Millraven is the star of the only series of stories I have (Thus far) been able to knuckle down and finish. She's also the product of a long standing funny piece of Dungeons and Dragons trivia. In the original version of the game there were no races outside of human. There was however an Elf class. This class is basically what we'd know as a Fighter/Mage dual class later on, but in the first edition was the only character capable of mixing both spells and swordplay. Millraven is an extension of this as she is racially an elf who has taken the old Elf character class.
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Millraven was born to Royal Guards Kestrel and Jackdaw Finn Izzle after the banishment of the Arikron family from the Sylvan kingdom. Loyal to a fault they agreed to follow the former royal family in to exile rather than live peacefully under the new regime. They eventually followed the former king and queen to the small town of Lynch where the displaced royalty had a modest manor. Once they were settled in Kestrel took over leadership of the city guard and Jackdaw went into horticulture. He would use a combination crossbreeding and enchanting to create hardier crops with higher yields for the local farmers.
Both Elves were popular in the town and beyond. Their fame would entice the larger cities to send their guards to Kestrel for training and farmers and merchants would come from as far away as Hightower city to consult with Jackdaw. Both the elves and those around them were nearly overcome with joy when Kestrel revealed she was with child. Elven pregnancies were extremely rare and both males and females had high rates of infertility. The burgeoning family received many gifts and blessings to help the new life they were bringing into the world.
Millraven was born ( and subsequently named) in a new flour mill that Jackdaw had been building. She was a healthy, bright eyed and beautiful baby girl. She was a happy child, raised for many years in her idyllic little town without a care in the world.
Then the revolution came. The merchants, bankers and career politicians that had taken over the Sylvan kingdom had driven it to ruin with their greed. The elves who had exiled the royal family began to look back on their former rulers with fond eyes. They found, however, that the former rulers had discovered that living without the pressure of ruling had suited them just fine. They refused to try and retake the throne. They escaped from Lynch, imploring Kestrel and Jackdaw to protect them. They were in danger, not only from the elves that were angered by their refusal to take back the throne, but also from the Sylvan council's hired assassins. They would be pursued over many thousands of miles over the next fifteen years.
It was during this decade and a half of being a fugitive that Millraven was trained to defend herself. Her mother taught her how to wield a sword and wear armor comfortably. Her father taught her how to cast spells and look to the world around her for power and defense. Millraven was a natural at the disciplines of both fighting and magic, soon matching her teachers in both skill sets. She was also rebellious and rambunctious.
The constant secrecy of their travels wore on her and the refusal of both her parents and the royal family to stand and fight against their attackers infuriated her. After a few more years of wandering with the exiled royals Millraven grew tired of it all and struck out on her own to return to Lynch. Once she was there she joined the local branch of the adventurer's guild. She had no idea, however, whether she would register herself as a fighter or a wizard.
It turns out that she need not have worried about choosing one title over another. It turns out that before Elves revealed themselves to humankind an injured hero came to Lynch to recover from his wounds. During his recovery a band of orcs attacked the small town and the hero went out of his way to put the marauding monsters down using a combination of both spells and steel. When asked who he was and how he came by his amazing abilities the hero simply replied that he was an elf. Not knowing about other races at the time the grateful villagers assumed it was the hero's job and entered it into the class book for their guild. Thus Millraven followed in her mysterious forebearer's footsteps and became an Elf, who was also an elf.
Millraven is now a Journeyman adventurer, working toward her master's badge. Mastery is earned by going out into the world, solving problems, exploring new paths, clearing old paths and gathering wealth and master adventurers are often hailed as heroes and allowed to begin their own guild halls as a form of semi-retirement.
Millraven is currently travelling with the enterprising halfling scout/cleric Bran Anlace. She knows she has many years of adventuring ahead of her and hopes to build a party of stalwart companions around her as she does.
