Sylben Lonesong
Half-Elven BardSurely you’ve heard of the exploits of Sylben the bard?
A seasoned adventurer, he can often be found with mead in his cup, a lute in his hands, and a song on his lips. Indeed, his music and poetry have been a thing of marvel for as long as most can remember, to kings and common folk alike. While his half-elven blood has preserved his dashing looks, a good look past his boyish charm reveals the wisdom of one who has seen his fair share of the world – perhaps more than he would like. Not much is known of Sylben’s past, and he seems content with keeping it that way. Knowledge of his home, true age, and even of his true name remains lost to time and secrecy. He claims to have never known his parents; perhaps only the gods themselves could have created one so pure of voice. He spent his early years an orphaned vagrant, and soon learned that using his natural performing talents garnered him more coin than begging alone. It seemed only a matter of time, then, before a keen-eared individual would recognize his talent for what it actually was. That someone was Portia Hilltopple, a halfling bard of some repute at the time. It was she who taught Sylben the way of the bard, to use song and speech to control the magic woven into the fabric of the multiverse, and use it to shape the world around him. This knowledge gave Sylben purpose, and for that he felt he could never fully repay his master. For years they traveled together, learning from and about each other as they shared their songs with the world. Sylben would never be the same after the day the Einheldren took Portia, only barely escaping with his own life. Sylben puts no faith in gods or kings, only in the great song of the universe, that which is slowly sung by the shining of the stars. In this song everyone and everything has a part: their notes may be individual, but they are integral to the greater chord. As such, Sylben has dedicated his life to sharing songs and stories, to bringing comfort and inspiration to those who need it, and to freeing the voices of the oppressed, so they might join the greater chorus of the world. |
To Sylben, the freedom to live brightly and merrily is sacred in all beings. That is why he can now be found in a free company of the Scarlet Vanguard, lending his voice to the fight against tyranny, against those who stole away his beloved master and friend. |
Vital Avelin
High Elven WarlockVital Avelin, eldest son of High Elf Nobles Xander and Vivette Avelin, displayed particular talents for magic and academics. By thirty years of age, Vital had exhausted all of the resources available in the Avelin estate; his father chose to send him to the great magical universities of Averne so that he might bring pride to the Avelin name and better serve the Einheldren Dominion.
Vital excelled and the darkest and most obscure schools of magic taught, and his curiosity far outweighed his patience for tradition and hierarchy. Against the wishes of his father and advisors, Vital arranged to become a warlock, his lust for knowledge and power much greater than any sense of duty or self-preservation. As warlocks are unstable and individualistic by nature, the institutions at Averne takes great care in their creation. Officially, Vital Avelin is registered as having made a pact with Maugrim, a minor trickster fiend; however, recent investigations reveal that Vital falsified these records. The true patron, known only by Vital and his most trusted allies, is a demonic prince of nightmares by the name of Sindoir. Sindoir is a nebulous and mysterious devil, imprisoned in the realm of dreams and nightmares. Sindoir offered insights into great and terrible secrets. Vital has yet to learn what was taken in return, but the sheer magnitude of the knowledge he gained made him believe it was worth any price. After his bargain with Sindoir, Vital’s studies at Averne felt trivial. He left the academies with honors, and served briefly and ruthlessly as an inquisitor for the Dominion before travelling abroad to conduct his own research. It was during this period that Vital’s younger sister Lynneva was born, growing to be as talented at bladework as her brother was at spellcraft. Vital briefly returned to his birthright after the death of his father, Xander. However, despite being the only remaining male heir, the new lord departed soon after the funeral, leaving his mother and sister to rule in his stead. Vital’s studies resulted in many breakthroughs in magical theory; however, he is most remembered for contributing to the creation of the Tiefling race. His experiments, initially done in secret, were discovered by the high authorities of Dreiheldren Cult of Shapers, who chose to utilize his unique expertise and discoveries. By the end of a century of work, Vital, the Cult of Shapers, and handful of other mages and academics had created the Tieflings -- human souls corrupted by pure demonic energy. The Tieflings were the ideal slaves and shock-troops for the Dominion, and their birth is responsible for one of the most brutal instances of Einheldren expansion in history. Vital Avelin was now well respected, both as a charming noble as well as a visionary academic; however, all was not well. The fact that Vital’s own discoveries were pivotal in the creation of the Tieflings had been buried by the Drow, who claimed all credit for themselves. Furthermore, Vital resented the enslavement of his creations, loathing how the Dominion would so cruelly abuse such beautifully designed beings. He began subtly investigating methods to both free the Tieflings and gain the true recognition he had been denied. Despite his care, the Cult of Shapers became aware of this conspiracy -- though they knew not who was responsible. They began to assassinate all who had any knowledge of the creation of the Tieflings. With his life now in danger and his pride thoroughly insulted, Vital decided that extreme actions were necessary. |
With the few remaining mages, Vital led a violent rebellion of the Tieflings against their masters, freeing the demonic creations from their arcane shackles. Shocked by this betrayal, the Dominion was hampered in its reaction; while the authorities eventually managed to quell the chaos, casualties on both sides had reached extreme levels. Vital and the surviving Tieflings found refuge in the Vanguard controlled lands of the east. The Cult of Shapers had trusted Vital over all other of their assistants. Vital was a talented apprentice, a protege. Having been humiliated, they vowed to repay him for his treachery a thousand fold.
