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The story of Purrcilla.

Purrcilla was born as a member of a large litter. Her mother was a bard, and her father was a ranger. Her mother recognized in her an affinity for the musical arts and immediately started the grooming process of becoming a bard. One night, when Purrcilla was a mere 8 years old, her village came under attack from a goblin raiding party. The entire village was wiped out. Purrcilla was the only survivor, and that was only because she'd snuck out of the village during the full moon to explore along the canopy of trees in the surrounding areas. When she'd returned home to find the village in ruins, homes burned to the ground, bodies littering the streets, she felt two things: something in her broke, and something in her strengthened.

Though she had always expected to follow in her mother's footsteps of becoming a bard—and ultimately did so—her father had ensured that she knew how to hunt and track, how to maintain stealth, and to inevitably take care of herself. These two skillsets combined to make her able to adapt to new situations, such as suddenly becoming an orphan, and having no ties to anyone, with no one around to lean on.

She went to neighboring villages at first, searching for help, but she was quickly turned away. Everyone was afraid that the Catfolk had specifically been targeted by the goblins, or those controlling the goblins, and they did not want to risk angering them and potentially bringing the goblins to their own villages. Because the goblin raiding parties were still out and about, it was harder for them to acquire food and other necessities—no one wanted to part with such important supplies when they didn't know how long their own stores would last.

For the first few years, Purrcilla lived among the trees. Her claws became sharpened inadvertently by her frequent climbing and running up the trees. She learned early on that she could use these claws as weapons to defend herself. By day, she would sleep, camouflaged among the dark near-black leaves of the trees. By night, she would sneak down into the various villages and liberate fish, meal, and even the occasional blocks of cheese and bread, to feed herself. As she grew, it became harder to hide herself among the upper branches, and the lower branches were much more vibrant in color, making it more difficult for her to hide herself away.

On the day of her 12th birthday, she was nearly killed as a group of villagers found her asleep and realized that she'd been the one stealing their rations. They chased her with staves and spears; a couple threw daggers at her, with one hitting its mark in her back, just below her shoulderblade. The pain was too much to allow her to climb to the tops of the trees and escape, so she ran; she ran faster than she ever thought she could, leaving behind the little stockpile of food and trinkets that she'd managed to salvage. Knowing it was time to say goodbye to this region, she made her way toward the eastern shore. Along the way, she met an elf cleric named Kairee who helped clean her wound and heal it as best he could. Infection had set in, leaving Purrcilla weakened and near helpless. Kairee fed her, nursing her back to health, and taught her the basics of the Elven language in the process. 

Outside of her family, Purrcilla had never really had friends before. Between her family being so large and her own sense of being an introvert, she'd never really made it a point to make friends. After her family perished, she'd had no one. So, she didn't really know what to make of Kairee, or his kindness. He could tell that she was becoming more wary of him as she healed, and he'd told her one night that she would be welcome to join him on his travels, but that he would understand if she preferred to go on her own. She chose to go with him, but keeping caution with her at all times.

It had been nice, having a friend, someone to share the journey with. Someone to help pass the time. Until one night he'd tried to put the moves on her, and she was having none of it. He threw in her face the help that he had given her, and though she pointed out that he had eaten much better now she'd come along to help hunt and gather food, it wasn't enough. And thus began her spiral down into the realm of trusting someone only as much was necessary for an end goal.

She snuck away in the dead of night and never looked back. As she proceeded to the north, she stopped in various villages offering various services in exchange for food or currency. She worked odd jobs here and there, never allowing herself to get close to anyone. She had learned that all that came from being close with anyone was pain—the pain of loss, the pain of betrayal... it didn't matter, it was all pain.

After several years of wandering around from village to village, learning from various other bardic teachers as she went, a town councilman whom she had done many odd jobs for over the years told her of a call for help for what could only be called a quest. He believed that her skills would be useful, and there was money to be made. Certainly more money than working the odd job here and there could give her, and perhaps give her a chance to find a home of her own and settle down. She dismissed the idea at first, as the thought of working with others was less than appealing. But the more she thought about it, the more she couldn't stop thinking about the possibilities that wealth could afford her. And so she made her way to the meeting point, where she first met those who would become her group. Upon meeting them, her first instinct was to run away—as far away as possible. The stench from the Orc alone was enough to make her want to flee. Add that to the fact that there was a bird man that kept making her hackles rise, and she knew she'd never be able to let her guard down. But the sway of wealth and power kept her there.

And so the quest begins.