Vesryn Tes'arl
The reasons for this have long ago been forgotten by most, kept only by the Elders of Fal'Addas, and even they shroud the truth from those who ask. Vesryn and his companions are outcasts, Elves who have over the centuries become twisted mockeries of their once grand species as a result of their own hubris and ambition.
Their skin has been blackened, their hair bleached, and their eyes twisted to gold.
Vesryn is a creature of deep hatred and determination. He sees other species, even his fellow elves, as little more than fodder for his own goals. His allies are tools to get him what he wants, even men who have served him for decades. The only beings he truly respects are those who joined him in the initial break from their kin. Though they are few in number, the other El'eth Surrah are among the few whom Vesryn will heed.
A being of ancient grudges and old hatred, Vesryn is purely motivated by ambitions that were birthed in a time of war and destruction. He and his companions see other species as a threat to the survival of Arethil, believing the destructive nature of Humanity, the industry of Dwarves, and the flaws of other races to be a lynch pin that will ultimately bring the world to ruin.
Vesryn and the El'eth Surrah believe that only through them the world can achieve harmony, by whatever means that takes.
Appearance
In his prime, Vesryn was considered a stunning example of his species. Even among other elves, he held many qualities that allowed him to stand out. His eyes were once a bright blue, his hair a vibrant blonde, and his skin full of life. He was taller than even many of his kin, and even in the midst of battle Vesryn seemed to hold the qualities every Elf held dear to there species.This of course all turned to shambles after the great Sin of the One Hundred.
After nearly two centuries of living beneath his corruption, Vesryn has become a mockery of his former kin. His skin has turned a dark gray, his hair a bleached white, and his once beautiful eyes are now a deep pit of despair. His body has not become decrepit but even more skinny, holding not a sign of fat anywhere on his entire body.
It is clear that over the years Vesryn has somehow become corrupted. He is a shade of his former glory, and some of the Elves that remember him from his prime see him as almost a ghost of his former self.
Despite this, these facts do not seem to bother Vesryn in the least. The man still carries himself in the same way as he always had, standing well above everyone else with only the most regal of bearings. His gaze bares more than a hint of death, and his tone is almost always outspoken. The very way Vesryn walks sings of death.
A fact he is well aware of.
Skills and Abilities
Vesryn is an exceptionally gifted warrior and mage. In his prime, during the great wars between Fal'Addas and Vel Anir he served as both a front line soldier as well as an officer within the Elven Armies.This has granted him a great amount of experience both in the ways of war and microcosms of battle. He is quite adept in the ways of sword-fighting as well as hand to hand combat, though tends to shy away from both unless he considers someone to be his equal.
In actual fact, Vesryn far prefers the use of his magics to the blade. Though he is a more than capable swordsman, the Dark Elf is far more gifted mage. The font of magic wrought by the ritual of the One Hundred allows Vesryn access to an incredible amount of magical energy. This energy can be used in dozens of ways, though all of them come at a cost.
The price of this magic is comes two fold. The first is that the font of power itself must be replenished from time to time through the life of sentient and aware beings. The greater the magical purpose of these beings, the greater the replenishing of the font.
The Second price is more difficult to describe, and is best displayed in Vesryn and his Companions themselves. The source of the Font, and the very fact of what it is means the magic is incredibly corrupting. Thought potent, the use of the Font's power is damaging to both body and soul, having lead directly to the degradation of the One Hundred Companions.
Within combat this cost means the Companions have to be careful with how they use their magic. Too much and it can kill them, not replenishing it frequently means it will forsake them. The Font of power cares not for the well being of the Companions, only that it is fed.
Though the Companions are able to sustain themselves through the Font itself, should anything ever separate the Companions from it or destroy the font itself, they would almost certainly die.
Biography & Lore
Though rarely spoken of even among the elders, over the millenia of their existence the Elves have lost many of their kin. Hundreds of their kind have walked away from Falwood and the great city within the trees. The reasons for this have been numerous, some refusing the leadership of the Elders, others seeking a greater understanding of the world at large.
Then there were those Elves who seek but one thing; power.
Vesryn Tes'arl was one of these elves.
A man that in his youth was hailed as a great warrior and mage, Vesryn grew up in a time of war between Fal'Addas and Vel Anir. This shaped him and his outlook on life. Vesryn was a loyalist to his people, and like many of his kin served bravely throughout the entire conflict.
He entered the battlefield with reckless abandon, pushing himself and his companions to the limit. He fought in every battle, every skirmish, every clash, and through them all his hate began to fester.
