PLAYED BY: Lex Hokata
CHARACTER NAME: Azureal Anubias TalonFlame
GENDER: Male
CLASS: Mage
AGE: 125 (Born 140)
RACE: Feral Syndar
HAIR: Dark brown
EYES: Dark Brown
OCCUPATION: Shaman of the Wolfgang Commune, Merchant of Adventuring Items, Captain of the Alana,
KNOWN SKILLS:Knows random things, Can perform rituals, Can create Mechanical objects, Can fix some mechanical objects
BIRTHPLACE: The far outskirts of The Kingdom of Fawyth.
APPEARANCE: Dark skinned Syndar no marks on body, fangs,
RELATIONSHIPS: Alexander Vallen (baby Brother), Leliana Wolfgang (Mother, Age:??), Naxala (Pirate Navigator Age:80), Nicolas Bolai (Rival and Friend)
Quirks: Sometimes Short-tempered, limps a little due to old age, Hates feeling oppressed, Has violent streaks.
After my eleventh birthday, my mother left me to go adventure the world around her. She was never given this opportunity as she had studied other areas of magic. She was also unfit to be Shaman as she had a reputation of being power hungry.
The current Shaman saw potential in me. He was also my godfather and he took care of me when my mother could not. He knew my mother was a powerful spellcaster so there should have been no reason I couldn’t access the magical arts. He quickly enrolled me in Shaman training and in his spare time he taught me a few things personally.
In my training, I was picked on by most of my classmates. I had not yet unlocked the potential to physically utilize magic. While everyone was slinging spells or talking with spirits, I was in the corner fumbling with the limited mana I could store. As I eventually got stronger at manifesting magic, however, I realized everyone else had surpassed me. One of the other students, Nicolas, came to me and wanted to help me.
Nicolas and I became best friends over time but I still wasn’t strong enough to fully manifest my magic. Nicolas actually became more of a bodyguard for me as he defended me when someone wanted to bully me. He was nice but I was arrogant and didn’t need his help so I trained with a sword to better protect myself.
I met a Feral Syndar female who introduced herself as Alana, and we hit it off nicely. We really bonded over the fact that because the Feral Syndar are first born, we should be at the top of the hierarchy. It was around this time my group had completed our basic magical training and learned all we could about being a Shaman: I was picked as one of the leaders in training, as was Nicolas. There were ten of us and each one had the potential to be the next Shaman of Wolfgang. I knew how to pursue it. Right after graduation I married Alana and had a child with her and named the baby girl Naxala.
We were then sent off to learn about the world around us for a number of years. The Shaman somehow managed to secure an education for me within the kingdom of Fawyth for a while so I was without my wife for and daughter for a number of years. My wife wrote to me often to tell me the details of what was going on in the commune.
My wife’s letters started to show up less often so I was getting worried. I was learning a great deal in Fawyth building small mechanics and timepieces and selling them. I wasn’t as good as my mentor (he had taken a shine to me as I was interested in combining magic and machine). I was still worried about my wife and daughter. So I wrote often to make sure they were well.
A few years later, I had gotten a terrifying letter from my daughter stating that I need to come back as soon as possible as the current Shaman was dying and they will be holding some sort of trial for whom will be the next Shaman. I had learned a lot in Fawyth and I believe that an election would be better for this purpose. All the Shamans that were sent out got the same letter later that year but I got mine first thanks to my daughter being close with the current Shaman.
I arrived into the commune later that year so I could mingle with the people. I was feeding them the idea that I would be the best candidate and I gave each person a small mechanical trinket. They were all amused by the item. I visited the Shaman and he did look unwell. He looked sickly and I wasn’t sure what caused it. I then visited my wife and daughter and they were happy that I was back. I gave them a cool gift as well. Later in the year, the other Shamans in training came, some looked tired; others looked pretty happy. Nicolas, however, looked terrifying: he got bigger and more intimidating.
The current Shaman finally died a year later and thanks to my involvement, he had told us to host an election instead of a ritual trial to see who would become Shaman. Some of the candidates disagreed with this but didn’t argue with the decision. Nicolas did not like this at all, so he cursed under his breath and walked away.
I had left the commune for a while to think of a speech. I also went to Fawyth to go purchase some blueprints for a ship and a few books about sailing so I can teach the commune what I know. I had taken Naxala with me on this endeavor so I can show her how beautiful Fawyth was. She enjoyed our trip and she actually took an interest to sailing.
We came back from our trip to realize that 2 members of the election were murdered. The commune was in a panic and some of the other candidates tried to calm the people down. I would’ve tried, too, but Naxala and Alana urged me to stay home. I did as I was told as I was the weakest of the candidates and I did not have an itching to die. I began building a small hut to house myself for protection.
