Character Backgrounds

Ai Shan hails from an archipelago in the southern polar region. His people are hardy, self-reliant, seafaring warriors used to living off the sea with a few groups engaging in outright piracy on the sea and the occasional coastal raid. His people are mostly dour and humorless but Ai Shan isn't a typical tribal hunter. He loves to tell a tall tale and doesn't mind mixing with other races and peoples. He visited Agartha numerous times over the years in his youth selling skins, furs, meat, blubber and some ill-gotten merchandise. The attraction of the city and it's opportunities outside the tribe drew him in, so he took his giant sabre and harpoons and started taking jobs in the city.

Ai Shan has spent the last several years as an adventurer and mercenary for a number of groups who have a presence in Agartha, not all of which are, strictly speaking, legal. On his first voyage he was hired by a group of pirates known as the Blood Brothers to help heist a cargo galleon moored for the night at a coastal town. The pirates (and, by extension, Ai Shan) put the crew of the ship and its escort to the sword, and proceeded to murder the townsfolk before burning the entire settlement to the ground. They decided to strip the young Ai Shan of his belongings and left him alone with the ashes of the ravaged town. He made his way along the shore until he was able to steal a small sailboat, vowing to one day buy his own ship, become his own sailing master, and have his revenge on the Blood Brothers.

On his neck is a large sharktooth medallion he considers his lucky charm, and he has more stories about how he obtained the tooth than there are grains of sand on the shore.

He is a wild, prideful and ruthless man, qualities befitting a tribal hunter who lives off the land and sea in a region rife with frost giants and strange deadly creatures who prowl the icy landscape.

He has no quarrel with this Shimazu, but attacking a mountain fortress like his is too attractive a target to pass up...

Abandoned by her human mother on a tiny island in a distant sea, the infant Cassandra was picked up by some pirates with a soft heart. From the pirates she learnt foul language, how to swab a deck, and some detachment towards life and death.

When she was a young teenager, her ship was taken by the Prince's Health, a ship of Agartha's Merchant Fleet, but her age and sex spared her the gallows. The ship's chaplain saw spiritual promise in the young genasi, and in between her working the galley and (yes) swabbing the deck of that ship, he tried to excite her interest and devotion for the Lord Bahamut. But Cassandra couldn't make the jump from cutthroat pirate to lawful good devotee, always feeling more of a connection to the sea itself and all the varied life and death it contained.

At port in the distant town of Bluehaven, the ever pragmatic brother Campbell went ashore and found a more suitable tutor for the girl - a half elf coastal druid by the name of Atharia. Brother Campbell gave Cassandra leave to train with Atharia, on the proviso that she would serve the Fleet in the future as a healer. Atharia and Cassandra honoured the promise, though Atharia sees Cassandra's role more as a protector of the seas and its creatures. Cassandra has fulfilled both roles and more, her unusual abilities as a genasi leading her to perform as anything from a lifeguard to a diplomat to aquatic creatures.

However, there are those in the Merchant Fleet who feel uncomfortable about having someone of elemental parentage and piratical background on board, and Cassandra suspects it may be this party which has pushed her forward to represent the Merchant Fleet on the current mission - to leave the sea and venture into the mountains of all places. However, Cassandra is ever philosophical about the turns of life, and sees she may yet be able to fulfill some of her interests on this mission: Mountain streams and lakes to tend to, not to mention her adventuring companions who by the look of them will soon need her healing ministrations.

Urki "Lightweight" Clearspirit, I'm a 105 year old gnome cleric in search for something new. Formerly the lead healer and medicine administrator to a guild of dragon hunters in Dragonwick. The Dragosense Company in Dragonwick hunted dragons in the hills near the town and they would use nearly every part for trade. Hearts for blood magic, bone for ornate weapons, scales for light armor, meat and fat for cooking or alchemy, eyes and teeth for jewelry. The revenue the guild was making was a decent sum and when I asked for a raise I was scoffed at.

My god, Olladra, has forsaken me, I have searched high and low for her and found that my connection with her seems to have been severely harmed. I can still heal with all of the effectiveness of past days but I no longer feel the warmth and comfort when I do. After a lot of contemplation and months of feeling like a second rate employee I decided to leave Dragosense. So when I saw the chance I took 600g and a dragon tooth necklace and fled during a mission.

I got to another town after fleeing several jarring experiences. Hiding from a group of trolls, poisoned a rabid giant, and a group of bandits were about to shake me down before I fled in to a swamp in the dead of night. I got to the next city and got a cloak and some supplies and I rushed to Agartha. I had heard Oroboros was hiring and I knew I had a marketable skill. Hoping this company will let me spread my wings more than the last I decided to test fate and see what they could offer me.

