With a past full of love and companionship, it’s the quiet moments that are the hardest. It’s the nights spent alone that eat at your skin, stir your mind with emotions that scream to be heard, yearning to be coddled and comforted. Often you have to be your own solace, but that’s simply unrealistic. However, when you are alone without the only people in your life that truly understood you…what choice is there?

Early Years (Birth to 14 years)

Minerva was born on an island called Eimuan, and despite it being an island, it was far larger than one would expect due to the capital of the land being the Gavarian kingdom, but Minerva lived in no such grand place. Far north from the southern kingdom were lush forests and sparse jungle where development had yet to reach. This area was what comprised the homes of many tribes of native pokemon that chose a simpler and even primitive way of living in comparison to the more highly developed cities. Despite this, the tribes were rich with culture and traditions, but above all that, it is where Minerva and her family lived.  

A sort of black sheep in her family, she was a lamia who was unable to shapeshift like her mother was able. Not only that but she seemed to not have the ability to summon fire like the rest of the tribe could. She was loved dearly by her mother, father, and older brother as well as all those of the Talnokut Tribe. The only real issues she faced in her childhood were perhaps rumors of the neighboring tribes causing trouble, cold winters, and perhaps struggling to make her family proud. Even with her father being a mere hunter and her mother a woman who dedicated her time to caring for and teaching all the children in the tribe, they never fell on hard times as everyone there was like family, even if it wasn’t by blood.

Her elder brother Cassius had a handful of years on her but was the type of son who was overjoyed to hear he was going to have a little sister. Because of that, he never truly left her alone, bringing her along with him and making up the most bizarre excuses to convince his parents to let him. He taught Minerva about all the cultures and traditions of her home and the little lamia was more than happy to learn. The dances, songs, rituals, and prayers were all so in-depth and made her feel part of something truly great. Though as a child, it’s often the case for everything to seem magical. As curious as she was, it was high time she learned of some things that weren’t quite as understandable as simple song and dance. 

Minerva had come to learn that Talnokut was a very proud tribe, composed of mostly dragon and fire-type pokemon. The intense passion and aggression oftentimes lead to dangerous pastimes and rituals to determine entertainment and politics. Rather than determining who led by debate or election, the strongest led and there would be duels and fights throughout the year that led to many challengers being beaten bloody. The little lamia hated fighting, never showing interest in feats of strength like her brother did. The only thing that could come close was her love for wrestling, but she viewed that as more playful and friendly, not painful. Cassius always told her that one day he would prove himself to the tribe and show them he would be a vital piece of the foundation that kept its people strong. Minerva wanted nothing more than for her brother's dream to come true, but she never really understood that fire burning in his eyes…all her people's eyes for that matter. She seemed to be one of the only ones who didn’t have it and eventually, she began to wonder and worry if there was something different about her from the rest of her family.

Unlike them, she never really got angry or upset in an explosive manner. Though frankly if she was honest, she never got ‘regular’ angry. She would at times raise her voice, but she was a pacifist through and through. When she came of age to be officially considered a woman, she was situated into a role the chieftain saw best for her, and to her joy, it was the same role as her mother; a caretaker. Though as a young girl, she did not quite understand what that entailed and given the archaic ways of her tribe, it would have taken an outsider to tell her it was unorthodox in comparison to the average world. Along with all the other girls who were situated in this role, they were educated in the ways of courting and seducing a future husband. Her days were filled with hours of concepts she couldn’t quite understand at her age but did her best to follow along for the sake of her tribe. After all, all she ever wanted to do was make them proud and she knew she had quite a few disadvantages stacked against her. She could not produce fire like a majority of the tribe could and the draconic fire that burned bright in all the others seemed dormant inside of her. With a tribe so fixated on the concept of keeping a perfect bloodline alive, none were too keen on taking in a girl who showed neither crucial trait. She felt…wrong like she was a mistake set up along a crowd of perfect examples.

Worry racked her mind and heart, though her family soon came and reassured her that all would come in time. Her father kissed her forehead as her mother held her close, feeling complete in every way, finding the strength to take her brother's hand and continue striving for what she wanted, just as he did.

Though the problems they had were no longer as small as fitting in and proving themselves, it soon turned into a fight to stay alive against those who saw them as savages.

The day was unlike any other, men had gone off to hunt as the woman taught the children by the field of honeysuckle along the riverbed.  It was a peace that Minerva would relive for the rest of her days if she could, but sadly nothing could last forever An explosion ripped through the air and soon the village seemed to be encircled in flames, strangers stepping through the fire with weapons drawn and body covered in polished iron plating. All potential for negotiation went out the window when the invaders began to cut down the inhabitants like pesky vines in the way of an expedition. The little regard for their life was terrifying, only heightened by the symphony and screams and cries that reverberated around the hollow.

