Description
Eblin is a half-human, half-eladrin elf with average height and a military conscript's build. His eyes change color to reflect the irises of the person to whom he speaks, and his skin is a pale variation of the shimmering chameleonic nature of the seasonal elves.
The Journalist's apparent age is young, full of energy and excitement as he leaps and bounds towards every new story. Although he died of old age and underwent an Inaethrid at that time, the people of Gylidd remember him as a sprite of knowledge and his immortality reflects the same.
Personality
The Journalist of Gylidd is known for having an insatiable hunger for knowledge, but even moreso for perspective and stories. In life he was conscripted into a military force, but took more readily to passing information up and down the chain of command. As he did so he also gathered the tales of the heroes all around him, compiling their tales to spread far and wide. To Eblin, it is a truer sense of the world to see from many perspectives than it is to trust a mere compendium of fact, because to the Journalist facts have a perspective, too.
Eblin is constantly asking questions, seeking not just who what where when and how, but most importantly why. To him, all actions have meaning, and understanding their meaning is the only way to prevent strife. His personality is bound up in the war into which he was conscripted, the reckless and wanton violence with roots he couldn't possibly hope to investigate fully in his lifetime before it had already cost countless souls. As an Inaethri, he has time, and through the works of those he has influenced, he has the opportunity to spread this concept across the entire world.
Abilities
In his mortal life, the Inaethri of communication and heroic storytelling was a bard of the college of the lore of the world. Although he was capable of defending himself to a point, he was much more focused on the magic of words and divination. It was not uncommon to find him speaking at length with even his enemies, convincing them in many cases to lay down their arms and give peace a chance.
As a Gylidder Inaethri, Eblin is regarded as the spirit of communication, which includes both monologue and dialogue. He is the spark behind every Sending, and the one that people pray to when they need to be heard. The Journalist is also the drive to ask and record tales, to construct epic narratives and seek out the perspectives of not just one but many who may have witnessed or done great deeds. Eblin's holy symbol - a fat journal overflowing with stories and songs - is known as "the Work," for he believes it will and should never be 'finished.'
Worshippers
"Never forget that the words written here were cast by mortal aethrin. It is never as important to respect the words of this tome, as it is to respect the reason that we wrote them in the first place. Where you do not know, learn. Where you do not understand, ask. Add to this Work with diligence and sincerity, and respect as others do the same in due time."
— The first words of every Journal of Eblin
Eblin does not have many 'true' worshippers, as the people who follow most closely in his footsteps are more dedicated to the causes they share with the Inaethri than they are with the Inaethri himself - exactly how Eblin would have wanted it. The vast majority of those who pray to Eblin do so quite casually, whispering a word here and there as they plumb through a tome or exult a beautiful saga ("By the Scribe!" is common parlance).
Instead, Eblin has a coalition of Editors of "the Journals of Eblin," which are the Gylidder answer to the modern encyclopedia. No one Editor holds power over any others, but misconduct by any of them - mistranslating, poor transcription, falsehoods, or omission - are very quickly discovered by the others and lead to sanctions that are nearly impossible to escape (especially considering the communicative powers the Editors possess). Eblin doesn't have any holy sites, either, as instead the followers of Eblin exult the holy sites of
others, spreading the word and retelling stories about the beings they meet and places they visit in their travels. Despite this, many major Gylidder archives, libraries, and theaters have small shrines in the form of open bookshelves, where any passer-by may leave and take a book with the blessing of the Journalist.
As an Inaethri, Eblin is
loved by Gylidd, revered by those who pass stories through text or word of mouth, by those who chronicle the truth, and those who wish to foster better communication through mediation and magic. The concepts he represents - inquisitiveness, fascination, truth, respect, and education - are intrinsic to Gylidder culture and it is unlikely his Inaethrid will ever fade, short of the complete destruction of knowledge. So long as Gylidd tells tales, they will remember Eblin.
Activities
Eblin's efforts are primarily focused on the preservation and uncovering of lore. He encourages all of his Editors and ley followers to vigorously pursue what they do not know, and asks them to stop at nothing to respectfully discover and share what is hidden. That being said, he also asks them to respect when cultures safeguard their own lore, so long as those cultures are of like mind and that the knowledge they protect is not dangerous to the rest of the world (such as dark powers or violent technology). Everything that can be uncovered respectfully should be recorded in the Journals of Eblin, and all the knowledge in the Journals should also be voraciously verified on a regular basis.
In addition, the Journalist asks that others develop greater means of communication, sharing magical items and spells to any and all who need them. It is not uncommon to find an Editor far afield teaching a newly discovered village or town how to read and write new languages, how to create their own communicative magic items, or how to use divination and linguistic magic.
Divine Realm
Eblin's divine realm is known as "The Landing" - an outer plane he shares with the rest of the namesake Pantheon. It is a vast island split into subdomains ruled over by different Inaethri, surrounded by a tempestuous sea of metaphorical and magical significance. Eblin's subdomain is a massive school, library, and theater known as "Banuverse," named after the nobleman to whom Eblin was sworn to serve in life.
Petitioners who come here spend their lifetime exploring countless un-recorded tales of those whose stories were never told, collating, retelling, and sorting these perspectives into the metaphorical frame of the bigger picture Eblin eternally seeks.
Possessions
Eblin's Inaethrid refers to 'The Work' - his collection of stories and songs - far more than it does to any weapon, armor, or other instrument. The Work is in every depiction of the Journalist, is etched as the symbol upon the cover of every Journal of Eblin, and is likely the greatest single source of knowledge in any Realm connected to Gylidd. It possesses detailed descriptions of every creature, aethrin, inaethri, incari, place, and event connected not only to the Realm of Gylidd, but the native Realms of any expatriate or visitor who has ever visited there, as well as any who have encountered an Editor in the field.
History
Eblin Sturm was born in 22,009 BAI, and conscripted into the army of Banu Yilen Rhedon, who was himself sworn to the service of a long-dead Inaethri known only as the "Emperor of Telrana," a collection of powerful city-states that once occupied the waters west of Gylidd. Banu Rhedon was tasked with the scouting, establishment, and defense of a port island described only as being 'northeast of the Empire' that was called at different times 'Kallroth' and 'Tempus' Island. Eblin served the Banu dutifully for several years, quickly earning a reputation for being a dependable source of facts and a very reliable messenger.
A group of heroes known as the Guardians of Tempus Landing rose to prominence while Eblin was alive, and the Journalist witnessed their valiant defense of not just the Telranic Empire but also Gylidd from the threat of a horrifying demon of undeath who sought godhood through the destruction and consumption of souls. Eblin's Inaethrid is tied intrinsically to theirs, and he joined them as part of the Pantheon of the Landing in the 21900s BAI.
Ironically, neither Banu Rhedon nor the Telranic Empire survived to present day as the Brume consumed it shortly thereafter, but the survivors of this event, and their Inaethri, were welcomed in Gylidd with open arms. Many of the cities surrounding Gylidd Syn Aethri along the northern and southern Grand Canals owe their size and existence to the massive influx of refugees from Telrana's fall - including Kor and Ormtona.
