Rinkky

The Vanishing Kingdom

Amidst all the fighting, the stories, and the comings and goings of people he had never seen before, yet were familiar with the rest of what seemed to be a group of adventurers, Ingoleth got bored paying attention to such childish concepts and pulled out his flute, playing a silent, calming tune akin to an old lullaby that reminded him of Automn. Soon enough, he was lost in his own melody, his eyes closed and unconsciously creating illusions of falling maple leaves drifting in an imaginary wind.

Dix was the complete opposite, floating around the entire place excitedly, taking in the sight of chaos' purest form, a good'ol bar argument. She really hoped this escalated further...

When he felt a change in atmosphere, Ingoleth stopped playing and opened his eyes only to be greeted with a single winged Bidzil. Rubbing his eyes and taking another look, he was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasnt a trick of the light, and whoever that man was, had already caught Ingoleth's attention. He holstered his flute and stood, "I know not your name nor your task, but im willing to accompany you and help out with your task for one simple reason. No other bard will ever compete with a tale such as this one, let alone witness it!"

He then turned his attention to Kallen who was trying to offer a peach to the tinker inside its tinker vase cave. "Speaking of the Tinker... i say we keep it. A single stroll around Portea and i could provide all the materials it could ever dream of. Things are cheap, talent is expensive. It didnt steal anything of sentimental value, did it?"

The Vanishing Kingdom

People kept on coming and coming, and Ingoleth's curiosity kept growing. Did they all know each other? Quite an adventuring party! Though what kept him interested even more was that beastman. He seemed very passionate. He hadnt seen such rage, such intense hate in a while, he couldnt help but smirk at his directed verbal and somatic threats. Intriguing... Maybe he could use that. But for now, he simply moved to the side with a chuckle.

"Verbal diarrhea? I dont even talk that much! Unless you dont know the actual definition and just mean that i talk shit, in which case, stop it you, im blushing!" Using his ability, he made his cheeks red like he had make-up on to go along with his sarcastic comment before everyone left for the inn, which he also did, because fuck it. What does he have to lose anyway? Its not like they would kill him. Hes smarter than that! "Come on dix, you dont wanna miss all the fun." he said out of everyone's earshot before moving.

At the inn, he just sat as close to Kistal as possible without being in range of any more melee attacks, and ordered a simple meal. If asked which one, he would of replied with "Surprise me."

The Vanishing Kingdom

The entire time, Dix was floating around him, invisible to everyone else, often times hovering near his instrument. At the middle of all the festivities Ingoleth answered her pleas, distancing himself from the gathering only to change his appearance into Salman Beriedfolk and grab his Harp, leaving everything else somewhere hidden.
Walking towards the backstage with a slight smile, he begun playing his stringed instrument before going up to the stage. With the assistance of his ghost sounds, he increased his harp's volume, silencing everything else by the sheer loudness of his instrument. After the short intro and using his illusory images, the sands were raised to the shape of trees covering the entire event before changing the texture into what looked like actual wood. In synchronicity to his music, the trees sprouted leaves which later turned into scales, falling from the trees and hovering above everyone's heads, out of reach, riding an illusory wind.
The moment everyone's attention was in his illusions, he infused his harp with mana and played his cunning tune, inducing awe, as the trees turned into fluffy snow which froze quickly and broke, the sparkling tiny pieces and snowflakes glowing as they remained out of reach. Thats when the feast begun, syphoning mana from everyone until he couldnt feast no more, as he slowly backed out of the stage and disappeared, along with his illusions. Recovering the stuff he hid before the performance, he went to the inn and paid for a room before calling it for a night, well fed.

The next day he woke up to find four of his Harp's strings missing. He was pretty sure that he didnt break them during the performance, but after hearing about the townspeople missing things too, he figured there was a thief among them, and what a thief.. What need do they have of strings? Having no way to fix his Harp without returning to portea, he roamed around the town, taking in the uninspiring yet unique sights of the town, mainly around the temple and the market district.

