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Character History
History of the Tritons:
The Tritons originated on the Elemental Plane of Water. Centuries past, they drove their enemies deep into the trenches. Their greatest foes disappeared, but the Tritons investigated and discovered that they had not been defeated, but driven through a rift into the Material Plane. The Tritons were a race that highly valued honor and duty, and they felt responsible for any harm the evils of the deep wrought on the Material Plane. A group of warriors volunteered to pursue their enemies into the Material Plane, and to stay there and guard the depths.
The Tritons formed protectorates and outposts along the deepest trenches and have fought valiantly to keep the sahuagin, krakens, and other aquatic evils at bay ever since. Most surface dwellers are not aware of this centuries-long war, and the Tritons are, for the most part, content to stay beneath the waves and never make their sacrifice known. However, there is a tradition in some of the settlements to allow young Tritons to make a single trip to the surface, to better understand the stakes should their people fail to hold the lines.
The History of Meroon
*Contains Spoilers for the Curse of Strahd campaign*
Meroon was born in the Triton protectorate of Kekovath, deep within the Trackless Sea. She had two older brothers who died in the trenches, and an older sister, Ariellyn, whom she idolized.
Ariellyn was a ranger who was fascinated with the surface world, and who insisted on taking her journey above the sea. There, Ariellyn joined a party of adventurers and began questing. She stayed above the water for a full year, the absolute limit of what was allowed. When she was finally recalled home, she was heartbroken.
Meroon, newly turned 15 years old, wanted to give her sister the chance to return to her friends on the surface. Though she was barely at the age of majority and hadn't yet begun her warrior's training in earnest, she demanded her own trip to the surface, knowing that since she did not have the skills to go on her own, she could be allowed an escort. After much advocating from both sisters, Meroon's parents consented to allow both of them to undergo Meroon's trip to the surface.
Meroon and Ariellyn met up with Ariellyn's party: Ghidor the Golden Dragonborn paladin, Lunardo the Tortle monk, and Aunty Willow, the Gnome druid. Meroon was basically a mascot of the party, and each of the seasoned adventurers began to teach her bits of their skills. She especially liked studying fighting with Ghidor, whom she formed a crush on.
As they traveled outside of the city of Waterdeep, however, a swirling mist formed and the party was shepparded through a thick forest by a pack of direwolves. They passed out of Faerun and into Barovia, summoned as playthings for the Count Strahd von Zarovich. Ariellyn, who had red hair and was considered an especial beauty among her people, caught Strahd's eye as he tormented them. Meroon began studying the ways of a cleric so that she could heal her friends and fight off the vampires that helped Strahd enforce his power.
Desperate to find a way to defeat Strahd and return home, the party followed a lead to Argynvostholt Mansion, searching for a lost artifact that might give them an edge in the fight. Instead, Strahd decided to intervene and destroy the party once and for all. Knowing that they had no chance of defeating him, Lunardo and Ghidor held him off while Willow and Ariellyn cast Feign Death on Meroon so that she could escape the slaughter. The last thing she remembered was her sister placing her treasured Pearl of Power into Meroon's hand.
When Meroon awoke, her party was gone. Trapped in Barovia alone and friendless, she concealed herself in rivers and lakes to survive. She lived as a hermit for years before eventually meeting Rudolph van Richten and Esmerelda d'Avenir. Van Richten to help train and equip Meroon to achieve her goal of revenge against the Devil Stradh. 30 years after she arrived in Barovia, the opportunity finally arose.
A new party of adventurers-- Rhogar the (newly-turned revenant) Dragonborn Wizard, Yu'xa the Yuan'ti Rogue, and Blood Wolf Moon the Tabaxi Cleric-- arrived in Barovia. When this party tried to thwart Strahd's kidnapping of the young woman Ireena, Blood Wolf Moon was killed. Van Richten introduced Meroon to the remaining party, and they joined forces. Though Meroon was short in stature, she quickly impressed the party with her strength and her tendency to rush into battle as the party tank. They passed on Blood Wolf Moon's Blood Spear to her, since neither of the others could use it.