Millraven is a full Sylvan Elf and stands exactly 5'0" tall ( About 152 centimeters) and weighs about 85 lbs. (About 35kg). She has long, charcoal black hair that falls just beyond her shoulder blades in thick, bouncy curves. She has a deep, nutty tan skin tone and the standard long, pointed ears of her race. (Hers are about 5 inches long) She has sparkling hazel eyes. She wears a grey tunic under a mithril coat and has recently taken to wearing a long black skirt with steel tassets around the hips. She carries a saber belted to her left hip, and a simple straight dagger belted to her right hip. She carries an unstrung bow and quiver of 30 arrows on her back. At this time she does not have a dedicated staff. Under her skirt she wears unbleached cotton bloomers and knee high black leather boots with steel greaves attached to the fronts.
Millraven has a slim, but curvaceous build. Long in the leg, and with a medium sized bust. She has a strong face that often wears a friendly, but determined expression. She rarely, if ever wears cosmetics, preferring to let her natural features do the talking for her. Her current goal is to attain the rank of Master adventurer and gather a sizable nestegg toward eventually finding a life partner and starting a family of her own. She is prepared to work at this goal for decades and is in no hurry to find a permanent mate. In the meantime she is happy to find adventure, and have the companionship of those she meets through her life's journey. Wherever that may take her.
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Monday, February 2, 2015
Character Sketches 1: Alias Nambrox ( A.K.A. Alias Finn Grandolg)
Hello my Niblings! This is the first post of a series that introduces some of the characters I commonly use in my writing. I figure putting these out there will help me to do at least a little writing every day and help to encourage me to actually finish stories for a change. In any event here is the character I based on my first consistent AD&D character. The half elf Bard (Bard/Rogue in 3.0 and beyond.) Alias Nambrox.
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Alias was born to the human wizard Michael Grandolg and the Elven princess in Exile Silkpetal Finn Arikron. She was, as all half elven children tend to be, both vigorous and intelligent. Her human blood gave her strength, vigor and a lust for life and her elven side gave her great intellect, an instinctive talent for magic, and a keen awareness of her environment. She was a happy child, doted on by her parents and loved by those who met her.
Not all was well however. Her mother, who had lived most of her life as a spoiled elven princess had no marketable skills and fell easily in to deep, nearly torpor like depressive states. Her father worked hard to support his family, but saw that his wife was not up to the task of raising their daughter on her own. He began to take more and more dangerous work, hoping the higher rates of pay would allow him to save up enough to stay at home and raise Alias while still supporting the family. This plan literally blew up in his face and Alias and Silkpetal were left alone with no means of support.
Silkpetal quickly fell into another depression. She drank through the family's savings in no time and became desperate to find more money, and more wine. She tried working, but failed at whatever task she attempted. She tried her hand at the oldest profession, but found that she could not even think about entertaining a client without becoming even more depressed and terrified. In the meantime Alias needed to be cared for and was a constant drain on Silkpetal's resources, and her patience. She finally broke one day and sold Alias to a band of travelling merchants. The Nambrox caravan.
Surprisingly, Alias was never placed in the kind of danger one might think a pretty elven slave might be placed in. Grellbon Nambrox, the head of the caravan was a cold man, mean and ruthless as they came, but he was no villain. He never touched Alias in any harmful way and he made sure that no-one else in, or associated with his group did either. Alias was well fed and made almost comfortable as long as she performed one task. Her job was to sing the insomniac Grellbon to sleep every night.
Every night she sang, and every night she found new ways to use and adapt her voice. She learned different songs from those in the caravan and those the caravan dealt with. She learned instruments from bards and troubadors they met along their journeys. She worked hard with both Grellbon and the other members of the caravan and soon became the darling of the group of merchants. Pocketing any coins she might find and doing extra jobs for whatever pittance the other caravaneers would give to her, she made enough to buy her own freedom in a mere 10 years. She left the group when she was set free, but she knew she'd be back. She had a goal in mind. She wanted to make enough money to buy the caravan out from under Grellbon and make them all work for her!
Alias had learned many things on the road and seen many different kinds of people. She had discovered many years ago that farming, or learning a trade was only going to trap her. They would provide enough money for her to live, but only just that. Alias would have to follow in her father's footsteps if she was to have the success she craved. If she wanted to make a lot of money quickly she needed to risk herself for it. She needed to become an adventurer.
