Ehkavel

Ehkavel

One of the Madarikes, the last of the races, and the cursed children of Nila. Ehkavel is notably one of the only Madarikes to travel widely, daring to be seen by men. He often travels to the forest of Bhradain, to speak with his friend, the forest child Widukind.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Short in stature but hardy and strong like his kin, Ehkavel's hard exterior masks the gentle nature inside of him. His hands have never been used for any manner of violence, something rare for one of his race. His body posseses the ability to blend seemlessly into the trees and woods he calls home, so too can be peer into the mind and feeling of the trees, connecting their thoughts to his own.

Body Features

Huddled and small, Ehkavel's body is covered in foliage and nature, with skin-like bark, his tough exterior prevents the frequent bites he receives from animals from doing any lasting damage. However, he often complains that a squirrel mistook him for an elm once and the resulting incident left him claiming he cannot hear out of his left ear.

Facial Features

Sporting a large and bushy beard of moss and leaves, with a furrowed brow and little sticks poking out from his nose, some could mistake Ehkavel for a monster or some woodland illusion. However, the peaceible Madarike's face is weathered and worn but this hard exterior cannot mask the gentleness he possesses, behind his somber eyes he is a being at peace with himself and seeks to bring peace to others.

Special abilities

Eternal life
"Green sense"
"Green changing"

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Solace and pain, misery and shame, this was the burden of the Madarikes of Lehemendua's ilk, forgotten sons doomed to roam the world eternal, never to embrace the infinite with the great mother Nila. Huddled and pitiful, the Madarikes roamed the world, forever without a home for none would grant them the peace and stability of one. Since the days of Bedarin Lehemendua, the last of the races sought each other out, for they were the only company they could keep, the only souls who would not look at them with disgust. Such was it that the Madarikes felt the grace of their given life fade from them, over time their pain only increased, they could eat but never be satisfied, drink but always thirst, and live but never die. Sad and solemn they became, death could not hold them, so they did not live, even if life bid them worthy of such a thing. They could not embrace a simple life, as they feared their own minds and what they would do to others.
Yet there was one who was unlike the others, gentle and soft, peaceful and kind, he was born a millennia ago, his eyes sunken as they had seen time wither away all things but never him. Ehkavel was his name, for in the tongues of the Madarikes, it means "one who endures shame." For that is who this soul was, he who did not keep his nose in the dirt and become a wailing dog like so many before him, for Ehkavel's heart, still burned with a fire that imitated life. He endured in the belief that his people could be redeemed and he lived to one day make it so. While his people never heightened their gaze, Ehkavel raised his high, to the rising sun, to the feast of starlight on a clear night sky, dreaming and walking in thought. Serene in thought he was, for ill thoughts plagued him but he kept them away, clear-minded and rightly orientated, he tended to the injuries of his people, and every so often, he would venture out under the cover of night or some illusion to walk and breathe the free air. He nurtured animals, though they bit him often. Those he could not care for, he ensured they would be welcomed in a place where their injuries could be tended to. On particularly long walks, he looked to the sky and pondered what he would do if grace were restored to him, to his people, what would he do if he could one day walk and breathe the free air openly, free to live, what would life feel like to one deprived of it for so long?
In a forest to the South called Bhradain, Ehkavel found one as ancient and old as he, a little being of bark and mud like him, but greater, more mysterious, and much wiser than Ehkavel would ever claim to be. The Fae sprites called him Widukind, "the forest child" but Ehkavel called him friend. The two of them would spend many hours conversing and walking the forest together, speaking of many things, of things that had happened and what they imagined would happen. Yet not all doom and gloom were their conversations, for hints of mischief were on their minds, little Widukind would whisper in the fog, and Ehkavel would come and find him. During quiet nights, their laughter and merrimaking could be heard throughout the whole of the forest. They discussed the downfall of the Fae, those great figures of an era forgotten to all but a few, the rising of men, and their coming downfall. Ehkavel was forever troubled by the thought, but Widukind always spoke reassuring words to him, that the final day would be the day the last sons of Nila dreamed of, that in the final moments of the world, they could redeem themselves and finally return home to her.
Yet Ehkavel thought this only a dream, how could lost sheep return to a shepherd without a guide? Without any hope of salvation, how could they be saved? Salvation was for others, he and his people had their fates chosen for them, their dreams and hopes were dashed long ago, before the first awakening they had been meant to be shepherds themselves, peaceful and good, but this was not so and this role passed to their older kinsmen, onto mankind. When the wars of steel and iron erupted long ago, Ehkavel's people thought if they sided with their older kinsmen, their sins could be forgiven, but as they made themselves known to man, they were run out, cast away for all who met them saw their mark and feared them. But the dream did not die, the dream, crushed and battered, remained deep within their hearts, the dream dreamt on clear night skies as the world quieted and the hum of the earth was heard again. For these fallen sons, the dream was called, Agik Eohakim, "the Starlight Feast", where one day they would rise to the stars and become whole again in the embrace of Nila the mother. Of all of them, Ehkavel believed the strongest in Agik Eohakim for he desired above all the stability and peace it would bring, a final reunion, the great reconnecting, when those of his race could finally atone, finally be welcomed back into the great house of Nila's children.
Perhaps it was just a dream, told to those whose hearts had not yet been hardened in isolation and pain. The cursed children would be forever, an example to all and little more. Their grace left them long ago, in the groves and in the trees they dwelled, paranoid and fearful always, fearful of the disgust of others, fearful of what they would do to those whom they became friends with.

Mental Trauma

Cursed to forever bear the mark of the Madarikes, which ensures he forever is serparated from the grace of Nila and the reunion with her in death.

Intellectual Characteristics

Quizzitive
Simplistic

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Heal and help wherever he can

Social

Contacts & Relations

A good friend to the forest sprite Widukind

Social Aptitude

Despite the divine stigma of his kind, Ehkavel remains defined by his quiet and enduring kindness. Slow to approach others, he remains always mindful of the fear and prejudice that may cloud other's perception of him. He engages with everyone in a humble and gentle manner, never succumbing to bitterness or despair over the circumstances of his life. Despite perpetual isolation, he remains open-hearted, displaying a genuine interest in the stories and lives of those he encounters.
He understands the fears and suspicions that people harbor toward him and his people, yet he does not respond with rashness or anger. Instead, he strives to demonstrate through his actions and words that his kind are more than the curse that binds them. He listens more than he speaks, often sitting for long hours lost in thought.

Mannerisms

Loudly grunts when in deep thought

Speech

Ehkavel's raspy and deep voice carries a weight to it yet it remains forever soft, delicate, and comforting life a father might be. He murmurs often, whispering to himself, trying to remember the words of a dozen or a hundred other languages now long forgotten. Despite the sorrow that lingers in his eyes, his words carry a quiet resolve, rooted in the depths of the earth and the resilience of the trees.

Species

Madarike

Eyes

Pale, yellow, sunken

Hair

Bushy beard and long hair of moss and leaves

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Oak Bark

Quotes & Catchphrases

"Not all nights are dark and not all who those say are evil hold sway to it."

(Widukind, the child of the forest, and Ehkavel's friend)

(The forest of Bhradain, a frequent destination for Ehkavel)

(Crerva af Venrel, queen of the Bhradain Fae, someone Ehkavel frequently evades)

(The Wicker King, the oldest of the Madarikes, leader of the largest number of them)

(Bedarin Lehemendua, first of the Madarikes and the source of their never-ending curse)