In the Beginning...

Gabrielle Baker grew up in the small town of Bloodstone in the northwestern reaches of Keystone. Her father and mother were bakers, and they ran a prosperous but modest little shop in town. That all changed when the Darkwar visited Bloodstone.

The attention the Darkwar brought to Bloodstone included Claven Mastherik, the Gray Necromancer. He was immediately attracted to the brown-eyed, brown-haired girl and offered her an apprenticeship. Eager to leave her small town roots, she accepted.

Her travels took her far and wide, and Claven's battles against the forces of both the living and the dead proved to bring out her best. She was cool-headed in dangerous situations and possessed a calm demeanor despite the atrocities she often witnessed.

Claven proved to be an excellent teacher. Over time their relationship began to hint at something more. But as time passed, Claven took on a new form of study, something he had stumbled upon in a dark tome. It was the art of defiling, the magic which uses the lifeblood of living things to power its effects.

Claven's demeanor changed. He became obsessed with immortality, but terrified of undeath. He wanted, more than anything, to possess an item known only as the Bloodstone, rumored to allow Claven to jump from body to body. Gabrielle began to fear the worst as she watched her master's power increase exponentially. Defiling magic was a quick and dangerous path to Claven's goal, and soon Gabrielle began to wonder if Claven had taken her under his wing only to discover if the Bloodstone was somewhere in her hometown.

Their paths began to diverge, as Gabrielle sought to undo with necromancy what Claven found to be a foolish triviality -- the preservation of life. That all ended during a spell gone awry, whereupon Ymerek Stats unleashed a fireball that backfired. Gabrielle did not survive.

Gabrielle's next recollection was waking up, naked, on a cold slab of stone in God's Eye Keep. Terrified for her life, she awoke next to Talien Radisgad, in the same condition. It took only a few moments to realize what had become of them.

For all Claven's distance, he had become quite attached to Gabrielle, even loved her. Her death was inexcusable. Claven's only recourse was to clone her from the burnt and shattered remains of her former body. Gabrielle was horrified.

It was then that she made her decision to flee with Talien. Claven might seek her out, she feared, and ultimately, seek to destroy all that she held dear. She was determined to protect her beloved town.

As it turned out, Claven was heartbroken that she feared him. At the peak of his power, they met once again in the Royal Palace at Keystone City. She had founded her own school of Biomancy, and she was married to Talien. Claven cast a spell to resurrect Ymerek Stats from beyond, and in doing so his life-draining magics caused a pregnant woman to miscarriage.

No one is sure what words were exchanged between Claven and Gabrielle that night, but they never spoke again. Nevertheless, Gabrielle did place a single rose at the foot of his statue, perhaps in reconciliation for the great sacrifice Claven of his goals and his life so that others could live.

Gabrielle seeks to lead a new generation of healers. Soft-spoken and shy, she works at Keystone City but makes regular visits to New Bloodstone to visit her family. She hopes to have the school stable enough so that she can return to her home town.