Have a good game! ^^
Edit History
Edit: Added some more detail to the backstory.
I cannot for the life of me figure out how to do proper formatting (fieldsets etc.) on this new site. So it will look a little basic. But here is the proper application. Character sheet linked. Let me know what you think, if you have any questions or if anything just seems off. (Still have some gold to spend on minor things).
(Also re: backstory: obviously I wouldn't expect any of this to become relevant to the game. I just like writing backstories. ^ ^)
BASICS
Name: Elethar Sylairaque
Race: Sun Elf
Class: Magus (fluffed as "bladesinger") I decided to build him straight magus without archetypes, since I couldn't find an archetype that didn't give up something I didn't want to give up. I love everything about the Spell Dancer except not being able to use Arcane Pool for weapon enchantment. I love the flavor and tactical possibilities of Spell Dance but just am not sure if it's worth giving up weapon enhancement (though with Accurate Strike that could be mitigated at times). Also losing the level 5 bonus feat for such a lackluster option as Arcane Movement hurts too.
Alignment: Neutral Good
Appearance: 5'11", long black hair, gold eyes. Elethar is a handsome sun elf with broad shoulders, lean and muscular yet graceful. He tends to keep his hair pulled back in elegant yet understated elven braids cinched with a silver hair clasp. When at leisure, he prefers flowing garments of dark blue and gray or silver, his house colors. Even when he's not wearing his gleaming mithral chain shirt for battle, he almost always has Aermanthyr strapped at his belt: an elegant rapier with a swept hilt, the gleaming blade bears elven runes that spell out his house motto, ivae ifeira, and the pommel fashioned in the manner of his house crest--a pixie with unfurled wings, holding a bird in each outstretched hand, with a semicircle of six stars above his head (represented by tiny moonstones)--with a sapphire pommel jewel.
Personality: Despite everything he's been through, Elethar is fairly upbeat and optimistic, but he is neither silly nor a chatterbox. He is elegant and well-spoken, though after the events of the past few years, he has become more introspective. He has a deep love for poetry and music, especially heroic elven sagas from ages past. He often writes poetry in his spare time, and has gotten fairly good at it. He hopes to contribute some of his own verses to the body of elven ballads and sagas. Since living in Evereska, he's also developed an appreciation for fine wine. He's never been consciously racist (unlike his grandfather) but still, life in Faerun feels weird for him, being around the other races. He does his best to be open-minded, but can't help exhibiting some sun elf superiority by accident from time to time. A sheltered upbringing and a childhood of sun elf supremacist teachings are hard to shake. (That said, he has an almost unholy hatred and fear of the fey'ri, beyond the norm - probably still has PTSD from his bolthole experience.)
--------------
BACKSTORY:
Upbringing and early days
Elethar was born in Leuthilspar, the capital of Evermeet, on Ches 19, 1229 DR, along with his twin sister, Throvanna. They are the youngest heirs of House Sylairaque, an ancient Sun Elf house that can trace its lineage back to the empire of Aryvaandar. His ancestors had been very involved in the mainland until the fall of Siluvanede, when they joined their sun elf brethren in Evermeet. Generations later, the House returned to Faerun to become involved in the founding and growth of Cormanthyr and Myth Drannor's first incarnation. The family prospered and took part in many of the battles and wonders of the time. However, nearly the entire house was wiped out in the Weeping War, with only a handful of survivors escaping to Evermeet, where the family has officially remained.
Elethar's grandfather Corihar, an archmage and the patriarch of the house, believed it was folly for the house to return to Faerun, considering every time they did, death and tragedy followed. He believed they should stay in Evermeet, and his conviction only deepened when his wife Amahel, a priestess of Sehanine and Elethar's grandmother, was murdered in Faerun by a drow assassin during a quest she had embarked on (Which she claimed was given to her by Sehanine in a vision) to aid sun elves in The Retreat. Coupled with the earlier departure of Corihar's oldest son, Valandil, and his wife, Ruasar -- who had moved to Faerun in the early 1200s DR and settled in Silverymoon -- Corihar's belief hardened. Elethar's father Solviel, a priest of Labelas Enoreth, and mother, Clafiryel, shared Corihar's views, as did Throvanna, who enjoyed the quiet life of dignity afforded to her in Evermeet.
But Elethar's wanderlust hit him hard when he came of age. He had grown up learning tales of the heroism (and tragedy, though he often forgot that part) of his ancestors: Telhilion, the last Aryvandaaran patriarch of House Sylairaque, who broke the House away from the Vyshaan in disgust at their actions against the Seldarine and refused to partake in the final Crown War; Caelemar, the house patriarch who defected from Siluvenade during the Seven Citadels War and subsequently died in a glorious spell duel in the final battle, while destroying many of his former comrades and House Dlardrageth demonfey; and especially Almarael, the house patriarch and bladesinger who led the house back to Faerun to participate in the founding and early growth of Cormanthyr's first iteration, protecting the fledgling Myth Drannor and living to see its epoch of glory. (Conspicuously absent from family sagas, though, is much mention of Ansravar: the original founder of House Sylairaque, who had willingly joined the Vyshaan and perpetrated horrors during the early Crown Wars - the family has long sought to distance itself from that dark legacy, holding up figures like Caelemar as exemplars of the house instead).
Leaving Evermeet and early adventures
Though his house was famed for producing talented wizards -- such as his grandfather, uncle Valandil, and Valandil's son, Elethar's cousin Kethamil -- Elethar held Almarael up as the ideal and split his studies between traditional arcana and martial pursuits. Elethar felt, similarly to his uncle Valandil, that to truly restore the honor and status of their house, they must take risks, return to Faerun and aid in elven causes there. So, once he came of age, he embarked from Evermeet to Faerun, where he landed in Waterdeep and subsequently began exploring the Sword Coast and the North.
His early adventures comprised simple quests like guarding caravans, aiding isolated elven communities against threats from orcs and other marauders, and an occasional contract job with the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors in Waterdeep in exploring ruins and deciphering magic secrets. After he felt like he had gained a decent amount of experience, he set off east to travel and seek his fortune. He first traveled from Waterdeep to Silverymoon, accompanying a caravan as a guard. He successfully aided the caravan against attacking bandits twice, and once helped a couple other caravan guards track down where a third group of bandits had stolen precious cargo, recovering it from a juvenile green dragon who had taken it for his hoard after killing the bandits.
On arriving in Silverymoon, he met his uncle Valandil, aunt Ruasar, and cousin Kethamil -- whom he had never seen before, since Valandil and Ruasar left Evermeet before Elethar was born. While in Silverymoon he learned more lore about Faerun and some tidbits of family history from Valandil that Corihar had omitted from his teachings. He even rode out once with his uncle, who was a Spellguard, on a routine patrol that ended in discovering (and ending) a powerful band of tanarukks that were harassing the roads.
Arrival in Evereska
Still, he left Silverymoon after a time -- he felt called to Evereska, seeing it as the focal point for elvendom on Faerun (and also still being somewhat culture-shocked by all the other races mingling together, when his upbringing had been very homogenously sun-elven). The Evereskan elves welcomed him, but were somewhat aloof until he proved his worth by valiantly aiding the defense of the city against the Phaerimm in 1371.
The following year, he helped the Tomb Guardians apprehend a would-be tomb robber, who turned out to be a Demonfey agent in disguise. Though the agent killed himself with poison before he could be questioned, that served as his introduction to the Demonfey. Though he'd heard the histories of the Crown Wars and of the Seven Citadels' War, this was his first time realizing House Dlardrageth had not been completely destroyed, and had in fact returned. Throughout the rest of that year, he aided Evereskan agents in investigating the Demonfey resurgence and thwarting Demonfey attempts at accessing Evereska.
Demonfey involvement and Miyeritar's Crusade
In late 1373 DR, while on one such mission with a handful of other elves, his group was ambushed by a band of powerful fey'ri who managed to subdue him in one of their secret boltholes in the Nether Mountains, where he learned they intended to use him in their forced demonic breeding program. Despite his best efforts, they succeeded in forcing him via magical compulsion to copulate with a succubus, after which they tortured him and attempted to turn him to their cause. He resisted, though his spirit was almost broken by the time his cousin Kethamil, who was secretly a Harper, freed him with a group of his Harper comrades.
From then until Sarya Dlardrageth's gambit the following year, Elethar and Kethamil worked together trying to root out the fey'ri wherever they could, and pass intelligence on to the Harpers and the elves. During this time, Kethamil's father Valandil, who was also secretly a Harper, vanished on a mysterious quest.
Elethar participated in the defense of Evereska against Sarya's attack, and then, along with Kethamil, joined Severil Miyeritar's Crusade against the Demonfey. Even their grandfather Corihar was persuaded to join the crusade, and they all fought together in the final battles in Myth Drannor (during which he recovered Aermanthyr, an ancient blade once wielded by Almarael himself, by defeating a demonfey bladesinger who had looted it from the ruins).
However, Corihar was killed in the final battle when he immolated himself as well as a balor and several high-ranking Dlardrageths in a spectacular display of arcane power. Some witnesses remember the act with admiration, saying that it looked like he sacrificed himself much like his ancestor Caelemar had done at the close of the Seven Citadels' War. However, Elethar wonders if it was an act of despair rather than heroism -- Corihar had never truly recovered from Amahel's murder, and foresaw only doom for what remained of his ancient house.
Present and future goals
With Corihar dead and Valandil missing, it fell on Elethar's father Solviel to be acting patriarch of House Sylairaque. Elethar and Kethamil briefly traveled to Evermeet to bury Corihar next to his wife, grieve with the rest of the family, and assist in settling matters of estate. They both returned to Faerun with Solviel's blessing, but Kethamil, unwilling to forsake his quest to find his father, embarked on a quest to find the lost city of Myth Adofhaer, which he believed his father had been searching for--a task he insisted he must do alone--and has not been seen since.
Elethar opted to remain in Cormanthyr, brimming with desire to represent his once-great House in the land of their ancestors. Solviel is still not convinced it's wise for House Sylairaque to return to Faerun, but has given Elethar his blessing to represent the house in Cormanthyr. Additionally, Ruasar, wife of Valandil and a bard of some repute, has temporarily moved to Myth Drannor, feeling alone and sad in Silverymoon with her husband and son missing.
Elethar now hopes that, if he can make a name for himself here, recover lost family relics, and reestablish some kind of Sylairaque name and estate in Myth Drannor, he could persuade Solviel to officially return the family to Faerun. Finding his grandmother's drow killer, as well as discovering what has happened to Kethamil and Valandil, are also on his mind, though he feels his duty to Cormanthyr must come first, at least for now. He is especially wary of any remaining Demonfey threat, worried that their downfall wasn't as final as it should have been and hoping that another repeat of history won't happen.
------
House Sylairaque stuff:
House Crest: A blue-winged pixie with a raven in one hand and a dove in the other, a semicircle of six six-pointed silver stars over his head.
House Colors: Blue and silver (argent)
House motto: Ivae Ifeira ("Light Unending")
Edit: Added some more detail to the backstory.
I cannot for the life of me figure out how to do proper formatting (fieldsets etc.) on this new site. So it will look a little basic. But here is the proper application. Character sheet linked. Let me know what you think, if you have any questions or if anything just seems off. (Still have some gold to spend on minor things).
I also decided to just go straight magus without archetypes, since I couldn't find an archetype that didn't give up something I didn't want to give up. I love everything about the Spell Dancer except not being able to use Arcane Pool for weapon enchantment. I love the flavor and tactical possibilities of Spell Dance but just am not sure if it's worth giving up weapon enhancement (though with Accurate Strike that could be mitigated at times). Also losing the level 5 bonus feat for such a lackluster option as Arcane Movement hurts too.
