History
Lupo Dragonlyre was born in the small village of Granite Crag, in the Rinzeremel Mountains northeast of Orsholon City. Lupo’s father was a Dragonborn warrior, a proud individual who bore himself with an air of confidence that could often make others simply shudder. Lupo’s mother was a Nuvolycan of the Canid variety. She had almost regal features, delicate and fox-like. It was not uncommon for the Granite Crag Dragonborn to court other species. It was less common that the other species would deign to marry them, as it normally led to a hard life. And even less common was for a child to survive past childbirth. much less a full year.
But Lupo was different, made of sturdier stuff. His father held firm in the belief that this child of his that could survive past this first year with all the challenges it held was destined to become a great warrior and make his tribe proud. But as Lupo grew, these dreams were very nearly destroyed.
Lupo did not show interest in the art of battle. No, he showed much more interest in the entertainers that would occasionally come to (or were coerced into) Granite Crag for performances. Some were musicians, others actors. Painters and sculptors captivated Lupo, but he had no desire to make something himself. But the performing arts, the depiction of heroic stories and epic romance? Those were the things that demanded his attention.
Much of his childhood, until he was eleven or twelve years old, he listened to the village elders tell the tales of great battles, with villagers fighting side by side with immense dragons. He reveled in the stories they told, the epic sagas, the tales of valor and heroism. But Lupo didn’t just want to hear them; he wanted to retell them as well.
And so he began learning the art of telling a story. He learned to embellish a story just so, to make it exciting without going to the unbelievable. And he began to learn the art of telling the romantic story. He would listen to his mother speak of how she had been courted by Lupo’s father, and Lupo learned to tell the story in ways that would bring a tear to the eye.
While his stories captivated those who listened, storytelling was not something considered vital in his village. It didn’t “serve” his fellow villagers in a way thst they recognized. While they enjoyed listening to his stories, they thought it frivolous and unhelpful. But this did not deter Lupo. In fact, by the time he reached maturity, he was ready to add to his repertoire. He made the difficult choice to leave his village and seek out those who might teach him more about the performing arts.
His mother begged him not to go, and to Lupo’s surprise, so did his father. They loved their son, and despite his not quite fitting into village life, they wanted only the best for him. They feared he did not have the life skills and the toughness that the outside world would demand of him. They worried that his uniqueness and physical appearance would garner him unwanted attention. But Lupo was undeterred. The things they feared were, in a way, exactly what Lupo sought. He wanted to celebrate being unique, and the uniqueness of others.
So, upon his 15th birthday, Lupo packed a duffle, and made his way into the world.
