BACKGROUND:
In 1326 DR, Astrid Helder, a newly sworn Waterdhavian agent of the Lord's Alliance was returning from Cormyr after a mission to obtain a valuable artifact. Her group was forced to travel with Zhentarim whilst traveling through the Sword region of the Anauroch whilst keeping her identity a secret. They were attacked during the night by Bedine raiders. Pregnant at the time, she embarked on her mission due to stubborn Illuskan pride.
Many died during the raid and she escaped to Stonelands though the weight of her injuries during raid took their toll as she collapsed at base of ancient shrine called the Tempest Mound. With her dying breaths she prayed to the gods for her child to be saved.
Shalendra Dawnsong found her and called upon the favour of Shaundakul whom the shrine belonged to ease the mother's pain and to save the babe. This worked and the shrine was blasted by elemental winds of strange nature. Astrid died but was survived by a son of strange bearing, named Malakai by Shalendra given it's meaning of 'god's message' or 'god's messenger'.
Malakai was raised by Shalendra and two other Shaundakun rangers, Zora Chernov and Darvin Greycastle. They raised him well and taught him various skills, but the boy grew impatient and sought to eventually leave by his 16th year feeling restless and isolated and eager to carve his own path. Shalendra revealed some of his mother's artifacts to him, including a ring that bore his father's name. Malakai sought to learn of the man's fate and had the ring scryed in the village of Dhedluk within Cormyr by a retired war wizard, 'Stern Moira', via her divination pool, Malakai was able to communicate with Victor Stormwind back in Waterdeep.
With a reason to leave Cormyr now established, Victor convinced Malakai to linger in Cormyr a while longer and gain some experience of the world. Darvin introduced him to Alejandro Serrano, an Amnian caravaneer who was eager to enlist Malakai as a worker based on his exotic nature. Serrano saw Malakai's presence as a blessing from Shaundakul a god of caravans and travel and taught the young man how to use a rapier effectively, finding the genasi to be one of his most prized pupils.
Malakai also got to see much of Cormyr working for Serrano's trading coster, earning the nickname, 'Malakai of the winds', as much in reference to his elemental nature as his airy boasts, for the young Stormwind was fond of his unique appearance and enjoyed the attention it got him. During this time, Malakai's distaste for the nobility of the forest country grew.
The genasi's departure from Cormyr owed to an arrogant noble whom discovered Serrano teaching Malakai swordfighting in what the old man believed to be an abandoned woodland. Given the laws in Cormyr demanding blades be bound up with peace rope unless one was licenced or given permission, the arrogant noble by the name of Eskandar Torchtower demanded a duel with Malakai based on the latter's disregard of the law and the lack of respect owed by him.
The duel was closely fought, but Torchtower's use of a Sembian guard blade gave him the advantage and Malakai received a wound to his face leaving him with a prominent scar on his chin. Serrano had observed closely and his assistant revealed possession of a purple dragon knight ring, which quelled Torchtower's irritation given it served as effective ability to bear/use weapons.
Malakai saw this as a lesson of humility by his teacher in a somewhat annoyed manner, choosing to part company from Serrano and his coster but the two settled their differences on the morn of his departure. From this point, Malakai chose to travel east to make his way to Waterdeep. During this period he encountered the rogue, Chantelle Fournier a sleeper agent of the Shadow Thieves organisation who established a relationship with the genasi in Baldur's Gate. Unknown to Malakai, she was instructed to keep an eye on him but her affection for him was mostly sincere.
The two enjoyed Baldur's Gate for a time but with news of Dragonspear castle an the arrival of demon armies, the pair ultimately departed to Waterdeep by ship in order to track down Victor Stormwind and avoid any danger. During the time spent there, Chantelle would disappear periodically but Malakai would meet his father in Osprey Tower, learning of his membership to an organisation called the Grey Hands. Through Victor, he would also make friends with Harbek Fireforge, a dwarven warrior-cleric of Dumathoin and Vardis Dundragon, a sickly human mage specialised in Abjuration magic and knowledgable of Netherese history.
