The day she was born, Vetra has been shunned by her tribe, and nearly kicked from her own family. It was only by her mother’s persistence that she be cared for and not tossed into the world immediately, as most kobolds of her ilk were dealt with. The tribe of red Kobolds in the western mountains of the Icerime Peaks, just outside of the Brevoy lands, had spawned an evolutionary split from the kobold species. Unfortunately, they only saw what they thought was a deformity.
Vetra, was born with metallic golden scales. She stood out like a sore thumb, and immediately her father demanded her to be tossed from the tribe, like any deformed child. Vetra apparently had no right to live. The only saving grace the newborn had, was her mother. But even with that, there was not a love shown to her, just the bare minimum care to keep her alive till she could fend for her own, and when that day came, things only got worse for herself.
As she aged, the evolutionary differences were beginning to show. She grew quickly, outgrowing her siblings and most of the other kobolds. She was large for her age, with respect to the kobolds around her. Though her height wasn’t the only differencing factor, it was nearly everything about Vetra that distanced herself further and further with the growing days.
As the days went on, and she began to look more… regal, more powerful and dragon-like. But, with that, so did the aggression put towards her. What went from total shunning, to hatefully looks and threats… to violence. Her heart was with her tribe, she tried to be one of them, tried to earn their respect and find a place for herself with them, but that only aggravated the poor situation. It was when she assisted she go on the hunt, the hunt turned on her. It was on this day that she found herself exiled from the tribe, unable to return. The exile was more of her fleeing from an enraged mob of kobolds then any formal declaration, but it was clear, she would never be welcomed back.
Her heart was shattered.
She found herself homeless by the age of 7, it was still fairly young for a kobold and dangerous… if she were any normal kobold. She was forced to venture out of the caverns and the myriad of tunnels. It was no longer safe for her to be alone within that territory as her old tribe was not just the only threat to her existence. She had no choice but to take on the blinding brightness that was the day.
Being a lone hunter, with nothing to use but her own claws, hindered her severely, on top of nearly being blinded every waking hour. It was only time she would find herself, staggering through a field of tall yellow grass, unable to see more than a few feet before her. Weariness and starvation began to claim her, as her legs gave way and she fell to the ground, unable to continue any longer. Consciousness faded, and darkness claimed her.
She woke with a start, finding herself on a soft cot, a blanket thrown over her and a roof over he heard. Upon a table near her, there was a bowl filled with water. Without a thought, she took it and drowned the contents.
She woke with a start and was surprised to wake inside a cabin. A plate of meager food awaiting her, which by instinct she devoured without question, starvation had only set began to set in. She was confused as to how she got into a place, but an old farmhand, grizzled and appeared more decrepit than a human should, was sitting in a chair not far from her with his head in his hands as he had watched her, a small smile upon the elderly man’s lips. It was a sight that caused her to freeze, unsure of what to do. She never knew this kindness before, nor knew if it was a trick. Though by the sight of the man, it seemed that a trick was far from reality.
It was a start of a mutual friendship, beginning with gestures and grunts. She helped the older man care for his farm, embracing the light of the sky and the fear of falling upwards and away, to pay back her life debt. In return, she had found fresh food laid before her, a warm place to sleep and the general safety of a home. Over time she had learned how to speak the language of the humans and come to know the man’s name. It was rough, and with her beginning to speak enough the Majival began taking her into the nearby town.
She was surprised by the results, not only was disgust showed to her, which she had expected, but the town shunned the farmer as if he was plagued. What the others shunned, she accepted, she had found kinship.
The older man taught her many things, how to barter, trade, and care for the land and yourself. Years passed as she lived in coexistence to the older man as his years waned, and his light dimmed. She had found a home, though it would never last, as the death of the man from his elderly years only marked the time she would be kicked out of the community. It only a start to her new chapter in her life.
In that time, she had grown to be larger than most kobolds, with the decent food and hard work she had developed exceptionally well. Her golden scales glowed in the sun, her horns grew to a magnificent display that would make any kobold admire.
Before she left Majival and his cabin, she had given him a burial, though not knowing much of human tradition, she had torn a golden scale from her shoulder and clasped it within the man’s hands before burying him underneath the old oak that stood alone upon his fields.
She traveled far, and had many incursions to the nearby mountains, hoping to find a new home. Along her journeys she had encountered many troubles, causing her to discover her many talents and skills along the way. It took several years before she found another golden scaled kobold, rejected and ejected from their tribe. He was near the brink of death as much as she was when she was his age. She returned the kindness placed upon her, caring for the fellow outcast, until they were strong once more. During this time, they spoke, like kindred spirits, immediately finding kinship with one another. They knew each other’s pain far too well. Over time he became her friend. This kinship brought an idea about and with little convincing they set forth to find more kobolds of golden hue.
It was many years during this quest that many things had changed. She found herself as a Chieftan of a tribe of gold kobolds who shared similar traits as she. Her generosity and kindness brought many gold colored kobolds together into one large roaming band. Their numbers were not only growing by finding other dejected kobolds, but by her own tribe by natural means, as pairings would happen. It was the first child that was born which brought a new sense of urgency to the tribe. Soon many pairings happened, to confirm their suspicions. The golden kobolds were pairing true.
Vetra had decided they needed a new home, and one she would find one. Due to her skill in speaking in the human tongue, she was able to negotiate a temporary home for her kind near a small town near Goluskin Mountains and north of the Awzera River within Brevoy. She was able to negotiate farm labor and pest control for letting them set up a small shanty within the nearby forest. They would stay away during the waking hours and come and work the lands at night. It wasn’t the most ideal situation, but it allowed the band of kobolds to settle for the time being and fortify themselves from external dangers, especially now they had children to consider.
It was during this tenure when she was within the town, trading, and bartering for food from the farmers. She had taken a pause to stretch her leg where she found a sign stamped near the community center, calling for an expedition into the unclaimed lands. This had given her a brilliant idea, an idea that could save her new tribe from extinction and the harassment of others. A new home far away from everyone else.
Once again, she had to tear herself away from her family, but this time, they will be reunited, in the lands that she could hopefully make into a home for them, where they could prosper like no other kobold tribe ever has in known history.
