Session Zero - Mia

• Are there any topics that you would like for us to avoid during the campaign? Is there anything that you are okay with but would prefer not to roleplay yourself? 
• Are there any topics or storylines that you really want to happen during the campaign? Anything from Kyr's backstory that you would be disappointed if it didn't get resolved? 
• Do you have any questions about the world or the campaign before we start?

You are 9 years old. The sun shines bright above you and the air is warm on this autumn day in Agorá. A slight breeze blows through your hair as you sit in the garden with your cousins in the backyard of your Nana and Pop-Pop's house, playing a silly made-up game that Tyr invented. As usual, Kari is trying to play but - being three - doesn't understand any of the rules. You're just getting to the point of annoyance when Nana pops her head through the window from the kitchen and calls, "Dinarei, could you come here for a moment dear?" 

The sounds of your cousins screeching disappears as you follow your Nana deeper into the house. Their home isn't very big, but it suits the two of them quite well and the yard more than makes up for it. Sometimes you wonder if Nana even goes inside, based on how much time she spends in her garden. But today, she leads you up the rickety set of stairs to the second floor. "Step back a bit sweetheart," she says as she reaches for the rope dangling from the ceiling and, with a grunt, pulls down the stairs to the attic. You've never been in the attic before. 

"Okay, now be careful climbing up these steps, you hear? Whoever built this house did not care about safety code." She lets you go up first, following close behind to make sure you don't fall. The attic itself is tiny, just a small dusty room with plank floors and old boxes. Nana sneezes behind you and shakes her head. "Titans, we need to clean up here, don't we?" Then she goes and begins to rummage through one of the boxes pushed up against the wall. She slips something into her hand and goes to sit cross-legged on the floor, then pats the ground beside her for you to join.

"I know that things have been hard for you lately. I won't say that I understand what you're going through, because I don't know enough to say that, but I do know what it's like to question who you are. Figuring yourself out can be difficult. Especially when it seems to come so easily to the people around us." She has a knowing look in her eye. "No matter what you end up doing or who you end up being, I want you to know that I'm going to be here for you and that I love you very much." 

"I wanted to give you something that you can look at on the bad days. I used to have some bad days myself, you know, and sometimes what helps is remembering the people who you have in your corner. Remembering the good times you shared together. I know it might sound like some corny old-lady advice, but I promise it really works." She draws a little satchel from behind her back - the thing that she grabbed from the box. Inside are three shiny glass marbles that she tips into her palm. "I found these while I was working for the guilds." She tips two of the marbles back into the bag and closes her fist around the third, her eye shut. It is quiet for a moment, and then -- 

"Nana?" A younger version of yourself materializes in front of you. At first glance, it looks so real. Then, similarly, a duplicate of your Nana appears, bent over with a shovel in her hand, clearly working on her garden. "Which one is that?" Your younger self asks. Nana smiles and plucks a pretty pink flower seemingly from nowhere. She stands and tucks the flower behind your ear. "This is called a coneflower. I plant a lot of it because it's resilient. Just like you." She boops your younger self on the nose and you smile. Then the image fades away. 

Nana opens her eyes and smiles down at you, then tucks the marble into your hand. "These marbles hold memories. That one is for you to keep, to look back on if you're feeling sad or if you miss me too much," she winks. "The other two are empty. You can use them to hold your own memories as you get older." 

By the time you finish up in the attic, your parents have arrived to pick you up and are chatting with Pop-Pop downstairs. Getting Tyr away from the cousins will take some time, so you sit on the couch in the living room and inspect your new item. Except... when you tip the bag open again you see that there are four marbles inside -- not three. 

You check to make sure no one else is in the room before reaching for the new mystery marble and squeezing it in your hand. A different scene unfolds, one that is very unfamiliar to you. It is distorted and strange, like the person who stored the memory wasn't sure of the details. An elven man stands before you. His features are blurred but you can make out that he has shoulder-length blond hair. One thing stands out in this memory, sharper than the rest of the man's form. His arm - his fist clenched, his veins stained a tarry black. 

