Victoria Velasco's page

In the winter of her 14th year, that happy childhood ended quite abruptly. The door of their house flew open as Uhle ran in, covered in sweat, slamming the door behind him. "They've found us, Jana. Take the girl and run!" Victoria has no idea what was going on, but her mother seemed as though she was prepared for this day. Out of a hidden panel, she produced a couple of bags already packed with traveling gear and rations. As she threw on a coat and grabbed one for Victoria, her father hugged her fiercely. "I love you, V. Do as your mother says now!" With that, he grabbed a crossbow they sometimes used for hunting, and ran back outside. Jana threw a coat over the girl, threw a bag in her arms, and rushed her out the back door and into the newly fallen snow. Victoria never saw her father again.

"But I don't understand! What's going on?!" she kept asking as they ran. When they were a few miles out of the village, her mother let them rest for a moment. "Victoria," she finally said, "in every way that matters, I am your mom, and Uhle's your dad. We couldn't possibly love you more. But... you weren't born to us." She stifled her questions with a wave of her hand. "We've no idea who your father is, but your mother is from some distant land. She brought you to us as an infant.

"We were worried she had hypothermia, but it seemed she was merely exhausted. As we made her comfortable, we saw something move inside her bag. It was an infant. You, dear. She woke a few hours later and apologized for passing out. She said she had a task for us that we could not refuse: raise this child as your own. Keep her safe. She even gave us a small fortune in coins to make sure we were provided for. 'I'm of a royal lineage,' she said, 'and if she was discovered, her life might be in danger from other members of my family.' How could we say no? One look at you and we were smitten. But she said we must move away from there, preferably some place warmer, and always be ready in case they discovered her ruse. With that, she rose, kissed you on the head, walked back into the blizzard and disappeared."

Jana did her best to answer her questions as they traveled on, but she didn't have much more information than she'd already learned. "But where are we going? And what's gonna happen to Da?" "If he lives, he'll meet us in Restov. I have a trusted friend who lives there. You can call her Aunt Dian. We made a plan to meet up at her place if we ever got into trouble. No more questions now, dear. We need to keep moving. And pull your coat up. Aren't you cold?" Victoria was not. In fact, now that she thought about it, she hadn't been cold at all despite their being out in the winter cold.

Staying off the main roads, it took them much longer to reach Restov. Victoria had only been there a couple of times in the past, when Uhle needed special supplies. Jana seemed to know just where she was going. They knocked at the back door of a mid-size house. The middle-aged woman who answered the door took one look at them and ushered them inside. She gave them food and warm drinks and set them near the fire. As she looked at Jana, she knew what had happened. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. But she put on a brave face for Victoria. "I haven't seen you in years. My how you've grown. I'm Dian," she said, "and this will be your home for as long as you like."

As it happened, it would be their home for quite some time. Jana started helping out with Dian's tailoring business, Victoria spent much of her time alone, reading, thinking. This went on for years. By the time she was 18, she had learned a little magic, and a lot of history, but more importantly, she felt like her continued presence put her family in danger. Although her mom disagreed with her, Victoria's mind could not be changed.

Over the ensuing years, she's become pretty powerful in her own right. She still goes back to visit her family once in a while, but has mostly been staying to the wilds, where it's unlikely that she'll pose a danger to anyone. Eventually that led her to the Stolen Lands, where she unfortunately ran across the Stag Lord.