Lussi Backstory draft 1

Lussi Jade Vyes was born in a mountainous region, atop one summit named Mount Jubilee. Her parents, Dusty, a ranger and reaearcher, and Marigold Vyes, a baker, both spent a great deal of care raising her, as all the other scorplings in her batch died young, from insufficient fertilization. Lussi was the only one left, but she was not left unscathed. Her stinger had developed to face backwards, which was a severe health concern, as she would not be able to defend herself or hunt for prey normally, and the local physician gave her an expected one month left of life. Lussi tried to detach and move about prematurely as well, which indicated a restless spirit deep within her. Thankfully however, she slowly grew to a healthy size, and she detached at the appropriate time. Her parents were still concerned, and pampered her to try and curb the problems she would face growing up.

Dusty and Marigold couldn’t reproduce afterwards, and so they instead put all their effort into raising Lussi. They did not let her leave the house often however, being concerned for her health. This put a longing in her heart for more. She got a taste of that on days she helped out at her Church, because she actually got to be out and about doing things; and because she was taught to serve her fellow bug folk, it had a seed of compassion planted into her heart, which turned her thoughts away from herself. Seeing the smiles on the faces of those she helped made her feel so proud, and encouraged her to do so.

As Lussi grew up, her desire for entertainment grew. Helping at her mother’s bake shop wasn’t much better than lazing about at home, (though it did develop her sweet tooth, as she snacked often on any “bad batches”, to her mother’s chagrin) and she wasn’t allowed to tag along with her father as he surveyed the outskirts of town for enemies. So, Dusty recommended she take some books from his study and read them, as best she could. The encyclopedias absolutely gripped her, and were the perfect escape from her daily life. She would spend hours in her nook of the cave, or on the crags outside reading about any topic she could dream of, often neglecting her chores for the day. She began to use her tail for more mundane tasks as she read, which gave it a more passive, supportive role in her life, rather than a defensive weapon. As she was gripped by the contents of the books, she gained a quick reading speed, and eventually she finished the last in her dad’s collection. She could only reread them so many times before she desired more. She longed to see what she had been reading about, to see if any of it was true, or just fantasy. She had many restless nights over this, until she had a keen idea. She knew her parents wouldn’t let her just wander around without supervision, so she asked her parents if she could help villagers out with their chores, (and on the way there, do some sight seeing). Her parents agreed after some consideration, and she explored around her area. She began to get more bold, which developed her inquisitiveness and explorative nature further.

Many of the villagers that lived nearby took notice of the strange girl wandering around during the day. Most scoffed at her deformity, while others simply asked her what she was doing. Lussi would reply with a curt, sweet “Exploring!”. Some were impressed by her charm; and true to her word, Lussi dedicated many of her days to cleaning shops, loading and shipping things, and other minor tasks, which improved her health.

During these tasks, she would try to strike up conversation, and the villagers rewarded her with anything new that they could teach her. She wasn’t the best at higher concept thinking, but because of her time in Marigold’s bakery, she excelled at math and science. But it didn’t matter what it was really, Lussi just listened intently, and thanked them for the chance to help. Those that enjoyed her company spoke well of her, which made her parents trust her to have more freedoms. She became old enough that her parents eventually let her take small hikes around town, which she absolutely cherished.

One day, after her daily trip to town, she decided to hike north upon a ridge that crested over the village, and she noticed a cave that recessed high in the side of a wall. She felt a strong emotion compelling her to climb it and enter, or she would never be able to learn what she could become at her full potential. She tried to shake it off, as she was nervous, but she couldn’t get the idea of it out of her mind. She just could not shake the feeling that she had to prove herself as a Scorpion, as a Vyes family member, and as Lussi. She turned around, ran to the cliff, and leapt to the wall of the cliff. She slipped and had difficulty climbing for the first segment, but eventually, her legs began to grip tight, her mind began to focus, and her tail was used as a counterweight to prop herself as she ascended. She almost reached the top, when she placed her hand on a slick purple substance, that caused her to lose her grip, and she began to slide off. Right before the worst came, and her life was snuffed out, her tail instinctively reached up, grasping for anything, and... it caught a hold of a gnarled tree branch! Because of the curvature of her tail, and the reversed direction of her telsin, it had hooked in just right, and prevented her from falling to her death. She thanked her Lord and her tail; and, after catching her breath, pulled herself into the mouth of the cave.

