Aranea of the Moon Backstory

Not so long ago on a distant plane in the Forgotten Realms, in the deep and dense Jungles of Chult, lies a Cavern Paradise nearly inaccessible from anybody but the Mazewalkers of Ubtao. Only belonging to one clan, The Novacula, these reclusive people worshipped the god Ubtao and he blessed them with a powerful ally, his own children the all powerful Dinosaurs. Growing up in this Cavern has its perks, its maze like caves provide an incredibly difficult puzzle to reach the inner sanctum which, decorated with precious gems and valuable veins of rich metals, as well as fresh spring water and rich soil, is where The Novacula make their home. They also have powerful protectors, Dinosaurs and Unrivaled shapeshifters teaming up together to defend this sacred place have never been overtaken by any of their rivaling clans in Chult. This is where young Aranea starts her life and dedicates it to providing whatever she can for the clan, she grew up hunting elk and other game, fishing, cultivating, gathering, and most other methods of living in a dangerous jungle. She also from a very young age was completely surrounded by all different kinds of dinosaurs creating bonds and never fading memories of them from her childhood into adulthood. From this she nurtured her druidic mentality and studied to become an aspirant druid in her clan, a very high honor, and for some a chance to fight for their opportunity to seize head of the clan. To Seize the head of the Clan two contenders must assume their first wild form, that comes to them by way of the final Druid Trial, and fight each other until the form gives out. While neither member will be injured afterward a clear winner will be recognized, and thusly ascend to the head of the clan. But some would have it a different way, willing that the battle be to the death a small sect of the clan was conspiring to take over and that is where the clans problems begin. A savage warrior by the name of Flumen Cruoris battles the current head of the clan in his "True form" a tyrannosaurus rex, while Custos Saltu's "True Form" a massive Triceratops cannot bare the onslaught and fades away. But instead of adhering to the code of our clan, Flumen kills Custos in front of everybody, and takes the mantle insuring a new cruel dynasty for this primarily peaceful clan, and doing so all while our hero is on her own adventure. After graduating from the Druid Circle but before becoming a fully recognized Druid there was only one thing remaining for Aranea to do, secure her Wild form sketch through the final trial. Travelling alone she must escape into the jungle and brave its treacherous landscape to create an all inclusive sketch of a fearsome dinosaur one that would make Ubtao himself shudder in excitement. The path to the dinosaur is unclear as the aspirant must decide for themselves which dinosaur to study and where they journey to find such a beast, the only thing that is clear is they must not return until they have the sketch.  She went off on an absolutely grueling trek through the jungle narrowly escaping certain death to find herself in a bog on night three of this seemingly suicide mission.

The air was cold and still, only moonlight and fireflies offered light in this Stillwater clearing, the bog was far from silent, the choir of bugs and frogs howling away in the night creates sort of a white noise effect along with the various wooshes of fish and predators swimming in the water below, and then piercing through the symphony a series of loud crashes and terrible roars comes trampling into the bog. Aranea camouflages into a near by bush as the sound gets closer and then the source comes into the bog, two massive Allosaurus savagely fighting choose this bog for their battle arena and our hero has the front row seat, she pulls out her sketchbook and starts to carefully draw every detail as the fight gets more bloody and brutal. The two fighting brutes express everything in their arsenal to batter, maim, and dismember one another in a bloody chess match that lasts around 20 minutes, the awestruck girl in the bushes would tell you it lasted hours. As the rumble comes to an end one of the creatures has the other one pinned down and savagely rips the others throat out causing the middle of the bog to turn red as the life exits the body in a spastic twitch from the loser. The victor, limping from a true contest, starts to walk back from the path of broken trees from whence it came, the bog becomes completely silent. Needing a few more details from her sketch, Aranea runs through knee high water to get a closer look at the fallen creature. Completely fascinated by its features the thick scales, the sharp teeth, the claws, and especially the eyes, she records every detail in her memories and in her sketchbook before deciding she need a keep sake, a fang. She works for 10 minutes using whatever she can find to dislodge one of these massive Canines, and finally with a satisfying CRACK, she obtains one, just as a Shadowy figure approaches her. She turns around and is shocked silent to see a Tabaxi Human Male, with Dark Skin, Short cropped black hair, trimmed goatee, and a distant look in his dusky eyes. His age was hard to pinpoint as he appeared ageless, and appeared to be looking right through Aranea, he spoke nothing as he moved past her and kneeled next to the dinosaur he placed one hand on the dinosaur and rested it there for a minute. After the minute passed he stood up and stared down at Aranea who hadn't moved a muscle since he first approached, he notices the tooth in her hand and he slowly grabs her hand with the tooth and with his other hand puts some of the fallen Allosauruses blood on the tooth. He then releases her hand looks into her scared eyes and remains silent with a blank look on his face, she finally musters up the courage and shakily asks "Are you Ubtao?". He remains completely silent and nondescriptive for another 30 seconds, and then turns and starts to walk away. "Thank you Ubtao!" she screams after him in the darkness but he doesn't break stride and eventually falls out of sight. She packs up the bloody tooth and her sketchbook and runs off back in the direction of her home, completely charged up by what she had seen, and when she returns home she finds her home in complete chaos as a new order has completely taken over.

Bloody bodies are scoured all over the village, Dinosaurs and Tribespeople alike lay dead in the once peaceful and serene cavern the roads painted red with their defiance. Aranea runs to the village center where the new leaders are holding court to establish the new ways of savagery with a sacrifice, she fights to the front of the crowd to see who is behind all of this and is horrified to see Flumen Cruoris with two Deinonychus of either side of him clutching the hair of a man who she recognizes as her father, her mother already lay dead from multiple bites and lacerations by his side. "You will join your defiant wife in the next life, your treasonous act of burying the pathetic Custos body has earned you a plot next to his and your beloved. You will face the ravenous clutches of the beasts you spent your life caring for and as for your daughter, she will face the same fate as you!" Flumen says aloud, and before Aranea can cry out he snaps his fingers and the two Dinosaurs start ripping her father apart alive in front of her! Then a cloaked man grabs her from behind with one hand over her mouth he whisks her away into the shadows, and she finds herself behind one of the burnt down buildings near the village square. He quickly with one hand pulls a device out of his pocket and throws it next to a wall where nobody can see, "This is for your own good little one." the man whispers as a portal opens up to an unknown realm, he quickly turns her around and forces an explorers pouch and a druidic focus (a glass cloud symbol) into her hands and pushes her through the portal! She falls backward into the portal with too many questions to contemplate and little to comprehend. The portal takes her to a place shes never been full of adversity she never could have conceived in her old home, far from the place she grew up, with everybody she ever loved ripped from life before her eyes.