Trystane Harthall
Name: Trystane Harthall
Origin: Merchant Quarter, Neverwinter
Birthdate: 10 Alturiak, 1320 DR
Race: Half-elf
Sex: Male
Deity: Selune
Alignment: Neutral Good
Class: Bard / Assassin
Height: 5'11"
Weight: ~185 lbs.
Theme: Gareth Coker - "Restoring the Light, Facing the Dark"
Background
The son of Todrick Harthall and Elewyn Eldeas, Trystane was the second of two children born to the mixed-race couple, the first of whom was his elder by mere minutes. The family made their home in Neverwinter, Jewel of the North. Todrick supported his household as a sculptor, while Elewyn contributed her share as an adventurer.
As fraternal twins, Trystane did not share a likeness with his older brother Ethan, but they nonetheless were inseparable as siblings. Though he was the younger brother, Trystane often found himself in the role of protector and guardian to the physically-frail Ethan. Bullies and thieves who made the unknowing mistake of choosing Ethan as their victim would soon discover their folly at the end of Trystane's fist.
Most of their young lives carried on thusly, though this was not to last. The brothers' parents had been relatively attentive in their youth, but things changed when Elewyn disappeared. The moon-elf's natural wanderlust could not be sated playing homemaker, and she often joined adventuring companies on excursions near the outskirts of Neverwinter. The last of these led deep into the Neverwinter Wood ... and then to disaster. Only one of the company's members returned, stricken by an incurable madness that left him unable to explain what he had seen or even why they had gone into the forest. The rest of the expedition was thus presumed dead.
Devastated by the loss of his beloved, Todrick abandoned his sculpting and threw himself into work as an aspiring entrepreneur, growing cold and aloof to his two children. Though they could sense something was amiss, the twins were helpless to comfort their father, who now saw them as cruel reminders of the wife he had lost. Left to their own devices, Trystane and Ethan began to pursue their own interests while nevertheless staying close to each other. The younger Trystane discovered a talent for music and rhythm, apprenticing under a local theater troupe. He further developed a penchant for archery, routinely performing tricks for his company as a preamble to main attractions. Meanwhile, Ethan had grown out of his physical infirmity and into a dashing young man with a silver tongue that could charm discounts out of merchants and the undergarments off of enamored women.
All the wit and guile in the world would not be able to save the Harthall family from a second tragedy, however. In the summer of 1345, Ethan's attention landed on a young noblewoman by the name of Clarissa De Faye. Though she was already betrothed to one Lord Omerion Vale, the son of a minor noble house within Neverwinter, the marriage was arranged against her wishes. Omerion's reputation was one of arrogance and cruelty, and Clarissa loathed the thought of being forced to wed such a man. In her woe, she turned to Ethan, the dashing rogue she had met while attending her favorite tavern. A blossoming romance developed between the two in secret, one that Ethan shared with Trystane only after swearing him to secrecy.
Trystane did not approve, more out of concern for his brother's wellbeing than anything else, though he kept these feelings to himself.
As with many such affairs of the heart, however, the secret could not be kept forever. Ethan and Clarissa became brazen and careless as their relationship developed further, emboldening the young woman to ask her family for her arranged wedding to be called off. Furious upon learning this, the young lord Vale set all his resources to discovering the reason for Clarissa's newfound rebel's heart. It was not difficult for his hired agents to determine Ethan's identity or the locations he and Clarissa frequented for their trysts.
With this knowledge in hand, Omerion set his plan for revenge into motion. He lured Clarissa to the Vale estate under false pretenses, then had his guards hold her hostage. Meanwhile, he sent a courier to Ethan bearing a message supposedly written by the noblewoman; the contents included a plea for the pair to run away and elope - she would be waiting for him at the alley in the Beggar's Nest district where they had shared their first kiss. Lost to passion, Ethan made his way to the meeting spot, stopping only to leave a note for Trystane at their home to tell him of his plans.
Tragically, when Ethan arrived at the rendezvous location, he did not find his beloved, but Omerion and a retinue of the lord's attendants instead. The young Vale challenged Ethan to a duel; knowing he was outmatched, Ethan promptly declined and attempted to flee. He would not be successful. Omerion disregarded the half-elf's refusal and cut him down from behind, leaving the man dead on the street to sate his wounded pride.
