Family and history of Mica Berylstar:


Mica
Sally Mandrake was the seventh child of a pair of farmers who spent the untold majority of their lives drunk.  Very drunk.  Most decidedly drunk. It's really a wonder that Sally turned out as intelligent as he did! His six older siblings were all sisters, which had put his parents into something of a funk.  They were farmers.  They had six daughters.  Turnips don't fly well as dowries. 

At his birth, somewhere between the alehouse and the outhouse, his father muttered something about "Why break a perfect record?  Name the kid Sally!" This made his mother laugh.  His father liked to make his mother laugh.  The name stuck, much to Sally's dismay. 

Sally quickly stood out from the locals, which wasn't particularly difficult given a nearly complete set of teeth.  His intelligence made it difficult for him to communicate with his family and neighbors. Sally was a sad child, and sought to make himself more desirable by studying the magical arts of healing. All this accomplished was to make Sally a doormat, which suited his neighbors quite fine. Eventually, Sally couldn't deal with the pressures of hanging out at the local tavern to grant the latest groom a clean bill of health after a final night of debauchery...He packed up and moved to Ashton!

 Ashton was pleasant enough, although he was still treated like a doormat.  Even in Ashton, people didn't like to pay their Healers...At least they weren't so violent about it in this new town. In Ashton, Sally met some wonderful people who actually treated him with respect.  Aegiryn and Galena Berylstar.  They were kind and supportive, and they worked very hard to save the world every time the need arose. It arose frequently. Still does.

 Unfortunately, as seems to happen to good and kind people everywhere, the town grew suspicious of the Berylstars.  After all, the Berylstars were strong and powerful people who actually thought before charging into one battle or the other. At this particular time, the motto of Ashton was a simple 'Ignorance is Bliss.' Sally was angered by talk of banishing the Berylstars from Ashton, and approached Aegiryn and Galena to show his support for the clan by requesting admission to their fine ranks. 

There might have been a little concern, but this was dealt with promptly when Sally told Baron DeArmin that if he banished the Berylstars, Sally would leave with them. Y'see, Sally and Galena were the local Life spells. They were NOT banished. A few months later, Sally was blessed with a Race Change ritual by the generous Corwin. Sally became a Gypsy. Galena had a little talk with Sally around this time.  Something about the Laws of Berylstar.  

The first of these laws was: Change thy name. Sally just wasn't gonna cut it anymore.  Gotta have a name that fits the Berylstar theme! Sally was leaning toward Talc for a while, because he's such a softy. Galena didn't care for that name because it made him look weak, and she wasn't gonna let that fly. She suggested Mica - bright, shiny, and more than a little flaky - and it all fell into place! Sally Mandrake, the kind yet spineless human, became Mica Berylstar, the kind and...um... well... *sigh* 

But he's a Gypsy!