Donntay came to Moorgate at the age of fifteen, another young man whose parents had brought into the world a few more mouths than they could feed. He swore to not follow in their footsteps. From childhood on, Donntay dreamed of being a great Wizard, one whose name would be spoken in tones of awe. To this day, his name IS spoken in tones of awe, but not in quite the way he had hoped.
The war of pranks started the day Donntay came upon some other young apprentice mages at the lake. They were skinny-dipping and he thought that hiding their clothing might be fun - especially since some pretty girls were on the path. Unfortunately, they didn't agree. One by one, the victims of his latest little joke sought to get even but never quite managed to.
A lovely young girl name Alianna lives in Moorgate and runs a shop in the Magesí Guild. She is, besides lovely, vain and shallow. Donntay was blind to this, caring only for her beautiful face and dainty figure (covered, of course, by the most exquisite clothing). He told himself that she was attracted to him, as he was to her, and swore he would one day marry her. First, of course, he had to woo her. He decided to show her at the Spring Ball that she had won his eye, and that he wished to court her.
Alianna had, of course, heard of Donntay's ideas. She was merely amused by them; she scorned his offer to escort her to the Spring Ball, saying she would not be seen with anyone who dressed as poorly as he. It might have ended there had not some of the victims of his pranks heard what had happened and gotten some ideas of their own.
Donntay brought his problem to Bliss, a young but friendly sorceress. She was a quick thinker and he wanted a woman's point of view. Unfortunately, he had forgotten all about a rather distressing jest he had played on her in months past. Meant to be harmless, it had gone somewhat awry and she had been unable to sit comfortably for several days. Furthermore, it had badly scorched her favorite robes and she had been unable to replace them. Like her fellow students, she had been unable to even the score. Until now.
Bliss happily provided Donntay with a spell, ostensibly to help him win Alianna. Donntay was told the spell would turn his plain robes into richly colored silk, embroidered with gold thread. And so it did, the night of the Spring Ball.
Alianna was looking simply enchanting and Donntay ducked into an alcove to cast the spell that would help him catch her attention. Softly muttering the words, he waited a few seconds and then strode boldly into the ballroom. He was gratified to see that he had at last captured Alianna's attention.
Of course, the true purpose of the spell was more sophisticated than the effect he sought. After a short time his beautiful robes would turn, not into his plain woolen robes, but rags. As Bliss hid in the hallway and listened to the words he murmured, she realized that they did not sound right. Peeking into the ballroom, she and the others waited. Word had spread quickly that Donntay's time had finally come and most of his victims couldn't wait to see him get his just desserts. They noticed that Alianna was suddenly very attentive to him and he seemed to be at his most charming. Out in the hall, Bliss tried to figure out what words he had spoken and how they would affect the spell. The music was loud, the people merry, and the dancing had all but stopped as mages shot furtive glances toward the oblivious Donntay.
Just as a song ended, Donntay's robes gave an abrupt and smoky "poof," turning instantly not into rags, but cinders. They disappeared completely, leaving only a scattering of black dust on the ballroom floor. Many of the mages turned away in embarrassed amusement, but several victims of Donntay's pranks laughed outright; Alianna turned away in disgust. Bliss and her cohorts tried valiantly not to laugh, though this was even better than what they had planned. When one old Wizard exclaimed, "He's starkers!" they completely lost control, collapsing to the floor and howling with laughter.
The old man grabbed at a nearby tablecloth, yanking it out from under the plates that covered most of the surface. He offered it to Donntay while trying to hold a sympathetic demeanor. Donntay, red with embarrassment and shame, gratefully accepted the tablecloth and wrapped it around himself. The elderly wizard gaped with astonishment as the tablecloth also disappeared with a smoky "poof." He tugged at the cloak of a nearby Shaman, who grudgingly undid the clasp and handed it to Donntay. Even as he wrapped the cloak around himself, it too dissolved in a puff of smoke. All around the hall people stopped laughing and looked at him with growing pity, while he turned redder and more humiliated. Several more tablecloths and cloaks had fallen victim to puffs of smoke before Donntay pulled a leaf off a decorative, but live, short palm tree. He desperately wrapped it around himself, waiting for it to disappear. It didn't. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
"Well," spoke the aging Wizard, "seems like cloth don't like you anymore." Several nearby mages thought they saw a grin forming on the man's face, but he merely glanced quickly at them and turned back to Donntay. "Don't suppose you can go out into Moorgate like that - completely starkers. Best you stay indoors, lad." Donntay nodded miserably. He was humiliated.
So he was given a job in the guild - to watch over the guild teleporter. Unfortunately, palm leaves do not live very long, and no one has managed to figure out exactly where the spell went wrong. No one has called him Donntay in a very long time - the now-dead Wizard's description stuck. Alianna, of course, refuses to date a man who wears a palm leaf.
Alley back to the library foyer.
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