Alfield Skybreaker (All-feeled)
Guildmaster Alfield Skybreaker (a.k.a. The Azure Archer)
"It was too large of a room to be that quiet, and yet the Guildmaster sat alone like a ghost amidst a withered manor. While he greeted and spoke with me as friendly and optimistic as a neonate in his profession, his words echoed throughout the hollowness of the space within them and therefore exposed the hollowness of his sentiment. When I finished our interview, I do not know what filled that space more, the sheer silence of the hall, or the shattered dreams that once lived."Orphaned before his memories truly begin on the outskirts of Agartha and its central mountain, Alfield has always existed amongst the loftiest of peaks and expectations, ones that carried him through the varied and dramatic reputation and experiences of a true Hero. But what happens when the hero's job is done? When the villains are away, and there's no more fight left to fight? When the losses are tallied, and some are too much to bear? Who saves the hero who has saved all? In Alfield's case, while he was fortunate to have many who tried, no one can truly save the hero, especially from himself.--Excerpt of an interview for Silver Square Times
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Alfield is a tired and worn-looking man, with thin limbs and unkempt hair. Yet, despite how deep the bags under his eyes might get, they're still full of a kind gaze, and the soft smile across his face accentuates that.
Body Features
Alongside his large horns, typical of his kind, Alfield is also the rare type of tiefling that possesses wings, which he normally keeps folded behind his back. While he used to fly frequently, not able to stand staying grounded, these days he uses them sparingly.
Metagame knowledge
This is due to his wings being afflicted with Lich Limb, a degenerative curse placed on him by the necromancer Shadescale.
Facial Features
Alfield has sharp canine teeth, piercing pale blue snake-like eyes, and a pair of large horns jutting up from the frontal region of his scalp. Along with that, he has a shaggy white beard.
Physical quirks
Alfield tends to walk with a hunch and is generally slow and easy going, preferring to lean on things when he needs to stay still.
Special abilities
Alfield always had a preternatural sense of vision and attention to detail, which his years of hunting only served to increase. While his vision has faded a bit in his later years, he still has the strength of mind and body to utilize his combative abilities and the small bit of magic that flows through him to his arrows.
Apparel & Accessories
Alfield likes to dress in open, breathable fabrics, along with baggy designed clothing that can either store his wings or allow for easy access for them to stretch out. To avoid damage, his fancier clothes are actually open-backed or are designed to wrap around the base of his wings.
Specialized Equipment
Along his adventures, Alfield inherited a longbow named Eventyr that not only heightened the range and power of his arrows but also increased his natural and kinetic vision. He also swears that it led him in the direction of new adventures, and talked to him at least once, but he never got enough proof to show others.]
Now, it hangs on the wall of the guildhall, still treated and polished, but has long since stopped pulling its owner in the direction of adventure.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
There were once two children in a small village outside the great mountain of Edda.
One child was a half-divine girl with skin as dark as fresh soil, whose eyes and ephemeral feathered wings radiated with the golden gleam of sunlight.
The other was a half-infernal boy, whose skin and leathery wings were blue as the open skies after rainfall, and whose eyes reflected the pale light of the moon.
Despite the boy being nearly five years younger than the girl, they got on like twins and worked to survive the world in their small village together. This was the beginning of Alfield Skybreaker and his closest companion and sister, Elaine the Bright.
The two of them lived through the chaotic nature of the Border Wars, helping the people of the village as they could. Elaine, with her strength and divine gifts, aided in repairs and construction as much as a child her age could, while Alfield with his clever nature and hunting prowess aided with food gathering and storing.
However, in the midst of that war, Elaine grew into an adult and saw the wider damage the war was doing. The kind that couldn't be patched with hammer and plaster, and the kind the powers that be couldn't be bothered to care about. Thus, she struck out from the village to travel the country, and help in larger ways where she could. While she never intended to bring Alfield with her, the now 13-year-old refused to leave her side, and with more and more villages coming under fire, he would be safest under her wing.
And so, the winged wanderers began their adventures, gaining fame and experience in equal measure as they traveled Agartha and more, aiding those in need wherever they went. Along this path, they gained several notable things. First were two allies, Hildima Morthwyl, a large yet skittish Orc Cleric of the Mother Dragon Safir, and Etum Clareira, a Dragonborn Warlock attuned to the whimsical side of nature. These four made a powerful and efficient team and grew as close as the siblings over their years of travel together, and became the original Scattered Petals.
