While this story isn’t about Lianna, she is the product of it. Before getting to know Lianna Luz, let’s learn her backstory. Meet her parents…
This handsome spellcaster is Dante Luz.
https://i.imgur.com/AxUlSB9.png
This beautiful mermaid is Kalani Kahananui.
https://i.imgur.com/23xalAm.png
And a little background info on the world:
20 Years Earlier…
In a world where magic exists, but is rare, spellcaster Sims live in the far corners of civilization, in mysterious, mystical places like Forgotten Hollow and Glimmerbrook.
After the spellcaster population began to grow exponentially hundreds of years ago, these special Sims decided to create a portal to the mortal realm in an effort to expand. The dark, gloomy town of Forgotten Hollow, inhabited by wealthy vampires, was where the portal opened. Naturally, conflict ensued between the two powerful groups, but after several decades the two groups learned to live peacefully, tolerating one another.
As time went on, the spellcaster families who first settled Forgotten Hollow grew in wealth and power. An elite society emerged, with rules and expectations similar in many ways to those of a long-past time, including marriages arranged by parents for power or wealth, keeping bloodlines “pure” and “strong,” and not marrying outside one’s class, or heaven forbid marrying a mortal.
Dante's Story...
Dante Luz was the son of Camilla and Tobias Luz, both powerful spellcasters and prominent members of elite society. Stunningly handsome, Dante was a ladies’ man from a young age. His parents were not shy about their expectations for his future: marry a spellcaster from the same elite society they belonged to, one who was powerful and wealthy. Camilla Luz’s strong bloodline was not going to be muddled. However, Dante was not thrilled with having his life planned out for him. He had no interest in being a stuffy aristocrat, closed off from the rest of the world in this gloomy corner of it. He dreamed of traveling all over, of experiencing all that life has to offer. Settling down with one woman was not something he was ready for or desired, especially if that woman was chosen for him by his parents out of the other elitist families in his hometown. While Tobias, Dante’s father, was more understanding, having felt similarly as a young man, his mother would not hear of it. Camilla wanted one thing from Dante: for him to continue the legacy of his family. She pushed Dante in the direction she wanted him to go, brushing off his desires and dreams as frivolous. Dante often butted heads with his family, and all throughout his teenage years he rebelled. He still felt a duty to respect his parents’ wishes, but struggled with reconciling that with his dreams.
Kalani's Story...
Kalani was an island girl through and through. Although she lost her parents when she was a child, the island land of Sulani and its close-knit community raised her, and she never felt alone. An outgoing and cheery woman, she was became fast friends with everyone and knew all of the happenings in Sulani. She spent her life focusing on the present, and enjoyed living in the moment. Kalani did not have any grand plans for her future, as she was content to live among the natural beauty of Sulani for the forseeable future. She did not have much money to her name, but she didn't see a need for it. Her home on the water, her friends, and the wonderful gifts that the island gave was more than enough for her. Kalani was a mermaid, and hiding this fact never even crossed her mind. While magic and occults were certainly not common, the people of Sulani knew the "myths" were very real...mermaids had happily existed in the island land for centuries. Being a mermaid did not affect Kalani's ability to connect with her people, and if you had not seen her flipping her iridescent tail through Sulani's blue waters, you would likely have no idea that she was not a human.
Little did these two know that their worlds would collide in a life-changing way...
Wow, I am loving it so far! Super well written, this combination of challenge & story definitely captured my attention and Im looking forward to see what happens next!
"EA_Mari;c-18199708" wrote: Wow, I am loving it so far! Super well written, this combination of challenge & story definitely captured my attention and Im looking forward to see what happens next!
Thank you so much for the shoutout! I'm so glad you are enjoying it so far.
Love this background story, very well written and can't wait to read more! I, too, have never finished the hundred baby challenge, so I am hoping your shared story will give me some help. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you everyone for the very nice comments! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story so far. I love writing Sims stories but I have never shared them with anyone else, so it truly means a lot to me.
I think I am going to use spoilers for most pictures, that way the thread doesn't get bogged down (I take a lot of screenshots in-game and would love to share them)! I may do this with chapters in the future too, but for the backstory I don't think it is necessary!
There is one more integral character to introduce, although she is not related to Lianna. Meet Kyera Youngblood…
Kyera’s Story
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From the time her powers began to manifest, it was clear that Kyera was a very gifted spellcaster. As a little girl she had abilities that many Sims didn’t acquire until their teen years. While raw power was not an issue for Kyera, controlling her spellcasting did seem to prove challenging, likely stemming from the sheer power she possessed at a young age. Her parents, Ethalia and Edward Youngblood, were very proud of their gifted daughter. While they both came from average spellcasting lines, the family was extremely wealthy. They pushed Kyera to continue their legacy, while strengthening it with her powers and the gifted children she would surely have. To ensure this happened, though, that meant Kyera needed to not only marry “within her class,” but also marry a spellcaster whose power could rival her own. Kyera was raised with this ideal her entire life – she knew nothing else and believed this was her destiny.
We will begin this story by focusing in on Kyera and learning a little bit more about this wildly powerful spellcaster.
