A (Very Long) History Post for Klaudia [WIP]

[sulit]

Klaudia comes from the Forgotten Realms D&D setting, so there is some context needed to understand her mindset and her background. The following sections will explain those.

What is Toril?
Toril is the planet that most, if not all, Forgotten Realms lore exists on. It is said to be analogous to Earth in many ways, including being the third planet from its sun, being orbited by a single moon, and having a calendar consisting of 365 days. The geography of Toril is moderately different from Earth, however. Continents of Toril include: Faerûn, Zakhara, Kara-Tur, Maztica, Anchrome, Katashaka, Laerakond, Osse. Faerûn is the primary setting for most Forgotten Realms campaigns, and is the only continent that has any relation to Klaudia's life thus far.

What is Waterdeep?
Waterdeep is the most populated city on the Sword Coast--a swatch of land that consists of most of Faerûn's western border where it meets the Sea of Swords. It is also called the City of Splendors and the Crown of the North, due to the unquestionable wealth and influence of the noble families that reside there. Being a port city, Waterdeep deals in a large amount of trade by both land and sea; and said noble families are constantly vying for the upper hand in both financial circles and social ones. An ill-timed scandal could ruin a house just as easily as a bad business deal. Fashion, religion, and culture also hold great sway over the city, though in a much more open-minded manner than one might expect. Waterdhavians (people of Waterdeep) are social, stalwart, outspoken, and largely accepting of the wide variety of cultures that live on Toril.

What is Tethyr?
Tethyr is a coastal nation to the south of the Sword Coast, set in the middle of an area called the Lands of Intrigue. The nation of Amn lies to the north, and the Sword Coast beyond that. The nation of Calimshan lies to the south, and the Shining Sea beyond it. Tethyr is run by a monarchy and is heavily reliant on martitime trade with the coastal nations to the north and south. As such, they are strictly opposed to piracy of any kind, and use their navy as a means to stamp it out wherever they find it. During Klaudia's adventures, the Tethyr Royal Navy had been patrolling the mouth of the Shining Sea, preventing her crew from leaving for the wider ocean.

Do you have a map of these places?
I sure do. This is a map of the Faerûn continent, and most of the locations mentioned will be running along the edge of the western part of the continent.


What are devils? What are the Nine Hells?
The Nine Hells of Baator is a plane of existence that resides among the outer planes of Toril. This is the home plane of devils, which are a highly organized race of fiends that deal in contracts and the corruption of souls. They are categorically different from demons in that devils rely on structure and rules, while demons thrive in chaos. There are (obviously) nine layers to Baator with each layer being ruled over by an archdevil. The power of each archfiend increases as the layers go deeper. The order from top to bottom is: Avernus, Dis, Minauros, Phlegethos, Stygia, Malbolge, Maladomini, Cania, Nessus. Klaudia's bloodline is descended from the archdevil of Cania, Mephistopheles.

What is a Tiefling?
(CW: Racism)
Tieflings are a race of people that are derived from devils. Some sources say that they are the offspring of those with devil blood that has been diluted through generations. Other sources say that they come from humans that made a pact with one of the archdevils of the Nine Hells; and that pact has forever tainted their lineage. Regardless of the source, all tieflings exhibit the following traits in common: Darker-hued skin (usually in pigments of red, but sometimes brown, blue, or purple), horns (varying in size and shape according to their archdevil lineage), pointed teeth, and long tails. Some tieflings (like Klaudia) also have eyes that lack pigment for their iris or pupil, leaving the unsettling image of completely blank eyes. Other tieflings also exhibit cloven feet and/or wings, but Klaudia has neither of these.

In general, tieflings are a very small minority of the population of Toril; and both their disquieting appearance and their history of relations with devils has marked them as an unwanted race. Even in some of the more welcoming cities of Faerûn, tieflings are seen as inherently deceptive and manipulative; and are often regulated to the poorer and more secluded areas of town. Many merchants would be hard-pressed to let a tiefling browse their wares without keeping a careful eye on them. In smaller villages and in the countryside, superstitions abound that tieflings bring with them ill luck and bad omens; and it's not uncommon for them to be deeply mistrusted by all and/or run out of town entirely. As such, tieflings will often stick together in communities of their own, or with other outcasted races--particularly ones of a fiery nature, such as fire genasi (half-elementals).

What is Toril's calendar like? What are these weird months you keep mentioning?
Toril's calendar is split into twelve months, each containing 30 days. There are six holidays that exist outside of/between the months, one of which being a leap day that occurs every four years. Months are divided evenly into three ten-day periods (called a tenday), rather than seven-day weeks. The months will *roughly* line up with Earth's months, give or take a few days. For instance, Klaudia's birthday is on the 28th of Mirtul; this is the same day of the year as May 30th.

