Wings of Fury 2

Name: Stefan Vori Rasha

Species: Ice Elf

Song: First Song, specifically training antimagic

Age: 29

Origin: Stefan comes from the ice-elf citadels of the far north of Alma, hailing from the grand city of Iskiyana. Within the city's icy walls live thousands of elves, safe within the geothermally-heated walls of their homes. The cities of the ice elves extend into the ground, digging deep during the dark winters, growing food on hydroponic systems that rely on the power of the second song to give life. They are the farmers, builders, and forgemasters of the ice elves. As such, Second Song use is extensively studied, formalized in academies and most prominent second song wielders come from a long family line of the like.

The outskirts of ice elf lands are sparsely populated, with small mostly-underground homesteads peeking out from the snow. As their lands are harsh, most conflict between the northern elves are highly ritualized and formalized. There is little for the cities to fight over, nevertheless they have stained the snows with blood in the past. In recent years, there has been peace, with Iskiyana cooperating with its neighbors of Salarad and Vidoan to hunt the giant beasts of the polar region and to fortify against incursions from the south.

Most people in Ice Elf society have a place within the walls, especially during the harsh and dark winters. Even homesteaders will return during the worst weather, with only the most stubborn, foolhardy, or well-prepared staying out. However, there is a group of people known as "Ice Witches" who live outside the citadel walls and wander the snowy lands. They are a mix of outcasts, soothsayers, adventurers, and wanderers, sometimes revered for their knowledge and foresight, other times ignored and kicked out of town for rocking the boat.

Ice Elven names generally have three parts - a given name, an adult or professional name, and a family name. The second name is usually chosen as part of a coming of age ceremony, and generally reflects that elf's training and role in society. Common ones include:

Boril, Aspar, Vadi: Warriors' names
Kali, Misha, Esper: Mage names, specifically those who craft for society.
Ilya, Fodor, Mari: Scholars' names
Moma, Chipa: Homesteader or farmer

Home: Stefan lives in a modest townhouse in Talais, which he and his sister purchased using their savings from home.

Appearance: Stefan is a short man, standing 5'4" tall and with a slight build. His hair is short and dark, contrasting strongly with the pale bluish-gray color of his eyes. He has a number of piercings in his long and pointed ears, most made of whale or walrus ivory, and he has scars on his arms and legs from many, many fights. He has adapted to the local style of dress, wearing the typical fabrics and colors of Chunadie, but he keeps his battle armor, made of cold-forged steel, in good shape.

Personality: Stefan is loud, forward, and bold. He seeks to prove himself in every situation, and hates it when people underestimate his abilities. He is loyal to his sister but has a hard time making new friends. He cares a lot about what other people think about him, and often bites off more than he can chew because of it. When he relaxes, though, he is easily amused, very generous, and tries his best to be kind to those he cares about.

Biography: Stefan was a difficult child. His parents were not expecting twins, as those are quite rare among the long-lived elves, and the Rasha family had a lot of expectations for him and his sister. Their mother, Neva, was a Second Song mage from an established family, and from an early age one of them was expected to carry on that legacy. At the beginning, they were both enrolled in lessons, but Stefan grew restless. He couldn't master even the simple attunement to the Second Song, and he was uninterested in the highly technical lessons on engineering, metallurgy, and agriculture that would help him find useful work after finishing his schooling. He rebelled against everything, tearing up his fancy clothes, sneaking out of lessons, getting into fights, and generally being unruly. His parents worried, but with Stefan's sister Ekatrin taking well to her training in the Second Song they paid less attention to him and his antics.

In his roaming around the citadel, Stefan fell in with a group of orphan children, learning to fight on the streets. They were at first skeptical of him, considering he was a rich kid and they were poor and outcast, but they figured out pretty quick that he was different. In this small group, he started developing his own identity, trying out new names and dressing boyishly. On the day he settled on his new name, Stefan, the kids decided to celebrate by sneaking into the main citadel and stealing some good food.

The heist, such as it was, was going pretty smoothly. As the central citadel had a lot of servants and whatnot running around, the children found it easy to sneak by and get to the kitchens. The kitchens were extra busy, with chefs shouting at each other, pots and pans full of exotic ingredients bubbling on magical fires, and a general sense of unease in the air. The kids managed to nick some fruit and a bit of fluffy fresh-baked bread and headed for the door. Someone spotted them then, pointing out the grubby children and shrieking even louder than the rest. Stefan and his friends broke into a sprint, scattering through the halls of the fortress.

Many frantic turns later, Stefan was lost. He got separated from his friends, somehow, and was now alone in an unfamiliar part of the towering structure. He nibbled on some cheese that he snagged and slowed down, looking for anything familiar that might help him get out. Down the hall, he heard the sound of voices talking, muffled by a door. A shaft of warm light through the door tempted him. Something beckoned to the boy, drawing him forward towards the sound. Before he knew it, he was pressed against the door, peering through the crack and blinking until his eyes adjusted to the brightness.

