Backstory
My name is Urs. My oldest memories are just pictures in my head, and I am not sure where I come from. I remember having parents, but they were killed when I was young. I don’t know their names, but Father was a slight man, with light blonde hair that was short, blue eyes, and pale skin. Mother was also slight and quite short, with the same blonde hair and blue eyes. (These were Elves that adopted Urs, I have left Urs’ actual birth parents a mystery) We were traveling via cart in the woods, I was around my third birth moon, and we were attacked by humans. They wanted to take what was ours, and when mother and father resisted, they were killed. I was beaten and thrown to a ditch on the side of the trail. As the light started to leave my eyes, a bear came bounding out of the forest, and it began to maul the humans. The last thing I saw was it change into a humanish creature itself and approach me, smiling. “You’re safe now, little Urs.” This was the first time I remember ever hearing my name.
When I awoke, I was in a cave, it was dark. I heard a low rumble coming from nearby, and as my eyes adjusted, I saw large bears all around me. With them was a different human, so many humans in such a short time, ugh. This human noticed me not asleep and came over. She tended to my bandages, and started speaking, but I did not understand what she said. Later, I learned that she only spoke in a tongue known as Sylvan, a very tough tongue to learn I am told, but one that came naturally to me. It took me 2 new moons to learn this tongue as it was never actually taught to me, I just picked it up while watching. I came to learn this Human female was not actually a Human, but she was an Elf. They all look the same to me, and I still have difficulty distinguishing the different types of human. The Elf’s name was Mesalia, and she was a Druid, which I have come to learn is a type of nature magician.
Magic has always filled my head with questions and enjoyment. Mesalia would use it to grow plants and make the woods around us better, healthier. She could make water, summon animals, and even turn into animals herself. The first time I saw her do that, it made me think of the man who killed the humans who killed my humans, and so I asked her about it. She told me that I had been chosen by Balador, who is some sort of God who protects creatures who can shift between human and animal. She continued to explain that I myself could do this, and that I was touched by the Divine. Her words made no sense to me as I had no knowing of what Divine things were. And so, I asked her to tell me of it.
For my next 3 birth moon cycles, I was told about the world and the creatures living in it. Every lesson about the “civilized” world was one of caution. It was always a place of liars, cheats, and killers. They forced the world to bend to their needs with no concern for others. The “natural” world was one of chaos, and yet balance. She explained the importance of all creatures large and small, and how there was beauty in the chaos of the world. In chaos, there was order, balance.
It was in my 7th birth moon cycle that I had begun to understand what my body was capable of, and I began to shift. My teeth would grow out, my demeanor became more of a beast, and my instincts sharpened. I began to participate more in the activities of the sloth (sloth is the term for a group of bears, there isn’t actually a sloth involved in this story) and would wrestle with the young ones, and when I stepped out of line, the elder bears let me know as they would one of their own. It was a good life, one of peace and understanding. It ended.
On my 15th birth moon cycle, men came to the woods. Civilized men. They had decided that they needed the lush forest for wood to build a new city. Mesalia opposed them, explaining the forest was not theirs to take, it belonged to those who lived there. They disagreed, and just as when I was younger, they attacked her. They hacked at her with their axes, and she fought them off for a time. But one of them came up behind her and hit her in the head with a massive hammer. The sloth rushed in, but by the time we made it to her, it was too late to help her. We fought off the humans, but lost several of the sloth. I took 2 axes and the hammer as trophies, and reminders of what the civilized world held. The humans came back, with greater numbers, and better warriors. The sloth fought, the sloth fell. I was the last one standing, the men feared me, but hiding behind cover, they shot me with steel pointed sticks. I had never known such a thing. It hurt.
As I lay dying, 2 humans came upon me. They fought off the remainder of the humans, and as my vision faded yet again, the short stocky one knelt before me and muttered some words I did not know. There was a bright flash of light, and then I saw it. A massive bear, larger than any I had ever seen approached me. There was nothing else except for the two of us. He walked right up to me, nuzzled his head against mine, stood on his hind legs and let out a massive roar. It filled my soul, not with fright, but with hope. I suddenly opened my eyes and saw the two humans that had come to my aid.I came to know them, and they keep insisting that they are not humans, they are a Dwarf and an Aasimar. They offered to let me join them, to travel with them and work with them. We had our own individual goals, but we found we worked well together. The Dwarf was righteous and constantly worked on his craft, making arms and armor to appease his God. The Aasimar was sullen and terrifying to behold at first. I got used to it, but whenever we would come across others, they would always give her and myself a wide berth. The Dwarf did most of the speaking for us, as I did not know as many words, and the Aasimar, while being a dominating person, often left people feeling uneasy.
I just want to protect the natural world, in honor of my first friend and teacher, Mesalia. I want to stand for the creatures who do not speak. And thus far, the group’s goals have aligned with this. It has been 1 birth moon cycle, and I don’t see it ending anytime soon.