A few months later the 3 candidates that tried to help diffuse the situation earlier also died. There were only 5 of us left now so I had sent out a letter to a friend in Fawyth to help me out. I had also written a few letters to some of my master craftsmen friends to start working on a ship. I moved myself to my small hut that I built Nobody knew this existed except for me and Naxala. My contact in Fawyth knows as well, now.
A month went by and my contact showed up to not only protect me but to rally the people on my side. I had received a letter telling me that I needed to to run away from this commune and start a new tribe. I did contemplate this as I had a ship that I was working on and I could take refuge in Fawyth if I needed. Sadly, I stayed because I wanted to play the hero and I believed I could handle this threat. I also assumed that NIcolas would take care of this as well.
A month later, the other 3 candidates had been murdered. However, the killer had been sloppy and revealed that he was the killer. The killer was Nicolas and he had demanded loyalty from the commune or they would suffer the same fate. He then began to torch my house with Alana still inside. He pulled her out and tied her up. He began to scream my name and I wouldn’t budge as I didn’t know this was happening until there was a search for me and someone stumbled upon my hut. He told me what was going on and I rushed to the scene. Nicolas threatened me that I have until next year to leave or my wife will die. He took her captive and left. Some members of the commune began to run away. Others stayed as they saw my guard was strong and bulky and had a big sword. It looked like some members believed in me because of my mom. The few that were left all looked to me for guidance. I recited the speech I had written talking about change and sailing the seas. I also talked about loyalty and building a home for us all. I talked about the threat at hand and that I would personally deal with this. I tried to look confident so the commune was at ease but really I was very nervous. I can’t fight Nicolas. He’s much too strong now.
A few months later, Nicolas reemerged with my wife and he saw that some members of the commune were still left and they were all on my side. “So you didn’t leave?” He said. “Alana will suffer”. As he was about to strike her down Naxala came from behind him and hit him in the head. It didn’t do much; he grabbed Naxala’s throat and slammed her to the ground. The distraction bought my friend enough time to rush in and disarm Nicolas as Alana managed to run away. However, that wasn’t enough so Nicolas used his magic to toss both my friend and Naxala away and he proceed to produce a devastating black magic ball and launched it at me. Alana quickly rushed in and stepped in front of the blast hugging me.
She was dying in my arms and the commune was in shock. “Looks like I missed” he chuckled. I had enough. In my anger I attacked him, my contact joining me in the fray as the other villagers stood back and watched the fight unfold. Nicolas slung a few spells at my contact, and I was prepared to fight alone. To both of our surprise, however, the spells simply dispersed around a shimmering blue aura I hadn’t noticed before, protecting my friend from harm. We closed with Nicolas, but my old rical had a few tricks up his sleeve, throwing us both back with his spells before conjuring yet another black orb. This one found its way into my contact’s torso, and with no more magical protection, he collapsed. Nicolas was nearly spent now, and I seized my chance to close with him, relying on my skill with a blade to win out. Blow after blow struck him until he finally fell at my feet. I turned to smile at Naxala when I saw the color drain from her face. I heard the crackling of arcane energy behind me a moment too late. As I turned, I saw Nicolas rise one final time, a last ditch effort to win manifested in the form of another death bolt in his hand. I tried to dodge, but his aim was true: My shoulder took the bolt as we both collapsed. To my fortune, Naxala was there to stop my bleeding as she began to tend to my most grievous wound. I had survived the day, if only just, though Nicolas had succumbed to his wounds.
I was the last remaining candidate to be the Shaman, so despite the brutal means of attaining the rank, there I was. I had told my tribe that I was building a ship and that we need to start anew somewhere else at sea. My tribe was wary about me being Shaman but since I had a means to get silver they followed me to Fawyth. To be honest I didn’t feel that I even qualify to be an actual Shaman but according to the Shaman code it doesn’t matter how many people are in my tribe to qualify as an official Shaman. So I took my small tribe of 30 people to the coast near Fawyth where my ship was being built. I had then written a few letters to some of my sailing buddies and asked if they wanted to command my ship.
A few years later, I got word that my ship was finished to my exact specifications in my blueprints and my tribe and I traveled to the coast to examine it. It was massive. I named the ship Alana after my wife and we began to set sail. Some of my tribe stayed behind in Fawyth to study and some of my tribe stayed with the ship builders. I had hired some crew to sail my ship and teach my tribe how to sail. My tribe was quite small now: about 15 of us were left and we set sail to a new land.
Over the years, we took turns throughout buying and selling wares. We also learned a thing or two about sailing and being on a boat. A few humans offered to come aboard and help. We let them on as the more hands the better.
