• Hector Sibassius, played by Hank.
• Balen Oril, played by Peik.
• Hraf Raven-Eye, "Blackbird", played by Dead Cruiser.
• Angelique du Mersot, "Merci", played by Evestra.
• Elayne Ashing, played by the Nexerus.
• Aenyarin, played by Tuujaimaa.
• Baladas Venym, played by Flagg.
• Ungimros, played by MMGiru.
• Azriel Telvayn, played by Ghost Shadow.

Name: Hraf Raven-Eye, “Blackbird”

Age: 36

Gender: Male

Race: Nord

Appearance: Hraf can be seen in several ways as having the appearance of the typical Nord man; tall and stout in build, with a wide jaw and strong, broad features. His hair is very dark brown, nearly black, worn to shoulder-length, carefully combed and woven into thick braids. His beard, while thick and coarse, is kept short and neatly trimmed. Hraf’s most notable features are his dark, hollow eyes. Deeply-set with dark sockets, his brown eyes at times seem as dark as the sea on a moonless night. His gaze holds both worldly weariness and tenacity like a starving predator.

Taking pride in his appearance, Hraf makes efforts to keep himself well-groomed and smartly dressed. Fine furs, wools and leathers are his usual attire when not at sea, and he has a fondness for fancy brooches and necklaces. His attire at sea is more utilitarian, consisting of durable a black surcoat and boots, strongly-woven cotton clothes and a beaver-pelt cloak. Beneath his clothes, though, his body is covered by telltale marks from his escapades. Hraf's body is like a living scrapbook, with hands worn rough by ropes and oars, scars from skirmishes and bar fights, prison and maritime tattoos, and a pirate branding on his forearm (courtesy of the East Empire Trading Company).

Personality: For a hardy sailor and known privateer, Hraf is a surprisingly personable fellow. Charming and silver-tongued, most find Hraf to be a man both easy to like as well as trust. However, his affable persona can be quickly shut off and replaced with the cold, ruthless pragmatism that one would expect from a veteran smuggler and mercenary. Hraf is an opportunist at heart, always on the lookout for the next chance to advance himself or his goals. While he acknowledges its strength, Hraf does not care for social standing as much as he values cold, hard cash. The power money brings is of supreme value to him, and Hraf is no miser; he lives quite comfortably off of his pilfered fortunes, and hopes to eventually retire on his accumulated wealth. While he is not completely without empathy, Hraf is rather stone-hearted, and cares little for those that he misuses or kills in pursuit of riches. The most consideration one would earn would usually be either their usefulness to him in the future, or the potency of any enemies that he would make by abusing or killing someone. Not that he fears reprisals greatly, as Hraf is a cool and level-headed fellow, and is quite confident in his skills and experience to keep himself alive and prosperous.

History: The clan Raven-Eye is an old and well-respected merchant house in Skyrim, claiming that their roots extend to the Atmoran sailors who brought Ysgramor’s Companions to Tamriel. Hraf was born a distant scion to the house, the second son of a second son. Even so, he was raised comfortably among his siblings and cousins, schooled in the arts of sailing and mercantilism, and when he became of age, he was given his own ship to command. He rounded the ports of Tamriel, trading and selling common goods in every province of the Empire. However, he quickly learned that there were greater profits to be made in the business of goods made illegal by the Empire.

Be it slaves from Black Marsh or moon sugar from Elsweyr, Hraf managed to put a finger in nearly every pot of Tamriel’s seedy black market. However, competition in the smuggling business was fierce, and Hraf quickly learned that one either needed to get good fast, or be killed faster. His skills in battle and manipulation were forged on the razor’s edge of criminality, from repelling rival smugglers off the deck of his ship, to sweet-talking Imperial customs agents. Even so, Hraf was still a young sailor, and was not infallible. An Imperial galleon intercepted a shipment of Hist saplings, and engaged Hraf’s smaller trade ship in battle. Much of his crew was killed, his ship was destroyed, and Hraf himself was captured by the Imperial authorities. His family’s connections were able to ease his sentence to a mere seven years in the Imperial Prison, but with that he was disowned from house Raven-Eye, never again welcome in his ancestral halls.

Hraf’s imprisonment was not his first turn in the clink (nor would it be his last), and it was not the end of his career. Once released, he recovered a cask of gold that he had buried in the sands of Stros M’Kai, having planned for just such an emergency. With this, he commissioned a new ship from the shipwrights of Windhelm, dubbed “Blood Eagle,” and hired a reliable, yet suitable unsavory crew from the city’s slums. With a more battle-worthy ship and crew, Hraf took on more dangerous work that he was previously hesitant to engage in, including piracy, raids on coastal towns and mercenary work. With the onset of the Civil War in Skyrim, Hraf returned home as a privateer. Not that he truly chose a side; the Blood Eagle merely sacked whatever ships seemed most vulnerable, and he had acquired papers to prove that he was allied with either side as needed.

The calm following the defeat of the Stormcloak rebels and the return of Imperial law to Skyrim was disappointing to Hraf. Opportunity for his brand of work has died down in these peaceful times, and as such he has been forced further inland to put his particular set of skills to use.

Skills: First and foremost, Hraf is an inheritor of the long tradition of Nord sailors. Able to command a ship just as well as he can work as a deckhand on one, Hraf’s years at sea have made him just as comfortable in the open ocean as he is on land (perhaps even more so).  He knows the coastal waters of Tamriel like they were his hometown, and he is intimately familiar with the numerous byways and coves used by smugglers such as himself. Storms and icy waters mean little to a Nord sailor, and Hraf sails through such obstacles fearlessly.