The new party ventured back to Argynvostholt, which was overrun by revenants. They found the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, but on the way out, were attacked by a revenant Dragonborn, Meroon's former ally Ghidor. Though Ghidor retained sentience, he attacked Rhogar to try to drain his remaining life. Meroon begged him to stop, to which Ghidor countered he needed the stolen time to rescue Willow, who he had carried to the Abbey of Saint Markovia after the battle with Stradh. The Abbot had taken Willow, but never released her, and Ghidor became a revanent hell-bent on rescuing her. Meroon was finally able to convince him to entrust her with his mission, and Ghidor's revenant life, maintained only by the proximity of the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, faded away. Meroon took Ghidor's holy symbol and his greatsword, with a silver dragon head hilt, to remember him by
At the Abbey of Saint Markovia, the party searched but could not find Willow. The Abbot appeared and showed them the 'bride' he had created to appease Strahd- an empty flesh golem with Aunty Willow's vibrant green eyes. Meroon could sense no life from the creature, and knew that Willow was beyond rescue. Though furious with the Abbot, she could sense the vast divine power the Abbot commanded, and was forced to stay her hand so that the party could get the Icon of Ravenloft from him. She swore to come back when Strahd was dead to defeat this perverse 'Holy' man.
Pursing the mystery of Yu'xa's past, the party also risked the trip to the Amber Temple, accompanied by the Dark Elf Kasimir and the party's ally, Nicolai Wachter. They discovered that Yu'xa was stolen away from her people at birth, and that she was supposed to be a vessel for their god to be reborn. Among the dark gifts offered by the entities there, Yu'xa discovered a crypt connected to this god, and touched it. Nothing bad will happen because of this. Kasimir accept the gift that would allow him to resurrect his dead sister, but Meroon rejected the offer, not knowing if her sister survived or not, and not being willing to align herself with an evil god.
Finally, the party ventured to Castle Ravenloft and retrieved the Sun Sword from the crypts. They interrupted Strahd's wedding, and with the power they had amassed through their allies, magical items, and their own experiences, they defeated Strahd. As he escaped in mist form, Meroon pursued and showed her party what to do to destroy him. After the battle concluded, Meroon finally found Ariellyn among the dead brides released from their curse by Strahd's death. Meroon's cleric magic was not powerful enough to revive her, but she was able to preserve her body.
Meroon resolved to collect the remains of her other fallen party members and find a way to resurrect them in a way that wouldn't cost her soul. She returned to Faerun, and entrusted the corpses to a temple where they could be preserved until she grew powerful enough to bring them back to life.
The Tritons originated on the Elemental Plane of Water. Centuries past, they drove their enemies deep into the trenches. Their greatest foes disappeared, but the Tritons investigated and discovered that they had not been defeated, but driven through a rift into the Material Plane. The Tritons were a race that highly valued honor and duty, and they felt responsible for any harm the evils of the deep wrought on the Material Plane. A group of warriors volunteered to pursue their enemies into the Material Plane, and to stay there and guard the depths.
The Tritons formed protectorates and outposts along the deepest trenches and have fought valiantly to keep the sahuagin, krakens, and other aquatic evils at bay ever since. Most surface dwellers are not aware of this centuries-long war, and the Tritons are, for the most part, content to stay beneath the waves and never make their sacrifice known. However, there is a tradition in some of the settlements to allow young Tritons to make a single trip to the surface, to better understand the stakes should their people fail to hold the lines.
The History of Meroon
*Contains Spoilers for the Curse of Strahd campaign*
Meroon was born in the Triton protectorate of Kekovath, deep within the Trackless Sea. She had two older brothers who died in the trenches, and an older sister, Ariellyn, whom she idolized.
Ariellyn was a ranger who was fascinated with the surface world, and who insisted on taking her journey above the sea. There, Ariellyn joined a party of adventurers and began questing. She stayed above the water for a full year, the absolute limit of what was allowed. When she was finally recalled home, she was heartbroken.
Meroon, newly turned 15 years old, wanted to give her sister the chance to return to her friends on the surface. Though she was barely at the age of majority and hadn't yet begun her warrior's training in earnest, she demanded her own trip to the surface, knowing that since she did not have the skills to go on her own, she could be allowed an escort. After much advocating from both sisters, Meroon's parents consented to allow both of them to undergo Meroon's trip to the surface.
Meroon and Ariellyn met up with Ariellyn's party: Ghidor the Golden Dragonborn paladin, Lunardo the Tortle monk, and Aunty Willow, the Gnome druid. Meroon was basically a mascot of the party, and each of the seasoned adventurers began to teach her bits of their skills. She especially liked studying fighting with Ghidor, whom she formed a crush on.
