Last Name: Zau'afin
Appearance: Handsome, but not overly-so, with a rugged build and toned body. He wears a pair of ruby-colored spectacles on his nose, and views the world with calm, detached serenity, if such a word could ever be applied to a Drow. He dresses in clean, well-maintained clothing befitting his station -- regal, but not ostentatious, and practical.
Race: Ilythiiri
Age: 170
Height: 5'4" (1.6m)
Weight: 150lbs (68kg)
Eyes: Crimson Red
Hair: Shaved clean, or close-cropped.
Facial Hair Style: None
Personality Profile: Clean, neat, and professional-looking. Keeps his clothing and equipment in perfect repair. Polite, and well-spoken. Though keen-eyed and observant, he always seems like he's listening for something that others cannot hear. There is a strange wisdom to him, and a patience that is normally lacking in Drow.
General Health: Peak of health, well-honed body.
Deity: Lolth
Initial Alignment: Lawful Evil
Profession: Militant Butler
Base Class & Proposed Development: Monk 27 / Blackguard 3
Habits/Hobbies:
-- Clean (will straighten and clean things obsessively)
-- Tending a garden filled with deadly spiders.
-- Filling out the Zau'afin Library with exotic tomes.
Languages: Elven, Drow, Drowsign, Undercommon, Common, Abyssal
Weapon of Choice: Staff/Unarmed
Background:
[Abstract:] First son of Lomith Zau'afin, sent to Undrek'Thoz at an early age for study & training. He knows little of his mother's trials and tribulations, but has developed an obsessively loyal attachment to her none the less. Returning to Sshamath presently on the word that Lomith has sent for her children.
[Full:]
Born in a time of trial and tribulations, Sev'ltas was sent away at an early age to the City of Undrek'Thoz, both for training, and for protection; more accurately, the protection of his mother, Lomith Dy'nesen. His birth was inauspicious – wartime is for sending lives out of this world, not bringing new ones in. With spies and enemies abound, it would have been easier to simply sacrifice him on the Altar of Lolth, but Fate had other plans.
Undrek'Thoz was not an easy place to live, but it was simple, at least for Sev'ltas: he was here for training, and nothing else. His mind and body were utterly occupied with it, day in and day out. His chores were simple and straight-forward: For one year, he scrubbed the floors to a polish; for one year, he kept the stables spotless, and would eat off the floor if they were not; For one year, he was a cook... And so on it went, for centuries. Between chores, every day was for training, the days of the week had no names. The Masters provided regular beatings to toughen his flesh and bones, and to steel him against the shock of it – many a confident warrior was undone by the simple virtue that they had never been injured before, and the shock of it undid them in the battlefield.
The Masters were fiercely loyal to Lolth, and brooked no disobedience to her teachings, which made for an odd mix between quiet order, and violent chaos. Never break the rules, but always look for a way to break the rules. Respect the rule of The Masters, but always seek to undermine them when possible. Students were encouraged to raid the ranks of other bunk-houses, and deaths were commonplace, though mostly unintentional.
Decades passed, and as a young Jaluk, Sev'ltas grew into his new life, like water filling a jug. He had arrived too young to survive, but survive he did, and without the baggage of an older student, the experience left him with few allusions to life outside the Monastery. Occasionally, The Masters would call him into the Hall of the Elders, and examine him, talk among themselves of monitoring some measure of progress, and reported it all back to "Her". None of this would make sense to him, but the meetings and examinations took place above his head, as if he were not present, and it taught him a valuable skill – the Art of Listening. Pieces of information filtered in over the years, and he slowly put together that "She" was somehow his patron, and that she was always, always displeased with his progress. Displeasure breeds action, and action builds progress, so Sev'ltas' training became all the more rigorous. As each examination date would draw close, Sev'ltas grew more and more anxious to prove himself to his mysterious benefactor, and a twisted loyalty grew toward "Her", which was the true intention of The Masters all along.
He rose in rank slowly, constantly seeking to undermine those above him, and watching those below for their own schemes. First he became a bunk-leader, and organized raids on other bunk-houses. While not always successful, each raid was never the less a learning experience. After decades of this, he rose to a teaching position himself, instructing Drow children, and killing the weak ones to remind the others that they are always, always a breath away from meeting Lolth, herself. He grew with his charges, and taught them into adolescense, forming a bond of cameraderie with them that few Drow ever experience, yet still fraught with the possibility of usurpation, or assassination. Many tried, and died in the attempt. Usurpation was always live or die. Succeed or fail.
It was during a training expedition on the surface, in the Thayan Desert winter, watching his own students shivering during their meditations in the starlight, that the message arrived: Sev'ltas' training was complete – his benefactor required him. Back in Undrek'Thoz, it was revealed to him who had really sponsored him: Lomith Zau'afin. His mother.
Goals:
1) Secure a position of prominence within Zau'afin.
2) Guard the Quellar from the enemies of Lomith, and see it expand.
3) Hunt down Heretics for the greater good of Drow Society.
4) Gain the favor of both Lomith and Lolth.
Possible Plot-Hook Ideas and Misc Facts:
[Items:]
--- The glasses he wears are for show; his vision is fine. Life, for a Drow is war, and in War, never let your opponent see your weaknesses, and always present your weakness as strength.
--- He carries a magical staff from his time at Undrek'Thoz, it has the ability to shrink to the size of a baton, hung on his belt. This makes for easier carry, and Sev'ltas likes to travel light.
--- Like his mother, he has a small Bag of Holding on his belt that can fit most of his essentials, rather than wearing a backpack like some vagabond.
[Possible Plot-Hooks:]
--- Many of Lomith's enemies would seek to capture or turn him to their cause, to use against her later.