Toril	Earth
Hammer	January
Alturiak	February
Ches	March
Tarsakh	April
Mirtul	May
Kythorn	June
Flamerule	July
Eleasis	August
Eleint	September
Marpenoth	October
Uktar	November
Nightal	December

How do you pronounce Klaudia?
Kl-ow-dee-ah. Her nickname Klaudi sounds like "cloudy".




SPOILERS AHEAD: This section contains Klaudia's backstory. If you don't want to know why she is the way she is, I suggest leaving this post now!

If you don't mind spoilers, keep scrolling to continue!
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(CW: Racism, child neglect, infidelity)
On the 28th of Mirtul, a child was born to the human noblewoman Lady Luciana Irlingstar of Waterdeep. What would have been an auspicious occasion was marred by the fact that this child was a tiefling. Incidentally, the Lord Irlingstar was not.

In lieu of having the child disposed of, Lord Irlingstar allowed his wife to keep her under the strict condition that she never be seen by the rest of Waterdeep. His wife's infidelity--and with a tiefling, no less--would have made an obvious and outrageous scandal that the other noble houses would have gladly leapt upon. For reasons of her own, Lady Luciana readily agreed to these conditions, and set up her new baby's quarters within the family's villa in the Sea Ward of Waterdeep.

This child's name was Klaudia. Outside the walls of Irlingstar Villa, it was said that she was a sickly and frail child, and that she wasn't permitted to leave the premises for her own health. There was much more sympathy for a sick child than a devil-touched one. But inside those walls, Klaudia was a curious and energetic young girl. Her appetite for new discoveries quickly outpaced her living quarters, even with those quarters being a small complex of three multistory houses. She longed to leave the villa and see the city outside the high walls that surrounded her, but when that request was denied to her, she turned to books instead.

Adventure was her favorite, but Klaudia consumed any book that her mother bought for her. Mystery, romance, horror, intrigue... Even history, maths, and other textbooks that came her way in lieu of the governess that taught her human half-siblings. She read them all, and then read them again as she waited for more to appear in neatly wrapped paper and fancy bows. There were other presents, too, of course: fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, toys and games made of materials that would bankrupt most families. Sometimes she would catch her mother delivering the gifts to her room and snag a few precious minutes of conversation; but more often than not, she found the box laid neatly on her bed while she was out roaming the halls.

But it was the books that she loved the most, and in time even those paled in comparison to the ones that featured adventure on the open sea. Her favorite moments were reading by the window with the shutters thrown open and the sea breeze drifting in. Beyond the villa's walls, she would listen to the people chatter and shout and go about their day, with the din of seagulls cawing overheard. And sometimes, if she listened very closely, she could hear the crash of the waves against the walls of the Sea Ward. With her book held close, she would shut her eyes, imagining that she was on the deck of one of those distant ships, about to set sail onto that open and limitless expense of water. A place where walls were meaningless, and there was nothing but freedom as far as the eye could see.

By the time she was in her teens, Klaudia was exceptionally bright and quick-witted. While still deeply in love with the ocean, her interest started veering towards magic as well, which her mother found to be a much more delightful subject. There was a powerful mage that had once visited Waterdeep, Lady Luciana would explain with the far-off look of someone reminiscing about a summer love. A tiefling, yes, but a very charming one from a far off land--to the south, perhaps? His name was Zherakos, and this was the first that Klaudia learned about her real father.

Her mother couldn't tell her much more than that about Zherakos--at least not anything that she wanted to hear about; but Lady Luciana was more than willing to indulge Klaudia's interest in magical pursuits. Spellbooks, materials, and other components were no question. The Irlingstars were engaged in shipbuilding and sea-commerce. They could finance multiple kinds of trade across the Sea of Swords and beyond; and so money was no more of an obstacle than with any of the other gifts Klaudia had been given.

Magic gradually made way for other skills--weaving, woodworking, and tinkering. Components for her magic couldn't always be bought outright; sometimes they were shapes that had to be sewn together from scraps of cloth, or runes carved into a sanded bit of wood, or a small metal figurine. Whatever she needed to advance her work, she picked up quickly, almost obsessively. If she couldn't have the ocean, she would at least have the vast expense of magic at her fingertips, and that kept her content... For a while.

