Ashenclaw Characters~
Elec Stormwhisper—Elec is a high elf in the Realm of Ashenclaw. He hails from the island home of Acillia where he and his people lead a secluded lifestyle. They participate with the other races in trading goods and services when need be and involve themselves only in times of great need.
All high elves have a natural aptitude for the arcane arts, unlike the forest elves, who prefer the use of bows and swords instead. Elec did not show signs of arcane mastery, much to the chagrin of his father and kin. Instead, he excelled in the areas of alchemy as well as disciplines that involved cunning and use of his dexterous digits, including designing, building and disarming mechanical traps.
Elec also trained for several years with his Uncle Faorath in the areas of training exotic pets—specifically giant eagles—in the ways of befriending them and using them as flying mounts. These talented few are called the Wind Riders of Acillia.
On many special celebrations and prior to leaving on his mission as an envoy, Elec was gifted with many ancient elven magical items by his uncle, who continues to support and encourage the young elf in any way he can.
Elec has dark hair and white pupils—both unusual features for the high elves, who usually tend toward eyes of blue, amber, violet or green and hair that ranges in color from silver to gold. Elec is a very insecure combatant, he often compensates for his lack of natural prowess with his constant use of combat-enhancing alchemical elixirs, which in his mind, he has perfected. He often experiments on himself, using different combinations that meet with varying results. He is understandably an expert in the surrounding fields of alchemy and botany.
Saeunn (of Chansuk)—Saeunn is a human female barbarian possessing both a primitive mindset and a very strong will. Her hair is a silky golden color that hangs down to the middle of her back, which she often braids and keeps out of her face using a sash of cloth. Her eyes are bright green, her skin is tanned and her arms and neck are covered in tattoos that reflect her many accomplishments within her tribe. These markings are a common ritual among barbarians of any race to show others in the tribe their accomplishments. Saeunn is cunning, proud and very stubborn. She is a massively built woman with a wide, yet feminine and curvaceous frame. Physically, she is extremely strong.
She is a surviving member of the Chansuk tribe that was overthrown in an atypical attack from the orcs and goblins that once traded peacefully with the other Races of Order. After this attack, there were only a handful of survivors left including her mother, Huuna. Scarr, who was both her father and the chieftain of the Chansuk people, was killed in the goblinoid attack as was most of her tribe.
Barbarian women often fight in battles and often wear the markings as such, but Scarr and Huuna did not want this for their daughter. On many occasions, Huuna tried to marry her off to a proud tribesman, but to no avail. Scarr however, knew of his daughter’s desire to fight, but did not wish for his daughter to die on the field of battle. Scarr was wise enough to know that the embers of warfare burning deep within her could never be doused. Saeunn is very adept at the use of large weapons and currently employs the use of a greatsword, whose hilt runs midway up the blade before sharpening and ending in a deadly tip.
With her father’s dying breath, Scarr made his daughter promise to care for his wife and her mother, Huuna. (While escaping Chansuk, Saeunn wanted to help support both her mother and the remainder of her tribe in Oakhaven…until a certain message posted to the local tavern.)
Once Saeunn heard that there was a need for the strong arm of a warrior, she immediately wanted to volunteer. Her conflict is in keeping the promise that she made to her father and the longing she has for the sound of steel on steel ringing loudly in her ears once again.
Rose Thorne—Rose is a member of the Shadowhands, the premier Thieves’ Guild in Oakhaven and also the entire Realm of Ashenclaw. She discovered in her adolescence that she could enter the plane of shadow and move through it. She is able to enter a shadow, move through the shadow plane to her destination, and then exit through another shadow within her line of sight. Time in the plane of shadow runs slowly, so it looks like she teleports between the shadows within seconds. This remarkable discovery added to her already significant abilities as a pickpocket in her youth.
Rose is extremely nimble, fast and very light on her feet. She enjoys her wine and has made a very good living off of the merchants that wander in and out of Oakhaven’s Trade District. She is somewhat overconfident and often challenges authority. She makes light of dire situations and has a generally lighthearted disposition despite her past, where she spent her teenage years as a prostitute until she met the Master of the Shadowhands.
She was recruited into the Thieves’ Guild when it became evident that she could do special things and has spent the last few years perfecting her craft. She has come into her own recently and has acquired a pair of magically altered and extremely long daggers, named Avorna and Zaedra.
