Character Creation

Phu stands ready

What did you get caught doing that got you exile from your home community?

"Stealing from a petty nobleman, a man named Maerin. I wasn't stealing from him for petty reasons. I just wanted to help someone."

You used to have a different life, but you’ve tried to leave it behind. Who from your past is still chasing you?

"That bastard, Maerin. Though, I'm not sure how he knew it was me. I never did like him and I made it pretty well known, but whatever. I guess he just needed to pin the blame on someone."

Who from your past were you most sad to say goodbye to?

"The person I helped... My sister. She didn't even know I was leaving. I just... Vanished. I thought it was safer that way. I'd already dragged her through enough trouble by trying to help. If Maerin came after me, I didn't want her anywhere near it. Still... Not a day goes by where I don't wonder if she hates me for disappearing."

(OOC: idunno why I did this but w/e)

Agûz stands ready (to tank every hit)!
I'm planning to play mine as an old war machine of a bygone era, like Bastion from Overwatch. Unearthed, repaired, and resuscitated by his first master, and then failing to protect her when it counted.

P.S. Once we're doing connections, I'd love to have someone be related to his first master. Perhaps a sibling, a friend, a parent? Think that'd be some potent drama :)

I have updated Phu's background and answered a couple of the wizard questions




What responsibility did his community count on him for?
In the ramshackle alleys of Ashcoil Shantytown, Phu was the go-to arcane fixer—a "wizard of the people," patching wards, unsealing cursed loot, or summoning minor spirits for coin, luck, or the occasional vengeance gig. His slyborne crew relied on him to do the dirty magical jobs without frying the hideout or attracting guards.

How did he let them down?
One night, a rival gang dared them to pull off a high-profile heist: summon a fire elemental from the Ashdeep to melt open the vault of a royal tax cart. Cocky and desperate to prove his rising magical chops, Phu went too far—he didn’t just summon the elemental… he broke its bindings.

The fiery beast tore through Ashcoil, igniting shanties and sending half the quarter into chaos. Phu stayed behind and managed to subdue it—not with brute force, but through cunning arcane whispers and a pact of mutual survival.

The twist:
That elemental—now shrunk, sassy, and spark-sized—is Harmell, the flame spirit perched on his shoulder today. It’s not a pet—it’s a bond of fire and guilt. Harmell remembers everything. They bicker constantly. And despite the destruction, they’ve become... weirdly inseparable.

Phu was cast out. Not because he failed—but because he survived and brought the chaos home.



You’ve spent your life searching for a book or object of great significance. What is it, and why is it so important to you?

The Emberheart Reliquary isn’t some dainty magical trinket—it’s a massive, iron-clad vessel, about 2 meters long, 50 cm wide, and 30 cm deep, shaped like a ritual sarcophagus or containment crate. Runes snake across its surface, pulsing with a slow, ember-like glow. The metal hums faintly, vibrating as if something inside is… breathing.

It’s sealed with three locks: one mechanical, one magical, and one that seems to react to draconic blood.

What’s inside?
No one knows for sure. The oldest legends hint at a Drakonic embercore—a bound fragment of a slain fire god or the final heartbeat of a long-dead dragon monarch. Phu has heard it called:

"The Flame That Eats Other Flames", "The Ember-Tomb of Va’rush" and by the slyborne: "Hot Box of Doom."

Why is it important to Phu?
For Phu, this isn't just a container—it's a lifeline. The Emberheart Reliquary, fiery as it may be, represents his chance at starting over. The slyborne community sees him as the burnout, the one who nearly torched a neighborhood and got buddy-buddy with a living flame. But in the next city—this relic is his leverage, his reputation reboot, his arcane golden ticket.

He believes:
* Delivering it to the right buyer, scholar, or arcane guild could grant him wealth or favor.
* Unlocking its secrets might give him the power to forge a new Everflame—but one tempered by frost, a balance between his lineage and what nearly destroyed him.
* It might even help him finally understand what his fire elemental companion Harmell truly is… because sometimes, deep down, he wonders if Harmell isn’t just a fragment of what’s locked inside.

Harmell, the tiny fire elemental, loves the reliquary. It curls up next to it like a cat near a hearth. Phu tolerates it, mistrusts it… but needs it.

I'm not just a regular Borg. For some reason, I'm special. And by special, I mean that those that created me did so in order to make me perform terrible, unspeakable atrocities-- atrocities that I have long forgotten. You have learned that I am not merely a regular tool for war like those of my generation, but instead a particularly monstrous specimen.
You have an affinity with nature that I personally find myself getting drawn to-- I especially like when you interact with birds. Whenever we're alone, I find myself asking you questions about nature.

"I'm not a rogue or a scoundrel... Just a peasant from humble beginnings that got tired of being quiet."
"Sorry, I'm not sure exactly how I can get you back in your gang's good graces. *He shrugs* I've been exiled from mine too."

Chiara's Background Questions:
What did you do that made the people in your community wary of you?
I started exhibiting free will. An evil sorcerer named Farrod created me and several other clankborn like me to serve him as automatons. Mostly we stood guard and attacked those who violated his commands. One day, however, I awoke. When next he ordered us to attack, I refused My siblings turned on me and I fled. The community members feared me, because I had been the tool of their oppressor, so I had to flee further.

What mentor taught you to control your untamed magic, and why are they no longer able to guide you?
After fleeing Farrod's tower, I met an old shaman named Hilda, who taught me the rudiments of magic. I had to leave, however, because Farrod came looking and my presence endangered her.

You have a deep fear you hide from everyone. What is it, and does it scare you?
I fear that Farrod will find me and remove my free will again, returning me to his tool of violence and destruction.

Connection Questions
1. Why do you trust me so deeply?
2. What did I do that makes you cautious around me?
3. Why do we keep out shared past a secret?

Proposed connections with others
You convinced me to help you steal from someone by making a distraction with my sorcery.
I asked you to tell me if an Infernis Sorcerer ever comes looking for me, because he would want to arrest me for crimes I didn't commit.
You gave me a tiny porcelain doll with very similar marking to mine, markings I have never seen anywhere except on myself and my siblings.
Before I left the service of my former master, I did terrible things to innocent people in his name. I'm not proud of it.