(Also re: backstory: obviously I wouldn't expect any of this to become relevant to the game. I just like writing backstories. ^ ^)
BASICS
Name: Elethar Sylairaque
Race: Sun Elf
Class: Magus (fluffed as "bladesinger")
Alignment: Neutral Good
Appearance: 5'11", long black hair, gold eyes. Elethar is a handsome sun elf with broad shoulders, lean and muscular yet graceful. He tends to keep his hair pulled back in elegant yet understated elven braids cinched with a silver hair clasp. When at leisure, he prefers flowing garments of dark blue and gray or silver, his house colors. Even when he's not wearing his gleaming mithral chain shirt for battle, he almost always has Aermanthyr strapped at his belt: an elegant rapier with a swept hilt, the gleaming blade bears elven runes that spell out his house motto, ivae ifeira, and the pommel fashioned in the manner of his house crest--a pixie with unfurled wings, holding a bird in each outstretched hand, with a semicircle of six stars above his head (represented by tiny moonstones)--with a sapphire pommel jewel.
Personality: Despite everything he's been through, Elethar is fairly upbeat and optimistic, but he is neither silly nor a chatterbox. He is elegant and well-spoken, though after the events of the past few years, he has become more introspective. He has a deep love for poetry and music, especially heroic elven sagas from ages past. He often writes poetry in his spare time, and has gotten fairly good at it. He hopes to contribute some of his own verses to the body of elven ballads and sagas. Since living in Evereska, he's also developed an appreciation for fine wine. He's never been consciously racist (unlike his grandfather) but still, life in Faerun feels weird for him, being around the other races. He does his best to be open-minded, but can't help exhibiting some sun elf superiority by accident from time to time. A sheltered upbringing and a childhood of sun elf supremacist teachings are hard to shake. (That said, he has an almost unholy hatred and fear of the fey'ri, beyond the norm - probably still has PTSD from his bolthole experience.)
--------------
BACKSTORY:
Upbringing and early days
Elethar was born in Leuthilspar, the capital of Evermeet, on Ches 19, 1229 DR, along with his twin sister, Throvanna. They are the youngest heirs of House Sylairaque, an ancient Sun Elf house that can trace its lineage back to the empire of Aryvaandar. His ancestors had been very involved in the mainland until the fall of Siluvanede, when they joined their sun elf brethren in Evermeet. Generations later, the House returned to Faerun to become involved in the founding and growth of Cormanthyr and Myth Drannor's first incarnation. The family prospered and took part in many of the battles and wonders of the time. However, nearly the entire house was wiped out in the Weeping War, with only a handful of survivors escaping to Evermeet, where the family has officially remained.
Elethar's grandfather Corihar, an archmage and the patriarch of the house, believed it was folly for the house to return to Faerun, considering every time they did, death and tragedy followed. He believed they should stay in Evermeet, and his conviction only deepened when his wife Amahel, a priestess of Sehanine and Elethar's grandmother, was murdered in Faerun by a drow assassin during a quest she had embarked on (Which she claimed was given to her by Sehanine in a vision) to aid sun elves in The Retreat. Coupled with the earlier departure of Corihar's oldest son, Valandil, and his wife, Ruasar -- who had moved to Faerun in the early 1200s DR and settled in Silverymoon -- Corihar's belief hardened. Elethar's father Solviel, a priest of Labelas Enoreth, and mother, Clafiryel, shared Corihar's views, as did Throvanna, who enjoyed the quiet life of dignity afforded to her in Evermeet.
But Elethar's wanderlust hit him hard when he came of age. He had grown up learning tales of the heroism (and tragedy, though he often forgot that part) of his ancestors: Telhilion, the last Aryvandaaran patriarch of House Sylairaque, who broke the House away from the Vyshaan in disgust at their actions against the Seldarine and refused to partake in the final Crown War; Caelemar, the house patriarch who defected from Siluvenade during the Seven Citadels War and subsequently died in a glorious spell duel in the final battle, while destroying many of his former comrades and House Dlardrageth demonfey; and especially Almarael, the house patriarch and bladesinger who led the house back to Faerun to participate in the founding and early growth of Cormanthyr's first iteration, protecting the fledgling Myth Drannor and living to see its epoch of glory. (Conspicuously absent from family sagas, though, is much mention of Ansravar: the original founder of House Sylairaque, who had willingly joined the Vyshaan and perpetrated horrors during the early Crown Wars - the family has long sought to distance itself from that dark legacy, holding up figures like Caelemar as exemplars of the house instead).
Leaving Evermeet and early adventures
Though his house was famed for producing talented wizards -- such as his grandfather, uncle Valandil, and Valandil's son, Elethar's cousin Kethamil -- Elethar held Almarael up as the ideal and split his studies between traditional arcana and martial pursuits. Elethar felt, similarly to his uncle Valandil, that to truly restore the honor and status of their house, they must take risks, return to Faerun and aid in elven causes there. So, once he came of age, he embarked from Evermeet to Faerun, where he landed in Waterdeep and subsequently began exploring the Sword Coast and the North.
His early adventures comprised simple quests like guarding caravans, aiding isolated elven communities against threats from orcs and other marauders, and an occasional contract job with the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors in Waterdeep in exploring ruins and deciphering magic secrets. After he felt like he had gained a decent amount of experience, he set off east to travel and seek his fortune. He first traveled from Waterdeep to Silverymoon, accompanying a caravan as a guard. He successfully aided the caravan against attacking bandits twice, and once helped a couple other caravan guards track down where a third group of bandits had stolen precious cargo, recovering it from a juvenile green dragon who had taken it for his hoard after killing the bandits.
On arriving in Silverymoon, he met his uncle Valandil, aunt Ruasar, and cousin Kethamil -- whom he had never seen before, since Valandil and Ruasar left Evermeet before Elethar was born. While in Silverymoon he learned more lore about Faerun and some tidbits of family history from Valandil that Corihar had omitted from his teachings. He even rode out once with his uncle, who was a Spellguard, on a routine patrol that ended in discovering (and ending) a powerful band of tanarukks that were harassing the roads.
Arrival in Evereska
Still, he left Silverymoon after a time -- he felt called to Evereska, seeing it as the focal point for elvendom on Faerun (and also still being somewhat culture-shocked by all the other races mingling together, when his upbringing had been very homogenously sun-elven). The Evereskan elves welcomed him, but were somewhat aloof until he proved his worth by valiantly aiding the defense of the city against the Phaerimm in 1371.
The following year, he helped the Tomb Guardians apprehend a would-be tomb robber, who turned out to be a Demonfey agent in disguise. Though the agent killed himself with poison before he could be questioned, that served as his introduction to the Demonfey. Though he'd heard the histories of the Crown Wars and of the Seven Citadels' War, this was his first time realizing House Dlardrageth had not been completely destroyed, and had in fact returned. Throughout the rest of that year, he aided Evereskan agents in investigating the Demonfey resurgence and thwarting Demonfey attempts at accessing Evereska.
Demonfey involvement and Miyeritar's Crusade
In late 1373 DR, while on one such mission with a handful of other elves, his group was ambushed by a band of powerful fey'ri who managed to subdue him in one of their secret boltholes in the Nether Mountains, where he learned they intended to use him in their forced demonic breeding program. Despite his best efforts, they succeeded in forcing him via magical compulsion to copulate with a succubus, after which they tortured him and attempted to turn him to their cause. He resisted, though his spirit was almost broken by the time his cousin Kethamil, who was secretly a Harper, freed him with a group of his Harper comrades.
From then until Sarya Dlardrageth's gambit the following year, Elethar and Kethamil worked together trying to root out the fey'ri wherever they could, and pass intelligence on to the Harpers and the elves. During this time, Kethamil's father Valandil, who was also secretly a Harper, vanished on a mysterious quest.
Elethar participated in the defense of Evereska against Sarya's attack, and then, along with Kethamil, joined Severil Miyeritar's Crusade against the Demonfey. Even their grandfather Corihar was persuaded to join the crusade, and they all fought together in the final battles in Myth Drannor (during which he recovered Aermanthyr, an ancient blade once wielded by Almarael himself, by defeating a demonfey bladesinger who had looted it from the ruins).
However, Corihar was killed in the final battle when he immolated himself as well as a balor and several high-ranking Dlardrageths in a spectacular display of arcane power. Some witnesses remember the act with admiration, saying that it looked like he sacrificed himself much like his ancestor Caelemar had done at the close of the Seven Citadels' War. However, Elethar wonders if it was an act of despair rather than heroism -- Corihar had never truly recovered from Amahel's murder, and foresaw only doom for what remained of his ancient house.
Present and future goals
With Corihar dead and Valandil missing, it fell on Elethar's father Solviel to be acting patriarch of House Sylairaque. Elethar and Kethamil briefly traveled to Evermeet to bury Corihar next to his wife, grieve with the rest of the family, and assist in settling matters of estate. They both returned to Faerun with Solviel's blessing, but Kethamil, unwilling to forsake his quest to find his father, embarked on a quest to find the lost city of Myth Adofhaer, which he believed his father had been searching for--a task he insisted he must do alone--and has not been seen since.
Elethar opted to remain in Cormanthyr, brimming with desire to represent his once-great House in the land of their ancestors. Solviel is still not convinced it's wise for House Sylairaque to return to Faerun, but has given Elethar his blessing to represent the house in Cormanthyr. Additionally, Ruasar, wife of Valandil and a bard of some repute, has temporarily moved to Myth Drannor, feeling alone and sad in Silverymoon with her husband and son missing.
Elethar now hopes that, if he can make a name for himself here, recover lost family relics, and reestablish some kind of Sylairaque name and estate in Myth Drannor, he could persuade Solviel to officially return the family to Faerun. Finding his grandmother's drow killer, as well as discovering what has happened to Kethamil and Valandil, are also on his mind, though he feels his duty to Cormanthyr must come first, at least for now. He is especially wary of any remaining Demonfey threat, worried that their downfall wasn't as final as it should have been and hoping that another repeat of history won't happen.
------
House Sylairaque stuff:
House Crest: A blue-winged pixie with a raven in one hand and a dove in the other, a semicircle of six six-pointed silver stars over his head.
House Colors: Blue and silver (argent)
House motto: Ivae Ifeira ("Light Unending")
Edit: Added some more detail to the backstory.
I cannot for the life of me figure out how to do proper formatting (fieldsets etc.) on this new site. So it will look a little basic. But here is the proper application. Character sheet linked. Let me know what you think, if you have any questions or if anything just seems off. (Still have some gold to spend on minor things).
I also decided to just go straight magus without archetypes, since I couldn't find an archetype that didn't give up something I didn't want to give up. I love everything about the Spell Dancer except not being able to use Arcane Pool for weapon enchantment. I love the flavor and tactical possibilities of Spell Dance but just am not sure if it's worth giving up weapon enhancement (though with Accurate Strike that could be mitigated at times). Also losing the level 5 bonus feat for such a lackluster option as Arcane Movement hurts too.
(Also re: backstory: obviously I wouldn't expect any of this to become relevant to the game. I just like writing backstories. ^ ^)
BASICS
Name: Elethar Sylairaque
Race: Sun Elf
Class: Magus (fluffed as "bladesinger")
Alignment: Neutral Good
Appearance: 5'11", long black hair, gold eyes. Elethar is a handsome sun elf with broad shoulders, lean and muscular yet graceful. He tends to keep his hair pulled back in elegant yet understated elven braids cinched with a silver hair clasp. When at leisure, he prefers flowing garments of dark blue and gray or silver, his house colors. Even when he's not wearing his gleaming mithral chain shirt for battle, he almost always has Aermanthyr strapped at his belt: an elegant rapier with a swept hilt, the gleaming blade bears elven runes that spell out his house motto, ivae ifeira, and the pommel fashioned in the manner of his house crest--a pixie with unfurled wings, holding a bird in each outstretched hand, with a semicircle of six stars above his head (represented by tiny moonstones)--with a sapphire pommel jewel.
