Yul'ibar, or simply 'Yuli', is an Elf of mixed heritage and the fourth of five children born to her parents, a couple descended from a land they called 'Arcas' before immigrating to Almaris and finding a home among many others in the Elvenesse. Despite her curiosity and inquiries, Yuli's been told very little of their time spent across the sea, and they've refused to elaborate further past haunted murmurings of grim catastrophe. Tucked away in the bountiful forests, their family resides in a meager home woven into and around the mass of trees, rather than a structure leveled on the ground, a practice certainly not unheard of in the area. Overall, most of her upbringing was spent as fairly typical and peaceful, it was rare that she knew strife in the quiet, quaint community that could be summarized as quite humble. Elves of all kinds came and went, some much like her Mother, hailing from Haelun'or, others like her Father who were already far more accustomed to life in the woods, or who were regularly off to visit or work in Amaethea. There were tall elves, short elves, dark and grey skinned Elves she had seen very few of, and an even rarer kind of Elf said to have hair as white as snow which she'd only ever heard about yet never seen herself, some of the people wandering through the woods weren't even Elves at all, but they were often kept under rather close watch and treated warily. To the North she'd been told of the massive, monstrous green-folk of the 'Warnation', but she'd never even ventured remotely close to have encountered one by chance. As massive as the world was, the scope in which she inhabited was kept fairly small. She was even kept from attending the occasional trip to the sovereign port town that bordered the woods for occasional supplies in their community, and the reason for that she could only assume stemmed from the time she'd gone and wandered much too far from home during a session of exploring.
She'd wandered along the bank of a river for some time until she reached a point where the previously calm stream had gained strength. Rapids, beautiful flowing currents of water pouring over rocks and rushing along the curves the land had provided. With a set of stones peaking just over the surface lined well enough to accommodate a nimble and well-balanced individual's crossing? She simply couldn't resist. To her merit, she'd actually made it nearly half-way at a steady pace of hopping from rock to rock, but a single misstep was all it took to send her tumbling into the raging waters below that held much more force than she'd expected. That immense strength that not only carried but pulled her under, bashing her against rocks and leaving her frequently spinning, rolling, losing all sense of balance and starved for any air as the water carried her to an unknown destination. The few times she managed to surface to breathe she hadn't any time to call for help before she disappeared into the rapids once more. Even slimmer was the chance that anyone would've been close enough to hear her in the first place had she been able to plead for aid. Much to her fortune however and the one aspect that kept her from a watery grave was fact that a small hunting party had caught sight of her from downstream. Yuli had been briefly grabbed a couple of times, but the sleekness of her soaked limbs paired with the strength of the river had pulled her away again. Finally, with a chain of of the hunting party's members gripping onto one another to extend their reach and prevent their companions from likewise toppling into the river, they were able to wrestle her free from its grip. Such an experience was quite traumatizing, and still to this day her deep-rooted fear of deeper waters remains. It'd manifested itself in her mind as the form of some evil spirit constantly lurking within the depths, waiting for the next moment for her to dip so much as a toe inside to reach up and drag her down once more. She even feared staring at her reflection in the water's surface for too long, thinking the face of that 'evil spirit' would be grinning back at her, waiting to tempt her towards her doom.
Since that day her already sheltered life became all the more restrictive out of fear for her safety. In hopes of both distracting her from her newfound fear and of sating any adventurous feelings she still had, her parents began providing her with several books to read during her free-time instead. It worked, for a time. Enthralled in the tales of heroes and villains, of love blossomed and lost, of mighty empires and nations founded and crumbled, of mythic treasures and mighty beasts, she found a sense of peace and comfort once again - but it also began to make her all the more aware of just what a small part of this world she'd been inhabiting. A small part of a large forest, on an even larger chunk of a massive continent, which was part of an even larger world as a whole. Yet here she was in the same home, walking the same trails and speaking with the same people each and every day. Her initial discussions over the prospect of being allowed to explore once again was of course met with negative reception, but the more restricted her parents had become the more she rebelled given that her other siblings were more trusted - with good reason of course, given their greater experience and age. Finally, to prevent turmoil and hopefully reach an acceptable compromise, her parents suggested having her learn how to properly fend for herself and survive in the waiting outside world before they would allow her to leave, a prospect that would take quite a considerable amount of time - long enough for them to hopefully think of a better excuse as to why she still wouldn't be permitted to go out on her own even at the supposed completion of all these lessons, to which she was none the wiser. And so began her time spent training. Learning how to make and maintain her own clothing, how to hunt with the use of her father's bow and eventually her own much more shoddily-made one, but it was a proud accomplishment of hers all the same to have made it herself. At times she was even instructed on ways to protect herself from other people, but she noticed that most of these lessons involved methods to slip away and escape rather than stay and fight. The closest thing was being taught the ways to best distract or slow her opponent long enough to scurry out of sight and make a hasty retreat. It was among the first of many incidents she'd begin to take notice of that started to form cracks in this promised idea that she'd eventually be allowed to adventure on her own. There were events either of them would bring up from time to time as if to discourage her from the idea, such as the mention of the recent war breaking out between Haelun'or and the Human Kingdom of Haense, and for a time it did make her question just how fondly or poorly others in the world might look upon Elves. Every time she questioned it, the less willing to speak of it in thorough discussion her parents were. There was always some excuse, or nondescript answer to give that was never elaborated on, but despite her suspicions she continued holding onto the idea that they had been honest.
That was, of course, until she learned the truth. One restless night she rose from her bed and shuffled around the outside of their home, taking in the pleasant cool air of the night. She'd ventured close enough to her parents' abode to hear they were both still awake and talking. Prior to announcing her presence however, Yuli took note of the subject of their discussion - herself. Those quiet footfalls of hers went undetected in the midst of a conversation that proceeded to grow a bit more heated as it progressed. Her Mother had been distraught over the idea of continuing to lie to her all this time, and her Father was attempting to assure her that it had all been for her benefit and protection. It took a while for the substance of their words to actually sink in and make a stunning realization; all this time, all the work she'd put in, the promises that been made and the dedication she'd shown to following their every rule and word of teaching, and it'd all been for nothing? Not only that, but it was a lie they would have continued to allow her to believe for an even greater amount of time, goodness knows how long. The more she thought of it, the more upset it made her. Months, years, a Malin's year? How long had they intended to leave her in suspense? All spent working towards something that would never come. Her sorrow welled as she retreated back to her room just as quietly as she'd left it, and as the night continued her sorrow turned to anger, frustration, contempt. Her anger melted into bitterness, and from that bitterness was born spiteful determination. Gathering her belongings and a helping of food and water, she set off in silence before the sunrise to begin her journey, intent on claiming the adventure she'd been denied, and proving she could thrive just as well as anyone else in the world that waited outside the edges of the forest, unknowing of all the dangers and conflict the land continued to endure. Unknowing of the complexities of Almaris' people stretching far beyond the rigid novels of such simplified senses of right and wrong, good and evil.
