Vanessa was born in a time of war and civil unrest in the Kingdom of Norland. With the tumult around her, she grew up surrounded by battle hardened warriors, who were strong in both body and spirit. Learning to fight was a necessity, and so she learned. First, from her father. When he was killed in the Siege of Vjorhelm, she learned from the other brave, Norlandic men who migrated to Atlas from Axios. Vanessa was young when the migration occurred, and does not remember much beyond her lessons with sword and dagger.
Upon arriving in their new home, Vanessa and her mother joined the rest of their people as they settled on the twin islands that would later become Ruriksgrad. While the city was being built, they lived in their own ramshackle hut a half hour's walk from the construction, hunting and fishing for their own food. Even when the town was completed to satisfaction and opened to the public, the two Turlock women kept to themselves outside the city walls. They lived in peace for several years, with Vanessa selling pelts in the market square in order to buy necessities. It was a simple life, pure and good, but... Vanessa dreamed of more. The age of bloodshed may have passed, but she possessed a wanderer's heart and could not stay bound to their little hut.
Highlanders are a strong people, and her mother did not cry when Vanessa announced that she was leaving. She merely embraced her daughter, wished her well, and watched as she set out into the world.
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