Polly

[ystrday]

Name: Pollana Fiercerock
Age: 20
Race: Halfling
Alignment: Neutral Good
Class: Cleric of Folian
Domains: Animal and Good


In game description: You see a young halfling woman with a warm smile and a thoughtful look.

Bio:

"Where did we go wrong with you?"

Polly turned to see her mother looking at her with a thoughtful smile. She continued, "I mean..." She sighed, then shook her head slightly.

"Mom, you didn't go wrong. You raised me well, taught me about family, and the outdoors. You and Dad love me."

"Hmmm..." Her mother, Berilu, looked at her thoughtfully. "Perhaps I shouldn't have spent so much time with you outdoors. I guess I was happy you loved it as much as me. Your father just never had the same love of the woods as I did. 'Course, maybe I shouldn't have let you spend so much time out with Jin." Berilu turned to glare a bit at Jin Lun Lee, who was sitting in the Farstrider's Den common room with them. Jin looked back calmly, then gave Berilu a serene smile. Berilu, unable to stay angry at him, relented. "I suppose Jin is an acceptable mentor. But... I still think you should have followed someone else."

Polly sat listening to her mother. She had heard it before, how her parents were unhappy with her choice of gods to follow. They had taught her about Prunilla and Deliar, how they took care of families, but Polly's heart was with another god.

----

Polly was the eldest living daughter of Korgo and Berilu Fiercerock. She had five siblings, long deceased, and five living siblings. Her deceased siblings had died at the fall of Stone, years ago. At the same time, her father had been taken captive and had been a slave for years, until he escaped. It had changed him, so her mother said, from jovial to quiet and withdrawn, and made him less trustful of authority. Still, Polly loved him, and she knew he loved her.

Her mother had been an adventurer for years. She loved the woods, and had passed that love onto Polly. Berilu had somehow found out that her husband, whom she thought was dead, was still alive, and had tracked him down. The two of them had settled down in the Farstriders' Den in Leringard, and worked on rebuilding their family.

Polly's parents had taken their roles seriously. They believed strongly in family, and passed this on to their children. They also had taught their children about right and wrong. Polly loved her family, and had helped her mother with her siblings, helped around their home, and listened dutifully to her mother and father. But she felt something was missing.

Her mother had taken her walking in the woods when she was little. Her mother loved the outdoors, and Polly found she did too. She loved her family, but she also loved the freedom she felt outside in the wilds. Her mother had allowed her her freedom, but it wasn't until she talked to another occupant in the Den, Jin Lun Lee, that she started to understand it better. He taught her about Folian S'pae, and living in harmony. She still spent time with her family, but she started spending more and more time walking in the woods with Jin, when he was home. She also spent time with some rangers, including another resident at the Den, Armolas, learning of the woods, and more of Folian.

Polly wasn't sure about what she felt. Her parents' teachings didn't include Folian, and she wanted to be a good daughter, but Jin's words resonated with her. So Polly did what Jin had taught her to do, she found a quiet place in the woods, knelt and prayed. That is where she stayed for hours upon hours, pooring her heart to Folian, telling Him of the guilt she felt for disappointing her parents, but feeling Folians love and truth through her mentor Jin. Polly kneeled there and cried, torn in which path she should go denie her heart and follow another God that she knew would make her parents happy, or take the harder road and may lose her family. Then slowly without realizing it she stopped crying, a warmth enveloped her and she felt comforted. A quiet still voice filled her, telling her things will work out with her parents, they will see the undoubted faith and love she has for Folian within their daughter. Polly sensed an overwhelming feeling of Folian around her, He heard her, He heard her prayers and she knew things will work out. She became a vessel of Folian that night.

To say they were not pleased would be an understatement. Her mother, though she loved Jin as a brother, had many words with him, feeling he had somehow turned Polly against her and Korgo. Berilu couldn't stay angry, though, and soon realized that Jin hadn't done anything wrong. Her father's reaction was what surprised Polly the most, though. He had listened to Polly's explanation without saying anything, and had gone off by himself for several hours. He then returned, told Polly he realized she was following her heart, and convinced his wife to accept Polly's decision.

Polly continued to learn from Jin, when he was around, and from other travelling clerics of Folian when they visited Leringard or the surroudings. She continued to live at the Den, and honored her parents, but she knew it would soon be time for her to start living her own life. The more she learned of Folian, the more she felt she needed to spread the word of Folian also, and remind those she met of the importance of maintaining harmony with nature and taking only what you need and no more.

Soon the time arrived for Polly to go out on her own. She was old enough, and her parents had taught her many things, and Jin and others had taught her of Folian. She wasn't sure she was ready, but her parents had taught her to accept the challenges of life when they came, not run away from them.

-----

As they were sitting in the common room, her father came in. He stood before her and gestured for her to stand. "Pollana Fiercerock." Her Dad was being formal. This was expected, as she was planning on leaving home shortly. "As you leave home, remember your clan and your family. Honor your heritage and the traditions of your forefathers. You have a proud heritage, as a member of the Fiercerock clan. Always remember who you are. Your clan will never abandon you; do not abandon your clan." Her father, who had had his 'official' look on, relaxed slightly and took Polly's hand in his. "Daughter... It's hard to let you go. You never met anyone else from our clan, but... I know they would be proud of you. We may be the last of our clan, but the Fiercerock name is still a strong one." His eyes glistened. "I know you'll make us proud."


//
1. I have read the dogma and expectations of Folian and intend to follow them.
2. Polly feels the idea of taking no more than you need matches well with what she learned from her parents, and wants to share this idea across Layonara.
3. Polly learned archery and weapons from her mother. She will use the short bow for ranged work, but prefers the short sword vice the long sword due to her small stature. She's learned to use both light and medium armors, but doesn't have any real experience in using them, and will have to experiment with keeping her connection with the land against her own protection.

[darkstorme]

An excellent submission.

Just a few details that, of course, need to be nailed down before approval.

First, you use a few characters' names in this submission. Have them PM me with their assent to the use of their characters, for the sake of posterity, please.

Second, when did Folian first answer Polly's prayers? A cleric's connection with their god runs two ways, after all, and that fierce devotion is rewarded with power.

Other than that (and the usual stipulations that, powerful mentors aside, she can't have assistance from them until the level split makes it kosher), Polly's good to go. With a little elaboration to cover point #2, and the PMs from Point #1, Polly'll be in-game in no time.

Thanks!

[ystrday]

Edited, and PM sent to Darkstorme

[darkstorme]

*nods* Sounds good.

For the sake of posterity:
PMs received from all involved players.

Your character has been approved.

Server address is west.layonara.com
Password is layoplayer

Some final notes on character creation:

• Please note that racial adjustments for players with subraces are skin based and thus get applied after getting in game.
• Only two ability scores can be less than 10 and only one can be less than 8 after racial adjustments
• Brownies, when selecting a head, the head you choose on the halfling selection will correspond to that numbered head for elves (for example, clicking right 6 times on the head selection during character creation will take the 6th head when clicking right on the elf creation)
• Half-giants and ogres, please ask for a GM (type /dm Anyone here?) if you would like to change to a custom skin.

Have fun!