It wasn't until she was almost seventeen that her contentment reached its limits. It was last tenday in the month of Ches, and the festivities were underway for Fleetswake--a Waterdhavian holiday dedicated to all deities associated with the sea, navigation, and weather. Both the Docks and the Sea Ward were abuzz with activity. There were exorbitant amounts of food and parties, stalls set up for games, and boat races in the harbor between the private owners and the rakers of the City Watch. With so many people in the city, Klaudia reasoned, who would noticed one small tiefling slipping in and out of the Sea Ward? The logic seemed perfectly sound to her, and it was the best chance for her to finally get out of the villa and see a small piece of the world around her.

Lady Luciana wasn't so easily convinced. Klaudia had always been an obedient daughter with regards to her isolation, but the more that she insisted on this plan, the more irritated her mother became. Irritation turned to anger, and pleas turned to shouting. It was their first real fight, and ultimately Klaudia was ordered back to her room for the remainder of the day. The more severe restriction on her freedoms didn't bother her nearly as much as the deeply unsettling thought that began to worm its way into her mind:

Her mother never had any intention of letting her leave the villa. This wasn't a temporary situation, and if she didn't do something, she might live and die in these same halls, having never set foot out past the front gates.

Fear bubbled up into desperation, which gave way to a determination to act. She had to get out. Maybe not today, but she would start preparing immediately. Her studies shifted again, slowly and carefully this time. She found a renewed interest in the family business, pouring over seacharts and starcharts, mapping the stars outside her windows until she felt she could read them like the back of her hand. She fashioned herself a set of lock picks that she studied out of one of her books, and practiced on the villa's locks until she could unlock any door or cupboard or chest within her reach. She consumed a plethora of books on how to pilot various ships, and began to dream so vividly about being on the ocean that it would nearly break her heart to wake up again in her bed.

She also became more aware of the way her mother spoke to her--how she would remark that Klaudia looked so much like her father, or how delighted she was in Klaudia's studies. The words all sounded right, but there was something missing in the delivery. Now, unlike before, Klaudia began feeling her mother's absence even when she was standing in the same room. There was a depth lacking in her words that she just simply hadn't noticed before, and now she couldn't unsee it. And it hurt in a way that she couldn't describe, except to think of herself as a shadow in her own home--something noticed but paid little real attention.

Was that normal? She could never tell. This was how her family had always been, but it never matched the ones she had read about. She began counting the days between her mother's visits; and noting how very little she ever saw of her half-siblings. And the Lord Irlingstar was rarely ever in her presence, but that was nothing new. She used to wonder in her younger years if she would even remember his face the next she saw him. She always did, though, and it was always the cold expression that she recognized more than anything else. Now, the thought of never seeing that man again was almost as viscerally compelling as being free of these walls and the weird absence that her family had left settled in her chest.

Three years passed in this way before Klaudia finally had the resources and the nerve to make her move. Spring had finally come, and it was Fleetswake once again. Even late into the evening, the city was alive with the raucous festivities. She took only a backpack stuffed with her necessities and a pouch of gold pieces lifted from her mother. Her heart hammering in her chest, she picked the locks and snuck out into the lamplit streets for the first time in her life.

It was exhilarating and terrifying in equal measure. She nearly lost her nerve several times on her way to the Dock Ward on the other side of the city. Every noise, every call from a stranger made her jump near out of her skin. But as she finally reached her destination and stepped onto the wooden pier leading to the anchored ships, her eyes locked on the ocean and her feet froze in place. It was more beautiful than she had imagined, and there was no telling how long she stood there, watching the waves rolling in and out and lapping against the motionless hulls and piers. Her gaze drifted out towards the horizon where the dark water and night sky blended seamlessly into each other. For a few seconds, it took her breath away. And then, she breathed in again, and it felt like the first real breath she'd ever taken.

The rest was strangely effortless. Her fear had receded like the tide, as she went from ship to ship, seeking out someone that could relay her request to their captain: A sizeable amount of gold for passage out of Waterdeep. It didn't matter where, so long as they were headed south. It didn't even bother her as much as it should have, when several of said captains took one look at her horns and her eyes and rebuffed her without a second thought. It would later, but in the moment, she was too focused on her goal to be offended.

Finally, one of the captains sized up both her and the pouch of gold in her hand, and found the latter to be more interesting than the former. She was given meager accommodations, but it was passage out of Waterdeep the next morning, and that was all that mattered. They dropped her off at Balder's Gate, and further transport was easier to manage there. She worked a few different jobs in the month that followed--mostly assisting tradespeople with her various skillsets or bartering her own crafts in the marketplace if the city was large enough. It garnered her enough coin for food and to buy her way into different ports along the coast.

