LAST NAME: Evariset
ALIASES: To his parents, he is “Mally.” His peers at the academy dubbed him “Shiny” because he frequently walked around warded against their attacks. No one in his adult life uses either name. Doing so would immediately indicate a connection to his past.
FACTIONS: Red Wizards of Thay
APPEARANCE: Prominent bones show through his thin cheeks. His fingers are similarly thin, and the learned grace of a noble is visible in his slow, elegant movement. He is formal and friendly, although it seems slightly forced as though it doesn’t come naturally.
Red robes accented with black and gray, though not the traditional cut of his order, hang listlessly from his tall, narrow frame, and a red cloak billows behind as he walks. Careful observation shows that the cloak never quite touches the ground. No matter how he moves, it always remains in pristine condition a hair's width above the muck. Unless it is traveling by foot, a rabbit head pokes itself out of the center of his tunic, sniffing quietly at the world around him.
The focal gem of his staff glows with the same soft, golden intensity of the band resting atop his tattooed head. Looking closely, the runes on the circlet seem to shift subtly (if you speak Thayan, they reconfigure to read "Fortune founded, fate unbounded").
RACE: Human, Mulan
AGE: 29
HEIGHT: 5’11”
WEIGHT: 145
EYES: Splotchy, golden coronas circle his pupils as though warding against the steely blue seas surrounding them.
HAIR: His naturally dark blonde hair has been carefully removed every other day since his youth by his personal servant, a perk of the upper echelon of Thayan society. The gentle, even slope of his skull instead sports the traditional style of Mulani nobles: a series of tattoos. If given the opportunity to study his cranium, an unlikely situation, one can see strewn amid the runes writing in the ancient language of magic: "Glaurach" and "Shoonach" are in one piece, but the words "Drannor," "Rhynn," and "Unnohyr" have cracks built into their designs.
PERSONALITY PROFILE: Deliberate. Bides his time. Friendly and courteous on the surface, if not a touch condescending. Loyalty is very important to him. Believes in slow, calculated responses as opposed to rushed, instinctual reactions. Despite this, his temper occasionally gets the best of him.
PHYSICAL HEALTH: Not a perfect specimen of musculature, but he inherited his father’s robust immune system (STR 8 / CON 14). He can jog for ages when necessary but tries to avoid situations that call for running as they reeks of urgency and inferiority. His sleep is not as sound as it was but a few years ago, and he’s awoken occasionally by nightmares. He attributes this to his body and mind adjusting to being in an unfamiliar land.
DEITY: (Secret)
ALIGNMENT: (Secret)
BASE CLASS / PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT: Wizard / Red Wizard / (Secret)
PROFESSION: Merchant, Alchemist, Historian, Wizard for Hire
HABITS: Documenting his social interactions, licking his lips while he thinks, using the Weave to open doors (doesn’t like to touch doorknobs)
LIKES: Engaging in political discussions, walking Boyd (his Rabbit), collecting rain from around the world, studying mythals (especially interested in the Dracorage and various corrupted mythals)
DISLIKES: alcohol and its users (except for a single brand of Thayan wine he has imported from the homeland via his father), physical labor, running, being barred from entering somewhere, and feyfolk (unjustified by his past, but he finds their unruly nature off putting).
LANGUAGES:Common, Thayan, (Secret)
WEAPON OF CHOICE: My mind.
BACKGROUND:
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CHAPTER I - The Academy
Malanis hails from the mighty land of Thay. Born the son of Mejin Evariset, he enjoyed the privileged youth of a noble. His father was a merchant of some means and had proven himself an acquirer of valuable oddities on more than one occasion. Many of his business trips took him to the far realm of Calimshan. Though Malanis was not allowed to accompany him, the stories nurtured a subtle appreciation for the awesome power of a barren desert.
As was traditional in Eltabbar, Malanis was tested for arcane potential at a very young age. Showing a penchant for the arcane arts, his sixth birthday present was enrollment in the academy under the tutelage of Gethingar Levaroth, a mage of the school of abjuration. The young noble learned quickly and soon rose to the top of his class much to the chagrin of his fellow students. They regularly assaulted him, trying to assert themselves as superiors, which only served to further his skills and widen the gap in their test scores.
Some years later, Malanis was scheduled to dine with his father. He arrived at his childhood home just before dusk to see a carriage with armed guards outside the front door. Accustomed to visitors at all hours with strange procurement requests, he proceeded in the front door just as Samas Kul was taking his leave. The large man brushed past Malanis without slowing, nearly sending him sprawling to the floor. Malanis asked his father what such an important figure was doing here, but Mejin only frowned and apologized for having to reschedule their dinner plans. Without another word he grabbed his coat and hopped into the carriage with Samas. Malanis stood perplexed for a few minutes before returning to the academy.
