Aleth

Aleth of Colton
Class	Gunslinger
Tier	Trainee
Ancestry	Elf
Heritage	Woodland
Pronouns	She/Her
Height	6ft 3inches
Relatives	Unknown
Status	Alive
Player	Namaphry

Background: Before the Collapse, when Onadbyr was still a centre of industry, the port city consumed vast amounts of coal. Aleth's family was one of many in the nearby mountains whose livelihood came from feeding the city's endless demand for this resource. Being woodland elves, their contribution came from managing a rugged tract of boreal forest on the far side of a mountain lake from the local mining town to supplement the bituminous coal from the mines with sustainable charcoal, refined for the production of gunpowder. A restless youth, Aleth was less interested in taking over the family business than in hauling what they produced on their land to the succinctly-named Colton market. There, she learned how others made their fortunes, marvelled at wares from around the world, and dreamed of someday accumulating enough capital to strike out on her own. In the meantime, when not lugging charcoal bricks and other resources through rugged wilderness, she trained with the Colton militia.

The Collapse somehow seemed to forget about Colton. The only curse to strike the town, its mines, or its forests - if one could call it that - was the loss of a market in Onadabyr. This was curse enough; without trade, the town's existence was hard to justify, and many of the most wealthy and powerful residents simply left. Those remaining had no trouble staying warm, and even managed to set up their own ironworks, but with no grain arriving, local fish stocks couldn't sustain the population, and nearly all of their food had to come from hunting expeditions - and underground farms, which the dwarves were unwilling to share. Theft and raiding became commonplace. Enraged by thieves and trespassers on her family's lands, young Aleth invested much into the pursuit of such criminals and even organized counter-raids.

The final blow came when the town somehow enraged the mountain spirits; fey creatures vulnerable to no weapons but for those made from cold-forged iron or sovereign steel. As a town with virtually unlimited fuel, relying almost exclusively on scrounged and recycled metals and mine tailings rather than new deposits, Colton was unable to effectively counter such threats. They came under siege, where spellcasters were targeted, first, before the militia were overwhelmed in a sudden assault. Aleth awoke from a magical sleep to find her hometown looted and in ruins, every entrance to the mines collapsed, and the other survivors there unwilling to trust her, perhaps believing her ineffectiveness during the battle and continued survival were the result of cowardice or collaboration with the enemy. She succeeded in clearing squatters out of her family's home, but from the ruins she could only gather the rest of her family had either fled or been taken as prisoners into the First World.

Aleth soon became bored and frustrated attempting to rebuild her life all but alone on the outskirts of a ruined town where she wasn't appreciated, and began searching for alternatives. After following the traffic in and out of Onadbyr and eavesdropping on travellers for a few weeks, she walked into town, presenting herself as a skilled woodland explorer. She soon found herself engaged in exploring anything but forests as an Associate of the Round Table.