Inside was one of the citadel's leaders, the general Ashal Boril Karaman, was talking softly to a strange figure. The person was clearly an elf, but dressed in strange clothing, wild-looking furs and cloth, but simultaneously adorned with intricately carved ivory and fossilized wood. This person was standing in front of a large polished slab of ice, impossibly flat and reflective like a mirror. Stefan couldn't make out what was happening, but it seemed to him that shapes were forming and moving in the ice, only to disappear and be replaced by something else. The general was asking questions about enemies, what the southerners might be doing, and wasn't very happy with how the stranger was responding. After several minutes, the stranger turned and called towards the door.

"Come in, child. We have much to discuss, you and I. I've been waiting for someone like you."

Stefan learned many things that day. He learned that there were people who lived outside the strict confines of Ice Elf society. He learned of the ice witches, who could peer into the future and disrupt even the strongest enchantments with their manipulation of the First Song. And he learned that there were others like him, even moreso than the street children he befriended. In the coming weeks and months, Stefan became apprenticed to this diviner, who went only by the name "Vori". They brought him outside the city, showing him the realities of life outside the walls, and things started to make sense.

As he grew older, he trained in both combat and the First Song, though it was much harder to grasp than his sister's Second Song lessons. In the summers, he would go out with Vori on long journeys, visiting homesteads and helping the people out there, meeting with other ice witches and outcasts, and even venturing farther south and learning that the non-elven kingdoms weren't all that terrible. In the other seasons, he honed his fighting skills, and sought out Second Song fleshshapers who could help make his body suit him better. He threw himself into his studies, learning much about how the world worked, and for years, he settled into a routine. 

Things could not last the way they were. Vori would come by less and less frequently, leaving Stefan to study on his own for weeks. They would take him out somewhere and disappear, forcing the young man to survive in communities far away from his own, making him adapt. Vori wouldn't say why they were doing this, but they clearly saw something coming soon in the future. Stefan wasn't one to pry into his teacher's personal life, but he worried that his lessons would suddenly end. Those last few years were tense ones, with Stefan growing farther apart from his family, his friends from the streets, everyone except his teacher. 

Two years ago, on the longest day of summer, a stranger arrived in Iskiyana. He had come from one of the other citadels, and he was looking for someone. Everyone in the citadel had heard something about this traveler, and from the rumors, he was someone very, very, powerful. Stefan wondered why he was here, but he quickly put it out of his mind. His teacher had promised to meet him, and Stefan had been waiting far too long for another lesson. They were to meet at the central square, and so Stefan packed his bag and set out.

When he reached the square, he saw that it was unusually empty. Vori was there, sitting under a statue of a great mage, but there was someone else talking to them, a tall man in ice-white armor, towering over the diviner. Stefan ran towards his teacher and shouted at the stranger, asking what was going on, why was he bothering them? The stranger looked down at Stefan with cruel eyes, and said he was here to take Vori away for trial. Stefan knew that, if he let Vori leave there, he would never see his teacher again. He turned to his teacher and asked if it was true, but the other elf did not respond. The stranger laughed, and told Stefan to leave. 

The younger man refused. He didn't know what to do, but he knew he could not let this continue. In a panic, he challenged the stranger to single combat. The other elf smirked, and unstrapped his weapon. "So be it," he said, "It is my right to choose the weapon." The stranger had a heavy blade that he unsheathed and looked at, his reflection in the black metal grinning at Stefan. The young man was unarmed, but he knew he couldn't back down. "I am unarmed, so by law you must arm me with the same weapon of your choosing." This irritated his opponent, who cast aside his sword. "I will make you regret your foolishness, boy." He raised his fists and, without giving Stefan any time to get ready, launched his attack.

Although Stefan had been training for the past decade and a half, this elf's experience was far, far longer. He struck faster than Stefan could defend, sending him flying across the cobblestones. Moving forward with incredible speed, he kicked Stefan in the ribs as he landed, knocking the wind out of him. Stefan struggled to his feet, sidestepping his opponent's next attack and throwing a weak punch of his own. The stranger laughed and caught his fist, breaking it with a wrench upwards.

The fight was over in minutes, leaving Stefan broken and bleeding on the ground. The last thing he saw as he lost consciousness was Vori walking away with the stranger, looking down at their feet. When he came to, he was in his home, being cared for by his sister. It took him many months to recover, but as he healed, Stefan learned just how bad his situation was. The leaders of the citadel were considering what to do with him, as they did not want to start a feud with the stranger's city.

Stefan planned his escape from his recovery bed. He arranged for himself to be exiled, and asked his sister to leave with him. He decided to take the name "Vori" in honor of his teacher and left for the South. Over his travels, he settled in Chunadie...

Important Skills: 

Combat - Hand-to-hand fighting, swordfighting, spear-throwing
Science - Understanding of physics needed for First Song
First Song - 15 years of experience, focus on antimagic but knows a little about divination from being around his teacher
Survival skills - Knows how to live out on the ice on his own.


Important People:

Ekatrin Kali Rasha: Stefan's identical twin sister, Second Song mage.

Vori: Stefan's missing teacher

Marc D'arleau: Stefan's only friend in Chunadie, a surgeon by trade and amateur singer.

Inventory: Cold-Forged Armor, Ice-Elf Sword, Vori's apprentice pendant, survival tools.