Llewellyn Harlech
Llywelyn Harlech (a.k.a. The White Hand)
Once a famed magic man of adventure and teaching, now known as an eccentric and unpredictable hermit living a life of solitude in his hut in the Meridona, a region of western Archeau.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
While aching and causing him a good deal of pain and trouble, Llewellyn Harlech should be skin and bone tied together by dirt. This doesn't wear the wizard down however as he seems unable to process the fact that he should be a bedridden old man on the doorstep of death. Instead, he maintains the vigor of someone fifty years younger and his antics have not ceased in their complexity or the physical efficiency of their practicer.
Body Features
The marks of a dozen or so scorched hands can be seen on the inside palms of the famed fire user, Llewellyn's body creaks and aches with every movement and shows signs of his decades of magic use.
Facial Features
Known for his thick and bushy beard reaching down to his chest
Identifying Characteristics
Known for his balding dome surrounded by a mane of black, mangled hair with a bushy, unkempt beard
Special abilities
Mastery of
fire
ice
shapeshifting
agrarian
conduction
alchemy
divination
fire
ice
shapeshifting
agrarian
conduction
alchemy
divination
Apparel & Accessories
Has a series of open-chested, loose-fitting shirts he wears along with loose pants and cobbled boots.
Specialized Equipment
Carries a shape-changing staff that amplifies his magic capabilites
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Few men can claim such an active life as Llewellyn Harlech, in his time among the living, he's done it all and tried it all. Being born near the old ruins of the fortress of Pysgotwala, the same ancestral fortress of the old Areul Rhyhir clan, made famous by the deeds of Cerus Marsaewyr Rhyhir, better known as Caius Macsen. By the time Llewellyn was born at Pysgotwala, the fortress had fallen into ruin and been tended by one Lord Laurent Drury whose family had lived on the land for some time after being awarded by the nearby Duke of Archeau. For much of his early life, Llewellyn lived a standard peasant life before being called into routine service in war at the tender age of fourteen. It would be here when this life changed as Llewellyn would apparently desert after a particularly bloody battle with the eastern Salians near a field in Nuremor and be caught by soldiers of Drury's retinue who contemplated simply killing the boy. This changed as, by chance, an alchemist saved the boy's life by offering to buy him from the soldiers who happily agreed.
Llewellyn was sold and brought up as the alchemist's assistant, the boy learned the basics of the trade and found himself to have an affinity for magic. For a while, he was used as a test dummy for the alchemist's potions and concoctions which seem to have brought out and enhanced dormant magic ability in the boy. Going off into the world with new knowledge in very arcane arts, Llewellyn performed daring tricks with his fiery breath and freezing touch. He claimed to be able to burn the clothes off a fair maid and yank off a bull's testicles. Again, for a while, this was all Llewellyn did as he made measly money and garnered little respect. All this was until the jesterly magic man was caught up in a public feud between a widower and her predatory former in-laws. When a fight broke out in the muddy streets, Llewellyn was in the middle of it and defended the widow from her attackers with a brilliant fireball emanating from his still white-hot fist. Onlookers were amazed that the bull oyster freezing circus performer had tapped into a form so unknown to them that once again he was "magic", an unknown and enigmatic probability to them.
So Llewellyn began a new life as an odd freelance adventurer who used his growing magical intuition to defend the weak, and the sick and give to the poor. In a way, Llewellyn had turned to a life of almost chivalric roaming, acting in the way of a wandering knight-errant. This adventuring spirit would speak to Llewellyn and so would whatever he would refer to as "a call of the winds" a deep belief in adventure for the sake of adventure, that such an act was inherent to be undertaken as shirking the call was an admission of banality and of a lack of courage. With this call on his mind, Llewellyn's great adventure began and his roaming from all corners of the world would satiate the burning desire for a romantic adventure that the man had sparked inside himself. At every stop, Llewellyn probed villages and the populace, eating, drinking, and asking around for problems that needed solving. This spawned a hundred dozen adventures for him, stories he could retell until the sun turned black and the sky fell hard into the green earth.
Once he was asked by villagers in the town of Rhyrrdmed to solve the problem of a string of twine in the square that would not move. So the wizard found the twine and tried burning it but to no avail as the twine remained after the fire dissipated. Curious, Llewellyn followed the twine string into the forest and watched as it grew and grew into the tail of a great snake wrapped around an oak tree. Fearing nothing, Llewellyn climbed the back of the serpent, asked if it could speak, and received no answer before conjuring a massive stone and striking the snake over the head. Llewellyn then cut the snake's tail as it reached the forest edge before returning to the village by rolling the "twine" into a ball before all of Rhyrrdmed. Dozens of stories similar to that can be recalled by the elderly wizard and told in clear and distinct language alongside a hefty chuckle and snide comment.
