The Life of Taliera

[eyvind]

It had been a few months since she first ventured out of her childhood home in Port Hempstead. It had been almost 9 years since her brother had been murdered, 3 since her father had passed away, and a few days since her clerical mentor had continued on his pilgrimage to North Point.

These months were some of the most eventful in her life. She could never have anticipated the excitement of life outside the walls of the place she had never before thought of leaving. The people she met were unlike any other, their ways incomprenhensible at times. The wilderness was brutal, its ways as incomprehensible as its denizens. Taliera was treated with animosity at times, but utter kindness at others.

She did her best to stay true to what she had been taught from her beloved father, the mistakes of her brother, and the mercy of Az'atta. To many her ways were as incomprehensible as their's were to her, but with her strong will she kept her spirit alive.

Her speech seemed to be the most puzzling to others. Many presumed it to be an accent from some far off land and the reality -- that she had lived all her life in Port Hempstead -- was surprising enough to push many of them into disbelief. As more people began publically noting on her peculiar speech, she decided to find a teacher. Learning how to speak Common like a true Hempsteadian seemed vital in earning the respect of others.

Since her father had died, she had been living on the grace of the Deliar clergy. She had become friendly with some of the priests and priestesses and amongst these she found her tutor, Jayla. Jayla was very willing to help Taliera and she did so gleefully. Being a relatively low-ranking cleric, few looked up to her and she rarely had the chance to teach anyone anything. Jayla took tutoring Taliera up as a hobby and every few days, sometimes every day, they would sit down together and spend hours on proper pronunciation and grammar.

Taliera learned quickly and after almost a month she was speaking Common relatively well, albeit with some residual quirks and some accents passed on from Jayla. All in all, she was improving.