She feels that she is missing a sense of adventure that has all-but died within her the past few years. At the same time, the Thieves’ Guild is starting to weigh whether or not she is worth the trouble as she has become shameless and very smug recently. This does not sit well with the many guild-members of the Shadowhands or its leader.
Rose ultimately decides that she has achieved all she can in Oakhaven for now and fearlessly responds to the request for aid by the Order of the Faceless Knights without informing the Shadowhands of her intentions…
Garius Forge—Garius is a human male and former chaplain (battle-priest) of the sun-god—The Shimmering One. The Inquisition is based out of Safehold, a city whose main attraction is trade and is also of a strong theological nature. Safehold has been in existence for a long time and was remarkably one of the only cities that were only partially affected by the reign of Ashenclaw.
Currently an Inquisitor serving the Faceless Knights of Order, a warrior-sect of the Inquisition, Garius worships the entire pantheon of gods and as such, has access to all of their blessings. In exchange for this power, the Inquisitors keep the houses of worship pure and continue to fight the ongoing battle of demonic possession and the influence of the many demon lords that would poison their worshippers.
Garius wears a huge suit of blood-red, plated armor, magically enhanced with divine powers, displaying a simple white skull marking over the heart on his breastplate. He wields The Repentant— a huge, rune-covered hammer that must be wielded with two hands. His armor is covered with seals and regalia marking his many accomplishments within the Faceless Knights of Order. The pauldrons or shoulder-guards accenting his armor also reflect the symbols of the entire pantheon of gods.
When not wearing his helm, Garius’ head is distinctly shaved bald and exhibits a pair of deep, penetrating eyes that adorn his somber face. He wears a dark, braided beard on his wide jaw that hangs down to the center of his chest and has a very light scar above his left eye.
The Inquisitors are unique in that they have access to both the degenerative and regenerative planes with which they are granted both holy and necromantic rituals that create a synergistic union. As Garius uses the necromantic energy to steal a life force, he is able to store it within for a finite amount of time and refocus that energy as either holy power to ignite the runes on his hammer or use as a healing burst of energy. These are examples of some of the most powerful abilities granted by the gods, specifically the sun-god and the death-god.
Orngoth—Orngoth is a half-ogre/half human barbarian who was born of a human mother named Celeste and an ogre father. This ogre was named Urgot and happened to be terrorizing the outskirts of Norgeld that fateful day. Urgot found Celeste and her husband wandering alone, killed her husband, despoiled her and left her to die. A ranger named Lynnai found Celeste and brought her back to Norgeld where she nursed her back to health. Lynnai and Celeste developed a caring relationship and Lynnai took to having the child adopted after Celeste tragically died giving birth to him.
Orngoth was born with blue eyes and dark hair and otherwise looked like a large human boy for many years. He was adopted by a human family from Norgeld, who eventually could not deal with the boy’s inhuman size, fanged teeth and yellowing skin, and left him in the wilderness while traveling by caravan one day.
Orngoth was found shortly thereafter by a pack of ogres who took him in. These ogres, called the Ironskull tribe, raised him in their barbarian culture within the Blackstone Mountains. After years of physical abuse and constant beatings, Orngoth hardened and became lost in his rage and hate.
Lynnai eventually tracked Orngoth down and gifted him with two items that his mother had set aside for him: an amulet which he wears around his neck and a gem that displays a magical light that changes color occasionally. She explained to Orngoth that they were gifts from his mother, Celeste, and that he should treat them with respect.
Years passed as the ogre tribe wandered southeast and eventually into the Dragon Fang Mountains where they were eventually overrun and slaughtered by the orcs living in those hills. The Bonemasher clan eventually overran the ogres and Commander Grubb made the half-ogre his personal slave.
OTHER MAIN CHARACTERS~
Barguth: Barguth is a resilient and uncharacteristically brave goblin warrior, with dark green skin, bright red eyes and greasy black hair. He is a respected figure in the Bloody Fang tribe of goblins and was a confidante to King Kogh, the king of the goblins! He speaks in a shrill, high-pitched voice and commands a worg mount, as do most of the goblins under the guidance of the orcs, who employ the goblins as cavalry. He also carries a small magical dagger and is quite proficient with it.
Commander Grubb: Grubb is a fierce orc leader within the Bonemasher tribe, who is second-in-command only to Chieftain Kelgarek. The Bonemasher orcs are one of the largest tribes in the goblinoid empires. Grubb is a strongly-built, wide-shouldered orc with penetrating yellow eyes, long, dark hair and a grayish-green complexion. He wears a suit of magical chainmail armor that covers him from head to toe and wears a tabard with the symbol of the Bonemasher clan on it, which reflects his position to the orcs as a high ranking officer. He speaks in a deep, gruff and commanding voice and requires unconditional loyalty. He employs the use of a magical blue-tinted sword that harbors some kind of hidden magical quality.