Among the most fascinating aspect of Llewellyn's character is just that, his character, the man carried with him an almost childlike giddy about life, seeking adventure and stories in everything he did. However, Llewellyn was not stupid, he was not a naive man getting himself into trouble for no good. Everything the wizard did was for some purpose, a purpose with an elaborate cause but a purpose nonetheless as behind the seemingly maddening chaos that the wandering sage brought was mechanized and calculated thought. To some, he sounded like an old prophet with his tricky way of phrasing things in archaic ways and never making his wants or his needs plain to any. He delighted in this wordplay and he delighted in speaking in a manner that forced the listener to analyze every word of a sentence he spoke and every sentence of a quotation of his. He spoke and acted in a way so distinct from that of people around him that some called him mad, and some said that magic ate away at his head every day making him dangerous. One day, a mob was raised in a town the sage was staying in, they knocked down the door of his room and threw him out of their town.
This seems like it was the first heartbreak of Llewellyn's life, so much of it was spent in a giddy demeanor and abundance of liveliness and positivity that it may never have occurred to him that he could be disliked simply for his eccentricities. Following this event, Llewellyn's heart hardened, and he became more subdued and more apprehensive of chivalric acts of generosity and outreach. He traveled to the far northwest of the Meridona and built himself a hovel out of a hill and withdrew from the world. This was not total as he still was visited ever so often by the occasional visitor who wanted to learn from him and master magic in the way as the chaotic White Fist. He took the temperament of a reluctant mentor to many, he drove many away with crude behavior and more away for his disregard for their safety as he hucked fireballs over their heads and shouted duck afterward.
Llewellyn was sold and brought up as the alchemist's assistant, the boy learned the basics of the trade and found himself to have an affinity for magic. For a while, he was used as a test dummy for the alchemist's potions and concoctions which seem to have brought out and enhanced dormant magic ability in the boy. Going off into the world with new knowledge in very arcane arts, Llewellyn performed daring tricks with his fiery breath and freezing touch. He claimed to be able to burn the clothes off a fair maid and yank off a bull's testicles. Again, for a while, this was all Llewellyn did as he made measly money and garnered little respect. All this was until the jesterly magic man was caught up in a public feud between a widower and her predatory former in-laws. When a fight broke out in the muddy streets, Llewellyn was in the middle of it and defended the widow from her attackers with a brilliant fireball emanating from his still white-hot fist. Onlookers were amazed that the bull oyster freezing circus performer had tapped into a form so unknown to them that once again he was "magic", an unknown and enigmatic probability to them.
So Llewellyn began a new life as an odd freelance adventurer who used his growing magical intuition to defend the weak, and the sick and give to the poor. In a way, Llewellyn had turned to a life of almost chivalric roaming, acting in the way of a wandering knight-errant. This adventuring spirit would speak to Llewellyn and so would whatever he would refer to as "a call of the winds" a deep belief in adventure for the sake of adventure, that such an act was inherent to be undertaken as shirking the call was an admission of banality and of a lack of courage. With this call on his mind, Llewellyn's great adventure began and his roaming from all corners of the world would satiate the burning desire for a romantic adventure that the man had sparked inside himself. At every stop, Llewellyn probed villages and the populace, eating, drinking, and asking around for problems that needed solving. This spawned a hundred dozen adventures for him, stories he could retell until the sun turned black and the sky fell hard into the green earth.
Once he was asked by villagers in the town of Rhyrrdmed to solve the problem of a string of twine in the square that would not move. So the wizard found the twine and tried burning it but to no avail as the twine remained after the fire dissipated. Curious, Llewellyn followed the twine string into the forest and watched as it grew and grew into the tail of a great snake wrapped around an oak tree. Fearing nothing, Llewellyn climbed the back of the serpent, asked if it could speak, and received no answer before conjuring a massive stone and striking the snake over the head. Llewellyn then cut the snake's tail as it reached the forest edge before returning to the village by rolling the "twine" into a ball before all of Rhyrrdmed. Dozens of stories similar to that can be recalled by the elderly wizard and told in clear and distinct language alongside a hefty chuckle and snide comment.
