Willow (Zalene Nubaii)
Willow is a female Whisper Gnome, a race that is normally secretive and quiet by nature. Her name, and that of her twin sister, were chosen by the twins after the deaths of their parents and grandparents. Her actual name, is Zalene Nubaii, and her twin, Errevin. What makes the twins even more unique is their half-fey heritage, one that goes back decades to a Dryad ancestress. As a child, Zalene was brought up by her nomadic family, comprised of her parents, maternal grandparents and twin sister, Errevin. Traders and entertainers, her family wandered from place to place earning their living. Her father, Markham, was a Bard, while her mother, Alyss, was a Cleric of Farlanghn. Willow's grandmother, Duannsa, was a Spirit Shaman and her grandfather, Jerrin, a Blacksmith. Willow is the younger of the twins, and she and Ash were, at this point, undecided in their life paths.
Life was fair for the family, and both girls knew about their fey heritage and reveled in the knowledge. Occasionally the family would meet in the Fey realm and join in the entertainment and fun. However, life would take an unexpected turn when Willow was 19.
The traders life has it's ups and downs, and Zalene was learning the basics of the Bardic trade from her father. It was the hope that she would become a Bard as well, and help the family with the entertainment aspect of the trade. Traveling in two horse-drawn wagons, was a thrill for the twins. However, during one of the family's journeys, they stayed in a village where the situation became deadly.
The family set up their camp for trade and entertainment, and the villagers were at first accepting of the little traders. The village itself was a mix of humans, elves, half-elves, gnomes and halflings. It was during their ninth day at the village that fate would take a fatal hand in Zalene's life. While the family was plying their trade, one of the local human youths decided that Errevin was to be his next "fling". She gently rebuffed him at every turn, and even went so far as to tell her family of the ongoing harassment. Sensing their daughter's discomfort, the rest of the family decided to cut this visit short. The trouble was that the young man in question was not used to being rejected, often resorting to force on his past "conquests". On the ninth night of the family's stay, Errevin was attacked by the young man and his cronies, and dragged to a nearby abandoned barn. Errevin, also being half-fey, was able to magically send a message to her family, who with the aid of some of the villagers, rushed to her rescue and caught the youths in the act of attempting to rape her.
With this latest crime, the villagers found it impossible to ignore the youths' growing violence. The whole group was summarily banished from the village, and Zalene's family was given compensation for the attack. Mollified, they stayed for three more days before taking leave of the village.
Two days out of the village, while camped by the side of the road, the tiny family were ambushed. The banished youths, angry and humiliated, waited for the Whisper Gnome family to leave the village before exacting their vengeance. Striking when most were asleep, the youths captured Zalene and Errevin's parents and grandparents, even as they fought. They found and dragged the twins before the rest of the family, and described how they were going to violate and then kill them afterward. Then before the two girls' horrified eyes, the rogue youths slaughtered their parents and grandparents.
It was at this point that something snapped in the twins...some aspect of their Fey heritage surged with the death of their loved ones. For Zalene, the Fey powers called to her blood, and demanded retribution. She accepted and she suddenly found herself filled with the power of the Fey. Breaking free of her captors, Zalene turned her new-found powers on her foes. In her mind, the scene of her parents and grandparents' deaths were too much, and a green haze filled her vision. When her vision cleared, not much remained of the murderous youths but broken and mutilated bodies. Of her sister Errevin, no trace was found and she searched as best she could. Errevin had simply disappeared. Heartbroken, Zalene salvaged what she could from the damaged wagons. She covered her parents and grandparents with some of the fabric from their wagons, intending on leaving them for the forest to claim. Before her family's covered bodies, Zalene took the name Willow, for the sorrowing tree that covered the banks of the rivers that they loved to camp by on their journeys. Then without a backward glance, she took the horses and traveled onward.
It wasn't until a little while later, that Willow discovered what occurred to her and her sister. The rush of power from their Fey heritage shaped itself into two different effects on the twins. For Willow, the Fey Powers decided to intercede on her behalf and she accepted the mantle of a Fey Warlock. Since then, she has traveled across the realm and into the Fey Realm as well, growing and learning all she can. She never forgets the lesson she learned from that fateful night, and neither does she stop searching for her twin sister. It would not be until several more years had passed, that Willow and Errevin would be reunited. The sisters have since renewed their familial bond, and the link between the twins has grown stronger.
At present, Willow has joined with a band of adventurers, who are searching for the cause of the mysterious madness infecting the Fey. A chance meeting while Willow was dancing at one of the Fey revels, led to meeting the party, and she willingly joined in hopes of learning the source of the madness and possibly destroying it. The journey led to the Awakened Forest, and there, the party learned of the extraordinary infection that seemed to be the cause of the madness. Battling different infected creatures, the group learned a great deal of information that may lead to the source and cure. Yet it was during one of these battles that Willow herself was infected by the taint. Being half-Fey, this seemed a near-death sentence, but through the wisdom and intelligence of the party, the half-elven Wizard, Golradir Helyanwe, cast a Break Enchantment spell on her and the Crusader, Trona, who was also infected. Unfortunately, since her half-Fey heritage and Warlock abilities were tied inextricably, the spell caused an unexpected side-effect. The spell also broke the link between Willow and the Fey Powers, causing her to lose her Warlock abilities AND a great portion of her fey heritage.
