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Fern is a young elf, just recently of age. He is somewhat of an oddity among elves, with dark hair, tanned skin, and an animosity toward authority - not to mention his rare and powerful Virtue.
Even though the elven community is very closeknit, he has always felt that no one really understands him, least of all his father. He grew up as a bit of a loner; proficient at most tasks, but never enough to be accepted fully by his peers.
Ven was born the son of a clothworker, yet it became obvious at an early stage that he was destined for great things. By the time he became of age he was lithe, handsome, and the best of the Parthasyan rangers; he had his pick of any elven maiden he desired. However, he could not settle for any mere maiden in his village, and searched for many years to find a wife who was his equal, and who would give him a perfect elven child.
As he grew old, he began to disparage of his search, and had relaxed his conditions in order to settle down, when he was bewitched by a woman on one of his rangings, and gave her a son, who turned up on his doorstep in swaddling clothes a few years later.
By elven law he was no longer permitted to take a wife, and therefore was forced to end his progression as an elf. He was made an honorary elder, and allowed to speak at the council, but this just further incensed him; he could not refuse, because his life would be meaningless without that final succession, but he abhorred the fact that he got there through charity.
Although he tries, he can never fully shake off a jealous loathing of his son, who grew to be everything that Ven was, and more. His honour and his base emotions are in constant conflict, and so he is never able to show Fern the level of compassion that a father should.
Destre is a healer in training. She is the daughter of a prominent elder, and became friends with Fern because of this common attribute. She has a firm belief in the power and knowledge of the elders, and that everything in their world is as it should be, so it perplexes her when Fern does not do exactly as he's told.