The Otter

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

yesterday saw me completely crash

@HereComesTheSnow

you too huh, didn't know the ice made it that far out

The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel

Sleepless Altmeri Visionary

Name: Keirthanil Aldar
Gender: Male
Race: Altmer
Appearance:
Standing at a mere 6'3", Keirthanil is short...for an Altmer, especially one of his social background. His almost perpetually stooped posture, whether standing over a table, sitting at a desk, or simply with his nose in a book or scroll as he walks, does nothing to help this. Owing to large amounts of time spent away from sunlight, the golden hue of his skin is heavily subdued, with his appearance rendered pale enough that—in combination with his strikingly blue (not golden!) eyes—certain former "colleagues" were once bold enough to describe him as looking like a return of the ancient Snow Elves.

As if that is not bad enough, he chronically undersleeps, due more to a refusal to acknowledge the biological need than to any actual insomnia. When he's without assistants or others who will make sure to put food near him that he can absent-mindedly snack on, he'll often undereat as well, both leading to the pale, hunched elf having a noticeably careworn appearance. His robes almost inevitably appear too large for him, as well, especially when paired with the portions of armour that he'll wear when having to fare beyond his precious workshops and libraries, though he insists he isn't nearly as frail as people believe.

Personality:
Fellow mages on the Summerset Isle were not understating when they said that Keirthanil was haughty even for an Altmer. Coming from a family of high social class, it isn't unreasonable to say that he views the majority of his fellow High Elves in nearly the same way that they view any of the other races of Tamriel. One of the few saving graces to that is that he at least keeps it mostly to himself—given that he always preferred to work alone, he has never done much talking with others, certainly not enough to get used to issuing them orders or constantly casually insulting them or otherwise expressing any of the internal thoughts he might hold.

The other is that he is genuinely appreciative of anyone that he thinks carries some decent understanding of the study of magic and the world, though that can prove a double-edged sword, as he'll keep going until he finds where the person he's talking to doesn't have any great understanding, or disagrees with his own interpretations and theories, at which point his opinion of them can be irreparably damaged. This appreciation extends to anybody that can help further his own work, though depending on the manner in which he considers that to apply, the appreciation may be more or less hidden from any view.

In spite of his belief in his own natural superiority, and a natural prejudice towards any non-Altmer (and many fellow Altmer besides), it is important to note that Keirthanil does not hold to the sort of orthodox Thalmor-influenced view that non-Elves should be ideally eradicated; indeed, the races of men are crucial to his own long-term goals, something which has led to a powerful enmity towards the Thalmor and the Third Aldmeri Dominion overall, alongside what he considers to be "other insults" they have delivered unto him and his kin.

Brief Backstory:
Born decades before the Oblivion crisis, Keirthanil enjoyed a privileged upbringing within the Summerset Isles; by the time the Dunmer princess Morgiah became queen of Firsthold by marrying King Reman Karoodil, he had already completed his first degrees, and was enjoying life as an academic, both studying more and more and occasionally deigning to teach as well. When the Oblivion crisis began, he avoided engaging in too much direct fighting, though after years of study and practice his arcane skills were more than enough to keep himself protected—notably, he drew the ire of some of the more staunchly law-abiding mages he associated with at the time by flagrantly disregarding the Levitation Act and using the prohibited magic to great effect in avoiding the otherworldly invaders.

He shared in the horror of his people at the destruction of the Crystal Tower, though unlike many of them he at least had sense enough to avoid it, his studies into the nature of Mundus and the Aurbis making it clear that the tower would prove an obvious target to the Daedric entities invading their world. In the rebuilding, he devoted himself even more heavily to his studies—the rising of the Thalmor and establishment of the Third Aldmeri Dominion passed him by, as during that time he was slightly more focused on research that could extend his own life; rather than falling to Mannimarco's necromantic conceits, he managed to dig out of the libraries copies of Psijic research into the arts of life extension, as well as some writings from a provincial Telvanni mage who seemed more concerned with skin diseases than anything else, and various other options. He also had to be quite careful with his methods, as he didn't wish to reduce himself to a sapient whirlwind of unbound magicka.

After finding himself successful and devoting himself to ever-more obsessive study of the nature of reality, eventually realizing that decades had passed, he learned of the various events that had passed him by from some of his servants, between the dissolution of the Summerset Isles' monarchy, the prominence the Thalmor had taken, the renaming of the land to Alinor, and the fall of his own family and the seizure of their main holdings by the new government, which was perhaps the most insulting thing they could have done to him. He was, at least, smart enough to remain quiet about it, returning to his work in the universities and aiming for a position within the College of Sapiarchs alongside some of his former peers who hadn't lost themselves in their work and studies for decades. Of course, he continued his own studies into reality on the side, his theories on the distinction between Anuic and Padomaic spirits, and whether Lorkhan was truly as villainous as typical Altmeri mythology portrayed him, growing wilder and wilder as the years went on.

