A long way from Mistveil Ridge

[MayaSenden]

Not far from the Moonsea lake was standing Mistveil Ridge. The small village, mostly occupied by miners and traders, was blessed with a mild climate, thanks to the natural barriers offered by the icy mountains surrounding it.
The life was mostly quiet here, the harsh cold of the mountains was keeping most of the threats away, and the few merchants roads leading here were enough to satisfy the villagers needs and fill the head of the local childrens with the stories of the few adventurers passing by and seeking a bit of shelter.

Maya was one of thoses childrens. A pretty unnoticeable, even banal one among the other, if it wasn't for her deep blue eyes sparkling with an hint of resolve and contrasting with the darkness of her raven hair. Her mother, a pretty harsh woman, was working as a waitress in the local inn. It wasn't like Mistveil Ridge was opening a wide range of jobs anyway. But Maya was loving the simplicity of this life. When she wasn't doing her own share of chores, or trying to help around, she was either having some childish fun with others childrens, or listening to the stories of the ones halting to the inn. And there was Millie, a young gnome who found a similar home inside of the inn. Millie had that heartwarming presence. When she was not humming some song, or playing some music, the two girls could spend hours sharing the stories she heard. If Maya was far from as creative, she could listen for hours to Millie turning the even simplest thing in some epic story Elminster would have been jealous of.

Maya never knew about her father. Her mother was evading the topic, and Maya was too aware that trying to get more would owe her some punishement. Like most of the childrens in her situation, she was often wondering if it couldn't be one of thoses mens in armor, simply passing by. Of course her mother would eventually notice, and get pissed after her. Some could have said it was a bad woman, some others that she saw too much maybe, and she was trying to rough Maya up to make sure she wouldn't endure what she had to endure. But whatever her motive was, there is things no mortals neither gods could have changed. That sparkle of hope in Maya's gaze was one, and her inherent careness and compassion for the others was another one.

Maybe it was all thoses accidents at the mines, thoses many wounded or exhausted faces she was seeing too often. Maybe it was a lack of self-worth thanks to her mother attention, but Maya was always worrying and caring about the others, much more than she was for herself. Maya was pretty respectfull of laws and autority, she could even be that annoying too serious child. But she wouldn't hesitate a second to put herself in troubles to prevent someone to get hurt.

This is how she became friend with Marvin. He was a tad older. The kind of troubleseeker usually getting away with it with a charming smile and some make up story. Usually people would buy it and leave him go because he was part of the village and his mischiefs could bring distraction in their exhausting routines. But this day was different.

Surrounded by some local nervous crowd, a really pale and grim man in a dark armour, a nine-tailed barbed whip symbol engraved in his breastplate, was walking with an hatefull expression, a leather whip in his hand, while Marvin was crawling backward in the snow, staring at the man with an obvious fear. If some of the locals were considering how much of a good idea it was to step in front of someone like him, Maya didn't hesitated for a second, standing between Marvin and him, her eyes shining with anger and resolve. It was a thing to punish some scoundrel for some prank or offence a young boy could commit. It was something else to whip a young girl in front of everyone. As the whip hitted her and burned through her flesh, the crowd decided to interfere, and soon the man had no other choice but leaving. Maya was bring to the local temple to be healed and taken care of by an old man that would changer her life ; the father Gorham.

The man who devoted himself to Ilmater felt something in her, and decided to take her under his protection, teaching her his own beliefs, trying to guide and channelize Maya's nature. Maya, on her side, found in him the fatherly presence she lacked all her life. She was drinking his words, his teaching, but somehow Maya's own nature was preventing herself to put all her devotion in the worshipping of a god, locking herself away from a clerical path. But as her mentor would say, there was many different ways to serve, and he helped her the best he could to find her own path.

Maya was growing up, becoming a young woman, spending more and more of her time practicing a way to learn to ease the pain of the others, and to protect them without falling into a circle of violence. The open hand way was her own now, wherever it would lead her. But nothing would ever kept her really far from her friends. Her social circle was short, and for a time, Millie and Marvin were almost all her life, the caring family she never had. Untill eventually Marvin's eagerness for troubles led him to mess up with the local store. The owner was rather stern, definitely lacking any sense of humor, but he isn't the one Marvin ended up falling into while re-arranging jam jars in his own way. There was that blonde girl ; Keeva.

Keeva had her own reputation in Mistveil Ridge. She was that weird little girl saved from a strange cult in a mountain by an adventurer who didn't survived his wounds. For many, she was cursed. The fact that she seemed to age much slower than any other kids around didn't helped her either. Kids being kids did what they usually do. They started mocking her, then bully her. And when Keeva showed up some uncontrolled magical abilities, it was over. From that time, she was the local monster parents were dragging their childrens away from, condemning her to solitude.

If, as they grew up, Maya, Marvin and Millie did like most of the others childrens did and stayed away from her, this incident at the shop opened something small ; a kind of curiosity. And eventually, one step after the other, they broke inside of Keeva's ice shield, the strange girl soon joining their group. Something in her was looking off, she was definitely different, but Maya's careness, Marvin's goofy jokes and Millie's big heart had their own kind of power. Life was going on for a time, Marvin was getting money... And no one wanted to ask him how... Millie was taking a more important role in the Inn... Keeva could stay alone in the shop for hours, even days, digging into the books adventurers would bring, maybe inquiring about her own nature... Or something else... And Maya, on her side, was still learning from her mentor in the Ilmater temple.

Among the many stories Gorham would share with her, one especially was making Maya's gaze shines : the forgotten relic of Ilmater. The bandages the god himself was rumored to wear around his forearms at some point, infused with the power to heal any wound, any sickness. For Maya it was the promise to never see a suffering face ever again, to be able to help beyond any means upon her reach. It was rumored to still sleep in some forgotten Ilmaterish temple, somewhere not so far from Narfell.

When the opportunity appeared to go there, to be able to live an adventure that she would share with her friends, the temptation was simply too high. They jumped in one of the merchant's caravan, and soon Mistveil Ridge started to disappear in the distance...