Personality: Despite everything he's been through, Elethar is fairly upbeat and optimistic, but he is neither silly nor a chatterbox. He is elegant and well-spoken, and has a love for poetry and music, especially heroic elven sagas from ages past. Since living in Evereska, he's also developed an appreciation for fine wine. He's never been particularly racist, unlike his grandfather, but still, being in Faerun is weird for him, being around the other races. He does his best to be open-minded, but can't help exhibiting some sun elf superiority by accident. A sheltered upbringing and a childhood of sun elf supremacist teachings are hard to shake. (That said, he has an almost unholy hatred and fear of the fey'ri, beyond the norm - probably still has PTSD from his bolthole experience.)
--------------
BACKSTORY:
Upbringing and early days
Elethar was born in Leuthilspar, the capital of Evermeet, on Ches 19, 1229 DR, along with his twin sister, Throvanna. They are the youngest heirs of House Sylairaque, an ancient Sun Elf house that can trace its lineage back to the empire of Aryvaandar. His ancestors had been very involved in the mainland until the fall of Siluvanede, when they joined their sun elf brethren in Evermeet. Generations later, the House returned to Faerun to become involved in the founding and growth of Cormanthyr and Myth Drannor's first incarnation. The family prospered and took part in many of the battles and wonders of the time. However, nearly the entire house was wiped out in the Weeping War, with only a handful of survivors escaping to Evermeet, where the family has officially remained.
Elethar's grandfather Corihar, an archmage and the patriarch of the house, believed it was folly for the house to return to Faerun, considering every time they did, death and tragedy followed. He believed they should stay in Evermeet, and his conviction only deepened when his wife Amahel, a priestess of Sehanine and Elethar's grandmother, was murdered in Faerun by a drow assassin during a quest she had embarked on (Which she claimed was given to her by Sehanine in a vision) to aid sun elves in The Retreat. Coupled with the earlier departure of Corihar's oldest son, Valandil, and his wife, Ruasar -- who had moved to Faerun in the early 1200s DR and settled in Silverymoon -- Corihar's belief hardened. Elethar's father Solviel, a priest of Labelas Enoreth, and mother, Clafiryel, shared Corihar's views, as did Throvanna, who enjoyed the quiet life of dignity afforded to her in Evermeet.
But Elethar's wanderlust hit him hard when he came of age. He had grown up learning tales of the heroism (and tragedy, though he often forgot that part) of his ancestors: Telhilion, the last Aryvandaaran patriarch of House Sylairaque, who broke the House away from the Vyshaan in disgust at their actions against the Seldarine and refused to partake in the final Crown War; Caelemar, the house patriarch who defected from Siluvenade during the Seven Citadels War and subsequently died in a glorious spell duel in the final battle, while destroying many of his former comrades and House Dlardrageth demonfey; and especially Almarael, the house patriarch and bladesinger who led the house back to Faerun to participate in the founding and early growth of Cormanthyr's first iteration, protecting the fledgling Myth Drannor and living to see its epoch of glory. (Conspicuously absent from family sagas, though, is much mention of Ansravar: the original founder of House Sylairaque, who had willingly joined the Vyshaan and perpetrated horrors during the early Crown Wars - the family has long sought to distance itself from that dark legacy, holding up figures like Caelemar as exemplars of the house instead).
Leaving Evermeet and early adventures
Though his house was famed for producing talented wizards -- such as his grandfather, uncle Valandil, and Valandil's son, Elethar's cousin Kethamil -- Elethar held Almarael up as the ideal and split his studies between traditional arcana and martial pursuits. Elethar felt, similarly to his uncle Valandil, that to truly restore the honor and status of their house, they must take risks, return to Faerun and aid in elven causes there. So, once he came of age, he embarked from Evermeet to Faerun, where he landed in Waterdeep and subsequently began exploring the Sword Coast and the North.
His early adventures comprised simple quests like guarding caravans, aiding isolated elven communities against threats from orcs and other marauders, and an occasional contract job with the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors in Waterdeep in exploring ruins and deciphering magic secrets. After he felt like he had gained a decent amount of experience, he set off east to travel and seek his fortune. He first traveled from Waterdeep to Silverymoon, accompanying a caravan as a guard. He successfully aided the caravan against attacking bandits twice, and once helped a couple other caravan guards track down where a third group of bandits had stolen precious cargo, recovering it from a juvenile green dragon who had taken it for his hoard after killing the bandits.
On arriving in Silverymoon, he met his uncle Valandil, aunt Ruasar, and cousin Kethamil -- whom he had never seen before, since Valandil and Ruasar left Evermeet before Elethar was born. While in Silverymoon he learned more lore about Faerun and some tidbits of family history from Valandil that Corihar had omitted from his teachings. He even rode out once with his uncle, who was a Spellguard, on a routine patrol that ended in discovering (and ending) a powerful band of tanarukks that were harassing the roads.
Arrival in Evereska
Still, he left Silverymoon after a time -- he felt called to Evereska, seeing it as the focal point for elvendom on Faerun (and also still being somewhat culture-shocked by all the other races mingling together, when his upbringing had been very homogenously sun-elven). The Evereskan elves welcomed him, but were somewhat aloof until he proved his worth by valiantly aiding the defense of the city against the Phaerimm in 1371.
The following year, he helped the Tomb Guardians apprehend a would-be tomb robber, who turned out to be a Demonfey agent in disguise. Though the agent killed himself with poison before he could be questioned, that served as his introduction to the Demonfey. Though he'd heard the histories of the Crown Wars and of the Seven Citadels' War, this was his first time realizing House Dlardrageth had not been completely destroyed, and had in fact returned. Throughout the rest of that year, he aided Evereskan agents in investigating the Demonfey resurgence and thwarting Demonfey attempts at accessing Evereska.
Demonfey involvement and Miyeritar's Crusade
In late 1373 DR, while on one such mission with a handful of other elves, his group was ambushed by a band of powerful fey'ri who managed to subdue him in one of their secret boltholes in the Nether Mountains, where he learned they intended to use him in their forced demonic breeding program. Despite his best efforts, they succeeded in forcing him via magical compulsion to copulate with a succubus, after which they tortured him and attempted to turn him to their cause. He resisted, though his spirit was almost broken by the time his cousin Kethamil, who was secretly a Harper, freed him with a group of his Harper comrades.
From then until Sarya Dlardrageth's gambit the following year, Elethar and Kethamil worked together trying to root out the fey'ri wherever they could, and pass intelligence on to the Harpers and the elves. During this time, Kethamil's father Valandil, who was also secretly a Harper, vanished on a mysterious quest.
Elethar participated in the defense of Evereska against Sarya's attack, and then, along with Kethamil, joined Severil Miyeritar's Crusade against the Demonfey. Even their grandfather Corihar was persuaded to join the crusade, and they all fought together in the final battles in Myth Drannor (during which he recovered Aermanthyr, an ancient blade once wielded by Almarael himself, by defeating a demonfey bladesinger who had looted it from the ruins).
However, Corihar was killed in the final battle when he immolated himself as well as a balor and several high-ranking Dlardrageths in a spectacular display of arcane power. Some witnesses remember the act with admiration, saying that it looked like he sacrificed himself much like his ancestor Caelemar had done at the close of the Seven Citadels' War. However, Elethar wonders if it was an act of despair rather than heroism -- Corihar had never truly recovered from Amahel's murder, and foresaw only doom for what remained of his ancient house.
Present and future goals
With Corihar dead and Valandil missing, it fell on Elethar's father Solviel to be acting patriarch of House Sylairaque. Elethar and Kethamil briefly traveled to Evermeet to bury Corihar next to his wife, grieve with the rest of the family, and assist in settling matters of estate. They both returned to Faerun with Solviel's blessing, but Kethamil, unwilling to forsake his quest to find his father, embarked on a quest to find the lost city of Myth Adofhaer, which he believed his father had been searching for--a task he insisted he must do alone--and has not been seen since.
Elethar opted to remain in Cormanthyr, brimming with desire to represent his once-great House in the land of their ancestors. Solviel is still not convinced it's wise for House Sylairaque to return to Faerun, but has given Elethar his blessing to represent the house in Cormanthyr. Additionally, Ruasar, wife of Valandil and a bard of some repute, has temporarily moved to Myth Drannor, feeling alone and sad in Silverymoon with her husband and son missing.
Elethar now hopes that, if he can make a name for himself here, recover lost family relics, and reestablish some kind of Sylairaque name and estate in Myth Drannor, he could persuade Solviel to officially return the family to Faerun. Finding his grandmother's drow killer, as well as discovering what has happened to Kethamil and Valandil, are also on his mind, though he feels his duty to Cormanthyr must come first, at least for now. He is especially wary of any remaining Demonfey threat, worried that their downfall wasn't as final as it should have been and hoping that another repeat of history won't happen.
------
House Sylairaque stuff:
House Crest: A blue-winged pixie with a raven in one hand and a dove in the other, a semicircle of six six-pointed silver stars over his head.
House Colors: Blue and silver (argent)
House motto: Ivae Ifeira ("Light Unending")
Edit: Added some more detail to the backstory.
I cannot for the life of me figure out how to do proper formatting (fieldsets etc.) on this new site. So it will look a little basic. But here is the proper application. Character sheet linked. Let me know what you think, if you have any questions or if anything just seems off. (Still have some gold to spend on minor things).
I also decided to just go straight magus without archetypes, since I couldn't find an archetype that didn't give up something I didn't want to give up. I love everything about the Spell Dancer except not being able to use Arcane Pool for weapon enchantment. I love the flavor and tactical possibilities of Spell Dance but just am not sure if it's worth giving up weapon enhancement (though with Accurate Strike that could be mitigated at times). Also losing the level 5 bonus feat for such a lackluster option as Arcane Movement hurts too.
(Also re: backstory: obviously I wouldn't expect any of this to become relevant to the game. I just like writing backstories. ^ ^)
BASICS
Name: Elethar Sylairaque
Race: Sun Elf
Class: Magus (fluffed as "bladesinger")
Alignment: Neutral Good
Appearance: 5'11", long black hair, gold eyes. Elethar is a handsome sun elf with broad shoulders, lean and muscular yet graceful. He tends to keep his hair pulled back in elegant yet understated elven braids cinched with a silver hair clasp. When at leisure, he prefers flowing garments of dark blue and gray or silver, his house colors. Even when he's not wearing his gleaming mithral chain shirt for battle, he almost always has Aermanthyr strapped at his belt: an elegant rapier with a swept hilt, the gleaming blade bears elven runes that spell out his house motto, ivae ifeira, and the pommel fashioned in the manner of his house crest--a pixie with unfurled wings, holding a bird in each outstretched hand, with a semicircle of six stars above his head (represented by embedded moonstones)--with a sapphire pommel jewel.
Personality: Despite everything he's been through, Elethar is fairly upbeat and optimistic, but he is neither silly nor a chatterbox. He is elegant and well-spoken, and has a love for poetry and music, especially heroic elven sagas from ages past. Since living in Evereska, he's also developed an appreciation for fine wine. He's never been particularly racist, unlike his grandfather, but still, being in Faerun is weird for him, being around the other races. He does his best to be open-minded, but can't help exhibiting some sun elf superiority by accident. A sheltered upbringing and a childhood of sun elf supremacist teachings are hard to shake. (That said, he has an almost unholy hatred and fear of the fey'ri, beyond the norm - probably still has PTSD from his bolthole experience.)
--------------
BACKSTORY:
Upbringing and early days
Elethar was born in Leuthilspar, the capital of Evermeet, on Ches 19, 1229 DR, along with his twin sister, Throvanna. They are the youngest heirs of House Sylairaque, an ancient Sun Elf house that can trace its lineage back to the empire of Aryvaandar. His ancestors had been very involved in the mainland until the fall of Siluvanede, when they joined their sun elf brethren in Evermeet. Generations later, the House returned to Faerun to become involved in the founding and growth of Cormanthyr and Myth Drannor's first incarnation. The family prospered and took part in many of the battles and wonders of the time. However, nearly the entire house was wiped out in the Weeping War, with only a handful of survivors escaping to Evermeet, where the family has officially remained.
