Backstory

Grew up as a member of the Hayashi Clan

The Hayashi village is deep within a dense jungle, some distance from civilisation albeit not far from a number of trade routes. The people of the clan take advantage of the thickly packed trees and plant life to make their homes, building and carving spaces among the trees between ground level and canopy. The terrain is hilly and cragged, offering ample places for homes and structures to be hidden from sight. The Hayashi are not a particularly reclusive or private people, freely welcoming guests and trade, but the construction of their village means that few outsiders are ever aware of the true population or resources existing within.

Like any good clan they are not without their secrets.

Perhaps the worst kept secret is the copper vein running deep below the jungle. While the fruits of the forest are well received by traders and merchants, the Hayashi have little use for their copper and are well known in neighbouring settlements to offer it for trade in abundance. The terrain of the Hayashi's home makes raiding unattractive, especially when the Hayashi are more than happy to share in fair exchange for goods.

Perhaps the best kept secret is the origin of the Hayashi, and ongoing presence that continues today. The Hayashi clan was formed by a retreating community of humans and elves. Few remember from where or why the retreat, but all know that the elven races are scattered and rarely seen. While the founding community of the Hayashi was predominantly human, their retreat to the jungle was to pursue their way of life, unhindered by the persisting intolerance in the world.

Today the elves are few in number and spend most of their time out of sight of visitors, or well disguised; they almost never leave the village, living a life of voluntary isolation. The humans are the face of the Hayashi, though many of them have elven heritage. Some share minor physical traits of their elven ancestors - some are taller than average, ears might be a little elongated, good night vision is commonplace - but for most the elven blood runs thin enough that the secret stays hidden from the outside world.

Ryō grew up among the Hayashi, growing into the Higher Society within the village. Outsiders often assume from the name that the Higher Society refers to those of importance within the village, and the Hayashi rarely make efforts to correct this; traders are often keen to do business with someone that sounds important, and those that venture to trade routes and settlements are almost always from this group. In actuality the term merely represents the individual's calling to work among the trees, calling the canopy their homes, and is contrasted by the Lower Society that simply live on or below the ground; the remaining elves are exclusively members of the Lower Society, bringing a level of respect that balances any connotations from the nomenclature.

He was born of human parents, though elven blood ran strongly on his father's side and continued to flow in Ryō's veins. He quickly demonstrated a level of agility and skill that leant well to the village's Higher Society expeditionary groups. Part traders, part hunting party, the expeditions would travel from the village in search of resources the village could not provide for itself, be they unique building materials or luxury food and animals only available elsewhere. Ryō was quick on his feet, good with a bow and quiet enough when it came to negotiations that he regularly found a place on an expedition.``` ```Despite his parent's approval, Ryō became bored. He would make regular trips to the caves to meet with an aging elven woman by the name of Nienna, who would tell stories of far away places from centuries past. She spoke of cities with spires touching the clouds, beasts taller than the tallest trees and spiritual entities that roamed creation alongside man, bringing gifts that would heal any disease. Ryō would rarely know where the history ended and the fiction began; Nienna's tales would always be filled with the same spark of enthusiasm and joy. That is, except when she spoke of the Fall of the Elves; the climax of a great war that brought an end to millennia of culture and civilisation, and drove the few that remained into isolation and hiding.

Ryō struggled with the War. He wanted to know more, to understand the world that shaped such events. The elves were a peaceful, long lived race, less prone to some of the unpleasant mutations and ugly oddities that popped up among humans. Nothing his short life explained the scale of violence Nienna spoke of. His world was the Hayashi village and those places expeditions could reach within a few weeks of travel at most, and this was not enough for Ryō.

When he was old enough, Ryō spoke with his parents about a personal expedition - a Hayashi tradition that a few young adults explored each year whereby they took a few supplies and went out into the world. Some returned within days, while others returned after a decade or more. A personal expedition offers a chance to grow and learn, and then bring that growth back to the Hayashi. It offers opportunities for the Hayashi to discover how the world changes beyond the jungle. It occasionally gives hope to lost elves looking for a home.

And so Ryō, full of excitement and anticipation, gathered his things and began his first expedition without his peers and friends.

It was harder than he thought. He found bandits. He became one so he could eat. Game starts.