Trystane, having read Ethan's note to him after a long day at his theater troupe, arrived too late to do anything but cradle his dead brother's corpse in his arms.
Anguish and grief over his twin's murder turned quickly to rage and fury, but without a target at which to direct them, Trystane could only allow the City Watch to investigate while the dark emotions in his heart seethed and festered. It was then that Clarissa lit a beacon for him; having been returned to her family estate after learning of her lover's death at the hands of her betrothed, the noblewoman sank deep into despair. There, she enacted her own final bit of revenge. Clarissa took her own life, leaving behind a note that laid both her and Ethan's deaths at Omerion's feet.
News of her actions took Blacklake district by storm. By the end of the week, it seemed the entire city knew of the accusation Lady de Faye had pointed at Lord Vale. While Clarissa's suicide could not be Omerion's legal responsibility, Ethan Harthall's death was another matter. House Vale was not prominent enough that they could avoid the inquiring eyes of Neverwinter's Watch for a murder. Thus, under increasing scrutiny from his own family, the Blacklake nobility and the city's guards, Omerion turned to an unlikely savior.
It was then that Trystane found Omerion in his home in the Merchant Quarter, negotiating a deal with his father. Todrick would attest to his own son's depravity and inclinations toward violence to support Omerion's story that he had only killed Ethan in self-defense. In return, Omerion would elevate Todrick's business venture with the backing of House Vale. Flabbergasted at the audacity of the lord's request, Trystane moved to eject Omerion from their home physically. To his utter disbelief and incalculable dismay, his father stopped him ... and then agreed to the deal.
Trystane could not reconcile the fact that his father would sell out his brother to the man who had killed him. After the lord departed, he confronted Todrick. The old man returned only a sad stare and a few gut-wrenching words: "At least Ethan's death will have some meaning."
Overwhelmed by anger, grief, and hatred, the young half-elf abandoned his home, leaving without another word. He learned later that Omerion's plot had succeeded and that the Watch had cleared the lord of any wrongdoing.
Aimless, Trystane found his way to the City of Splendors. At first, he sought work among entertainers and performers' guildhouses, but the grief in his heart turned all his songs into dirges. One by one, he was turned away. Forced to desperate ends, he could only resort to thievery for survival.
Fate intervened when one of his targets turned out to be a Shadow Thief. Seeing potential in the half-elf, the man Trystane would only ever know as "Orm" decided to take the lost boy under his wing. Orm groomed Trystane to join his organization even while keeping the Shadow Thieves a secret from him. He taught Trystane all the dastardly methods by which he executed his operations: from stealth to poison, to deception. The young apprentice learned all the tools of his teacher's dark trade.
In the back of his mind, Trystane made a quiet promise to himself that he would use these tools against a most deserving victim.
Seeing the rage with which Trystane trained, Orm pried and prodded and eventually uncovered the story of Ethan's murder. The master had no patience for indulgences of emotion; they were distractions, obstacles to a successful mission. He forbade Trystane from any further thoughts of revenge, threatening to withhold the last bit of his training from his apprentice, the culmination of what was now years of effort. For a time, it seemed that threat was enough.
And then, on the day that Orm intended to reveal his true affiliations and formally induct his apprentice into the Shadow Thieves, Trystane departed Waterdeep, never to look back.
It was near the third anniversary of Ethan's death. Trystane had not learned the greatest secrets of his master's training, but he had learned enough. He would not suffer his brother's murderer another day of existence. He returned home to Neverwinter, made his way to Blacklake, and laid in wait within the Vale Estate. He had debated for days on the method he would use - an arrow to the back, poison in his wine, a knife to his heart - and settled on his fingers. His hands. He would strangle the life out of the corrupt lord. He wanted to feel the man's last breath and see the light go out in his eyes.
Omerion returned to his quarters, oblivious to the assassin hiding in the rafters. Trystane watched him like a hawk, peering down, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. And then the door opened once more, and a woman stepped in.
At first, Trystane thought her to be Omerion's lover, or possibly a new wife. As the pair traded words, however, a chilling realization set in. The woman was Omerion's sister, Odette, and the words she spoke to her brother made clear that she cared for him as much as Trystane had ever cared for Ethan. The love she had for this murderer was a reflection of the love Trystane had for his departed twin.