This, unfortunately, would be his downfall within the society of the Third Aldmeri Dominion; the Thalmor, knowing of his existence but as of yet not having managed to locate him, were looking for any opportunity they could find to remove him like they had the rest of his family. When he inevitably found himself embroiled in an argument with the Sapiarch over the sphere of Applied Phrenology, one which progressed to deadly levels as he challenged the other mage to a lethal duel and immediately began firing off spells, he was quickly set upon by a force of Thalmor agents, though they were unable to apprehend him. He quickly left the country, settling north of Anvil with a new workshop and the most important tomes from his library. Back home, he was officially declared Apraxic, with a bounty placed upon his head. Despite his location being rather openly known, none of the death squads or bounty hunters sent his way able to get the better of him.

Of course, this wouldn't stop an agent of the reformed Blades from getting through to him, gaining him a short audience with the new Empress to discuss the nature of time and how it might be disregarded; in return for essentially free access to imperial magical facilities, an official stipend, and the freedom to conduct his studies as he would, he agreed to act as an agent of the Blades himself, whereupon he quickly found himself sent to Hammerfell alongside some of the new sovereign's other...goons.

Equipment:

• Semi-armoured robes: Robes befitting an academic and accomplished mage of the Summerset Isles; he keeps them in good repair, though in recent years he has been forced to supplement them with light amounts of armour, though he is in good enough physical condition that it doesn't hamper him much.
• Accessories: While they are rarely necessary for proper pursuits in the field of magic, one is at time forced to engage in battle—enchanted jewelry and the like that enable one to forego the proper preparations and streamline the process of casting to ensure spells are used at their most efficacious and safest for the caster are a necessary conceit for travels such as Keirthanil now engages in, and with the remains of his familial wealth he has acquired more than enough to suit his current position.
• Steel-reinforced staff: A walking staff is important—it aids in locomotion, it can be used to fend off wild animals or brigands, and with the proper reinforcements and enchantments can even be crafted into a potent tool for spellcraft!
• Satchel: Full of books, scrolls, loose paper, writing materials, certain magical materials and alchemical ingredients. Nothing surprising for a mage such as himself.

Skills:
Major:

• Conjuration
• Alteration
• Restoration
• Mysticism
• Alchemy

Minor:

• Light Armor
• Enchanting
• Speechcraft
• Illusion
• Blunt Weapon

The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel

Sleepless Altmeri Visionary

Name: Keirthanil Aldar
Gender: Male
Race: Altmer
Appearance:
Standing at a mere 6'3", Keirthanil is short...for an Altmer, especially one of his social background. His almost perpetually stooped posture, whether standing over a table, sitting at a desk, or simply with his nose in a book or scroll as he walks, does nothing to help this. Owing to large amounts of time spent away from sunlight, the golden hue of his skin is heavily subdued, with his appearance rendered pale enough that, in combination with his strikingly blue (not golden!) eyes, certain former "colleagues" were once bold enough to describe him as looking like a return of the ancient Snow Elves.

As if that is not bad enough, he chronically undersleeps, due more to a refusal to acknowledge the biological need than to any actual insomnia. When he's without assistants or others who will make sure to put food near him that he can absent-mindedly snack on, he'll often undereat as well, both leading to the pale, hunched elf having a noticeably careworn appearance. His robes almost inevitably appear too large for him, as well, especially when paired with the portions of armour that he'll wear when having to fare beyond his precious workshops and libraries, though he insists he isn't nearly as frail as people believe.

Personality:
Fellow mages on the Summerset Isle when they said that Keirthanil was haughty even for an Altmer. Coming from a family of high social class, it isn't unreasonable to say that he views the majority of his fellow High Elves in nearly the same way that they view any of the other races of Tamriel. One of the few saving graces to that is that he at least keeps it mostly to himself—given that he always preferred to work alone, he has never done much talking with others, certainly not enough to get used to issuing them orders or constantly casually insulting them or otherwise expressing any of the internal thoughts he might hold.

The other is that he is genuinely appreciative of anyone that he thinks carries some decent understanding of the study of magic and the world, though that can prove a double-edged sword, as he'll keep going until he finds where the person he's talking to doesn't have any great understanding, or disagrees with his own interpretations and theories, at which point his opinion of them can be irreparably damaged. This appreciation extends to anybody that can help further his own work, though depending on the manner in which he considers that to apply, the appreciation may be more or less hidden from any view.

