Advocate Amrith Hogaine (a.k.a. "the Refuser")
Amrith "the Refuser" Hogaine, Advocate of the People of Gylidd Syn Aethri, was the current duly elected Chair of the Civic Synod from 3480 AI to 3519 AI. They were first appointed to the position of Synoddr Advocate in 3450 AI, succeeding Cloudfang the Younger, and was elevated to Synoddr Chair after the retirement of Benuh Gelaine, who served as the Judge of the Laws from 3435 AI until 3480 AI. Advocate Hogaine is the oldest member of the Civic Synod and the second oldest member of Gylidd's executive branch. Advocate Hogaine is also a controversial figure in Gylidder politics due to their true nature as undead, which has caused critics to raise concerns about Amrith's loyalties, trustworthiness, and the duration of their political position's tenure. Amrith's unofficial title as "the Refuser" comes from his refusal to partake of blood, instead subsisting on the ley energy of Myzelis to sustain his immortal form.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Amrith is just over six feet tall, with a lithe swimmer's build featuring long arms, broad shoulders, and thin hips. He carries himself in an unassuming manner but his vampiric grace is occasionally exposed in times of stress, where he moves through, over, and around obstacles with surety and confidence. His face is supernaturally flawless, cheek bones high and sharp, and green eyes almost predominantly iris with very little pupil even in darkness.
Special abilities
Amrith is a master of bardic magic, having studied at the Cann College of Eloquence for over twenty years (and practicing those powers ever since). Additionally, his vampiric nature grants him many powers normally reserved for powerful undead, albeit his status as a ley vampire has modified them.
Apparel & Accessories
As he is a proud servant of Gylidd Syn Aethri, Amrith often wears green, white, and black. He bears a gifted, tailored suit of mithril half plate under his robes, and often prefers long skirts to pants or slacks. He exposes very little of his skin, often wearing long gloves and hiding the lower half of his face behind a thick scarf. His already impressive height is accentuated further by high-heeled boots, which he wears to ensure that he can be easily seen by his supporters, constituents, and critics. Most, if not all, of his wardrobe is made of gifts earned through his decades of service, and although they are often well-crafted, their value is attributed primarily to their bearer.
Specialized Equipment
Ilaisfedragh (Gylidd Draconic: "Elemental Breath"), an Instrument of the Bards crafted and gifted to Amrith specifically by Izzithsicoria Dauddraig. It is said to amplify and accentuate the Advocate's ability to ensure that even the softest and tiniest voices of others can be heard and understood.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Amrith Hogaine was born in West Alwelon on 27th Ylioka, 3271 AI, to Parcca and Moira Hogaine. Their parents were textile merchants and managed sheep herds in the Southern Pellafion, and involved themselves in local politics below the Gyliddring representative level. Amrith took far better to public service, but his idealism and unwavering dedication to truth made powerful enemies among the Merchant Lords of the coast.
In 3305 AI, an indentured Necromancer named Eringolineth kidnapped Amrith from his home in Alwelon. The Hogaine family spent a fortune searching for signs of him, eventually becoming destitute and selling their farms. Parcca died in 3328, and Moira shortly after in the summer of 3329 AI, neither one ever finding out his fate. Investigators from the Gylidd Guard officially surrendered the search in 3330, without even determining which Merchant Lord had ordered the young legislator's death.
In truth, Eringolineth had turned Amrith into a vampire, and performed experimentations upon him to determine if it was possible to siphon life force energy directly from the Ley Lines of Myzelis. From 3305 to 3344, Hogaine's master tinkered with his necrotic form from his lair on the edge of Vrokíva's Grasp, until Eringolineth and their fortress were subsumed by the Brume in the late winter of 3345, granting Amrith freedom from the necromantic magic.
Although Hogaine could feel the hunger for blood swelling within him, he remained apart from other living beings for as long as he could, returning to what little remained of Eringolineth's lair to see if the experiment could be perfected. Over the next 90 years, Amrith fasted and meditated upon his own condition, and practicing how to subsist on nothing more than the life force of the planet. Eventually he came to theorize that the location of the fortress - near the edge of Tas Ethuk Island - was too far from the heart of the Ley Lines for the experiment to succeed. Steeling his will, he migrated to Gylidd Syn Aethri City, and - using every ounce of his willpower - surrendered himself to the Gylidder Guard in 3434.
Amrith managed to convince the Curio of Gylidd to keep him alive rather than having him destroyed, and requested that he be imprisoned within the Heartwood Forest under the highest possible security. Over the next ten years under the eye of the Curio and the Guard, Hogaine felt his bloodlust abate, and mastered the ability to subsist entirely upon the confluence of the ley. By continuing to revisit the Rhuddinwyd every so often to maintain his strength, he even learned to enjoy the touch of running water and even ignore the harmful effects of sunlight. Amrith is the first - and so far only - ley vampire in existence, and the Curio have been keeping close watch upon him to ensure that his sanctification is not a ruse.
Hogaine reintered politics with the blessing of the Guard and the Curio in 3445, after several years working with prominent individuals within each faction to earn their trust and endorsement. Justice Benuh Gelaine, former Judge of the Laws and Chair of the Synod, had considerable sway with the populace at large and was chiefly responsible for Amrith's first successful run for 2nd Representative of Alwelon in 3447, and his subsequent victory over Advocate Cloudfang the Younger in 3450. It came as no surprise to Gylidder political minds that Gelaine was grooming Amrith for Synoddr Chair, and his election in 3480 - albeit close - was also predictable.
