User:Seriis

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Overview

Name: Seriis Al'Reim.
Race: Drow noble. Secondboy.
Class: Assassin / knife-wielding scholar / wannabe explorer.
Actual Age: Roughly 50-55 years.
Age Appearance: Noticeably young, around 15.
Height: 5'1" / 158cm. He is short, but has learned to use it to his advantage.
Weight: 112lb / 50kg. Light, lean frame built to utilise speed over strength.
Hair Colour: Silver white, short and choppy.
Eye Colour: Vivid Red. More specifically, a hue similar to cerise.
Alignment: Lawful/Neutral Evil or thereabouts.
Home: House Al'Reim, in western Trist'oth.
Status: Why do you even care. Seriis certainly doesn't.

- The powerful Matron of his House, and his mother, has given Seriis a task - to collect as much surface knowledge as he can. With this in mind the young drow made his way out of the Underdark with his bodyguards and, after briefly getting lost in the middle of Milous' Plains, has settled in northern Cenril for the time being. Libraries are not safe.

- A while back, he took a book from the Mage Guild's library. Had it not been for a rat with big dreams also attempting a break-in, he might have made it out unscathed. Later, on the ride back to Cenril, the trio met the druid Daisy who healed an injury Seriis suffered at the library...by pouring milk on him. And other things.

- The desert sands are discovered to be difficult to run on, its heat stifling and near-unbearable, when Seriis ventures into the Nameless Desert in search of the Shattered City, and the hidden treasures lying half-buried within it. Instead, he runs into a strange, scared man and a group of Outlaws, which must be dealt with first before the search becomes safe. Ezekiel, at least, survived and the two meet again in an incident which leads to a long and awkward adventure. By the end of it all, Seriis still did not have any of what he went looking for.

- On a whim, and against the wishes of his bodyguards, Seriis decided to enter the Titans of Winter Tournament. Unfortunately he was defeated in his first match against the knight Hildegarde, and now his pride is sorely bruised. He has sworn to 'remember' how Hildegarde fought, which could mean anything...


Appearance

At first glance, Seriis has the look of a young soul about him. Determining his true age can be difficult due to his obvious elven heritage, and looks are always deceiving. While his face and body give the appearance of a typical 15 year-old human, his eyes tell a vastly different story, for their accumulated knowledge is far deeper than any foolhardy teen would hope to have acquired in their short lifetime. In drow society, Seriis is considered to have already reached maturity, if only barely, and has seen around 50-55 years. He stands at a diminutive 5'1" and bears the distinctive physical traits of his race. With his inky skin, silvery white hair, and red eyes, there is no mistaking Seriis for anything but pureblooded drow, and he is glad of that. Like most of his kind, Seriis is proud of his ancestry and sees all others as inferior. His frame is a light and lean build - he relies on his speed, dexterity, and cunning, rather than on brute strength.

It is clear that the young drow takes great pride in his appearance. Seriis' white hair has a silky silver sheen to it and is always kept cut short and choppy, framing his face in a manner pleasing to the eye. While his clothing could be seen as typical travellers attire, Seriis has made sure it is woven from the finest materials available to him. His gaze is usually somewhat steely and reproachful, irises a deep hue of cerise; a slightly pinker tint than most drow have, like that of very pure ruby. A delicate diamond tear earring worn in his left ear, his prestigious House insignia found ever hanging from its chain around his neck, and a black opal ring, are the only forms of jewellery adorning his person. He wears a simple shirt over a chain mail hauberk, and dark robes over that - the sleeves of the robe are always rolled up to the elbows, and the ends of it are often tied together to lessen the chances of it getting in the way. A pair of simple black slippers cover his feet, allowing him to move soundlessly. The true shape of his powerful legs is mostly lost beneath a pair of loose-fitting pants, and a red sash is wrapped round the drow's slim waist. The belt serves as a holster for Seriis' prized daggers and multiple other blades, which he is never seen without. Dragonscale gloves protect the drow's hands, and over all this he wraps the protective cocoon of his piwafwi; a magically-imbued cloak typical to drow culture, which grants Seriis the uncanny ability to hide effortlessly in the shadows, while also helping to shield his eyes from bright lights. The piwafwi is made of ensorcelled spider silk and hides one's heat signature, rendering detection by infravision more difficult, thus enabling stealthy manoeuvres. Seriis' piwafwi is a particularly expensive one for it also bears a strong fire-resistant enchantment woven into the fabric.

