Here is a picture of my Shadow Realms character, Solace, and her twin brother (who is actually
my OOG brother too.) We're the only two Brown Dracai in Shadow Realms.
The nature of the Brown Dracai and Solace's story
Solace and her twin brother were born deep in the middle of a great forest in the eastern part of
the kingdom of Fiana. This is the same place were all the Brown Dracai have lived since the
Wars of Dreams. The Brown Dracai do not consider themselves citizens of Fiana though.
They live in the forest far away from any roads or paths. Very few know of the existence of
Brown Dracai, and even less know where they live, except for the Fey of that forest and some
other Dracai. The Brown Dracai live in harmony with Nature, with their forest. They do not
have a monetary system, but trade amongst themselves and occasionally with those who know of
them. They are also generous in that if another really needed something or some service one
had, that one would freely give it to the other. The Brown Dracai are not xenophobic, they
simply do not understand the authority system of other races (Kings, Dukes, commoners, etc.),
and they have an instinctual need to be with nature and not separated from it by establishing the
typical city or town. Therefore they have kept contact between their clan and the rest of the
world to a minimum and built their homes within the forest among the trees and animals. And
as a result, they have become primarily hunters and healers.
While the twins were the first born to their parents, they were not the last. There were other
siblings, including the youngest brother who was Solace's favorite. Yet, Solace and her twin
were always a little different from the other Brown Dracai. Solace always wanted to learn about
strange things, which lead to her desire to learn the Celestial magicks. Since Brown Dracai have
an affiliation for Nature, they feel the Celestial magicks are unnatural to cast. Therefore they
were long ago abandoned by the Brown Dracai. The only magicks the clan uses are those of the
Shadows. Solace wanted to learn about, to understand, that which seemed strange and unnatural
to her clan. Her parents objected, of course, so instead she learned how to fight with her claws,
grow think skin, take care of her armor-like skin, and use her wings to the limited extent with
which any Brown Dracai could. But eventually she decided she didn't care what her family, or
clan, thought. She struck out into the world of other races to learn the Celestial magicks. Solace
took many trips out into the world to learn, not only magick but also about races she never
before knew existed. But every time, whether it took only a week or close to three months, she
would eventually feel the need to return to her home, the forest she new and had a connection
with, and her clan. Her family and clan were always glad to have her back, but she could tell
each time she returned that they became more uneasy around her. So she made a vow never to
use the Celestial magicks while she was home.
Solace's twin brother was different in another way. He was always a quiet one and somewhat of
a loner. He followed in their father's footsteps to became a hunter, learning how to track, use a
bow, use a sword, increase his strength, and like all Brown Dracai how to grow and take care of
his armor-skin, and how to use his wings. But he always preferred hunting alone or with only
one other person, usually the twins' father.
One day in fall of 1297, Solace was returning from one of her trips when she met up with her
twin near the edge
of the forest. He was over two days away from their clan, which wasn't unusual for him, but he
had tracked the exact way she had left a week earlier in order to find her, which is what alarmed
her. He was very distraught but wouldn't tell her any more than that he had been out hunting
alone when "it" happened. Solace didn't understand until they reached home, or rather where the
clan used to be. It looked as if someone had created a huge hole in the forest for no real
purpose. It stretched out much further than the area in with the clan had lived, about two to
three times as large. Everything was destroyed, the homes, the animals, the forest, the clan,
everything. Some people and things looked burnt, others were too deformed to tell what they
were. The twins buried all the Dracai they found. In doing so they found their parents and
siblings, and buried them in a special place that was the family's favorite. Some metal things did
survive, a few weapons and an occasional piece of jewelry. Solace found her mother's
necklace, for which she was named, and she now never takes it off. The two were sure that they
did not bury enough to account for all of the clan, but it also seems unlikely to them that any
others survived. From that day for at least a month, Solace's worst nightmare would plague her
every night. Eventually the nightmare became less frequent, but every time she dreams of seeing
the destruction of her clan and home while she stands powerless in the middle of it all, or while
she tries desperately to reach home in time to try to stop it, she is filled with sorrow and
anger.
The twins left the forest, afraid that whatever caused all the destruction might come back. From
that moment on, Solace's twin would not speak a word to anyone, and only spoke to her when
necessary. For months they traveled together with no destination, and discovered how isolated
from the world they really were. For while they were now out in it, they still didn't feel like they
belonged there. They felt strange constantly among non-Brown Dracai. Finally they reached the
opposite side of Fiana, and arrived in Storm Crest at a time when the population was being
threatened by people disappearing in the middle of the night. Having no where else to go, and
being tired from their recent traveling they decided to stay near the town for a few days, as they
had done with other towns within the months they had traveled. After that first weekend Solace
was strongly reminded of how different she and her brother were from the rest of the peoples of
world. She also realized she had a disgust for the hierarchial ruling of the other races, as well as
no real like for the monetary system, and a need for a place in Nature that she could build a new
connection with. Solace also decided that it would be necessary to rebuild the Brown Dracai
clan. Between she and her brother, they knew most of what their clan had known, but not all.
And neither have the ability to teach. So she decided that she and her brother need to learn as
much of the skills of her clan as possible, and also how to teach these skills. She still clings to
the hope that there are other Brown Dracai who survived. But eventually she intends to raise her
children on the teachings and ways of her clan, even if she has to do so alone.
The twins left Storm Crest after things settled down, wanting to get away from that horrible
place. But Solace had finally made some friends since she left her clan's former home, and she
feared for their safety. So the twins returned again to Storm Crest at the time of the Duke's visit
to check up on her friends. By the time Spring came, the twins had decided to live in the forest
outside of Storm Crest, at least semi-permanently. They built themselves a home within an hour
travel from the town, and visited the town frequently.
