General Information
NameCael'thas Andlues
RaceElf
ClassFighter 1 / Transmuter 5
Character SheetAppearance & MannerismsCael'thas is an average-sized, wiry elf with feathery brown hair and pale green eyes. He is not ugly, but not especially comely, either, with a plain face and open expression. Cael wears the simple gear of an outdoorsman, with no armor. He prefers to rely on his spells to protect him. His clothes are hued in various shades of dark green and brown, affording him an ease with which he blends into forests and crowds alike. When others first see him, they generally think it strange that he appears to be talking to himself, and it garners him many odd looks which he has learned to shrug off over the years. If these onlookers listen carefully, however, they will hear a female voice reply.
BackgroundEarly Life[/b]
Cael'thas (Cael for short) has an interesting history for an elf. When he was but a child of only 7 years, he and his mother were traveling from Riversmeet to home to Tal'Silvas when tragedy struck. Strange and evil fey beset them - at noon, no less - and it was only through the illusion magic of his mother that Cael was able to escape the incident unharmed. His mother, unfortunately, did not. Scarred and shell-shocked from watching his mother and their companions die at the hands of these nefarious fey creatures, Cael wandered the forest for days, until he was exhausted from lack of food and water.
This time, however, he was fortunate that someone had noticed him. A dryad named Narithia saw him first - he had by chance chosen her tree to sit under and cry - for he had lost all hope of ever returning home. When she revealed herself to him, Cael was terrified at first, because he didn't know if she was like the others who had attacked his family. Her beauty and kind demeanor quickly assuaged his fears, however, and he was thankful to have found a kind soul within the strange woods. She fed him with fruit she knew grew nearby, and showed him to a pool of water from which he could drink.
Unsure of what to do further with this mortal child, Narithia sent out her branches into the forest, seeking help and advice from among her good fey kin. A nearby clan of pixies responded, and agreed to help care for Cael. And so the years passed, and Cael spent his formative years living deep in the forests of L'Thoniel, with pixies and dryads for teachers and friends. It was certainly an interesting life, full of mischief and learning about the rhythms of nature and magic. The pixies taught him the way to use a bow and how to harness magic, while the dryads taught him how to survive in nature and to appreciate its bounty. It was not until much later that Cael learned that the creatures who had killed his mother were fey of an evil variety - deadly lurkers in light (see Bestiary) who sacrificed mortals for their strange and unknowable rituals. Cael never again saw these lurkers in light, but the thought of them haunts him to this day.
In his thirtieth year, Cael and his pixie friends were stumbled upon by a group of Elven hunters, out in the deep forest in search of game. The pixies were able to vanish out of sight, but Cael's own vanishing capabilities were not quite there. The hunters had spotted him, and called out a greeting. The elven words were strange to his ears, yet somehow familiar - they reminded him of a time decades ago before he had come to live in the wilderness. He spoke slowly and quietly to the hunters, for there was no use in hiding now, and they meant no harm. His pixie friends came out of hiding to support him, and Narithia joined them shortly thereafter.
Cael invited the hunters to camp for the evening under the boughs of Narithia's tree, and related the story of his past two and a half decades in the forest. The hunters were astonished that he had lived out here for so long at such a young age, and asked many questions. After hearing his story, they invited him back with them to Tal'Silvas where they knew his father still lived. His father had searched the forest when Cael had first gone missing, but Cael had apparently wandered too deep into the woods for the searches to find him, and everyone had sadly presumed him dead.
Cael knew the right thing was to return to his elven home, but it was with a heavy heart that he left his new home out here in the woods. The pixies and Narithia encouraged him to leave and seek his destiny in the world of mortals, for they knew that they could keep him forever. In their parting, Narithia gave him a living branch from her tree, which she shaped into the form of a longbow. The dryad who had been a mother to him bid him farewell, and he promised to remember her through this final gift.
Study at the Academy Returning to Tal'Silvas was a strange experience for Cael, as he recognized the place, but it was only a distant memory to him. His father welcomed him home warmly, happy to see the son he thought he had lost. The years passed, and Cael grew re-accustomed to life in the borders of civilization, and even grew to appreciate and love his elven brothers and sisters. He appreciated that the elves had a healthy respect for the forest, and saw their jealous guarding of the continent as their means of protecting it from outsiders who might exploit its natural beauty. The elves were the guardians of their sacred land of green forests, and he was proud to be one of them.
