Legends of Belariath
Illynathnia
Illynathnia has never had a need to measure time any closer than by the season, and so it is possible that she spent a great, great while alone in her wild dwelling, a freshwater pond in the forest fed by a waterfall. At one with nature, she never longed for a broader life, nor for the company of others, save the occasional woodland beast that happened by.
All this changed when a particular Elven fellow found her spring, and spoke with her, hinting at the peculiar wonders of a civilization beyond the woods. Content, but filled with a sense of curiosity, she decided to explore this strange frontier.
At first, she found civilized society overwhelming and exhausting, but in time she learned to appreciate its odd ways. Though firmly retaining her link to the earth and affinity for the gentler aspects of nature, she came to enjoy the occasional jaunt into town, to say nothing of the male attention she usually received there.
Her Elven friend even introduced her to the ways of the Bard, and she discovered that she took pleasure in entertaining others. Not at all shy like some others of her kind, she now had a real calling, at least in settled lands.
But not everything she found in civilization was a welcome discovery. The people in town had no compunction about using force to take from those weaker than themselves. This in itself was no unfamiliar concept to Illynathnia, who was well accustomed to the law of the jungle, but being the target of creatures with this mindset was an entirely new experience. Having never known danger from even the most vicious animals of the forest, all of whom instinctively regarded her as a friend, suddenly she was exposed to a new kind of predator. Probably oweing to her appearance, she drew an all too generous share of attention from men (and even women) interested in her body and not interested in obtaining permission before enjoying it. Against these attacks, she had little recourse; the illusion magic of a bard sometimes provided an effective defense, but as a being fundamentally unparticipative in actual violence, there was no escape for her from a sufficiently clever or aroused assailant. Rape became at least a semi-regular feature of her visits to civilization.
Though she never enjoyed being victimized, in a strange sense, being a victim didn't offend her every sensibility. Illynathnia knew she was weak. Hers was the lot of the gentle observer, not the fearsome hunter, and being a creature inextricably tied to nature and its harsh but efficient ways, she eventually found a sense of resonance with the experience of being prey. It was only natural, after all, and in that way it was right. To never be targetted, to never know the exhiliaration of being chased and the terror of being jumped, was to deprive herself of the fullness of life. Recognizing this essential fact, she chose to continue visiting town, fully prepared for the reality that she would inevitably be exploited physically by those stronger than herself. But there was one thing nothing in nature had ever prepared her for. Slavery was a concept she had heard of before, the notion that a living creature could be compelled to live out at least a portion of its life in service to another, but it wasn't until Zaiclaw forced a collar round her neck that it became very real to her. Suddenly she had no freedom, no will, and no control over her sexuality. Her new "owner" made her service his most base desires at his whim, and showed utter contempt for any authority she perceived she had over herself. To someone who had known nothing but unchecked self-determination all her life, this was a crushing blow, and Illynathnia became miserable. She didn't know contentment again till Zaiclaw mercifully vanished, and she was able to return to her wilderness home. With time to reflect on this incident in safety, however, she soon came to regard slavery as simply an extension of the predator-prey dynamic. Her master had been strong, and she weak, and so he was free to do with her anything he wished; it was only her own presumptuousness which supposed this should end with a quick round of sex. Though thoroughly glad to be free of Zaiclaw, she nevertheless developed a curiosity about and interest in the institution of slavery, which persists to this day.