Malcys Hamblemamble
Malcys Hamblemamble is a Firbolg Wizard/Cleric. An Abjuration Wizard who is less focused on solely abjuration than he is the general study of all the schools (a jack of all trades, per se) and a Life Domain Cleric to a mysterious god.
Long ears, large, flat nose (slightly cow-like in appearance), sharp teeth (uncharacteristic of species). Comes across as sort of grumpy and quiet visually but is nice. Thin, tall. Not very muscular. No piercings, some covered tattoos - arcane in nature (aesthetically, not literally magic).
LORE: Pre-Campaign(s)
Malcys was born as Thoza Sleethallow in a small town of firbolgs called Hibern in the Kingdom of Giants in Fimblvintr. Raised there by his parents, Erden & Rava Sleethallow, until an interest was shown in his young-adulthood for the arcane, at which point he left home at 25 on invitation to join the College of Kaldi in the center of the Kingdom.
The College of Kaldi was one of a number of secretive institutions in Fimblvintr meant to rival those of Strixhaven, where the aspiring wizards, mages, and clerics of the Kingdom of Giants go to learn and better their craft - in theory. In practice, it has grown to be more of a religious institution much more concerned with the divine than the arcane.
Malcys studied abjuration in the College of Kaldi for a number of years, but eventually grew tired of both the lack of diversification that he was allowed and of being relentlessly pushed toward the divine instead of his desired focus. At the age of 40, ten years into adulthood, Malcys decided to leave the College of Kaldi and the entirety of Fimblvintr altogether. Having heard so often of the institution his previous College had been attempting (and likely failing) to rival, Malcys traveled far from the Kingdom of Giants and arrived in Strixhaven where he enrolled first in the College of Abzan and second in the College of Sultai where he intended to continue his study of abjuration and hopefully, finally, branch out a bit into the other schools of magic.
In his thirty years total spent in the Colleges of Strixhaven, three and twenty-seven were spent in the Colleges of Abzan and Sultai respectively. The College of Abzan was altogether too militaristic for Malcys, so he only stayed long enough to learn what he wished to, and then he transferred. His transfer to another of the five colleges at Strixhaven wasn’t quite how things were done, but the College of Sultai is a strange one - and one into which Malcys seemed to fit better - so upon proving himself, he was allowed in.
As a long lived species, Malcys felt no real pressure of time and therefore took plenty of it to complete his education in the College of Sultai. That being said, the Sultai were militaristic in a different way, and not wanting his name permanently attached to the College, Malcys decided it was in his best interests to complete his education non-traditionally. When, after twenty-seven years and at the age of 70, his elders (so-to-speak) decided it was time to give him his final exam, Malcys wasn’t there to take it - and never returned. Some might say that disappearing from right underneath the watchful senses of his professors when he did was even more in the spirit of the College of Sultai than completing a so-called impossible test. He would certainly say that, if he cared to speak about his education, which he does not.
After leaving Strixhaven, Malcys set off into greater Nasza Ziemia, content to learn on his own and as needed, in whatever school of magic that caught his interest moment to moment. He became a wanderer, a shadow, exploring places he had never been, until finding his way to Respite a scant five years later.
One night, Malcys happened to be in the wrong graveyard at the wrong time - or perhaps the right graveyard at the right time, depending on who you asked. Either way, it was luck that had him digging in the same grave that a certain group had their eyes on, and he was smart enough - or perhaps stupid enough, or ambitious enough, or bored enough anyway - to know that he had a particular opportunity to grab ahold of when he was confronted in said grave. Talking isn’t his strongest suit by any means, but the dice were in his favor that night.
So, Malcys then spent the next 40 years as a member of the Stitchers. Not a nobody in the organization either. He was good at what he did, and he became enough of a somebody on the inside, actually, that when he left said organization it was on good terms. People didn’t typically retire from that kind of thing. But he could be trusted to keep quiet. That isn’t to say it wasn’t a surprise to anyone, though, when he left. He was quiet, not outwardly emotional by any means. But he seemed to like it. He never told the reason why, though, and they would never find out.
