Name: Orion, the Everwandering.

Age: ?

Height: 1,92 m

Weight: 98 kg

Class: Spellsword

Race: Human

Description: an old man with long, hoary hair, a well-kept beard, and light blue eyes, Orion stands taller than most men, and despite his face has been rugged by the years, his gaze reveals a mind as sharp as few. Pleasant to discuss with, his calm and fatherly behavior is fully expressed by his deep voice, often interrupting to allow him to draw a hit from his long wooden pipe, one of his two most loyal companions. Along with his armor, he is usually cloaked by a blue mantle, and covers his head with a hood or large wizard hat of the same colour. He is always closely followed by his other companion, Vox, his owl, often standing on the pauldron of his armor, which he also rarely leaves. Another prized possession of his are his many bags, backpacks and pouches, containing either seeds, dried leaves, roots, strange powders, and other such items, or strange trinkets and artifacts of varying utility, everything from a chemist's alembics to curious little items of unknown make.

Weapons and Equipment:

Runic Armor: a heavy and bulky plate armor, decorated and carved with numerous magical symbols and seals. One piece at the time, over the years this armor was forged by Orion himself through arcane means, and bears the signs of his many battles.

Seal of the Arcana: an ancient round greatshield, adorned with gleaming runes and seals of power. The shield was found in a forgotten dungeon, between the clenched arms of the skeletal body of a magician of old. Since then, Orion worked steadily to unveil the artifact's power, but some of its secrets yet escape the wizard's comprehension.

Staff of the Magus: given to him by a spirit during his journey to Arcadia, this powerful magical staff, engraved with shimmering runes, always subtly vibrates and resonates, following the rythm and melody of an unknown song: its upper end is often surrounded by an aura of occult energy, like a white flame in the darkness.

The Megatome: this burdensome tome is an ancient grimoire of sorcery, found by Orion in the depths of a forgotten mountain, far from the known world. Inside its glimmering pages, strange symbols and rhymes are written, used to cast spells that alter the flow of the song of the cosmos. They say that once this book was found by another brave adventurer, but what happened next has been lost to the mists of time.

Skills and Abilities:

Wall of Sound: the manipulation of the song of the cosmos is a technique mastered by Orion in decades of constant training. By altering the rythm and melody surrounding him, the wizard may perform sorcerous feats such as conjuring a solid wall of sound capable of deflecting bullets, or concentrate a sound wave to strike a mighty blow upon an enemy.

Hammer of Botany: Orion is an incredibly knowledgeable botanist and herborist. Thanks to his encyclopedic wisdom concerning plants and their uses, he may produce all kinds of poisons, drugs, potions, and the like.

Psychonauta: using psychotropic substances and plants, Orion may enter a trance-like state of communion of the song of the cosmos. In this altered state of consciousness, he may catch glimpses of the future or of things unknown, teleport through astral gates or contact the world of spirits.

Bio: born long ago in the outskirts of a great kingdom in the West, Orion was the last son of a family belonging to the lower nobility of the realm. Few recollections of his childhood remain in Orion's mind: the first clear memories come from his early teenage years, during the times of the civil war. As the noble families of the realm torn each other in bloody battles, each claiming the throne as their own, Orion's family was swept away by the tide of war: as the family mansion burned, Orion's eldest brother attempted to escape, carrying his youngest sibling with him, only to be cut down by an ambush. Orion managed to flee, ran across hills and deep forests, before taking shelter from the harsh weather inside a secluded cave, and there he collapsed, exhausted, his face crossed by streams of tears.

When Orion woke up, he found himself surrounded by the anchorets of the valleys. The old, bearded men welcomed the young orphan, barely eleven years old, into their community, as he had no other places to go. Soon, they discovered he had a talent for magic, and they taught him the ancient knowledge of the flora of the dales surrounding him. In his teenage years, Orion grew and blossomed, displaying a great interest for the natural world: he would spend entire hours walking in the deep woods, observing the magnificence of the flowering mountains. Soon, he started to wander ever farther from his valleys, discovering the beauty of the world surrounding him: the deep green leaves of the parthenoxylon, the vibrant red flowers of the callistemon, the intricate brown roots of the rhizophora. Soon, the time came when Orion asked to be left free to wander the world: the anchorets accepted, and after a long goodbye, Orion packed his things and left for his garden, the world.

Orion usually avoided great cities, preferring to keep to isolated paths and secluded villages. In these times, he gained quite a reputation among the peasants and farmers of his region, as he was known as a kind hearted man, and it was said that when he came, spring soon followed. In one of these peaceful hamlets, Orion met what perhaps was the most beautiful flower he ever saw: her name was love, and with her petals of wisteria she kept him close to her, as he with his leaves and branches of leucadendron kept her close to him, and the two became one. Yet, all flowers wither, and so did she. Disease caused her body to become cold, pale, but her heart remained warm, until death claimed her, and all that was left to Orion was an image, a spectre of felicity lost, the dried petals of a disappeared flower.

A solitary lifetime of journeys followed, after the initial winter of his soul. As seasons passed, warmth returned to Orion's heart, yet the idyll of that spring still accompanies Orion, however no more than a memory. Orion returned to travel, and while he travelled he also studied, becoming an ever more powerful magician. Soon, through song and sorcery, he could walk the realms of spirit, and the dreamlands that lie beyond the veil of sleep, from the desolate wastes of Eiriel to the towering walls of Arcadia. And there, to mysterious Arcadia, the city of a thousand lights, Orion arrived after his most arduous adventure. The gate of the city, surrounded by blossoming flowers with colors so vibrant they produced a synesthetic melody of their own, opened in a ray of blinding light, and a vision of an ancient love brought closure to his travels.

Now, Orion, in his old age, still roams the world, seeking the thrill of adventure, but also seeking someone to pass down his knowledge to, before his bones become the home of pteridophyte and erythronium, and his soul once again meets the flower of its spring.

Name: Vox

Age: ?

Height: 52 cm

Weight: 810 g

Class: owl familiar

Race: Tawny Owl, a.k.a. Owl of Sorcerers (Strix Aluco Arcana)

Description: a rather large female owl, cloaked in deep brown feathers, and with two profound dark eyes, Vox can be found perched on the pauldron of Orion's armor, observing the world around her with her penetrating gaze, capable of cutting through the thickest curtains of darkness. Sometimes, her deeply echoing call can be heard resonating in the night: also, the owl often seems to speak in Orion's ear, and some say that Vox is capable of reporting what she saw in his journeys of exploration.

Weapons and Equipment: none, other than her claws and beak: Vox is a rather peaceful owl, but not many would like to see her angry.

Skills and abilities: none in particular, unless you count flying, night vision, and a very cunning spirit of observation.

Bio: the Arcana are a rare and noble branch of the Strix Aluco, one of the greatest families of the race of Owls. They are known for their very long lifespans, and for their talent for magic: thus, they have been called "Owls of Sorcerers", as they are highly sought after by wizards. Orion found Vox when she was still inside her egg, her nest destroyed by one of the fires men had started to clear the woods, in order to make room for more fields. Orion offered the egg warmth and shelter, until it finally hatched, giving birth to Vox.

Since then, Vox has always been at Orion's side, acting as his eyes and ears, scouting the territory ahead and sometimes even attacking enemies with her claws and beak: however, she often leaves him in order to spend time with her kin, the owls of the deep forests, guardians of the ancient knowledge of the woods, and to offer her prayers to the shrines of her ancestors, high on the top of the great trees.