Legends of Belariath
Sevyn
The little beastie had no recollection of any upbringing. No family. No home. Nothing of your typical adolescent memories the other races possessed. The little Nixie's only memories were that of his awakening. Like waking from a dead, dreamless sleep he stirred – those fiery orbs immediately alive with mischief and life. The tiny creature found himself immersed in the deepest of forests, with the rarest of flora and the wildest of beasts. Seemingly birthed from Gaea herself, the winged thing took the skies and wasted no time allowing the innate curiosity to run rampant and take him wherever the wind might blow.
Alive, wide-eyed, and forever curious, this Nixie fell deeply in love with the woods surrounding him. A recluse… hermit… wildling - all aptly described the Nixie in the first years of his life as he spent them immersed in Gaia's embrace. Void of any worldly contact, he befriended the woodland creatures. From running across tree branches with the squirrels, to flying the canopy with a wide array of birds. Days were spent playing and following most, and terrorizing a select few of the older, large beasts. One old beast in particular –a gnarled, battle-scarred bear, Gruhl, was one of his favorite victims. Easy to rile, slow to move against Sevyn regardless of what prank befell the old beast.
A day, much like any other – whilst basking in the warm embrace of Gaia's light the little thing heard a noise unlike anything he'd encountered before, shuffling in the thicket beneath his resting tree. Sticking to the safety of the canopy, the little thing peered over the limb, finding a Moriel huntress. Eyes grew wide with curiousity and he stood and crept along the canopy over her, following silently. He wasn't aware of the huntress intentions but she was stalking old Gruhl. The bear would be a prize to any hunter, a legendary beast, for the bear had taken many hunters and a lost traveler or two in his prime. He was a behemoth of an animal, his hide would fetch a worthwhile price but the bragging rights would surely fetch fame.
The huntress made way to the bear's lair. It was nothing more than a gouged out rock face beneath a barren waterfall. Gruhl was fast asleep near the base, propped behind a petrified log – as he normally was. Without hesitation, the huntress let loose an arrow that flew true to her target. A mortified, Sevyn screamed out and gave chase in defense of his friend, running her off. By the time he had returned, the old bear has passed. Ravaged by anger and grief, he tore off from his thicket toward the direction of the retreating moriel. Crashing through low limbs and bramble, the Nixie spilled out of the woods into a realm he'd never encountered. With beaten trails and buildings in the distance.
For a short while he would retreat back into the woods to mourn the loss of a dear friend, but over time his curiousity would tug him back to, what he thought, the strangest of places... tucked nicely against the crossing of many trails, where the strangest of creatures did gather and interact in the most peculiar of ways… and the Nixie would begin his search for that malicious hunter and perpetual intrigue with the inhabitants found there…