Character - Rika Theilan, Raptor Druid

A couple of months ago I played in a fabulous oneshot run by @KerriSmith2012 over on twitter, and it was amazing fun! Before the game I had written some material for my character Rika, a raptor druid who could shapeshift into a humanoid. The game was fantastic, the characters were super interesting, and it's both a lot of fun and a really interesting story with some surprising twists!

Below you can find the short story written for Rika's backstory - it does have big spoilers for the first episode of The Orb of Arwick (linked here for your convenience), so be forewarned!

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Rika Theilan

A rustling from the brush… no, nothing now. It must’ve been naught but a squirrel. As you turn back to your task, you catch out of the side of your eye some feathered bipedual creature clad in leathers and saddlebags creeping past you, sneaking quietly to the next patch of thick forest.

Moments later, a beautiful elven woman strides out of the brush and asks you what the news is. The particularly sharp of gaze may note that the shifting colors of her hair are oddly similar to the feathering pattern that the raptor had sported, or that her eyes have an odd sharpness to them, but surely they are simply tricks of the light.

It’s only as she steps softly away, some leather saddlebags over her shoulder, that you realize that those are indeed the same bags…

Rika was raised in a small clan of intelligent raptors as the only surviving hatchling of a clutch laid during a very bad year. A run of abysmal luck saw her family facing down - and usually losing against - a montage of perils that reduced their numbers over the proceeding years. Leawing was lost when he ended up between a mother grizzly and her young; Palien got caught in a landslide; Tileele succumbed to an infected wound sustained during a hunt; Helan was killed by a human hunter; Neikna got separated during an enormous storm and was never seen again. One by one they were picked off by tragedy, until finally it was just Rika left. She wandered through the forest for some time, occasionally coming close to the city of Falmount to watch the people coming and going from the safety of the trees. Raptors are social creatures and she felt unbearably lonely, but every time she had tried to approach a humanoid they reacted with fear and hatred. Several times she was injured during these attempts, and eventually she all but gave up.

During these long, lonely years however, she met an old, wise tree. They would not tell her who they had originally been, long ago, nor what their name had been, but she pieced together that they had been a humanoid who rejected the civilized world and ended their days by becoming a tree in the forest they had loved so dearly. It was from them she learned the secrets of nurturing blossoms and sprouts, of speaking with trees and creatures great and small, and of shapeshifting. They taught her these secrets as well as the importance of respecting her world and caring for nature, as well as respecting the cycle of life.

With these new powers of shapeshifting, she practiced first with creatures of the forest, flying with the hawks and scampering with the small red foxes. When her need for companionship drove her back to Falmount, she tried to turn into one of the people she saw walking in without challenge… and it worked. Noting that most were wearing clothing of some kind, she snuck some off a clothesline outside of town and slipped into the crowds trodding the main road. Her first moments within the city walls were… incredible. And overwhelming. Noises jumped at her from every angle, clanging of pots and tromping of hooves and crying of children and screaming of street vendors above the sound of a crush of people’s feet upon the ground, paired with the smells of a hundred souls pressed together in a small space.

Fleeing into a quiet building to recoup herself and shake off the terror of the crowds outside, she found herself inside a peaceful place with a pleasant, comforting sort of scent she would later come to know as the smell of crinkled parchment, sewn binding, and mixed inks. This was a bookseller’s shop, and the proprietor in question was a small, quiet lady known as Melinda. Recognizing the fear in Rika’s eyes, she brought the terrified young woman a blanket and a book. Rika had never seen a book, and by degrees her fear was replaced with eager curiosity, which was met with mildly surprised but warm enthusiasm by Melinda. Over the next few months, Rika was tutored in reading and writing in several languages, devouring the contents of the many dusty tomes and materials in the shop. It was a tricky matter at times because of her shapeshifting spell only lasting for a certain amount of time at once, and she often suddenly realized that it was about to expire and left in a huge rush. 

During this time, she saw several people moving through the shop as well, including one frequent visitor - a human often sent looking for various reference tomes and maps to borrow from Melinda ‘for a friend’. He would often stop and talk with her for a few minutes, minutes that sometimes stretched into hours. It seemed that he was an artifact hunter among other things and had explored much of the surrounding wilderness, so they recognized many of the same landmarks. It was clear that Rika knew the area much more thoroughly than he did, so he eventually asked if she would like to assist on a hunt sometime. She was overjoyed, and agreed despite knowing that her time was limited.

His friend Zollar had been supposed to meet them, but the tiefling sent along his apologies, so it was just Rimel and Rika diving into the ruined complex. Several hours later, after going through many challenges, they fought off a monstrous creature lurking nearby. They managed to slay the beast, but Rika fainted with blood loss from her injuries in the process.

She awoke in her natural form… feathered, clawed, with sharp teeth and an unnerving gaze. Expecting to be abandoned or captured for display, she was surprised to find Rimel sitting next to her, dozing off from exhaustion. He had bandaged her injuries and waited with her despite her sudden inexplicable transformation, despite her becoming a monster, and this realization was incredible.

Following this they were near inseparable, tracking down artifacts and doing odd jobs for the city locals with the occasionally dubious assistance of Zollar. When they realized their feelings for each other some time later, it seemed fitting for Rimel and Rika to hold their handfasting at that same ruin, taking the name of Theilan together after a character from one of Rika’s favorite legends. It was of course held under the watchful eye of Melinda, who had suspected something all along and was unsurprised when Rika eventually hesitatingly confessed her true nature. Over time she was able to walk out close to other people in her true form, as with one of the humanoids by her side her approach was far less intimidating. They even acquired saddlebags and specialized gear for her, so it was obvious at a glance that this was no wild beast and people could rest at ease. With these measures, it became possible to go out on her own in the city in her feather form, a gift in its own right. For certain it was an odd life, but nonetheless a happy one. All was bliss.

Tragedy strikes quickly sometimes, and Rimel learned that his sister had been afflicted with a horrible disease that had no known cure. They searched desperately among their books, and went to every healer and doctor they could find, but alas all they were told was that by the time a cure was developed it would probably be too late. It was Zollar who suggested a new artifact he had seen references to in a journal of an ancient wizard known as Arwick - something called the Orb, which was supposed to stop time. Research was immediately dived into, and they located where it may yet lie. Rika was nervous around such powerful magic, and went to consult with her mentor the wise tree spirit - but could not find them despite her most desperate searching. Upon returning to Falmount, she discovered that Rimel had already went to the tunnels… and had not come back out.

She wanted to go search for him immediately, but Zollar made her hear reason. If something dangerous lurked down there and had done something to her husband, there was no point in going alone. They would probably be killed themselves, and his sacrifice - if indeed he had made it - would have been for nothing. Knowing that Rimel would have wanted them to focus on getting the orb for his sister, Rika reluctantly agreed. Others must be called to assist in their quest. The details of who, and how many, and to what end, they debated for hours and hours. However the agreement was reached that Zollar would advertise for artifact hunters to assist in recovering the orb and possibly another person, and that Rika would meet them at the docks as if she was one of them and did not know Zollar. Rika was not overly fond of the ruse, but Zollar argued that people may get suspicious of them scheming if they knew that the two were working together.

And so, the hunt for the Orb of Arwick began…

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 Physical Description
In her natural form, Rika is a deinonychus standing approximately five feet tall. She is covered in bark brown and mild black feathering, with some soft greens and dawny tan in places. Her preferred humanoid form tends to be elven, although she will also become tiefling, human, or another as the mood strikes.