That reason came in the form of Bannove Hamblemamble. A 3ft 6in tall gnome of similar age with pinkish-red colored skin and dark red hair - short and shaggy on the top with a singular long braid in the back. Large nose, large, pointed ears with little gold piercings all over them. A red flush to his nose and cheeks. Mustache and beard thick but neatly trimmed. Tiny little circular gold spectacles balanced cartoonishly on his nose. Bannove Hamblemamble was just someone Malcys happened across in a market in the Mortal Lands. Someone he happened to speak to in passing. Just small talk over vegetables.
And yet… sometimes something won’t leave your mind no matter how hard it’s ignored. That something was a gnome that smiled at him genuinely and talked with him wholeheartedly about what was, quite frankly, nothing worth talking about. So Malcys left the Stitchers for Bannove at age 115, and left Respite with Bannove, who made him think about a life where the arcane didn’t matter. Malcys disappeared again, having decided to leave everything behind for a gnome he barely knew. But he had a feeling, so from that moment on… he was Malcys - the name he made up on the spot when Bannove introduced himself and asked what to call him.
Ten years later, on a quiet day in a humble town on a small island among the many that made up the Slumbering Islands, Malcys (125, 7’9”, ~230lbs) and Bannove (127, 3’6”, ~40lbs) were married. Malcys went from just Malcys to Malcys Hamblemamble. They lived in peace and quiet and simplicity, running Bannove’s glassworks shop together. Malcys hadn’t bothered with magic in a decade and wouldn’t for a hundred-and-fourteen more. The two of them grew together, aged together, and thought of starting a family together. They were mature enough now. They’d had enough time just for themselves.
They were in the process of deciding what sort of child they might want to adopt when, suddenly and in the dead of night like everything so cliche, Bannove was murdered.
In a way it would have been better if it had happened because of Malcys’s history, or if it was done by someone from his past - not that that could really be considered any better, but it would have at least made it make sense. But it wasn’t anything like that. It was just… random. Purely by chance with no connection to either of them. Wrong place, wrong time. And this time there was no such feeling like ‘perhaps it was the right place at the right time, depending on who you asked.’ It was just a tragedy, plain and simple.
For the first time in 120 years, 119, specifically, Malcys, just for a moment when it happened, considered utilizing the arcane. Just for a moment, some part of him said “You can bring him back.”
But Bannove wouldn’t have liked that, and he didn’t want to do that. As much as he wanted Bannove back, it wouldn’t have been right for him to do that any of the ways he knew how. Bannove would want to be buried properly, with his family and his people, and Bannove would want him to move on. Eventually.
Physically, he did move on. Meaning that he left their home and their island. He closed the shop, closed their cottage, and took nothing with him except the necklace he always wore - a gift from and made by Bannove - and Bannove’s small traveling pack of glassblowers tools. He carried Bannove’s favorite blowpipe as his staff - the melted, swirled blob of glass at the end the last remnant of his husband’s final, unfinished project.
He went to the Immortal Lands - large enough to disappear in - and never looked back. Now, at 240 years old, one year after his husband’s death, he lives in New Buryport.
And unexpectedly after a year of loneliness he’s found himself with a group of… friends? All because of a professor called Nythin who is much too sweet for his own good. But it’s appreciated. It’s really the first time in the year since Bannove’s death that he’s done anything with anyone. He’s kept entirely to himself since, but something about Nythin’s mannerisms, even in writing, got him to finally put himself out there again for a face-to-face adventure. It was probably time.
~
Downtime Period #1 (lvl 3-lvl 5)
IN THE TWO MONTHS SINCE THE DANCE BATTLE....
Malcys felt a little lacking in terms of his capabilities in battle and such during the time with Nythin and the others, which he attributed to lack of practice considering he hadn’t done even a hint of magic in more than a century. By choice, of course, but now he felt like it was time to get back into the swing of things. Intelligence was obviously useful in adventuring, just… not if he couldn’t defend himself or help his companions.
With that decision made, Malcys spends a lot of time studying. His small apartment quickly becomes akin to a small library, with little extra space save what was needed for living. It was good to read spell books and history and theory again after so long - with different motivation. He hadn’t realized he missed the study of the arcana so much. So he stays home and pours over pages and writes notes and practices.