The Vanishing Kingdom

Ingoleth reluctantly played some music on the way to Kalla without taking any mana from them, his mood slightly improving day by day the farther away his failed latest innovative attempt got. Nevertheless, it was still an improvement, and he appreciated the time away from Portea, finding the different scene inspiring and refreshing. Its been a while since the last time he visited the small town..
When he wasnt entertaining them with his music, he was gathering information about the event they were attending to, using his cunning ways to get some much needed insight about the type of performance it would be.

Upon being invited to play for a crowd, he politely refused. "I apologize, i am not here for a performance today.." he half lied. Ingoleth wasnt to perform here today, but Salman Beriedfolk... He was here to steal the crowd! But that would have to wait. The perfect moment to make an entrance had yet to present itself. But until then, he enjoyed the party by eating, drinking, and observing. The first trick of stealing people's hearts, was knowing what they already love. Unfortunately, he couldnt do that right before a performance, it would be too suspicious, or he could be discovered. Instead, he took a good look at everyone, and mentally noted some interesting fellows in the crowd that he could take inspiration from.
It didnt take long for him to construct in his mind the perfect illusion of this event, a majestic show that you cant look away from, a show that will bring forth tears on the eyes of even the toughest individuals. It was perfection. All he had to do now, was wait for the right moment, preferably toward the halfway point of the celebrations. So he sat down and enjoyed the mediocrity, while it lasted.

The Vanishing Kingdom

Ingoleth was frustrated. He has been trying to come up with a new passion and just cant do it. Whenever he sits down, it always seems like he's close to a musical breakthrough, but it is conveniently far enough to dodge his grasp. With a frustrated sigh he took off the strap of his guitar, and hanged it on his wall, an expression of disappointment and annoyance, whilst Dixie was flying around the empty house. Without anything better to do, he grabbed his leather backpack and stuffed 30 gold pieces along with 2 rations, his map and multitool and filled his thermos with cold running water before closing the bag and securing it on his back. Then he grabbed his cloak and put it on over the backpack, and mounted his harp and flute on the side of his belt as he walked towards the front door. "Lets go." he mumbled to Dixie as he got out of his house and walked towards the first direction he felt like going towards, the fox spirit following, floating in the air near him, invisible to everyone else.
Portea was busy as ever, seeing people he recognized over the decades, visitors here to enjoy the city's wonders, as well as new blood hes been consistently seeing in the recent years. The city buzzed with life and it was something he grew accustomed to in his lifetime. Merchants, inventors, mercenaries, that was the norm for the city.
He kept walking mindlessly, looking around and trying to forget about yet another near-breakthrough in the musical world. It seemed like an impossible task at this point, and sightseeing helped him forget about it. Step by step, he walked, up until he saw a carriage. He approached it and got on, seeing the red and white clothing and a green lotus emblem, of one of the merchant families. "Just take me wherever you're going." and gave the carriage driver 5 gold pieces from his backpack. "That's the standard right? I've got more if needed." and got comfortable in his seat.

For the entire trip, he pondered. Pondered about his attemps, about his successes and failures, about those that enjoyed his music, and wondered why. The answer was simple, because he was amazing at his work, with unique shows.. but that wasnt what he was looking for, it wasnt enough for him anymore. In the end, he opted to simply enjoy the changing view, from grassy planes and forests, to sandy hills and cactuses, along with his fox companion hovering around them. So we're heading to Kalla.. I can work with that.
Sun setting behind the dunes and hills of sand, the colors of the sunset complimenting the sandy yellow of the desert. In the far distance could now be seen, the fast approaching town of Kalla.

The Vanishing Kingdom

Name: Ingoleth
Stage name: Salman Beriedfolk

Age: 278

Race: Demon

Appearance:
He usually wears stylish clothes, his regular clothing being a grey tanktop with a short green hooded cloak with a grey trim, along with brown leather pants, all top quality. His skin is a grey tone, with grey to blue lips and blood red eyes. Two small horns, perfectly hidden under his curly purely black hair. Slightly pointy ears and a sharp jawline, with his canines slightly bigger and sharper than normal. Slightly muscled thin arms and moderate sized, sharpened nails. He wears 2 rings on his left hand, both golden with some intricate designs on them, as well as gemstones, a green and a brown one, the green in his ring finger, and the brown in his index finger.
His stage appearance is altered, with a lighter skin tone, black to blue hair, regular teeth, and a more rounded jawline, and blue eyes with regular colored lips. He also looks skinnier and without muscles. On stage, he wears a frilly white top with a corset-like leather midsection, along with green shorts with yellow embroidery, a matching green cape held together by a white and gold bow, and a beret-like hat with his favorite flower, a white nightshade.