Malakai and Victor would meet but the relationship would remain distant and business-like, the older man not taking well to Malakai's overconfident and slightly arrogant manner. Malakai would form an adventuring company with Harbek, Vardis and Chantelle in the Dessarin Valley outside of Waterdeep under Harbek's leadership, as 'Harbek's Delvers' it is during this time their last adventure together, tracking down stone tablets for Harbek (which served as a record of his clan's ancestral history) Vardis almost died contracting mummy rot protecting them from the undead.
With their company more or less fractured, Malakai, Harbek and Chantelle would encounter a Zakharan janni in Waterdeep by pure chance. The trio implored the janni to provide a wish that could save the mage. Aware of Malakai's elemental nature and finding him fascinating on this basis alone, she quickly developed a flirtatious relationship with him which didn't go unnoticed by Chantelle. Unable to provide a wish however, Nashmia helped them find a potion known as the 'water of Eldath' which saved the life of Vardis.
Even with the recovery of the young mage, the group decided to stop adventuring together their friendship with each other somewhat strained but intact. Harbek returned to Citadel Abdar, Vardis decided to remain in Waterdeep but retire from adventuring and Chantelle and Malakai's on-off relationship finally fizzled out.
Malakai would find himself restless once more and eager to make a name for himself as an adventurer alone. He'd swiftly bump into Nashmia again and learn of Zakhara and the reason for her presence in the north (tracking down a fleeing sha'ir - a kind of mage), far from her home to the south. Malakai would learn of the genies of Calimshan and Zakhara, sparking his imagination and igniting his desire to travel there one day based on their elemental nature. Nashmia would find that Malakai's own connection to the winds not owing to genie blood to be strange but pondered a connection between Shaundakul and a god of Zakhara, Haku given the tale he shared of his birth.
The pair traveled together for a while and Malakai learned something of her fighting style, the outer planes of existence, more of Zakhara and even some of it's language. The two would part ways but the janni seemed convinced the two would meet again in the future, seeing their meeting as fated.
Malakai would then return to the Western Heartlands and begin his adventuring career, eventually spending a month of summer in the small town of Greenest. Here he would encounter Jackard Marks and Solomon Peyton, owners of the trading coster, Rocky Creek. The two retired adventurers would develop a friendship with Malakai offering him a position as their master of caravans and work to strengthen trade in the region, with Malakai developing a reputation for traveling perilous trade routes. The genasi had also developed a good working relationship with a Shou traveler, Sayushi Furuki whom had been contracted by Rocky Creek to act as a provisioner and run their kitchens. Sayushi further inspired Malakai with tales of the wider realms and spelljammer ships.
During this period, Malakai won the horse, Dreamer from a Calishite merchant in a tavern on the outskirts of Berdusk. The horse was an intelligent cross-breed of Calimite and Chionthar and served him well during many of his travels. Dreamer was eventually gifted to Lord Aaron Lyonaler as part of the Order of the Radiant Heart's efforts to employ cavalry in their operations.
The genasi would also join an organisation known as the Whitewood Vanguard, serving under Captain Michael Dunn and Lieutenant Micar'mizzrym Iliathor. The Vanguard were a group of vigilante adventurers at odds with groups like the Zhentarim and Red Wizards. Taking part in many of their battles, he'd also be gifted a darksteel blade by one of his adventuring colleagues, a dwarf known as Doan Mardain. Malakai took to calling the blade, 'Storm Razor' and sought fruitlessly to strengthen it's power when learning of the presence of Duergar stockpiles of darksteel in the southern mines near Nashkel.
With the Time of Troubles nearing, Malakai then decided to leave the Heartlands and embark on his journey south in search of Zakhara, perhaps never to return north.
Knowledge of his affairs and adventures past this point remain unknown.
