Where I Belong – Ultima Online

SYNOPSIS

Rowan Eladen had suffered through the loss of her father just a few months ago as he was presumed dead, drowned in a horrible boat accident somewhere between Cove and Britain. Having lost her mother during her own birth, she had no known relatives that would care for her. She was brought to Merida Douglas Romanus, who runs an orphanage owned and operated by Romanus Holdings, Inc. in West Umbra. There she has began to heal from her horrible tragedy.

She has started school at the Moonglow Lyceaum and wishes to further advance her magical studies as well as her muscial studies. She displays a natural ability in both and could have the choice to either continue onward to Wind College or attend the Bardic Collegium in Britain. She excels in her abilities, but has a hard time focusing on actual schoolwork. In this, she gets a lot of help from her new best friend, Britney Lynn Halloway. Britney isn’t as naturally talented but her strength is excelling in actual schoolwork. The two girls have formed a very close friendship and share everything.

During her stay at the Umbra Orphanage, she met and fell in love with a young, troubled boy named Zachary Taylor. He’s a few years older than her, but the connection was immediate. She has helped him through his troubles, as he had a terrible home life, and now they are together as boyfriend and girlfriend. They go to school at the Moonglow Lyceaum together and he’s a very talented and adept mage, who also studies Mysticism. They often have their lunch together and he treats her very well. Now that he’s stabilized a bit more, they have fallen into a nice rhythm and spend most of their time together.

Rowan has also developed a very close relationship to Merida Douglas Romanus. So much so that she and her husband Armand have decided to formally adopt her. There is a snag however, she comes from Cove. Cove is not part of the Crown’s territories thus it lacks the resources that are afforded to those under the Kingdom. Marius insisted that a thorough search be conducted in where the RBG would lead the investigation themselves. He wanted to ensure there would no issue with her adoption, for Armand is his eldest son. If a thorough search is not done for these children, relatives may bring about lawsuits against the orphanage and the children could be forcefully removed from their adoptive homes. A scene Marius would absolutely want to avoid.

The search came back and a relative for Rowan was found. The Marquessa Flora Geneva Powell, of the city of Britain, is the child’s biological aunt; the twin sister of Rowan’s mother Fauna. Fauna had given up all her worldly possessions, her Marquessa title — their father was a Duke — and all that came with such a title… for love. Fauna had fallen deeply in love with Darren Eladen, a sailor, and nothing would keep her from him. It was unfortunate that she died before she even got to meet her daughter, something Darren himself never got over. The man died fully in love with his deceased wife. It was true love.

The Marquessa, Lady Geneva (as she goes by today), saw it as foolish and reckless. She sees Rowan as a chance to rectify what her own father, who is now deceased, couldn’t rectify with Fauna. Lady Geneva has officially petitioned for the formal adoption of her neice, but since Merida and Armand had also petitioned for the formal adoption of Rowan, it is now a contested adoption that must be heard through the King’s Court.