The cave was incredibly dark, but the very mouth of the entrance was light for about 5 meters in. Lussi remembered the purple goop that risked her life, and became quite angry at it. However, her curiosity towards the true identity of the sludge preceded her anger, and she bent down to examine it. The light caught bits of minerals in it, and she recognized it to be a form of waxy substance. She also noticed the black scarring from carbon deposits in the rock, and realized that it was indeed flamable. She saw large amounts of it, and had a stroke of genius.

She grabbed the jar from her pouch she carried, a piece of parchment, and grabbed some sharp stones from the floor. She ripped some of the parchment off and twisted it together between her fingers, then sprayed a little bit of venom on the parchment to bond it together and keep it in place. She gathered a few clumps of the wax and placed it in the bottle, then placed the wick into the wax, and then used the stones to create a spark, and with that, she created her very first candle.

Because of her natural ultraviolet vision, she could see the microwaves in the air being produced from the candle as it burned and permeated through the cave. She saw how it danced through the air, noticed the speed at which it diffused, and could even make out the strength of the scent in different locations throughout the cave. Almost honey-like in the “smell”, it gave off, she realized that she could easily manipulate the scent and diffusion of these candles, and could manipulate them to behave and “smell” however she wanted them. Lussi had very rarely ever been around fires, but noticed something similar in her mother’s baking shop. She realized this moment was hers, and a once in a lifetime one at that to do something special. Ecstatic, she explored the cave, which was covered in the wax and was ripe for harvesting. She scavenged many samples, and rushed home.

She got to work quickly and began to craft her own candles, which she tested inside her section of her family’s cave, experimenting to get different results for many days. By adding ingredients that she found around her home and in the town, burning parts of them, mixing them into pastes and baking them with the candles, and then trying to match the candle with that heat signature, she was able to create candles with scents that not only matched that ingredient, but smelled stronger, would diffuse slower through a room, and even change scent as it burned. She knew she had discovered something special

She ran to town the day, and began to sell them for small exchanges of coin. The villagers were surprised to see her selling something as mundane as a candle, but they entertained her. Some purchased from her at first, but after the first day, there was a mad rush for more from her. Her candles were one of very few in the area, and customers adored the quality and duration of the scent. She acquired a large demand, and with it obviously being a hit, began to devote a large amount of time to it. She took half of her profit and gave it to her mother and father to thank them for all they did for her.

With customers requesting more candles, and even getting specialty requests, Lussi had to make it a made-to-order item, and moved location to the cave. Customers would have to hike up the side of the cliff, and enter through the grotto, with the glimmering of the wax in the light on all the walls creating a sparkling, starry night effect as they would enter her shop, which she aptly named, “Sparkling Grotto Candle Co.”

There, customers would pickup their order, or place it, and Lussi would get right to work. She cast, pressed and wrapped all the candles right there in the space. All her customers left very satisfied with the unique experience and beautiful presentation. On top of this, she also did special orders, making candles that would smell like specific scenes and put scenes in the person’s head who smelled them, like “apple grove”, “autumn feast”, “log cabin”, and many others, to cater and deliver a one of a kind experience to them, as she had been given.

I hope it’s easy to realize, but what her tail really represents, and how it being reversed is not a curse, but rather a blessing. It represents her moving past the pre-conceived notion of what it means to be a scorpion. Rather than being ready to pounce and strike at any moment, with the thought of striking first and danger always hanging over her head, (literally); to instead put love first, and put ease into people’s heart around her as friends, and be a light in the darkness, to find the value and good in things wherever she goes, is her true purpose. She now carries herself with a confident sway and has self-love that was never there before, as she is making a positive difference in her community. She learns to be okay with herself, as she is, and to make the best of her abilities in service to others. She is one of a kind, as are all her customers, and she tries her best to show that.