Rydia's parents aren't exactly the most ideal couple - dad's a fireball-happy archmage that regards going off and picking a fight with something fairly dangerous (like, say, the nearest adult red dragon) as a "vacation," while mom is a genuine creature of chaos who is displaying an amazing amount of discipline if she manages to stay at home for longer than a fews days at a time before heading to another world/plane for a few days.
Compared to most of the other families formed by members of the crew of the Virgin, they are probably quite functional.
Bob taught his daughter the Art, and was more than a little pleased when he figured out that she had the potential to be better at it than he ever could be.
The main reason that she joined the second planejammer party was for what Bob and Maiserendae figured would be for her own safety - not being on Toril when they went ahead and ticked off assorted organizations, and being under the watchful eye of Rydia Windancer, who they figured could keep her out of trouble.
Rydia's generally cheerful, assertive, impulsive (she is half-eladrin, after all), and desires to better herself as a wizard, and as a member of her mother's race. Rydia favors her celestial half over her mortal half, or at least thinks she does. She values her adventuring companions, though she can think of at least one who really shouldn't be adventuring in the outer planes - if at all.
Following the defeat of Bram Narafashi, she doesn't have any immediate goals. She simply wants to improve herself - and perhaps take over for dad in Benden in a few years; he could use the break, anyways.
Achika was born of odd and highly unusual sercimstances to say the least. Her farther disappeared soon after she was born. It is unknown if he is still live or not, for no trace of him has been found in many years. Nonetheless, Achika was raised by her mother, Prism (roughly translated to common), on the dragon Isles as best as she could. Due to her differences, she had difficulty interacting with the other dragon's life style. When Achika reached the tender age of 60 years old, Prism decided it was time for her young child was ready to face the rest of the world on her own. That was the start of her adventures both on and off Faerun. She traveled and had many adventures with all sorts of beings. Some of them good, some of them bad, and a few Achika refuses to speak of any more. Now that she is coming closer to her 200-year-old mark, she feels that she is the dawn of a new race and now she seeks to make sure that it will live on and come to par with the elves, dwarfs, humans and other races on Faerun. Achika, along with help from others took a small island that was a base for an army of young black dragons and beholder kin that was poised to invade the dragon isles of her home. She now has enlarged that island and turned it into her own little nation that has become a very important (and only) resting point in the dangerously long sea journey between Maztica and the rest of Faerun. All of the major nations have recognized her claim on the choke point of this rich trade route. With this established, her nation's value and power expanded almost overnight. Achika has become a truly kind and caring matriarch of her ever-growing family. However, if there ever should be a great danger that threatens her nation and or her family, she will ready herself once again for battle. For it can be said, she is truly one of Faerun's strongest heroes still alive.
Narasin comes from what the party refers to as "random prime." Her home world is actually Asura, a desert planet which worships Hindu dieties. Nara is a follower of Indrani, the goddess who saved her life and gave her a dire lion cub as a gift and companion.
Nara and Anala have wandered the outlands for six years, searching for something that neither will reveal. If pressed, she only replies that it involves a past life and leaves it at that. She has been a practicing druid for eight years, and will admit that before she became a druid she was trained as a preistess. She has a particular dislike for organized religions, cults, and adult authority figures.
Anala, Nara's lion familiar, was only a cub, barely old enough to hunt for herself when her mother was killed by a red dragon. Nara attempted to save her when a strange figure appeared and killed the dragon. Nara now wears the skin as armor. Anala will tell anybody this story now that she has the ability to speak common. She is Nara's loyal companion, and has been learning how to defend her "master" and friend more thoroughly.
(Water-Demon Four-of-Winds)
When rivalries over succession as clan leader factionalized the Hikaze clan, a cleric in his twenties named Mizu-Yasha Kazenoyon set off in search of the Hikaze Blade, the holy sword that could bring order to his clan. His search led him to become involved in a struggle against the evil nation of Kyrandia. With the help of travellers from distant worlds, the forces of evil were defeated, and the Hikaze Blade was located, restoring Kaneda Hikaze as rightful ruler of the clan.
Afterwards, Mizu-Yasha chose to travel the multiverse with the offworlders, eventually living on the fantastic ship, the Planejammer. Eventually, he returned to his home to become the high cleric of Tenkishujin. He married and had 3 children. At age 80, after the death of his wife, Mizu-Yasha began travelling the planes again, looking after the children of his colleages from the Planejammer, as well as his own granddaughter, Jeniko Kazenoyon.
Mizu-Yasha's lifeline will expire at the age of 94.
