"Nine" (Nine Lives), wild (kagonesti) elf

[Andre]

(I'm sure rogueserpent would like me to point out he wrote this at 6am in the morning thus the spelling errors - they don't matter to me in the slightest mind you I just like the story )

UPDATE - With Nine's permission his (now dead) tribe is named the Wolf Runners

BAckground -

Nine obtained his name while always seemingly avoiding depth in a number of ways.

One memorable time is when his tribe lived in a cave system and there was an earthquake and still just a new born him and his father were crushed by fallen rocks. It took days for them to be dug out and though his father died instantly, he was still alive. Another another memorable time is after his tribe had moved to a tree system of homes, very high up, almost 100' he was dropped during an epic storm. Upon landing his elders found him conscience albeit stumbling around dazed but of no broken bones. His name fit him well as a young explorer whoalways had a knack for getting him self into and out of dangerous encounters while exploring the wilds alone, a trait he has always enjoyed regardless of its dangers.


One day though after returning from one of these said xcursions he found his tribes home in the trees ablaze. His family, friends and elders were fallen from there homes and being slaughtered by an entire army of ogres and wild human nomads. He was captured after fighting and killing off 6 or 7 of the raiders. A leader in the army didnt kill him becausehe showed such an incredible skill of battle and swordsmanship as such a young boy.

9 was enslaved over the next twenty or so years, forced to do the dirty work of his masters or face his usual daily beatings.
He was enetertainment during some nights as he was forced to defend himself in life or death battles between him and other captives.

After a few years of this he finally realized that to win his way out of this situtation he would have to stop fighting against
the grain and slowly one his masters trust. His master was a nomadic wizard of sorts who wore an amulet tat could control ogres, hence the ogre army that follwed this nomadic tribes every whims. One night when Altazaar ( his master ) was a sleep and finally ree of his nightly chaining because of a rare drunken celebration by Altazaar he stole his masters clothes. A dark green cloak and dark green boots. 9 new the powers these items posseded and used them as he stealthely escaped into the night.

He wandered for days barely surviving multiple encounters alone and built such a huge lead on his former slave tribe they were forced to give up. Eventually 9 found refugee and peace in Solace. Solace became his new home and his new family...

Personality traits -

He carries many of the traits of someone that was abused. But through those tough lessons and through his hardened exterior he has learned that inner peace still comes from saving/helping others. He tends to be the glue to a party and the calm in a storm. Trying to make sure everything around him operates in harmony, as such he respects the harmonious world of the natures around him as much as his own life.


Apperence -

He is slightly shorter than most Elves but instantly noticebly built bigger and ripped to the core (RATHER muscular looking). His life never was of the lazy.

He worked hard in slacery and it shows. Even to this day he trains daily to keep his prowess and physical shape in top form to try to escape the bloody memories of the days of his enslavement.

He has dark brown hair of about shoulder length and dark bnrown eyes5'10 tall, 165 pounds. Dark circles surround his eyes because of the sleepless nights he has in rembrance of his torture. He also has a darker than normal complexion from the many years serving in the desert for that nomadic tribe. \ He is ruggedly handsome (14 Appearance).

He is rather mysterious looking considering he always has on his trusty dark green and brown cloak, with the hood pulled most of the time.

[darkalloy]

Yay more slaves.... Rin is getting hit alot I feel it.

[rogueserpent]

I thought of a personality that matches this character that you could relate more to as far as daily persona.

Chingachgook - from the Last of the Mohicans movie/books.

[Andre]

EDIT AND UPDATE not familiar with chingachgook .. did a google search and did find this little bit

www.novelguide.com/mohicans/characterprofiles.html

Chingachgook: Chingachgook is the last of the great Mohican chiefs. His name means “Big Serpent,” or “Great Snake,” which according to Hawkeye means that he understands the “windings and turnings” of human nature. Chingachgook is a reliable ally and friend of Hawkeye, capable in battle, stern, and always remaining dignified and calm, even in the most dangerous situations. He takes part in the final battle with the Hurons, only to see his son Uncas killed by Magua.

[Andre]

Also you said you needed the whole age thing cleared up for elves?

Elves live a LONG time so they age much less quickly than humans do... check out this link

www.d20srd.org/srd/description.htm#age

And see the tables on the right with the random starting ages and what not... if you were human the normal starting age for you would be anywhere from 16 to 21 years old (though even that's not cast in stone, I certainly wouldn't say no to anyone wanting to play an older or younger PC).

However as an elf your starting age is very different... anywhere from 116 to 146 years old (which represents the 16 to 21 year old "age range" in humans.. that is an elf anywhere from 116 to 146 years old is the same as a human 16 to 21 years old).

Assuming the starting age of 16 to 21 years old in human terms works for your character concept, go ahead and pick an age from 116 to 146 years.