With no clue where her mother and father were, she attempted to hide in her home but was soon dragged out by a man who was surely soon to kill her. His stature was large and intimidating, a large scar skewed across his face, with a sword lifted at the zenith of his arms reach, preparing to cull her just like he had many others before her. She thought her life was soon to end before her brother broke through the fire and intercepted her attacker, fending him off long enough to drag her off and out of the tribe. She was in hysterics, no clue what was going on and wanting nothing more but to see her whole family and know if they were alright or not. She just wanted to hug her mom and hear her dad's reassurances, but she couldn’t focus over the shouts of men demanding her people's death. They only stopped running when they reached a hidden alcove, Cassius carefully tucking Minerva into safety until whatever hell they were experiencing would pass.

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“It’s okay Min, I’m going to go find mom and dad, okay? I’ll be back to get you when it’s safe.”

There was a uncertainty in his voice that seemed to know he might not be returning to her, and as a young child, that notion was terrifying.

“No, please! Don’t leave me! Cas…I’m so scared…! I can’t be alone without you! I’m not strong like you!”

“I’m scared too…but I’m your big brother, and a big brother protects his baby sister. I hope you can one day see yourself the way I see you, Minerva. You aren’t different, you’re perfect.”

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With that and some insistence that he would come back, he soon absconded into the night, leaving Minerva in her hiding place to wait for his and her parent's return. She held onto his promise, putting all her faith in him to believe he was being true to his word…but as the hours passed…as the night turned into day time and time again… her hope all but faded and all that remained was an emptiness and the smell of soot on the wind. All she could think was how she could have turned the tide and helped if only she was stronger…

She never willingly moved from where she hid, only being found by freak chance by those scavenging the remains of the tribe after following the smoke. To her luck, these people were not her attackers and only wanted to help get her somewhere safe. Realizing she was an orphan, they looked down on her with pity, taking her with them to the town of Wisehaven, further south, and the direction in which the trade caravan was heading. Dropped off at the orphanage, she was confused and truly alone, surrounded by strangers that looked and acted nothing like her. She was scared and would hide, often being disobedient to instructions and getting penalized for it. She was seen as strange by the other kids and therefore was avoided, the young girl wanting nothing more than to just go home.

After the Attack (15 years to Present)

One day as she sat by her lonesome, a young girl approached her, one she had never seen before, and began talking to her. She must have been new because she had never seen her in the orphanage before. Even more than that, she was beautiful and did not look like the kinda girl who would be an orphan. She looked pampered and well cared for, this not being where she belonged. Eventually, she learned her name; Eleonora. She said she ran away and decided anywhere away from her family would be better than the life she had been living prior. The concept was incredibly upsetting to the little lamia, not understanding how anyone could leave a life of unconditional love. Soon she realized all was not as she assumed, feeling pity for the girl in her own way, and in the end, she got comfortable enough to share what happened to her. Though when she began to speak, it was so hard to recollect. It was as if a piece of her memory was gone. She thought it would be truly a horror to recall but… she couldn’t. She couldn’t remember anything. The more she tried to remember…the more she realized that the faces of her family were fuzzy in her memory as well…their voices…she couldn’t make them out. 

The little girl listened respectfully to the bits and pieces Minerva shared until her face morphed into one of guilt and horror. Tears streamed down her face and she latched onto the little lamia for reasons she didn’t understand until later when the young girl had the strength to tell her who destroyed her home. Eventually, Eleonora became the one person she could trust while she healed, soon considering her to be a newfound family.

Not too long after they had run away together from the orphanage to find out what they wanted in life and what to do. Minerva, having no direction, merely followed Eleonora towards her dreams, content in merely drifting for the time being until she managed to shake away the storm clouds of her past. They grew up having each other's backs, taking on odd jobs to meet ends meet, and putting food in their stomach. Over time the weak lamia grew much stronger, driven to work hard and help others, figuring it to be the calling she eventually settled on. If her chieftain believed she was best at taking care of people, she would dedicate her life to it.

Eventually from the direction of her friend, their focus became set on the Global Communication Setup Foundation. Though they cared little for discovering new islands, Eleonora sought to instead find those to join her cause to enact vengeance on the man that hurt her and Minerva as well as offer growth for the two of them. Despite her friend's goals, Minerva merely wanted to find peace in her heart and rid herself of the crushing emptiness inside her chest. Whether that be by making connections or finally feeling worth enough in her own eyes to make her family proud, she had no clue. All she could do was keep pressing on, and keep smiling.