Tundra Dragondust is a Seraphim angel who lives in a magnificent palace that continually floats lazily through the sky of Toril. It mostly stays over Faerun or floats somewhere between the sea of swords and the trackless sea. She is the headmaster of Tundra's School for Girls and devotes several hours during the week on seeing that her students are doing well. Every Saturday, she spends several hours at Tundra and Shandroa's Extraordinary Fashion Boutique creating the week's special orders for lords and nobles who request them. On Sundays she asks that all of her daughters that currently reside on Toril come home for a large banquet dinner and tell her something exciting that happened to them that week.
She is of course interested in everything her sweeties do, so naturally when Danyelle told stories of her travels, Tundra became very interested and in a way began to miss the adventuring life. So to take a break from her normal routine, she set off to join the party as another one of her daughters.
She basically wants to get away for a while and see how things around the multiverse have changed over the years. She also likes the idea of trying to build up her stack of magical items again, as she left them behind, just so it's more of a challenge for her.
Jenny is the youngest of Zagnor and Samantha Adlehyde's four children. She was trained in swordplay by her mother but didn't really pay attention so she does not excel at it. She preferred playing hide and seek with her sister Angela. Until Angela ran away from home that is. Jenny has always been a kid at heart, inheriting her parent's free spirits, and joined the party at the age of 26 (young for a half winged elf) because it sounded fun.
After losing her first love, an evil wizard who had thralled her, she had a scry spell cast on her soul mate. She is now dating a Githzeria named Cenik, a tall stern monk. Much to the concern of her parents, Jenny announced that she was pregnant not long after meeting Cenik.
Jenny is a shadow dancer who fights with a rapier and a short sword. She is not much help to her friends when it comes to fighting or negotiating or figuring things out. She mainly functions as the party's scout. Jenny has two pet undead shadows named Fluffy and Snowball. She likes cookies, shiny things and exploring the streets of Sigil. Her goals in life are to raise a family and bring peace to the multiverse.
Knowing that one has a potential life span of hundreds of years - and knowing that one will in all likelihood be dead and beyond recovery within the next ten, if even that many, isn't a good bit of knowledge to possess.
Knowing that the power that one is regularly, almost unconsciously drawing upon, is going to be sthe cause of this isn't either.
Knowing that one will eventually be a threat to all that one hold's dear, and that the premature termination of one's lifespan will actually be a mercy-killing, makes it a bit worse.
Tristan bears the name of his father, a human sorcerer from the Silver Marches. Her romance with Tristan Karasan was probably the closest that his mother ever came to settling down with someone, and they still maintain a friendly relationship.
The fact that their son is doomed is a source of some strain, though.
The One Power calls to him, continually drawing him to it - and drawing it to him. He knows the name of this source of power - saidin - though he has no idea why. It will destroy him, but he'll continue to call upon it and increase his skill over it until the taint - the wash of spiritual waste that enters him every time he calls upon it, and leaves a little bit more of itself in him every single time - destroys his mind. It's much like a moth drawn to an open flame.
He doesn't know why he can use it, and as to his knowledge, he's the only one who can. When he first started channeling the One Power, it had created a great deal of confusion - it wasn't wizardy, it wasn't sorcery, and it wasn't psionics. When his mother called upon a Legend Lore to try to figure out what was happening, she didn't learn the nature of what he was doing - she only learned what it would do to him.
After sharing that information with his father, they decided to share it with him - he was fifteen by then, and would probably soon start to adventure.
He has an agreement with his parents, now - when the times comes, they will do their utmost to try to perform the needed killing. He just hopes that he won't kill them in the process.
A lot of Tristan's ambitions when he was younger - stuff like studying magic, and possibly even following in mom's footsteps, succeeding her as she succeeded grandpa - have been dumped, now; he's currently at a loss as to what do with himself. He's hoping to find a purpose within the next couple of years - to find some way to change things for the better before his time runs out.
(Bamboo-Blood Love-River)
Takechi, age 20, is the great-grandson of Mizu-Yasha. Takechi's father, Bouken (Adventure), is the only son of Mizu-Yasha's eldest daughter and is a low-level Sohei. Takechi's mother is Tsukiko of the Reeds (Moon-Child), a nature spirit that inhabits a grove of bamboo beside a stream that flows off Kami no Fumito ni Tame, the mountain the Hizake clan lives at the base of.Takechi is a young Shaman who draws his domain power from his ancestor Mizu-Yasha (Ancestor domain) and from the grove his mother inhabits (Wood domain).
At this point, the clan deity, Tenkishujin is dead. Most of the clan is dead as well, including the entire Hikaze family (except for a 1-year-old child). A templar (and relative of Takechi) named Jeniko Kazenokon has adopted the child and taken on the duties of the clan leader until the child is old enough to rule.
Takechi is true neutral and believes in the concepts of yin and yang. He seems to restore the natural balance of the multiverse and is familiar with the stories of the planes told by Jeniko. He hopes to begin travelling the multiverse soon.
Takechi will not speak to any woman outside of his own family, nor will he or others in his clan explain the reason for this.
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