Spoiler-y knowledge
Despite the events that had occurred in their final battle, the team stayed together through it all and shared their grief as well as their ways through it. But for years, Alfield still stayed despondent. Then, four years after, a wonderful new opportunity presented itself: The Mercenary Guilds. Legendary heroes training and leading the next generation, the ones who wished to travel and protect and serve, just like they had wished for years ago.
At first, they were pessimistic about how the concept would pan out, but over the years there were more and more successes every day. Seeing the reality of heroism and duty actually come to fruition finally put the spark back into the heart of Alfield, and he along with Etum and Hildima made the decision to create their own, and the Scattered Petals were formed!
But even that dream would not last long. No one issue did it in, but the biggest cause of discord between the three of them, as well as between them and the few guild members they did acquire, was the pain and trauma of the final fight refusing to leave. Eventually, tensions boiled to the point where left with no members and no hope, Etum and Hildima left. While they offered each other and Alfield companionship and trust whenever they needed it, none of the three could bare to take up the chance at the moment.
And so, Alfields current life began. Spending time alone in the guildhall, farming outside with the generous plot of land, and chatting with all the friendly locals of Wind. But, perhaps adventure and a new chance exist just on the horizon, waiting for him to come to it once more.
However, the third thing they obtained was the notice of a treacherous mage, the villainous Necromancer, Shadescale. As the war began to reach its twilight years, a sly and careful wizard began to use the fresh resources and casualties to plot an uprising and assassination in the elven nation of Hippolyta, but at many points, he was foiled by Alfield and the team, especially after he gained a weapon that pointed him in the direction of danger and adventure alike.
Six years after the siblings first set out, the war came to a dramatic end, but there was still a legion of messes to clean up, and Shadescale's plots continued. It all finally culminated in 975 EE, when Shadescale kidnapped Queen Festivia Wistermire and rose his infernal tower out of the ground, unleashing a horde of undead soldiers along with it. As the forces of Hippolyta gathered, they called upon the Scattered Petals as well, for their powerful talents to defeat the mad mage.
What followed was a lengthy battle, as hordes of undead fell to the soldiers of Hippolyta, as the Scattered Petals rushed as an arrowhead into the tower of the wizard himself.
Meeting their long-fated foe face to face, it was time for each side to give their all.
Legends have been told of the battle, and the details are fuzzy even for those who lived it. It was a clash of wits and power, of steel and spell, of planning and execution. But eventually, our heroes took the back foot.
In a key moment, Hildima hesitated, enraptured by fear, and a sequence of prepared spell traps sealed his senses and mentality in the darkest corners of his soul, leaving him all but comatose. With their divine healer down, Etum was struck next by a nexus point of pure necrotic energy, withering even their bond with magic. And lastly, most painfully, Alfield himself fell, shielding Elaine from a finishing blow, nearly winding up dead.
If that wasn't bad enough, as the three heroes fell, Elaine bore witness to Shadescales true form: a Black Dragon of legend, the claimed progenitor of Necromancy, and a monster who sought to tear her down. But, emboldened rather than destroyed, Elaine fought the dreadful beast, and in a battle that raged outside the tower, for all to see, Elaine shined her brightest, and struck down the monster, at the cost of her own life.
No one knows exactly what happened next, but Elaine's light faded as she plummeted from the skies towards the base of the tower, which they had beaten through. Not all was lost though, as her three friends, her allies, and her family rose from their ailments.
The tower was collapsing, and the queen still needed to be rescued, but there was one problem.
The mad mage still lived, returned to a human form.
As Alfield returned to consciousness with his strength returned, he was overcome with rage, grief, and sorrow. With the tower beginning to crumble around them, Hildima and Etum raced to carry the queen to safety, and Alfield took up Elaines favored weapon, her trusty Halberd, and launched himself at the mage. Finding a wellspring of strength within him that he hadn't carried before, he tore through the magical defenses and preparations, tanked attack after attack after attack, roaring in fury all the while. Those who witnessed it say they can still hear the screams in their nightmares.
As the tower began to fall, there wasn't enough time to immediately get Elaines body out, as it slipped through the base of the floor into the tunneled caverns below. But, at the apex of the crumbling tower, Alfield raced with his wings, pushing himself to the brink, and finally pierced the madman through the gut before he could flee. With a final curse, Shadescale afflicted Alfield's wings with Lich Limb, hoping that the hero would die from the fall, just as his sister had seemed to.