The more he listened, the less he could hold on to his resolve. He did not want to inflict the suffering he had endured after losing a brother on anyone else. Especially not on someone innocent of any crime.
By the time she left the room, Trystane had already fled.
Dejected, half-regretting his decision, he made his way back home to the Merchant Quarter. Todrick had done well for himself in the intervening years - it seemed Omerion had honored his half of the deal - and now lived in an estate of moderate wealth himself. There were even guards stationed around the entrance. Trystane didn't want to announce his arrival, so he stole up one of the side walls to peer into the compound. He had come only to satisfy his curiosity - he was not ready to look at his father, much less forgive him - but something in the courtyard demanded that he step closer.
Square in the center of a garden that spanned most of the courtyard were three statues of ivory. Each was carved with a heart-wrenching likeness: his mother, Evelyn. His brother, Ethan. Himself.
Trystane's heart filled with outrage that his father would dare to commemorate the sons he had abandoned in such a way, through commissions that were undoubtedly paid for by blood money from Omerion. But upon closer inspection, the likenesses were too accurate. Too perfect. It was like looking at the people themselves, their past selves, impossible as it was. There was no way any commissioned sculptor could have achieved this ... not unless he was intimately familiar with the subject matter. Not unless Todrick had sculpted these himself.
Trystane stared, dumbfounded at the statues. They were works of art that undoubtedly would have taken his father months - if not years - to complete. The care and attention to detail would have been paid with blood, sweat, and tears. He was so fascinated by these corporeal memories that he almost didn't notice the sounds of feet scuffling from inside the manor, the rush of loafered footsteps dashing toward the double doors that separated the courtyard from the estate interior.
Almost.
By the time Todrick Harthall reached the courtyard, Trystane was nowhere to be seen. Tears streaming down his face, he cried out into the night, "Come back! Come home!"
On a ship heading to Baldur's Gate, Trystane stared out into the horizon at dawn. He wasn't ready to come home.
But he was ready to forgive. He was ready to move on.
Appearance
Trystane is a relatively young man of average height and build. His skin is fair and his hair a deep auburn. Teal eyes are sometimes hard to see as he often draws a cloth hood over his head.
He seems unusually at odds with his attire. While the superb quality of the man's wardrobe - featuring a fur cloak of the highest quality and a suit of armor fit for a noble - would seem to indicate the man is a person of high birth, his slouched posture, lazy smile and the unruly scruff around his mouth and jawline suggest otherwise.
Regardless of this apparent incongruity, the man does not seem ill-at-ease with himself. He is quick to offer a smile and responds to all greetings with a warm "Hello!" His voice carries a sing-song like quality and any who spend any extended duration of time with the man will realize he often appears to be humming a quiet, unobtrusive tune to himself.
Personality
For the most part, Trystane is friendly and easy-going. He can be both quick to speak his mind and careful with his thoughts depending on his mood. Although, he was driven by revenge for several years of his life, he has since moved on.
His affection and adoration for his twin brother makes him think significantly less of those who do not value their fraternal relationships.
Religion
As most in Faerun do, Trystane offers his prayers to a multitude of gods as the situation requires: Chauntea for the harvest, Tymora for good fortune, and Selune during travel. While growing up, his family venerated Tyr (as the patron deity of Neverwinter), Tymora and Waukeen (for their portfolios of fortune and wealth respectively). Currently, Trystane offers prayers to Selune, whose patronage over wanderers resonates with him deeply.
Physical & Mental Health
Trystane does not currently suffer from any physical or mental impairments. Spurts of regret occasionally color how he views his relationship with his father, though these are usually quickly dissipated by wrath over what happened to his brother.
Languages
- Elven: Without a stable elven presence in his life, Trystane's command of spoken elven has wavered between passable and excruciating on the ears. His command of Espruar, on the other hand, is without issue.
- Sylvan: As the Sylvan language uses Espruar in written form, Trystane has no problem deciphering written messages of sylvan origin. He has more trouble understanding spoken sylvan, and cannot speak it at all.
- Draconic: As the standard language of arcane notation, Trystane has an elementary understanding of draconic.
- Cant: His training under Iain acclimated him to thieves/assassin's cant.
Plot Hooks & Miscellaneous
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