Elethar's grandfather Corihar, an archmage and the patriarch of the house, believed it was folly for the house to return to Faerun, considering every time they did, death and tragedy followed. He believed they should stay in Evermeet, and his conviction only deepened when his wife Amahel, a priestess of Sehanine and Elethar's grandmother, was murdered in Faerun by a drow assassin during a quest she had embarked on (Which she claimed was given to her by Sehanine in a vision) to aid sun elves in The Retreat. Coupled with the earlier departure of Corihar's oldest son, Valandil, and his wife, Ruasar -- who had moved to Faerun in the early 1200s DR and settled in Silverymoon -- Corihar's belief hardened. Elethar's father Solviel, a priest of Labelas Enoreth, and mother, Clafiryel, shared Corihar's views, as did Throvanna, who enjoyed the quiet life of dignity afforded to her in Evermeet.
But Elethar's wanderlust hit him hard when he came of age. He had grown up learning tales of the heroism (and tragedy, though he often forgot that part) of his ancestors: Telhilion, the last Aryvandaaran patriarch of House Sylairaque, who broke the House away from the Vyshaan in disgust at their actions against the Seldarine and refused to partake in the final Crown War; Caelemar, the house patriarch who defected from Siluvenade during the Seven Citadels War and subsequently died in a glorious spell duel in the final battle, while destroying many of his former comrades and House Dlardrageth demonfey; and especially Almarael, the house patriarch and bladesinger who led the house back to Faerun to participate in the founding and early growth of Cormanthyr's first iteration, protecting the fledgling Myth Drannor and living to see its epoch of glory. (Conspicuously absent from family sagas, though, is much mention of Ansravar: the original founder of House Sylairaque, who had willingly joined the Vyshaan and perpetrated horrors during the early Crown Wars - the family has long sought to distance itself from that dark legacy, holding up figures like Caelemar as exemplars of the house instead).
Leaving Evermeet and early adventures
Though his house was famed for producing talented wizards -- such as his grandfather, uncle Valandil, and Valandil's son, Elethar's cousin Kethamil -- Elethar held Almarael up as the ideal and split his studies between traditional arcana and martial pursuits. Elethar felt, similarly to his uncle Valandil, that to truly restore the honor and status of their house, they must take risks, return to Faerun and aid in elven causes there. So, once he came of age, he embarked from Evermeet to Faerun, where he landed in Waterdeep and subsequently began exploring the Sword Coast and the North.
His early adventures comprised simple quests like guarding caravans, aiding isolated elven communities against threats from orcs and other marauders, and an occasional contract job with the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors in Waterdeep in exploring ruins and deciphering magic secrets. After he felt like he had gained a decent amount of experience, he set off east to travel and seek his fortune. He first traveled from Waterdeep to Silverymoon, accompanying a caravan as a guard. He successfully aided the caravan against attacking bandits twice, and once helped a couple other caravan guards track down where a third group of bandits had stolen precious cargo, recovering it from a juvenile green dragon who had taken it for his hoard after killing the bandits.
On arriving in Silverymoon, he met his uncle Valandil, aunt Ruasar, and cousin Kethamil -- whom he had never seen before, since Valandil and Ruasar left Evermeet before Elethar was born. While in Silverymoon he learned more lore about Faerun and some tidbits of family history from Valandil that Corihar had omitted from his teachings. He even rode out once with his uncle, who was a Spellguard, on a routine patrol that ended in discovering (and ending) a powerful band of tanarukks that were harassing the roads.
Arrival in Evereska
Still, he left Silverymoon after a time -- he felt called to Evereska, seeing it as the focal point for elvendom on Faerun (and also still being somewhat culture-shocked by all the other races mingling together, when his upbringing had been very homogenously sun-elven). The Evereskan elves welcomed him, but were somewhat aloof until he proved his worth by valiantly aiding the defense of the city against the Phaerimm in 1371.
The following year, he helped the Tomb Guardians apprehend a would-be tomb robber, who turned out to be a Demonfey agent in disguise. Though the agent killed himself with poison before he could be questioned, that served as his introduction to the Demonfey. Though he'd heard the histories of the Crown Wars and of the Seven Citadels' War, this was his first time realizing House Dlardrageth had not been completely destroyed, and had in fact returned. Throughout the rest of that year, he aided Evereskan agents in investigating the Demonfey resurgence and thwarting Demonfey attempts at accessing Evereska.
Demonfey involvement and Miyeritar's Crusade
In late 1373 DR, while on one such mission with a handful of other elves, his group was ambushed by a band of powerful fey'ri who managed to subdue him in one of their secret boltholes in the Nether Mountains, where he learned they intended to use him in their forced demonic breeding program. Despite his best efforts, they succeeded in forcing him via magical compulsion to copulate with a succubus, after which they tortured him and attempted to turn him to their cause. He resisted, though his spirit was almost broken by the time his cousin Kethamil, who was secretly a Harper, freed him with a group of his Harper comrades.
From then until Sarya Dlardrageth's gambit the following year, Elethar and Kethamil worked together trying to root out the fey'ri wherever they could, and pass intelligence on to the Harpers and the elves. During this time, Kethamil's father Valandil, who was also secretly a Harper, vanished on a mysterious quest.
Elethar participated in the defense of Evereska against Sarya's attack, and then, along with Kethamil, joined Severil Miyeritar's Crusade against the Demonfey. Even their grandfather Corihar was persuaded to join the crusade, and they all fought together in the final battles in Myth Drannor (during which he recovered Aermanthyr, an ancient blade once wielded by Almarael himself, by defeating a demonfey bladesinger who had looted it from the ruins).
However, Corihar was killed in the final battle when he immolated himself as well as a balor and several high-ranking Dlardrageths in a spectacular display of arcane power. Some witnesses remember the act with admiration, saying that it looked like he sacrificed himself much like his ancestor Caelemar had done at the close of the Seven Citadels' War. However, Elethar wonders if it was an act of despair rather than heroism -- Corihar had never truly recovered from Amahel's murder, and foresaw only doom for what remained of his ancient house.
Present and future goals
With Corihar dead and Valandil missing, it fell on Elethar's father Solviel to be acting patriarch of House Sylairaque. Elethar and Kethamil briefly traveled to Evermeet to bury Corihar next to his wife, grieve with the rest of the family, and assist in settling matters of estate. They both returned to Faerun with Solviel's blessing, but Kethamil, unwilling to forsake his quest to find his father, embarked on a quest to find the lost city of Myth Adofhaer, which he believed his father had been searching for--a task he insisted he must do alone--and has not been seen since.
Elethar opted to remain in Cormanthyr, brimming with desire to represent his once-great House in the land of their ancestors. Solviel is still not convinced it's wise for House Sylairaque to return to Faerun, but has given Elethar his blessing to represent the house in Cormanthyr. Additionally, Ruasar, wife of Valandil and a bard of some repute, has temporarily moved to Myth Drannor, feeling alone and sad in Silverymoon with her husband and son missing.
Elethar now hopes that, if he can make a name for himself here, recover lost family relics, and reestablish some kind of Sylairaque name and estate in Myth Drannor, he could persuade Solviel to officially return the family to Faerun. Finding his grandmother's drow killer, as well as discovering what has happened to Kethamil and Valandil, are also on his mind, though he feels his duty to Cormanthyr must come first, at least for now. He is especially wary of any remaining Demonfey threat, worried that their downfall wasn't as final as it should have been and hoping that another repeat of history won't happen.
------
House Sylairaque stuff:
House Crest: A blue-winged pixie with a raven in one hand and a dove in the other, a semicircle of six six-pointed silver stars over his head.
House Colors: Blue and silver (argent)
House motto: Ivae Ifeira ("Light Unending")
Edit: Added some more detail to the backstory.
I cannot for the life of me figure out how to do proper formatting (fieldsets etc.) on this new site. So it will look a little basic. But here is the proper application. Character sheet linked. Let me know what you think, if you have any questions or if anything just seems off. (Still have some gold to spend on minor things).
I also decided to just go straight magus without archetypes, since I couldn't find an archetype that didn't give up something I didn't want to give up. I love everything about the Spell Dancer except not being able to use Arcane Pool for weapon enchantment. I love the flavor and tactical possibilities of Spell Dance but just am not sure if it's worth giving up weapon enhancement (though with Accurate Strike that could be mitigated at times). Also losing the level 5 bonus feat for such a lackluster option as Arcane Movement hurts too.
(Also re: backstory: obviously I wouldn't expect any of this to become relevant to the game. I just like writing backstories. ^ ^)
BASICS
Name: Elethar Sylairaque
Race: Sun Elf
Class: Magus (fluffed as "bladesinger")
Alignment: Neutral Good
Appearance: 5'11", long black hair, gold eyes. Elethar is a handsome sun elf with broad shoulders, lean and muscular yet graceful. He tends to keep his hair pulled back in elegant yet understated elven braids cinched with a silver hair clasp. When at leisure, he prefers flowing garments of dark blue and gray or silver, his house colors. Even when he's not wearing his gleaming mithral chain shirt for battle, he almost always has Aermanthyr strapped at his belt: an elegant rapier with a swept hilt, the gleaming blade bears elven runes on the blade that spell out his house motto, ivae ifeira, and the pommel fashioned in the manner of his house crest--a pixie with unfurled wings, holding a bird in each outstretched hand, with a semicircle of six stars above his head (represented by embedded moonstones)--with a sapphire pommel jewel.
Personality: Despite everything he's been through, Elethar is fairly upbeat and optimistic, but he is neither silly nor a chatterbox. He is elegant and well-spoken, and has a love for poetry and music, especially heroic elven sagas from ages past. Since living in Evereska, he's also developed an appreciation for fine wine. He's never been particularly racist, unlike his grandfather, but still, being in Faerun is weird for him, being around the other races. He does his best to be open-minded, but can't help exhibiting some sun elf superiority by accident. A sheltered upbringing and a childhood of sun elf supremacist teachings are hard to shake. (That said, he has an almost unholy hatred and fear of the fey'ri, beyond the norm - probably still has PTSD from his bolthole experience.)
--------------
BACKSTORY:
Upbringing and early days
Elethar was born in Leuthilspar, the capital of Evermeet, on Ches 19, 1229 DR, along with his twin sister, Throvanna. They are the youngest heirs of House Sylairaque, an ancient Sun Elf house that can trace its lineage back to the empire of Aryvaandar. His ancestors had been very involved in the mainland until the fall of Siluvanede, when they joined their sun elf brethren in Evermeet. Generations later, the House returned to Faerun to become involved in the founding and growth of Cormanthyr and Myth Drannor's first incarnation. The family prospered and took part in many of the battles and wonders of the time. However, nearly the entire house was wiped out in the Weeping War, with only a handful of survivors escaping to Evermeet, where the family has officially remained.
Elethar's grandfather Corihar, an archmage and the patriarch of the house, believed it was folly for the house to return to Faerun, considering every time they did, death and tragedy followed. He believed they should stay in Evermeet, and his conviction only deepened when his wife Amahel, a priestess of Sehanine and Elethar's grandmother, was murdered in Faerun by a drow assassin during a quest she had embarked on (Which she claimed was given to her by Sehanine in a vision) to aid sun elves in The Retreat. Coupled with the earlier departure of Corihar's oldest son, Valandil, and his wife, Ruasar -- who had moved to Faerun in the early 1200s DR and settled in Silverymoon -- Corihar's belief hardened. Elethar's father Solviel, a priest of Labelas Enoreth, and mother, Clafiryel, shared Corihar's views, as did Throvanna, who enjoyed the quiet life of dignity afforded to her in Evermeet.