Among the most fascinating aspect of Llewellyn's character is just that, his character, the man carried with him an almost childlike giddy about life, seeking adventure and stories in everything he did. However, Llewellyn was not stupid, he was not a naive man getting himself into trouble for no good. Everything the wizard did was for some purpose, a purpose with an elaborate cause but a purpose nonetheless as behind the seemingly maddening chaos that the wandering sage brought was mechanized and calculated thought. To some, he sounded like an old prophet with his tricky way of phrasing things in archaic ways and never making his wants or his needs plain to any. He delighted in this wordplay and he delighted in speaking in a manner that forced the listener to analyze every word of a sentence he spoke and every sentence of a quotation of his. He spoke and acted in a way so distinct from that of people around him that some called him mad, and some said that magic ate away at his head every day making him dangerous. One day, a mob was raised in a town the sage was staying in, they knocked down the door of his room and threw him out of their town.
This seems like it was the first heartbreak of Llewellyn's life, so much of it was spent in a giddy demeanor and abundance of liveliness and positivity that it may never have occurred to him that he could be disliked simply for his eccentricities. Following this event, Llewellyn's heart hardened, and he became more subdued and more apprehensive of chivalric acts of generosity and outreach. He traveled to the far northwest of the Meridona and built himself a hovel out of a hill and withdrew from the world. This was not total as he still was visited ever so often by the occasional visitor who wanted to learn from him and master magic in the way as the chaotic White Fist. He took the temperament of a reluctant mentor to many, he drove many away with crude behavior and more away for his disregard for their safety as he hucked fireballs over their heads and shouted duck afterward.
Education
Educated in alchemy at an early age
Self taught nearly every area of magic he now knows
Self taught nearly every area of magic he now knows
Employment
Wandering alchemist/magician
Reclusive wizard
Reclusive wizard
Intellectual Characteristics
Autonomous
Humble
Confident
Humble
Confident
Morality & Philosophy
A mundane life kills most men
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Seek out adventure, knowledge and good stories
Live isolated and by his lonesome
Live isolated and by his lonesome
Virtues & Personality perks
Intelligent
Active
Humorous
Unambiguously good
Active
Humorous
Unambiguously good
Vices & Personality flaws
Stubborn
Unorthodox
Crass
Mannerless
Cynical
Crotchety
Unorthodox
Crass
Mannerless
Cynical
Crotchety
Personality Quirks
Llewellyn has a very unstable temperament, he's unpredictable and unable to be entirely understood. One minute he will drink and be merry with you and the next he will be hurling fireballs over your head.
Hygiene
Smells like fermented apples. Llewellyn himself states that he bathes in cider just in order to get that smell.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Teacher and mentor of Lucien Robillard
Religious Views
Llewellyn has a very interesting understanding of the relationship between his own abilities and that of the gods. He compares magic to a campfire, in that it combines ingredients from the natural world and creates something in order to serve man. "Man" in this case can be whoever can control magic, he reconciles any belief in God or gods as worshipping the natural order of the world and sees this as perfectly acceptable despite what one might think of his own position as a magic user. He calls magic Steel and the gods Iron, steel is refined, harder to come by but stronger, lighter, and more durable while iron is plentiful, reliable, and natural as it is of the earth.
Social Aptitude
Llewellyn's social aptitude can flip like a coin, more often than not he is in his extroverted phase where he will conversate and charm someone with his wit and demenor. However, this can all change at the drop of a hat as he instantly withdraws and becomes a closed-door of cold shoulders and stoic silence.
Mannerisms
Unpredictable is probably the best way to describe Llewellyn to his fullest, it's hard to completely grasp why he does certain things in certain ways and he always on the surface appears both soft, docile, and approachable as well as jaded, withdrawn, and gruff. Somehow he does this and it makes his motivations and his ability to be understood very difficult.
Hobbies & Pets
Home is full of growing plants in pots
Speech
Llewellyn was known for sometimes speaking in a very backward and archaic way. This seems blatantly intentional as he more recently often speaks informally and is quite crude at times. Known for his constant swearing and blunt phrasing.
Ethnicity
Other Ethnicities/Cultures
Professions
Date of Birth
10th of Herrena
Year of Birth
619 A.E
83 Years old
Circumstances of Birth
Born the son of peasant farmers near the ruins of an old stronghold
Birthplace
Pysgotwala, Archeau
Children
Gender
Male
Eyes
Light Silver
Hair
Thick black hair and beard
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Pale, Spotty
Height
5'5
Weight
200 lbs
Quotes & Catchphrases
"Do you think a rock would whine if it could? By living you're blessed and by death you're cursed, so if you could show some fucking glee!"
Belief/Deity
Naturalist
Hasdinian
Lakic
Iolan
Galuk
Trusic
Hulin
Yarmezan
Gangleri Tunga
Character Prototype
Iroh and Merlin
(Llewellyn's House)
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