As reliable a warrior as he is a captain, Hraf is an experienced swashbuckler, more than able to hold his own in a close-quarters battle. Short swords and scimitars are his forte, especially when fighting with a shield, but he is competent with axes or mauls as well. Fighting in a cramped space with little room to maneuver is second nature to Hraf, and in this way the corridor of crypt is much like the underdecks of a ship. In more open spaces, Hraf is a crack shot with a crossbow, his sharp “raven’s eyes” aiding his aim.

In more subtle matters, Hraf is a skilled haggler and negotiator, and is surprisingly knowledgeable in matters of trade and economics. Over the years, Hraf has established a network of contacts throughout the Empire, both reputable and otherwise, from which he frequently calls in favors and blackmail. While his charisma mostly lends itself to establishing deals, trades and other such short-term agreements, Hraf is never the less a dangerously smooth talker, and has a penchant for manipulation in certain circumstances. Some say that the “raven eyes” allow a man to see the desires of others, but Hraf attributes this talent to experience and practice. Once he knows what someone wants, bending them to his will is usually just a matter of time.

Equipment: Hraf’s most prized possession is his ship, the Blood Eagle. A Nord longboat, the Blood eagle has a sturdy, oak hull and mast (both reinforced with iron), twenty rowing benches, and a black sail emblazoned with the silhouette of a red eagle. Modified to fit Hraf’s specifications, the Blood Eagle’s bow and stern are fitted with steel beaks, designed to ram into and pierce the hulls of other ships. Below decks are many secret storage compartments for smuggled goods built into the hull. The deck is kept well-waxed, allowing spilled blood to be quickly and easily cleaned away.

In battle, Hraf prefers functionality far over form, and prefers his equipment to be easily replicable in the event it is dropped into the sea or broken. When preparing for combat, he equips armored plates to his boots and bracers, dons a simple steel helmet, and wears a mail shirt between his surcoat and fur cloak. He carries a sturdy shield, made mostly of steel for strength, but with a layer of wood to catch blades and axes. His weapons of choice are a simple, curved sword of castle-forged steel, and a long, straight knife of similar construction. When preparing for enemies afar, he wields a steel-spring crossbow and a quarrel of iron-tipped bolts.

Birthsign: The Serpent

Miscellaneous: Hraf keeps with him a trained raven, which he calls Muni. It usually perches on his wrist or shoulder, and Hraf feeds it small corns or scraps of meat. It has taken to imitating death-cries that it hears in Hraf’s presence, or calling out “Blood! Blood!” at random intervals. Hraf finds this behavior inexplicably amusing.

First Impressions: Given his line of work, Hraf has become a sharp judge of character, and has practiced the skill of cold reading. Based purely on first impressions, the Blackbird has made snap-decisions that have led him to fortune a handful of times, and saved his skin on innumerable other occasions.

The retired Legionnaire, Hector Sibassius, is not someone that Hraf thinks much of. While his skills would certainly be useful, the pirate instinctually distrusts those associated with the Empire. Hraf has spent too much of his life looking over his shoulder in anticipation of an Imperial galleon or an agent of the Pentius Oculatus to trust an Imperial soldier, even a retired one. Even so, Hraf is not outwardly hostile towards the man, and refrains from mentioning his days spent raiding Imperial frigates during the Civil War.

Balen Oril is an odd figure in Hraf’s eyes. He strikes the Blackbird as more of a wandering scholar than an adventurer or tomb raider, and he doubts that the Dark Elf would be of much use on their expedition. While scholarly pursuits have their place, that place is far away from the profits sought by Hraf, and so Balen earns little respect from the Nord on that point. If anything, he figures that Balen could serve as a shield or a pack mule in a pinch, but not much beyond that.

Angelique Something-Something… Merci, as she calls herself, is a familiar figure to Hraf. While he has personally never met the woman before, he recognizes her lifestyle, having seen it many times. The hedge witch is merely a peasant far from home, in over her head, but still scraping by. One resting on the shore of the underworld, but yet to tread its waters. In his early days, Hraf hired many people in similar situations to crew his ship after his more principled hands left him. These days he is more discriminating, valuing effectiveness over desperation. That said, Hraf figures that the Breton girl will be fairly easy to manipulate, should he need to. A little money goes a long way for some people.

Ashing is a familiar name to Hraf, as merchant families such as his own often knew others throughout Tamriel. While Hraf had not met the only daughter of the bereaved family before this expedition, he had met her father when the Blackbird was just a young lad. The man had died and Elayne had taken up the business while Hraf was doing time in the Imperial Prison, and as such had no dealings with her family’s company after Uthard’s death. Regarding Elayne herself, Hraf sees her as a simple sort of girl, smart enough to get herself in trouble, but not enough to get her back out of it.

The Dark Elven sellsword, Azriel Telvayn, is the sort of person that Hraf most prefers to deal with. The Blackbird puts great value on the mercenary’s one-track mind, lack of ambitions, marketable skills and manageable amount of intelligence. Hraf looks forward to working with him.

Meanwhile, the High Elven witch Aenyarin is precisely the type of person that Hraf most loathes to deal with. While the Blackbird himself was born much too late to fight in the Great War, in those times his father and uncle sold ships to the Empire and Imperial privateers alike, and suffered considerable losses when the Empire could not repay their bonds. As such, Hraf has a distinct distrust of High Elves, perhaps greater than his distrust of the Empire. Too smart to fool, and too haughty to charm, the Blackbird usually resorts to the last skill in his repertoire for High Elves: steel.  Hraf has decided to keep his eyes peeled for any convenient opportunities to rid their expedition of her.

Similar to the High Elf, Hraf does not care for the trickery of the Telvanni wizard Baladas Venym. Wizards are an unpredictable sort, and the Blackbird tries to keep his dealings with them to a minimum. Their motivations, Hraf finds, are usually strange, and their behavior stranger. Even so, the Dark Elf has enough of an ego that Hraf is still confident that he can be suitably manipulated, if need be.