While the vanguard was initially distrustful of Vital, his delivery of the powerful Tiefling race as well as his immense knowledge of elven secrets has earned him the begrudging respect of the Scarlet Vanguard leadership. While he is by-and-large admired by the Scarlet elites, most common-folk still resent him utterly, seeing him as nothing more than another proud High-elf looking to lord over them. Back within the Dominion, Vital’s name has become a curse among his own people -- bare rumors of association are enough to warrant swift imprisonment. House Avelin, now a shadow of it’s former glory, is ruled entirely by Vivette, who desperately is searching for a way to regain its once high standing. Lynneva, now a grown elf herself and a world renowned warrior in her own right, has sworn to end her brother’s ruthless rampage once and for all, no matter the cost. |
Ronoros Fenlin
Gnomish Wizard
Part of a family of powerful gnomish wizards that reaches back before recorded history, Ronoros lived with his wife Grennsa, and worked as a mercenary. He dispatched whoever he was told to by the highest bidder, sometimes even killing his own kind. One night, while he and Grennsa slept in their camp near the coastal city of Telanole, an Einheldren raiding party set their wagons and tents ablaze. Ronoros’ daughter, Rennia, and her husband were killed in the inferno, and Grennsa was kidnapped.
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Aedwen Golderynn
Human Fighter
Former lieutenant Aedwen Golderynn was born in the grimy port town of Telanole to navy man Morven Golderynn and his wife, a blacksmith Valna Denholm. Though her parents kept busy, Aedwen felt restless in what to her was a quiet town; she was bored with the day to day life of a Telanolian citizen. It is this unrest that led to her inevitable departure. Often assisting her mother in the family shop, Aedwen frequently encountered traveling soldiers looking for the highest quality weapons one could get for the best price. Hooked on the stories of Vanguard warriors come and gone, Aedwen grew to admire the strength and determination of her mother’s clients and soon began to believe that she herself was worthy of a life beyond that of the moderate existence her parents had established.
At the age of 16, Aedwen took what she had learned from assisting her mother and forged a sword. Though it was simple and unadorned, she called her new companion Dregor (Dreg (To Flee/Run Away) + or (Person)). Beginning with just half hour intervals, Aedwen began teaching herself to wield a sword. She beat at the sides of trees, fought invisible enemies, and attacked bails of hay; She was determined to unite herself with her weapon; to have an unseeable link between appendage and sword. She clung to the words used in the stories of infantry and cavalry men, begging them for more and more detail, trying to picture and recreate every step, calculated or impulsive, teaching herself the rights and wrongs of battlefield fighting. When wounded soldiers cracked jokes with her about their most devastating mistakes, she noted what she viewed as being the rights and wrongs of combat. In listening to as many stories as she could, Aedwen noticed that every soldier seemed to mention one place: Doltromme. It was to this word she clung the most and it became evident that joining the ranks of the Vanguard was her way out of Telanole. On the eve of her 18th birthday, Aedwen kissed her parents goodbye and set foot west, little but a knapsack and Dregor by her side. Aedwen had been in Doltromme for six months when Colonel Herhig caught sight of her ability and strength. She was quickly thrown into the frontlines of the war against the Einheldren. Aedwen thrived in her newfound purpose; she didn’t merely fight when on the battlefield. She broke, she devastated, she crumbled, she maimed. There were few things she believed in more than protecting the lives of the innocent and she did not care to what extent she harmed others as long as it was in the name of the greater good. Though seen as intimidating, Aedwen was admired by the men and women in her unit. Many of them had chosen this path for similar reasons, and Aedwen’s unyielding commitment to the cause helped maintain the unit’s morale. After little more than a year in the Vanguard, Aedwen’s unit was expanded. It was in this influx of members that Aedwen met Boromer Leygood, a bright-eyed, compassionate Olvarakian with a propensity for untimely acts of bravery. Very quickly, Aedwen took Boromer as a lover. She, who honors the protection of the innocent above all else, cherished his wholehearted compassion and drive to fight alongside her to defend their people. When the two discovered Aedwen was with child, they got married. It was her love for Boromer and their son Balthar that softened Aedwen’s heart and led to a vulnerability she refuses to speak of again. Not only was Aedwen considerably stronger than many of the current infantrymen in his unity, but she was far more intent on spilling blood than those around her. Her restlessness spurred her need for combat and thus she was quickly promoted through the ranks to Lieutenant. Now 22, Aedwen had mastered balancing raising Balthar alongside her partner as well as lead one of the fiercest Vanguard infantry units. |
In the seventh month of the year 217, Aedwen marched into what she was sure was an unquestionable victory. She tore through the front lines of the Einheldren alongside her troops. The battle seemed won until an ambush attacked the Vanguard from the east, sending most of her allies running. Rather than fleeing the battle with the rest, she remained to fight what she was sure would be her last. Aedwen speaks not of the end of that battle. What is known has been pieced together from various eye witness accounts and rumor; Boromer, who would not have left the battlefield without the mother of his child, saved Aedwen from a fatal blow mid-battle. She watched as his body was pierced by the sword that had been meant for her. She slaughtered every Einheldren in her reach, then held his body as he died. Taking only his horn, she left his body on the battlefield.
