The town's crop had suffered multiple droughts, and famine had set certain death and subsequent greed in the minds of the citizens.  More thieves surfaced as a result of the struggle for life.  Some of the townsfolk left to other remote villages, and yet, the drought had affected them as well.  Lorthel and Mandice remained with few others, refusing to give up hope and their home.  While Mandice took care of Deme, Lorthel continued his duties as a guard to support his family, albeit minimally.

    One fateful night on his patrol, Lorthel stumbled upon a dwarven trader being robbed and about to be killed.  Fortunately for the trader, Lorthel effectively thwarted the murder, and though the thief escaped with the dwarf's coin, the dwarf was glad for his life.  

    The trader introduced himself to the paladin and explained that he had not visited the surface frequently enough to learn to fend for himself properly.  He then offered to repay Lorthel's good deed by harboring him in his underground clan.  This would entitle him not only to plenty of food and shelter, but also to riches and prosperity of which the paladin could only dream since the drought had drained the land of its worth and the town of its wealth.  Thinking first of his family, Lorthel asked if the dwarf would take his young daughter in his stead.  The still-cautious trader said he would not care for the child for her entire life, but until her 15th year.  The paladin readily agreed: anything to give his daughter a life safe from the impending fall of the town.

    Her human father had saved the dwarf's life, and so the dwarf had also saved the girl's.  Deme spent the next ten years in the underground Millennium clan, learning the dwarven culture and language, not to mention picking up a bit of the accent.  However, she remained apart from the surface as well as from the dwarves.  By the time of her 15th year, she was ready to leave to the clan and discover herself.  Although her departure was not altogether forced by the verbal contract set by her biological father and her now dwarven stepfather, she felt her welcome overstayed and didn't want to further impose on her second family.  

    Leaving her sheltered life in the underground clan, Deme traveled to Elanthia in the year 349.  Her background granted her acceptance of all races, which allowed her to immediately make many friends in the Crossing.  She decided to join the paladin's guild, following the footsteps of her human father, whom she barely remembers and has only heard little about.  She soon found that her dealings with death in combat did not suit her gentle nature.  The next step in her path of self-discovery was joining the guild she currently serves: the empaths.

    Starting in the Crossing and moving north, Deme developed her healing talents and fostered her desire to help others.  She "grew up" in the grimy town of Riverhaven, where, in fact, she has spent most of her life, has made many of her friends, and continues to call "home."  Continuing her search for self-identity, Deme traveled for most of this time to the "new" city of Shard, to the forests of Therenborough, and everywhere in between multiple times.  However, at one point in Shard, she happened to meet a dwarven empath, Gamami Gramarye. 

    The witty guild-brother quickly became her best friend and soul mate.  The dwarf affectionately called "Gami" followed her back to Haven where the two empaths lived after they were wed in the year 356.  Together they had a human empath daughter, Duntora, who later mysteriously vanished.  After 6 years of marriage, Deme became unbonded to her Gami for her heartache of his long absence while he had commitments to Stone Clan.  She left Riverhaven as a result to deal with her loss.

    After a whirlwind of troubles and more traveling in her life, Deme again returned home to Haven.  Under poor circumstances, she met Viptorian Arcinian, a Gor'tog barbarian.  The caring barbarian helped ease her worries by becoming her protector as well as her friend.  Their friendship bloomed into a loving relationship, and they sealed their bond in the year 366.

    Deme and Vip now live in Haven where she continues to work as a healer, locksmith, and midwife.  She takes pride in her work and enjoys her travels, but when she is not doing either, she is spending time with Vip and caring for her horse, Lasadel.