My mother was a wood elf druid from the Forest of Clouds.  My father was a falconer for the High Elf King.  They loved each other very much, but their work always drew them apart from each other.  Given that the Wood Elf blood showed most in me, I stayed with my mother most of the time, though picked up a bit more understanding of formal magic than a typical wood elf.<br/>When I was still young, my mother found that I had an affinity for druid's magic, so she took me to the one who taugh her to learn the druid's way.  She sent with me an eagle's egg and her pendant.  Raising the eagle was part of my training to become a full druid.  He's still my best friend and adventuring partner, and the magic of our bond keeps him young.<br/>For a long time, I thought I would be happy with a quite corner of the forest or mountains to nurture and protect, like my mother, but when I learned of her death--hurled off of a cliff by harpies--I joined my father in a three year campaing to avenge her.  Since then--though i'm still 'sixteen'--i've been training to leave the woods and become a crusading druid.  The reason for this is I don't want other good people to suffer as I have.<br/>I went to my father first.  He sent me to his teacher--a wise but very aged ranger.  I was his aprentice for serveral years, my understanding of the world and how humans interacted with it improving along with my skill at arms.<br/>Afer serveral years, our home is attacked by humans, some bearing steel, others unatural power.  He was killed and I take subdued, collared, and given too the troops for thier pleasure.<br/>They broke my resistence again and again.  Any number of times I might have embraced them as a willing slave if they'd bothered to claim me, but i was less than a toy to them.  All that was left to me was my mother's pendant--that they never seemed to notice though they'd stripped off all else I owned--and my eagle friend Skandranon in the distant skies.<br/>One night, after I'd again been abused, broken, left begging to be permited to love the man who'd claimed me, and abandoned on the cold, hard stone floor, I dozed off.  I heard the faint voice of my mother calling out to me.  Opening my eyes I see her, repslendent in form fitted leather armor, with shield and blade, strong and shining with the perfection of youth.  My pendant shone brightly and lifted up into the air.  I felt a relaxed peace like I hadn't know in...  I know not how long.  Not since I was a little girl in my mother's arms.<br/>"I've been looking for you, dear heart.  Now is the timem for you to be awakened.  Call my name, escape, and make up for your lost years.  She disappeared and I cried out, "Torina!" wanting her back. The pendant shined a different color, extending and chainging into a scimitar, it's handle white with a thorn desing all around it.   and it begins to extend and change shape until a scimitar falls in your hands. The handle its white with a thorn design all around it.<br/>Corina woke, and the sudden cold of reality after her beautiful dream shot throuhg her 'til she shook and curled up into a ball, tears she thouhgt had run dry long ago leaking from her forest green eyes.<br/>She clutched for her mother's pendent to pray, and her eyes went wide.  IT was gone, and so was the collar.  Forcing her eyes open, she found the shards of the collar laying beneath her, and the most beautiful blade she'd ever seen--the scimitar from her dream!--atop them.<br/>Her strength surged back to her limbs, the power of the Emerald Mother into her heart.  Praying softly, she warded her supple skin with the resileince of bark.  Praying again, she healed the wonds of uncounted abuses.  Then she took the blade in hand and padded too the door.  Waiting behind it, like a tiger waiting to pounce, she prepared herself for the return of her abusers.  Her revenge, her escape, and hopefully--ultimatly--a return to free the rest of the world from theri vileness.<br/>One of the soldiers opened the door and walked inside with a plate full of bread and some water in a small cup.  The elf girl jumped on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing the scimitar back to slash open his throat. The guard slumped to the stone, his head rolling to the end of the room.<br/>For a moment, Corina stared at the sword, shocked, then a grin stretched across her lips at the amazing blade.<br/>Grabbing what was left of the water, she used it to clean the sword.  Then she prayed quickly to fill the mug with fresh clean water and drained it down in releif.  Turning towards the door, she whispered, "Time to go."<br/>The nude girl padded out of the door, mug in one hand, blade in the other, brown hair whisping around her.  She whipspered the prayer to fill the mug again. Outside she could see a couple of guards around a campfire. Screams coming from another cell are soon silence. The guards outside did not seem to be alerted of her presence.<br/>Growling quietly, she padded towards the other cell, looking too see who else was suffering as she had.  A young man was held here, naked as well geting the same treatment as she had, but he is out of it and bleeding from his mouth.<br/>Another angry growl, then the elf went quite.  She pushed the door open abd ut creaked loudly...<br/>