Now you mentioned in your bio he was enslaved for 20 years... lets add say ... six years after that ? ... to represent the years he's been free, right up until the beginning of the campaign, which is the year 351 AC.. so we could say he's been a free man from 345 up to 351 AC and he was enslaved from 325 to 345 AC?

However your bio also says he was enslaved ever since he was a young child... do you want to say he was enslaved for maybe 80 years? The wizard might be a half-elf, half-demon, half-devil ... someone who looks human but who has a long life span....

Let me know what your thoughts are ....

[rogueserpent]

He was about 80 y/o ( a young elven boy when he was taken, like 17 in human terms ). He freed himself about 20 years later. Not much time has passed between then and the beginning of the campaign. 5-10 years.

[Andre]

Ok so let's say he was 80 years old when he was taken as a slave, freed himself at the age of 100 (20 years later) ... and let's say that was 10 years prior to the start of the campaign if that's ok? That would put him at 110 years old at the start of the campaign

[rogueserpent]

I have him at 115 but it doesnt matter lol. 110 it is!

[Andre]

Ok cool ... also is it ok if he's from Southern Ergoth? That's where most of the wild elves live, in the forests there... also if it's ok with you , since his home was there it would also be where he was taken prisoner by the wizard and his ogres ?

Southern Ergoth

Capital: Daltigoth (ogres), Qualimori (qualinesti),
Silvamori (silvanesti), Zhea Harbor (humans)

Population: 221,739 ( human 36%, ogres
30%, Silvanesti elves 20%, Kagonesti elves 12%, half-ogre
1%, other 1%)

Government: Dictatorship (ogres), monarchy (elves),
republic (humans)

Religion: Zeboim (Stormdancers)

Trade: Fish, fur, grains, herbs, spices, fruit

Alignment: LG, LN, LE, CE, CN

Southern Ergoth is a land with greatly varied
geography. Its verdant southern reaches grow cold during
the winter, only to blossom in the spring and summer. The
thick forests, separated by swift flowing rivers, are full of
wildlife. Sylvan glades are hidden from view, and magical
animals and creatures are said to dwell among them.
To the east, across the southern arm of the Last Gaard
Mountains, the trees thin and prairie lands dominate the
landscape. Horses, cattle, and other herd animals wander
the plains, occasionally hunted by wildcats and wolves. To
the north of these lands is a great bay that lies at the center
of the island. The ogres named the bay “Morgash,” which
means Bay of Darkness, for the mist that often rises from
the shore in the early morning and night, blotting out the
stars.

Following the shore of the Morgash to the west and
around to the north, the lands become more rugged
as they pass through the foothills of the Last Gaard
Mountains. Winds coming down the mountains across
the Bay of Darkness carry rains from the south out to the
Straights of Algoni, leaving the lands of the north dry and
barren. Stubborn grasses cling to the shores of the bay and
east coast of the island, making for good farming land.
North of Morgash, the northern reaches of the island
are dry and barren. The precious few ground springs in
the region are jealously guarded by the human and ogre
barbarians of the region. Patches of savannah are scattered
along the north coast, where small fishing villages and
pirate ships make port.

West of the Last Gaard Mountains, the temperatures
are mild from warm sea breezes. Green grasses and verdant
forests flourish here, making it one of the idyllic settings
on the island.

Life & Society

Southern Ergoth is a land of harsh climes that nonetheless
attracts diverse groups of people. The island is split
between ogres, elves, and nomadic and civilized humans.
South of the Bay of Darkness, and to the east of the Last
Gaard Mountains, the ogres dominate. Many ogre tribes
are settled in different territories across the island. Some
have set up crude farms and collect herd animals from
the plains. Others have taken over the ruins of settlements
along the southern shores of the Morgash, where they take
crude boats out into the water and cast makeshift nets
for fishing. In the city of Daltigoth, the ogres barter with
the surrounding tribes and survive on raiding the camps
of their enemies and the humans of the east coast. Life
is centered around finding food and fulfilling their base
desires.

Along the east coast of the island are a number of
human settlements. These settlements owe their allegiance
to the Empire of Ergoth. They are the last surviving
evidence of the Ergothian culture on the island. The walled
city of Zhea Harbor, directly across the bay from Daltigoth,
is the largest city in the east. It is an impressive city, built in
much the same style of the old imperial city of Daltigoth,
only not as large. Located at the mouth of the New Sea,
with deep waters that can accommodate a fleet of large
ships, Zhea Harbor has become a rather wealthy port city.
This in turn supports the other human settlements in the
region. A small army, obedient to the Emperor, makes
certain the troublesome ogre tribes of Southern Ergoth
keep their distance from the lands of the east.

North of the human lands are the badlands. The
northern wastelands are populated with wild ogre tribes
and barbaric clans of humans. These two factions war with
one another over the precious resources of the region.