Lastly, the Wood Elf Ungimros serves for Hraf as an example of why he doesn’t like or trust any sort of elf. Even the seemingly most reasonable and predictable of them, the Wood Elves of Valenwood, are inhuman degenerates without any sense of common decency. Not to say that Hraf prides himself on his own moral behavior; he merely laments that their deviation from the societal norms that he was raised to expect makes them all the more unpredictable and difficult to work with.

Name: Elayne Ashing.

Age: 25.

Gender: Female.

Race: Breton.

Appearance: Elayne's appearance is one typical of a young woman from the green and pleasant lands of Glenumbra. She has long, light brown hair that is kept in a pony-tail when she's travelling or exploring, but is allowed to flow freely when she finds herself in a comfortable settlement. Elayne's emerald green eyes can often be found to be scanning her surroundings, both for potential dangers and items of either magical interest or material worth, an example of her perceptive and astute nature. Elayne is fair-skinned, but not quite pale, and her features are soft and her build light; all three are consequences of her Breton heritage, as are her slightly pointed ears and high cheekbones. Elayne is not especially vain, but nonetheless takes some effort into making herself presentable, perhaps even attractive depending on one's tastes. This is more so to present an air of professionalism and confidence than to woo her contemporaries, however. Elayne bares no scars or other disfigurements, but she does have a tattoo—the Ehlnofex word 'Var'—written in the Aldmeri script on the inside of her left forearm.

Personality: Clever, self-confident and cautiously optimistic of those around her. She finds the faults in herself and others more easily than the blessings, but views these faults constructively, either as obstacles to be become or the raw material from which something positive can later be crafted. Elayne's intellect is considerable, and not accidental. She is an intimately curious person, eager to learn all that she can learn and uncover all that there is to be uncovered. The possibility in adventuring of solving historical mysteries and uncovering the accomplishments of ancient civilizations appeals to her more than the gold does. The loot, to her, is seen as the means to unlock even greater discoveries in the future, rather than the actual end goal of adventuring. That is not to say that she will neglect in taking the fair share of said loot owed to her, of course.

Somewhere in the lighter half of the moral shades of grey, Elayne is a fundamentally good person, but is not averse to making sacrifices for an ultimate greater good. She has a peculiarly strong detest for theft and banditry, however, having had one too many headaches in her past life with her family caravan to have any patience for the double-think professed by criminals of that stripe. Neither entirely selfless nor entirely selfish, Elayne is content with her fair share of the pie, but is distasteful, and fairly so, of being denied what is rightfully hers. She will neither cheat nor be cheated, and steal nor be stolen from. Neither will she abide observing others being stolen from or cheated, less out of moral obligation and more so as a consequence of her personal vendetta against ne'er-do-wells.

History: Born to a merchant family in Camlorn, in the south-west of High Rock, Elayne grew up in the middle-class of Breton society, having neither squalor nor splendour. The life of her family—including her mother Senna, father Uthard, Roland, her elder brother by several years, and Jakben, her twin brother—was ever-so-slightly less quaint than most of their contemporaries'. The nature of the family business meant that the Ashings travelled often, all together as a family, Uthard not being comfortable with the prospect of being away from his kin on business for such long stretches of time. This meant that Elayne had already seen most of High Rock, from Daggerfall to Farrun, before she reached adolescence. This state of constant exploration and discovery in her early years might have been what sparked Elayne's innate curiosity and wandering spirit, leading her on the road to a life wrought with adventure. It was what happened slightly later, though, when she had reached her adolescence, that tuned her moral compass.

Over the course of Elayne's childhood, the Ashing Caravan Company became more and more successful. Uthard proved himself a man of spectacular business acumen, and by the time his son Roland was joining his father in the family trade, the Ashings could count themselves as wealthy as many of High Rock's lesser nobility. This wealth naturally attracted attention. The positive kind, like prospective business partners, but also the negative kind: namely kidnappers. On the family's return to Camlorn one day, when Elayne was fifteen, the company's caravan was struck by a group of bandits. Prideful Uthard refused to give up the gold that his family was returning home with, and he and and Roland, along with their hired protection of two Redguard mercenaries, decided to fight. They were greatly outnumbered, however, by no less than a dozen of the cut-throats. The company had slain four of the attackers, with only one of their mercenaries fallen, but when Uthard turned to make sure none of the bandits had gotten to his wife Senna or his two young children, the remainder of the group had made off with a wounded Roland. Uthard pursued the fleeing highwaymen, but was wounded himself, his leg cut deeply by a sword. He survived, and would luckily be able to walk again, but for him it was all in vain: the bandits had made off with his son. To his surprise, a few days after the family had returned home, they received an anonymous letter, a ransom note, demanding an exuberant sum in exchange for Roland's life. Uthard, fully prepared to pay as much it took for his first born son, attended the meeting as directed by the note, and with the demanded sum. He was cheated, however. At the venue, a cave far outside of the city, a still-limping Uthard arrived with a bag of gold, expecting to leave with his son and put the whole horrible affair behind him. He would indeed leave, his life spared by the bandits, but not with his son. Roland had already died before the ransom note had been written, and the bandits had only Roland's body to offer in exchange for the gold—which they of course took in full regardless, leaving the wounded father in the cave alone to grieve his son.

Her older brother Roland's death had a profound effect on Elayne's family, and in turn on herself. Uthard now relegated his still successful merchant enterprise to underlings, becoming too depressed to travel and rarely leaving his home in Camlorn. Elayne and her twin brother Jakben took over Roland's old job, when the time came, assisting Uthard in managing the enterprise. The twins had a natural talent for the way of the merchant, but this did not interest or impress their father. In the years following Roland's death, nothing did, and Uthard was so crushed by his failure to defend his family that only a year into Elayne's joining the Ashing Caravan, he committed suicide. This represented the end of Elayne's involvement in the family business; Jakben took over the Ashing Caravan Company, and Elayne determined to leave High Rock altogether, to forge a new life for herself and leave the trauma behind. Living the life of a wanderer for a few short months, she eventually decided to follow in her mother's footsteps, rather than her fallen father's, and so set off for Winterhold.

