OOC - Character History
Neirenn was born in Aydensfell, the home of human magic and mages. Though most human mages contain only trace amounts of elven blood (which is what allows them to use magic), Neirenn's blood is one-fifth elven, giving her an amazing magical potential. She was an incredibly quick study, picking up new spells almost instantly. However, the teachers and Academy authorities refused to let her progress faster than her classmates despite her obvious proficiency. Neirenn took to studying ahead of her grade level in her free time, secretly learning magic that was supposed to be too advanced. Her mother and father encouraged her in learning, seeing her as a very talented girl with a great deal of potential. Sometime during Neirenn's childhood, however, her mother contracted a strange and chronic disease. Her illness was a mystery to the doctors, and she needed to stay at the hospital due to her condition. She encouraged Neirenn to continue working hard at her studies. Neirenn, for her part, began to take an intense interest in healing magic, the art of which was considered impossible for humans. It was known that Raul, the former Archmage at the Academy, had tried to make a deal with the elves so that humans would be able to learn healing magic. Unfortunately there was nothing concrete about what had happened, or what Raul was doing now... rumors abounded, but the real prize would be to talk to Raul and find out for sure.
At fifteen, Neirenn was so frustrated with being held back that she resolved to speak to Archmage Stonier. She tried to make her case for not having to repeat the same lessons as her classmates when she clearly did not need them, but Stonier dismissed her. Rushing out of the office in tears, Neirenn collided with a da'kor named Acheron, on his way to speak with the Archmage. Acheron was on a quest to find an elf named Kayn'dar, who had been abducted years ago and represented hope to the elves, more and more of whom were born unable to use magic (the "severed"). Unable to contain her curiosity, Neirenn eavesdropped on their meeting, where Acheron was told to stop searching for Kayn'dar and find Silvah, hinting vaguely to the eavesdropping Neirenn that she ought to go with them. As soon as Acheron came out, Neirenn asked to go with him, and he accepted. Neirenn took an immediate liking to the friendly da'kor who was so impressed by her magic. Acheron's other two companions, Lei'ella (a severed elf) and Varden (a thief with prejudices against elves and magic), did not warm to her as easily but accepted her as a part of the group. Neirenn led them to her father, who knew much of what little there was to know about Silvah. To Neirenn's relief, he gave her his blessing to travel with them, telling her to learn as much as she could before sending the group on their way with a teleportation spell... and a warning not to let her ambitions get the better of her.
In Murifold, the group split up to find more information about Silvah. Neirenn went with Lei'ella, assuming that Acheron was going with Varden. When Varden returned to the rendevous spot alone (as he had told Acheron to go by himself), Neirenn and Lei'ella grew worried. As time went by and he failed to return, they blamed Varden for allowing him to go on his own when there were many dangers for da'kor in the world.
Varden soon discovered that Acheron had been kidnapped by a da'kor-human fighting ring. While he was looking, Neirenn asked Lei'ella why she was not living with the rest of the elves and was surprised to learn that she had been banished, being unable to use magic like the rest of them. Varden returned shortly and informed Lei'ella of what had happened and that he would take care of it himself... both of them seemed to forget that Neirenn was still there, which she noted before she and Lei'ella went to help Varden and Acheron. At the fight, it turned out that Varden had signed himself up to fight Acheron. As the two of them pushed through the crowd, Varden ended the fight with a swift stroke, and it seemed that Acheron was dead. Before Lei'ella (or Neirenn) could stab him in revenge, Varden explained that he had put a sleeping poison on his sword and that Acheron was still alive. In the ensuing altercation the head of the fighting ring was killed and the four of them were surrounded by a very angry crowd. Neirenn used her magic to keep them back as they escaped, retrieved Acheron, and left the city.
As they rested and then continued on, Neirenn grew frustrated with how Varden and Lei'ella treated her, her magic, and her motivations dismissively, but she grew close to Acheron and the two of them became very good friends. Soon they confronted they elf "Silvah," actually Kayn'dar, who was supposed to be a savior to his people but had apparently turned to dark magic. Their attempts to fight him were effortlessly rebuffed, Neirenn's human magic not even standing a chance against him. When Raul arrived Neirenn was shocked, but there was no chance of talking to him--with his encouragement, Kayn'dar almost fatally stabbed Lei'ella. It was only magic from a pendant Acheron carried (which had once belonged to the elf) that saved her... as a human, Neirenn was helpless to perform any healing magic.