For a while she lived simply as a bard, starving herself to save every penny she could. Eventually she found an old dwarven war-singer and she learned how to turn her voice into her ultimate tool and advantage. She learned what he had to teach quickly and was soon able to join mercenary bands as a bard and drummer. She would sing and play rousing marching songs to raise the spirits of her allies and gloomy dirges to bring terror and apathy into the hearts of her enemies. She continued to learn as she did this, picking up the fundamentals of sword play and defense and the basics of light fingered thievery from her mercenary brothers and sisters. Using these lessons she gathered a party around her and went on series of adventures that (Partially thanks to her talent as a song-writer.) are still the stuff of legends. Using the funds gained from those adventures she was able to fulfill her dream. Though he only grudgingly did so, Grellbon Nambrox sold the caravan and all its possessions and inventory to Alias.
Alias savored her victory and was overjoyed at her success. She would soon find even more joy however. The caravan's new magic user was a beautiful, shy and delicate woman named Merci Sparaux. Merci was honest, kind and also a hard worker. She earned every copper she made as the caravan's mage, but she also stole Alias' heart. Alias and Merci run the caravan together now as both partners and lovers.
Currently Alias and Merci travel with the caravan, expanding its trade routes and territories by exploring places off the beaten track that few other companies would dare to set foot. She's also grown famous for her voice, her fame as a bard opening many doors for her as she rises from the tragedy of her early life.
Alias is a half elf and stands about 5'4" tall. ( Around 163 centimeters) She weighs 93 lbs ( Around 42 kg.) She has warm chestnut colored hair worn in a pixie cut. She is unusual for a half elf as she has freckles on her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, something only humans usually have and four inch long ears that end in sharp points. ( Half elf ears are usually only half that length and slightly rounded at the tips.) She wears a studded leather vest over a white poet shirt and tight cream color breeches with thigh high light brown leather boots. She fights with a grosse messer (german style single bladed short sword.) which she carries on a sword belt at her hip and usually travels with her guitar slung across her back.
She is cute rather than overtly sexy, with a mischeivous face easily given to smirks and winking. Her eyes are a deep, earthy brown color and she usually wears earth tones when she uses cosmetics. Her goals in life are to make things as happy as possible for herself, Merci and the Nambrox caravan which she now considers her family. If she wished she could attempt to stage a coup amongst the forest elves on the strength of her mother's royal blood. She does not wish to do so however as she feels disdain for most elves and maintains a violent anger toward her mother for selling her into slavery for the sake of wine. This ambivalence, combined with only the haziest recollection of her father is the reason she uses the name of her former master, who despite buying her still fed her and made sure she was cared for, rather than her original family name.
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Alias was born to the human wizard Michael Grandolg and the Elven princess in Exile Silkpetal Finn Arikron. She was, as all half elven children tend to be, both vigorous and intelligent. Her human blood gave her strength, vigor and a lust for life and her elven side gave her great intellect, an instinctive talent for magic, and a keen awareness of her environment. She was a happy child, doted on by her parents and loved by those who met her.
Not all was well however. Her mother, who had lived most of her life as a spoiled elven princess had no marketable skills and fell easily in to deep, nearly torpor like depressive states. Her father worked hard to support his family, but saw that his wife was not up to the task of raising their daughter on her own. He began to take more and more dangerous work, hoping the higher rates of pay would allow him to save up enough to stay at home and raise Alias while still supporting the family. This plan literally blew up in his face and Alias and Silkpetal were left alone with no means of support.
Silkpetal quickly fell into another depression. She drank through the family's savings in no time and became desperate to find more money, and more wine. She tried working, but failed at whatever task she attempted. She tried her hand at the oldest profession, but found that she could not even think about entertaining a client without becoming even more depressed and terrified. In the meantime Alias needed to be cared for and was a constant drain on Silkpetal's resources, and her patience. She finally broke one day and sold Alias to a band of travelling merchants. The Nambrox caravan.