But Elethar's wanderlust hit him hard when he came of age. He had grown up learning tales of the heroism (and tragedy, though he often forgot that part) of his ancestors: Telhilion, the last Aryvandaaran patriarch of House Sylairaque, who broke the House away from the Vyshaan in disgust at their actions against the Seldarine and refused to partake in the final Crown War; Caelemar, the house patriarch who defected from Siluvenade during the Seven Citadels War and subsequently died in a glorious spell duel in the final battle, while destroying many of his former comrades and House Dlardrageth demonfey; and especially Almarael, the house patriarch and bladesinger who led the house back to Faerun to participate in the founding and early growth of Cormanthyr's first iteration, protecting the fledgling Myth Drannor and living to see its epoch of glory. (Conspicuously absent from family sagas, though, is much mention of Ansravar: the original founder of House Sylairaque, who had willingly joined the Vyshaan and perpetrated horrors during the early Crown Wars - the family has long sought to distance itself from that dark legacy, holding up figures like Caelemar as exemplars of the house instead).
Leaving Evermeet and early adventures
Though his house was famed for producing talented wizards -- such as his grandfather, uncle Valandil, and Valandil's son, Elethar's cousin Kethamil -- Elethar held Almarael up as the ideal and split his studies between traditional arcana and martial pursuits. Elethar felt, similarly to his uncle Valandil, that to truly restore the honor and status of their house, they must take risks, return to Faerun and aid in elven causes there. So, once he came of age, he embarked from Evermeet to Faerun, where he landed in Waterdeep and subsequently began exploring the Sword Coast and the North.
His early adventures comprised simple quests like guarding caravans, aiding isolated elven communities against threats from orcs and other marauders, and an occasional contract job with the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors in Waterdeep in exploring ruins and deciphering magic secrets. After he felt like he had gained a decent amount of experience, he set off east to travel and seek his fortune. He first traveled from Waterdeep to Silverymoon, accompanying a caravan as a guard. He successfully aided the caravan against attacking bandits twice, and once helped a couple other caravan guards track down where a third group of bandits had stolen precious cargo, recovering it from a juvenile green dragon who had taken it for his hoard after killing the bandits.
On arriving in Silverymoon, he met his uncle Valandil, aunt Ruasar, and cousin Kethamil -- whom he had never seen before, since Valandil and Ruasar left Evermeet before Elethar was born. While in Silverymoon he learned more lore about Faerun and some tidbits of family history from Valandil that Corihar had omitted from his teachings. He even rode out once with his uncle, who was a Spellguard, on a routine patrol that ended in discovering (and ending) a powerful band of tanarukks that were harassing the roads.
Arrival in Evereska
Still, he left Silverymoon after a time -- he felt called to Evereska, seeing it as the focal point for elvendom on Faerun (and also still being somewhat culture-shocked by all the other races mingling together, when his upbringing had been very homogenously sun-elven). The Evereskan elves welcomed him, but were somewhat aloof until he proved his worth by valiantly aiding the defense of the city against the Phaerimm in 1371.
The following year, he helped the Tomb Guardians apprehend a would-be tomb robber, who turned out to be a Demonfey agent in disguise. Though the agent killed himself with poison before he could be questioned, that served as his introduction to the Demonfey. Though he'd heard the histories of the Crown Wars and of the Seven Citadels' War, this was his first time realizing House Dlardrageth had not been completely destroyed, and had in fact returned. Throughout the rest of that year, he aided Evereskan agents in investigating the Demonfey resurgence and thwarting Demonfey attempts at accessing Evereska.
Demonfey involvement and Miyeritar's Crusade
In late 1373 DR, while on one such mission with a handful of other elves, his group was ambushed by a band of powerful fey'ri who managed to subdue him in one of their secret boltholes in the Nether Mountains, where he learned they intended to use him in their forced demonic breeding program. Despite his best efforts, they succeeded in forcing him via magical compulsion to copulate with a succubus, after which they tortured him and attempted to turn him to their cause. He resisted, though his spirit was almost broken by the time his cousin Kethamil, who was secretly a Harper, freed him with a group of his Harper comrades.
From then until Sarya Dlardrageth's gambit the following year, Elethar and Kethamil worked together trying to root out the fey'ri wherever they could, and pass intelligence on to the Harpers and the elves. During this time, Kethamil's father Valandil, who was also secretly a Harper, vanished on a mysterious quest.
Elethar participated in the defense of Evereska against Sarya's attack, and then, along with Kethamil, joined Severil Miyeritar's Crusade against the Demonfey. Even their grandfather Corihar was persuaded to join the crusade, and they all fought together in the final battles in Myth Drannor (during which he recovered Aermanthyr, an ancient blade once wielded by Almarael himself, by defeating a demonfey bladesinger who had looted it from the ruins).
However, Corihar was killed in the final battle when he immolated himself as well as a balor and several high-ranking Dlardrageths in a spectacular display of arcane power. Some witnesses remember the act with admiration, saying that it looked like he sacrificed himself much like his ancestor Caelemar had done at the close of the Seven Citadels' War. However, Elethar wonders if it was an act of despair rather than heroism -- Corihar had never truly recovered from Amahel's murder, and foresaw only doom for what remained of his ancient house.
Present and future goals
With Corihar dead and Valandil missing, it fell on Elethar's father Solviel to be acting patriarch of House Sylairaque. Elethar and Kethamil briefly traveled to Evermeet to bury Corihar next to his wife, grieve with the rest of the family, and assist in settling matters of estate. They both returned to Faerun with Solviel's blessing, but Kethamil, unwilling to forsake his quest to find his father, embarked on a quest to find the lost city of Myth Adofhaer, which he believed his father had been searching for--a task he insisted he must do alone--and has not been seen since.
Elethar opted to remain in Cormanthyr, brimming with desire to represent his once-great House in the land of their ancestors. Solviel is still not convinced it's wise for House Sylairaque to return to Faerun, but has given Elethar his blessing to represent the house in Cormanthyr. Additionally, Ruasar, wife of Valandil and a bard of some repute, has temporarily moved to Myth Drannor, feeling alone and sad in Silverymoon with her husband and son missing.
Elethar now hopes that, if he can make a name for himself here, recover lost family relics, and reestablish some kind of Sylairaque name and estate in Myth Drannor, he could persuade Solviel to officially return the family to Faerun. Finding his grandmother's drow killer, as well as discovering what has happened to Kethamil and Valandil, are also on his mind, though he feels his duty to Cormanthyr must come first, at least for now. He is especially wary of any remaining Demonfey threat, worried that their downfall wasn't as final as it should have been and hoping that another repeat of history won't happen.
------
House Sylairaque stuff:
House Crest: A blue-winged pixie with a raven in one hand and a dove in the other, a semicircle of six six-pointed silver stars over his head.
House Colors: Blue and silver (argent)
House motto: Ivae Ifeira ("Light Unending")
Edit: Added some more detail to the backstory.
I cannot for the life of me figure out how to do proper formatting (fieldsets etc.) on this new site. So it will look a little basic. But here is the proper application. Character sheet linked. Let me know what you think, if you have any questions or if anything just seems off. (Still have some gold to spend on minor things).
I also decided to just go straight magus without archetypes, since I couldn't find an archetype that didn't give up something I didn't want to give up. I love everything about the Spell Dancer except not being able to use Arcane Pool for weapon enchantment. I love the flavor and tactical possibilities of Spell Dance but just am not sure if it's worth giving up weapon enhancement (though with Accurate Strike that could be mitigated at times). Also losing the level 5 bonus feat for such a lackluster option as Arcane Movement hurts too.
(Also re: backstory: obviously I wouldn't expect any of this to become relevant to the game. I just like writing backstories. ^ ^)
BASICS
Name: Elethar Sylairaque
Race: Sun Elf
Class: Magus (fluffed as "bladesinger")
Alignment: Neutral Good
Appearance: 5'11", long black hair, gold eyes. Elethar is a handsome sun elf with broad shoulders, lean and muscular yet graceful. He tends to keep his hair pulled back in elegant yet understated elven braids cinched with a silver hair clasp. When at leisure, he prefers flowing garments of dark blue and gray or silver, his house colors. Even when he's not wearing his gleaming mithral chain shirt for battle, he almost always has Aermanthyr strapped at his belt: an elegant rapier with a swept hilt, the gleaming blade bears elven runes on the blade that spell out his house motto, ivae ifeira, and the pommel fashioned in the manner of his house crest--a pixie with unfurled wings, holding a bird in each outstretched hand, with a semicircle of six stars above his head (represented by embedded moonstones)--with a sapphire pommel jewel.
Personality: Despite everything he's been through, Elethar is fairly upbeat and optimistic, but he is neither silly nor a chatterbox. He is elegant and well-spoken, and has a love for poetry and music, especially heroic elven sagas from ages past. Since living in Evereska, he's also developed an appreciation for fine wine. He's never been particularly racist, unlike his grandfather, but still, being in Faerun is weird for him, being around the other races. He does his best to be open-minded, but can't help exhibiting some sun elf superiority by accident. A sheltered upbringing and a childhood of sun elf supremacist teachings are hard to shake. (That said, he has an almost unholy hatred and fear of the fey'ri, beyond the norm - probably still has PTSD from his bolthole experience.)
--------------
Backstory:
Upbringing and early days
Elethar was born in Leuthilspar, the capital of Evermeet, on Ches 19, 1229 DR, along with his twin sister, Throvanna. They are the youngest heirs of House Sylairaque, an ancient Sun Elf house that can trace its lineage back to the empire of Aryvaandar. His ancestors had been very involved in the mainland until the fall of Siluvanede, when they joined their sun elf brethren in Evermeet. Generations later, the House returned to Faerun to become involved in the founding and growth of Cormanthyr and Myth Drannor's first incarnation. The family prospered and took part in many of the battles and wonders of the time. However, nearly the entire house was wiped out in the Weeping War, with only a handful of survivors escaping to Evermeet, where the family has officially remained.
Elethar's grandfather Corihar, an archmage and the patriarch of the house, believed it was folly for the house to return to Faerun, considering every time they did, death and tragedy followed. He believed they should stay in Evermeet, and his conviction only deepened when his wife Amahel, a priestess of Sehanine and Elethar's grandmother, was murdered in Faerun by a drow assassin during a quest she had embarked on (Which she claimed was given to her by Sehanine in a vision) to aid sun elves in The Retreat. Coupled with the earlier departure of Corihar's oldest son, Valandil, and his wife, Ruasar -- who had moved to Faerun in the early 1200s DR and settled in Silverymoon -- Corihar's belief hardened. Elethar's father Solviel, a priest of Labelas Enoreth, and mother, Clafiryel, shared Corihar's views, as did Throvanna, who enjoyed the quiet life of dignity afforded to her in Evermeet.
But Elethar's wanderlust hit him hard when he came of age. He had grown up learning tales of the heroism (and tragedy, though he often forgot that part) of his ancestors: Telhilion, the last Aryvandaaran patriarch of House Sylairaque, who broke the House away from the Vyshaan in disgust at their actions against the Seldarine and refused to partake in the final Crown War; Caelemar, the house patriarch who defected from Siluvenade during the Seven Citadels War and subsequently died in a glorious spell duel in the final battle, while destroying many of his former comrades and House Dlardrageth demonfey; and especially Almarael, the house patriarch and bladesinger who led the house back to Faerun to participate in the founding and early growth of Cormanthyr's first iteration, protecting the fledgling Myth Drannor and living to see its epoch of glory. (Conspicuously absent from family sagas, though, is much mention of Ansravar: the original founder of House Sylairaque, who had willingly joined the Vyshaan and perpetrated horrors during the early Crown Wars - the family has long sought to distance itself from that dark legacy, holding up figures like Caelemar as exemplars of the house instead).