Gender Identity
Advocate Hogaine identifies as a cisgender man.
Sexuality
Hogaine has not revealed this information to the general public, nor has any situation arisen to cast light on it.
Education
- Graduate (with Honors) from Gylidd University, 3290. Double specialization in Law and Social Service.
- Recertification (with Honors) from Gylidd University, 3446. Double specialization in Law and Social Service.
- Mastery of Musical Invocation from Cann College of Eloquence, 3465.
- (Honorary) Mastery of Kethisarqueyan Theory from Hynfaolic College of the Stars, 3490.
- (Honorary) Key to the Heart from the Church of Lysav at Tywodden, 3491.
Employment
- Hogaine Farms, 3281-3286
- West Alwelon City Councilman, 3291-3305
- 2nd Gyliddring Representative of Alwelon, 3447-3449
- Advocate of the People of Gylidd Syn Aethri, 3450-present
- Chair of the Civic Synod of Gylidd Syn Aethri, 3480-present
Accomplishments & Achievements
- Drafted legislation to curtail the overrepresentation of the Merchant Lords over Alwelic politics, 3302.
- Became the first known Ley Vampire in existence, 3344.
- Became the first undead entity to earn the right to vote in Gylidd Syn Aethri, 3444.
- Became the first undead entity to be voted a Representative at Gyliddring, 3447.
- Became the first undead entity to be voted Advocate of the People of Gylidd, 3450.
- Became the first undead entity to be voted Chair of the Civic Synod, 3450.
Failures & Embarrassments
- Assassinated by agents of the Merchant Lords of Tas Ethuk, 3305.
Mental Trauma
- Murdered and turned undead by the necromancer Eringolineth, 3305.
- Tortured and experimented on by Eringolineth, 3305-3344.
- Self-isolated in Brume-adjacent territory, 3345-3434.
- Imprisoned in Gylidd Syn Aethri under maximum security, 3435-3445.
Intellectual Characteristics
Amrith Hogaine is insightful, charismatic, and thoughtful, if exceedingly cautious due to possible misunderstandings given his undead nature. Although he still needs periods of rest and meditation, he has a great deal more free time than most politicians and spends much of it personally meeting his constituents and going on long forays into cities and settlements across the island to observe their wants and needs directly. Although he has a wealth of personal and scholarly experience due to his age, Amrith also often shamelessly defers to the creativity and alacrity of brighter minds.
Morality & Philosophy
Though he was not born an elf, Advocate Hogaine follows the Observations of Kethis, a lifestyle in which the participant seeks to avoid violence at all costs, preferring to use words and actions to preserve as much life as possible. For obvious reasons, Amrith is the greatest proponent of the theraputic conversion of criminality, and constantly uses his position to promote non-violent solutions and causes.
Taboos
Hogaine refuses to take or harm life, and prefers to personally leave as little footprint as possible upon nature.
Social
Contacts & Relations
As the chief diplomat of Gylidd, Amrith has contacts among most other Realms and Civilizations in Myzelis, either inherited through his position or developed over his tenure as Advocate. Personally, he is well-known and highly regarded by the people of Alwelon, Hynfaol, and Tywodden, but is also generally well-liked by the majority of the entire island.
Family Ties
Amrith's direct family line ended when he and his parents died in the early 3300s, but some extended family still persists to this day among the people of Tywodden and elsewhere. Out of respect (and perhaps a lack of kinship), he keeps his distance from them.
Religious Views
Amrith practices the Observation of Kethis, an elven philosophy created by Kethisarqueya of the Hacharwyddic Pantheon defined by non-violence, minimal impact, and peace. He also pays deep respect to the teachings of Lysav, a legendary diplomat who is one of the oldest Inaethri of Gylidd.
Hobbies & Pets
Amrith's ley vampire powers grant him a modified affinity for beasts. Whereas the creatures summoned by ordinary vampires are compelled to work evil, Amrith's animal friends are vibrant and lively, and he avoids using them in battle for any reason. Advocate Hogaine doesn't have much time for hobbies, but he takes great pleasure in indulging in the hobbies of others as he travels the length and breadth of the island, reveling in their mastery as he fumbles about happily with the childlike enthusiasm of a novice.
Speech
As he was born in Alwelon, and has never lost his Alwelic accent - bold, with heavy, rolling R's, and broad, resonant intonation.
Wealth & Financial state
As one of the two leaders of Gylidd Syn Aethri, Advocate Hogaine has access to an incredible amount of wealth and can gain access to any non-artifact magic item, given enough time. Personally, since his family's holdings in West Alwelon and the Southern Pellafion were dissolved over two centuries ago, he has very little wealth and prefers it that way.
Current Location
Species
Ethnicity
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Chair of the Civic Synod of Gylidd Syn Aethri; Advocate of the People of Gylidd Syn Aethri; Master of Musical Invocation (Cann College of Eloquence(Honorary) Master of Kethisarqueyan Theory (Hynfaolic College of the Stars (Honorary) Keymaster of the Heart (Church of Lysav at Tywodden)
Previously Held Ranks & Titles
Date of Birth
27th Ylioka
Year of Birth
3271 AI
298 Years old
Birthplace
West Alwelon
Children
Current Residence
Castle Inaethriddr
Gender
Male
Eyes
Pale green and nearly without a pupil
Hair
Dark brown (nearly black), thick and drawn into interwoven braids
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Exceedingly pale, tinged lightly with green
Height
6'3"
Weight
179 lbs
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
