Aravashnial

Aravashnial

Aravashnial has always been driven to excel. Both of his parents were wizards, and soon after he learned to read and write, his mother and father began teaching him of magic. He was a dutiful son, but as he grew older, his own personality began to assert itself. He chose to specialize in conjuration rather than abjuration (his parents’ specialty), much to his family’s displeasure. Further, his growing obsession with Tanglebriar began to worry not only his parents but also his teachers and fellow apprentices— they believe that Aravashnial had been lured to the worship of dark powers, when in fact the opposite was true. Aravashnial felt the stain of Tanglebriar on Kyonin was an affront to his heritage and to magic itself and hoped he would be the one to discover a way to send the demon Treerazer back to the Abyss. As his studies progressed, however, he came to the unshakable conclusion that without outside aid, the best Kyonin could hope for in the longstanding conflict against Tanglebriar was merely a continued stalemate. When his apprenticeship ended, he shocked his family by announcing his intention to join the Mendevian Crusade. He would join the crusaders, learn their methods of battling demons, and then someday in the future return with that knowledge to aid his homeland.
Before setting out for Mendev, Aravashnial decided he should first visit other parts of the Inner Sea to continue his studies as a conjurer. As he traveled, he stopped at every large library he came across to conduct research. While exploring the ruined remains of a library in Galt, he came face to face with a young woman doing the same. Aravashnial discovered the woman’s name was Lylina and that she was a conjurer like himself. They traveled together out of Galt, but it wasn’t until after they’d crossed the border that Lylina told Aravashnial that she was a member of an organization called the Riftwardens. She invited him to accompany her to Mendev and join her organization.
Aravashnial has spent the last 2 years in Mendev working for the Riftwardens. He has undertaken over a dozen missions into the Worldwound, each time emerging with more scars and a new hatred of demons, but also increased knowledge. When not working directly with the Riftwardens on missions, Aravashnial passes the time drafting possible tactics to use against Tanglebriar, so that if he dies on a mission, what he’s learned can be sent back home to aid his people. He supports himself by crafting magic items and selling them to shops in the Gates District and by casting spells for hire, but he doesn’t own a storefront himself and would disdain a job as a “store clerk.”
Humility has never been one of Aravashnial’s defining personality traits. Despite his relatively short time in the Riftwardens, he considers himself one of the most knowledgeable Riftwardens in Kenabres. He is well regarded among his fellows as a talented and courageous wizard. After a brief romance, he and Lylina split up over a heated argument about whether or not the Riftwardens should be more open in their support of the crusade—something that Aravashnial has long believed is important, but that Lylina feared would compromise too many secrets the organization has learned about the enemy. She’s since moved on, having left Kenabres to work with the Riftwardens in Nerosyan. Aravashnial still harbors bitterness in his heart over their parting but tells himself he no longer cares for her.
Aravashnial is somewhat of a conspiracy theorist and always has a number of outrageous theories brewing. His latest is that certain groups among the crusaders have been infiltrated by demon cultists and that their influence has been more damaging to the war effort than actual battles. As a man used to exploring dangerous areas and taking on ferocious enemies, he would normally be well equipped to journey through these tunnels beneath Kenabres. His blindness has left him at a severe disadvantage, however, and the wizard is deeply shaken. He despises the helplessness he feels and tries to take a strong leadership role in the party. If the PCs can help Aravashnial feel confident in himself despite his blindness, he makes a valuable ally, but if they can’t convince him to take a back seat while exploring, he’ll get himself killed before he can be much help.

Physical Description

Physical quirks

Critical Injury: Blinded (ccc) Aravashnial’s eyes have been destroyed by the fiery whip of a balor, permanently blinding him. Upgrade the difficulty of all checks twice, and upgrade the difficulty of Perception and Vigilance checks three times, until this Critical Injury is healed.

Aravashnial is one of the three survivors trapped beneath the ground with the PCs at the start of this adventure, and one of eight potential recurring NPC allies in this Adventure Path. He brings significant firepower to the PCs’ party at the start of this adventure, but on a very limited basis. Even without his spells, though, he has a great deal of arcane knowledge. Once the PCs reach the surface, they may find Aravashnial’s encyclopedic knowledge of Kenabres and demons extremely useful.

Character Location

Kenabres

View Character Profile