In spite of his belief in his own natural superiority, and a natural prejudice towards any non-Altmer (and many fellow Altmer besides), it is important to note that Keirthanil does not hold to the sort of orthodox Thalmor-influenced view that non-Elves should be ideally eradicated; indeed, the races of men are crucial to his own long-term goals, something which has led to a powerful enmity towards the Thalmor and the Third Aldmeri Dominion overall, alongside what he considers to be "other insults" they have delivered unto him and his kin.

Brief Backstory:
Born decades before the Oblivion crisis, Keirthanil enjoyed a privileged upbringing within the Summerset Isles; by the time the Dunmer princess Morgiah became queen of Firsthold by marrying King Reman Karoodil, he had already completed his first degrees, and was enjoying life as an academic, both studying more and more and occasionally deigning to teach as well. When the Oblivion crisis began, he avoided engaging in too much direct fighting, though after years of study and practice his arcane skills were more than enough to keep himself protected—notably, he drew the ire of some of the more staunchly law-abiding mages he associated with at the time by flagrantly disregarding the Levitation Act and using the prohibited magic to great effect in avoiding the otherworldly invaders.

He shared in the horror of his people at the destruction of the Crystal Tower, though unlike many of them he at least had sense enough to avoid it, his studies into the nature of Mundus and the Aurbis making it clear that the tower would prove an obvious target to the Daedric entities invading their world. In the rebuilding, he devoted himself even more heavily to his studies—the rising of the Thalmor and establishment of the Third Aldmeri Dominion passed him by, as during that time he was slightly more focused on research that could extend his own life; rather than falling to Mannimarco's necromantic conceits, he managed to dig out of the libraries copies of Psijic research into the arts of life extension, as well as some writings from a provincial Telvanni mage who seemed more concerned with skin diseases than anything else, and various other options. He also had to be quite careful with his methods, as he didn't wish to reduce himself to a sapient whirlwind of unbound magicka.

After finding himself successful and devoting himself to ever-more obsessive study of the nature of reality, eventually realizing that decades had passed, he learned of the various events that had passed him by from some of his servants, between the dissolution of the Summerset Isles' monarchy, the prominence the Thalmor had taken, the renaming of the land to Alinor, and the fall of his own family and the seizure of their main holdings by the new government, which was perhaps the most insulting thing they could have done to him. He was, at least, smart enough to remain quiet about it, returning to his work in the universities and aiming for a position within the College of Sapiarchs alongside some of his former peers who hadn't lost themselves in their work and studies for decades. Of course, he continued his own studies into reality on the side, his theories on the distinction between Anuic and Padomaic spirits, and whether Lorkhan was truly as villainous as typical Altmeri mythology portrayed him, growing wilder and wilder as the years went on.

This, unfortunately, would be his downfall within the society of the Third Aldmeri Dominion; the Thalmor, knowing of his existence but as of yet not having managed to locate him, were looking for any opportunity they could find to remove him like they had the rest of his family. When he inevitably found himself embroiled in an argument with the Sapiarch over the sphere of Applied Phrenology, one which progressed to deadly levels as he challenged the other mage to a lethal duel and immediately began firing off spells, he was quickly set upon by a force of Thalmor agents, though they were unable to apprehend him. He quickly left the country, settling north of Anvil with a new workshop and the most important tomes from his library. Back home, he was officially declared Apraxic, with a bounty placed upon his head. Despite his location being rather openly known, none of the death squads or bounty hunters sent his way able to get the better of him.

Of course, this wouldn't stop an agent of the reformed Blades from getting through to him, gaining him a short audience with the new Empress to discuss the nature of time and how it might be disregarded; in return for essentially free access to imperial magical facilities, an official stipend, and the freedom to conduct his studies as he would, he agreed to act as an agent of the Blades himself, whereupon he quickly found himself sent to Hammerfell alongside some of the new sovereign's other...goons.

Equipment:

• Semi-armoured robes: Robes befitting an academic and accomplished mage of the Summerset Isles; he keeps them in good repair, though in recent years he has been forced to supplement them with light amounts of armour, though he is in good enough physical condition that it doesn't hamper him much.
• Accessories: While they are rarely necessary for proper pursuits in the field of magic, one is at time forced to engage in battle—enchanted jewelry and the like that enable one to forego the proper preparations and streamline the process of casting to ensure spells are used at their most efficacious and safest for the caster are a necessary conceit for travels such as Keirthanil now engages in, and with the remains of his familial wealth he has acquired more than enough to suit his current position.
• Steel-reinforced staff: A walking staff is important—it aids in locomotion, it can be used to fend off wild animals or brigands, and with the proper reinforcements and enchantments can even be crafted into a potent tool for spellcraft!
• Satchel: Full of books, scrolls, loose paper, writing materials, certain magical materials and alchemical ingredients. Nothing surprising for a mage such as himself.

