Even in a society where there are strict conventions held for those of one gender or another sometimes someone has a different idea in mind. Such is the case of Kelleigh Dughallach who grew up wanting to be nothing but a blacksmith like her father, Donnal. Her mother, Shauna, was not pleased to learn that her daughter wanted to learn how to make armor, horseshoes and weapons, but with having seven children in total, Kelleigh being the middle at number four, she found herself with very little time or even the ability to find something to distract her daughter from her ambitions.
Donnal took his child under his wing and let her apprentice under him. Many hours were spent keeping the forge hot for him and learning as she watched. When she was finally able to work the metal herself she started small with nails and the tacks for horseshoes what she began to lean upon. Over time she got to make small knives and pieces of armor so small they would have better fit a small child, all little things made from scraps of metal her father gave her to practice upon. As she grew up the children who also lived in the village were cruel, seeing fit to torment her for being different. No matter how she tried to fit in and then eventually tried to fight, Kelleigh's lack of desire to 'be a girl', as the bullies put it, became enough ammunition for the barbs, punches and kicks they visited upon her. It all was done to try and break her but what it did instead was strengthen her, make her more wanting to be a blacksmith like her father.
Time passed as it often does and the girl quickly became a woman. Suitors were few and far between, as her mother had once predicted, but it was paid no mind. Kelleigh's attentions were on what work she was commissioned for. It wasn't until she was nearly 25 when a man caught her eye, a rougishly-handsome miller by the name of Robert. Permission to court was sought by her beau but a wedding day would never be reached as he was killed by a would-be thief who was trying to relieve him of what little coin he had on his person. It cut Kelleigh to her very soul, wounding her more than any knife, sword or arrow could ever, and her work was delved into further, vowing no man would ever be able to win her heart.
While focusing primarily upon smithing she picked up several other skills, one being the crafting of jewelry. Precious metals and gems were not always easy to come by but she honed that talent in steel and copper when the richer materials could not be found or afforded. Another talent she discovered was carving wood which she did at every opportunity she could. She also started to practice using the blades she made although it became clear she'd need more formal training before she could gain any real aptitude in swordplay.
Nature took its course on the family and, as is normal, her mother and then father passed away, leaving the children, all adults by that time, without parents. Her brothers and sisters were more than fine with staying in the small village they spent their entire lives but not her. She instead packed up her belongings into her father's old cart, hitched their old horse to it and left, letting fate dictate where she'd wind up.