The memory fades quickly, just a snapshot. You have no idea what that was or how it got into this bag that Nana gave you. Clearly she didn't mean for it to be there. But you hang onto it anyway, curious but certain that if you ask about it the mysterious memory will get taken away...

The scene changes. You're 14 years old and the sound of your bedroom door slamming behind you echoes throughout the house. You just had a terrible fight with your dad, but what's new? You know that finishing supper is not going to be an option now despite your stomach rumbling; the hit to your pride would be too great to go back downstairs now. Your plan is to stew in your bedroom for the rest of the night, but a knock at your door interrupts your thoughts. 

Your mom comes in without waiting for a response. She's holding your half-eaten dinner. 

• Mom tries to ask Kyr whats been going on. 
• She's too defensive of dad. 
• She says that wrong things and gets frustrated when Kyr isn't more willing to open up. 

You're 20 now, nearing the end of your second year at FLAME. The smells of antiseptic is almost overwhelming as you and Urzmaktok Grojsh clean the lab. You just spent the last hour prepping the specimens for tomorrows lab sessions and are in the middle of cleaning up the mess that made. Today, you are enjoying the quiet; Urzmaktok has decided to give you the silent treatment and you're loving it. 

The door to the lab cracks open and you see a flash of green hair as Beth Vandrin peaks her head inside. "Oh! Sorry, I wasn't sure if you would be done or not." You see the look on her face and know immediately that something happened between her and Dresden. You can always tell by her eyes. "Should I come back...?" 

• If Kyr leaves the lab early, Urzmaktok will have some unkind words to say, breaking his silent treatment. 
• Beth had an argument with Dresden. He started talking about their future wedding and she couldn't handle it. She asked him if they could just focus on school and worry about marriage when they graduate but that made him think that she wasn't taking their future seriously. 
• Beth confides that she doesn't know if she wants to marry him. That she knows that she's expected to, but her heart isn't in it. 
• She says, "I wish I was brave enough to leave him. I'm not scared of marriage... I just want it to be with someone I really want." Her gaze lingers on Kyr for a little too long. 

You're 21 now. It's mid-Ilvius and you're in a bar in Kamari, the music loud and the dance floor sticky. This particular spot, The Elven Kiss, is a regular of yours both because their drinks are cheap and because they are known to look away when IDs don't match up exactly to a minor's face. Tonight, you aren't just here to have a good time. You're meeting with Elodie Kidemonas to deliver her first dose of lacewing. You spot her standing awkwardly by the bar, nursing a glass of wine that she clearly has not touched. When she sees you, her eyes light up. 

After slipping Elodie the lacewing, you turn to order a drink for yourself -- but before you can, a hand grabs your arm. You turn to see your professor Hugo Swiftfoot standing behind you with his eyebrows drawn down in a frown. "Hey Kyr... we're gonna need to talk." 

He leads you outside to the dark streets of Kamari. A couple of streetlights illuminate the road, flickering with magelight. Hugo nods his head towards an alleyway between two buildings and looks both ways, making sure you're alone, before he starts to speak. "Look man. I know that your young and drugs make a lot of extra cash but did I seriously just see you sell something to a minor? I know that kid. She doesn't even go to FLAME yet. Are you trying to get arrested?" 

• Hugo is worried that Kyr is up to no good and, although he understands that sometimes young people make bad ideas, he doesn't want to see Kyr's life get washed away. 
• When he realizes what Kyr is actually up to, he gets impressed but is still concerned that Kyr is going to get caught by someone less forgiving. 
• He offers to let Kyr make this project a special topics course, which would legitimize it -- but insists that he still needs to be careful about handing it out at school. 
• He thinks Kyr has a real shot at making the Xerniko guild and tells him that he could really make this mainstream and help a lot of people. 
• He brings up the QUEST program and offers to nominate Kyr. Tells him its kind of last minute but he could swing it, especially since the headmaster is new.

Acceptance into QUEST program