Iktovian
Iktovian is a half-elven sell-sword from Elbion who has been roaming the lands of Arethil, offering his services to the highest bidder. A scoundrel and a con-man, he has a is wanted under various aliases in various parts of Arethil, though being as smart as he is sneaky, he has so far stayed ahead of the law.
Biography & Lore
The son of a noble born high-elf from Fal'Addas, and the youngest son of a merchant lord from Elbion, Iktovian was a child of two worlds. Raised for the most part in Fal'Addas, he would make early trips to Elbion with his father, who would pick up goods, news, and favors in the human city before returning to the elven domain to be with his family and settle down to trade there for the rest of the year. It was during this time that he developed a fascination for the human world. So when his father finally decided to settle down in Fal'Addas for good, Iktovian decided to leave his parents and see the world for himself, starting with Elbion. Barely into his twenties, and having recently discovered an affiliation for the magical arts, he started by enrolling in the College of Elbion.For a few years he was content with life in Elbion, learning what he could while at the College, but having been a restless child he was even more so now. Seeking more thrills in life, he left the College, and began traveling. Over the years he wandered from city to city, town to town, village to to village. Ultimately he fell in with a traveling troupe, learning how to sing and play a fiddle while there, but more importantly also learning many secrets of the trade from Garth, a thief who travelled with the troupe. Over the years his wanderings with the troupe took him to various parts of Arethil, ultimately ending with an unfortunate misadventure on Cerak At'Thul. Helping Garth pull off another job while the troupe was performing there, he was caught. Garth, seeing this, turned his back on his protege and fled. The troupe, hearing about this, promptly packed up and left as well, not wanting any trouble and placing their own necks above Iktovian's.
Iktovian himself would not learn of any of this till years later, when he finally managed to escape from the gladiatorial pit he was thrown into by his captors. For the years that passed in between he fought and killed to stay alive, honing his skills in the martial arts, both mundane and arcane. Having learnt the basics at the College but never having really preferred it, he found himself in a situation where Empathy played a pivotal role in his survival. Tapping into the fury of the other gladiators and the desires of the visitors, Iktovian slowly began growing as an Empath, his skills improving with every fight he participated in. Ultimately he was had learned enough to use his powers to escape the clutches of the half-orc warlord who had been his patron. On the way out he managed to finish the job he had started with Garth all those years ago, breaking into the warlord's safe and stealing the gold and items held within.
Over the course of the next few months he slowly gathered enough information to learn just what had happened on the night he was captured, how Garth had betrayed him and how the troupe had turned their back on him. That realization, along with the lingering effects of the degree to which he had used Empathy to escape broke something within him. Gone was the naive boy n who had wanted to see the world, replaced with a cynical, self-centered man who cared only for his own pleasures, willing to burn the entire world if it came in his way.
Personality
Iktovian is a rogue, a self-centered cynic who cares for little besides himself. A laughing face, a playful tone, and quick wit hide a simmering anger that burns deep within him. Anger at the betrayal by those he trusted, anger at what it cost him, and anger at the revenge that fate has still denied him. He is a man driven by his desires, acting on whims and fancies, doing what he wants to do rather than whet he ought to do. He can go to almost any lengths to satisfy his desires, be it killing a noble to spend a night with his wife or burning down an entire city to get the pleasure of settling a grudge. On the surface though he appears to be the courteous, charming, chivalrous young man who had wondered out from Elbion in search of adventure.Skills and Abilities
A skilled swordsman and mage, over the course of his life Iktovian has picked up a varied set of skills that has served him well as a wandering sell-sword. But while the swashbuckling swordsman is the cover he uses to travel around the world, his dealings as a thief are what keep his pockets filled and expensive fancies satisfied. Capable of extreme stealth, he is equally dexterous with his hands and feet, using these talents to climb up wines, sneak past guards, and break into safes. He is also a good singer and has some skill with a fiddle. His exploits as a thief have earned him one of his most prized possessions, a cloak of invisibility. Normally a simple, yet regal looking, cloak, when fed his blood the cloak grants hides him from the sight of others. While he hasn't been able to identify the spell that drives the cloak, he knows enough to know that the spell is fading with each usage and will ultimately vanish altogether.Threads