3. Runa

Runa

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    Character name: Runa
    Player name: Rowan

    Runa was born to a relatively wealthy human merchant family. Once her father realized she was half-elf, and thus, could not be his daughter, things started to decline. At first, he kept both her and his wife near him at all times, taking them on voyages when he would have left him behind. Runa’s mother protected her from much of the abuse, but when she died when Runa was four, Runa became his only target.

    Whenever Runa made any mistake… or he drank any alcohol, Runa would receive a verbal battering ram of abuse, with the occasional physical attack. Much of this was centered upon her ears, which were the most visible sign of his wife’s infidelity. This abuse led both Runa’s hearing and sense of self-worth to degrade. By six years old, she had grown completely deaf. Her father blamed her for this too, saying that she just “wasn’t listening”.

    He soon became paranoid that others would judge him for his daughter- both her race and disability. Every time someone outside the home learned of either, the amount he isolated her increased. By nine years old, she no longer was allowed outside his property.

    While stuck inside, Runa spent many hours studying books and magic. Her only friends were the servants and the stray cat they ended up adopting. One of the cooks, who Runa called Tutu, taught her sign language in secret, as she felt strongly that Runa should be able to communicate without the use of sound. Runa was still forced to learn lip-reading and practice her pronunciation, as her father refused to believe she could not hear, considering it instead an open act of defiance.

    When her father departed for a particularly long trip, Runa took the chance to escape. She took her first chance at freedom to explore the city she’d grown up in, but could only observe from a distance. She is currently staying in the Dancing Mermaid, living on some coin stolen from her father’s safe. Time is running out though, and her father should soon be returning to find her and his coin missing.