I left my brother Alwyn, father Orbryn, mother Ellyjoe, and 22 year old son Coosk in Dragonwick. I've framed my leaving the city as if I went missing in action. I don't think I can ever go back to Dragonwick. My family thinks I'm dead I think it is better this way because my other option is being disowned. Especially with my son, I couldn't face him if he found out I lied. We were incredibly close and he was just coming into his adult interests. We would do target practice together, him with his bow and me with my light crossbow. We could spend hours doing it. We even fletched our own arrows and bolts but his were always a bit higher quality than mine. I may assume another identity in the future to check-in on him but I don't expect to speak with him again. His mother fled Dragonwick just after he was born, a short high-elvish woman she was not happy to have birthed a half-gnome half-elf boy and went back to her home. Coosk has taken well to his Elvish side and enjoys nature more than I did when I was younger.

49 years with Dragosense was just too much without them showing any type of appreciation. I can't even count how many times I've kept those imbecile fighter types from death. No tactics, no style, just run in and swing. I'm glad I left, I'm glad I'm attempting something for myself... finally.
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Guild business: Dragon rendering
Trait: I feel I deserve better than what I'm usually given and will fight to be noticed and paid for it.
Ideal: Generosity. My talents were given to me so that I could use them to benefit the world.
Bond: One day I will return to my guild and prove that I am better than them all.
Flaw: No one must ever learn that I once stole money from guild coffers.

Kildrak was born to a family of miners. A fairly common trade among Mountain Dwraves to be sure, but the Shaken clan was more than just a family or a trade guild. They had structured themselves as a society not unlike a kingdom. The heads of the clan lived like kings, working trade negotiations and planning the course of the mine. Rarely did any member of a Headman's family get their bands dirty working the tunnels. It was a banner day when one would even come to inspect the work. It usually meant there was a problem or an accident. The For men families were nearly as bad. They of course had to be on site daily to assign work and give instructions, but they had personal offices that ran on the tracks and could be moved around. They only worked when demand was high or labor was very short handed. The rest of society was composed of all the workers. Your family trade generally dictated the work you would do for the rest of your days. These jobs became individual family names. There were the Pickmen, who did the digging, they were the largest group. The Rockbreakers, who sifted out the valuable ore from the rubble. The Wheelturners, who moved the carts. The Wheemrights, who made sure the carts were in good repair. The Blacksmiths, who made the tools. It went on like this until every jib had a family dedicated to performing the task. Most people took pride in being of use to their clan. Occasionally, there would be members who switched jobs and families because their traditional job didn't suit them for some reason. This was usually facilitated by marriage into a family of the desired profession. Rarely was anyone elevated from the menials to Foreman or Headman status though.

Kildrak was born a Pikman. He grew up knowing it was his destiny to go down into the earth and make others rich. He hated that. He dreamed of forging his own path and becoming the most powerful Headman ever known. However his low status made that improbable, his lack of intelligence and cunning proved an equal burden. Until one fateful day...

While working an in an abandoned shaft, testing again for missed potential, Kildrak's team uncovered a lava tube. It had missed being discovered by mere inches. When word got to the foreman if the shaft Kildrak and two others, Benfold and Ternnip, were ordered to scout the shaft and see how far it went. This was not anything strange and some time away from swinging a pick or shovel was always a good time for Kildrak. They set off after securing their climbing gear. It took hours to reach the bottom. The tunnel snaked back and forth several times making it slow going. They also lodlst their ability to communicate back to the Foreman because of the convoluted path of the tube. Eventually they found the bottom. The tube entered into a vast chamber. Miles wide the only remarkable feature was the floor. It was curved. Based on Terrnip's estimations it appeared to be a perfect sphere. The lava had passed around the chunk of rock, which then fell back into the whole sealing the lava beneath it. The floor was covered in lava rock but it was nearly perfectly smooth. The only blemish was a deep crack at the apex of the sphere. Be fold and Terrnip both leaned over it to inspect it. As they neared the crack they said they thought they heard a voice. When they stood up, the color was drained from both of their faces. Be fold turned and walked always of and sat down muttering to him self. Terrnip just stood and after a few moments began to laugh. The giggle grew into a maddening cackle. Kiodrak was confused and bent down to listen.