Chieftain Kelgarek: Kelgarek is an extremely powerful orc warlord and overall chieftain of the Bonemasher orcs. He is responsible for uniting the forces of the Bloody Fang goblin clan and his own Bonemasher orcs. Together, they have become a lethal army and have begun to branch out of the Dragon Fang Mountains and have overthrown the village of Chansuk. Kelgarek is an orange-skinned orc with a massive body and red eyes. He is currently the largest orc on record, pushing seven feet in height and nearly three hundred pounds. Some think that he is actually of ograthi origin, which he denies with vigor and often punishes those that offer this comparison. The mighty orc chieftain carries a huge double bladed axe and has been known to cleave more than one enemy in twain with a single swing.
Shaman Tukk: Tukk is one of the most renowned orc shamans in the Bonemasher tribe and reports directly to either Grubb or Kelgarek. He has a bald head with tufts of white hair on the sides and all over his body in patches. He has dark brown eyes, light red skin and wears an oversized helmet with huge antlers atop his head that often droops to one side or the other. Like most shaman, he carries a staff, though his is unique in that it is made of bone and resembles the spine of a large humanoid.
Zabalas’ Agents~
Phaera Sine: Phaera is a succubi warrior that when in her humanoid form exhibits amber eyes, long, white hair and milky-white skin. In her cambion form, she has a pair of curved horns that extend from her forehead, pointed ears, sharp claws on her fingers and bat wings that sprout from her back. She also has a tail that extends from her backside and her canines sharpen to a point. Succubi have great power in that they emit a pheromone of supernatural origin that can distort reality. They can make the words of the succubi seem so agreeable as to make the target want only to serve them without question. Succubi can also drain the life force from their victims in order to maintain their youth and alluring appearance. Phaera is also a trained warrior and fights with the traditional two weapons of the succubi: a long sword and a scourge, which is a light flail with several thongs or leather straps which end in metal tips.
She and all her succubi brood hail from the subterrane city known as Ulthon and the Aspect Nahemia Sine, her mother, is the head of the Daughters of Asmodai brood. Phaera is the eldest of four sisters from the same ‘father’, and were born in order with her being the eldest, then Hasna, Saamea and Hazelle being the youngest. They are the heiresses to the brood and reflect the chain of command based on age.
Megnus Bloodstone: Megnus is a slagfell dwarf general and warrior. He is the son of King Dolgrath and heir to the throne of Shadowmere, a city full of the Slagfell clan of dwarves, who broke off from the main dwarven colonies to pursue treasures in the deepest recesses of the subterrane. He is bald with brandings on his temple and forehead that reflect his stature within the Slagfell clan and wears a long, grey beard that is braided into multiple sections of equal length.
Dainn Gravelhand: is a powerful mage from the Slagfell clan. He dresses in more colorful robes and regalia than any of his slagfell clan members. He has brown eyes, is bald and has no facial hair at all either, which is opposing the tendencies of his people. He is specifically a Wayfarer, which is a specialty focus of the arcane magics that focuses on multiple forms of travel, including teleportation and other similar spells.
Prishnack: He is a djinni whose flesh is completely covered in heavy robes with a hood that somehow keeps his face masked forever in shadow, allowing only a pair of deep red eyes to be seen beneath the hood. Prishnack, like all djinn, is an elementalist. This allows him to manipulate the planes of earth, wind, water and fire. He is known to take the form of any of the elements at any given time. He often travels in the form of a wisp of smoke. As master of the elements, this allows him to not only manipulate those elements, but also allows him limited control over creatures from those planes as well.
Solagh: He is a doppelganger with many years of practice in deceit and trickery. Doppelgangers as a race have the supernatural ability to take the form of any humanoid that is relatively the same size and not only their exact shape, but to also mimic their vocal pitch and natural talents. This ability is truly unique and completely inexplicable. Solagh has not only his natural racial abilities, but also employs the use of a magical amulet (Necklace of Persuasion) that allows the words of the user to sound with the ring of truth. As time goes by, those words become more and more agreeable to the victim the more the victim is exposed to its magic. Solagh is a devious, selfish and wholly evil creature.
All artwork on this page provided by WIlliam Kenney
