Dorothy Gale Champion Lore
‘I have traveled far and seen much, and I’ve learned that marvelous things are rarely what they seem.’ — Dorothy Gale
Born on a bleak homestead in the fields of Tilshire, Dorothy always wanted more excitement and opportunity in life. The grinding mundanity of her existence led her to dream of life as a powerful mage. Though she trained a little under a local hedge-witch, she wished more than anything else to go to the Bibliotheque Spire, the famous university of magic. She especially hoped to study under the Emerald Wizard, a longtime resident of the Spire whispered of by everyone from peasants, to scholars, to lords, said to be impossibly ancient and powerful.
After years of fantasizing about this, Dorothy finally took her beloved dog, Toto, and left home to journey to the Spire. Along the way, she met a group of strange outcasts and misfits who nevertheless possessed kind and noble natures. There was a living Scarecrow, a Woodman made of metal who walked and talked, and a Cowardly Lion called Sir Lowen who aspired to chivalric ideals but was held back by cowardice and shame.
All four became friends and traveled together, each hoping their dreams could be fulfilled. Dorothy was effortlessly charming and affable, always willing to take risks and follow roads less traveled. She showed herself to be a natural leader, full of confidence and optimism. Along the way, they strayed into the territory of an evil, covetous witch, and her apprentice, Ozilda. They were captured, but Dorothy defeated the wicked witch by discovering her magical bane — simple water, whose touch melted the witch’s flesh.
When the group finally arrived at the Bibliotheque Spire and met with the Emerald Wizard, they were shocked to find that his legend was false, the great sage nothing but a charlatan. Though he was no master wizard, he was still a wise man. He convinced each member of the group that they had, through their personal growth on their quest, gained what they had been seeking. In fact, they had demonstrated they had those very things all along. He also gave Dorothy a pair of magical silver slippers that let the wearer ride the winds and command powerful air magic.
The group then went their separate ways, promising to meet again. Some time later, Dorothy had returned to her native Tilshire and was continuing to refine her aeromancy. She summoned a small whorl of spinning air, hoping to perfect a spell to strip weapons and armor from a foe without harming them. Suddenly the magic surged out of her control — unbeknownst to her, the spell had been cursed by a nearby agent of Ozilda.
Dorothy’s tornado exploded into a massive and devastating storm, which drew her and Toto helplessly into its churning mass. In the heart of the tornado was a portal to another world — a sinister realm created by Ozilda for the sole purpose of wreaking revenge. As Dorothy cautiously explored, she came upon a Scarecrow hanging from a tree, upside-down and being pecked apart by birds…