Introduction

On September 12, 2020, I began the best dnd campaign of my life.

Of course, I didn't know that at the time- up until that point, my group had been playing in the world of Dragonlance, in a campaign shared with multiple groups. Once the pandemic started, this became hard to manage, so we all took a break from that campaign and started a new one.

The DM asked our group what we’d like to play for this interlude campaign, and after some discussion we decided we wanted a pirate game. (Sea shanties were popular around this time, so maybe that’s what sparked it.)

I created a character inspired by the Divine Soul Sorcerer subclass, with the core concept being "a Chosen One who wants nothing to do with the prophecy she's a part of". We started the game, and after the first few sessions acquired a ship and became proper pirates. We christened our ship The Frostfire, named after the late NPC who had helped us retrieve it. We sailed around, chasing jobs and clues to our ship's past, and eventually uncovering the evil plot of an illithid calling himself The Flayer.

35 sessions in, it was time to go to the Principality of Peace, the home island of my PC, Adeline. With my DM I created some NPCs to flesh out her backstory, not knowing that one would come to take over my entire life.

✧ Adeline ✧

Born on the Principality of Peace to religious leaders Leon and Amelda Zariel, Eson Zariel was believed to be the divine conduit, chosen by Eldath herself. The followers of Eldath focus heavily on meditation, believing that peace, inner and outer, is important above all else. Conflict is heavily avoided, as are strong emotions. Eson, as Eldath’s chosen, was meant to be part of a prophecy to invoke the goddess and spread peace throughout the world.

Eson found this incredibly fucking boring.

With his best (and only) friend Addy, he conspired to run away from the sheltered island, though due an accident Addy was left behind. Eson became a pirate, along the way realizing she was a woman and taking the name Adeline. She did her best to forget about her past- none of the crews she ran with wanted to sail directly into the naval waters to pick up her friend, so instead she put it out of her mind, convincing herself that the followers of Eldath were wrong about her divine status.

That is, until she turned 18 and her powers manifested.

✧ Addy ✧

Addy was born a pirate. Her father, Offrick the Drowned Heart, was an infamous dwarf pirate with a reputation for gruesome kills. Up until he was captured by the Navy when Addy was 8 years old.

He was sent to Deadcleave, a prison island, and Addy was taken to the Principality of Peace, the neighboring island which had been claimed by a religious group some years prior. She hated the island immediately, since though the residents were kind they preached their beliefs nonstop and were very different from the pirates Addy was used to.

On her first day on the island, she’d spotted a little redhead boy watching her, and originally had thought he must be like her- another pirate kid brought here after their parent’s capture. She later learned that he was actually the son of the Deacon, but by that time the two had already become friends. She taught him about the wonderful life of piracy, and convinced him to try to escape.

They didn’t get their chance until 9 years later, when they were able to slip onto a naval boat that had come to trade supplies with the island. However, Addy had had to stay to distract some people wandering by the docks, and ended up missing the boat. She waited for Eson to come back and get her, but when he didn’t she assumed he must have left her behind. In spite, she committed herself to the Principality’s religion.

She soon became the Lady of Lumity, a very important position, with the responsibility of marrying Eson on the night of the lunar solstice in order to complete the ritual/prophecy to bring forth Eldath. To the people of the Principality, she was completely committed to this goal, but in secret she was researching to find a way to complete the ritual on her own.

Everything was going great, right up until Eson showed up three years later.

What They Mean to Me

So. These two are incredibly important to me.

The 7 or so sessions we spent in the Principality are the ones that stand out clearest in my mind, and after the campaign ended I coped mainly by creating tons of art, AUs, spotify playlists, etc. Addyline basically owned my entire life for a week or so, and every so often they come back and grab my brain in a chokehold.

Such as right now, which is why I made this webpage :)

If you enjoy them half as much as I do, I'll know I've done my job, but really this is just for me. As of now I don't post my art anywhere online, so this is a nice outlet lol.

Thank you for reading this far! I hope my rambling isn't too incomprehensible.

AUs

Their Kids

Eden (they/them, 12), Rachel (she/her, 7), and Everett (he/him, 12)

Eden is clever, mildly sarcastic, and a prankster. They love fun, but are capable of great work when they focus. Everett is a lot shyer, and prefers reading or drawing maps to playing, but he goes along with whatever Eden does. He looks up to his uncle Kyros a lot, and aspires to be a Captain one day, though he doesn't quite have the stomach for piracy.

Rachel is endlessly energetic and creative. Her bedroom walls are covered in paint, her clothes are covered in embroidery, and her heart is full of music. She inherits her mother's divine power, though for now she seems pretty intent on using her gift of peace for as much chaos as humanly possible. (Adeline is very proud).

The twins are kind of their own unit; Rachel, being much younger, is at risk of being excluded, but luckily the twins love her.

Someday, Eden will grow up to be ruler of the Principality, with Rachel, a great painter, at their side, and Everett will captain a merchant ship, to the mild disappointment of his pirate family.