A series of stories that take place in the towns and cities that surround Shelter Forest: Willowridge, Coleville, Red Landing, Tandale, Chesterfield, Dulmountain City, and the Shoreton Ruins.
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Eli had been your best friend since before you could remember. He'd been left as a small child on the doorstep of the orphanage near your home just a few months before you were born. The matrons of the orphanage believed he was a beastman child, a rabbit, but he had the nibs of horns or antlers poking out through the skin on the top of his head, so no one was entirely sure which race he actually belonged to. He could have been a hybrid, as far as anyone knew.
Your father had died in an accident while your mother was pregnant with you, and since she had no other family and you had no older siblings to assist her, she often had the children of the orphanage help out around her shop in exchange for pocket money or treats. Eli was happy to help out, even without a reward. He liked to be useful to people, and as taciturn as he was, he enjoyed being praised and appreciated.
Even as a boy, Eli was a stern, serious child. Some might have said he was downright grumpy. According to the story your mother told you, the day he met you was the first time anyone had ever seen him smile. He was three and you were only a few weeks old. From that day on, he was your shadow, going where you went, sitting with you when your mother was working, playing with you to keep you laughing, even sleeping next to your crib when your mother would allow it.
With your mother, Eli, and the other children for company, you were the happiest little girl that ever lived. You thought you'd always be this happy.
Then, when you were six, there was the accident.
A family member on your father's side, an uncle of his, had been pushing your mother to sell the shop to him and remarry. Your mother always refused, stating that the shop had been your father's legacy and his final gift to his unborn child, something that you would one day inherit, and she wouldn't give it up. The last time he came, she told him to leave and never come back. In his anger, he wasn't paying attention to where he drove his horses and they trampled you into the dirt, the wheel of his carriage running right over your head.
The injuries were severe. The physicians were sure that you wouldn't survive, but somehow you pulled through. The accident had left you with lasting issues, though. You stopped speaking almost completely and needed to learn a special signing language in order to communicate. You began to have seizing fits and memory lapses. There were scars on your face, head, and neck from the hooves biting into the flesh. The pink and red scars were very noticeable against your dark skin, so you'd grown your curly, dark cocobolo-colored hair long to hide it somewhat.
Your mother and Eli were beside themselves with grief and worry, and it was the only time in your life you could ever remember seeing Eli cry. They both devoted themselves to caring for you and your rehabilitation. They never once made you feel like you were a burden, but you knew your mother had sold most of her valuables and worked her hands to the bone in order to pay for your treatments. You felt guilty about this and swore that you'd take over the store one day, so that your mother could rest easy and not have to work herself to death.
