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: HP = 70, PP = 60, EP = 70, Status = FineIntervening years had finally brought stability to the band of refugees that Lian had fallen in with upon finally taking one of the portals from her besieged homeworld. The secret emerald moon from which they had come was sometimes just barely visible in the sky on certain clear nights, but it was likely that she would never see it in any other way again. The brutish beings who had descended from the sky were too many, their weaponry and tactics too advanced and well developed for her people's then-peaceful civilization to withstand. Tens of thousands had died in the opening days of the sudden war that had come to their verdant paradise, and tens of thousands more had been taken into slavery, the women used as breeders and the men as manual labor. Hers was now a race of orphans and refugees, and they had been forced with the hardest decision possible; to stay and likely be enslaved, or to flee to the sacred moon that had long shown brightly in the sky of their home as a bright blue jewel, which they had found that the locals called Donevrion. It was known that the magical barrier that had long protected their home from outside attack would likely mean that this exodus would be a permanent one, but the alternative would have left them
Her own tribe was long lost to her, having gone through a portal long before her under a less experienced Lian's guard long before she had. It was with strangers that Lian herself, she being a last resort to reclaim some of their ancient martial traditions that had come far too late, that she had fallen in with when finally she had given up guarding portals and come through one herself. They had arrived in a verdant place, similar to their home but significantly more hostile, forcing Lian to guard her kinfolk against monstrous beasts, mobile plants who were as eager to use them as hosts for their seed as the pig-like aliens had been, and gigantic insects of all shapes and colors. It had provided a source of useful experience, allowing Lian to gain some experience using some of her enhanced abilities and long-untested skills, and in the end it had ensured that she was given her new position as the guardian of the village that her people had joined.
Communication with the locals had been difficult at first, given their lack of like language, but by now that issue had largely been alleviated. The settlement that they had come across had recently suffered from a large raid by local slaver bands, one that had left it in need of a population influx and capable bodies, and even if there were still tensions on some elements, need had brought out a degree of cooperation that had allowed them to establish themselves. The existing population, consisting primarily of humans but also sporting some of the feline su-ku-ta, the violet skinned night elves, some plant women who had established a spa and restaurant, and a naga alchemist who had dwelt on the outskirts of town prior to the raid but moved to the center since.
Lian's guardianship left her with many responsibilities besides simply fighting monsters. The rabbit portion of their population was maturing, and some among their population were saying that it was high time that they prepare for their traditional ritual of deciding mates and ensuring that their population continued to grow. Lian, being both a member of the upper echelons of society and an adult, would thankfully be exempt from having to participate - not that it was likely that an untrained teenage boy could have had a serious chance of claiming her without her consent at this point - but as the main guardian of their village, it WAS her responsibility to find a safe place to hold it. The jungle was a fairly dangerous place, however, and it had essentially been agreed that it would have to take place across the nearby border with Badaria. It would mean a journey of about ten miles, but the meadows, fens, and forests of Badaria were generally significantly safer than the jungle around them. Only the xenophobia of Badaria's population, despite the nearest large settlement in the form of Lockacre being a trading hub, had made remaining in the jungle for their residence more appealing. So long as they kept away from the settlements, they should go undisturbed, but it would be Lian's duty first to demarcate the area in which the contest was to take place, and then to clear it of any dangerous predators and as many of the lustful plants as she could.
Besides preparing for their first Ralspot on Donevrion, Lian had to deal with a few more mundane issues. The naga alchemist, Sadjot, had requested that she stop by at some point and seemingly had a task of some sort for her, but had refused to tell her about it via the messenger that had delivered it. Some of the human half of their village's population had complained of losing increasing amounts of livestock to something that was coming in the night and picking them off without having to break through their fences as well, and she could come up with a plan to try and put an end to that if she'd rather put off organizing Ralspot or dealing with whatever the alchemist wanted her help with.