But even that plan would be foiled, as a final shine of divine grace shielded Alfield from the plummet, as he fell unconscious and was gently carried to the ground, as Shadescales revived body withered with ash along the wind.
After the chaos had passed, weeks were spent clearing the rubble and searching for Elaine's body, but no trace was found, living or dead. The remaining three were honored by the Queen with a lavish feast, but all refused to show. The world was saved, and the Queen was saved, but the Scattered Petals had lost.
Elaine was gone, Hildima was rocked with more trauma and anxiety than he had ever experienced, Etum lost her bond with magic altogether, and Alfield lost his closest family, and even the strength of the wings he had loved so much.
Education
As a lone child before the pan-eddan educational reform, Alfield did not get the chance to receive a standard education like many modern youths. However, he still gained enough knowledge and know-how throughout his life for the various fields he needed to know. As an adult, he spends a lot of time absorbing random books, especially those that deal with agriculture.
Employment
When Alfield was younger, he would assist the local hill-folk with their various tasks, especially in the harvest season. When he and Elaine got older, he took up work as a hunter, using his wings and talent for marksmanship to bring in a good haul, while Elaine helped as a spotter on the ground.
Luckily, the Border Wars had ended by the time he reached adulthood, so while he still experienced the ramifications and the fears that wartime brought, he did not have to be on the front lines personally and took up adventuring with his sister, solving problems that frequently went under the notice of the government during the war.
After their final fight, Alfield spent a few years recovering, returning to his agricultural roots before getting the idea to start a Mercenary Guild of his own. While he still is mainly a farmer due to the guild's lack of popularity, he also helps as a handyman around the town.
Mental Trauma
Metagame knowledge
Since then, his trauma has still been very active and is in part responsible for the decline, and now utter lack, of guild members. He refuses to put them in any kind of perceived danger, even in minor ways. Not only is this restrictive, and can come across as oppressive, but it also keeps the guild at a low status.
The loss of Elaine in their final fight against Shadescale shattered the young man, and he spent nearly ten years before any spark of determination or adventure returned to him, when he decided to make his own guild.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Alfield has had many motivations and dreams throughout his life, many of which have turned to curses and daggers in his back. Now, he is motivated only to train, prepare, and protect at least a small portion of the future.
Savvies & Ineptitudes
Alongside his hunting skills and combat experience, Alfield also has gotten skilled at bureaucratic paperwork via his position as a guildmaster, and being in Wind has given him a lot of experience in bartering.
However, he's inept at many, many things, such as cooking, stress control, painting, lying, and staying upright.
Likes & Dislikes
Likes:
- Apples, and other sweet fruits
- The color yellow
- Sapphires
- Salamanders
- Butterflies
- Lute music
- Snakes
- Taxidermy
- Hippolytan Government
- Dark Chocolate
Virtues & Personality perks
Alfield is a stalwart and earnest protector and keeps an open and optimistic mind when carrying out his duties and helping those around him. He also enjoys being friendly and does a lot of casual things to aid his communities, wherever he ends up.
Vices & Personality flaws
However, that same protectiveness can also lead to overprotectiveness, where he coddles and shields others from rightful blame, or any sense of danger. He can also be a bit flighty and absentminded, especially when he gets lost in his past.
Social
Religious Views
Alfield has never been a very devout individual, but growing up in Agartha he learned to honor the Mother Dragon, Steinsprut, a lesser deity of Hunting and Tracking. However, even his meager worship has since waned.
Social Aptitude
Alfield used to be a plucky, bright adventurer, with a smile and a healthy bit of snark for every situation he found himself in. As he has reached proper adulthood, he's grown more shy and timid in his speech and has a soft, breathy tone to his voice more often than not.
Alignment
Neutral Good
Current Status
Waiting for more guild members
Current Location
Conditions
Honorary & Occupational Titles
- The Azure Archer
- Scale of Heliotrop
- Hero of the Forests
- Guildmaster
Currently Held Titles
Date of Birth
20th of Freezing Winter
Year of Birth
955 EE
54 Years old
Birthplace
Agartha
Children
Current Residence
Pronouns
He/Him
Sex
AMAB
Gender
Male
Presentation
Masculine-tired
Eyes
Pale blue, dark circles outside
Hair
White, fluffly, neck-length, untamed
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Light blue, bordering teal, with large horns
Height
6' 2"
Weight
109 lbs
Belief/Deity
Non-religious
Aligned Organization
Ruled Locations
Comments