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Basic Description
Name: Mycenna. If she ever had a surname, she doesn't know it.
Race: Drow
Age: Roughly 30 years old. Date of birth unknown.
Height: 5'2"
Home: Ebonlake Grotto. Her birthplace is unknown.
Verses: BG3 RP / Forgotten Realms / Fantasy RP
Some notes on her appearance: Mycenna's body is dotted with scars, earned from a tough life in the Underdark wilderness. Most notable is the one across her nose, and a large burn scar that goes up her right arm. Her face paint is bioluminescent so she can feel at home among the myconids.
Personality
Mycenna is someone who is quietly curious, patient, and resilient. Having melded with the myconids so many times, she is typically quite serene, but can often seem as if her head is in the clouds. Although she somewhat understands people, her interactions with them have been limited, so she doesn't always understand their customs. She is prone to missing social cues and doesn't always understand personal space.
Mycenna is quite gentle, but this should not be mistaken as naivety. Though kind by default, this kindness is tempered by the survival instincts that only a youth spent in the wilds of the Underdark can provide. The myconids taught her to value community over self and as a result, she is willing to put the best interests of the group ahead of her own. This has also instilled a deep sense of loyalty in her. Once she considers you a part of her 'circle,' she will stop at almost nothing to protect you. Though slow to anger, any threats to her home or companions can provoke a ferocity that is hard to stop.
Biography
Mycenna's origins are a mystery even to her. When she was so young that she can barely remember, she and her mother were exiled from their society and left to fend for themselves in the Underdark. After a nasty encounter with a band of duergar, her mother was killed, and the little drow was left all alone… Until a myconid came along.
The myconid was foraging for food when they were lured by the scent of her mother’s decaying flesh. It found the child sitting beside the corpse, as if waiting for her to wake. Even as the myconid lifted the body to carry it to the colony, the girl showed more curiosity than fear, and she followed it all the way back to the colony.
The myconids of Ebonlake Grotto weren’t sure what to make of the young drow at first. They were wary of outsiders, yet the child was clearly harmless, and casting her out of the colony would have been a death sentence. So, the reigning sovereign named her Mycenna and declared that she would be allowed to stay.
Raised among the myconids as one of their own, Mycenna quickly settled into the rhythm of their daily lives. As a young child, she assisted the adults with simple chores; as an adolescent, she learned to hunt and fight to defend the colony. She taught herself how to fashion clothes and weapons from the materials the Underdark provided, gathered food for the circle, slept beside the myconids upon mossy mounds, and - once she was old enough - even melded alongside them as she breathed in their spores.
Years passed, and Mycenna grew into quite the young druid. She learned all that she could about the environment surrounding her - from the smallest fungi to the most terrifying beasts. With the sovereign’s guidance, she learned alchemy and the medicinal uses of the local flora, and with time, her connection with nature grew so deep that she was able to call upon its power to cast spells.
From time to time, the myconid colony gave shelter to other humanoids passing through the Grotto, and although Mycenna was friendly towards those the sovereign welcomed, there was one she adored more than the rest. Lenore de Hurst - a Mystran cleric and member of the Society of Brilliance - had been traveling through the Underdark with her partner, Yrre, to learn about the flora growing there. After settling in her tower nearby, she and Mycenna became fast friends. Mycenna showed Lenore her life in the Underdark, teaching her about the fungi and plants in the area, and seeing that Mycenna had no formal education to speak of, Lenore taught her basic math and literacy in return. Together, the two tamed a nearby bulette which would guard the grave of Lenore’s late dog. This exchange of knowledge and companionship continued for years until Lenore was eventually called back to Baldur’s Gate to confer with her fellow clerics.
Although she grieved her friend’s departure, life moved on. The myconids of her youth withered and were replaced by new generations. Even the sovereign who welcomed her passed on, leaving Spaw to take their place. Duergar established an encampment in the old Sharran ruins across the lake, and their raids became more common in the area. Nearby circles such as Glut’s were eliminated entirely, and their myconids harvested for food. Mycenna and the myconids of Ebonlake fought fiercely to protect their circle from the same fate, but not all could be saved. The most recent raid left a handful of them dead and the colony in mourning.
Tasked with tracking the raiders and scouting their hideout, Mycenna had just returned to report to Spaw, only to find that some peculiar travelers had arrived in the colony. Cautious after the recent raids, she wonders - will they prove to be friends or foes?
Writer's Notes
As someone who is fascinated by mushrooms, the myconid colony in Baldur's Gate 3 captured my imagination so thoroughly that I had to create a character who lived amongst them. Although she's best suited for threads that take place in in Baldur's Gate 3 timeline, details in Mycenna's backstory can be adjusted for AU threads that occur within the Forgotten Realms universe. As always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions about her or would like to start plotting!