Steam

Beginnings

"Something is wrong..." The pregnant mother gasped, sweating as pain surged through her. Even though this was the

couple's first child, both the mother and father knew that things were moving too fast, and too early. Another

sharp pain caused the expecting mother to double over and slowly sink to her knees. She had such a small frame,

even for a woman who was seven months pregnant. Her hair was dark but her skin was fairly pale and littered with

tiny freckles. While she was pretty, her role in life was pretty ordinary. Her husband rushed to the aid of his

woman, wrapping strong and capable arms around her, trying to protect her and the child.

"I have sent for the doctor and a Cleric. Everything will be fine, just breath." His voice, deep and soothing, was

filled with anxiety. Ordinarily, he was very well composed, never letting emotions spill forward. He has spent most

of his life on the battlefield, a warrior trained to be on the front lines with a shield and weapon. A tall man,

fairly intimidating with shorter black hair, a lot of scruff across his chin, bronze skin covered with scars. He

had faced many frightening opponents, but watching his wife deliver early and knowing there was nothing he

could do frightened him like no other being had before. Just as be believed things weren't going to get much worse,

his wife starts bleeding uncontrollably. Her soft, pale skin losing even more color, leaving her a sickly gray. This

would be a sight that would haunt him for the rest of his life. The warrior begged to the Gods and spirits of the

world as panic kicked in. He couldn't go on without her, and refused to. He took his wife's clammy hand and held it

to his face. She complained of feeling cold and the feeling of weightlessness.

That was when the warrior was torn away from his lady's lifeless body. The doctor and Cleric disappeared into a

back room as several men tried to subdue the enraging man as he called his wife's name over, and over again,

desperately trying to get her eyes to open and focus once more. For hours, the two men, doctor and Cleric, worked

tireless to save both woman and child. The Cleric recited many healing hymns and spells as the doctor

pulled a screaming child from the limp mother's body. Just as it seemed all things were hopeless, a miracle does

happen. Thanks to the work, and perhaps a bit of magic from divine creatures, mother and child survive the ordeal.

A tiny, four pound girl with chocolate-brown hair and blue eyes was successfully delivered. Her father named her

Kelset - a name that he swears was given to him by something supernatural just before the mother had collapsed.

Kelset had an interesting childhood. Six months after her birth, her father was sent out to battle once more. This

time in a faraway land many were calling Pandaria. After a year, he returned, but he was not the same man. He had

suffered a severe head injury during a fight. While he did survive, his personality was altered. Kelset spend years

trying to gain the affection of her once noble dad. He was more interested in women, and that ultimately caused him

to leave his wife and child behind. There were rare occasions when he did visit Kelset and brought her to his

home. Usually they were greeted by one of his girlfriends. It never took long before Kelset was ditched by her

father and left in the company of jealous women. Of course Kelset tried to make friends with everyone in her life,

but these women never had interest. They were never directly abusive to her, but they did make it clear she wasn't

wanted. She put up with this sort of thing for about eight years until she just gave up. Kelset decided to live

exclusively with her mother. Things were a bit crazy on that end, too.

Her mother was either working to pay bills, or working to catch the interest of a possible husband. Unlike the

women that dated her father ,the men seeking the attention of her mother were far more interesting and nice. They

often spoiled Kelset, giving her the attention her mother and father refused to. It seemed like each time Kelset

grew to like one person, her mother dumped him, forcing him away. No one ever seemed to be good enough even though

Kelset thought many of them to be very nice gentlemen. In time, Kelset started to ignore everyone around her and

began to focus on things that she knew she could control. Funny enough, the little human had a great gift with

Arcane magic, and soon started to study under the guide of many gifted Magi located around the world.

Kelset loved traveling and learning new things, meeting new people of all sorts of races and backgrounds! It

didn't take long for her to discover that she was gifted in manipulating fire as well. The discovery was accident

that happened when her instructor had asked a simple task.

"Okay, I really think you should be ready for this. I want you to conjure an Arcane Familiar. They're more helpful

than you would imagine, young one!" The elderly man patted the head of an eighteen year old Kelset. Over the years

she had filled out quite nicely. She stood at a healthy five foot, six inches tall, a weight of one hundred and

twenty, and a pair of hips and bust that could tempt just about anyone. Oddly enough, she took after the women on

her father's side - very feminine with a beauty that shine from a bright soul as well as a pretty face. Just about

the only thing she inherited from her mother was the same pale skin with freckles dotting only her shoulders.

"I'm not sure..." Kelset mumbled, nervously she bit her bottom lip. "The cake exploded, and food conjuring was

supposed to be simple!"

"You should have started with brownies!" The old Mage chuckled. "Now, just focus. You can do it!"

With a heavy sigh, Kelset let the Arcane energies fill her core before channeling it into the tips of her fingers.

In the palms of her hands, a tiny elemental started to form. Its whole body was composed of practically every

color imaginable, and then some. The sight of an Arcane Familiar taking life right before her caused Kelset to get

a bit excited. "Look!" As she breathed the words, orange and red flashed and burst forward - the Arcane Familiar

died giving birth to one of fire that ended up setting the Mage tower on fire.

The young lady and old mage sat outside. While Kelset was obviously discourage, the old man couldn't help but laugh

as he wrapped a frail arm over her shoulders. "Don't fret. This isn't bad. I believe you have more fire within that

spirit of yours. Just nurture it, stop fighting so much."