Lilythorn
As recorded by Snapdragon himself
Born Ylsei Sharon, Lily was the crown princess of the Sharoni Dominion, one of the two great houses of the Umbral race. The Umbrals were an ancient people that believed in isolationism and a strict bloodline. Umbrals could marry within their house or outside of it, but then the couple would have to choose which house to formally align with. Purity of bloodlines were stressed within Umbral society and breeding outside of their race was genetically impossible. Umbrals were not human. They were very close in appearance but were truly mystical beings. Umbrals can see in the ultraviolet spectrum as well as the color spectrum visible to humans. Consequently, Umbrals are sensitive to bright lights and often wear hoods or blindfolds when venturing out in the daytime. Umbrals are generally nocturnal, though like humans, their schedules can change easily. Umbrals' appearances usually resemble humans, perhaps a bit paler, and with purple eyes and white hair. But none of this is what makes them so special. Umbrals are a magic-based race, not unlike Elves. However, their magic is not based upon the usual Mana source. Their magic comes from Mageyears. Umbrals' age directly corresponds to their magic ability, for example: an older Umbral might be able cast twice as many spells as a younger Umbral. When an Umbral casts a spell, it makes them younger, usually in a rate of years. As a Umbral uses magic they get younger in appearance, stature, strength, etc. Mageyears directly correspond to how many years old an Umbral is. The older the Umbral the more spells they can cast. If an Umbrall casts enough spells to exceed their Mageyears then they cease existing. One might potentially see Umbrals as immortal for having the ability to make themselves younger, however, this is not the case. They are still very capable of being killed or sickened. Their immune system, though stronger than that of a human, does decay like ours does. And such weakness or a madness would be carried through Mageyears. An Umbral can recover Mageyears and their original age through rigorous meditation, but they can never exceed their actual number of years alive. The discrepancy between an Umbral's age and their Mageyears is called True-age. As for their form of magic, Umbrals can use most elemental magics as well as those regarding auras, wards, and magical shielding. When using magic such as fire or lightning, however, Umbrals create a flame that glows ultraviolet rather than the regular coloration that could potentially harm their eyes.
Now that's enough about the species, let me now explain their society. Umbrals lived in a large walled kingdom known as Sharona. Sharona was an entirely self-sufficient land with fields and orchards and lakes and streams. Behind the towering gray stone walls, the Umbrals lived a very solitary life. The walls were taller than any building in the kingdom and the only tower that could rival their height was the Capital Spire. The kingdom is centered around this spire, encompassed by the city, which is then encompassed by the fields and other nature for farming. In a halfway split, the kingdom is divided into it's two Houses; with the Sharoni on one side and the Sedgvini on the other. They weren't segregated though. Education and all public interactions were integrated with only property being segregated. In the center of the kingdom sat the ruler of all Umbral society: the Umbral Patriarch. The Patriarch was a title passed down to every son since the beginning. If ever a Patriarch should have no sons it would fall upon his daughter's husband and if the Patriarch should have no children it would fall upon his brother or his sister's husband. In this accountability for females, the title of Patriarch has shifted back and forth between the Houses Sharoni and Sedgvini countless times. Both Houses had a relative appreciation and respect for one another and for customs, although previous Patriarchs had been overthrown and civil unrest had many times run rampant behind the walls. Umbral Law is harsh and unforgiving and it greatly stresses preservation of species. If anything should threaten the delicate stability of their way of life, it would be dealt with severely. There are no weapons (or the materials to make them) within the walls of Sharona. Hygiene is top priority and sanitation is kept up at all times to prevent sickness and disease. Umbrals are schooled in Magic in order to defend themselves, serve as law enforcement, or defend the empire in times of civil war. Umbral society stresses moderation and pacifism, but glorifies those who fight to defend the kingdom. Umbrals have excelled in science, art, and magic. Umbrals generally have a dark sense of humor and only show emotion through their magic and art. Umbrals have a strict adherence to laws and customs and a societally programmed respect for tradition. They are a quiet monotone people who are very careful in their choice of words. They respond better to action than conversation, as well. Umbrals are great at reading facial expressions and use this as a form of communication at times.
Now back to Lily:
Or Ylsei, as she was called. Ylsei was the daughter of Ost Sharon, reigning Primarch of the Umbrals and leader of the Sharoni Dominion. Well apparently when Ylsei was about two or so (her father was about one-hundred-and-ten, half the average life expectancy for an Umbral), civil war broke out in Sharona. Ylsei was too young to hear what started it, but she presumes her father did something horrible. The war was between the Houses and it became obviously clear that there was no neutrality in this war. From what I've heard, it was brutal. You'd end up with children fighting and dying in the streets, some disappearing, some corpses, most of them over thirty years old. In war it was impossible to tell he was really a child and who wasn't. The war continued for five years. But before it was over, a massive final attack was launched by the Sedgvini. A giant ball of pure energy taken from the Mageyears of a thousand Umbrals was fired right at the Capital Spire. The casualties were insurmountable. That was the end game. The explosion blew across the entire kingdom and knocked down the walls that protected it. The Umbral population died in that war. Six Umbrals survived that attack. Ost Sharon used one hundred Mageyears protecting himself his son, Dite, and Ylsei. Three elder princes of the Sedgvini Dominion who had been hidden away from the central impact fled when the wall fell. The entire city was leveled. Ruins and corpses scattered amongst empty clothes. It was horrible. And Ost Sharon tried to raise her there in those ruins for fourteen more years.