Skills:
Major:

• Conjuration
• Alteration
• Restoration
• Mysticism
• Alchemy

Minor:

• Light Armor
• Enchanting
• Speechcraft
• Illusion
• Blunt Weapon

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

”You idiot, you took forever. I thought- I thought-...” The tears in her eyes offset the frantic sharpness of her tone.

"Oh, good, you're okay, I was worried."

...

"Would you like a necklace? It's not really my style." Is this what it's like having a little sister? Weird. Why's she crying? She didn't even cry when she almost got kidnapped. Weird kid.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

none of these crusty old farts are ready for my pro gamer strats

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

cut left leg

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

cut right leg

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

and in a way it's all his own fault

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

and there's callum

one part worried about how everybody knows something he doesn't

one part worried about facing consequences for something that would have no way to be his fault

one part worried about the little girl despite himself knowing that she's probably more dangerous than he is

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Callum Prosser

---

Luckily for them all, Hayworth noticed what Callum was trying to get him to see before the leviathan started moving again, rushing back to the beast and slamming the Seed home without any wasted time. Ingens barely stirred, still fighting off the effects of Callum's own magic cast within his throat, meaning that Hayworth could make a safe retreat as well without any reprisal. Satisfied that they'd managed their part of the ordeal, he turned, ready to see just what the queen was planning to do—

And instantly had to bite back a curse upon seeing that she had come up right next to him, her focus clearly on the sword that he held, as her next words made entirely obvious. "Huh?" was all he could mutter to himself in response, as she continued on past him without a second glance. The sword appearing next to him was confusing enough—but evidently the queen actually recognized it. As the rest came together, he noticed the quick glance that Mirie shot down to it in his hand. He thought back to the momentary stare that Hayworth had directed his way, what he thought was towards him, but but may well have been focused on the sword instead.

It was the second time he'd been so close to the queen in the last week, clearly everybody seemed to have some clue what the sword even was but him, and she was telling him to be ready to kill her with it. From tagalong, to enforcer, to fixer, to...appointed self-executioner? What even is my job here? Not for the first time in the last few days, he was beginning to question the wisdom of all of his choices thus far, in much the same way he had been since finding out that the man he was supposed to squire under had been assassinated the night before he even arrived.

"Maybe father did have a point," he grumbled to himself, trailing along behind the others. "Alain said as much too. Maybe staying home and helping him keep the place running wasn't such a bad idea..."

---

Beyond making sure to give the polite nods and greetings that were expected of him, Callum was too focused on his own brooding to really take in much of Athius itself. As they came to the king's palace he tugged at the necklaces of shells and pearls that had been draped around his neck. One of the mermaids had thankfully brought along something he could wrap the blade in, which he now carried in his hands floating along the sea floor. As their merman king addressed them, he couldn't even see anything interesting in what the man was offering while his mind was still elsewhere.

While he wasn't the richest in Arrowfell, he'd never been hurting for gold. Perfumes and such didn't interest him much, nor did he have anybody to be gifting them to. He already had pearls around his neck that would be the envy of any but the dukes and duchesses of the kingdom, and while the weapons could prove interesting, he'd already gained one that day as it was, and he'd have hell to pay trying to get his old ones cleaned up so that the saltwater didn't ruin them on the voyage back to Hathforth. It would be difficult enough figuring out what to do with the pearl necklaces that had already been thrust upon him, assuming he couldn't just pawn a couple off on Anabel to keep the kid happy on the way back—

He blinked once, the only shift to his expressionless face being his eyes growing a bit wider, assuming any of their aquatic hosts were paying enough attention to notice.

Where had she been during that entire fight? He'd already risked himself for her sake twice over, between fighting off the spectral would-be kidnapper from Ravenfell and dragging her out of the ship's flooding hold. When the queen had told him to stay on the deck, he'd expected he'd be keeping an eye out for her as well, especially when a fight did break out. But he'd had no clue where she went, and then he was called underwater.

A kid like her has no business being out in the middle of all of that. She knew that, right? I'd better not come up there and find out that bastard stole her again just to spite me.

Hopefully he wasn't on the hook for it if anything did happen to her. She was the one that recruited him, after all, not the other way around, and he'd been given different orders for the day anyways...But now he just had another thing to be worrying over until they all got back above the water and he could go and check on everything.