Wholesome Geoff, Too Good For This World, Too Pure


3
3 points

Well hello there. My name is Geoff, Geoff Candleglow. That is not the name I was born with, but it's the name I have chosen. I was born in the land of Barovia so very long ago, a dusk elf with dark hair, dark eyes and ashen skin. Not very striking in appearance, but pleasant. My people had a rough time though, when I was still younger. For you see, we made a terrible mistake… we condemned a young woman of our people for her interests in a certain figure… Patrina, her name was. She pursued the creature Strahd von Zarovich and my people, we didn't understand, we struck her down.

Strahd's vengeance was terrible as Rahadin, a dusk elf that long ago had forsaken us to serve Strahd. came down from the castle, the instrument of his vengeance. He killed all the females, every one of them. And us males? He cut off our ears, marking us as less than elves. And he left us all to stagnate and rot. With no female dusk elves left, our race bloodline was doomed to die out eventually.

Well, I decided to leave. I had always nothing more than to raise a family, and my chances of that were suddenly a lot different. Sure some of the other men were attractive, but my preference is with females. I paid my life's savings to a Vistani, who smuggled me out of Barovia and away from the mists for the first time in my life.

I found a nice farming community. With my ears cut off, people assumed I was just a very pretty and foreign human, as I had grown my hair to cover the remains of my ears. I tried to contribute to the daily lives of the community as much as I could, taking the name Geoff Candleglow for my old life was dead and I could never go back to it. Geoff because it counted nice and Candleglow because it sounded hopeful, like a little candle in the dark, giving hope to those around it. It was pleasant enough a life, but the thrill of romance seemed faraway, as women did not seem interested in pursuing a committed relationship with me.

Then I met her, the most gorgeous elf I had ever seen in my life. Her skin was as dark as volcanic glass, her lilac eyes putting flowers to shame. Her hair was long and elegant. She wore dark clothes and it seemed she had a takent for being unnoticed should she choose. But I couldnt take my eyes off her. She and a group of others slapped handcuffs on everyone in town and took us back to their home.

The lady Elphara was so wonderful, but so cold. She demanded tasks of all of us. I wished to prove myself to this absolute goddess of a woman and so I excelled at all the domestic chores she asked. Cleaning, cooking, wiping out excrement, I endeavored to take her breath away by my prowess. She carried a whip to stand watch as I did this, but she never needed it. In fact, she often forgot to put the manacles on my wrists, so happy was I to be at her service.

Over time, I found ways to make her laugh, entertain her and even make her smile a secret smile just for me. We spent time together, though everyone around us perhaps saw it as a laborer and foreman kind of time, I knew it to be flirtatious and that she liked me back. She even kissed me once, then slapped me. My heart could have exploded from the happiness that gave me.

Then the demons came, a group of adventurers trampling through the Underdark and they had summoned literally every Demon to battle it out in the Underdark. I helped my lady get to safety and she cried as we left everything she'd ever known behind. I held her as she sobbed. She was embarrassed to show someone that weakness but I thought she had never been so lovely. 

Once we had fled to safety and I made sure she was ok, I told her of my feelings, not wanting to pressure her before at such a bad moment. She told me that she had fallen for me as well and I proposed, then realizing I had no ring to do so with. She took links from the chains I had once wore and took them to the blacksmith, who fashioned them into two modest rings.

We married in happiness and traveled to find work. My vocation of choice was in the making of wagons, a trade I had learned extensively when living in Barovia, since my people lived among the Vistani and thus were mobile. My wife had a knack for lockpicking and for being undetected, so she would come home with money of her own and I would always greet her happily with a meal for her. 

We had three children the twins Tarai and Xinar, and our youngest, Lira. My wife named them all and I decided they would choose their own genders. Tarai was the gentlest, often befriending animals and bringing them home. She amazingly learned how to assume animal forms herself and thus her favorite pastime became frolicking as various animals. Xinar had similar interests in the forests, but preferred the pastime of hunting, which he was very proud of showing his prowess in. He kept us welll fed, indeed.

Lira… Lira was sometimes a handful. She looked the most like her mother but had a vicious temper. She had a tendency to break things and fall into a terrible temper, usually leading to a time out. But i could usually calm her down with sweets, as much as my wife disliked that method.

We traveled from place to place, finally settling in the city of Waterdeep. I had a small business for a bit, my wife even found other drow and her loneliness subsided, feeling more valid and appreciated for her culture. My children surprised me with a gift, my favorite gift I had ever received, an apron. It was simple in design, wasn't ornate in its decoration, but it made me feel truly loved and that I belonged. I swore to put on that apron every time I cooked for my family.

However, my wife's new friends were involved in… darker dealings. And local gangs destroyed our little business, courtesy of our association. I held my family close as i made sure no one was hurt. My apron was lost but my family, who was most precious to me, was alive and fine, if a little upset. We were determined, we had been through worse and we would persevere. With all our skills, we would not go hungry.

 


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