Leaving Evermeet and early adventures
Though his house was famed for producing talented wizards -- such as his grandfather, uncle Valandil, and Valandil's son, Elethar's cousin Kethamil -- Elethar held Almarael up as the ideal and split his studies between traditional arcana and martial pursuits. Elethar felt, similarly to his uncle Valandil, that to truly restore the honor and status of their house, they must take risks, return to Faerun and aid in elven causes there. So, once he came of age, he embarked from Evermeet to Faerun, where he landed in Waterdeep and subsequently began exploring the Sword Coast and the North.
His early adventures comprised simple quests like guarding caravans, aiding isolated elven communities against threats from orcs and other marauders, and an occasional contract job with the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors in Waterdeep in exploring ruins and deciphering magic secrets. After he felt like he had gained a decent amount of experience, he set off east to travel and seek his fortune. He first traveled from Waterdeep to Silverymoon, accompanying a caravan as a guard. He successfully aided the caravan against attacking bandits twice, and once helped a couple other caravan guards track down where a third group of bandits had stolen precious cargo, recovering it from a juvenile green dragon who had taken it for his hoard after killing the bandits.
On arriving in Silverymoon, he met his uncle Valandil, aunt Ruasar, and cousin Kethamil -- whom he had never seen before, since Valandil and Ruasar left Evermeet before Elethar was born. While in Silverymoon he learned more lore about Faerun and some tidbits of family history from Valandil that Corihar had omitted from his teachings. He even rode out once with his uncle, who was a Spellguard, on a routine patrol that ended in discovering (and ending) a powerful band of tanarukks that were harassing the roads.
Arrival in Evereska
Still, he left Silverymoon after a time -- he felt called to Evereska, seeing it as the focal point for elvendom on Faerun (and also still being somewhat culture-shocked by all the other races mingling together, when his upbringing had been very homogenously sun-elven). The Evereskan elves welcomed him, but were somewhat aloof until he proved his worth by valiantly aiding the defense of the city against the Phaerimm in 1371.
The following year, he helped the Tomb Guardians apprehend a would-be tomb robber, who turned out to be a Demonfey agent in disguise. Though the agent killed himself with poison before he could be questioned, that served as his introduction to the Demonfey. Though he'd heard the histories of the Crown Wars and of the Seven Citadels' War, this was his first time realizing House Dlardrageth had not been completely destroyed, and had in fact returned. Throughout the rest of that year, he aided Evereskan agents in investigating the Demonfey resurgence and thwarting Demonfey attempts at accessing Evereska.
Demonfey involvement and Miyeritar's Crusade
In late 1373 DR, while on one such mission with a handful of other elves, his group was ambushed by a band of powerful fey'ri who managed to subdue him in one of their secret boltholes in the Nether Mountains, where he learned they intended to use him in their forced demonic breeding program. Despite his best efforts, they succeeded in forcing him via magical compulsion to copulate with a succubus, after which they tortured him and attempted to turn him to their cause. He resisted, though his spirit was almost broken by the time his cousin Kethamil, who was secretly a Harper, freed him with a group of his Harper comrades.
From then until Sarya Dlardrageth's gambit the following year, Elethar and Kethamil worked together trying to root out the fey'ri wherever they could, and pass intelligence on to the Harpers and the elves. During this time, Kethamil's father Valandil, who was also secretly a Harper, vanished on a mysterious quest.
Elethar participated in the defense of Evereska against Sarya's attack, and then, along with Kethamil, joined Severil Miyeritar's Crusade against the Demonfey. Even their grandfather Corihar was persuaded to join the crusade, and they all fought together in the final battles in Myth Drannor (during which he recovered Aermanthyr, an ancient blade once wielded by Almarael himself, by defeating a demonfey bladesinger who had looted it from the ruins).
However, Corihar was killed in the final battle when he immolated himself as well as a balor and several high-ranking Dlardrageths in a spectacular display of arcane power. Some witnesses remember the act with admiration, saying that it looked like he sacrificed himself much like his ancestor Caelemar had done at the close of the Seven Citadels' War. However, Elethar wonders if it was an act of despair rather than heroism -- Corihar had never truly recovered from Amahel's murder, and foresaw only doom for what remained of his ancient house.
Present and future goals
With Corihar dead and Valandil missing, it fell on Elethar's father Solviel to be acting patriarch of House Sylairaque. Elethar and Kethamil briefly traveled to Evermeet to bury Corihar next to his wife, grieve with the rest of the family, and assist in settling matters of estate. They both returned to Faerun with Solviel's blessing, but Kethamil, unwilling to forsake his quest to find his father, embarked on a quest to find the lost city of Myth Adofhaer, which he believed his father had been searching for--a task he insisted he must do alone--and has not been seen since.
Elethar opted to remain in Cormanthyr, brimming with desire to represent his once-great House in the land of their ancestors. Solviel is still not convinced it's wise for House Sylairaque to return to Faerun, but has given Elethar his blessing to represent the house in Cormanthyr. Additionally, Ruasar, wife of Valandil and a bard of some repute, has temporarily moved to Myth Drannor, feeling alone and sad in Silverymoon with her husband and son missing.
Elethar now hopes that, if he can make a name for himself here, recover lost family relics, and reestablish some kind of Sylairaque name and estate in Myth Drannor, he could persuade Solviel to officially return the family to Faerun. Finding his grandmother's drow killer, as well as discovering what has happened to Kethamil and Valandil, are also on his mind, though he feels his duty to Cormanthyr must come first, at least for now. He is especially wary of any remaining Demonfey threat, worried that their downfall wasn't as final as it should have been and hoping that another repeat of history won't happen.
------
House Sylairaque stuff:
House Crest: A blue-winged pixie with a raven in one hand and a dove in the other, a semicircle of six six-pointed silver stars over his head.
House Colors: Blue and silver (argent)
House motto: Ivae Ifeira ("Light Unending")
Edit: Added some more detail to the backstory.
I cannot for the life of me figure out how to do proper formatting (fieldsets etc.) on this new site. So it will look a little basic. But here is the proper application. Character sheet linked. Let me know what you think, if you have any questions or if anything just seems off. (Still have some gold to spend on minor things).
I also decided to just go straight magus without archetypes, since I couldn't find an archetype that didn't give up something I didn't want to give up. I love everything about the Spell Dancer except not being able to use Arcane Pool for weapon enchantment. I love the flavor and tactical possibilities of Spell Dance but just am not sure if it's worth giving up weapon enhancement (though with Accurate Strike that could be mitigated at times). Also losing the level 5 bonus feat for such a lackluster option as Arcane Movement hurts too.
(Also re: backstory: obviously I wouldn't expect any of this to become relevant to the game. I just like writing backstories. ^ ^)
Name: Elethar Sylairaque
Race: Sun Elf
Class: Magus (fluffed as "bladesinger")
Alignment: Neutral Good
Appearance: 5'11", long black hair, gold eyes, handsome
Backstory:
Upbringing and early days
Elethar was born in Leuthilspar, the capital of Evermeet, on Ches 19, 1229 DR, along with his twin sister, Throvanna. They are the youngest heirs of House Sylairaque, an ancient Sun Elf house that can trace its lineage back to the empire of Aryvaandar. His ancestors had been very involved in the mainland until the fall of Siluvanede, when they joined their sun elf brethren in Evermeet. Generations later, the House returned to Faerun to become involved in the founding and growth of Cormanthyr and Myth Drannor's first incarnation. The family prospered and took part in many of the battles and wonders of the time. However, nearly the entire house was wiped out in the Weeping War, with only a handful of survivors escaping to Evermeet, where the family has officially remained.
Elethar's grandfather Corihar, an archmage and the patriarch of the house, believed it was folly for the house to return to Faerun, considering every time they did, death and tragedy followed. He believed they should stay in Evermeet, and his conviction only deepened when his wife Amahel, a priestess of Sehanine and Elethar's grandmother, was murdered in Faerun by a drow assassin during a quest she had embarked on (Which she claimed was given to her by Sehanine in a vision) to aid sun elves in The Retreat. Coupled with the earlier departure of Corihar's oldest son, Valandil, and his wife, Ruasar -- who had moved to Faerun in the early 1200s DR and settled in Silverymoon -- Corihar's belief hardened. Elethar's father Solviel, a priest of Labelas Enoreth, and mother, Clafiryel, shared Corihar's views, as did Throvanna, who enjoyed the quiet life of dignity afforded to her in Evermeet.
But Elethar's wanderlust hit him hard when he came of age. He had grown up learning tales of the heroism (and tragedy, though he often forgot that part) of his ancestors: Telhilion, the last Aryvandaaran patriarch of House Sylairaque, who broke the House away from the Vyshaan in disgust at their actions against the Seldarine and refused to partake in the final Crown War; Caelemar, the house patriarch who defected from Siluvenade during the Seven Citadels War and subsequently died in a glorious spell duel in the final battle, while destroying many of his former comrades and House Dlardrageth demonfey; and especially Almarael, the house patriarch and bladesinger who led the house back to Faerun to participate in the founding and early growth of Cormanthyr's first iteration, protecting the fledgling Myth Drannor and living to see its epoch of glory. (Conspicuously absent from family sagas, though, is much mention of Ansravar: the original founder of House Sylairaque, who had willingly joined the Vyshaan and perpetrated horrors during the early Crown Wars - the family has long sought to distance itself from that dark legacy, holding up figures like Caelemar as exemplars of the house instead).
Leaving Evermeet and early adventures
Though his house was famed for producing talented wizards -- such as his grandfather, uncle Valandil, and Valandil's son, Elethar's cousin Kethamil -- Elethar held Almarael up as the ideal and split his studies between traditional arcana and martial pursuits. Elethar felt, similarly to his uncle Valandil, that to truly restore the honor and status of their house, they must take risks, return to Faerun and aid in elven causes there. So, once he came of age, he embarked from Evermeet to Faerun, where he landed in Waterdeep and subsequently began exploring the Sword Coast and the North.
His early adventures comprised simple quests like guarding caravans, aiding isolated elven communities against threats from orcs and other marauders, and an occasional contract job with the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors in Waterdeep in exploring ruins and deciphering magic secrets. After he felt like he had gained a decent amount of experience, he set off east to travel and seek his fortune. He first traveled from Waterdeep to Silverymoon, accompanying a caravan as a guard. He successfully aided the caravan against attacking bandits twice, and once helped a couple other caravan guards track down where a third group of bandits had stolen precious cargo, recovering it from a juvenile green dragon who had taken it for his hoard after killing the bandits.
On arriving in Silverymoon, he met his uncle Valandil, aunt Ruasar, and cousin Kethamil -- whom he had never seen before, since Valandil and Ruasar left Evermeet before Elethar was born. While in Silverymoon he learned more lore about Faerun and some tidbits of family history from Valandil that Corihar had omitted from his teachings. He even rode out once with his uncle, who was a Spellguard, on a routine patrol that ended in discovering (and ending) a powerful band of tanarukks that were harassing the roads.
Arrival in Evereska
Still, he left Silverymoon after a time -- he felt called to Evereska, seeing it as the focal point for elvendom on Faerun (and also still being somewhat culture-shocked by all the other races mingling together, when his upbringing had been very homogenously sun-elven). The Evereskan elves welcomed him, but were somewhat aloof until he proved his worth by valiantly aiding the defense of the city against the Phaerimm in 1371.
The following year, he helped the Tomb Guardians apprehend a would-be tomb robber, who turned out to be a Demonfey agent in disguise. Though the agent killed himself with poison before he could be questioned, that served as his introduction to the Demonfey. Though he'd heard the histories of the Crown Wars and of the Seven Citadels' War, this was his first time realizing House Dlardrageth had not been completely destroyed, and had in fact returned. Throughout the rest of that year, he aided Evereskan agents in investigating the Demonfey resurgence and thwarting Demonfey attempts at accessing Evereska.