However, not all was lost, for when the Fey link sundered, an even stronger link protected her. Family binds closer, and even in death, Willow's grandmother Duannsa, a powerful Spirit Shaman, crossed the void to save her granddaughter. In the spirit guide form of an owl, she was able to nurture and re-establish Willow's link to some semblance of her Fey heritage. Upon waking, Willow found she had gained the powers and abilities of a Spirit Shaman to replace the lost Warlock abilities and powers. Using these, she was able to help her new friends defeat the evil taint that had almost killed her.
Continuing on their journey, the group also met and parlayed with the Fey being known as the Dawn Brother. Much information was exchanged, and Willow was also able to ask Dawn Brother if he was able to reignite her Fey Heritage. He did, and Willow is once again a half-fey Whisper Gnome. The Fey lord was able to speed the party's journey, and they found themselves near the waterfall cavern which seemed to be one link in the chain to finding the source of the Fey Madness Taint.
Currently, the group fought another pitched battle and managed to make their way to the entrance of the waterfall. More information was gleaned there and the party prepared for the sojourn into the cavern. During this time, they discovered that the entrance and major portion of the inside of the cavern was engulfed in an anti-magic sphere of great power. After much discussion and planning, the group managed to enter the cavern mouth behind the waterfall. Together, they began the descent into the caverns, and discovered the much about the history and possible cause of the beginnings of the Fey taint. Currently, the group has entered a small room; after the trials and tribulations of many traps, both mundane and magical. Unfortunately for the group, the half-elven wizard, Golradir Helyanwe, became snared in a magical trap, alive, but unable to leave his magical prison. As the party progressed through the caverns, it was apparent that an ancient artifact had been kept deep within the complex. Furthermore, through various divinations and questioning of kobold foes, the party learned that an illithid was behind the possible corruption of the Fey and all infected living creatures. Using her Rogue abilities, Willow has been able to guide her friends safely so far.
The party has entered a labyrinth and is making their way through the twisting paths. There they met Cugdish, a Cleric, whose attempt at a teleport spell, brought him to the caverns. It was discovered that Nasar and Cugdish knew each other from a previous encounter. Further in the labyrinth, an unexpected attack from some subterranean creatures led to the death of Nasar, but Willow was able to use the magic of her Spirit Shaman heritage, to reincarnate him. However, unknown to the rest of her friends, Willow's Fey nature led her to include a magical coin dedicated to a Power of Luck, as well as invoke her patron God, Olidammara, the God of Rogues and Chaos, in the casting of the spell. All of these factors, plus the uniqueness of the environment in which she cast the Reincarnation spell, and Nasar's own unique heritage, reincarnated him into a Dracotaur (half-dragon/centaur).
Continuing with their quest, the group discovered a horrific plot by an ancient illithid deity, to break free of it's bindings and return to terrorize the world. As the group sought to find the location of the seal, they were attacked, and Trona was killed in the battle. Again calling upon her Spirit Shaman powers (and a little Fey chaos) Willow reincarnated Trona. However, due to her faith in the goddess, Ehlonna, Trona was reincarnated into a female Treant further within the winding labyrinth.
In the centre of the labyrinth, Willow and her friends encountered a mindflayer (illithid) mage who commandeered a tribe of kobolds to help it break one of seven seals which imprisoned the illithid deity. The creature was entrapped in a time-spelled chamber, along with the remainin g kobolds and the last few elven and half-elven defenders of the waterfall cavern. Willow and the groups other spellcasters, empowered the fighters, and they battled the mindfalyer and it's minions. As the battle progressed, the time-spell shattered, enabling the mindflayer to grab the seal and start to run away with it (possibly to shatter it in a more secure location). Willow and some of the group gave chase, even as others gave aid to the embattled defenders of the waterfall cavern. It was at this point that a reincarnated Trona (now calling herself Blue Wood) prevented the escaping mindflayer from being able to leave. Blue Wood's unique abilities as a Treant, prevented the mindflayer from using it's powers on her, and the rest of the group were able to catch up and slay the foul thing. Recovering the unbroken seal, the group returned to the seal's chamber and gave the slightly worn seal to the guardians. The return of the seal in it's proper place and activating it's magic, destroyed the dark worm-tendrils which were infecting the Fey, and closed the portal from whence they came.
After some healing and recovery, the group held council with the guardians, and discovered many disturbing concerns about the seals and the rest of the world. With their new-found knowledge, Willow and the group left the waterfall cavern with the mission of investigating the remaining sites of each seal, and if possible, repair them. The first place they traveled to was the fortified town of Muq'Al. There, an entirely unexpected situation arose.