Like almost every elf, Vesryn saw himself as the better of Humanity. The war only deepened these feelings. He watched as the Humans burned the Falwood, saw as they trampled the earth and destroyed great swaths of the forest he fought so hard to protect. The idle disdain he felt towards humanity turned to a loathing hatred.
It was this hatred that would ultimately be his downfall.
As the wars between the two great cities continued to drag on, it became readily apparent that neither side was going to attain victory. There would be years where the Humans and their Dreadlord's pushed forward, and then years where the Elves of Fal'Addas would nearly stand at the gates of Vel Anir. Back and forth the battles went, each side losing thousands.
The pain of these wars eventually reached a crux, and despite the livid opposition of Vesryn and other military leaders the Elders of Fal'Addas attended a peace conference with the Seven Houses of Vel Anir.
Though strongly opposed by some Elves, the peace was ultimately supported by a majority of the species. Vel Anir and Fal'Addas declared a peace, knowing that if the war continued on it would eventually bring both nations to utter ruin.
Vesryn, of course, strongly opposed this.
He and the best of his men ranted and raved within the chambers of the great tree. They screamed at the Elders about what they saw as a mistake and betrayal, telling them that the Humans would bide their time, wait, and then strike again. He knew in his heart of hearts that Humanity could not be trusted, and even those with the best intentions were fools who would bring about naught but ruin.
The Elders silenced him and his allies, telling Vesryn that peace was necessary for the survival of both species. In anger he lashed out, drawing his blade within the Halls and earning himself an exile from Fal'Addas itself. His exile did nothing to temper the rage he felt inside of him, and as he saw the signing of the peace treaty go through he knew in his heart something would need to change.
It was half a decade before Vesryn acted.
Though peace had fallen, things were still far from stable. Much of the Falwood was still a burned ruin and the Humans still held military outposts along it's border. Things were tense, though relatively calm. It was then that Vesryn decided to strike.
In a quick campaign against what he perceived as his ancient foe, Vesryn and one hundred of his most trusted Companions struck out against humanity.
With lightning like precision the Hundred Companions struck at one of the Humans greater camps, attacking from all sides and causing absolute chaos. The Elves did not kill or slaughter, instead they harried and herded, pushing the hapless humans to the very center of their camp.
Then they committed their great sin.
Though many are unsure of how or even what Vesryn and his allies actually did, the Elves themselves claim that the Hundred Companions tore one of the divines from it's proper place. Using the humans as a mass sacrifice, the Companions ripped their heralded divine down to the earth, shaping and twisting it to their will. They forged the Divine into a Font of power, a singular well for all their strength.
In that moment the Companions formed a connection to this Font, a corrupted divine that would grant them strength on no conditions other than their own.
The Humans within the camp seemed to melt away, their bodies burned, their souls torn free of any existence. Power flooded through the companions, and with that power came price. Their skin blackened, their eyes changed, and their hair bleached. Once beautiful beyond imagination, Vesryn and his allies turned to little less than monsters in an instant.
Yet despite this, they had succeeded.
Connected now to their own font of magic, the Hundred Companions were stronger than they had ever been before. No longer reliant on the primal magics or those of the Divine, Vesryn and his allies saw themselves as standing above all their kin.
They would be the key to a new war against the hated Humans. Proudly, despite their sin, the Companions returned to Fal'Addas.
It was the animals of the Falwood that first noted their arrival, fleeing in terror as they stalked back through the forest. It was with a great despair that they entered the city itself, greeted by the Elders and dozens of their kind. The Elves watched their former kinfolk in horror, studying their ashen skin and the bleakness of their appearance.
Almost without hesitation the Elders commanded the guard of Fal'Addas to down the corrupted monsters, and within a minute of their return the Companions found themselves hunted.
The skirmish was a quick one, the Companions, confused by the actions of their kin, using their new found power to escape.
Vesryn was the first of them to realize what had happened, the cowardice that the Elders were showing. He spoke to his allies, telling them a truth that some were unwilling to hear. Their people had forsaken them, unable to see the sacrifice they had made in the name of victory. A great despair washed over the Companions, and a few ended their lives.
Those that remained however grew in determination. They believed their quest was one of justice and importance, and thus Vesryn and his companions embarked once again upon the path of war.
Then there were those Elves who seek but one thing; power.
Vesryn Tes'arl was one of these elves.
A man that in his youth was hailed as a great warrior and mage, Vesryn grew up in a time of war between Fal'Addas and Vel Anir. This shaped him and his outlook on life. Vesryn was a loyalist to his people, and like many of his kin served bravely throughout the entire conflict.