Warfare is
commonplace,
and only the
strongest
survive. The
humans here
are chaotic and
unpredictable.
Unlike the
Ackalites of
Northern
Ergoth, these
barbarians are
truly primal
and savage in
nature.
West of
the Last Gaard
Mountains, the
Kagonesti tribes
rule the forests.
For hundreds
of years, they
have protected
the west from
rampaging ogre
tribes. They
spend their days
as they have for
eons, hunting,
fighting, and
living from day to day off the richness of the land. To the
north of the forests, is a regioin claimed by Solamnia. The
woods known as the Southern Forests and surrounding
lands come under the watchful eye of the Solamnic
Knights. They maintain an outpost in this area and a
handful of ships anchored near the town of Welmet. For
the most part, it is a safe place to live with few worries
about what is happening in the east.


Regional History

Once, Ergoth was a strong, influential, and united empire
on the western edge of Ansalon, rivaled in greatness only
by the city of Istar. The Empire of Istar and the Ergothian
Empire were long standing enemies. Human slaves who
escaped ogre masters founded Ergoth. The determined
humans prospered in their free land. At the empire’s
prime, the capital city of Daltigoth set the standard
for trade rates with other major cities. However, strife
among the empire’s people and political leaders lead to its
downfall long before the Cataclysm. As with most empires,
the Ergothian leaders became tyrannical, lording their
power over their people. This uncompromising political
view led to the Rose Rebellion, in which Vinas Solamnus
and the Army of Ergoth joined rebel forces and led an
attack against Daltigoth. Emperor Emann Quisling was
forced to surrender and accept Solamnus’s terms to grant
the eastern
regions
independence.
The lands
surrounding
Daltigoth
remained
loyal to the
emperor, but
the empire’s
dominance
dwindled.
When the
Cataclysm
struck, massive
earthquakes
broke most
of Ergoth
free from the
continent.
In the space
between the
newly formed
islands of
Ergoth, the
Turbidus
Ocean rushed
in and formed
the Straits
of Algoni,
consuming
all settlements and castles in that area. The remnants of
the Ergothian Empire were two islands, Northern and
Southern Ergoth.
The Fall of Istar brought about great tidal waves
that washed through the lowlands of the empire, killing
thousands. By this time, the reign of the empire had ended.
War with Solamnia and Istar had proven costly, and civil
unrest was commonplace. Young Gwynned VII ordered a
halt to the fighting in Solamnia less than a year before the
Cataclysm. Most of the armies were lost when Ergoth was
separated from the rest of Ansalon. Unable to maintain
the peace in Daltigoth, Gwynned VII was assassinated
shortly after the Cataclysm and rival factions fought for
the crown. Although in the years following the Cataclsym,
the humans of Ergoth maintained control of Daltigoth,
their struggles only made it that much easier for ogre
clans, which had been building up strength in the Last
Gaard Mountains, to invade. Those humans that were able
to escape fled further east to the walled cities of Zhea and
Fairkep. These cities weathered multiple attacks by the
ogres for nearly a decade, before the ogres began fighting
amongst themselves. While forced to survive with the
threat of the ogres, the humans began to farm the lands
just outside the city walls. Eventually, small villages formed
and some trade began again.

In the early Age of Despair, ships from Northern
Ergoth came to find what had become of their empire
in Southern Ergoth. What they found was a city full of
ogres. Some of the ships were destroyed as they pulled
into the docks. As the fleet prepared to leave, some ships
from Zhea Harbor made their way across the Morgash and
hailed them. From that point on, the Ergothian colonies
of Southern Ergoth pledged their loyalties to the emperor
and the empire once again. Unfortunately, being so far
away from the new capital of Gywnned, the ruling class
of Southern Ergoth acted as little more than petty despots
and ineffectual tyrants.

To the west of the Last Gaard Mountains, in the rich
forests, the Wilder Elves survived the waters brought by the
Cataclysm. They fought against both humans and ogres to
keep their forests free of any outside influence. When ships
from Sancrist reached the western shores nearly a decade
later, the Kagonesti did not turn them away, but they
watched them carefully for signs of invasion. The knights
did not appear to be threatening so the elves left them
to their own devices. When the knights started making
explorations in the forests of the south, the wild elves
made it abundantly clear they were not welcome, and the
knights did not press the issue. The Solamnic Knights set
up an outpost near the village of Welmet and began to run
a small number of ships from Welmet to Cristyne, Sancrist,
Northern Ergoth, and the Solamnic mainland.

[rogueserpent]

This was something I hadnt figured out but in my mind his village was small and maybe near their main village/city but far enough away to be its own place. So somewhere relative to there is fine. You can adjust that accordingly, thanks.

[Andre]

Ok cool ...