The voice that came through the crack was at first impossible to hear. It was to faint and at then same time to booming inside Kildrak's skull. But it subsided and became a sweet and melodious voice of a woman, albeit it had an echo like the speaker was trapped far from the crack. The voice promised power and riches if only Kildrak, her champion, would serve her. Kildrak was amazed the speaker knew his name and looked up at his companions to ask if they had heard what she said. To his horror he found his two companions had gone mad. Benfold was lying on the ground frothing at the mouth and convulsing. Ternnip was maddly laughing as he tore his stomach to ribbons with a knife. His guts were spilling out with his blood. Kildrak begged the voice for help. She told him this was the fate of those unfit to serve her, a fate Kildrak could avoid only through obedience.

The offer sounded to good to be true. Kildrak initially refused. Then Ternnip attacked. Kildrak was forced to defend himself and kill the other man. Now afraid that his people would accuse him of murder, Kildrak was at a loss. When the voice, who now introduced itself as Paz'azast spoke again, it was with an offer of assistance. The voice offered to create a rockfall under which Terrnip's body could be "lost" and all the problems it caused Kildrak could be hidden. Kildrak was at his wits end and agreed. Afterward he tied Benfold into a harness and made the climb back, towing the madman behind him. When he got to the top again he was questioned about everything that happened and Kildrak told the story the Paz'azast whispered into his mind. His people took him at his word, but then Kildrak realized Benfold might one day come out of his stuppor and remember the truth. Paz'azast advised killing the man with a certain herb, the effect made it look like an unnoticed infection had suddenly taken him in the night. The poisoning went undetected. Then Paz'azast began to feed Kildrak information about new mineral finds. He became known for good luck and a sense for fortune. Then she fed him a few choice secrets of the Foremen that Kildrak could expose to gain influence and some wealth. He quickly climbed out of the ranks of the Pickmen and became a Foreman.

Then the pair went to work on the Headmen families. Again thanks to Paz'azast Kildrak was able to curry favor and avoid attacks against himself with ease. Everything was going seemingly when a particularly juicy bit of gossip was unearthed by Paz'azast. The daughter of the Starken Clan Mining consortium, a veritable princess of the mountain dwarves was having an affair with a Pickman, one of Kildrak's own cousins. The girl was yet to marry, so the first was more of a social faux-pa than a true crime, but the fallout from the scandal was enough go bring scrutiny on some of the Headman's behavior. It also brought the Headman's ire onto Kildrak. Paz'azast suggested letting the political temperature under the mountain cool down for a while and Kildrak agreed. He managed to talk his way into a caravan delivering goods to Algatha (I'll check the spelling on that) and while in route, the merchants caught the tale of the hibgoblin and his theft. Paz'azast seized at this opportunity and convinced Kildrak to leave his people and pursue the job offer of the Oroboros guild.

Trait: I sleep with my back to the wall, and sometimes whisper to myself (Paz'azast actually).
Ideal: I deserve everything I have.
Bond: I have many political allies back home... and enemies.
Flaw: The lives I've taken weigh me down.

The tribe of aarakocra who build their eyries high in the mist-shrouded Q’sulth Mountains spend simple lives of peaceful isolation from the outside world. But the tribal elders understand that isolation and ignorance are very different things. To pretend that the outside world does not exist is folly because evil from the outside is constantly threatening the peace of their mountain enclave. That is why the best among them are trained from youth to become warrior monks and are sent out into the world to learn of its dangers before returning to the mountains as true guardians of their home.

Fēng was raised in the Golden Talon Sanctuary where the days are spent in quiet contemplation and the perfection of the art of Kuang Fong ("wild wind"), an aggressive fighting style centered around the flow of personal energy, using the aarakocra’s natural speed & agility and their flying ability to deliver whirling attacks, and strikes from above with talons and weapons.

It is a great honor for an aarakocra family to offer one of their hatchlings with utmost gratitude and devotion
to the Sanctuary to become a monk of the Golden Talon Order. Once a hatchling has been given to the Sanctuary in this way, all familial ties are severed. The Order becomes the monk’s family. Thus, monks do not have family names.

Fēng is a young aarakocra, truly devoted to his people and his order. All his young life he has trained to fight, but is yet untried in real combat. He is quick of both body and mind. Perhaps a little distracted at times because of his newness to things outside his cloistered experience. His curiosity sometimes gets the better of him, something that the Sanctuary Masters have always reprimanded him for. His sense of wonder and his fierce loyalty are his best personality traits.

Trait: I am innocent to the ways of the world. I am often distracted by things that are new to me.
Ideal: Self-Improvement. The goal of a life of study is the betterment of oneself.
Bond: My Order and my tribe are the most important thing in my life, even when they are far from me.
Bond: My honor is my life.
Flaw: I’ve spent my entire life in the Sanctuary and so I have little practical experience dealing with people in the outside world