Rawen

Ráwen Darkstar is a half-elven thief written by Ree. She originated in D&D (3rd Edition, then moved to 2nd Ed).

Her ancestry is actually 3/4 elven and 1/4 human, which still makes a "half-elf" by D&D race rules. (Her mother's da was human.) This makes her fairly exotic to humans and inexplicable to most D&D aficionados.

She is infamous in her party for her distinct lack of elven/thiefly grace. She knocked herself out trying to scale a wall once (she kept slipping). This happened on numerous occasions. On one caper, she was disguised in a formal gown when she had to escape by sewer. Taking the greatest care to cling to the ladder down, she nevertheless slipped (botched!) into sewage six feet deep.

Ráwen is just over five feet tall.

Yeah.

Within her party, she was chiefly known for hurting herself every time she scaled a wall, having her name mispronounced as "Rowan" each and every time a party member used it (ignoring all corrections), swearing at all times, and referring to all supernatural power (clerical, wizardry, lich, anything) as "juju."

History

Ráwen is the 3/4 elven offspring of a half-elven mother (Morwen) and an elven father (?). Her early childhood was spent in a rural area. Her family moved in with Morwen's father, who was human and ailing, in the city, when Ráwen was six. Her grandfather died peacefully within a year, but the family stayed on in his home, inherited by Morwen. Morwen ran her father's knickknack shop to support the family, since her husband's hunting and farming meant little within the city.

When Ráwen was nine, Morwen was assaulted as she closed up her shop. Her assailants seem to have assumed to a half-breed woman let anyone sleep with her. They took Morwen's pregnancy, six months along, as further 'proof' of that. They raped Morwen as a group, attacking her so viciously that they induced miscarriage of the child. It would have been Ráwen's brother.

Morwen required time to recover from her injuries and the loss of her baby. Her husband tried to care for her, but quickly realized his inadequacy. Shortly before Ráwen turned ten, he fled to return to his people. He left his family with a friend, citing his inability to deal any longer with a useless wife and a stubborn young girl.

This 'friend' took money Ráwen's father sent, and used it for his own ends. He kept his two charges in a small, shared closet of a room. He fed them and little else. During this time, Morwen's wounds were not fully healed, and they began to worsen. Ráwen, too, was suffering from the poor food and stale air.

There was only one way out that Ráwen could see. The women were taken on daily walks. Ráwen used her chance to run away and steal fresh food, but an apothecary-mage refused to even tell Ráwen what potions might help Morwen. The priests of Hermes were kinder, but said they could do nothing without at least a little monetary recompense, to cover the cost of elixirs.

It was at the Temple of Hermes that a local thief spotted Ráwen trying to hide phials in her shabby dress. He brought her to the Thieves' Guild, which she joined after being training to be a professional thief.

It broke Ráwen's heart to have to leave Morwen in her hovel, but once Ráwen was inducted into the Guild, she broke her mother out. Ráwen's profits went to Morwen's continued care in the hands of faithful devotee of Hermes, but the poor woman's mind was already terribly damaged by her ordeal. Morwen still bears scars from her wounds, which never healed properly, and her mind is shattered. She can do simple tasks, like feeding and dressing herself, but she is utterly incapable of more complex jobs and is unable to earn her own living. Because Ráwen constantly fears her mother will be further abused, she prefers to simply steal and pay a trusted caregiver than allow Morwen to live poorly on her own. Ráwen sees her mother every couple months, although her mother doesn't seem to recognize her or remember previous visits.

Ráwen's father eventually stopped sending money for his family's care. Ráwen tried without success to trace the source of the money he had sent. She assumes, seven years after his departure, that he has 'moved on&' and wished no further contact with his family. She had no motivation to seek him out.