Chapter 1: The Oleanders
Velkano was born to a loving couple known in the Kalinor community for their stubborn Esterian stance. His full-blooded parents were, however, also well-respected for their contribution to the cavern city, of lores gathered from their decades long journey abroad.
Long before Velkano's birth, his mother was said to have been an avid traveller while his father a passionate adventurer. At one point in their vagabond lives on a foreign soil, the two lone Symenestra chanced upon each other, as if by divine providence. As they learned about each other, they soon discovered they had many similarities: whether it was their unrelenting Esterian approach to their kin's survival, values, ideologies, or the obsession for the unknowns that in the first place drove them on a long journey far from their webs' comfort. From these seeds soon sprouted a stem of deep mutual admiration, and from the blossoming stem, a deadly Oleander flower of love finally bloomed.
The couple knew what terrible fate awaited them, as it was one of their own making. One that they embraced proudly, knowing that they were free of guilt; that their future son, too, could one day tread upon this wide open land as they did without a pang of moral condemnation. Their son would know he was not born of a sinful murder of an innocent woman, but of the willing sacrifice of a loving mother.
However, Velkano was not conceived at the peak of passion. His birth was planned for much later, until the last few years before his mother was expected to be infertile, so that the couple could squeeze out as much time as they could for themselves. Like a dying man with lingering wishes, they would cherish and mourn every passing day. Those days would forever live on as his father's blissful memories.
When the time finally came, the couple finally returned to Kalinor and peacefully waited for the day when death would inevitably greet a new life.
On the 23th of Autumn in 492 AV, a brave Symenestra woman passed away as her baby was climbing out of her womb, spewing acid.
Chapter 2: The Upbringing
Velkano grew up without a mother, but with a father who saw it fit to take on the roles of both parents—and he tried very hard at that. The child was aware of his mother's sacrifice and had never lamented her physical absence in his life as he had, with his father's patient guidance, learned to accept it as part of the Esterian life. However, he was able to learn a great deal about his mother through his father, who would regularly regale him with tales of their adventures and of the many miraculous lives that lived outside the cavern city. His father would also read with him letters his mother had written for him, and remind him of his mother's love for her only child.
Velkano attended the elementary school in Kalinor like most children there. When he was old enough, his father instructed him in the craft of Spiritism based on a manual his mother, a Spiritist, had written specifically for him. Velkano had failed to understand why his mother wanted to expose him to the creepy spiritual world, but persisted for the sole reason that it was his mother's will. And he would learn also from his father, an accomplished mage of other disciplines, the fearful magic of Projection and some basic self-defense techniques.
Chapter 3: The Departure
The days in Kalinor were generally peaceful for the father and son. Except, perhaps, for the terrifying screams of surrogates on occasion, which would send a pang to Velkano's heart every time he heard one. Having spent many years in Kalinor since birth, Velkano was no stranger to the ways of his people. While he admired most aspects of the Symenestra culture, The Harvests were one thing that he absolutely abhorred. Although he sympathised with the sufferings that had befallen those innocent surrogates, he had made no attempt to save them. That was not to say that he had lost his conscience or that it had been dulled by excessive exposure, but rather that he could not bring himself to instigate further divisions among his people, which could potentially expose his kin's survival to even greater risks. That was the last thing he could afford, considering how few their number was already, and how fragile each of them could be.
When Velkano was old enough to fend for himself, his father left him and embarked on a new journey to the outer world. While the youth, who felt deeply helpless but could never stop questioning the very things that made him feel shameful of his people and of himself, was gradually reduced to a brooding recluse.
In the following days in seclusion, somehow, his thoughts went astray. He was so convinced that the Symenestra, a people so perfect in every way, could not possibly have an inherent defects so vile that had driven them to commit such evil crimes, that he started to believe that they had been cursed. While the many years of his ancestors' failures in finding a cure had led him to believe that if there was indeed a cure to his people's curse, it must lie beyond the caverns of Kalea. As soon as these thoughts dawned upon him, he decided to leave Kalinor.
Chapter 4: The Beginning
The Symenestra had settled in Alvadas where he worked as a Spiritist.
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Velkano Oleander 
by Velkano on December 28th, 2013, 8:45 pm 
