Velulaei Andriair was born in the city of Iryalen. A wood elf of pure lineage, she was born as the youngest child of three; having an elder sister and brother. Her mother was a luthier; an avid woodcarver who put her gift to use in the creation of instruments-- and her father a member of the druidic order of the enclave. In her formational years she experienced the love of a supporting family, and an easy life within Iryalen-- an abundance of comfort and joy in her earliest days. As she grew, self-expression became an important part of who she was-- ingrained into her by both her culture and her mother, as well as her religion of the Wild Faith through her father's pursuit of druidism. By the time she had reached her early adolescence she took a more active role with her mother's shop, where she learned to carve instruments herself; as well as how to repair them. Elves, by nature, held an abundance of time. Time that Velulaei did not know how she wished to spend. She toiled each day within her workshop alongside her mother, yet found that she wished for something more. Rather than create instruments, she wished to play them. Thus, she began to dedicate much of this time to learning music; refining her voice and her skill with the very instruments she had spent much of her life creating up until that point. When she reached the age of 50, officially recognized as an adult among her people, she sought out her own path. Looking to turn her passion for music into a career, she wishes to wander the world beyond her home to spread her culture and songs to others.
The traveller has just arrived in a small town. As they look around, their gaze is met with run down houses and shops. They duck into one of the shacks, illuminated by a series of candles suspended in the air. At the back of the small room, an old hag raises her head, “What brings you to this dingy town?" She begins, then pauses to study their face—”Ah, it’s you. I’ve been expecting you. Sit,” she gestures at a chair, “Where do you come from? What do you hope to make of yourself?”
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While the town was of little renown, it worked well for her purposes at that time. It was merely a stepping stone to a larger journey, to be sure, but she still thought to make the most of her time there. Each new settlement, regardless of size, represented a new audience for her to perform for. As the old woman spoke to her, she flicked her gaze towards them.
"Karin'ayla! Expecting me? Why, I'm of no such repute as to have been expected by anyone, I think..."
Though, there was some part of her that reveled in that idea-- that she had been expected to arrive somewhere. That perhaps her reputation as a songstress preceded her very arrival, though she found the thought rather unlikely. She briefly chuckled when they asked of her ambitions, humming gently.
"Ah," she began, "I'm merely a simple bard, nothing more. A Mali'ame of Iryalen who wishes to share her music with others. I wish to travel the world and perform for as many different sorts of people as I can before returning home someday."
Sitting down in the seat the old woman had pointed out, she gently slung her lute from her lap and laid it flat across her lap.
"If you're interested, perhaps I could recant a story for you in song?"
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