#starflower

She usually shows herself as a beautiful woman, but her back is like a hollow old tree-trunk. Or she has a tail, usually a cow or fox tail. (I like both so I gave her both in my drawing.)

The most common tales about her is about how she'll approach men to seduce them. She'll charm them, laughing and dancing around their campfire, beckoning them to follow - but always careful not to show her tail or hollow back. It's very dangerous to fall for the temptation, because if she likes him enough she might decide to keep him. She will put him under her spell so that he will always be compelled to go to her whenever she calls. Many, consumed by longing for her, end up vanishing into the forest forever.

But she is not only a seductress. Many stories tell of her guiding lost people, especially women and children, out of the woods or helping them in some way. Like helping shepherds by guiding and protecting their sheep and cattle and bringing back lost animals.

If you help her in some way and show due respect toward her and her forest (or, you know, sleep with her) she might reward you.

She can enchant your bow/rifle so that it never misses its mark. Or bring wild animals before you during hunts. Maybe give your axe the strength to fell entire trees with a single strike, or make it so your campfire will always burn no matter how damp the wood or how bad the rain and storm.

If you anger her she'll do the opposite: curse your rifle so it always misses, hide all wild game from your sight, or confuse your mind so you can never find your way home.

To protect oneself, most important is of course to never give her your real name. If you suspect you've drawn her ire you can also put your clothes on inside-out, as a form of counterspell. Like many others of her kind she is sensitive to iron, so iron pieces in your clothes or on your body keeps her at arms length. In fact, one frequent favour she might ask is help to cross railroads, since she can't walk over the iron rails without human help.

Can't think of a better choice for my wood elf ranger 🌲💚

⏱ ØŦĦɆɌ

Family:

She grew up with her parents and sister - all of whom she's still close with, especially her sister Rhenna. Growing up in a small rural village also means having a tight-knit community where everyone knows everyone and always looks out for one another - for better and for worse. While of course closest to her immediate relatives, Rani is familiar with almost everyone in the village and considers many of them family in one way or other.

There are also the wolf, Crow's Eye, and his family. He's not a true ranger's companion as he doesn't follow Rani on her journeys - she is very protective of them all and prefers them to stay in their territory - but he considers her Pack and she tries to go see them whenever she is home.

Birthplace:

Wyckhollow, a small wood elf settlement and druid circle in south-western High Forest. Rani's sister, mother, and grandmother are all druids. When she was around 10 the family moved to the larger village of Mullholm right on the outskirts of the Forest. It is a hybrid village with the northern part firmly inside the forest and consisting mostly of wood elves and wood elf buildings - while the southern part is outside the forest and has a population of mostly humans and dwarves.

Both places are dear to her, especially Wyckhollow. No matter how far away her journeys take her, she makes sure to return regularly to check in with both the people, the wolves, and the Forest itself.

Job:

For most of her life, she's lived off the land. Hunting, fishing, farming, trading with other villages etc.

It was sort of expected she'd follow in her mother and grandmother's footsteps and become a druid as well, but unfortunately, she's not much of a magician... Instead, her love for roaming the forest and natural ability to speak with animals (the one magical thing about her) led her to pursue the path of the ranger.

It wasn't until she left High Forest she got actual employment in the true sense of the word. For the past half-century she's been doing a lot of odd jobs and adventures. Usually as some kind of wilderness guide, hunter, or tracker, but not always. She stayed in Secomber for a few years working in a tavern (not fun) and even had a stint with a circus doing trick archery and trick riding (very fun!)

Phobias/Fears:

Quite claustrophobic.

Puts a lot of self-worth in being The One Who Fixes Things which leads to a lot of struggles with fear of not being enough. Like what if she can't fix this? If she can't save everyone? What good is a ranger if they get lost in the woods?

Hobbies:

Everything to with animals and their care and training. Dancing, and anything that lets her move her body. Reading, especially trashy romance novels (she used to sort of hide it from Gale in fear he'd mock her - and he absolutely did - but truth is he likes them too. It's a mutual guilty pleasure.)

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⏱ MØɌȺŁS

Alignment:

Neutral good, mostly

Flaws:

Prideful. Stubborn as a dwarf, and holds grudges like one... Can be overly reckless. Quite the saviour complex going on.

Virtues:

Incredibly brave. Loyal. Curious. Caring and protective by nature. Good in a crisis (she saves the falling apart for after)

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⏱ ŦĦƗS ØɌ ŦĦȺŦ