The Glamour

A creation of Reyik's that casts a full-body and, in most respects, believable illusion.

Seriis has discovered that it is easier to obtain information from humans when pretending to be a human - they give up all sorts of things that he might otherwise find difficult or even impossible to glean from them while looking like a drow, due to a common fear and mistrust of his kind. While he does not consider humans equal to him in any respects, the scholar is not above using disguises in order to get his hands on precious knowledge, even if it does mean he must suffer wearing the appearance of a simple human. Of course, the glamour bestowed at least styles him as an attractive boy, because Seriis figures that if he's going to look human, he might as well look good.

When the glamour is activated, Seriis is only distinguishable as a petite, fair-skinned, and blond-haired boy with pale grey eyes, who is most often found wearing fine, aristocratic clothing - a black dress coat, white shirt, black dress pants that reach to mid-calf, and knee high boots (the clothing itself is not part of the glamour, but real). Altogether, he gives off the air of a petulant upper class boy from a wealthy family, so there is not that much different about him. The glamour gives off a distinct aura to more perceptive individuals and those capable of sensing magic would be aware of the fact that there is a full-body charm on Seriis. However, it may be difficult to work out what magic it is exactly unless one is learned in concealment and glamour charms.


(Basically, he looks like this.)

Personality

Like all drow, Seriis is rather self-centred and can be quite cruel and twisted, with a certain fondness for torture and maiming. He is, however, a bit bookish, and indeed he is often so caught up in his mountains of scrolls and tomes that he forgets to pay attention to these forms of entertainment. His House is an ancient, noble one that places a high amount of value in knowledge and strives to collect as much of it as possible, no matter how mundane or insignificant it might appear. Seriis is rather studious and does not appreciate being bothered when he's working, and his years of scribing and scribbling have allowed him to blossom into a well-learned drow who particularly enjoys fantastical stories and myths.

An intelligent and observant boy, he prefers not to attack immediately, instead assessing an individual to determine their worth and if they might possess any information he does not already have written somewhere. As gathering knowledge is of great importance to both Seriis and his House, he may not kill someone straight away if he feels he can learn something of interest - something that he cannot simply take from their corpse, that is. The young drow's lack of violent action should not be mistaken for a gentler nature, however, as he's just as murderous as the rest of his kind.

Seriis is cynical and guarded, but generally calm, reserved, and stoic, if prone to bouts of childishness and petulant behaviour. He can be somewhat snappy but is not as quick to anger as most other drow; or if he is, then he does not show it so easily. He's always on the lookout for anything that can hint to secrets or vague references to some kind of plot, and gets paranoid easily but believes this to be a good thing.

...And sometimes, when he thinks no one is around, his more innocent side will show itself and reveal Seriis to truly still be an adventurous, fun-loving boy at heart.

Notable Skills

General

Seriis has pathetically small magic reserves and so relies almost entirely upon melee weaponry and the sneakier aid of poison. Due to his lacking magical ability, he can only maintain his innate drow abilities for very short lengths of time, and his limit is a scant few minutes per day.

  • Uses a dagger or a short sword in combat, sometimes both. Attending Trist'oth's warrior academy like all other noble drow, he learned how to use multiple melee weapons but favours knives, and knows how to dual-wield. He most often utilises the scabbard of his daggers as an impromptu shield.
  • Trained in the art of blind-fighting which is exceptionally useful as his eyes are still not accustomed to light on the surface.
  • Can and will use poisons if the need arises and he has access to them.
  • Can extract and mix his own general-use poisons, definitely. He learned these skills at Magthere d'Malarin.
  • Can brew magical potions, supposedly. The recipes are memorised but he's never put them to the test...

Innate Drow Abilities

  • He can view the world both in regular sight and sensitive infravision, the same as all drow.
  • His faerie fire is a vivid magenta colouration and Seriis is capable of using it to outline his opponent with a soft glow, preventing their concealment from him, and to distract and confuse with dancing lights.
  • Seriis can summon an orb of magical darkness so deep that even infravision cannot penetrate it.
  • His House insignia allows him to levitate at will, calling upon the powerful enchantment laying dormant within the pendant.

Companions

Seriis has three companions, two of which are usually not far behind him, if not always seen. The other is more often found after nightfall.

