such became a reality for the Minister with his not-as-true wife, and with [i]Édain,[/i] the reality of the secret affair became irrefutable. As it dawned on him and his partner, and on his traditional dwarven wife who awoke to his absence, a change of scenery was necessitated. They fled with their child to the mountains about Midhaven, in which they were discovered in the midst of their getaway, trailed, and thusly devastated by a patrol of elves. Their mutt was left behind. 

... 
 
Powers, Abilities, & Equips: ... 
Desired Class: Mage 
Character Flaws: Fragile in psyche and stature. In her youth and blistering fear of abandonment, she labors to validate all who have done good to her. ... 
Famous Quotes: ... [/indent]
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[/hider]
Whipped something up, [i]very[/i] much a work-in-prog. Was looking for more info on the world, particularly on how the different subspecies live. Are they segregated by region? Would it be uncommon for a member of a subspecies to live in a region they weren't originally engineered for? Would it be outright forbidden? And some more general world-building info that would help me build my sign-up: What, alongside the Kingdom of Dragan, are the main governing bodies of the Faraway Land? Are there other defining aspects of the three subspecies that can't be inferred from other fantasy series? Are there [i]only[/i] the orcs, elves, and dwarves as existing humanoid subspecies? 

Since I'm looking to build a mage character, too, do you have any preexisting expectations or, like, concepts for how magic might exist in the Faraway Land, or is it entirely free-form? I'm thinking Édain might draw spells from nature, maybe dabble with the four elements as they're commonly known (might also subvert a little in that category, like bring back wood, lol), with some "dark magic" influence. Maybe even summoning? 

On my end regarding world-building, through my char's background, I want to establish being an "adventurer" as this sort of rogue occupation that appeals to idealists, as well as there being a collection of nomadic "witches" outcast from society based on the types of sorcery they practice; alongside being stigmatized within most societies, the magic itself could have a mental toll, leading to obsessiveness that later incites near-total isolation and monomaniacal study. 

And if there are some discrepancies with my WIP so far, definitely hmu, especially regarding any unintentional tonal or setting dissonance. (For the later, I'm assuming this is [i]high fantasy[/i] with [i]medieval-era[/i] technology. If you intended for there to be other cultural influences in terms of names, dress, language, social standards, etc., let me know!)