As they traveled outside of the city of Waterdeep, however, a swirling mist formed and the party was shepparded through a thick forest by a pack of direwolves. They passed out of Faerun and into Barovia, summoned as playthings for the Count Strahd von Zarovich. Ariellyn, who had red hair and was considered an especial beauty among her people, caught Strahd's eye as he tormented them. Meroon began studying the ways of a cleric so that she could heal her friends and fight off the vampires that helped Strahd enforce his power.
Desperate to find a way to defeat Strahd and return home, the party followed a lead to Argynvostholt Mansion, searching for a lost artifact that might give them an edge in the fight. Instead, Strahd decided to intervene and destroy the party once and for all. Knowing that they had no chance of defeating him, Lunardo and Ghidor held him off while Willow and Ariellyn cast Feign Death on Meroon so that she could escape the slaughter. The last thing she remembered was her sister placing her treasured Pearl of Power into Meroon's hand.
When Meroon awoke, her party was gone. Trapped in Barovia alone and friendless, she concealed herself in rivers and lakes to survive. She lived as a hermit for years before eventually meeting Rudolph van Richten and Esmerelda d'Avenir. Van Richten to help train and equip Meroon to achieve her goal of revenge against the Devil Stradh. 30 years after she arrived in Barovia, the opportunity finally arose.
A new party of adventurers-- Rhogar the (newly-turned revenant) Dragonborn Wizard, Yu'xa the Yuan'ti Rogue, and Blood Wolf Moon the Tabaxi Cleric-- arrived in Barovia. When this party tried to thwart Strahd's kidnapping of the young woman Ireena, Blood Wolf Moon was killed. Van Richten introduced Meroon to the remaining party, and they joined forces. Though Meroon was short in stature, she quickly impressed the party with her strength and her tendency to rush into battle as the party tank. They passed on Blood Wolf Moon's Blood Spear to her, since neither of the others could use it.
The new party ventured back to Argynvostholt, which was overrun by revenants. They found the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, but on the way out, were attacked by a revenant Dragonborn, Meroon's former ally Ghidor. Though Ghidor retained sentience, he attacked Rhogar to try to drain his remaining life. Meroon begged him to stop, to which Ghidor countered he needed the stolen time to rescue Willow, who he had carried to the Abbey of Saint Markovia after the battle with Stradh. The Abbot had taken Willow, but never released her, and Ghidor became a revanent hell-bent on rescuing her. Meroon was finally able to convince him to entrust her with his mission, and Ghidor's revenant life, maintained only by the proximity of the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, faded away. Meroon took Ghidor's holy symbol and his greatsword, with a silver dragon head hilt, to remember him by
At the Abbey of Saint Markovia, the party searched but could not find Willow. The Abbot appeared and showed them the 'bride' he had created to appease Strahd- an empty flesh golem with Aunty Willow's vibrant green eyes. Meroon could sense no life from the creature, and knew that Willow was beyond rescue. Though furious with the Abbot, she could sense the vast divine power the Abbot commanded, and was forced to stay her hand so that the party could get the Icon of Ravenloft from him. She swore to come back when Strahd was dead to defeat this perverse 'Holy' man.
Pursing the mystery of Yu'xa's past, the party also risked the trip to the Amber Temple, accompanied by the Dark Elf Kasimir and the party's ally, Nicolai Wachter. They discovered that Yu'xa was stolen away from her people at birth, and that she was supposed to be a vessel for their god to be reborn. Among the dark gifts offered by the entities there, Yu'xa discovered a crypt connected to this god, and touched it. Nothing bad will happen because of this. Kasimir accept the gift that would allow him to resurrect his dead sister, but Meroon rejected the offer, not knowing if her sister survived or not, and not being willing to align herself with an evil god.
Finally, the party ventured to Castle Ravenloft and retrieved the Sun Sword from the crypts. They interrupted Strahd's wedding, and with the power they had amassed through their allies, magical items, and their own experiences, they defeated Strahd. As he escaped in mist form, Meroon pursued and showed her party what to do to destroy him. After the battle concluded, Meroon finally found Ariellyn among the dead brides released from their curse by Strahd's death. Meroon's cleric magic was not powerful enough to revive her, but she was able to preserve her body.
Meroon resolved to collect the remains of her other fallen party members and find a way to resurrect them in a way that wouldn't cost her soul. She returned to Faerun, and entrusted the corpses to a temple where they could be preserved until she grew powerful enough to bring them back to life.