INFO.

[for8000amonth]

ADELIS ROSELL AGE 20 HOMETOWN Keelburn, Ovosca Territory, The Ostoyan Empire SPECIES Human / Dhampir HEIGHT 5'5" (165 cm) / wears 3 inch heels FAMILY Father (Deceased), Mother (Deceased), Ada (Sister, Deceased) LANGUAGE Ostic OCCUPATION Rogue APPEARANCE fullbody ref | outfit 2 ABILITIES Intimately connected to the souls of the dead and tormented since birth, Adelis has suffered debilitating headaches since childhood which have only recently manifested into psionic abilities. As a Soulknife Rogue, he is capable of conjuring knives of energy with his mind, as well as telepathically linking himself with others. This is a drain on his energy, but the knives he can make are near-countless in number, although he can only hold two at a time. This later manifests into an ability to weave a veil of psychic static, rendering himself invisible- and then being able to warp to wherever he throws his knives, with the range being anywhere from 10 to 120 feet (depending on the canon point). This may also have the occasional side-effect of summoning visions of the dead. CURSE After nearly dying in a dream and losing consciousness, Adelis was given a choice by a 'benefactor': Which did he value more, his mind or his body? Adelis chose his mind. Thus, he cannot maintain Body Heat for more than half an hour, and as the warmth leaves him, his body will gradually turn corpse-cold and pale. While he can function, it has numerous side-effects, such as exhaustion, increased risk of illness, and a lower tolerance for things like poison and alcohol. This can be cured by having skin-to-skin contact with other people (ie. holding hands or such), which will gradually warm him up, but it will fade away in time again. DHAMPIRISM With such a close connection with death, it can on occasion draw the wrong attention, and it is merely Adelis' misfortune he ended up catching the eye of a member of the Court. Unwittingly fed the blood of Duke Alexei Koshevek during a choice encounter, their next meeting on Ostoyan Soil ended with the humanity leaving his body, turning him forever into a Dhampir. This change has humbled him in some ways and made him bitter in others, for while still capable of walking beneath the sun, and still keeping hold of his soul despite the stillness of his heart, he must sustain himself on others to survive for the rest of his days. Rather than drink blood, Adelis subsists on the emotional energy of other people, absorbed through the mouth. The stronger the emotions, the better the taste, with those on the brink of death wrought in fear tasting the most decadent. Rather than give into this, however, he moderates himself and consumes only minimally, usually from those willing...although it has the side effect of heightening whatever those he is drinking from is feeling in the moment. Drink too much, and they run the risk of going braindead.