Elayne's mother, Senna, had been an alumni of the College of Winterhold before meeting Uthard, and had taught her daughter some of the basics of magic in their travelling days. When Elayne arrived at the bridge to the College, on the day before her seventeenth birthday, she had neither staff nor robe and knew only the basic sort of spells needed to be given admission. She would go on to spend four years within the College, gaining proficiency in the Restoration and Alteration schools, supplemented with some forays into the school of Destruction, for self-defence; Elayne favours frost spells, taking after her mother.

It was shortly after her 21st birthday that Elayne chose to end her involvement with the College of Winterhold. The arrival of an unsavoury character from the Thalmor, as well as the constant feuding between her contemporaries and the growingly chaotic state of Skyrim was enough to convince her to continue her studies on her own. She travelled to Windhelm and disembarked from Skyrim for her home town of Camlorn in High Rock, eager to visit her family after such a prolonged absence. She had kept up with them in letters, but meeting her mother and brother again in person was nonetheless a pleasant experience for the now adult Elayne. The Ashing Caravan Company had taken off even better than Jakben had modestly claimed in his correspondence, and Senna was still doing well, keeping herself busy and staying healthy. It was not without a tinge of regret that Elayne set off again after a few short weeks living in her home town with her family, this time determined to make a name for herself in the magic community in the Imperial Heartland of Cyrodiil.

Upon arrival in the Imperial City, Elayne was thoroughly disappointed. Everything nasty that she'd heard about the Synod and the College of Whispers from her classmates and teachers in Winterhold was true; the College of Whispers was a bunch of necromantic fanatics, and the Synod were just clowns, using magic to entertain the Emperor until he threw coin at their feet. Both hoarded their meagre knowledge jealously, and neither had any significant amount of competent members. Deciding that the best option was to continue practising alone, Elayne purchased a home in the Imperial countryside with coin loaned from Jakben and began her self-education in earnest.

In relatively short order, though, Elayne found herself desiring real-life practice—use of magic against real, living opponents that could actually harm her. There was only so much a woman could learn from firing ice shards at fake dumbies. In search of some real dumbies, the kind that breathed through their filthy mouths, Elayne took up the life of an adventurer. The prospect of honing her magical talents whilst at the same time acquiring riches to support herself independently and knowledge to share with the world was too good of an opportunity to miss, and the Ayelid ruins of Cyrodiil had all that she needed to do this and more. After a few years practice, and more than a few excursions outside Cyrodiil, Elayne ran into a few like-minded adventure types in Cheydinhal. The idea came up of tackling a few adventures together, and Elayne, always eager to test out something new, eagerly obliged.

Skills: Elayne is proficient and possesses formal schooling in both the Restoration and Alteration schools of magic, and has several years experience honing her Destruction talents in the Imperial Province's many Ayelid ruins. She is also a capable merchant, able to barter effectively and sway those of lesser wit to look at things in a way favourable to her. Elayne has no experience and little interest in melee weapons, and is almost completely defenceless without her magic. She is fit in so far as she is agile, but possess little raw strength; she might beat you in a footrace, but certainly not in arm wrestling.

Equipment

-Apprentice Robes, complete with hood, boots and gloves. Robes contain pouches for small potion vials, which she refills between excursions.
-Small leather satchel, for carrying valuables such as gemstones looted from dungeons.
-Large leather book pouch, able to accommodate multiple tomes. Intended for both practical study and recreation.

Birthsign: The Lady.

Miscellaneous: Marne.

First Impressions

Hector Sibassius; Elayne's perception of Hector is largely congruent with her perception of the Empire he used to serve. Both are strong, but grizzled, and bare the scars of conflicts long since passed that nonetheless have left their permanent toll on both fighting ability and fighting spirit. Elayne sees Hector as a potential ally, but one with self-interest of considerable heft, and that is therefore not to be trusted too quickly. She believes his is a character that warrants further investigation before judgements can be duly made.

Blackbird; History has made Elayne distrustful of all members of the criminal underworld, and from what she has seen and heard of him, Blackbird is no exception. The only member of the group that the young Breton mage had heard of before Cheydinhal, Elayne was actually disappointed to find Blackbird in Cheydinhal, for it meant that he was still alive. The criminal's infamy in the merchant's circle of northern Tamriel is considerable, and Elayne had hoped that all those bands of Nord bandits that had sprung up from the chaos of Skyrim's Civil War had long since been executed. For this reason, Elayne was instantly distrustful of Blackbird, and with each of his charming smiles furthering her distaste, it is unlikely the two will get along.

Balen; A judgemental librarian. Balen is, thus far in Elayne's eyes, a figure not unlike the magic societies of Cyrodiil: possessing tome after tome of useful information, and having neither the desire nor skill to put it to real world use. Elayne hopes that she can convince Balen to more actively apply his knowledge of magic, and perhaps learn something herself from the Dunmer's repertoire—something which she would then actually use at some point.

Merci; Merci is, to Elayne, herself, put through the experience of an entirely different life. Each time she sees Merci it is as if Elayne is divining the consequence of an alternate life for herself, one including a great many unwise decisions and an excess of wrongdoing. Elayne's natural distaste for the criminality that pervades Tamriel is present in her first impression of Merci, but dampened. It is Elayne's hope that she can have a positive impact on Merci, setting the woman back towards the right path and imparting unto her all of the knowledge and skill that the best of Winterhold had to offer.