She was twenty. Ost Sharon was struggling to keep the Umbral way of life alive. Seeing the chance before him, he proposed that Ylsei marry her brother Dite. Now Dite was an arrogant man. And from what little Lily's said about him, I can infer that he was an a*****e. Lily immediately rejected the idea. And between that and the ten years of spite she had developed toward her father not saving her mother, Laye Sharon (who Lily never even knew that well in the first place), trouble was just brewing up to erupt. One day, all that hate exploded. Lily was running away and Ost sent Dite to stop her. Lily had obtained some weapons, however. She looted them off the bodies of Sedgvini soldiers that had smuggled them over the wall during the rebellion. She says they did it with a flying machine that one of their great scientists built. Regardless, she was well-armed when Dite arrived to apprehend her. It was then, at sunset, that Lily defined herself. She resisted and fought Dite, at first with magic, taking care to hide her weapons. Dite was about twice her age and he wasted no time using those Mageyears to prove it. Lily was holding her own, Dite had spent thirty of his years when Lily had spent fifteen. He was reckless and untrained. Lily pulled out her crossbow and nailed him right between the eyes. She ran. As a five year old girl, she ran as far as she could, stopping now and then to try to regain her Mageyears. She ran for six days. Along the way she had picked up some disease from exposure and by the time she reached civilization, she was a sick ten year old. She came stumbling into a tavern before she collapsed, and, luckily for her, Thorn was there.
David Lilythorn had a pretty boring life. He grew up without a father and his mother had been very ill for much of his life, but she instilled in him some good values in her time. She died when he was in his teens. He then took to various odd jobs; lumberjacking, blacksmithing, and such. He was a massive man, muscular and tall. He wasn't mean though. He wasn't some giant rage monster without morals that went around slaughtering people in a blood frenzy. No, that's just what he had people think of him. People even started rumors that his father was a giant and I just might believe them. Regardless, their fear gave him some reputation and weight in affairs, so he took it. He even did some mercenary work to keep up appearances. So when Lily came crashing into the tavern, he used that power to stop any of the hideous creeps there from getting to her first. He gave her a room, called a doctor, and nursed her back to health, hiding away the weapons that he happened to find under her cloak.
And, as they say, it was true love.
She recovered, regained her years, and thanked him. Then she explained things to him and they ran away together. She grew to love him and he vowed to protect her. He finally had something to put all of his muscle to fight for. Eventually they crossed paths with me.
I was born into a middle class merchant family in Eastridge, a quaint little town by a river. Since I was a child, I loved music and entertaining people, so when it came time for me to go off to university, they sent me to the great Bards' College. I learned a lot there and became incredibly good at playing guitar. I picked up some drums and a flute to carry around too (I eventually taught Lily the flute and Thorn the drums). I was a brilliant bard my tales were fabulous and my music was envied by everyone. I traveled around going from village to village sharing my beauty with the world. I was Snapdragon, the extraordinary bard.
So, I was entertaining at some sad little tavern in the middle of nowhere when these two walked in. I could tell just by looking at them that they were different. After my act, I approached them to see who they were and if they had any good stories. They were hesitant at first, probably because they'd never seen a man so handsome, but eventually they realized that my talents were invaluable and begged me to come along. Now, if they tell you that I followed them out of town and begged them to join my act, they're lying. You can't trust them. Umbrals and Giants are notorious liars. That reminds me, it was about that time that I gave them their nicknames. Those days were crazy.
We had been traveling together for a few weeks when it happened. We were on the road in the middle of a forest when they came out of the trees. Two men sent by Ost Sharon to recapture Lily. They said that they'd take her alive so that she could answer for her crimes. Needless to say, we resisted. The first man wore a black duster and hat that shadowed his face. His hair was long and auburn and his beard was rugged. He was a human and we later found out that he was trained in fire magic and was skilled in the use of crossbows, knives, and swords. He also had an odd crow that followed him around. He was a bounty hunter named Malachi Tobias Grant. The next man wore some green nobleman's garb and a blindfold over his eyes. He wielded a strange bladed weapon and had some crazy magic that would take far too long to describe. He was Half-Umbral, Half-Elf. Due to this, he had both nature and Umbral magic but used it through Mana and not Mageyears. He had the ears of an Elf alright and he had a little bit more emotion than an Umbral too. He didn't strike me as a killer for hire. He taught us a few valuable lessons; Umbrals can breed outside of their species (but only with Elves), Breeding with an Elf is not a way to save the Umbral race (looks like we still need to find those three Sedgvini princes), Umbral had escaped the walls in the past and managed to get back in without detection (apparently they went under the wall), and Elves are horrible people. His name was Zachariah Poe, and it turns out that he and Lily had the same mother. Once all of this information was on the table, the fighting stopped (but man was it a fight. I even got to use some of the magic Lily taught me). I don't think either party really wanted to kill anyone though. Anyway, Poe convinced his paid acquaintance to move along and told us to keep running. He figured Ost Sharon would send more people after us and that we should watch our backs. He said our new names were a plus and told us that he wouldn't report back in to her father. He became an ally of sorts, but he said that he wouldn't be able to help us. He returned back to his home with the Elves (his father was some general, Nathaniel something) and we carried on, now wondering if we should look for the three princes.
Then we showed up here.