Avarn and Reyik
Two Al'Reim lowborn drow men, both older than Seriis, but bound to follow his commands as per the order of station. They commonly tease their charge despite this, especially Avarn - they seem to know the limits of what Seriis will tolerate, however. Neither of them know the surface too well either, though they were chosen explicitly to protect the young noble on his expedition to the bright lands above the Underdark. They may not always be seen with Seriis but they are usually somewhere nearby. Reyik is a versatile mage while Avarn is a warrior of great skill - they bicker amongst each other a lot, as each believes his chosen art is the superior one. Seriis finds them exasperating at times, but mostly tolerable. Rarely, he will admit to appreciating their presence.
Avarn is the pretty one, and this is something he actually claims to be quite regularly. The right side of Reyik's face has been marred by a terrible burn. The mage keeps his hair short and pushed back, while Avarn's often flows freely to his lower back when not tucked into his cloak.
One of them is an inch taller than the other. Reyik is certain it's him, but Avarn believes otherwise. Seriis has never bothered to try measuring them to find out, as both men tower over him at 6'0" and 6'1", and he doesn't want to reach that far up just to instigate another one of their endless arguments.
Avarn is also the scarier one, despite all looks and appearances suggesting otherwise. He's the more amiable and conversational of the two, with a more open sense of humour, but he's very much a twisted being, and finds enjoyment in playing with his victims while running on the high of battle-joy. Seriis calls him an idiot, and Reyik a stern one, for the mage has a quietly intimidating air about him and speaks far less often. When Reyik does speak, one will hear his husky voice with its dulcet tones. In contrast, Avarn sounds distinctly rougher, each syllable spoken having a harsh bite to it.
It's entirely possible that they're cousins, but no one is really sure.
Avarn is purported to have invented the word "bromance". At least amongst the drow.
Stingerbeast
A monstrous giant scorpion roughly the size of a large dog. Seriis does not really know what it is, hence its name. Its stinger rises a good four feet off the ground and drips with poison, but the venom is not all that dangerous except in large doses. Unfortunately, considering the size of the scorpion, it is able to pump a fatal amount of venom into a victim with relative ease. Its pincers are quite formidable, too.
Seriis spends an inordinate amount of time trying to drag the thing out of crevices and dark corners. He also likes to scare people with it.
The scorpion seems to think itself a dog and comes scuttling along in answer to Seriis' whistle.
It was a present from his mother, and one of the few he's ever received from her.

Other Things

--The scholar's books are some of his most prized possessions and any who even brush against them on accident are likely to lose a couple of fingers, while those who outright attempt to steal or look through the pages without permission will probably be killed.

--Despite being a lover and collector of knowledge, being well-versed in many things, he speaks the common tongue quite haltingly. He honestly finds the language ugly and barbaric, and does not appear to have fully grasped it yet. He speaks his native tongue with euphonious tongues but his common lacks that fluid ease - his failure to speak fluently even after years of practice frustrates him and is a secret sore spot, so Seriis won't take kindly to being mocked or teased about it. He's grudgingly taking lessons from his bodyguards, though.

--He hates surface dwellers as much as their language. He is not fond of touching them and will do his best to avoid contact, unless it involves the vicious dismemberment of their bodies.

--His weaknesses are books, knowledge, enchanted quills (he has a few), tomboyish girls, libraries, legends and adventure stories, rare items, inventions, gold, and sugary sweets and tarts and caramelised elf hearts (the latter, a delicacy).

--Dislikes being mocked or teased about most things, especially his accent/mediocre common, people touching his books, people touching any of his possessions, surface dwellers, bitter and overly spicy food, not understanding things, large-breasted girls, seductive women, whores, sunlight, ilithid, kraken, mermaids, and other mythical and frightening beasts. He's also come to dislike milk, thanks to a certain someone.

--He will stab people with his quills if the need presents itself.

--Fears the ocean and deep bodies of water. Though he has never seen the ocean with his own eyes, he has copied out countless tales detailing the many vicious monsters dwelling within it, and honestly believes every boat that heads out to sea will be attacked by kraken, or its crew lured to a watery grave by sirens and mermaids, or that sharks will leap out and tear them to pieces, and so on. He views the ocean as a murderous expanse of water; both terrifying to his young mind and a thing to revere due to its immense power.

--He's still just a boy really, but (normally) lacking the naivety one might expect of a youngster. His days spent reading myths and legends, especially those born on the surface, keep his young mind active, and secretly he sometimes longs to run off on an adventure.