Azriel Telvayn; A reasonable man with a reasonable approach to life. Elayne finds Azriel altogether personable, and hopes that the journeys across Tamriel that all adventurers of his sort have to talk about can impart something interesting and helpful. Elayne's perception of Azriel is altogether positive, thus far.

Aenyarin; Elayne would rather Aenyarin and her kind not exist on this continent at all, and is loath to the prospect of her journeys in Cyrodiil including an escort from the most vile band of murderous pig-heads to ever infest Nirn. The woman herself seems... tolerable, at the very least preferable to Ancano, but her connection to Alinor and the unending arrogance that pervades her race cannot be easily compensated, even by so admirable a trait as curiosity. For all of her distaste towards Aenyarian and her kind, however, Elayne knows better than to intentionally ignite conflict with the woman that is likely the most powerful of her new band of travelling companions. The long lives and natural aptitudes of the Altmer make their magical capabilities legendary, and Elayne would rather have such an attune mage on her side than not. Elayne is more likely to stay her tongue against Aenyarian's supremacism than, for example, an intimation of the underworld from Blackbird.

Baladas; A Dunmer wizard who literally has the word 'Telvanni' carved into his staff. For what little Elayne knows of the man himself, she knows a great deal about House Telvanni, especially their recent state of affairs, and for this reason she treats Baladas with perhaps undue pity. The trials of the Dunmer of Morrowind seem without end as of late, and Elayne would like to avoid becoming yet another. She treats Baladas with respect and relative esteem, and finds his personality and manner nonabrasive, perhaps even enjoyable.

Ungimros; The Bosmer have always struck Elayne as a highly strange race, even more so than the exotic Dunmer, or the beastfolk. For this reason, Elayne's constant quest for knowledge places her at somewhat of a disadvantage in communicating with Ungimros; she sees him as more of a case study to examine than a real person, and for this reason treats him somewhat awkwardly.

Name: Aenyarin
Age: 167
Gender: Female
Race: Altmer

Appearance: Aenyarin's appearance is what one would typically expect of the Altmer, having been culturally bred over ages to resemble the Aldmer as closely as possible, and has almost all of the features one would typically associate with her Aldmeri heritage. Aenyarin's skin tone is the pale gold that springs to mind when one typically imagines the appearance of a typical High Elf, of fair complexion, and remarkably blemish-free, sans a single scar near the corner of her left eye. High cheekbones and angular features adorn her face and present a very naturally serious look that her expressions often do little to mask. Aenyarin's eyes are light hazel, less vibrant but more rich than her skin tone, and serve to accentuate the golden look she possesses rather than stand out like the eyes of many of the other races. Aenyarin's hair completes her overall theme, a shade in between burnished bronze and gold, and reaches just below her sternum at full length tied in a ponytail, and she has bangs that frame the sides of her face of a slightly lighter golden colour.

Aenyarin's build is fairly typical of the Altmer, being lithe and toned, but not sturdy enough to give off the impression of a great deal of capability regarding physical activity. Aenyarin stands at a rather tall 6'2" compared to many of the other races, and especially females, though her weight is comparable to the average of many other races due to her heritage, and her silhouette is also largely typical of true Altmeri heritage. Overall, Aenyarin is no great beauty, but selective breeding has given her the closest approximation to the Aldmer that her forebears could muster, and that gives her a certain respect among her own kind, if nothing else.

Personality: Aenyarin's primary attribute is her tremendous intellect, which her race and culture are often wont to possess, and it is clear from even the first impression of her that she has devoted much of her life and time towards cultivating a natural aptitude of learning. Knowledge is power, the creed of many mages and perhaps also of many Altmer, is perhaps the most fundamental aspect of her personality that drives her forward, but it - like all inherent principles - blossoms into various traits dependent on the environment in which it is cultured, and the values by which it is fed. As a proud member of the Altmer, this gave Aenyarin's natural aptitude a haughty and insular edge.

Aenyarin knows that she is significantly better at the magical arts than most hope to achieve in their lifetimes, and that fact is a constant facet of her personality - she is a superior being in many regards, as Altmer believe that they are, and she wears that fact proudly and openly (often to the chagrin of those that do not share her love for her race and culture). Even through such arrogance and pride she is not unpalatable, however, as her passion and wisdom also shine through to somewhat dull the sharp edge of her more brusque qualities. Aenyarin finds value in many things, in currency, in information, in culture, and appreciates finery in all of its forms - though she often thinks herself inscrutable to the lesser minds of the less cultured and less magically adept races, brilliance is something she is undeniably attracted to and fascinated by, and she can overlook most things in order to see the true value of exceptionalism - a trait many of her brethen do not possess.

Politicking is something that Aenyarin adores. Her battles are won with wit and charm, with force of will and strength of mind, and as an Altmer she expects no less of herself or her fellows. The other races are easier to forgive for these shortcomings as they are not expected to be on the level of a superior being like Aenyarin, and just as she appreciates and holds great respect for brilliance, she holds the utmost scorn for failures and dullards. Her level of contempt for those that do not at the very least aspire to be the greatest that they can be is exceptionally difficult for her to hide, and often she will simply project the brunt of her derision at them with little care for the consequences such outbursts can have.

Morality is, in particular, a concept that Aenyarin grapples with often. She does not necessarily consider herself to be immoral, but she considers everything other than the Altmer to have less value than she and her people do, and will not hesitate to sacrifice them for things she considers to be of greater value. For as long as anything, except her people, are less valuable than something else she will consider them to be expendable. On the other hand, she is well aware of the value of long-standing friendships and of the many skills that she needs, and will not dispose of them lightly. The Altmer have long lives, and Aenyarin sees the bigger picture for many things, including the value of her allies and friends.

