Astrid Sindarin

Backstory
Born 12/23 into a middle-class family in the Erúme Province of Aurlûnor Velande, she had a good early life. She was born as a hermaphrodite making her borderline sacred, however she wanted nothing to do with this found fame throughout most of her life. She rather spent her days painting in her room, sketching out in the fields, or daydreaming about her future in school or doing chores. As she got older, she began to develop a wild and defiant side. She wanted to explore the world around her more and more. Till one day she would soon regret.

She packed her bags, water, and started off into the desert on a day trip. Among the whipping sands of the desert, she hears the hooves of around four or six horses galloping toward her and the occasional chime of metal on metal. She rushed toward the cave she had planned on exploring, but unbeknownst to her, her destination was the same as the unknown horsemen. She dove behind a few rocks and waited silently praying that she would never be found. She watched from a crack in the rocks as the bandits came in speaking a foreign language, she wasn’t sure of the origin. She watched as they chiseled away at a section of rock till a small opening was formed to a hidden section. As, who she assumed was the head bandit reached his arm in, out came a bag full to the brim of gold bars. It was at this very moment she made the mistake of gasping in shock.

She had been found out and soon apprehended by the bandit group. As they tried to question her it became apparent the language barrier was going to be much too hard to get through, so they did the only logical thing. The bandits beat her senseless and once they were sure she likely would die, threw her over the back of their horse and rode off to the sea. After reaching their boat, they cut a dingy loose and threw her inside, sure she would die soon enough. However, they were wrong.

Memory Loss
Through her eyes she awoke on the shores of a distant land with but the fleeting recollection of where she must go. Northwest, toward the desert lands of Erúme. Was that...home? Into the boat Astrid went, from Mount Othoz all the way around 7000 blocks to her home. The same boat she had been left to die inside, her memory of her past nearly all gone. Along the way seeing a familiar face named Orion Rosiin the jungle. A friend who had been searching for her since her disappearance. After a short stop within a small town to talk. He told her that he had aquired land for her dream finally to come true, to build a town free of judgements or racist views. Soon, the two ventured onward.

The journey was long, the nights were cold and days hot but, eventually the desert she once called home was within her view. It was night as her feet touched the still warm sand, heated from the day as she exited the boat. The two of them set up camp with the supplies Orion had brought as they planned the town she dreamed of building. Orion had worked out a deal in her absence with the leader of Erúme to allow them a land grant for their loyalty. The two of them gathered resources, fish, magical books from the sea, seed, and material from the ground. They both went to sleep soon thereafter, prepping for the days to come, and a city to build. The land maybe rocky and uneven. The soil may be sandy and unfertile, but it was her peoples to build upon.

Building of Mina' Al'Amal
The heat of the day beat down as the two of them slept under the shade of the tree’s they had planted. In her mind she pondered what she must do first, it would likely require some form of monetary payment for this land. She rolled out of bed as Orion slept soundly still to start her day. On the campfire she fixed a pot of coffee and sighed as she watched the waves crash into the coast. Soon she had finished her drink, so down into the mines she traveled, pickaxes in tow, and a glint in her eye.

As she dug for hours on end, she gathered riches beyond what she had expected. Gold nuggets, raw iron, and diamonds to bode. After a long day of work, she exited the mine to find the day was breaking. As she watched the golden rays kiss the coral morning sky, she noticed Orion was missing. She stood up walking to find him working away at flattening the land. She felt proud for the intense love her friends were giving her. Such a close bond she continued to strengthen with him as the two readied the land to build on. In the distance, a horse rider came in as the hair on her neck raised up. Her face became pale…until the colors of Hampo were seen adorning the horse. Off the horse was a kind man who came offering gifts from his land to the two desert dwellers to help start their land. He offered them saplings, books enchanted with powers, food, friendship, and even diamonds. His name, Taksi Tashili.

As Orion continued to work on readying the foundation of the city, Astrid took a trip to the town of Ariaisil. It was quiet, almost as if abandoned long ago, she wondered if that was what she was making. A town soon to be forgotten. Or perhaps, she could birth a town destined for peace and love for anyone seeking refuge. Their final gift to her was a horse whom she named Wali (guardian friend). As the two parted ways she rode home ready for the building to soon start.

The day started the same as the others…grueling heat, but that would soon change. From the seas a storm blew in bringing with it the cool moisture rich air of the coast along with rain. In the cool of the morning she alternated between fishing, mining, and claiming land as she waited for the news from Aurlûnor. She had sent word to their leader of her joining and had hoped to get official word they recognized her as one of their own. Suit covered and tired, she rested against the wall of the mine after hours of grueling work. Her fingers worn down and calloused from holding her pickaxe for nearly no gain today. Two pieces of raw gold and ten iron was all she managed? This was still nowhere near enough to pay for her whole island. She threw it down and headed up to the surface where she saw that a new person had joined her and Orion in their endeavors. He went by the name of Nexus. The whole time she had been below they had worked hard at leveling the uneven land they called home.

As time ticked away, she took a moment away from gathering money and welcoming new people to build a small garden at the far northwestern tip of her island as a resting place for any weary workers that needed a moment to contemplate their troubles. Once more as the day came near to a close, she sat before their campfire with her new companion and her old friend… a royal messenger came bearing good news. Her hope had come true, and her letter had been received. That night the three went to sleep as Aurlûnorian citizens.

After several weeks she had found her affinity once more for her artwork and used this to her advantage, managing not only to make quite a large sum of money, but also a new acquaintance. He goes by the name Ganeff, a new neighbor and art enthusiast who had agreed to make a massive deal. For an immaculate piece, he agreed to pay 500,000 coin worth of gold, neitherite, gear, tools, building supply, enchanting, and more. With this stability and future deals looking bright, they got to work finally on the city. The design for Mina' Al'Amal is simple. They planned to dig down and create a multilayer subterranean city to avoid the desert heat. as she planned, gathered, and contomplated, Nexus put in deep work powering into the ground with workers to create the carved out first layer. Once done, Astrid began work designing archways and lighting for this city. (WIP MORE WILL BE ADDED AS TIME GOES ON