Born to a group of Vistani travelers in Syrek-Kas, Ezmerelda spent her childhood traveling the Deepmists of thePlane of Shadow. Her earliest memory, however, was one of shame; her extended family had sold the son of Doctor Rudolph van Richten to the Vampire Baron Metus Syrek, and the cleric had come to her parents demanding answers. In exchange for giving him information on Erasmus van Richten's whereabouts, Rudolph left Ezmerelda's parents alive, an act that stuck with her as she grew up in the ashen lands of Syrek-Kas.
She displayed talent as a rare Vistani seer, able to divine prophecy from a Tarokka Deck, but Ez was resentful of her clan's bargain with the dark lords in the mists. At the age of fifteen, Ezmerelda ran away from her home plane, which was now little more than a desolate wasteland. Still troubled by what her family had done to van Richten, she she sought to find him in the Prime Material, renouncing herself from her family and becoming a "remanio".
After many harrowing adventures, she located him in the Common League town of Avenir; thinking she was a Vistana assassin, he put a sword to her throat and threatened to spill her blood. Ezmerelda convinced him that she genuinely wanted to help him find his missing son, whereupon van Richten told her the saddest of tales. He had already found his son, who had been transformed into a Vampire Spawn by Baron Metus. When Erasmus pleaded to his father for salvation, van Richten granted his request by destroying his son, then the vampire who had taken him.
By then a somewhat anti-social and old adventurer, Rudolph nonetheless took Ez in as a protege. He gave her access to his dead wife Ingrid van Richten's old Spellbook and taught her to fight with a rapier as they traveled together on-and-off. Ezmerelda was an apt Wizard student, with a natural gift for Spellcraft, and her easygoing nature led to her developing many connections with the townsfolk in Avenir.
Despite this, she and van Richten fought constantly as his gruff demeanor and pragmatism chafed against Ez's natural optimism and self-sacrificing nature. His secret fear of his Vistani curse caused him to be far harsher with her than he had Erasmus, and as Ez grew to become a fine monster slayer herself, she found she could no longer work with him. They had a long, irreconcilable argument on the responsibility of heroes. van Richten could not be swayed, as he knew far more loss than Ezmerelda had; eventually, the Vistana left in a huff, leaving the hard-headed old man alone. Though she left in resentment, she still considered this period to be the best time of her life, and took the surname "D'Avenir" out of love for her town.
For two further years, Ez made a name for herself as a powerful solo Adventurer, developing skills as a Fighter. She acquired a magical Vardo, numerous Enhanced weapons and armor, and a sizable personal fortune; however, the life of a young adventurer was not an easy one. Ezmerelda ended up losing her leg while defending a Gnome commune in Phalor-Phaeun, fighting off a Worg of unusual size as well as a band of Goblins. The gnomes had their Artificers create a Prosthetic Limb for her, but the experience was harrowing and painful.
After two years of adventuring, Ez went back to van Richten's home beside Wyrmhorn Gulf. However, after arriving in Avenir, only to find the house closed and an apology note left for her. Rudolph had left for the Sea of Clouds, searching for the dread domain of Barovia in an apparent suicide mission. With no hesitation, she followed his trail in her wagon, praying the old man was still alive; as a Vistana, she was among the few who could enter Barovia as they pleased.
Though she found little sign of Rudolph once past the mists, she learned more of the plane when she traveled to the Vistani Camp, but found that she was not very welcome as a "remanio." However, she learned of Count Strahd von Zarovich, and his rule causing division amongst the camp. Knowing she was not powerful enough to defeat Strahd head-on, she sought more secrets, but was turned away at Vallaki due to her being Vistani.
Following a self-styled tarokka reading, she headed to the Abbey of Saint Markovia to learn more about Barovia from The Abbot. Ezmerelda made her way through the fortification of Krezk and the Abbey's Mongrelfolk guards by using invisibility magic, and confronted The Abbot in his chapel. She found him to be welcoming and friendly, but obviously insane; she learned details of Strahd and the Barovian Calender Timeline, as well as his musings on Saint Alizandra Markovia. Disheartened, she planned to leave the next day.
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