There was at one point a drow who escaped the sealed island underdark and wreaked havoc on the daylight world. This drow made his way to a small hamlet in an asian land. The local lord needed help and called upon the elven homeland to capture this rogue dark elf. Fighters were sent, and one of them was Rune's father. There was a local witchwoman who aided the fighters in hunting down and capturing the drow. Rune's father was impressed with the courage and the capability of this human woman. Though most of the other elven fighters had returned or gone off to other tasks, Rune's father stayed with the human witch and heard her tale.

She was once a powerful mage at a university, but there was a scandal and she was forced to leave in disgrace and become an herb woman for this hamlet. Her only son was kind but earthy and completly lacking in his mother's skills. They tended their hut and their village in relative peace. The elven fighter was impressed with the maid's tale and partially in love with her magical nature. He spent many moons with her, walking, helping, training her son, and being with her.

After these many months, the witch did bear another child, a girl who looked as much like her mother as possible but with her father's green eyes and pointed ears. It was soon learned that she had inherited her mother's magic as well. Truth be told, the elf was startled by all this, since humans do change and age rapidly to elven eyes, but he had grown fond of the herb-woman and stayed.

But this contented state was not to last. The drow had staged a series of skirmishes against the elven homeland and had suceeded in damaging the elves they so hated. The fighter, whose skills were rather well known, was recalled and forced to leave the witch and her two children. He departed for the homeland but left a silver gryphon pendant for his halfbreed daughter, so that, when she came of the age when her heritage was important, she would have the power to find him again.

Many years passed as Rune grew, slowly, but the witch grew older at a much faster rate. Her son did most of the herb gathering and house-tending, since Rune was too young and too weak to do much. It grew more and more difficult to shield the child from the villagers, who did not take kindly to a half-elf mage-child growing up with their own children. Rumors were spread and quelled. While most of the farmers did not care much about the odd looking child, there were a few that disliked anything different or magical. They were the same who harassed the witch-woman as well, even though they used her services.

The time came when the witch, now old and tired, saw that she could no long protect or teach her daughter. She knew of a wizard who lived in a tower nearer to the mountains and did prepare to journey there and deliver Rune to him for teaching. She bade her son to tend the farm and herbal lore he knew while she was away, for she was not sure she could survive such a trip; and a long trip it was. The forests were full of damp places to camp, and the weather was fierce by day. It was said that there was furious magic happening with the elves, and the witch feared for her fighter.

The journey was long, but she eventually made the wizard's tower. A dark forest surrounded the tall, stark structure, but the witch hardened her heart and approached. She called upon her magic and commanded the wizard's attention, for few mages like other mages casting at their front doors. She bargained with him for the care of her daughter, that he would teach her to use her powers and care for her, and in return the child would serve as his apprentice for as long as he needed one. The wizard did not like the idea of taking in a small child, but he also knew the value of an apprentice to do all the distracting little jobs for which he had no patience. He accepted and took Rune in to his care. The witch returned to her son and her hamlet, taking comfort that Rune was in better hands than hers.

The years passed quickly for the wizard and the half-elf, neither of whom aged at the normal rate. Rune quickly proved her worth by picking up the basic spells and chores at a rate that indicated her intelligence. The wizard prided himself on his useful apprentice and continued to work on his great spells. Rune cooked, cleaned, organized, tended, and stocked the mage's home when she was not studying the spells the wizard gave her...and had her run of most of the tower. To pass the time, she traded a simple cleaning cantrip for the art of origami with a townsman she bought food from and begged whatever languages that passing bards (who could not refuse a visit to the fabled mage tower) could teacher her. Always she wore the silver charm on a string of leather and did cherish the griffon.

As the years passed, the mage stayed more in his tower and focused more on the magical world than the real one. He did not see the danger in the local greedy noble until it was too late, and the noble's mercenaries were attacking the tower. His defenses were strong but not enough, and they overrode the mage's sanctum. Rune hid and watched her master's murder. She saw the noble paying off his troops and his spies and swore revenge. She grabed the largest book she could and escaped into the forest.

She sought refuge with a traveling band of traders, proving her worth with what minor spells she could. Eventually, the caravan disbanded and she struck out on her own, to seek experience and then to have her revenge.

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