Verna

When life on the road lost its luster, adventurers Kotina and Stella settled in the tiny town of Rainwood.

With help from their old friend Sister Lucia of the Rainwood Monastery, they quickly put down roots and soon welcomed a daughter who was a perfect mix of both their features.

They named their baby girl "Verna."

Under the protection of the Blessing of Fire, the family lived warm and happy lives...

But no one could have predicted the blaze that would soon consume their cozy little corner of the world.

Like her parents, Verna had an affinity for the element of fire.

Both Kotina and Stella were adept wielders of fire and knew that the key to mastering the element lay in training both body and mind.

They had Verna blessed by the Order of Fire at a young age and gently set Verna on a straight and narrow path guided by the teachings of the Fire. The young girl took after her parents and developed a strong sense of justice.

While training at the monastery, Verna met Cloud, an orphan who lived there. Cloud often looked like he was drowning in his sorrows, and the townspeople young and old looked down on him. Verna couldn't stand this, and any time she felt people were being unfair to Cloud she would jump to his defense, even if it meant throwing a few punches.

Verna and Cloud became inseparable, both inside and outside the monastery. They did everything together, even getting into trouble.

They quickly learned to rely on each other in the face of any danger and, together, discovered the value of friendship and teamwork. As their bond grew stronger, they also began to share the same dream for their futures.

Verna's parents Kotina and Stella had become pillars of the community by establishing a town watch and sharing what they'd learned on their adventures.

Verna, too, benefited from her parents' expertise, she learned swordplay from her father and mastery over her elemental powers from her mother. However, despite Stella's vast experience, Verna never saw her mother use her powers firsthand. Stella said that she could no longer wield fire due to an injury she'd sustained, and while she tried her best to hide it, Verna could still see her mother's pain and sense her sorrow.

Kotina and Stella happily took Cloud under their wings as well. The children eagerly took in all of the veteran adventurers' knowledge, especially about swordsmanship, archery, and elemental power.

However, what inspired the children the most were their stories about the vast outside world beyond Rainwood. Exploring the world, battling monsters, the free-spirited life of an adventurer called out to their small but quickly growing hearts.

While Verna seemed content with her parents' lessons, she was also thinking long and hard about her future. While she aspired to be a champion of justice, like a royal guard or a holy knight, she was also strongly pulled towards the carefree lifestyle of an adventurer. She was torn between the two with no hope of finding a solution.

However, Cloud had his heart set on one thing from the start: he wanted to become an adventurer, despite his clumsiness and lack of skill as a fighter.

While Verna thought that Cloud wasn't nearly ready for this pipe dream of his, she was also jealous of his single-mindedness. Even though others might think Cloud was indecisive and naive, Verna knew that his resolve was stronger than anyone else's. She hoped that she could one day share some of his determination and be as sure of her own path through life as he was of his.

Around the time Verna turned fourteen, she was allowed to join her father and the rest of Rainwood's town watch on their regular patrols. Her adventurer blood and well-rounded upbringing allowed her to easily dispatch weaker monsters like slimes and cappies. She tried to not let it show, but she was ecstatic and basked in her success. However, Cloud had a much more difficult time with his first monster encounters, he kept making the same mistakes he did in his training.

One day, Verna and Cloud stumbled upon the tracks of a monster they'd never seen before while exploring the forest. Instead of alerting adults, the two teenagers went after it on their own. An overconfident Verna ran headfirst into the unknown monster, but was quickly overpowered. Cloud did his best to fight back, but was also quickly subdued. The two of them braced themselves for the end.

Just then, help arrived: their savior was Verna's mother, Stella, like the two had never seen before. She conjured a divine flaming arrow that pierced through the monster in a single strike.

Once she realized that the children were safe, she flashed them a faint smile before collapsing, slipping into deep unconsciousness. Afterwards, she was unable to be roused for a long time.

When she finally awoke, the first thing she did was call Verna and Cloud to her side. Instead of chastising the guilt-ridden children, she consoled them. She said that none of this was their fault; it was a lesson from the divine that served to remind the children of how dangerous the world could be.

After some time passed, Stella sensed that she didn't have much time left and called the children to her again to talk about the troubles that stirred deep within their hearts.

Verna confessed her worries about the future to her mother, but promised that she would become a holy knight of the Order of Fire to make her mother proud.

Stella was taken aback by this, but quickly hid her surprise.

"Verna, my child... what I want the most for you is to see the world and to experience the freedom that I have for yourself. You can always choose where and when to settle down later, I'm sure that you'll more than do your part wherever you decide to put down roots."

Her mother's words gave Verna the confidence to follow her dreams and adventure.

Her mother soon passed away, and when Verna was old enough to, she mustered up the courage to face her father and tell him that she would be leaving for the outside world. Kotina assured her that he had expected her to do this all along and was immensely proud of his daughter. He gave her his full blessings to leave the town and explore the world beyond.

Verna and Cloud left Rainwood and headed to Hananis. There, they registered themselves as adventurers with the Monster Tamers, became trainees under the supervision of Branch Master Miller, and took on various odd jobs as they built up the experience necessary to take on harder assignments. Miller was an adventurer who knew Kotina and Stella well, so he took special care of the two newbies.

However, this outsized interest also came with a never-ending list of responsibilities, lectures and chores... When she was returning from yet another menial errand, Verna saw a group of holy knights patrolling the city in their shining armor. Her old worries came roaring back.

Had she really made the right choice...?