Duara Bago
Duara Bago is a half-Laerian woman who, after months of travel and flight from Haford, settles with her father Gaul in the small Tavean town of Drethen. The circumstances that drove them from Haford are not fully stated, though Gaul tells her plainly that they fled because of her.
Background
Origins
Duara was born and raised in Haford, a nation where homes and trades are built within and between enormous trees, connected by braided rope bridges and wooden steps that spiral around the trunks. As a half-Laerian, she occupied an uneasy place within Hafordian society — by her own account, the Laerians are deeply reserved and hold little warmth even for their own half-offspring.
She was raised worshipping Reney, the faith common to Haford. As a young person she had an interest in enchantment work, though she notes that not many Laerians take up the craft, and she would have been largely alone in it.
She bears visible scarring atop her ears, a feature that marks her heritage at a glance.
Flight from Haford
Duara and her father spent months traveling and running before arriving at Drethen. Her mother did not come with them and remains behind in Haford. Both Duara and Gaul grieve her absence quietly, though Gaul tells Duara he cannot allow himself to dwell on it while they still have ground to cover.
Traits and Abilities
Duara carries a persistent awareness — described as a low buzz at the back of her head — that she knows intimately and credits with keeping her safe. She does not elaborate on its nature.
She is physically capable and tends to push herself past reasonable limits, carrying yokes and buckets long after her father has gone to rest, and walking through pain without complaint. She is perceptive about others, catching social undercurrents quickly and stepping in to diffuse tension before it builds. She tends not to volunteer information about herself unless pressed, but is warm and frank once she finds her footing.
Story Involvement
Arrival in Drethen
Duara and Gaul take up residence in a hillside cabin outside Drethen, previously used as a Bramphian safe house. On her first morning, searching for a nearby creek, Duara meets Ashya — an apprentice tinkerer and the first person she has spoken with at length in some time. The two quickly form a friendship.
Settling In
Duara helps her father restore the cabin to a livable state, hauling water from the creek and patching what she can. When the cabin's rusted door hinge proves beyond their ability to fix, Duara brings Ashya to help — only to discover that Ashya had already anticipated the need and had a new hinge forged by her uncle Vallen weeks prior.
Wiko
A boy named Wiko, a follower of Kyron with an ascetic duty to observe and document, is discovered watching the cabin from the treeline. Duara mediates between him and her father, and learns that his practice extends to documenting the Runners who pass through Drethen.