“Only when we are free men all, will the People find the peace to prosper. Until then, by sword and by spell, Our Birthright, I will fight wherever Asmodeous’ influence holds.”
Growing up a slave in a household in Korvosa was not the life Maris and Shantlyr Hylindyr had in mind for their only son, Irithal (EAR-ith-ahl). Shantlyr was a Bladebound Magus of and ancient and proud line, and Maris was a peerless abjurer. Nevertheless, a fateful voyage recovering an Elvan treasure in Riddleport ended badly, with Shantlyr permanently lamed, and both sold into slavery. They were bought by Punrell Darkstone, a cleric of middle rank in Asmodeous’ temple in Korvosa. Using magical means, he forced them to work for him mercilessly in his estate home. Shantlyr was forced to train the armsmen of Lord Darkstone, and Maris was forced to help maintain the magical wards on the estate. It was in servitude that Irithal was born. Through help from the other slaves in the compound, Purnell never learned of this child, lest he be sold off, or worse, used in a consecration rite to the Lord of Pacts. The young elf scarcely knew he was enslaved- the hundred slaves on the compound were all elves, and a close knit community, despite high and wood elf intermingling. What they shared in servitude bonded them as much as blood.
The slaves dotted on Irithal, and determinedly taught him all things elvan, including the magical nature that is the birthright of all of the People. Once, on a rare evening when the Lord Darkstone was absent from the estate, Shantlyr even showed him the display case that held his Hylindyr Blade (Black Blade), the inheritance that the elvan Magus honestly never thought his son would live to obtain. The youth was fascinated, and begged of his father to teach him the family art. In secret, Shantlyr complied, against the objected fears of Maris. She feared that Purnell would catch and slay their son for demonstrating the gift of the Magus. Just before Irithal’s 125th birthday, her fear was realized, when (the now lich-priest) Purnell happened across Irithal helping an ailing housemaid. Purnell immediately seized and imprisoned the boy. He planned on sacrificing him to Asmodeous in exchange for a minor boon. In this, he chose to make a public spectacle of the event in front of his slaves, to further erode their morale.
The sacrificial rite began, with his enslaved elves forced to watch, horrified to the core of their souls. Shantlyr and Maris could not bear to witness this, and in a desperate act, called upon the magical nature of the People, and sacrificed themselves to the Magic, unintentionally casting a High Magic spell that broke the arcane shackles holding the elves hostage. A riot ensued, and Purnell was destroyed by his slaves. They even found and broke his phylactery. Irithal, suddenly freed, ran to his parents, but was too late: their souls passed on to Arvandor before he could reach them. As the fires of the estate burned, Irithal recalled his inheritance, the Hylindyr Blade. He tore through the compound, and found it sitting in the display case. Shattering the case with a nearby chair, he reached into the case, grasped the hilt, and recoiled in shock and pain. In his head, he heard a female voice whisper to him, “You are not yet worthy, though some day you may be. Take me from here, and gain my trust…” an instant before an electric jolt coursed through him. Belatedly he recalled that the family blade could only be wielded by a practiced Magus of proven might. Quickly wrapping the blade in a heavy tapestry, he fled back to the courtyard, to his parent’s side. He would have stayed there unmoving, except some of the other slaves forcibly carried him off, reminding him that they needed to escape before Asmodeous’ followers arrived to recapture the elves. All told, a group of 20 of the elves fled together into the wilderness.
The elves fled for about a week, living off the land, until they arrived in the town of Wolf’s Ear. This half- hidden village of lycanthropes allowed the elves a single night of rest, and from there the elves scattered further. Irithal traveled north with twin wood elvan rangers, Orinias and Killi Shaliti. Eventually they made their way to Falcon’s Hollow in Andoren, where the twin’s talents for hunting and fur trapping have allowed them to be tolerated by the local humans. Irithal learned to make clothes from the slaves in the Blackstone estate, and helped out by crafting the furs into salable clothes. In the past 5 years, they have made a home of sorts here. While the twins are content for now, Irithal believes that his path lies in following his father’s footsteps as a Magus. Specifically, he has decided that all priests of Asmodeous need to be destroyed, as well as slavers in general. He is only lacking a concrete reason to set out on his journey.
Irithal is a handsome elf, thin and willowy, like most of his kind. His walnut colored hair falls freely in cascades down to the middle of his back, and frame sapphire blue eyes. He is aware that he is attractive, but is unsure how to express feelings of attraction, as his upbringing lacked other elves his age. He always wears dove grey, the elvan color of morning. If he dons armor, then he wears a grey over tunic and loose pants. He has sworn that he will continue to do so until the Hylindyr Blade accepts him as its rightful inheritor. The young Magus is serious and slightly aloof, but as he overcomes his sheltered understanding of interaction, he will develop strong bonds of friendship, and unyielding faith in his companions.
The young elf views the inhabitants of Falcon’s Hollow as hardscrabble people, basically honest, but lacking any real education or ambition. Because of his enslaved background, he refuses to give in to most of the prejudices of the People against the other races, even as he clings to some inherently elvan traditions. He knows that Orinias and Killi retain much of their prejudices, but they were only enslaved less than 10 years. Because of this, he willingly interacts with the townsfolk on their behalf. The one hatred that he retains is of Asmodeous’ clergy and devils.
Unlike many Magus who honor Nethys, Irithal chooses to honor Yuelral, the Elvan Goddess of Magic, as her mother did. Typically her faithful revere magics of nature and raw, inherent ability, unlike the deliberate study that a Magus needs, but he feels he is correct in following his mother’s goddess. He wears an unpolished and unworked moonstone around his neck to honor them both, and has painted her symbol (3 overlapping crystals of pink, blue and green forming a star inside a golden circle) on his spellbook.
