Mendel
Full name:Mendril Oakenshadow
Full name:Mendril Oakenshadow
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Background:
Mendel was born among the scattered sylvan villages of the High Forest, raised beneath ancient boughs where stone was rare and silence was valued. From a young age, he was trained in the ranger’s path - as most wood elves are - learning to move lightly through undergrowth, to read the forest’s signs, and to defend elven lands from those who would despoil them. Agile, strong, and patient, Mendel grew into a capable woodsman who preferred the honest simplicity of nature and small communities over the press and permanence of cities. Large stone structures, especially those imposed upon forests, unsettled him; to Mendel, they felt like scars upon living land.
Humble by nature and sparing with words, Mendel listens far more than he speaks. He weighs the views of others carefully, though he rarely engages in long conversations unless necessity demands it. Like many of the Tel’Quessir, he chose to ignore the Elven Retreat, remaining behind to guard the woodlands and the scattered elven settlements of Faerûn. This choice shaped him deeply, opening him to cooperation with other races - particularly humans and dwarves - whom he came to respect through shared hardship. Yet his history left scars as well: Mendel harbors a deep hatred for orcs, whom he holds responsible for the fall of Eaerlann, and trusting a half-orc comes difficult to him, no matter their deeds.
Though trained as a ranger, what truly defines Mendel is not a spiritual bond with nature, but rather an unyielding pull toward the unknown and untamed. That restless curiosity is what eventually drove him from the village of his youth and onto the roads of Faerûn. He wandered widely, never lingering too long in one place, sustaining himself by escorting merchant caravans, tracking missing travelers, and lending his skills where the wild pressed too closely upon civilization.
His path eventually carried him to the Sword Coast, escorting a caravan southward. It was in Nashkel that Mendel met Laisren, a meeting that would quietly but profoundly alter the course of his life. From Laisren, Mendel learned that skill alone was not enough - that one must fight for a reason. He was reminded of his duties as a Tel’Quessir, and perhaps more importantly, of what it meant to belong somewhere. For a time, that sense of home was found in Doron Amar. Fate, however, proved unkind; circumstances forced Mendel, Laisren, and their companions back onto the road, searching once more for a place in the North they could truly call their own.
In battle, Mendel favors swift, evasive, hit-and-run tactics - striking hard and vanishing before the enemy can respond. Since his arrival on the Sword Coast, however, Laisren has tempered these instincts with more disciplined and organized forms of combat. Even so, those who fight alongside Mendel know him as eager - sometimes too eager - to rush into danger, not always pausing to consider the consequences if the cause feels just.
Mendel’s spontaneity, reserved demeanor, and difficulty with social norms have earned him a variety of labels from those who do not know him. Some call him strange or arrogant; others, judge him more cruelly. Such judgments mean little to him. Mendel has long learned that understanding is rare, and that the forest - unlike people - never misnames what it sees.
Unbeknownst to many, Mendel’s path has also drawn the quiet attention of the Harpers. His travels, his choices, and his willingness to act in defense of balance and freedom have marked him as a useful - if unconventional -agent. He does not seek recognition, nor does he relish intrigue, but when the cause aligns with his principles, Mendel answers the call.
Ever moving between road and woodland, duty and solitude, Mendel remains what he has always been: a watcher at the edge of the wild, guarding what still stands, and searching - perhaps unknowingly -for a place that feels like home once more.
For a time, Mendel chose to step away from the Sword Coast altogether. Drawn by love rather than duty, he spent several quiet years with his wife, Nai, far from the roads and conflicts that had defined his life. There, in seclusion and simplicity, he trained in the disciplined ways of the monk - not to abandon his path as a ranger, but to temper it. The training taught him restraint where once there was impulse, reflection where there had been restlessness, and patience sharpened into resolve. Those years grounded him, deepening his bond with Nai and clarifying his purpose: that love, nature, and duty need not stand in opposition. When Mendel eventually returned to Sword Coast, he did so not as a man fleeing responsibility, but as one who understood it more fully - ready once more to serve the balance of the wild and answer the quiet call of the Harpers.
The Three Pillars of Mendel’s Duty
| Pillar | Organization | Focus |
| The Shadow | The Harpers | Fighting tyranny and maintaining the political balance of the Sword Coast. |
| The Soul | The Green Enclave | Preserving the natural order and the "Old Ways" of the druidic circles. |
| The Blood | En Dharasha Everae | His sacred duty as a protector of the En Darasha Everae in the Misty Forest. |
Notable Items
Whisperfang: The Silver Sisters
"Life is a circle; these blades simply complete it."
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Item Type: Twin Alchemical Silver Kamas Pillars: The Shadow & The Blood Craftsmanship: Star-Iron core with Silver plating |
- Moon-Dampened Edge: Grants a bonus to Hide and Move Silently. The blades eat the light, allowing the Ranger to remain a ghost in the mists of the Sword Coast.
- Villi’s Vigilance: Grants a bonus to Spot. Attuned to the "unnatural," the blades vibrate in the presence of shifters and undead, sharpening Mendel's focus.
- The Winter’s Bite (1d4 Negative Damage): Represents the inevitability of decay. A strike from Whisperfang saps the life-force of the foe, leaving behind a frost-rimed, darkened wound that refuses to heal easily.
- The Pure Strike: As silvered weapons, they bypass the defenses of lycanthropes and supernatural threats, fulfilling Mendel’s Harper duty to hunt the darkness.
The Verdant Pulse
"A rhythmic echo of the High Forest, beating across the miles."
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The Verdant Pulse |
Appearance: A single, crystalline leaf that appears to be carved from emerald glass, though it feels like warm living tissue to the touch. It is worn simply on a cord of braided leather.
The Connection: In the High Forest, these artifacts are known to fall only from the trees that have witnessed a sacred union. This specific leaf is tuned to the life-force of Nai.
Properties & Lore:
- The Soul’s Echo: When Mendel presses the leaf, he sends a "pulse" of warmth through the Weave to Nai. It is a silent message that transcends words: I am here. I am whole.
- The Living Glow: The crystalline structure glows with a soft, rhythmic light when Nai is thinking of him or responding with her own pulse. It acts as a compass for his heart.
- Instinct of the Bound (Skill Bonuses): The leaf serves as a constant, subconscious tether to the natural world and the one he loves. This spiritual resonance sharpens Mendel’s senses, granting him a heightened Spot for intruders and a preternatural Survival instinct in the wild. When he moves, the leaf helps him harmonize with the forest’s own rhythm, making his efforts to Hide and Move Silently feel as natural as a shifting shadow.
- The Anchor: To those who ask "Where is Nai?", Mendel offers no answer but a hand placed over this token. It is the tether that keeps the Harper-Villi from drifting too far into the shadows of the Sword Coast.