Demonfey involvement and Miyeritar's Crusade
In late 1373 DR, while on one such mission with a handful of other elves, his group was ambushed by a band of powerful fey'ri who managed to subdue him in one of their secret boltholes in the Nether Mountains, where he learned they intended to use him in their forced demonic breeding program. Despite his best efforts, they succeeded in forcing him via magical compulsion to copulate with a succubus, after which they tortured him and attempted to turn him to their cause. He resisted, though his spirit was almost broken by the time his cousin Kethamil, who was secretly a Harper, freed him with a group of his Harper comrades.
From then until Sarya Dlardrageth's gambit the following year, Elethar and Kethamil worked together trying to root out the fey'ri wherever they could, and pass intelligence on to the Harpers and the elves. During this time, Kethamil's father Valandil, who was also secretly a Harper, vanished on a mysterious quest.
Elethar participated in the defense of Evereska against Sarya's attack, and then, along with Kethamil, joined Severil Miyeritar's Crusade against the Demonfey. Even their grandfather Corihar was persuaded to join the crusade, and they all fought together in the final battles in Myth Drannor (during which he recovered Aermanthyr, an ancient blade once wielded by Almarael himself, by defeating a demonfey bladesinger who had looted it from the ruins).
However, Corihar was killed in the final battle when he immolated himself as well as a balor and several high-ranking Dlardrageths in a spectacular display of arcane power. Some witnesses remember the act with admiration, saying that it looked like he sacrificed himself much like his ancestor Caelemar had done at the close of the Seven Citadels' War. However, Elethar wonders if it was an act of despair rather than heroism -- Corihar had never truly recovered from Amahel's murder, and foresaw only doom for what remained of his ancient house.
Present and future goals
With Corihar dead and Valandil missing, it fell on Elethar's father Solviel to be acting patriarch of House Sylairaque. Elethar and Kethamil briefly traveled to Evermeet to bury Corihar next to his wife, grieve with the rest of the family, and assist in settling matters of estate. They both returned to Faerun with Solviel's blessing, but Kethamil, unwilling to forsake his quest to find his father, embarked on a quest to find the lost city of Myth Adofhaer, which he believed his father had been searching for--a task he insisted he must do alone--and has not been seen since.
Elethar opted to remain in Cormanthyr, brimming with desire to represent his once-great House in the land of their ancestors. Solviel is still not convinced it's wise for House Sylairaque to return to Faerun, but has given Elethar his blessing to represent the house in Cormanthyr. Additionally, Ruasar, wife of Valandil and a bard of some repute, has temporarily moved to Myth Drannor, feeling alone and sad in Silverymoon with her husband and son missing.
Elethar now hopes that, if he can make a name for himself here, recover lost family relics, and reestablish some kind of Sylairaque name and estate in Myth Drannor, he could persuade Solviel to officially return the family to Faerun. Finding his grandmother's drow killer, as well as discovering what has happened to Kethamil and Valandil, are also on his mind, though he feels his duty to Cormanthyr must come first, at least for now. He is especially wary of any remaining Demonfey threat, worried that their downfall wasn't as final as it should have been and hoping that another repeat of history won't happen.
Personality: Despite everything he's been through, Elethar is fairly upbeat and optimistic, but he is neither silly nor a chatterbox. He is elegant and well-spoken, and has a love for poetry and music, especially heroic elven sagas from ages past. Since living in Evereska, he's also developed an appreciation for fine wine. He's never been particularly racist, unlike his grandfather, but still, being in Faerun is weird for him, being around the other races. He does his best to be open-minded, but can't help exhibiting some sun elf superiority by accident. A sheltered upbringing and a childhood of sun elf supremacist teachings are hard to shake. (That said, he has an almost unholy hatred and fear of the fey'ri, beyond the norm - probably still has PTSD from his bolthole experience.)
House Sylairaque stuff:
House Crest: A blue-winged pixie with a raven in one hand and a dove in the other, a semicircle of six six-pointed silver stars over his head.
House Colors: Blue and silver (argent)
House motto: Ivae Ifeira ("Light Unending")
Edit: Added some more detail to the backstory.
I cannot for the life of me figure out how to do proper formatting (fieldsets etc.) on this new site. So it will look a little basic. But here is the proper application. Character sheet linked. Let me know what you think, if you have any questions or if anything just seems off. (Still have some gold to spend on minor things).
I also decided to just go straight magus without archetypes, since I couldn't find an archetype that didn't give up something I didn't want to give up. I love everything about the Spell Dancer except not being able to use Arcane Pool for weapon enchantment.
(Also re: backstory: obviously I wouldn't expect any of this to become relevant to the game. I just like writing backstories. ^ ^)
Name: Elethar Sylairaque
Race: Sun Elf
Class: Magus (fluffed as "bladesinger")
Alignment: Neutral Good
Appearance: 5'11", long black hair, gold eyes, handsome
Backstory:
Upbringing and early days
Elethar was born in Leuthilspar, the capital of Evermeet, on Ches 19, 1229 DR, along with his twin sister, Throvanna. They are the youngest heirs of House Sylairaque, an ancient Sun Elf house that can trace its lineage back to the empire of Aryvaandar. His ancestors had been very involved in the mainland until the fall of Siluvanede, when they joined their sun elf brethren in Evermeet. Generations later, the House returned to Faerun to become involved in the founding and growth of Cormanthyr and Myth Drannor's first incarnation. The family prospered and took part in many of the battles and wonders of the time. However, nearly the entire house was wiped out in the Weeping War, with only a handful of survivors escaping to Evermeet, where the family has officially remained.
Elethar's grandfather Corihar, an archmage and the patriarch of the house, believed it was folly for the house to return to Faerun, considering every time they did, death and tragedy followed. He believed they should stay in Evermeet, and his conviction only deepened when his wife Amahel, a priestess of Sehanine and Elethar's grandmother, was murdered in Faerun by a drow assassin during a quest she had embarked on (Which she claimed was given to her by Sehanine in a vision) to aid sun elves in The Retreat. Coupled with the earlier departure of Corihar's oldest son, Valandil, and his wife, Ruasar -- who had moved to Faerun in the early 1200s DR and settled in Silverymoon -- Corihar's belief hardened. Elethar's father Solviel, a priest of Labelas Enoreth, and mother, Clafiryel, shared Corihar's views, as did Throvanna, who enjoyed the quiet life of dignity afforded to her in Evermeet.
But Elethar's wanderlust hit him hard when he came of age. He had grown up learning tales of the heroism (and tragedy, though he often forgot that part) of his ancestors: Telhilion, the last Aryvandaaran patriarch of House Sylairaque, who broke the House away from the Vyshaan in disgust at their actions against the Seldarine and refused to partake in the final Crown War; Caelemar, the house patriarch who defected from Siluvenade during the Seven Citadels War and subsequently died in a glorious spell duel in the final battle, while destroying many of his former comrades and House Dlardrageth demonfey; and especially Almarael, the house patriarch and bladesinger who led the house back to Faerun to participate in the founding and early growth of Cormanthyr's first iteration, protecting the fledgling Myth Drannor and living to see its epoch of glory. (Conspicuously absent from family sagas, though, is much mention of Ansravar: the original founder of House Sylairaque, who had willingly joined the Vyshaan and perpetrated horrors during the early Crown Wars - the family has long sought to distance itself from that dark legacy, holding up figures like Caelemar as exemplars of the house instead).
Leaving Evermeet and early adventures
Though his house was famed for producing talented wizards -- such as his grandfather, uncle Valandil, and Valandil's son, Elethar's cousin Kethamil -- Elethar held Almarael up as the ideal and split his studies between traditional arcana and martial pursuits. Elethar felt, similarly to his uncle Valandil, that to truly restore the honor and status of their house, they must take risks, return to Faerun and aid in elven causes there. So, once he came of age, he embarked from Evermeet to Faerun, where he landed in Waterdeep and subsequently began exploring the Sword Coast and the North.
His early adventures comprised simple quests like guarding caravans, aiding isolated elven communities against threats from orcs and other marauders, and an occasional contract job with the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors in Waterdeep in exploring ruins and deciphering magic secrets. After he felt like he had gained a decent amount of experience, he set off east to travel and seek his fortune. He first traveled from Waterdeep to Silverymoon, accompanying a caravan as a guard. He successfully aided the caravan against attacking bandits twice, and once helped a couple other caravan guards track down where a third group of bandits had stolen precious cargo, recovering it from a juvenile green dragon who had taken it for his hoard after killing the bandits.
On arriving in Silverymoon, he met his uncle Valandil, aunt Ruasar, and cousin Kethamil -- whom he had never seen before, since Valandil and Ruasar left Evermeet before Elethar was born. While in Silverymoon he learned more lore about Faerun and some tidbits of family history from Valandil that Corihar had omitted from his teachings. He even rode out once with his uncle, who was a Spellguard, on a routine patrol that ended in discovering (and ending) a powerful band of tanarukks that were harassing the roads.
Arrival in Evereska
Still, he left Silverymoon after a time -- he felt called to Evereska, seeing it as the focal point for elvendom on Faerun (and also still being somewhat culture-shocked by all the other races mingling together, when his upbringing had been very homogenously sun-elven). The Evereskan elves welcomed him, but were somewhat aloof until he proved his worth by valiantly aiding the defense of the city against the Phaerimm in 1371.
The following year, he helped the Tomb Guardians apprehend a would-be tomb robber, who turned out to be a Demonfey agent in disguise. Though the agent killed himself with poison before he could be questioned, that served as his introduction to the Demonfey. Though he'd heard the histories of the Crown Wars and of the Seven Citadels' War, this was his first time realizing House Dlardrageth had not been completely destroyed, and had in fact returned. Throughout the rest of that year, he aided Evereskan agents in investigating the Demonfey resurgence and thwarting Demonfey attempts at accessing Evereska.
Demonfey involvement and Miyeritar's Crusade
In late 1373 DR, while on one such mission with a handful of other elves, his group was ambushed by a band of powerful fey'ri who managed to subdue him in one of their secret boltholes in the Nether Mountains, where he learned they intended to use him in their forced demonic breeding program. Despite his best efforts, they succeeded in forcing him via magical compulsion to copulate with a succubus, after which they tortured him and attempted to turn him to their cause. He resisted, though his spirit was almost broken by the time his cousin Kethamil, who was secretly a Harper, freed him with a group of his Harper comrades.
From then until Sarya Dlardrageth's gambit the following year, Elethar and Kethamil worked together trying to root out the fey'ri wherever they could, and pass intelligence on to the Harpers and the elves. During this time, Kethamil's father Valandil, who was also secretly a Harper, vanished on a mysterious quest.
Elethar participated in the defense of Evereska against Sarya's attack, and then, along with Kethamil, joined Severil Miyeritar's Crusade against the Demonfey. Even their grandfather Corihar was persuaded to join the crusade, and they all fought together in the final battles in Myth Drannor (during which he recovered Aermanthyr, an ancient blade once wielded by Almarael himself, by defeating a demonfey bladesinger who had looted it from the ruins).
However, Corihar was killed in the final battle when he immolated himself as well as a balor and several high-ranking Dlardrageths in a spectacular display of arcane power. Some witnesses remember the act with admiration, saying that it looked like he sacrificed himself much like his ancestor Caelemar had done at the close of the Seven Citadels' War. However, Elethar wonders if it was an act of despair rather than heroism -- Corihar had never truly recovered from Amahel's murder, and foresaw only doom for what remained of his ancient house.
Present and future goals
With Corihar dead and Valandil missing, it fell on Elethar's father Solviel to be acting patriarch of House Sylairaque. Elethar and Kethamil briefly traveled to Evermeet to bury Corihar next to his wife, grieve with the rest of the family, and assist in settling matters of estate. They both returned to Faerun with Solviel's blessing, but Kethamil, unwilling to forsake his quest to find his father, embarked on a quest to find the lost city of Myth Adofhaer, which he believed his father had been searching for--a task he insisted he must do alone--and has not been seen since.