He entered the battlefield with reckless abandon, pushing himself and his companions to the limit. He fought in every battle, every skirmish, every clash, and through them all his hate began to fester.
Like almost every elf, Vesryn saw himself as the better of Humanity. The war only deepened these feelings. He watched as the Humans burned the Falwood, saw as they trampled the earth and destroyed great swaths of the forest he fought so hard to protect. The idle disdain he felt towards humanity turned to a loathing hatred.
It was this hatred that would ultimately be his downfall.
As the wars between the two great cities continued to drag on, it became readily apparent that neither side was going to attain victory. There would be years where the Humans and their Dreadlord's pushed forward, and then years where the Elves of Fal'Addas would nearly stand at the gates of Vel Anir. Back and forth the battles went, each side losing thousands.
The pain of these wars eventually reached a crux, and despite the livid opposition of Vesryn and other military leaders the Elders of Fal'Addas attended a peace conference with the Seven Houses of Vel Anir.
Though strongly opposed by some Elves, the peace was ultimately supported by a majority of the species. Vel Anir and Fal'Addas declared a peace, knowing that if the war continued on it would eventually bring both nations to utter ruin.
Vesryn, of course, strongly opposed this.
He and the best of his men ranted and raved within the chambers of the great tree. They screamed at the Elders about what they saw as a mistake and betrayal, telling them that the Humans would bide their time, wait, and then strike again. He knew in his heart of hearts that Humanity could not be trusted, and even those with the best intentions were fools who would bring about naught but ruin.
The Elders silenced him and his allies, telling Vesryn that peace was necessary for the survival of both species. In anger he lashed out, drawing his blade within the Halls and earning himself an exile from Fal'Addas itself. His exile did nothing to temper the rage he felt inside of him, and as he saw the signing of the peace treaty go through he knew in his heart something would need to change.
It was half a decade before Vesryn acted.
Though peace had fallen, things were still far from stable. Much of the Falwood was still a burned ruin and the Humans still held military outposts along it's border. Things were tense, though relatively calm. It was then that Vesryn decided to strike.
In a quick campaign against what he perceived as his ancient foe, Vesryn and one hundred of his most trusted Companions struck out against humanity.
With lightning like precision the Hundred Companions struck at one of the Humans greater camps, attacking from all sides and causing absolute chaos. The Elves did not kill or slaughter, instead they harried and herded, pushing the hapless humans to the very center of their camp.
Then they committed their great sin.
Though many are unsure of how or even what Vesryn and his allies actually did, the Elves themselves claim that the Hundred Companions tore one of the divines from it's proper place. Using the humans as a mass sacrifice, the Companions ripped their heralded divine down to the earth, shaping and twisting it to their will. They forged the Divine into a Font of power, a singular well for all their strength.
In that moment the Companions formed a connection to this Font, a corrupted divine that would grant them strength on no conditions other than their own.
The Humans within the camp seemed to melt away, their bodies burned, their souls torn free of any existence. Power flooded through the companions, and with that power came price. Their skin blackened, their eyes changed, and their hair bleached. Once beautiful beyond imagination, Vesryn and his allies turned to little less than monsters in an instant.
Yet despite this, they had succeeded.
Connected now to their own font of magic, the Hundred Companions were stronger than they had ever been before. No longer reliant on the primal magics or those of the Divine, Vesryn and his allies saw themselves as standing above all their kin.
They would be the key to a new war against the hated Humans. Proudly, despite their sin, the Companions returned to Fal'Addas.
It was the animals of the Falwood that first noted their arrival, fleeing in terror as they stalked back through the forest. It was with a great despair that they entered the city itself, greeted by the Elders and dozens of their kind. The Elves watched their former kinfolk in horror, studying their ashen skin and the bleakness of their appearance.
Almost without hesitation the Elders commanded the guard of Fal'Addas to down the corrupted monsters, and within a minute of their return the Companions found themselves hunted.
The skirmish was a quick one, the Companions, confused by the actions of their kin, using their new found power to escape.
Vesryn was the first of them to realize what had happened, the cowardice that the Elders were showing. He spoke to his allies, telling them a truth that some were unwilling to hear. Their people had forsaken them, unable to see the sacrifice they had made in the name of victory. A great despair washed over the Companions, and a few ended their lives.
Those that remained however grew in determination. They believed their quest was one of justice and importance, and thus Vesryn and his companions embarked once again upon the path of war.