Unlike many Tekeri, who were raised in commoner families without many resources, Nellara was born as the result of the union of two mages, one of which was a life mage and thus, highly valued by the Ascendancy. Thanks to her lineage and the expectation that was put into her awakening into a powerful mage, she was able to receive the best education and training one could, with her childhood been largely spent studying and training.
Unfortunately, awakening one's magic isn't something that can be forced and is largely left up to fate. Regardless of how much Nellara trained while she was younger and how much she prepared, magic only came to Nellara very late and with great difficulty. Even after awakening as a lightning mage, manifesting her magic was always difficult for Nellara, to the point that her parents started losing their hopes on her and instead focused their attention on her siblings.
Despite having lost favor with her parents, Nellara didn't give up. While having been tossed aside by her family did wound both her confidence and her feelings, it only made Nellara even more determined to show them that they were wrong. Instead of focusing her efforts on magic, she decided to train her body as much as she could. Soon it became evident that even though Nellara seemed to lack talent for magic, she more than made up for it with her physical capabilities. She was fast, agile, strong, deadly. Few were the ones who were able to dodge her kicks in the sparring sessions, even fewer were those who were able to come out unscathed after being hit. Despite being considered as a waste of resources by her family, despite the lack of talent for magic, for a moment, Nellara thought that she was going to make it... That was until she decided to try applying to the position of a Castigator for the Order of Magisters...
As soon as the selection process began, all the confidence Nellara had built by showing her superiority against other Tekeris was simply crushed. Even though she was still physically superior to many applicants, the lack of magic showed to be a huge disadvantage. Even by trying her hardest, Nellara was only able to barely pass to the second phase of the selection process. On this phase, the applicants would be dispatched to a location where the Ascendancy has some interest in, adistant territory beyond the Ascendancy's borders in order to deliver report about it an and resolving any issues along the way.
The place Nellara was dispatched to investigate was a small village in an arid, desert-like territory. Assailed by wild beasts and the harsh, arid climate, the trip to the village was an arduous and harsh one. The wild beasts, despite being small, were still dangerous, due to many of them either hunting in packs of being venomous. More than once, Nellara saw herself having to flee or avoid crossing the path of giant ants that made their home near the deserts.
After three days, Nellara finally arrived at the village. Tired, exhausted and with her body covered with cuts and scratches, she was received in the village by one of the families there, who took her in, fed her and took care of her wounds in exchange for a few pieces of silver. At first, Nellara thought that it was just one family, but as soon as she regained her strength and went to investigate the village, she noticed that all the Tekeris that lived there had immaculately white feathers, something that was incredibly rare back in Arcaeda.
Her first meeting with the elder of that village wasn't a very amicable one. The strange, albino Tekeri, had his body, feathers and claws decorated with gold, forming lines that connecting them in a complex pattern. Despite his advanced age, his first words were as harsh as his eyes were as he asked Nellara for the reason for her visit.
After Nellara finished giving him a brief explanation, mentioning she was acting under orders of the Magisters, the elder simply sneered, showing his discontent. Despite Nellara's insistence, the elder, who introduced himself as Aibiq, didn't seem to believe her. Arcaeda had abandoned him and his village for years, to assume they would suddenly send someone to make a report was simply preposterous and immediately ordered Nellara to leave.
Upon Nellara's refusal, Aibiq's patience had visibly started to run thin and even before Nellara could try and explain herself the elder approached her and with a surprising speed, especially taking in consideration his age, he extended his hand and approached Nellara's forehead with the tip of the claw on his index finger. The moment the gold painted claw touched her, before Nellara could even act, a strong electrical current ran through the elder's body jumping from one golden line to the other in dangerous arcs of electricity. The moment the electricity was about to reach her and the Elder's claw was just about to touch her, a strong spark of electricity suddenly jumped, coming from Nellara's own body and met the Elder's claw, repelling both of them and sending them flying to separate sides of the room.
As Nellara opened her eyes, after suffering a strong impact, she was met with Aibiq's surprised expression as he stood up again. Before Nellara could open her mouth, he simply raised his hand, asking for silence. It was then that Aibiq made Nellara a proposal that would change her life. In exchange of interceding for that village when reporting to the Order of Magisters, Aibiq would teach Nellara about their unique way of using Lightning magic, which greatly differed from how the Magisters taught. At that moment, Nellara was met with a choice she had to make... She could go back to Arcaeda and complete the second phase of the selection, only to fail when competing with the other applicants... Or she could give up from the selection process and stay to learn the Tekeri nomads' way... In the end, she chose to take the chance and stay on the village.
Nellara would stay in the nameless vilage for eight months, where she would learn that she wasn't suited for how the Magisters taught Lightning magic and instead, learned the ways of the Tekeri nomads. From the usage of iron sand, magnetism, iron spheres to how gold could be used as a conductor for their lightning magic. In the end of those eight months, Nellari, having been taught everything she could learn, underwent a ceremony where she was taught the gold patterns and the markings which now adorn her feathers, body and claws.
Her return to Arcaeda was unsurprisingly met with the disapproval from the Order of Magisters and her family, for having failed the second part of the selection. Despite such reception, Nellara was unfazed by the harsh, judgemental stares. Using what she learned with the nomads, she once again volunteered for the seat of Castigator and unlike the first time, Nellara crushed the competition. Unlike her previous self, she didn't doubt herself or her skills anymore and with renewed determination and confidence, she shattered previous records, earning the title of Castigator with a frightening speed. In the end Castigator Nellara stood proud of her accomplishment, having reached such position with nothing but her own blood and effort.
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