Shortly after the establishment of their new home, the Queen and King of the Fey visited Storm
Crest. But more of an impact on Solace were due to other events. The first was meeting a
seven-year-old human boy named Prin who had traveled by himself to Storm Crest. Solace saw
in him so much that reminded her of her youngest brother, and so stayed with him to protect
him, along with her Gargoyle friend Argos, and her new friend Justin. Along the way she
discovered what had happened to Prin, how his parents were killed, and what he was meant to be
when he grew up. All of which made her even more
protective of him. The other thing that happened to her was the contraction of a magic plague,
which she unknowingly spread to others in the town.
A month or so later Solace was cured of the magical plague by someone who had obtained the
cure and
left Storm Crest with it to spread it to the masses, which was a relief to Solace and her
brother.
In September Solace traveled with her brother, friends, and other people of Storm Crest to
Gatetown, which is on the front lines of the war between Fiana and Alba. The first night there
she joined a couple others in traveling into the woods to aid a lost refugee, who requested to be
called Una. She turned out to be pregnant and due to deliver in a couple of days, according to a
premonition Una had. Solace spent most of the weekend with the woman to protect her and the
baby and help in any way she could. When Solace discovered the woman's identity and the
baby's importance she resolved to do anything within her power to help keep them both alive.
She also made a new friend in Tarael and met a nine year old boy named Roland who showed up
without any parents. During the weekend the Shadow Lord was apparently freed and one of his
court, a red creature named Bane, showed up to "play." When the town was finally forced to try
and kill him, a huge battle ensued. Solace did her best with her Magicks against Bane, since he
seemed to be immune to normal weapon blows, and in response he tried to kill her twice. The
night after the Duke and his men arrived in town the war entered the town. A long terrible battle
was fought, and Una gave birth in the middle of it. Both mother and child were almost lost, but
Kreesha's skills as a healer kept Una alive, and many of the town turned out to help save the
baby from its kidnappers. Solace's only regret was how hurt Julianna was when the baby was
rescued, she hates to see her friend in pain.
At the end of the weekend Solace left with the baby to take him to a safer place. Una, her aids,
and Solace's brother met Solace a few days later at a prearranged meeting place. They all stayed
for a couple days resting, then Una and her son and aids left and Solace and her brother were
provided with supplies and a boat trip back to Storm Crest.
Much happened at the next gathering in Storm Crest, but it was an unhappy time for Solace. It
had been a year since her clan's destruction. Solace was filled with sorrow and rage, and many
things reminded her of her past. She and her brother arrived before the rest of the townspeople,
and she was worried over Prin because she was associating him with her younger brother she had
lost the year before. He did not return with the townspeople, and when he did finally show up
Blix cut him down with the intent to kill him because he did not realize it was Prin. Solace did
not care about the reasons and almost fought Blix to kill him, but he walked away before her
rage took hold. This incident, along with others which occurred during the weekend and had
occurred at Gatetown involving the Brotherhood, caused Solace to dislike the Brotherhood of the
Worm. During the gathering the Soul Collector was freed and Scarecrows wandered about in
both our realm and the Ethereal realm trying to take people for their master. Solace went twice
with others to rescue people from the pumpkin patch: once to rescue Prin and ended up also
rescuing Xavier and Tarael, and the second time to rescue Julianna, and once she was rescued by
her friends. She made friends with and came to respect Arithiel, whom she had only known in
passing before. Later in the evening, Solace joined Prin, Winterheart, Justin, and a couple others
in traveling into to Earth through a fey circle on a quest others named "Blood of the Land." The
quest was successful, but Solace died. Winterheart was able to bring Solace's body back to town
and Julianna gave her Fate of the Martyr. It caused Solace great pain to be the cause of her
friend's death, and when Julianna's spirit returned to say good bye Solace swore she would bring
Julianna back from Death's realm. Xavier lead many people of the town to Death's realm to be
tested by Death before being allowed to speak and barter for Julianna's life back. Fifteen gave a
portion of their spirits in order to bring Julianna back, including Solace, her brother, Julianna's
twin brother Justin, Prin, Xavier, Gelasia, Fyn, Crowspeaks, and Arithiel. One final cause of
sadness for Solace was the murder of King Mobius of the Fey by the Shadow Lord, and the
deaths of all but one of the nobles of the Fey court and the capture of the Queen of the fey.
While Solace is not fey herself, she was impressed by the Queen and King during their visit in
the Spring, finding them to be honorable, noble, caring, and joyful.
The December gathering in Storm Crest did nothing to life Solace's spirits. The Dragons, the
ancient creators of the world and Guardians of the Elements, who had given their lives to end the
Dream War according to legend, returned. There were six, and none were Brown. Solace and
her brother discovered as truth that their clan did not have a Dragon ancestor and the Brown
Dracai did not have an elemental bond, as some had suspected before. But what crushed her was
when one of her Dracai kin called her brother "untrue Dracai" because he was Brown and they
had no elemental bond. The Dragons also destroyed Volokai, the home of many of Solace's
friends. While she did not condemn the Dragons' actions or motives, believing they had done
what they deemed was right, Solace felt sorrow for her friends who had lost not only their homes
but their lives as they had known. After wondering for months about her Merithian friend Solvar
who seemed to have disappeared after the gathering at Gatetown, Solace asked Nia if she knew
if he was alright and was told that he was dead.