Xion

The Shadowhand, Xion of House Silverspear

Xion's Tale

Appearing almost faster than the eye can see, a figure suddenly steps out of the darkness to stand next to you.
"You're late." Xion says.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Xion is tall, long limbed, lean and fine boned.
He looks built for short, blindingly fast bursts of speed rather than extraordinary feats of raw strength or endurance.

Body Features

Xion is half human and half moon elf, with green tint to his eyes from his mother and his father's height.

Physical quirks

He is almost preternaturally still, with a flat, almost dead-eyed gaze. It's offputting and what keeps him from seeming handsome despite his well-defined half-elven features.

Special abilities

Xion can shadowstep, disappearing from one shadowy spot to another nearby in the blink of an eye somehow. He runs extraordinarily fast, long legs churning.

Apparel & Accessories

Xion wears a plain but extremely well made black outfit with the House Silverspear insignia on the shoulder under a removable patch. He is particularly fond of a broad, finely made, flat-brimmed black felt hat that he wears when appearing in public. In the neighborhoods of Waterdeep he frequents, this is noted as an intentional statement of status.

Specialized Equipment

Xion fights equally well with a shortsword, unarmed, or a combination of the two. He has two finely worked bracers in the color of the Sewerman's Guild uniforms, and a cloak of dark gray-green pinned back on itself.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Xion grew up a street kid and gang member in some of the poorest neighborhoods of Waterdeep. His mother Inanna, tavern waitress works in an inn in the Trade Ward and kept half an eye on him through his childhood years, and insisted on a minimum of education.
When Xion was eight, a local temple and community center attracted his attention because an old master there was training young street kids in the art of hand to hand combat to instill discipline in them and keep them out of trouble. Xion became obsessed with this art, turning into one of the most dedicated students the center has ever had. For nearly fifteen years, Xion lived and breathed his sensei's teachings. The old man has since retired and disappeared to the country. Xion now teaches classes there part time to uphold and repay this tradition, trading these responsibilities with his student contemporaries and former gang mates Doru, Yasahn and Zeb.
Xion maintains an apartment on the border of the Dock and the Trade Wards, somewhat hidden and difficult to access. The locks and barriers to open it are, these days, of his own making.
He did not grow up with significant religion in his life, but recent events in his life have begun to change his feelings. His recently recovered sister Elloris is a devout cleric of Selune, and spent several years a captive of a necromancer aligned with Selune's opposite goddess Shar. Once the cause of her captivity was discovered, Xion developed an intense hatred of Shar and a resolute will to utterly destroy those faithful to her and their houses of worship. His actions have directly led to the destruction of multiple devotees, temples and holy places of Shar, and he is very likely on the way to earning himself the dark goddess' personal enmity. Word of him is beginning to spread among her followers.

Gender Identity

Cis

Sexuality

Demiheterosexual

Education

Xion can read and write, and do simple arithmetic. He is not widely read but has acquired a certain cosmopolitan knowledge from the incredibly varied populace of Waterdeep.
He owns only a few books; a book about Calimshite culture, a book about Waterdhavian architectural traditions, a handwritten copy of his master's teaching manual and a book about gemstones his sister gave him when he was fourteen.
He is frustrated whenever he feels like knowledge is being kept from him, so has begun to ask those close to him to tutor him in additional languages. More than once he has been on an adventure where key knowledge could have been deciphered had someone known Abyssal or Infernal, and that lack cost the party.

Accomplishments & Achievements

Xion spearheaded the mission that rescued Elloris and Rieta from Myralancer, and has twice personally killed the nefarious necromancer, the first time as a mortal and the second time in his undead reincarnation as a wight.
Xion and Aoife once snuck into an orc encampment and freed a dozen captured griffin cavalry, including Aoife's own mount. Facing certain death, Xion chose to slip the lead griffin's halter instead of come to the aid of his party, who were being overwhelmed. This turned out to be the right choice, as having a dozen furious griffins on your side makes for excellent reinforcements.
Xion's local reputation and growing renown in the city from his adventuring exploits is expanding his profile across multiple levels of Waterdhavian society. He was recently contacted by the head of Blackstaff Academy about a tryout for membership in the Grayhands, Waterdeep's internal, independent team of high-powered city protectors.

Failures & Embarrassments

Xion's first attempt to rescue Elloris was reckless and poorly thought out, and not only failed but nearly resulted in the deaths of the entire party. He was forced to leave her behind as the party fled wounded and bleeding, having only accomplished the temporary death of Myralancer, the necromantic acolyte of Shar. The only reason the party did not lose at least one member to the undead was due to the near-suicidal valor of Handsome Jack, who risked everything to dance past a half a dozen deadly undead monsters to pull the unconscious Fiego from the steps of the pit and get him to the exit.
A turning point in young Xion's life came when, in a street fight over a reason that isn't even remembered by anyone who was there, he lost control of his temper and killed his best friend Tuotho. They were both eleven.