History: Aenyarin's early life was typical of the Altmer - a lifetime's worth of education in culture, in history, in religion, and - of course - in magic. These things were taught to be of the greatest value, of fundamental and paramount importance to Aenyarin's life and to her ability to contribute to Altmeri society, and follow these instructions she did. Aenyarin excelled in these areas, and for a great deal of her childhood and adolescence was mired within the deep politicking and learning of culture that so often takes place on Summerset.

A large part of Aenyarin's life was tied up on Summerset, but she had aspirations that existed outside of the island she called her home, and those ambitions did not go unnoticed by an agent of the Thalmor called Marne, who inducted the promising Altmer. Aenyarin was recruited as a diplomat and mediator, as she possessed the pride of the Altmer necessary to sympathise with the Thalmor and the natural affinity for politicking that came with being a diplomat. Aenyarin's presence was first noted in Cyrodiil around the time of the Great War, where she did not directly fight but aided in talks with the Empire. In her natural state of wanting to advance, Aenyarin took up more and more lucrative missions for the Thalmor, learning what skills she needed to survive in the practical world as she went by, and eventually her skills were found to be worthy of use in the Thalmor's less savoury internment camps.

Aenyarin continued her work with the Thalmor for several years, learning the ways of torture and interrogation, and occasionally branching out as a field agent for combat-light missions. As time went on, she began to tire of her status not increasing, and sought to further herself within the ranks. She took on strenuous mission after strenuous mission, even in things she was not necessarily particularly exceptional at, and earned a name for herself within the Thalmor quickly. After a time of pushing herself far too hard, she was noticed and considered for promotion by her superiors, and sent on a delicate mission to cement her place. Deception is the game of those in the Thalmor, however, and Aenyarin's mission was sabotaged by a jealous rival, who attacked her (and left the distinctive scar on her left eye) and took the glory of the mission's success for himself.

Aenyarin was too useful for the Thalmor to dismiss, but her failure to anticipate such an attack from her fellows was a sign of weakness in their eyes - she was permitted to stay in high esteem, but she would not receive a promotion. For one who strived always to brilliance, this was an insult of the highest regard. When one has joined a group such as the Thalmor, however, it is impossible to ever truly be rid of them. Aenyarin took less and less missions, applying the skills and knowledge she had garnered to adventuring to make her trade, until such a point where she requested to be removed from active duty and sent back to Summerset. The Thalmor agreed, for a time, and she spent time in her homeland examining where she went from there on out.

Over time, Aenyarin reaffirmed her love for her people and homeland but decided to return to mainland Tamriel in order to continue to improve like she had in the Thalmor's service, but grew wary of their ways and how they treated those that they no longer considered particularly useful. She grew to feel that the Thalmor had the correct intentions but incorrect execution for the destiny of her people, and elected not to fully return to their service on the mainland, but to adventure for herself first and foremost. Her skill in illusion magic and in diplomacy allowed her to negotiate a deal with her masters, affording her use of the Thalmor's vast networks of information, spies, and occasionally resources in exchange for her reporting upon the state of things in the other provinces of Tamriel and occasionally her keen talent for interrogation.

After following a lucrative lead to Cheydinhal, Aenyarin found herself amongst a group of adventurers who promised a lead to an undisturbed Nordic tomb that could prove particularly lucrative - and having nothing to hold her back, Aenyarin agreed.

First Impressions:

-Hector Sibassius: Aenyarin sees Hector as the quintessential mercenary with a heart of gold that seems to draw packs of adventurers together, and is appreciative of the fact that he is part of the group for this if nothing else. Aenyarin is wary of one who does not strive to be the best they can be, but appreciates the level of discipline he has already achieved, though she will push for him to train more extensively from time to time if he does not. Aenyarin expects later tension to develop between the two, given her Thalmor nature and Hector's ex-Imperial nature, but that tension will be a point of interest more than a bother, she suspects.

-Hraf Raven-Eye: Aenyarin is wary of Hraf, having experience with manipulative silver-tongued criminals from her more lucrative assignments while she worked for the Thalmor, but fundamentally agrees with him on many levels - their primary motives are gold and they see eye to eye on the usefulness of people extending to what they can do over their personality. Aenyarin will likely always remain wary, always looking for weakness, and will be quick to act should he think that the small team is too big for both of them to stay.

-Merci du Mersot: Aenyarin likes that Merci is thoroughly infatuated with magic, and that she strives for excellence within the magical arts. She knows that Merci will never achieve what she herself can achieve as she is an Altmer, and is happy with Merci's place in the magical hierarchy of the group: below her. If asked, Aenyarin would be willing to assist Merci with magical endeavours out of respect for her initiative and never wanting to pass up a chance to express that she is the superior mage.

-Elayne Ashing: Aenyarin's opinion of Elayne is similar to her opinion of Merci, though she has more respect for the traditional tutelage of magic due to its complex nature, even if she does not believe that truly effective magical tutelage is possible outside of the Summerset Isles or the Psijic Order. Elayne seems to be the kind of mage that Aenyarin has respect for, and her personality seems to be fairly standard insofar as adventurers go, so she does not foresee any real tension in the future that she cannot dissolve.

-Balen Oril: Balen is the kind of character that Aenyarin detests - magically talented, but essentially a waste of skin when it comes to the arcane arts. She can respect a hunger for knowledge, but his blatant disregard for the proper use of magic and his set-solid belief that his is the true path is, perhaps hypocritically, a source of endless frustration for the haughty Altmer.

-Baladas Venym: Aenyarin considers this particular Dunmer to be borderline psychotic, magically talented (though less so than herself), and completely and utterly dangerous. The Telvanni have always held a particular charm for their talent at mastering the magical arts, but unless Baladas raises himself to his ancestors' standards, Aenyarin will never truly be able to hold back her contempt. She respects his magic, but expects him to live up to the name and will accept nothing less.

