Arafel Ahennan, only child, daughter of Ethran and Morwen Ahennan. She was raised on a remote country estate off the Southern Road between Stonegate and Riverdale. Her parents, distant cousins to old nobility, raised her to be a lady and blessed her with a thorough education.

She was tutored in social etiquette as well as history, the sciences, and the arts. She also received some training from a local knight, a fact she and her mother kept from her father. Her father was not so liberal-minded as her mother, and would have had strong objections to such ‘unladylike’ training.

Arafel’s father Ethran was an enchanter by trade, and had a comfortable business enchanting artifacts and weapons. His wife Morwen was an avid researcher and spent much time studying their ever-growing library of books and scrolls to identify artifacts and ancient weapons. Much of their income funded Arafel’s education, for they wanted to ease the struggle of life for their daughter. Their plan was to marry her to the son of a wealthy lord, so that she would be able to live comfortably for the rest of her life. They thought that with the combination of Arafel’s education and her beautiful features, there would be no lack of suitors to choose from.

Arafel on the other hand had no desire to spend the rest of her life as an idle lady-wife, the trophy of some lordling. By the time she reached her twentieth year, she regularly took off on expeditions and adventures in an attempt to ease the tedium of country life. She also wanted relief from the constant worrying and over-protectiveness of her loving but too-involved parents. As with all such things, her adventures escalated from harmless poking about in old ruins to more thrilling (and more dangerous) games of spying on brigands and other such criminals. Since nobody’s luck lasts forever, she inevitably slipped up and was caught by a lecherous brigand. Unfortunately for him, he only saw a slender young lady with silky black hair and enchanting violet eyes and a supple build. In order to escape the situation she pretended to be a silly young lass, causing him to lower his guard. Seizing her moment, she managed to get his sword from him. Seeing how well she handled the sword, the brigand begged for mercy. Being a kind person, she relented and told him to leave and never return to the area. After he left, Arafel remained watchful on her return home, conscious that he was an untrustworthy sort. After several hours of walking however, she finally lowered her guard as she neared her home. The brigand ambushed her, thinking that with his dagger he was still more than a match against a young lass with a sword. Forced to rely upon her martial training, Arafel slew him. While regretful that such waste of human life was necessary, she vowed to help make a difference in the world by searching out such malicious people and bringing them to justice. On the road home she came across a party of minor nobility traveling to Stonegate from Riverdale. Seeing her disheveled state and the still bloody sword in her hand, they snubbed her and went on their way. And so began a series of vicious rumors about Arafel Ahennan, the bloody country lass who wanted to become a lady.

When wind of such rumors reached the ears of her parents, they were quite appalled. After all of their work and resources spent on ensuring her future, she had in one day ruined the plan. Ethran was angry and would not speak to his daughter for a week, while Morwen just looked at her like she did not know her. And so Arafel stayed at home for the next several months, dutifully helping with the family business, though it chafed at her to no end to be so idle and sedate. Finally, she could take it no more and told her parents that since her future was ruined, she might as well make her own future, a future to her liking. Her former tutor, the local knight, saw her unhappiness and approached her and told her about the knights’ guild in Stonegate. Arafel decided that joining the guild would be her first step toward her new life. Her mother, ever the pragmatist, agreed that mourning over her lost future was pointless and that there was nowhere to go but forward with her life. It was her persuasiveness that finally swayed Ethran to give Arafel the funds necessary to make the move and buy the necessary equipment.

Thus, with her parents’ blessing and her vow to make a difference foremost in her mind, Arafel Ahennan has arrived in Stonegate.