Kyera Youngblood confidently swirled her hand through the air, admiring the sparks and lights tracing her movements. She felt the power surging through her, releasing from her fingertips and escaping into the air. While other 18 year olds were partying with friends, weighing university decisions, or deciding what path to go down in life, Kyera stayed within the walls of her family’s ancestral home. That home just happened to be a stone mansion, equipped with all sorts of magical trinkets and devices. Here in Forgotten Hollow, the Youngbloods had risen to the top of the elite spellcaster society. Their power and wealth could be traced back several generations, back to when the foreign spellcasters and native vampires of the region battled fiercely for control. Hundreds of years later, the two groups had learned to live in relative harmony, which mostly meant they stayed out of each other’s affairs.
As Kyera played with the tiniest fraction of her magical ability, her mother, Ethalia, stirred a sophisticated potion in their antique cauldron. Edward, Kyera’s father, was back in Glimmerbrook at the Spellcaster Headquarters, attending a meeting of some of the most powerful and elite spellcasters currently alive.
The family frequently hosted dinner parties with their elitist chums, so Kyera knew most of the higher society spellcasters. Her closest friend though was a spellcaster who lived in Glimmerbrook, and was by no means “wealthy.” Grace Anansi was an orphan who was making her own way in the world. The two had become close at a young age, since they both attended magic lessons from one of the greatest sages Glimmerbrook had ever known: Morgyn Ember. As the sage of Untamed Magic, he was arguably the most powerful spellcaster alive. Morgyn taught only the best of the best – those who showed exceptional promise and talent from a very young age – and Kyera was firmly at the top of that list. While a little sheltered from being homeschooled her entire life, she shined brighter than anyone at her tri-weekly magic lessons.
Kyera was also quite close with her mentor, Morgyn. He took a liking to her from an early age, and thought of her as his prized student, someone who would make him proud one day. Kyera wasn’t just gifted – she was frighteningly powerful. She learned the spell infernio – a high-level spell that allows the caster to set anything ablaze – as a young teenager, and could be found sneaking around at night turning bushes in her neighborhood to ash. Most sims gifted with magic don’t have the ability to learn such a spell until well into young adulthood. She dominated in class duels; even when she did not win, it was always because the opponent took advantage of her intense fighting style and used their mind to outwit her. In a straight power-to-power match, there was no match.
Kyera’s raw power was off the charts. It was her control of that power that needed help. Morgyn strived to teach her to control every ounce of power that she possessed, but Untamed Magic comes from raw emotion, unlike the Alchemy her mother mastered and the Practical Magic her father was adept in. The other schools of magic were far easier to control, all stemming from intellectual ability (with the exception of Mischief Magic, which is exactly as it sounds.) But Kyera was an emotional girl. She was quick-tempered, easily angered and very excitable. Teaching someone like that to control Untamed Magic was about as impossible as one might imagine – the untamed nature of such magic is precisely why Kyera was gifted with it. Morgyn was a Virtuoso in Untamed Magic, considered the highest rank a spellcaster can achieve. He was chosen by a council of his peers to become the sage of this school, teaching others gifted like himself how to be as great as he was. But Morgyn had spent years learning the art of control. Kyera, on the other hand, was a teenage girl with no firm grasp of the weight of her intense powers.
Kyera had come of age, and her parents were intensely focused on finding her a suitable match. The frequency of sophisticated soirees hosted by the Youngbloods was increasing, not that Kyera minded. She was as excited about finding her "soulmate" as her parents were.
Dante’s family was on vacation again, this time in the tropical paradise called Sulani. When you have more money than you know what to do with, frequent vacations are compulsory. While Camilla and Tobias soaked in the sunrays on lounge chairs at the beach club, sipping fruity drinks and being waited on hand and foot, Dante saw his opportunity to escape his parents’ oppression. Dante was one for living in the moment; traveling had become one of his favorite hobbies, primarily because it meant he got some time to just be himself and enjoy life.
Dante spent the first few days of this getaway taking part in all of the island’s activities that he could; he snorkeled, scuba dove, and rode his jet ski around to the tiny atolls that dotted the coastline.
One afternoon as he was riding up to Sand Simolean Beach, Dante became entranced by the beautiful sound of a woman playing the guitar and singing an island ballad. As he walked up the beach to see where the music was coming from, he found the most beautiful woman he had ever seen creating this captivating music. Dante stumbled over to the woman and watched her play for at least half an hour, enchanted.
“Kalani,” the smiling woman introduces herself after playing her sixth song. Shaking his head as he breaks from the trance, he introduces himself back. By this point, he is the only person still watching her performance. The two begin making small talk, and Dante quickly regains the charm that is a staple of his personality. As Kalani offers him some fresh fish she grilled earlier, their conversation deepens from chitchat to actually getting to know one another. As they engage in witty banter and obvious flirting, the chemistry between them is palpable and they talk for so long that the sun begins to set.
Kalani tells Dante that she needs to head home, and he feels despair at the thought of never seeing her again. He lets her know that he is here for another week and asks to meet her tomorrow. Kalani gives Dante her address and invites him for lunch the next day. Dante knows better than to use his magic out in public, but breaks the rule anyway and materializes a rose behind his back, offering it to the island girl with a suave “see you tomorrow, then.”