-Ungimros: Aenyarin's contempt for Bosmeri culture is obvious at even her first glance towards a Bosmer, and that very same prejudice rules her opinion of Ungimros. She has little to say about him, rare for an Altmer, and would prefer to pay him no mind unless he can somehow prove himself undeniably useful.

-Azriel Telvayn: Azriel is just another Dunmer to Aenyarin, and she knows better than to ask about their pasts - he does not strive to any kind of brilliance, nor is he a mage, and for this Aenyarin will simply let him alone or chide him occasionally like she does to all non-Altmer.

Skills: Aenyarin’s primary skill is magic, and in it she considers herself exceptionally skilled. Though this is somewhat true, her skills are not as impressive as she perhaps believes them to be. Aenyarin's primary focus is on Illusion magic, which she is well into the Expert-level of, and is skilled in magic that aims to win people over, pacify people, or induce fury. Of particular note is that her Illusion magic has often been turned to torture and interrogation, creating illusory scenarios designed to break willpower and inflict imaginary pain.

Also of note are her Adept-level skills in Destruction magic, something that proved to be necessary as a field agent, and in Restoration magic (which has saved her life on several occasions). Aenyarin's particular affinity in Destruction magic is Ice-based, and she has little focus on the other two elements that comprise the school, but is not necessarily unskilled in them. Aenyarin's Restoration magic consists primarily of healing, but after a particularly nasty incident involving Draugr, she is also somewhat turning and repelling the undead.

Aenyarin’s primary non-magical talent is that of Speechcraft, supplemented by her talents in Illusion magic, and she is a very accomplished diplomat and negotiator, able to get her party’s demands met in the way that benefits that party the most – often at the expense of those she is against.

Aenyarin also has a strong knowledge of cookery, a moderate knowledge of enchanting, and a penchant for being generally abrasive to lesser races, in particular the Bosmer.

Equipment: Aenyarin carries little equipment with her, electing to travel light enough to flee if caught in a position she cannot magic her way out of. She carries with her several books for reading, a journal and writing tools, and a simple steel dagger that she cannot effectively use. Her equipment consists of two sets, one being her Thalmor uniform, and another being a set of Expert-level robes (complete with boots and a hood).

Birthsign: The Apprentice

Miscellaneous: Her favourite food is poached salmon.

Name: Ungimros
Age: 120
Gender: Male
Race: Bosmer - Wood Elf

Appearance:

To humans, apparently around thirty in age. Skin roughly the brown of a dead leaf, eyes with large pupils and dark irises, and bear-black hair. His beard and mustache are thin and trimmed, but not styled, and he has hair to the base of his neck, all wild but for two braids used to keep it out of his eyes.

He is not an ugly man, but not good-looking, and reinforces this with the rest of his unconcerned appearance. His hide armor seems to be composed of at least four creatures, and none of his leather-ware matches in dye, style, or quality.

Personality:

Marne-y. As long as he’s mobile, Ungimros is cheerful, competitive, and carefree. He’s also irresponsible in the extreme, and as often as he can keep himself, callous with other people’s lives and futures. He tries keep unattached from people or places, but makes an effort to enjoy them while they present themselves. He becomes anxious without change or excitement for too long, and will seek to create some if he perceives himself trapped on some capacity.

He's not particularly involved with Bosmeri culture, and is a bit loose regarding the Green Pact he grew up with. He avoids eating plants as he was conditioned to, but isn't opposed to them as spices. He also allows himself some leniency on eating every one of his kills, due in part to his itinerancy and adventuring tendencies. Rather than consuming as much of his kills as possible, Ungimros will typically take a sample, unless he genuinely needs the meal.

History:

Ungimros was mobile and active from a very young age; always running, swimming, climbing, and playing with shortbows, but in his childhood, he had several friends, some of them quite close. They grew up in a quite traditional village, where most families held to the Green Pact; only a few Bosmer families and the village's three Orc families did not. For the most part, this was never a problem, aside from how traditionalists looked down on those less so.

When Ungimros was of an age comparable to a human preteen, an incident occurred which was pivotal in his personal development. He got into a conflict with a close friend, over a girl, which devolved into a tumble on the forest floor. By accident, a punch sent the other boy's head to smack against a sharp rock. The wound was immediately dark and bloody, but Ungimros had never learned any healing magic from the village. By the time he'd carried his friend back, very tired and soaked in blood not his, it was too late. His family and the other boy's being strict traditionalists, it was made clear to Ungimros that he was not to waste the new source of meat, lest he dishonor himself and his dead friend.

The emotional difficulty of eating a good friend caused Ungimros to stop making and keeping good friends, and as soon as it was feasible, he left his village, to wander the rest of Valenwood, where there would be no family to oblige him to be strict regarding the Green Pact, and no friends to make him feel the way he had when following it. This was his mode for a few decades, and he became a competent hunter. But while hunting kept him fed, that was about all it did in Valenwood, where the career was densely saturated.

A more rewarding sort of work, he found, was bounty hunting plant-poachers near the (recently diminished) edges of Valenwood. Mostly these people were Khajiit, but various other sorts could be found trying to take flora from Valenwood. The jobs, while exciting and decently rewarding, were few. Ungimros went looking for similar experiences over the years, with a theme of adventure eventually making itself clear. Almost a decade into this, he wandered north, finding an Ayleid ruin tucked away in deep forest. The place had been long converted into a Bosmer village, it turned out, but studying the architecture, Ungimros was intrigued with how it must have looked to the first people to enter. He was told there were traps and hordes of undead, and the idea excited him.

From that point onward, Ungimros no longer restricted himself to Valenwood, exploring Cyrodiil, sampling the sands of Elseweyr, viewing the Red Mountain (from a distance), and even spending a little time in Skyrim. The last place proved colder than Ungimros had been entirely into, so he moved back south, to look into the parts of Cyrodiil he’d not yet seen, starting with Cheydinhal.

