Arwen’s parents both hailed from Tantras, the father an apprentice priest of Corellon Larethian and the mother a courtesan in the Lord of Tantras’ Palace. Her parents had met during one of the apprentice priest’s many visits to the court, and they engaged in a secret affair that lasted for months. When the affair was exposed, the disgraced couple fled Tantras, fearing the social prejudice that would plague their unborn child’s upbringing. They moved from town to town, the priest preaching the word of Corellon, whilst the former courtesan, now heavily pregnant, earned a modest living as an herbalist, something she had been trained in when she was young.
Tragedy was soon to strike. The mother died during childbirth, whilst the child, a girl, came into the world sickly. Grief-stricken, the priest prayed to Corellon for help, vowing to pledge the remainder of his life to raising his daughter in the ways of the Elven God, if the God would save her. His prayers answered, the priest decided to settle down for good in Neverwinter, the place of birth of his daughter. Arwen grew up on stories about the glory of Corellon, her father teaching her the ways and principles of the Elven God. She displayed a strong affinity to priesthood, and by the time she became a juvenile, she was initiated into the temple of Corellon.
However, she soon became disillusioned with the goings-on at the temple. She became increasingly frustrated with the perceived hypocrisy and bureaucracy that plagued the temple and its followers. She then decided to venture out on her own, spreading the word of Corellon through deed rather than sweet promises of paradise. Her newly-remarried father, angered by her decision, disowned her at first, but later relented and gave her his blessings. Armed only with a worn hammer and a blessed medallion of faith, Arwen struck out into the vast expanses of Northern Faerun, seeking to prove herself in the eyes of her patron deity.
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