Eventually, she ended up in Calimport, a city on the edge of the Shining Sea. A rumor had reached her ears about a ship that sailed these waters: the Brassica. It was said to be a ship flying a blue and silver flag; and her captain, the rumor went, was an evil woman that had been captured and tried by the Tethyr navy for treachery and murder. The woman was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging; but just before her execution, she called out to the sea to save her. However, the sea ignored her cry, and she died at the end of that rope. That night, her ship rose from the depths of the sea and docked to meet the ghostly shadow of the woman. As she leapt onto the ship, she cursed those who had hanged her, swearing vengeance on them and their descendants. She warned them that should they ever set foot or sail on water, their lives would be forfeit.

It was a cute ghost story. Interesting, but not particularly scary. What did she have to fear, after all? She didn't know anyone from Tethyr; and her father was a mage, not a soldier. The threat against this navy was the furthest thing from her mind as she searched Calimport's docks for a new ship to carry her across the sea. Her coin pouch was starting to feel too light for her comfort, and the thought of joining a crew to avoid paying passage was already crossing her mind. She knew her way around a ship. How hard could being a deckhand be?

That was when her gaze fell on the bluest ship she'd ever seen. It was small--a sloop with a single silver mast that looked more like a tree than a ship's mast. The wood was bark-like, and there were silver leaves growing in the rigging. Even the figurehead set into the prow was shaped like tree branches with stars nestled in them. Overhead, a flag was waving in the sea breeze--four silver stars and two open hands holding up a tree, set in a field of blue.

A chill went down Klaudia's spine as she thought about that rumor she had heard. Was this...? Uncertainly, she approached the ship for a better look. There was a name plate on the side, and once she was close enough to read it, there was no question. This was the Brassica.

So, was it a ghost ship? Maybe, but Klaudia wasn't deterred. She'd come across many strange things in her study of magic; and rumors were never enough for her. If this was a ghost ship, she wanted to know for sure.

It was with both curiosity and apprehension that she approached the boarding plank that led from the pier to the ship's main deck. She tested each step, as if she thought the wood might vanish out from under her feet. Once she was sure that it was sturdy enough, she climbed up, lingering just a pace or two from the deck. Her presence caught the eye of an exceptionally tall woman with dark skin, icy blue hair, and a warm demeanor. When Klaudia asked for the captain of the ship, the woman introduced herself as Captain Mom.

Needless to say, she wasn't what Klaudia had been expecting. The captain was imposing, but not in a threatening way. Her voice was warm and kind, and she smiled far too sweetly. She didn't look evil and treacherous... Then again, Klaudia was already prepared to call her own eye for judging appearances into question, after everything she'd been through with her family. If this woman was a murderer, would she even be able to tell?

Steeling herself, Klaudia recited the request that she had asked so many times before. Passage on her ship--but this time she wanted to be part of the crew. She scrambled a little for her credentials: She knew a lot about boats; she could use magic and fix things. Wood and cloth were her specialties, so that could be useful on a ship.

It was hard not to be embarrassed at how unpolished her resume sounded. She should have practiced that part more... But the woman just smiled and explained that their ship worked a little different from others in the harbor. They didn't offer a base wage, and they only went where the ship wanted to go. That threw Klaudia for several seconds; but she pressed on, insisting that she didn't have a specific destination in mind, so that didn't bother her.

The Captain studied her for another few seconds before asking for her name and welcoming her onto the ship. A few rules were added--no sleeping in the hold, and meals were twice daily and mandatory with the whole crew present. But other than that, she was free to board. She'd never been received so easily onto a ship before. Klaudia was so surprised at the near-effortless approval, that she didn't think to do more than nod and respond with a "Yes, ma'am"--which she quickly corrected to "Captain", much to the woman's amusement.

Once aboard the Brassica, Klaudia quickly discovered that the crew itself was on the smaller side. There were only three others, aside from the captain and herself. The quartermaster and second-in-command of the ship was a female fire genasi by the name of Azar. And Azar was intense, to say the least. She was obviously the quiet sort; but while Klaudia found the Captain's demeanor intimidating by way of her height and her relentless warmth, Azar was intimidating by way of her lack of expression. For the first several weeks, Klaudia could never be sure if the other young woman liked her or not, or if she should even be turning her back on her.

----Redo here down?



Even Klaudia herself was wary of interacting with the others. Her time on all those others ships had taught her that, despite how much gold she paid to the captain, her presence was much more tolerable to the crew if she was out of sight and out of mind. It was a familiar feeling, so it went without saying that she forgot about the mandatory meals almost immediately. Not that the Captain let her