Semaj

Character Race	Human
Character Level	8
Ranger	6
Cleric	1	of Mielikki
Rogue	1

Character Background Semaj was born to poor tenant farmers in Tethyr, near the lands of Amn. He grew up handling the farm animals, with which he developed a deep bond, one that will come to have a profound impact on his life. A curious child, Semaj was always attracted to the forest that lay just outside the farm. Often he would find himself following the paths made by the animals he loved so much, drawn deeper and deeper into the woods. There he once saw large footprints that somehow appeared grotesquely human. Though he didn’t know that, Semaj had for the first time seen the footprints of a Giant. When Semaj was 4, his mother, Talindra, passed away. His father, Gorstag, obviously in tremendous pain over her death, forever refused to discuss her afterwards. When he was 8, their drunken landlord burned their farm to the ground. Semaj escaped, and when the fire died, came back to find his father’s remains amongst the ashes. Now an orphan, Semaj became a recluse, running into his beloved forest, vowing to never come out again. After a couple of months, Semaj met and was befriended by an elven girl by the name of Amra. Her mother, Quamara the druid, took him into their home, a grove in the woods. There he studied nature, learned to love and respect plants as he did animals, and became versed in the ways of Mielikki. Semaj was a good student, and the goddess favored him. The druid grove was unnaturally large. From bits and pieces he heard over the weeks and months he spent in the grove, Semaj pieced together their story and how they came to be in the woods. Amra’s uncle had apparently killed Dorn, a Giant prince, during the great elven/giant battles. The druidic clan was then chased out of Highforest, and the giants vowed vengeance. It was on the morning of Greengrass of his tenth year that Semaj’s newfound happiness abruptly ended. As he came to a clearing in the forest, he saw a giant figure howling at the trees. As his eyes adjusted to the scene, horror took over him; Quamara’s body was laying at the giant’s feet. Unbeknownst to Semaj, the giant was Moarg, younger brother to Dorn, who had come to exact his revenge for his brother’s death. Pity, then anger filled Semaj’s heart. In a rage, he took his belt and shirt, fashioned from them a crude sling, and started swinging. His scream filled the air, the high note of a frightened, frustrated child, answering the howl of the giant. Moarg looked at the 10 year old, first with surprise, then with amusement, as Semaj let the stone loose. Semaj’s face was a terrible mask of swirling emotions. His heart was filled with prayer to the only source of comfort he has ever known. And for a single, magical moment, Mielikki heard his silent, desperate cry. As moarg watched, his eyes suddenly grew large, and he raised his hands to protect his face. The stone became a point of light as it unerringly found its way between Moarg’s hands, to pierce the side of his head. And as the animals of the forest watched, the giant fell, a final look of fear and astonishment etched in his face. Thus Semaj became fiercely loyal to the forces of nature, and to the goddess of the forest. And hatred of giants was forever marked upon his heart.