Fendrel Drake (Fen-DREHLL)

"If I'm still going, I'm still going."
Fendrel's most-known quote (which usually is listed somewhere alongside his other information in his author biography) is a phrase Fendrel often says to anyone who tells him that he should slow down, stop traveling as much, consider retiring. It will typically be delivered with a fond smile and gentle headshake, but if pressed will be the one time he shows an unkind emotion, annoyance or anger flashing when someone tries to imply his elderly comfort is more important than seeing to his mission. (The most folks usually see of this annoyance is simply repeating the phrase several times in increasingly firm tones until the other person drops it.)

Fendrel Drake is a wise-faced elderly journalist, even-tempered and patient, driven by his Aasimar blood into devoting his life to cataloging personal stories from cultures no longer represented in Ostelliach.

Dignified Documentation

Destroyed villages, eradicated tribes, decimated local dialects, overruled minority castes, marginalized subcultures, and any manner of misplaced or forgotten groups make their way into his many, many volumes. These volumes are shared in a variety of ways with greater Ostelliach, including duplication in the Scriptorium Soiram annals and bardic tales.
Fendrel always practices a strict ethics code for his journalism that is above and beyond even the already-high standards that other journalistic societies in Ostelliach strive toward. He is known for publishing several memoirs and biographies where he collected the words of people unable to record their own histories, giving faithful and thoughtful reproductions where consent is emphasized at each step of the approach. This includes many interviews, direct quoting where at all possible, and ensuring his feature is very clear about how they want their story used. It is only the long life of an Aasimar that allows him to devote this level of detail (which otherwise would slow down his work quite a lot with all the reviews), allowing him to still have collected a truly staggering number of volumes in his years of travel.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Gaunt, with skin pulled tight against bone and sinew but belying where muscle once reigned. Walks with a distinct limp and carries both a wooden walking stick and a metal cane/crutch for his right side. Moves quite spryly all things considered.

Body Features

A large lightning mark-esque scar on his chest, almost always visibly prominent in his otherwise loose and unassuming clothing. If asked, he tells people that it is a mark to remember the reason he does what he does (collecting these stories).

Facial Features

Bright eyes and a still-handsome sculpted face with very few wrinkles or age lines.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Capturing as many stories and cultures as he physically can before passing on, and ensuring that these tales are recorded with compassion, patience, empathy, and dignity.

Social

Contacts & Relations

Loosely associated with Desharka Jishiga in that his work aligns with some of their goals and he often works from one of their headquarters or gets passed contact information through people in Sammen. That said, he is an independent journalist and travels freely.

Speech

Fendrel is a kindly, patient man who talks in an unbothered, even tone that is carefully curated to be soothing during interviews without being patronizing as well as be as unaccented as possible for those whom Common is not their first language. (Incidentally, he speaks nearly every language one could name, and several dialects or strains that are otherwise considered dead.)

Current Status

Cataloging lost cultures

Current Location

The Endeavour

Age

Older/elderly for a Drow-type body

Pronouns

He/him

Gender

Masc

Eyes

Warm, inviting; one permanently dilated grey, one bright green

Hair

Stark white textured locs kept in a ponytail under a distinctive cap

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Purple-grey of an aged Drow with distinctive chest scarring (usually uncovered)

Height

5'11" but stooped by age

Weight

Gaunt but lingering structure of previous strength

Quotes & Catchphrases

"If I'm still going, I'm still going."

Aligned Organization

Desharka Jishiga