Ryn Elaris was born in the heart of the Misty Swamps, a place of perpetual mist and damp earth, where the air itself clung to the skin with a weight that carried secrets. The swamps were vast and treacherous, their murky waters hiding more than just creatures of the deep. The thick fog, heavy with the scent of decay and damp moss, had a way of swallowing all who wandered without purpose.
To outsiders, it was a place of nightmares, but to Ryn, it was home.
 
Ryn's parents, mere humans, were survivalists who had eked out a living in the swamp’s harsh environment. They taught Ryn the ways of the wild from a young age—how to tread silently through waterlogged ground, how to find food in a place that seemed barren, and most importantly, how to remain unseen. But as Ryn grew, it became clear she was not like her parents. An otherworldly light flickered in her eyes, especially in moments of high emotion, and her presence had a calming, almost divine quality.
 
Her parents were no fools; they knew their child was touched by a celestial power, but in a land so close to the shadow, such blessings often felt like curses. Their families namesake had predicted that such a child would one day be born. Elaries after all meant god’s ultimate gift. Which god had decided to touch their family was unknown to the young Aasimar.
 
Life in the swamp was unforgiving, and survival often meant dealing with less-than-reputable characters. Ryn's father was a skilled hunter, often trading with rogue merchants and smugglers who used the twisting waterways to avoid the main roads. It was from these shadowy figures that Ryn learned the art of sleight of hand, subtle movements, and quick thinking. Ryn’s mother, a herbalist, sold concoctions to wandering travelers or anyone desperate enough to trust the dubious cures of the swamp. She taught Ryn the value of patience, how to observe and listen, lessons that would serve her well in the years to come.
Despite the celestial blood flowing through her veins, Ryn always felt a pull towards the darker edges of life. There was something intoxicating about living on the fringe, where the law held little sway and survival meant bending the rules. Shadowmire had no need for noble heroes, but it had plenty of room for rogues who could move like shadows through the mist. Ryn's early life was a mix of scavenging, trading with cutthroats, and slipping past the dangers that lurked both in the swamp and beyond.
 
Ryn's powers as an Aasimar manifested subtly at first—a flicker of divine light in their veins or a protective instinct during moments of peril. But the more Ryn embraced their rogue skills, the more these moments increased. She sought to understand the balance between what she thought a celestial calling looked like and her knack for deception. Were the answers to her internal conflict only one revelation away? With this question in mind, she left all she knew behind. In the middle of the night, she sprung awake. A yearning for something more that she had never experienced awakened in her. She knew she had to go. With no time for explanations, she left her family home hidden in the depths of the swamp. Her parents awoke to only a note stating that she would return one day. Many years have passed since that day. While Ryn has not forgotten the lessons of their parents, she has chosen a life that walks the line between light and darkness, hoping to one day answer her calling.