A few days later, Malanis arrived for a group lesson on defending against the conjurative arts lead by his mentor, Gethingar. His instructor’s eyes seethed as he entered the classroom, but the elder mage remained silent. Malanis was called forward to aid in a demonstration, and he jaunted to the front of the room with a smile. He prepared himself in a stance he’d all but mastered to counter the incoming volley of arrows. Gethingar unleashed a savage assault upon Malanis, far more than he was capable of blocking. He writhed in pain on the ground as acid tipped arrows burrowed into his flesh. The other students looked on in horror but with a small sense of satisfaction. Gethingar stormed out of the room muttering to himself about the sins of the father, revenge, and “Kal’multanik,” whatever that may be. The lesson apparently over, the classroom slowly emptied, but not a soul stopped to check on the wounded apprentice.
CHAPTER II - The Betrayal
Just after his 24th birthday in 1347, Malanis’ class graduated from the Thayan academy as full-fledged Red Wizards. It was a joyous day in his father’s house for there hadn’t been a Red Wizard in the family for nearly a century. Sadly, the happiness did not last. Late that night, guards came to the estate and arrested Malanis on suspicion of the murder of Antek and Lee’Voth Valgon. They presented a piece of cloth ripped from a vestment of some sort. One of the many diviners had pointed them in Malanis’ direction. They searched his room and discovered one of his cloaks had a hole the same shape and size as their scrap. Malanis was as confused and upset as his family as he’d been wearing that cloak all day and hadn’t been anywhere near the Valgon estate. He was taken into custody to away a swift and brutal trial.
His father visited only once while he was in the cell. He called in some favors and pulled what strings his modest fortune could to free Malanis. He’d managed to get the evidence “lost,” but enough people learned of the scandal over the last couple days that Malanis would not be safe near the Thaymount. An arrangement had been made with Samas Kul to send Malanis to one of the distant enclaves to avoid further persecution. He gathered a few important possessions and left that night not saying a word to anyone but his parents.
CHAPTER III - The Journey
There wasn’t much time to process what happened until he was safely outside of Thay’s borders. Gethingar’s rage was obviously a result of his father’s sudden trip with Samas Kul… but where had they gone? What did they do? He wished he’d asked these questions before leaving and cursed his dim foresight. Measures would need to be taken to make contact once he had settled into the enclave in Calimport. He’d finally be able to see the vast nothingness of the Calim desert his father had talked about so often. A small measure of excitement filled his thoughts that quickly gave way to dread. Gethingar would surely seek revenge on his family. With no wizards there to protect them, they would have to rely on his political connections, and those are tenuous at best in the cutthroat environment of the capital.
His caravel made it's way downstream on the River Lapendrar to Escalant where he boarded a larger ship bound for Arrabar on the southwester side of the Sea of Fallen Stars. From there a caravan took him west to Tethyr and ultimately down through the desert to Calimport. He hopped off the wagon and wandered through the foreign streets looking for sovereign soil. It was in the bazaar that he was accosted by one of his former classmates and Gethingar’s favorite pupil after Malanis’ “betrayal” of his master. He slew the boy with a carefully placed jolt of electricity to the heart, but knew this was only a sign of things to come…
The enclave provided no sanctuary as he could feel the eyes watching him for a moment of weakness. A time to strike. His skin tingled from the memory of the acid arrows. This way no way to live, so Malanis set off once again to the north. The further from Thay, and Gethingar's wicked reach, the better. He settled on Baldur's Gate as his new home. The trip north was short, and upon arrival he found no sideways glances, no knives waiting to strike, no spells waiting to be flung. The Baldurian enclave's recent troubles seemed to exempt it from the petty politics of his home. Here, he decided, I will begin again. Here I shall make my name.
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GOALS:
- Prove his innocence and be allowed to visit Thay once more
- Exact revenge on Gethingar for his cruelty and treachery
- Gain a reputation in the Baldurian enclave, and rise to the rank of circle leader, or perhaps even Khazark, to give himself some political leverage
- Learn what “Kal’multanik” means and how it relates to his father and Samas Kul
- Obtain an apprentice
- Be involved in the creation of a mythal
- Help Zoey Elenesse discover the source of her eldritch power
PLOT HOOKS:
- Gethingar's apprentices come looking for him
- Malanis' father sends letters/sendings about goings on back home
- A development in Antek and Lee'Voth's murders solidifies Malanis' innocence... or guilt
- Where did his father and Samas Kul go that night? What did they do?
- What is "Kal’multanik?"
- Anything else that might generate quality RP! Just run a rough draft by me. I'm very open to other people contributing to his narrative