Skills: Ungimros is a consummate outdoorsman; well-versed in the behavior of most Tamrielic animals, as well as judging weather, terrain, and foliage. He's a practiced tracker and hunter, and can gauge how to move silently and keep downwind in a given situation. He knows how to skin, butcher, and serve virtually any creature in Mundus, including all the bipedal races of Tamriel.

Physically, Ungimros is strong and agile. His archery is very good with a traditional bow, and especially a long one, though not as great with a crossbow. He's not great with a blade, but competent with things near dagger length. He can climb with ease, swim swiftly, and run quietly.

Ungimros' only magical skill is a small amount of Conjuration experience, learned primarily for profit. He can bind souls at a distance and trap them in gems on their body's death, to be sold to enchanters and other mages later. He also knows how to summon weak daedra in the shape of either a spectral wolf or a dagger, though he has been working on trying to conjure a Daedra as an arrow.

Equipment: Ungimros wears hide armor, as much for warmth as protection. A longbow of Altmeri design is generally resting on his back, a strap with a button to be unlatched whenever he needs the weapon. He keeps his quiver on one thigh, and it currently holds just under two dozen arrows of varied make and material. The rest of things are kept in two satchels - either one strapped around his waist - since he's yet to purchase or loot a belt that does something to this effect. In the satchels after his trip to Cheydinhall are as follows:
• 4 petty soulgems
• two minor healing potions
• a spare bow string
• 37 scattered Septims

Birthsign: - The Steed

-First Impressions-

Hector: Military gone mercenary, obviously. Whether Aldmeri or Imperial, Ungimros had never been interested in people who follow orders so readily, but he supposed someone had to be bland to make others exciting. At least this one had decided to make himself more interesting than a suit of armor, and he seemed like someone who could handle himself.

Blackbird: Ungimros remembered a skooma peddler with a similar smile, which had faded when the man learned the only sale to be made was his head. Neither the bounty nor the Breton's heart had been satisfying. Still, it was useful to have a charmer and a veteran, and this man was both. Regardless of utility, Ungimros didn't plan to be present when the bird stopped cooing, entertaining as the day might prove.

Balen: Ungimros had found that in general, quieter people had the hidden potential to be more interesting than others, and he certainly hoped to find this true for Balen, since he was not entirely sure what other use the Dunmer would come to. The man seemed half in Oblivion all the time, and had expressed the impracticality of his own magic. Like the (presumed) mage's ashen homeland, Ungimros would observe from a distance.

Baladas: The more ostensibly useful of the two Dunmer mages was more sociable, as well. That he was a sorcerer of the oft-taboo, and probably a little bit mad, was only a concern for Ungimros in that their current venture was directly into a pit full of Nordic undead. Otherwise, he was an entertaining person to speak to.

Merci: Her name amused Ungimros, but fortunately she proved less naive than one interpretation, and easier to stand than the others. Her youth is apparently no barrier to her magic, either, and having more than just the Altmer as a healer strikes Ungimros as critically important for any extended ventures like crypt-delving.

Elayne: A sensible person, which was usually disappointing. In this case, Ungimros imagined the Breton's intelligence and passion would keep her interesting to watch and talk to. Although he's not entirely comfortable with her using him as a Bosmer reference point, it is amusing enough for him to have accepted such conversations.

Aenyarin: The typical Altmer, to Ungimros' experience, was one who shat upon the percieved lesser races, even when their guests. Disappointingly, this mage did not seem to be a deviation, and indeed had been Thalmor; the most concentrated of that ideology. Added to her obvious additional distaste for Ungimros, he did not guess any positive interaction in their future. Still, she was honest, and could presumably destroy many enemies with one spell; both of which were positives.

Miscellaneous: Apparently forgot this section existed.

Name: Baladas Venym
Age: 201
Gender: Male
Race: Dunmer

Appearance: Tall, slim, with darker skin than the typical Dunmer, and the angular features and crimson eyes of his race. His nose is arched crooked from repeated breaks, and his face marked by numerous scars, the most prominent of which travels from his hairline to his chin on the left side of his face, notching his lip. He has a trim, short goatee, and shoulder length black hair streaked with grey. He usually wears a weather beaten, dark red robe and travel cloak the Telvanni style.

Personality: Unusual for Dunmer and sorcerers alike, Venym is cordial and personable, an person of such endless verbosity that he frequently comes across as slightly unhinged. He has a sharp sense of humor, an encyclopedic knowledge of lore and literature, and is possessed of an almost childlike fascination with the world. He has always been a restless scholar with a taste for danger, curious and cerebral, but unwilling to spend his life in a dank library or cloistered in a fungus-tower. While he regularly courts death and is no coward, Venym is driven primarily by the desire to attain immortality. He is egocentric, arrogant, and supremely-often insanely-self confident, but at the same time has a genuine interest in other people and loves a good story and conversation. These contrasting traits make for a somewhat inconsistent character, by turns ruthless, irritable and self centered or generous and hilarious.

History:



Skills: Venym is a mage, accomplished in destruction and alteration. His primary scholarly interest is in necromancy and daedric magic, and he is most skilled at conjuration. Several lifetimes worth of experience in wandering Tamriel have made him a canny adventurer, with quick wits and basic survival skills in the wild.

Equipment:
Dunmer robes in the Telvanni style, worn by many years of travel.
An amulet of silver and volcanic glass, enchanted
A plain wooden staff, engraved with Telvanni sigils.
Hunting knife.

Birthsign: The Apprentice

Misc: Venym is primarily interested in this expedition as an opportunity to study Nordic draugr and the arts of ancient nordic necromancy.