Zarkel woke with a start and a thump as they hit the wooden floor of their room. He sighed as they took a deep breath, Dreams such as these always came to them when their mother was away for extended time. Zar never remembered much of these dreams, just the cold sweat on his skin and the vision of Lolth. Zar did not worship any god or patron, had not decided their path, but his mother was a drow from the underdark, she would go on her quests for her god, Sometimes the Drow wondered if Lolth was toying with them, keeping their mother away longer as punishment for living above ground, Being a male of the Drow, Zarkel was told how they are normally treated in the Underdark, they didnt understand why their mother bought him above giving him a chance of a different life but they felt deep down Lolth was not happy.
Shaking such thoughts away Zar got himself up from the floor and looked around the shared room they had with not only his birth mother but an Eladrin woman they also saw as a mother. Nima had taken them in at a age Zarkel would never remember, but the warmth in their chest thinking about her was proof enough she deserved a mothers title, she cared for them when his mother was gone with her duties. The room had one large bed fully of quilted blankets and much loved pillows. Their own bed was smaller next to the window with only a Blanket they made themselves a few years ago, one day their would be more to join them like Nima’s and with a determined nod Zar went to the main room of their small home.
They all lived on a small bit of land within the forest Zarkel was always warned by Nima never to stary too far or he may fall into the Faewilds. So they stayed close to home, where they grew everything they ate, caught fish in the nearby streams. It was a simple and blessed life but the young Drow had started to itch for more, to see the cities and oceans they had heard of from both mothers and books read near the fire.
Heading outside under the shadow of the tree’s they wondered, not for the first time, how hard it would be to travel. Drow were seen as evil and dark, males lesser seen walking around, it filled them with anxiety at the thought but Zarkel so wanted that freedom. Maybe when they were older they would be braver. For now he sighed picking up the watercan. Chores before breakfast was a must do. Daydreams could wait.