It is this loss that rekindles Aedwen’s inherent sense of restlessness. She sends for Balthar and makes her way to Olvarak, leaving him there to be raised by Boromer’s eldest brother and his wife. She alerts Colonel Hehrig of her resignation and signs up to be a comrade of the Free Company, seeking to fulfill her newfound desire for bloodshed. Traumatized by the memories of watching her great love murdered, Aedwen often cries out at night in her sleep. She is strong, but still susceptible to terrible dreams. Haunted as she is by Boromer’s death, she has not visited Balthar since resigning from her role as lieutenant. |
Blünt
Dwarven Druid
Blünt's parents decided to go to a sacred grove in the forest for his birth, but after they were found by wolves who ate them. He was left alive thanks to a magical stag that came and whisked him away.
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Sydāār Ruutsun
Wood Elf Ranger
Syd was born the eldest son to a lower class family in Ishn’althalar, the Sylheldren capital city to a family of three. His mother worked long hours as a cook for the Sylheldren ruling council, preparing feasts for the elite class of aristocrats, monarchs, and royal family members that presided over our realm. His father was imprisoned when I was young for petty food theft, disappearing into the secretive system of prisons beneath built beneath the capital, never to be seen again. His life at home consisted of taking care of his mother and younger siblings, while working and begging to provide for his struggling family.
Frustrated with his status as a lowborn and seeing little way out from the slums, Syd joined a radical group known as the “Free Folk of the Golden Grove.” The Free Folk opposed the restrictive and self-serving policies of the ruling class, as well as their refusal to open the city borders and reintegrate the Sylheldren back into the greater Alscium. With an underground support network established for the lower class, they often took to stealing provisions to help feed the city’s most desperate. Sometimes the Free Folk took to more extreme approaches, carrying out assassination attempts, both successful and not, against the city’s ruling class. Their identities remained concealed for many years, turning us into figures of legend, Robin Hoods to the lower class. Yet they always faced the threat of detection and capture. One night, the city captured a group of Free Folk runners on a simple food delivery mission. Upon learning their identities, they were interrogated for hours and publicly executed. Fearing similar repercussions, he rallied a group of several other Free Folk and fled the city through an escape passage that led us into the Golden Grove. Lit aflame by city’s vanguard, he separated from his group in the inferno that engulfed the holy grove. He managed to escape, but not without a mysterious golden burn across his forearm resembling the wrapping roots of a tree. He fled to Olwesen, quickly losing track of the pursuing vanguard. He joined in several dangerous scouting expeditions on behalf of the Einheldren, where he developed his hunting and survival skills. Here, he witnessed much of the same inequality and cruel despotism that plagued his home city. Realizing the danger of living in a foreign and potentially hostile place, he subdued many of his political tendencies so as earn some coin and feed himself. But all along lurked a sneaking suspicion of his Einheldren company masters. On one scouting expedition to the surrounding countryside, his company set up camp outside of a small farming village, populated by Sylheldren refugees. Their mission was kept secret by the leaders of his group. In the dead of night as his company slept, Syd, inspired by his overbearing distrust of power, managed to steal documents outlining their purpose their plans. Upon learning of the company’s intent to massacre the village, who had been underperforming in their harvests, Syd took to action. |
He lit his company’s tents on fire and destroyed their cache of weapons and ammunition, taking flight to warn the village of the Einheldren’s intent. Upon arriving at the village, he learned it was too late, and that reinforcements had beaten him there to carry out the mission instead. The village folk lay, slain, and Syd was taken prisoner by the Einheldren. In his transport to the city of Ayrine, he was broken out of his caravan by the Free Company. Upon realizing his own values in the company, he joined their ranks and began his adventure.
Driven by his Machiavellian alignment against rulers and oppressors of all kinds and colors, Syd seeks to dismantle the Einheldren’s iron grip over Alscium, and pave the way for the reintegration of his people. Cut off from his home city, many years removed in his travels, his lingering connection to his people and the hope that his family may still live fans the faint flame that burns still inside his heart… Forever a Free Folk, forever marked by the Golden Grove, Syd fights on. |