Mental Trauma

Xion's lack of authority figures growing up save one or two makes him distrustful of direct orders and any authoritarian command structure. He regards any orders from anyone he has not sworn openly to obey as suggestions that he will accommodate if it is convenient.
Guilt over the repeated loss of loved ones (sister, best friend) makes Xion simultaneously intensely protective of women he sees as vulnerable and almost unable to form male friendships. His compatriots who teach at the community center see him as one of them but distant, somehow.

Intellectual Characteristics

Xion has a nearly supernatural understanding of spatial relations due to his intense physical training, and this heavily informs both his advanced tumbling and shadowstepping skills. In addition, his extremely high dexterity and fine motor skills lend themselves to his hobbies of jewelrymaking, sleight of hand and card tricks.

Morality & Philosophy

Having grown up running with Waterdhavian street gangs, Xion feels an affinity for anyone of similar background, which has led to unexpected alliances with seemingly untrustworthy people like Handsome Jack.
This same background makes him incredibly unwilling to be in debt or accept charity. He recently repaid in under a month the entire 7,000 gp cost to the temple of Tyr for imprisoning the remains of the body of the lich Holas Tarse in an enchanted cube of Adamantine, despite their willingness to perform the service for free for the good of the world.

Taboos

Xion will not willingly leave a party member behind, nor will he stay in debt a moment longer than necessary. He dislikes even owing anyone a favor.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

For years, Xion's only motivation was to be the best physical adept he could possibly be, until the beginning of his adventuring career gave him greater purpose as well as significant adversaries. Xion's brushes against Vanrack Moonstar and the church of Shar, for instance, and their enslavement of both Waterdeep's children and his own family members have filled him with intense motivation to systematically obliterate every one of them.

Savvies & Ineptitudes

From years of climbing over rooftops and mixing with the inhabitants of the Trade Ward, Xion seems to have a solid grounding in both Waterdhavian architecture and Calimshite culture.

Likes & Dislikes

Will go to great lengths to ensure no members of an enemy group survive, with only a very few exceptions.

Virtues & Personality perks

Will freely loan money and supplies to his friends who have less than he does.
Extraordinarily preoccupied with being prepared, he wears a custom-made potion bandolier with a wide assortment of liquid supplies, as well as carries an improbable amount of adventuring gear around with him in a bag of holding acquired early in his adventuring career. This includes equipment to traverse caves, sewers, mountains, darkness, castles, forests, etc.

Vices & Personality flaws

Another way in which his street gang background manifests itself is that he is intensely vindictive when slighted, and takes very personally the level of respect with which someone treats him - particularly someone who needs a favor. He very nearly refused a request from an extremely powerful noble once because they treated him like one of their employees.
Will singlemindedly attack the leader of an enemy group if he can get to him, even if it's foolhardy.
Feels within himself the potential for brutal violence and intimidation if he is desperate for information, results or both.

Personality Quirks

Occasionally absentmindedly rolls a small, blue-tinged ivory dragon claw around the back of his fingers.

Social

Contacts & Relations

Trial initiate of the Greyhands.
Head of The Shadowhands, his own small organization of runners street kids of backgrounds much like his own. At this time, their activities are limited to messages, information, and spying. Anyone looking to engage him or the group for a job would contact Xion personally.

Family Ties

Two siblings, a sister and a brother. Elloris is a cleric and scholar of Selune, and the brother is a florist in the noble's quarter. Both are full elves and legitimate heirs to their father and House Silverspear. If Xion has fully human siblings on his mother's side, she has not told him.

Religious Views

Xion's mission of vengeance against Shar and her agents for the harm done to his family has begun to align him with her opposite goddess Selune, resulting recently in the very first earnest and heartfelt prayer of his life.

Social Aptitude

Awkward and quiet in social settings. He wishes it weren't necessary to speak as often as he has to.

Hobbies & Pets

Jewelrymaking, tumbling, sleight of hand, card tricks

Speech

His voice is quiet and hard with everyone except those close to him.

Wealth & Financial state

All Xion knows is that House Silverspear is a relatively small Moon Elf House from Evermeet. Xion does not know his father's standing within the house, or even how large it is, having only met him a few times in his life and having very little paternal relationship. Any wealth that House Silverspear may possess will almost certainly never fall to Xion while any of the rest of the family remains alive. The location of the Moonblade Thoerl, the symbol and weapon of House Silverspear, is not known.
Xion has begun to amass personal wealth due to his adventuring career, but it will take time before this translates into significant change in his life and station. He's just begun to realize that, in time, things like owning real estate and providing for his mother's old age might become possible.

View Character Profile

Species

Half-Elf

Birthplace

Waterdeep

Current Residence

The edge of the Dock and Trade Wards

Gender

Male

Eyes

Green/Gold

Hair

Long, Pale (Dishwater)

Height

6'3"

Quotes & Catchphrases

Pay all your debts, and make sure no one saw anything.

Known Languages

Common, Elvish, Thieves Cant. Xion grew up speaking all three of these languages daily, along with a few words of Orc, Goblin and Giant (primarily profanity).
Xion has been studying Abyssal and Infernal with Elloris and Rieta, respectively.

Character Prototype

Xion, physically, looks a lot like a cross between Robert Pattinson and young Doug Jones.