[How he looks on stage, only differences are the flowers which are supposed to be white nightshade, the bow being white and gold, hair thats not braided, and a lack of stockings.]

Personality:
Ingoleth is a cunning person in all its meaning. He knows his way to humans hearts and minds equally, and puts even greater effort to it when he wants something from them, often grooming them for long periods of time to get on their good side. He is unpredictable, often times pulling tricks up his sleeve that nobody would expect him to even have. More than that, he is very keen on details, especially so when it has to do with his goals. Hes a performer after all, he has the eye for attention to detail.

Bio:
Taking it upon himself to learn all he can about the world he roams the lands, looking to collect useful information and also looking for opportunities to influence the world. He loves creating havoc and drawing attention to his "deeds". Over the centuries he has made a name for himself as a performer and made it his preferred way to get some juicy mana, however that doesnt stop him from making other types of spectacles, as to not keep repeating the same thing, rendering it dull.

He loves making life interesting, in his own way. One day it'll be a performance, another, an empty threat towards an entire city out of the blue. He is a sucker for inspiring both fear and chaos, as well as bliss and happiness in people's hearts, then tasting it for himself. Bringing out extreme emotion from people is his true art.

Being a well known bard, he is often invited to perform in royal parties, getting paid incredibly well for it. His talent is music, however he does love adding some flair to his performances with his illusions, making for a dramatic and truly outstanding performer. Performing in the streets isnt something he usually does, but its not an impossibility for him either.

He has his own companion, a fox spirit named Dixie (or Dix), that approached him, seeing potential in his chaos a century ago, and improving his trickery and havoc, giving him ideas for tricks Dix would never be able to do alone, and in return staying with him making sure her fun never ends.

Equipment:
- 300 gold
- a harp
- a flute
- a guitar
- a medium leather backpack
- a map
- a custom camping multi-tool thats a knife, a lighter, a spoonfork, a cork opener, a can opener, scissors, pliers, a hammer, and a compass.
- 10 rations of canned crab meat, cheese and bread.
- a thermos.

Abilities:
Bardic Mana Reaping: Ingoleth is able to feed on another's mana, no matter the range, as long as his actions have impacted the person's mind and/or heart. The stronger the feeling induced by his spectacles and/or performances, the more mana he is able to consume the moment said feeling emerges.
Eye Candy: Ingoleth creates visual illusions of all shapes and sizes. The bigger and more complex the illusion is, the more mana is used. The illusions are very realistic, making for great distractions and effects, as well as hiding what he doesnt want you to see. More than that, the illusions can move. An illusion is made with a condition in mind, disappearing after its is met or Ingoleth wills it to.
Ghost Sounds: Ingoleth selects a location to "broadcast" sound from. He can create any sound he wants, real or imaginative, including complex sounds like intelligent speech. More than that, he can control the volume of the sound, making the illusion sound like its farther or closer than it actually is. Additionally, he can create an illusion audible to a single creature, targeting their eardrum directly, with an increased mana cost.
Cunning Tune: By playing his harp and infusing it with mana, he can create the following effects depending on which notes he uses:
- Induce sleep: by playing slow and calming notes, he can induce either drowsiness or sleep, depending on how far he goes with it.
- Induce hyperactivity: by playing fast and high notes, he can induce hyperactivity and restlessness.
- Induce emotion: by altering how he plays, he can induce any emotion. for example, a calming song with a few high notes inbetween would cause irritation and anger.
- Neutralize effect: by playing a very specific tune that is a minute long, he neutralizes any magical effects, enchantments or curses, on any non-sentient inanimate objects.
Flute Requirem: By infusing his flute with mana, he is able to create a cone-shaped sound wave of 130 decibels (equivalent of a jet engine taking off), loud enough for anyone in the conical area to collapse from the ear pain. Also creates a harmless air wave. The farther someone or something is, the less effective. Its a killer move which consumes half of his max mana.