We stopped at a different port town infested with both humans and serous Syndar. We again bought and sold what we could. We even learned more things. Naxala met a funny human male out here. She didn’t like him though. Because this town had some Syndar and we knew they were magical, we decided to finally practice some rituals and offer our services in the magical arts.
Some years later, we set port at yet another town and the crew partied hard. Year 200 was a momentous occasion: it was the turn of the century, at least for the humans. It was fun nonetheless. A few of my tribesmen made the mistake of impregnating a few human females. I was told that I should get out and have fun but I was still brooding over my wife and my old friends.Soon we got out of that town. We did make a killing in silver though; I’ve never seen so much. I was then told by the old captain that I was ready to sail on my own and that in the next town he was going to buy his own ship. He gave me his tricorn and told me to have a speech prepared for his crew.
I presented my speech to the ship’s crew and told them what was going on. A few followed the old Captain while some stayed aboard. I stayed in contact with the old Captain though hawk letting him know of my endeavors.
We finally set port near the kingdom of Vandregon only to find the most horrific sight. Undead, and hordes of them. Quickly we raised the anchor and kept going to warn the nearby villages. We knew of the undead, but seeing them was truly terrifying. I didn’t even believe they existed, until now. We picked up as many people as possible along the way and we became more of a transport ship at this point.
I stopped at every port selling my wares for cheap. Some of my men decided to help out with the war. The deeper I got into human territory the more people didn’t believe that I was a captain. I kept selling wares and porting people across Faedrun.
As we were recruiting for the ship. I was asked to personally join the war. I declined as I would be useless. The best thing I could do was transport people and buy and sell goods.
We nearly sold all of our wares and some of my crew who had sustained wounds in the war began dying due to their infections and injuries. The best thing I could do was have my clerics cleanse the body but that wasn’t enough as too many people were afflicted. I stopped taking wounded men on board as it would be pointless.
After a few years of being a transport and merchant ship, we began to have a rather large crew and a boat filled with people so I sailed away from Faedrun once I got word of Mardrun. I was one of the first boats to arrive and I became a shuttle service for the survivors.
Repairs became costly for my ship and I was running out of funds to feed my crew. So I dropped off a few of my advisers to establish a foothold in Mardrun so we wouldn’t just be known as a transport service. I knew my ship wouldn’t last long on these waters.
My ship was on its last voyage to Mardrun when it started sinking as we were getting closer to Mardrun. My ship washed up on the coast and broke down, little more than a pile of debris by the time it tasted the shore. I got every person off and I began to send out dinghies that I had in storage. I then hopped in my own dinghy and sailed to the continent. I began working as an adviser for awhile thanks to my knowledge of how politics worked. I reunited with my tribe and we began work making some mechanical crafts and selling them. I was still working as a politician until word got out that I was a Feral Syndar and I was dismissed. I’m not sure how they found out as I was making sure to conceal any signs of my heritage.
Over the years, we continued to sell merchandise and help with the coalition as much as possible. I began making stuff for free as I wanted to be in good favor with the survivors and the Ulven. I made no silver but my tribe continued to create for silver. I was a politician after all and I was also trying to establish a new tribe of Feral Syndar and Feral Syndar sympathizers. I have to look good to recruit more people.
Some years later, my tribe began to be separated as we were out helping in different areas. So me and Naxala began working some odd jobs to make ends meet. While working, I caught the eye of a fellow Feral Syndar named Alexander Vallen: he worked in the guard and we had a nice conversation about the homeland. I had no idea he was my brother until he talked about mom. I was really young then but I still remember her features and it sounded just like her. I began to ask him about her origins and he told me that she was from Fawyth and she was part of the Wolfgang tribe. This kid was definitely my brother as no one here knows about the Wolfgang tribe but my tribe. So I told him my story one night and it was a joyous moment. I also told him my plans and would love for him to join once my settlement was established.
I knew the path that lay ahead of me, but the cost of living in Newhope seemed to get in the way at every turn. Before long, our funds had run out almost completely, and I could no longer afford to feed or shelter anyone but myself and Naxala. I spoke to those who had remained with me this far, telling them to go out into the world, to make their own way, because I could not help them now. Some were reluctant, but my insistence was enough to drive them away. One day I’ll find them again, when I can afford to help them live the lives they deserve.
I had done some research and found a few mage guilds in the area. I figured this would be the best place to hold up for awhile and stop scraping from the bottom of the barrel. I had started to go check out the Spire as I would rather stay with young humans than condescending Syndar. At least I can infest their minds about which of the Syndar is truly the master race.
We traversed to the Spire which opened its doors to us for the time being, a courtesy provided by Alexander Vallen as he was a valuable member of the Archons. I dared not question as the reasonings as to why he chose the Spire when he had a cushy job being a guard but I know he made a better choice here. He had a lot of untapped power and I wanted to teach him but I also had untapped power myself. I did teach him a thing or two about rituals.