Elethar opted to remain in Cormanthyr, brimming with desire to represent his once-great House in the land of their ancestors. Solviel is still not convinced it's wise for House Sylairaque to return to Faerun, but has given Elethar his blessing to represent the house in Cormanthyr. Additionally, Ruasar, wife of Valandil and a bard of some repute, has temporarily moved to Myth Drannor, feeling alone and sad in Silverymoon with her husband and son missing.
Elethar now hopes that, if he can make a name for himself here, recover lost family relics, and reestablish some kind of Sylairaque name and estate in Myth Drannor, he could persuade Solviel to officially return the family to Faerun. Finding his grandmother's drow killer, as well as discovering what has happened to Kethamil and Valandil, are also on his mind, though he feels his duty to Cormanthyr must come first, at least for now. He is especially wary of any remaining Demonfey threat, worried that their downfall wasn't as final as it should have been and hoping that another repeat of history won't happen.
Personality: Despite everything he's been through, Elethar is fairly upbeat and optimistic, but he is neither silly nor a chatterbox. He is elegant and well-spoken, and has a love for poetry and music, especially heroic elven sagas from ages past. Since living in Evereska, he's also developed an appreciation for fine wine. He's never been particularly racist, unlike his grandfather, but still, being in Faerun is weird for him, being around the other races. He does his best to be open-minded, but can't help exhibiting some sun elf superiority by accident. A sheltered upbringing and a childhood of sun elf supremacist teachings are hard to shake. (That said, he has an almost unholy hatred and fear of the fey'ri, beyond the norm - probably still has PTSD from his bolthole experience.)
House Sylairaque stuff:
House Crest: A blue-winged pixie with a raven in one hand and a dove in the other, a semicircle of six six-pointed silver stars over his head.
House Colors: Blue and silver (argent)
House motto: Ivae Ifeira ("Light Unending")
Edit: Added some more detail to the backstory.
I cannot for the life of me figure out how to do proper formatting (fieldsets etc.) on this new site. So it will look a little basic. But here is the proper application. Character sheet linked. Let me know what you think, if you have any questions or if anything just seems off. (Still have some gold to spend on minor things).
I also decided to just go straight magus without archetypes, since I couldn't find an archetype that didn't give up something I didn't want to give up. I love everything about the Spell Dancer except not being able to use Arcane Pool for weapon enchantment.
(Also re: backstory: obviously I wouldn't expect any of this to become relevant to the game. I just like writing backstories. ^ ^)
Name: Elethar Sylairaque
Race: Sun Elf
Class: Magus (fluffed as "bladesinger")
Alignment: Neutral Good
Appearance: 5'11", long black hair, gold eyes, handsome
Backstory:
Upbringing and early days
Elethar was born in Leuthilspar, the capital of Evermeet, on Ches 19, 1229 DR, along with his twin sister, Throvanna. They are the youngest heirs of House Sylairaque, an ancient Sun Elf house that can trace its lineage back to the empire of Aryvaandar. His ancestors had been very involved in the mainland until the fall of Siluvanede, when they joined their sun elf brethren in Evermeet. Generations later, the House returned to Faerun to become involved in the founding and growth of Cormanthyr and Myth Drannor's first incarnation. The family prospered and took part in many of the battles and wonders of the time. However, nearly the entire house was wiped out in the Weeping War, with only a handful of survivors escaping to Evermeet, where the family has officially remained.
Elethar's grandfather Corihar, an archmage and the patriarch of the house, believed it was folly for the house to return to Faerun, considering every time they did, death and tragedy followed. He believed they should stay in Evermeet, and his conviction only deepened when his wife Amahel, a priestess of Sehanine and Elethar's grandmother, was murdered in Faerun by a drow assassin during a quest she had embarked on (Which she claimed was given to her by Sehanine in a vision) to aid sun elves in The Retreat. Coupled with the earlier departure of Corihar's oldest son, Valandil, and his wife, Ruasar -- who had moved to Faerun in the early 1200s DR and settled in Silverymoon -- Corihar's belief hardened. Elethar's father Solviel, a priest of Labelas Enoreth, and mother, Clafiryel, shared Corihar's views, as did Throvanna, who enjoyed the quiet life of dignity afforded to her in Evermeet.
But Elethar's wanderlust hit him hard when he came of age. He had grown up learning tales of the heroism (and tragedy, though he often forgot that part) of his ancestors: Telhilion, the last Aryvandaaran patriarch of House Sylairaque, who broke the House away from the Vyshaan in disgust at their actions against the Seldarine and refused to partake in the final Crown War; Caelemar, the house patriarch who defected from Siluvenade during the Seven Citadels War and subsequently died in a glorious spell duel in the final battle, while destroying many of his former comrades and House Dlardrageth demonfey; and especially Almarael, the house patriarch and bladesinger who led the house back to Faerun to participate in the founding and early growth of Cormanthyr's first iteration, protecting the fledgling Myth Drannor and living to see its epoch of glory. (Conspicuously absent from family sagas, though, is much mention of Ansravar: the original founder of House Sylairaque, who had willingly joined the Vyshaan and perpetrated horrors during the early Crown Wars - the family has long sought to distance itself from that dark legacy, holding up figures like Caelemar as exemplars of the house instead).
Leaving Evermeet and early adventures
Though his house was famed for producing talented wizards -- such as his grandfather, uncle Valandil, and Valandil's son, Elethar's cousin Kethamil -- Elethar held Almarael up as the ideal and split his studies between traditional arcana and martial pursuits. Elethar felt, similarly to his uncle Valandil, that to truly restore the honor and status of their house, they must take risks, return to Faerun and aid in elven causes there. So, once he came of age, he embarked from Evermeet to Faerun, where he landed in Waterdeep and subsequently began exploring the Sword Coast and the North.
His early adventures comprised simple quests like guarding caravans, aiding isolated elven communities against threats from orcs and other marauders, and an occasional contract job with the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors in Waterdeep in exploring ruins and deciphering magic secrets. After he felt like he had gained a decent amount of experience, he set off east to travel and seek his fortune. He first traveled from Waterdeep to Silverymoon, accompanying a caravan as a guard. He successfully aided the caravan against attacking bandits twice, and once helped a couple other caravan guards track down where a third group of bandits had stolen precious cargo, recovering it from a juvenile green dragon who had taken it for his hoard after killing the bandits.
On arriving in Silverymoon, he met his uncle Valandil, aunt Ruasar, and cousin Kethamil -- whom he had never seen before, since Valandil and Ruasar left Evermeet before Elethar was born. While in Silverymoon he learned more lore about Faerun and some tidbits of family history from Valandil that Corihar had omitted from his teachings. He even rode out once with his uncle, who was a Spellguard, on a routine patrol that ended in discovering (and ending) a powerful band of tanarukks that were harassing the roads.
Arrival in Evereska
Still, he left Silverymoon after a time -- he felt called to Evereska, seeing it as the focal point for elvendom on Faerun (and also still being somewhat culture-shocked by all the other races mingling together, when his upbringing had been very homogenously sun-elven). The Evereskan elves welcomed him, but were somewhat aloof until he proved his worth by valiantly aiding the defense of the city against the Phaerimm in 1371.
The following year, he helped the Tomb Guardians apprehend a would-be tomb robber, who turned out to be a Demonfey agent in disguise. Though the agent killed himself with poison before he could be questioned, that served as his introduction to the Demonfey. Though he'd heard the histories of the Crown Wars and of the Seven Citadels' War, this was his first time realizing House Dlardrageth had not been completely destroyed, and had in fact returned. Throughout the rest of that year, he aided Evereskan agents in investigating the Demonfey resurgence and thwarting Demonfey attempts at accessing Evereska.
Demonfey involvement and Miyeritar's Crusade
In late 1373 DR, while on one such mission with a handful of other elves, his group was ambushed by a band of powerful fey'ri who managed to subdue him in one of their secret boltholes in the Nether Mountains, where he learned they intended to use him in their forced demonic breeding program. Despite his best efforts, they succeeded in forcing him via magical compulsion to copulate with a succubus, after which they tortured him and attempted to turn him to their cause. He resisted, though his spirit was almost broken by the time his cousin Kethamil, who was secretly a Harper, freed him with a group of his Harper comrades.
From then until Sarya Dlardrageth's gambit the following year, Elethar and Kethamil worked together trying to root out the fey'ri wherever they could, and pass intelligence on to the Harpers and the elves. During this time, Kethamil's father Valandil, who was also secretly a Harper, vanished on a mysterious quest.
Elethar participated in the defense of Evereska against Sarya's attack, and then, along with Kethamil, joined Severil Miyeritar's Crusade against the Demonfey. Even their grandfather Corihar was persuaded to join the crusade, and they all fought together in the final battles in Myth Drannor (during which he recovered Aermanthyr, an ancient blade once wielded by Almarael himself, by defeating a demonfey bladesinger who had looted it from the ruins).
However, Corihar was killed in the final battle when he immolated himself as well as a balor and several high-ranking Dlardrageths in a spectacular display of arcane power. Some witnesses remember the act with admiration, saying that it looked like he sacrificed himself much like his ancestor Caelemar had done at the close of the Seven Citadels' War. However, Elethar wonders if it was an act of despair rather than heroism -- Corihar had never truly recovered from Amahel's murder, and foresaw only doom for what remained of his ancient house.
Present and future goals
With Corihar dead and Valandil missing, it fell on Elethar's father Solviel to be acting patriarch of House Sylairaque. Elethar and Kethamil briefly traveled to Evermeet to bury Corihar next to his wife, grieve with the rest of the family, and assist in settling matters of estate. They both returned to Faerun with Solviel's blessing, but Kethamil, unwilling to forsake his quest to find his father, embarked on a quest to find the lost city of Myth Adofhaer, which he believed his father had been searching for--a task he insisted he must do alone--and has not been seen since.
Elethar opted to remain in Cormanthyr, brimming with desire to represent his once-great House in the land of their ancestors. Solviel is still not convinced it's wise for House Sylairaque to return to Faerun, but has given Elethar his blessing to represent the house in Cormanthyr. Additionally, Ruasar, wife of Valandil and a bard of some repute, has temporarily moved to Myth Drannor, feeling alone and sad in Silverymoon with her husband and son missing.
Elethar now hopes that, if he can make a name for himself here, recover lost family relics, and reestablish some kind of Sylairaque name and estate in Myth Drannor, he could persuade Solviel to officially return the family to Faerun. Finding his grandmother's drow killer, as well as discovering what has happened to Kethamil and Valandil, are also on his mind, though he feels his duty to Cormanthyr must come first, at least for now. He is especially wary of any remaining Demonfey threat, worried that their downfall wasn't as final as it should have been and hoping that another repeat of history won't happen.
Personality: Despite everything he's been through, Elethar is fairly upbeat and optimistic, but he is neither silly nor a chatterbox. He is elegant and well-spoken, and has a love for poetry and music, especially heroic elven sagas from ages past. Since living in Evereska, he's also developed an appreciation for fine wine. He's never been particularly racist, unlike his grandfather, but still, being in Faerun is weird for him, being around the other races. He does his best to be open-minded, but can't help exhibiting some sun elf superiority by accident. A sheltered upbringing and a childhood of sun elf supremacist teachings are hard to shake. (That said, he has an almost unholy hatred and fear of the fey'ri, beyond the norm - probably still has PTSD from his bolthole experience.)
House Sylairaque stuff:
House Crest: A blue-winged pixie with a raven in one hand and a dove in the other, a semicircle of six six-pointed silver stars over his head.
House Colors: Blue and silver (argent)
House motto: Ivae Ifeira ("Light Unending")