Extra notes and Trivia:
- His favorite color is green.
- His disguise is a bard, but he is genuinely interested in it, its not just a cover. He has extensive knowledge on music, dancing, and singing, and even a little on art, but he is only proficient with music, being average in the other two, with art being his worst bardic skill, which is okay for a wanted poster but still not good enough to hang on his own wall. That however doesnt stop him from using his illusions as a way to seem better than he is, whenever it is necessary.
- He doesnt care what race or gender you are, you'll be treated the same.
- He likes making up names that have meanings.
- Over the centuries he has changed bardic personas, being in his third one currently, with his previous two being "Harpman Everfed", meaning "the man with a harp is never hungry", and "Sevag buttreck" meaning "Savage, but required".
- His current bardic persona name, "Salman Beriedfolk", means "Salman has burried folks", referencing his previous 2 dead personas.
- He changes his bardic personas every time he feels like changing his performance name and outfit.
- Flute requirem is a tribute to his first bardic persona death, who was a master flute player.
- He gets a new ring for every previous bardic persona. The gemstones are the color of each persona's eyes.
- He has a house of his own, built around about 150 years ago in Portea with his first bardic persona's earnings, only to stage his death shortly after and rig his will's challenge as a means to decide who would win the house through a puzzle only he could make sense of, successfully "earning" his own house as Ingoleth instead of "Harpman Everfed".

The Vanishing Kingdom

Name: Ingoleth
Stage name: Salman Beriedfolk

Age: 278

Race: Demon

Appearance:
He usually wears stylish clothes, his regular clothing being a grey tanktop with a short green hooded cloak with a grey trim, along with brown leather pants, all top quality. His skin is a grey tone, with grey to blue lips and blood red eyes. Two small horns, perfectly hidden under his curly purely black hair. Slightly pointy ears and a sharp jawline, with his canines slightly bigger and sharper than normal. Slightly muscled thin arms and moderate sized, sharpened nails. He wears 2 rings on his left hand, both golden with some intricate designs on them, as well as gemstones, a green and a brown one, the green in his ring finger, and the brown in his index finger.
His stage appearance is altered, with a lighter skin tone, black to blue hair, regular teeth, and a more rounded jawline, and blue eyes with regular colored lips. He also looks skinnier and without muscles. On stage, he wears a frilly white top with a corset-like leather midsection, along with green shorts with yellow embroidery, a matching green cape held together by a white and gold bow, and a beret-like hat with his favorite flower, a white nightshade.

[How he looks on stage, only differences are the flowers which are supposed to be white nightshade, the bow being white and gold, hair thats not braided, and a lack of stockings.]

Personality:
Ingoleth is a cunning person in all its meaning. He knows his way to humans hearts and minds equally, and puts even greater effort to it when he wants something from them, often grooming them for long periods of time to get on their good side. He is unpredictable, often times pulling tricks up his sleeve that nobody would expect him to even have. More than that, he is very keen on details, especially so when it has to do with his goals. Hes a performer after all, he has the eye for attention to detail.

Bio:
Taking it upon himself to learn all he can about the world he roams the lands, looking to collect useful information and also looking for opportunities to influence the world. He loves creating havoc and drawing attention to his "deeds". Over the centuries he has made a name for himself as a performer and made it his preferred way to get some juicy mana, however that doesnt stop him from making other types of spectacles, as to not keep repeating the same thing, rendering it dull.

He loves making life interesting, in his own way. One day it'll be a performance, another, an empty threat towards an entire city out of the blue. He is a sucker for inspiring both fear and chaos, as well as bliss and happiness in people's hearts, then tasting it for himself. Bringing out extreme emotion from people is his true art.