While occasionally going out for a bit of ‘fun’ with Calfein, who insisted. Such fun often included taverns for one reason or another, not that Malcys was really one for drinking (although he could usually drink anyone under a table as previously evidenced, if necessary) or anything related - but he did enjoy seeing Calfein’s shows. Reminded him of Bannove, who also loved music. And it was… actually nice, for the first time in a while, to be reminded of that.
Sometime over this two month period, early on, Malcys and Calfein move in together - it’s easier to share an apartment, and is an excuse for an upgrade. They need more space for books and for music.
When he isn’t studying during these two months or engaging in Calfein’s antics, he does odd jobs here and there. Simple things. For old people, typically. Using magic to move heavy boxes and such for those that need a little help and can spare the gold. Need money to get books, after all. (But he doesn’t always take the gold, really. Depends on the person.)
~
Downtime Period #2 (lvl 5-lvl 8)
IN THE TWO MONTHS SINCE THE BROODMOTHER BATTLE....
After returning home from Snorri’s workshop post-battle and part-acquisition, Malcys needed some rest. Something about all the fighting and perhaps majorly fumbling some social interactions had tired him greatly. But his sleep that night… wasn’t very restful. Instead, he had strange dreams.
A vision.
He saw, or was shown, more like, a strange symbol. Metal, silver. Divine, he knew (somehow). He felt a drive to find it, a need to find it. A flash of a… familiar office. And just before he woke from his dream - vision - he heard a voice. Unrecognizable to him, but it said something distinctly.
“...help…me…”
He woke and drew a crude rendition of the symbol - not so bad, really, considering he had plenty of practice scribing runes and the arcane, but he wasn’t artistic, so to speak, so the dimensionality was off and it didn’t feel exactly right. It got the point across, though. Or it would, he hoped, to the only person he thought might be able to help him when none of his own long hoarded books or knowledge had anything ringing a bell in his mind.
Nythin, upon seeing his drawing, immediately produced an identical relic from a stack of boxes of things saved to get to later - saying he had apparently picked it up on Dayfal’s Rock during all the ‘business with Karyn.’ Malcys relays his dream in more detail, and upon hearing everything, Nythin releases the relic into Malcys’ care and suggests (excitedly) - due to the fact that they both have no answers about it - “Research!”
The artifact fits in Malcys’ hand and feels oddly like it is meant to be there, and when he holds it and almost unthinkingly ties it in place on his staff he knows that it comes with something more than a feeling. Whatever divinity this thing was tied to, now, so was he.
Altogether he spends the next month and a half on research, mostly leading nowhere, and study. He had wizard shit to learn, spells to copy, and now new divinely granted abilities to master. But… research could only do so much for the latter. He decided it was time for a field test.
The last two weeks of his downtime is spent both prepping for and engaging in a heist. Health potion acquired, new armor acquired, 125 gold spent, more than that gained. And he got to help out an old friend from his days in Respite get back at someone who slighted him. Albaz “Albie” Thornwood, who had to be… old, at this point, considering how old Malcys is and how long since he’d last seen him (at least a hundred and twenty four years ago). Albie is a scavenger working as a merchant, at the moment anyway. The target he chose was definitely rich, definitely should be a big score, and Albie definitely has beef with them… and despite the sense that Albie is being liberal with with the word “slighted,” Malcys is happy to help - at least in a more disguised manner than usual. Albie was, after an old friend.
He got a pretty nice wand out of it, too, which was a bonus.
Current Status
Researching
Current Location
Species
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Kaldi Student (6595-6610)
Abzan Apprentice (6611-6613)
Sultai Agent (6614-6640)
Stitcher (6645-6685)
Retirement/Marriage to Bannove Hamblemamble (6686-6809)
Year of Birth
6570 PDT
240 Years old
Children
Current Residence
Small apartment with Calfein
Pronouns
He/They
Gender
Non-Binary
Eyes
Tired but kind red eyes with light yellow, vertically slitted pupils
Hair
Muted purple hair - very, very long and very fluffy and wavy - usually tied back in a low, thick braid
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Soft, light (cool) green skin and short fur
Height
7'9"
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Comments