I spent my time at the Spire researching magic and teaching young minds about my race. I had been finally called upon to help the Archons as I heard troubling news that Alexander was going to help with New Aldoria and he left me his silver to go pursue it. He told me that I should re emerge and tell people that I am a Shaman. I suppose it is finally time to show my face to the world and help once again.
“The Retirement of The Great Azureal Talonflame”
The following events are told in present.
A council meeting was held at Darkport to talk about Azureal Talonflame’s talk amongst the town. It was decided that he would become Thane of Darkport. Except he was not there. No one could find him. He was to be there to accept the position of Thane. He had done so much work for the community. Why did he not show?
Naxala, Talonflame’s daughter, went to search for him. She arrived at his home and found an off-putting sight. She found his famed, weavers mat, sprawled out and trimmed. Pieces were used to wrap the axe that he brandished. Other bits adorned his newly acquired helm, laced amongst the horns. The main circle had been reformed and cut to form a circle and placed on the center of the floor. In the center of the circle, lie his journal, and on that a note.
“If you are reading this, I am already gone. Dead? No. But moved on. Below are things I want to say to each of you.
Darkport– I know I have done this town a great service. This a service I had hoped to see blossom. Alas, I am off to greener pastures. I would like you all to continue to thrive and remember my practices and teachings. Become a town worthy of visitation. Become an example of how all peoples of varied origin can come together as one. Accept others with open arms, do not judge. You will flourish, as a town and as a people. I hope to see how far you have come when I return.
Nathaniel– You are my most trusted adviser. You have been with me since the beginning. I’m sure my disappearance does not come as a shock. In my previous absences, you have gone above and beyond with the care for not only the town of Darkport, but also the people of the Wolfgang tribe. You kept our spirits up when they were down. You stepped in on the fateful time I took in corruption. You served our p0eople well. With that I am sure you know what role you must play next.
Naxala– My precious little girl. Naxala, you are the very spitting image of your mother. I love you more than you could know. You are still young yet, but you have proven to be one of the most powerful Divine casters and healers of all of us. Alana, your mother, would be proud.
Volrok– It has been a pleasure to not only become your friend over the years, but also become an ally. I am proud, no, overjoyed by what you have done for your people and the Broken Blade. In time, I do wish for you and yours to continue to grow strong.
Zeke– What more can I say about you than what you already know? You are a fantastic friend and amazing ally. We have done many things together over the years and for that I am grateful. I am proud of what you have become. May your endeavors and song live everlasting.
Tobias– I knew you from way before. Back when you and Vazra were allies no? It has been a very long time. Your contributions not only to me but also the Rangers has been astounding. Continue your path. May the world be your oyster.
Manetho– I will miss you most of all. You have kept me alive for quite some time. You have mended my wounds more than once and continue to amaze me. Continue your studies, and maybe one day you will bring our race glory.
Marrah– I’m sorry I never partook on your services. With the number of children I have, you’d think I would’ve partaken to be one of your co-workers? Sadly, the chances are high I’d find my children amongst the patrons. Some are a chip off the ol’ block. Look out for them, ok?
Elzerith– We may not have known each other long, but I feel as if we formed a kinship. I thank you for the support you have done for Darkport and myself in our times of need. Continue your path of light and may it shine in any darkness.
To my “hobo” Brethren– You are hobos no more. Darkport will offer you a place to stay and relax. I guarantee muffins will be aplenty.
Reyna– I knew you from way before. I have not heard from you in quite some time. I hope things are well. I will miss you greatly.
Iris– It has been a very long while since we last met. How has things been? I hope your archery has improved over the years. I still remember the time we had the first corruption cleansing. I will always remember that day. Continue to grow.
I know I have missed many names but that doesn’t mean you don’t matter. I will always cherish the memories we had.
To my children I have met- I love you all with everything. See if you can find each other? I think it would be great. I will miss all of you.
With my Greatest Love,
Thane Azureal Talonflame”
With that a second note was found, written in the oldest Syndar manuscript.
“Nathaniel- If you are wondering where I have gone. I am traveling north. There is a powerful tribe of Syndar that have powerful magics. They are immune to the pull from the devastating Death Bolt, and they do not have a placed aura to protect them. I wish to learn from them when I can and possibly spend some time there doing “you know what”. You know me, always experimenting. “
There are also random bits of texts and studies spewed about the home. Some are drawings of the Salt beasts; others are scrawling of the northern Syndar. Encapsulating their beauty.
Naxala shares out the texts and notes she found and speaks to Nathaniel, in private.
“It’s time, whether he likes it or not. He MUST be ready. We must release, The Prodigy!”