Being a well known bard, he is often invited to perform in royal parties, getting paid incredibly well for it. His talent is music, however he does love adding some flair to his performances with his illusions, making for a dramatic and truly outstanding performer. Performing in the streets isnt something he usually does, but its not an impossibility for him either.

He has his own companion, a fox spirit named Dixie (or Dix), that approached him, seeing potential in his chaos a century ago, and improving his trickery and havoc, giving him ideas for tricks Dix would never be able to do alone, and in return staying with him making sure her fun never ends.

Equipment:
- 300 gold
- a harp
- a flute
- a guitar
- a medium leather backpack
- a map
- a custom camping multi-tool thats a knife, a lighter, a spoonfork, a cork opener, a can opener, scissors, pliers, a hammer, and a compass.
- 10 rations of canned crab meat, cheese and bread.
- a thermos.

Abilities:
Bardic Mana Reaping: Ingoleth is able to feed on another's mana, no matter the range, as long as his actions have impacted the person's mind and/or heart. The stronger the feeling induced by his spectacles and/or performances, the more mana he is able to consume the moment said feeling emerges.
Eye Candy: Ingoleth creates visual illusions of all shapes and sizes. The bigger and more complex the illusion is, the more mana is used. The illusions are very realistic, making for great distractions and effects, as well as hiding what he doesnt want you to see. More than that, the illusions can move. An illusion is made with a condition in mind, disappearing after its is met or Ingoleth wills it to.
Ghost Sounds: Ingoleth selects a location to "broadcast" sound from. He can create any sound he wants, real or imaginative, including complex sounds like intelligent speech. More than that, he can control the volume of the sound, making the illusion sound like its farther or closer than it actually is. Additionally, he can create an illusion audible to a single creature, targeting their eardrum directly, with an increased mana cost.
Cunning Tune: By playing his harp and infusing it with mana, he can create the following effects depending on which notes he uses:
- Induce sleep: by playing slow and calming notes, he can induce either drowsiness or sleep, depending on how far he goes with it.
- Induce hyperactivity: by playing fast and high notes, he can induce hyperactivity and restlessness.
- Induce emotion: by altering how he plays, he can induce any emotion. for example, a calming song with a few high notes inbetween would cause irritation and anger.
- Neutralize effect: by playing a very specific tune that is a minute long, he neutralizes any magical effects, enchantments or curses, on any non-sentient inanimate objects.
Flute Requirem: By infusing his flute with mana, he is able to create a cone-shaped sound wave of 130 decibels (equivalent of a jet engine taking off), loud enough for anyone in the conical area to collapse from the ear pain. Also creates a harmless air wave. The farther someone or something is, the less effective. Its a killer move which consumes half of his max mana.

Extra notes and Trivia:
- His favorite color is green.
- His disguise is a bard, but he is genuinely interested in it, its not just a cover. He has extensive knowledge on music, dancing, and singing, and even a little on art, but he is only proficient with music, being average in the other two, with art being his worst bardic skill, which is okay for a wanted poster but still not good enough to hang on his own wall. That however doesnt stop him from using his illusions as a way to seem better than he is, whenever it is necessary.
- He doesnt care what race or gender you are, you'll be treated the same.
- He likes making up names that have meanings.
- Over the centuries he has changed bardic personas, being in his third one currently, with his previous two being "Harpman Everfed", meaning "the man with a harp is never hungry", and "Sevag buttreck" meaning "Savage, but required".
- His current bardic persona name, "Salman Beriedfolk", means "Salman has burried folks", referencing his previous 2 dead personas.
- He changes his bardic personas every time he feels like changing his performance name and outfit.
- Flute requirem is a tribute to his first bardic persona death, who was a master flute player.
- He gets a new ring for every previous bardic persona. The gemstones are the color of each persona's eyes.
- He has a house of his own, built around about 150 years ago in Portea with his first bardic persona's earnings, only to stage his death shortly after and rig his will's challenge as a means to decide who would win the house through a puzzle only he could make sense of, successfully "earning" his own house as Ingoleth instead of "Harpman Everfed".