After Lei'ella explained the predicament of the elves losing their magic, the group decided to return to Inverloch to inform the elves what had happened to Kayn'dar. Trying to use his pendant to figure out what had changed Kayn'dar, Acheron saw a vision of one of his memories--the young Kayn'dar witnessing the murder of Acheron's father by an elf. While Varden and Lei'ella sparred and Neirenn studied the books of dark magic she had taken from Silvah's library, she noticed her friend's moody resentfulness and chided him for his poor treatment of Lei'ella, and tried to talk him out of his anger against all elves.
The party was quite unexpectedly teleported to Aydensfell shortly afterwords by the Archmage, who explained why Kayn'dar had been kidnapped by Raul in the first place... Kayn'dar was one of few elves who possessed the gift for healing magic, something that humans were incapable of. The mages had been unaware of the hope that Kayn'dar had represented to the elves, nor were they aware of what had happened after Raul and Kayn'dar vanished. Neirenn's reasons for following Raul became somewhat clearer to the others--she also desperately wished to know healing magic, but refused to explain why. The news that Raul might have failed completely in his effort to learn about it came as a blow to her. The archmage then sent them to Inverloch via magic. Acheron immediately rushed in the direction of his village to demand answers from his mother, but Neirenn pulled him back--and sharp words from Lei'ella finally snapped him out of his bitterness.
On their way to the city, they realized that Raul and Silvah were nearby. Neirenn immediately rushed to confront Raul. At her approach Raul attacked, but Neirenn quickly blocked it with a dark magic shield, and asked him what he knew about healing magic. Raul explained the technical workings of how elves were able to use it: by drawing on their connection to the spirit world, which humans lacked. He went on to explain his purpose: to gain vengeance on the elves for his disgrace by having Silvah use dark magic to sever all elves. Neirenn was shocked and outraged that he would do such a thing and how gleefully he thought of a future where magic would slowly die. Unwilling to let anyone interfere with his plans, Raul attacked again and they battled. While Acheron and the others confronted Silvah, Neirenn and Raul fought with dark magic, Neirenn using it competently despite having only learned it very recently. Nevertheless, Raul was much more experienced, and it soon seemed as though Neirenn would go down. Knowing that they were both exhausted, and despite Raul's dismissive words, Neirenn summoned up her elemental guardian. Both of them were astonished to see that it had combined with the dark magic to create a huge dark serpent that quickly defeated Raul.
Dying, Raul asked Neirenn for a deal. Unwilling to let all he knew die with him, he proposed that he live on as knowledge. Neirenn was skeptical and wary that he might possess her, but she did not want the knowledge to die either, and agreed. Though disoriented from the process, she headed for the scene of battle between Silvah, Lei'ella, Varden, Shiara, and a stunned Acheron. Acheron, coming to, picked up a knife and tried to leap into the fray.
But Neirenn, now holding the knowledge of his and Silvah's true natures, shouted a warning. Silvah immediately stabbed the da'kor through the heart before seeing what he had done. Unconcerned with the trecherous appearance of her actions, Neirenn quietly mocked Silvah before she began speaking to Kayn'dar, now restored to his rightful body. His last memory was of Raul speaking with the da'kor, and having his soul exchanged with a da'kor boy named Acheron who wanted revenge for his father's death (which helped Raul by experimenting on whether or not healing magic would work outside of an elf's body). Though he panicked at first, Neirenn calmed him down and he began to remember what his da'kor self had experienced.
In the ensuing confusion, explanation, and subsequent events, things calmed down. Neirenn spent some time in Inverloch along with the others. Her friendship with Kayn'dar went unchanged, and she still insisted on calling him by the nickname Ash. They talked, with Neirenn obviously excited about the knowledge and memories she had recieved--and the fact that that would mean she would have to be put in the higher classes. She was also eager to return home to see her father and try to find a way to heal her mother, although she turned down Kayn'dar's offer to try elven magic as she felt her mother would want her to work it out herself without "cheating." After promising and getting promises to visit, the four of them parted ways... Kayn'dar remaining, Lei'ella and Varden leaving together, and Neirenn returning home.
Back in Aydensfell, Neirenn plunged into working on a way for humans to use healing magic using Raul's knowledge, but initially failed. Her mother passed away a month later to her great sadness. Afterwards, Neirenn informed the authorities at the Academy about her newly-gained memories, and they allowed her to take the next three years' worth of exams. She aced them and began working on her PhD on elven magic.