Etharis is a dark, hopeless continent, built on the husks of long-dead Gods and mired in a constant sense of danger. Plagues, abominations, and horrors of all kinds await in every corner of it's desolate landscape, and the death you may be familiar with is nonexistant. Few countries within it's bounds are as bleak, however, as the Ostoyan Empire. The land is as cold and unforgiving as it's people, shrouded in mist and the endless Night, forced to adapt to the circumstances and willing to return every slight in order to keep their scales balanced. Split into two regions via internal turmoil, the two sides are constantly at odds. The region of Soma, ruled by the vampiric Crimson Court, and Raevo, ruled by the mageocracy and the Undead-hunting Order of the Dawn. While both have their faults, the dismal atmosphere of Soma is far worse, it's people much like cattle in a pen, simply toiling away and content with their lot. Despite knowing of their vampiric rulers, most view them as keeping them from falling under the Burach Empire's thumb, as well as protecting them from the far worse things outside their cities and towns, and thus bolster no argument towards them and even respect them. Some even allow themselves to be turned into thralls to escape the hunger and the poverty. While some may obviously have dissent, it is far better to keep such things to yourself, lest you incur the wrath of others or catch the Court's eye. Ostoya never sees the sun, the skies constantly varying levels of dark and the moon the only constant companion amongst the clouds. Most of it's inhabitants have never seen a bright sky, and most have never heard of the sun, except in old wives tales. The night is constant and everlasting, only the position of the moon and course of the stars able to help chart the passage of time. If you cannot pay the toll to afford housing, you run the risk of being 'street-sweeped'...picked up as cattle by the warm and undead servants of the Court to refill their supply of sustenance. Certainly, Vasinesca territory supplies with it's high-grade cattle, but the populaces tends to be low. A long life is not guaranteed when faced with war, famine, disease, the undead or other beastly creatures that haunt the lands, or even themselves. Ostoyans are a vengeful people, who worship only one holy idol- Solyma, Arch Seraph of Justice, otherwise known as Lady Vengeance. To turn the cheek is to show weakness and bring shame, and you would be hard-pressed to find an overly-forgiving Ostoyan anywhere. Even the Court fears making anything personal, as even the young and old pursue retribution single-mindedly and without mercy. Most importantly, you must remember that once the many untold dangers claim you, it will not be the end. Once all life has left the body, it will rise once more, a shambling husk of what it used to be- forcing those to crush the bodies of loved ones or their enemies to prevent their revival into something far more dangerous to the common man. Bereft of light, of hope, and even the peace of proper death, it should come as no surprise that only the hardiest of people survive within Ostoya's borders...especially those who wish to leave the relative safety of towns and travel between the territories. Leaving Ostoya is no easy feat, with most far too poor to afford it in addition to most ways out being barred. There are always those who wish to be free, however, and who desire nothing but to be out from under the watchful gaze of the Court. And while hope may not be common, considered a fruitless endeavor, you must never forget one thing Ostoyan's have in spades: survival. HISTORY Born in the backwater town of Keelburn, in the depths of Ovosca territory, Adelis grew up as many Ostoyan's did: hungry, determined, and aware of the constant presence of death in the air. Adelis was born the second of two children, to a struggling mother and a workaholic father. His mother was a somewhat distant, paranoid mess who raised them the most while their father spent most of his day toiling away as a woodworker. However, a family of 4 struggles more often than most, and bitterness began to take seed after several years. Most in Ostoya may be content with their lot, but hearing of other places put a seed of doubt in his mind, and he spent a lot of time wandering out when his mother wasn't looking. It did not help that he suffered from debilitating headaches fairly often, enough that his parents and most around him began to give him a wide berth while muttering about him being cursed behind the sanctity of closed doors. To be cursed in Ostoya is to ostracized, and even if that wasn't the case, the stigma did not leave him even as the years passed. When he was 11, his father started acting more withdrawn and distant, staying out later and keeping to himself. Eventually, after an argument after another one of his episodes, Adelis ran out and hid among the street children he'd began to hang around during his excursions. While they naturally were wary of him at first, he managed to endear himself enough with his natural knack for pickpocketing and sneaking around. His father came looking for him a few times, getting more and more desperate as the days went on, but Adelis simply decided to let him sit in a while longer before gracing his family with his presence again. However, the only thing he ended up returning to was an empty house. The reasons for his father's desperation became wholly apparent due to the words of his prickly neighbors: fed up with his lot in life, he attempted to make a deal to guarantee his own safety in a place fraught with misfortune. Three of his family for the survival of one- a deal which would have worked out in his favor, had Adelis not chosen the time he did to run off in a fit of rebellion. The deal still happened, of course, but not as his father willed it- without one child there, the Court's lackies simply took the man himself to take his place, despite his fervent protests and desperate searches. One safe for three gone. Poverty and despair does things to people, Adelis was forced to discover, and this event would turn him onto a life of scrounging and ill deeds to ensure he would never find himself in the same position as his father. Extortion, blackmail, theft, and assassination are all things he's willingly dirtied his hands with, although despite his desperation for money and relentlessness, there are some things even he won't dare touch. PERSONALITY Adelis is a survivalist. To grow and be nurtured by Ostoyan's environment leads one to become cynical and cold, to protect oneself and their own from everything that might covet their belongings, their life, or even their will. He had been an adventurous and testy child, with sticky fingers and a protective, brotherly love for his older sister, but all things eventually come to an end. Losing the only family he cared about, and finding out his own blood's willingness to sell him out, he eventually closed himself off to avoid the possibility of such a thing coming to fruition all over again- never making friends, never revealing his secrets, and always regarding even his allies with a pensive gaze. A frugal, determined sort, he squirrels away his wealth and only splurges and dresses extravagantly in order to come off as a more put-together, trustworthy person capable of getting his jobs done. While fully capable of being charming and charismatic, especially in front of prospective clients, Adelis is both unable and unwilling to keep up this charade for long once the benefit to him is off the table or things take a turn against him, keeping in line with his people's fervent need for vengeance. Years of running about with Ostoya's street youth even before he became one of them turned his tongue sharp and wicked, offering insults and curses that do not fit his appearance. This is moreso his true self, rather than the businesslike smiles and professional demeanor he offers to those willing to pad his pockets properly. One must do horrible things to survive, and Adelis has come to accept that, as well as scorn anyone who dare suggest he need not. For a chance at leaving, one needs money, and it will not simply grow on trees- especially here, where most toil just to make ends meet for another day. He is not afraid to maim or kill others for his own survival, and claims to feel nothing for those he blackmails or extorts. However, you can see the barest hint of morals beneath his testy, selfish veneer- he dislikes harming children, and will refuse most jobs that have to do with them (with claims that if they're so weak they cannot handle a child themselves, he has no interest in their coin), and most of the street children of Blackharbour and Keelburn know who he is. He will push them around and bark at their shoddy theft attempts, declare them little more than wild dogs, but his words are laced with crude advice and his warnings an attempt to keep them out of harm's way. He was, after all, one of them once, and there is no one more acutely aware of the consequences of slip-ups than he. There is no-one he would call a friend, for the word does not even ring right in their tongue, but he holds a grudging respect for survivalists and stubborn souls who never stray from the path. The loss of the self is the loss of the life, in his opinion. That being said, despite his loftier aspirations of freedom from Ostoya's oppressive society, he does have his moments between jobs and hoarding his misbegotten wealth. He enjoys a good drink, as most do, in an attempt to forget- but never enough to fully intoxicate, as you never know when someone will decide you've lived far too long. He also enjoys cards, and will very rarely splurge on a set to add to his collection. Most who've played against him curse his luck. In a clannish society, Adelis is one who has long been without those he can cling to, and perhaps it brings him the slightest twinges to witness those who find their sole comforts in their own blood and close bonds. Even so, he'd never dare admit it. Because loneliness is a weakness, and to reveal one's weaknesses is to let the knife slip ever closer to the jugular. MISC ✦ This content is taken from the Grim Hollow setting for the 5th Edition of DND. In addition, Adelis' campaign was specifically that of the Citadel of the Unseen Sun campaign. The books have been paid for, but for those willing to remain ignorant of some of the details of Ostoya/Etharis, you may choose to avoid interacting. I'll avoid going into depths of the content of the Citadel campaign, but there may be some mentions here and there. However, our DM homebrewed and changed several things, so they may not be the same as what you would find in the book itself. ( codes by whambam )