Marley

Marley is a

Background

Amara Leigh Ehrlik (or Marley as she is called) was born in her family's inn in Mythril Lode: the Chirping Canary. As the eldest daughter of the family she was expected to help out with her siblings as well as putting in work time at the inn itself, but despite that she found time to hang out with other children of the community as well. In addition to her immediate family, her extended family included an uncle who had a pig and dog ranch on the surface a few miles away from the town proper, a cleric of Vardama who was both a family friend and who helped her mother though all of her deliveries as a midwife and a wizard who would later become Marley's master; unknown to the children these three and their parents had been an adventuring party before Marley's parents decided to settle down and form a family.

If asked what her fondest childhood memories are, Marley would quickly inform the asker that they are tunnel running with her friends and learning to dance to the performances of various entertainers and bards who visited the Chirping Canary's common room. She would not, however, also mention the hours spent reading books about arcane theory or the sound of a quill scratching against parchment at the direction of her master as he drilled into her a love of books, magic and word crafting despite the fact that it worked wondrously. She hides these facts, not out of embarrassment, but because she considers this a private matter and likes to keep an ace up her sleeve: the fact that she is a wizard, fairly uncommon for a goblin, is such an ace.

Tunnel running is a long standing tradition among children in Mythril Lode. Blending aspects of spelunking and athleticism it is seen by adults variably as a wonderful way to learn about subterranean environments, an absurd risk that no child should be allowed to take, or a minor annoyance when a gaggle of children rush though your workplace leaping over chairs and sliding under tables. Marley's little gang of tunnel runners occasionally brawled with others over turf, each trying to lay claim over the best "runs," leading her to learning how to fight better than the average citizen.

Possessing a strong streak of independence even as a child, Marley always felt infuriated when her parents discussed plans to find her a husband, talk that took a more serious tone as she approached her tenth birthday. She was so greatly set against this plan that, when she heard she had the option of becoming apprentice to her father's friend - Sullivan Keane, an arcane divine of some note - that she leapt at the opportunity to gain greater control over her life.

For most of the first two years of her apprenticeship, Marley felt like she had signed on to be Master Keane's slave. Every day she was set to wash dishes from his previous night's meal, cleaning furniture that seemed to attract dust like candles attract moths and sorting the books on his bookshelves - sometimes by subject, sometimes alphabetically by author or title, and sometimes by the color of the cover or even the text on the spine. In addition to the menial tasks, Keane would spend days drilling her on her lettering, so as to teach her proper calligraphy, and the techniques of bookbinding as he considers both skills crucial for being a good wizard due to the importance of books and words in the practice of wizardry.

Slowly, between her eighteenth and twenty-first month as his apprentice, Keane began to teach him the fundamentals of magic including knowledge of arcane facts and the basics of spellcraft. While she found the practical lessons more appealing than the theoretical aspects, her master drew out these lessons until she had begun to show signs of savoring the knowledge before he started to have her actively practice magic - her first spell being prestidigitation which he had her use to do the cleaning he had previously had her do with mundane tools and "elbow grease" so that she would all the better appreciate the cantrip all the more.

RP Hooks

Things my character is interested in! You don't need to include this. It's just an example of a section you could make.

Inspirations

The following image and actor were the inspirations for the appearance of my character:

The picture is from Deviant Art and is by wosukoart and the actor is Archie Panjabi portraying Kalinda on CBS' The Good Wife.