Surprisingly, Alias was never placed in the kind of danger one might think a pretty elven slave might be placed in. Grellbon Nambrox, the head of the caravan was a cold man, mean and ruthless as they came, but he was no villain. He never touched Alias in any harmful way and he made sure that no-one else in, or associated with his group did either. Alias was well fed and made almost comfortable as long as she performed one task. Her job was to sing the insomniac Grellbon to sleep every night.
Every night she sang, and every night she found new ways to use and adapt her voice. She learned different songs from those in the caravan and those the caravan dealt with. She learned instruments from bards and troubadors they met along their journeys. She worked hard with both Grellbon and the other members of the caravan and soon became the darling of the group of merchants. Pocketing any coins she might find and doing extra jobs for whatever pittance the other caravaneers would give to her, she made enough to buy her own freedom in a mere 10 years. She left the group when she was set free, but she knew she'd be back. She had a goal in mind. She wanted to make enough money to buy the caravan out from under Grellbon and make them all work for her!
Alias had learned many things on the road and seen many different kinds of people. She had discovered many years ago that farming, or learning a trade was only going to trap her. They would provide enough money for her to live, but only just that. Alias would have to follow in her father's footsteps if she was to have the success she craved. If she wanted to make a lot of money quickly she needed to risk herself for it. She needed to become an adventurer.
For a while she lived simply as a bard, starving herself to save every penny she could. Eventually she found an old dwarven war-singer and she learned how to turn her voice into her ultimate tool and advantage. She learned what he had to teach quickly and was soon able to join mercenary bands as a bard and drummer. She would sing and play rousing marching songs to raise the spirits of her allies and gloomy dirges to bring terror and apathy into the hearts of her enemies. She continued to learn as she did this, picking up the fundamentals of sword play and defense and the basics of light fingered thievery from her mercenary brothers and sisters. Using these lessons she gathered a party around her and went on series of adventures that (Partially thanks to her talent as a song-writer.) are still the stuff of legends. Using the funds gained from those adventures she was able to fulfill her dream. Though he only grudgingly did so, Grellbon Nambrox sold the caravan and all its possessions and inventory to Alias.
Alias savored her victory and was overjoyed at her success. She would soon find even more joy however. The caravan's new magic user was a beautiful, shy and delicate woman named Merci Sparaux. Merci was honest, kind and also a hard worker. She earned every copper she made as the caravan's mage, but she also stole Alias' heart. Alias and Merci run the caravan together now as both partners and lovers.
Currently Alias and Merci travel with the caravan, expanding its trade routes and territories by exploring places off the beaten track that few other companies would dare to set foot. She's also grown famous for her voice, her fame as a bard opening many doors for her as she rises from the tragedy of her early life.
Alias is a half elf and stands about 5'4" tall. ( Around 163 centimeters) She weighs 93 lbs ( Around 42 kg.) She has warm chestnut colored hair worn in a pixie cut. She is unusual for a half elf as she has freckles on her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, something only humans usually have and four inch long ears that end in sharp points. ( Half elf ears are usually only half that length and slightly rounded at the tips.) She wears a studded leather vest over a white poet shirt and tight cream color breeches with thigh high light brown leather boots. She fights with a grosse messer (german style single bladed short sword.) which she carries on a sword belt at her hip and usually travels with her guitar slung across her back.
She is cute rather than overtly sexy, with a mischeivous face easily given to smirks and winking. Her eyes are a deep, earthy brown color and she usually wears earth tones when she uses cosmetics. Her goals in life are to make things as happy as possible for herself, Merci and the Nambrox caravan which she now considers her family. If she wished she could attempt to stage a coup amongst the forest elves on the strength of her mother's royal blood. She does not wish to do so however as she feels disdain for most elves and maintains a violent anger toward her mother for selling her into slavery for the sake of wine. This ambivalence, combined with only the haziest recollection of her father is the reason she uses the name of her former master, who despite buying her still fed her and made sure she was cared for, rather than her original family name.
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