When he turned fifty, Cael knew it was his time to go to one of the two academies of his people. Though he was torn, he ultimately chose to pursue what he knew was a budding arcane disciple within him - the fey had awoken it, but it had been there all along. Cael still retained his skill with the bow that he had been taught by the pixies, and by now had crafted the branch Narithia had given him into a true composite longbow, a thing of beauty and majesty.
As he began his studies at the academy, he became most interested in the arts which changed or altered physical attributes into others, bringing forth the best in an item or individual. And so his study of transmutation magic began. As all wizards must choose a creature or item with which to form an arcane bond, Cael naturally chose his bow. He tinkered and played with the transmutation magic over the many years he studied at the academy, and yet he still was having difficulty enchanting items. His superiors in the academy suggested he spend a decade or two in Oakdale, a town similarly renowned for its magical ability. Cael took their advice, and set off on a boat towards the continent of Dorien.
Of Oakdale & Enchantment When he arrived, he was shocked to see the diversity of people around him, and also at the dearth of elves on this continent. Those elves he did see seemed to act differently that the ones he knew at home, and he knew it must be because of the curse. He felt for them, and mourned that they would never set foot in the lush green forests of L'Thonriel. In his time at the Oakdale academy, he studied with some of the best human and gnomish mages available, still trying to master the art of enchanting arms and armor. Eventually, his struggles elicited the attention of Erfyrn the Sage, overseer of the academy. Through weeks of his instruction, Cael relearned everything he knew about enchanting, finally coming to an epiphany: he needed to awaken the power within the items themselves, not try to force his will upon them. This realization led him to his greatest accomplishment to date, and has enabled him to bring out the inner qualities in the materials he works with.
His first attempt at making a magical item after this realization was of course with his bow, which he had begun to call Naria, after Narithia. Now the magic seemed to flow like a breeze of cool air , emerging from within the wood and not being forced from without. Not only was he successful at enchanting the bow, but he succeeded beyond what even he had imagined. With the enchantment, something had awoken within the wood, and had been given life.
Naria was confused at having been given life so suddenly, and Cael spoke with the bow, assuring her she was safe. He told her that her name was Naria'calen, and told her of her "mother" in the forest. The two bonded quickly, and Cael was ecstatic for the new friend. Grateful for the tutelage of Erfyrn the Sage, Cael gave him his eternal gratitude. He could not wait any longer, however. Immediately after thanking the gnome, Cael gathered up his things and set off for L'Thonriel. When he arrived back on the forested continent, he went as quickly as he could to Narithia's grove, eager to introduce mother to daughter.
Return to L'Thonriel to Today Though it had been some years since Cael had visited her, he remembered how to get there like he had lived there only yesterday. Arriving at her glen, Cael and Naria were shocked to see that Narithia's tree had withered and died. Seeking out his pixie friends, he discovered through them that Narithia had passed some years ago, of a natural and painless death. Though greatly saddened by her loss, he believes that a part of her lives on in Naria.
Since this event, Cael has considered himself a protector of the natural glens of L'Thonriel, patrolling its forests with Naria and other elves, seeking out evil laying beneath the shady boughs. Recently, he received word that Erfyrn would like to speak with him about a magical discovery. Due to his feeling of gratitude toward the Sage, Cael took an indefinite leave of absence from his patrol, and headed off toward Oakdale. It had been decades since he had seen the gnome, but he was looking forward to seeing him again.
Naria'calen (Naria for short)This +2 Composite Longbow (+2 STR Bonus) was crafted by Cael'thas Aleandlues for use as his bonded item, and she has grown in power as her owner has, only recently becoming intelligent. Her name (Naria'calen) means "Naria the Green" in elven. Cael gave the bow this name because he thinks of the her as a "child" of sorts of Narithia's (see background). Indeed, her personality is that of a winsome young woman. Though she is at times a bit whimsical like the fey, she is staunch in her passion for the defense of the elven people like Cael. Naria therefore has a special purpose: to defend the interests of the elven people, be it at home or abroad.
