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My traveling name is Tae`Len. This is a contraction of a shortened version of my elvish name which means roughly "seeks his own fortune", which in turn /reverses/ the original meaning of my full given name - roughly "brings his family great fortune".
In elvish it is an amusing piece of wordplay, less so if you are my near kin. For now I have left my family name behind, along with their plots to gain greater social standing.
We were once a noble family in more than just name; and in truth we still hold a good position in society, roughly on the level of the guild masters. The children, myself included, receive a proper formal education and join the (lower) ranks of high society rather than having to go into a trade. If we do happen to pick up a craft as an extension of our studies (as I did after becoming fascinated by the way base metals could be combined to create something with superior properties) we are guaranteed swift entry to guild ranks. Though I suspect this is more from having freedom to spend time perfecting our work than through any overt social leverage.
Invites arrive to all the right social events and councils. The family just no longer have either the wealth or the connections to strongly influence others.
Behind our backs there are whispers that the family has an unhealthy appearance, or has fallen from grace because of a curse. When the plague of icy blood fell upon our kingdom, not discriminating between those of pure or part-elven heritage, it seemed that these rumours would be without substance as we were touched only lightly. This resilience led the famed healer Lady Keldrey to our door in her search for a cure and uncovered a dark family secret.
Prior to my parent's time one of our ancestors had become a vampire and before being slain had irrevocably infected the bloodline with a connection to the Void. This plague, which fed on vitality energy to the point that magical healing would only worsen an infected persons condition, found little sustenance in our bodies. It did however bring our ancestor's "gift" to the fore rendering many of us, including myself, less than living but also not quite undead. Given time it is possible one or more of us would have tipped completely over that edge.
Through experimenting with the weakened plague in my blood Lady Keldrey was able to find a non-magical remedy and saved many lives. However the plague had already left many positions of influence empty and my family, now relatively many and possessed of new strengths, wasted no time taking advantage of this situation.
I have never had an interest in the political machinations which so obsess my elders and cousins. Rather than get used as a pawn and eventually forced into a marriage of convenience I instead chose to swear myself into service with the Lady Keldrey and accompany her on her travels. The family was not happy with this turn of events but could hardly complain; while famed in her own right the Lady is herself also twice royal and potentially wields much wider influence than any match they could try and make in our own kingdom.
Lady Keldrey's quest for information on another great plague of history has brought us to the realm of Akotan, and we have taken up residence at the local Adventurers Guild where another pair of elves, or part-elves, will draw less notice than in other parts of society.
---
System: Pathfinder 2E
Race: Elf
Heritage: Dhampir (half vampire)
Background: Alloysmith
Class: Magus (Mageblade equivalent, but not weapon specific)
---
This was an online game (Discord + Roll20) running Sunday evenings. The party of four undertook 3 missions before it came to a premature end,
* Cleaning out an abandoned house previously occupied by a suspected demon summoner, which had been overtaken by several varieties of unpleasant fae.
* The traditional "deal with whatever is in a cellar leading to an abandoned section of sewers", where necromancers (or someone with necromancer allies) was attempting to gain entry to a lost/buried trial of the gods. After defeating them we managed to access and complete the trial.
* A "track down stolen goods" mission which turned out to be a setup by a rogue bounty hunter to (illegally, in town) snatch our, err, rogue. We fought off the bounty hunter and his goons; and made nice with the local gang leader to let us continue our investigation, but the game ended before we got to the bottom of the matter.
In elvish it is an amusing piece of wordplay, less so if you are my near kin. For now I have left my family name behind, along with their plots to gain greater social standing.
We were once a noble family in more than just name; and in truth we still hold a good position in society, roughly on the level of the guild masters. The children, myself included, receive a proper formal education and join the (lower) ranks of high society rather than having to go into a trade. If we do happen to pick up a craft as an extension of our studies (as I did after becoming fascinated by the way base metals could be combined to create something with superior properties) we are guaranteed swift entry to guild ranks. Though I suspect this is more from having freedom to spend time perfecting our work than through any overt social leverage.
Invites arrive to all the right social events and councils. The family just no longer have either the wealth or the connections to strongly influence others.
Behind our backs there are whispers that the family has an unhealthy appearance, or has fallen from grace because of a curse. When the plague of icy blood fell upon our kingdom, not discriminating between those of pure or part-elven heritage, it seemed that these rumours would be without substance as we were touched only lightly. This resilience led the famed healer Lady Keldrey to our door in her search for a cure and uncovered a dark family secret.
Prior to my parent's time one of our ancestors had become a vampire and before being slain had irrevocably infected the bloodline with a connection to the Void. This plague, which fed on vitality energy to the point that magical healing would only worsen an infected persons condition, found little sustenance in our bodies. It did however bring our ancestor's "gift" to the fore rendering many of us, including myself, less than living but also not quite undead. Given time it is possible one or more of us would have tipped completely over that edge.
Through experimenting with the weakened plague in my blood Lady Keldrey was able to find a non-magical remedy and saved many lives. However the plague had already left many positions of influence empty and my family, now relatively many and possessed of new strengths, wasted no time taking advantage of this situation.
I have never had an interest in the political machinations which so obsess my elders and cousins. Rather than get used as a pawn and eventually forced into a marriage of convenience I instead chose to swear myself into service with the Lady Keldrey and accompany her on her travels. The family was not happy with this turn of events but could hardly complain; while famed in her own right the Lady is herself also twice royal and potentially wields much wider influence than any match they could try and make in our own kingdom.
Lady Keldrey's quest for information on another great plague of history has brought us to the realm of Akotan, and we have taken up residence at the local Adventurers Guild where another pair of elves, or part-elves, will draw less notice than in other parts of society.
---
System: Pathfinder 2E
Race: Elf
Heritage: Dhampir (half vampire)
Background: Alloysmith
Class: Magus (Mageblade equivalent, but not weapon specific)
---
This was an online game (Discord + Roll20) running Sunday evenings. The party of four undertook 3 missions before it came to a premature end,
* Cleaning out an abandoned house previously occupied by a suspected demon summoner, which had been overtaken by several varieties of unpleasant fae.
* The traditional "deal with whatever is in a cellar leading to an abandoned section of sewers", where necromancers (or someone with necromancer allies) was attempting to gain entry to a lost/buried trial of the gods. After defeating them we managed to access and complete the trial.
* A "track down stolen goods" mission which turned out to be a setup by a rogue bounty hunter to (illegally, in town) snatch our, err, rogue. We fought off the bounty hunter and his goons; and made nice with the local gang leader to let us continue our investigation, but the game ended before we got to the bottom of the matter.
