Varis Liadon

==Stats==
===Mark Tracker===
Marks: 0-21
Afflictions: (List of Afflictions resulting from every third mark above.)
===Advances===
*Empire Building
*Kiss of Ice: The winter fey do not give their favour lightly, nor without cost.
*Prison
*Irrigation
==Significant Relationships==
==Background==
Varis was a half elf born of an elvish father and a human mother. His mother, Shawna Amakiir, was the most beautiful woman in the village where he grew up, and as a result was chosen to be one of the wives of the great elder Theren Liadon.
From this marriage came a son, Varis Liadon.
Although Varis was the youngest and the only half elf son of Theren (he had 2 brothers and 1 sister all trained in the art of battle) he was the most promising candidate for the next Elder for he had the influence of his father matched with the beauty of his mother. This idea was taken quite enthusiastically by the villagers as it was well known that the elves had been losing their standing among the village due to the Mindplague, however before he could truly be ready for such responsibility he needed training, training that his father unfortunately could not provide.
In his early teenage years Varis was taught the way of the sword much like his siblings but his mother also taught him grace, art and music, always showing him the magic lute which had been in their family for many generations.
As Varis grew up he took on responsibilities and even took up a wife. Varis chose a beautiful human named Lyet to be his wife. Together they had a baby girl so beautiful that some say that she is a reincarnation of Laria which Varis named Keira.
Years later Varis started planning a journey, one that he felt would make him ready for the responsibility of Elder and one that would take him to see the world outside of his village. Shawna got wind of this news and went to Theren in the hopes of stopping him.
Theren knew that if his son survived this journey then he would return a better ruler than he could have ever been, and as such he compromised with Shawna and instead of stopping Varis, he started to collect his brothers and sisters to join him on this journey to protect him.
After the celebration of his 20th birthday Varis planned to sneak away only leaving a note for his mother to read, however at the gates of the village he was surprised to find his family waiting for him. His mother gave him the magical lute and wished him well while Theren stood tall and handed Varis a magic sword saying “best take a real weapon too” and with his families blessing started to leave the village.
For days Varis travelled not noticing that he was being followed until one day, still within the broken lands, he got attacked by a group of mad elves noticing the magic items that he possessed. This was the first time Varis had seen a mad elf as they were usually evicted from the village if any signs of them going mad started to appear.
Varis wasn't the best fighter, sure he can easily strike a moving target but his blows did not carry the power to defeat his foes and he was easily overpowered. Suddenly as if from nowhere he saw his siblings jump out from his surrounding and start taking on the mad elves; however they too could not win against elves that had lived for centuries. It was at this point that Varis got up, charged the nearest enemy and let out a war cry that could be heard from all around. One by one his siblings stood up, feeling refreshed, feeling empowered and they too started to see why he should be the next elder. He is not the greatest warrior, but he is a great leader. With this new found power the group easily defeated the elves and was able to continue with their journey, together. Although Varis felt like he should have done this alone he was pleased with the company and happily accepted them.
The first stop on his journey was the Fey Woods, here he settled with a small village, one that celebrated the birth of an Eladrin or Gnome and it was here where he learned how to control and use the arcane energies which he used with his natural ability to lead to empower the effect. This was mainly taught by gnomes who called themselves 'bards'. According to them, Varis had a natural ability with the arcane which when mixed with the musical teachings from his mother gave a similar result as their magics.
Varis spent four years with these gnomes learning the ins and outs of bardic magic, which he had a natural talent for. During this time some of Varis' siblings started to become impatient wondering why they had to sit and wait for him to learn how singing and dancing can help in battle. The main cause of these thoughts was his oldest brother Erdan Liadon who was instantly put down by his sister Keyleth Liadon who had been the most enthusiastic about accompanying Varis on this journey.
Eventually when they left the fey wood they made their way to God-curse Mountain and before reaching it they said the last prayers they could before entering the god forsaken land. It was a horrid place, it was cold and they battled almost constantly, many times relying on Varis' bardic abilities to pull them through. This continued until one day they came across a tribe or 'Lukt' as they were called. The inhabitants of this tribe were not very welcoming; at first they bared arms at Varis however with the power of his words they soon came around to letting Varis and his family travel with them. From this tribe Varis spent two years learning the ways of the Shaman learning to call forth his own spirit which took the form of a Griffon which started to amaze some of his siblings as they were with him every step of the way but they had not the power or ability to do the same.
They left the tribe when they got near to the border of the Dark Plains. Several times they came across devils in this land and on occasions his new spirit powers helped where his bardic ones could not. It was in this land where he came across the Mailed Fists a group that were experts in killing devils and invading orcs. Varis conversed with Markus, the Knight Captain who led the group at that time, and he was more than happy to let Varis accompany them. Whilst travelling with them Varis was not the only one who had an interest in the divine arts, his youngest brother (and least martially adept) Aelar Liadon also started to ask questions. After a year of travelling with them it became time to move on however Aelar came to Varis and asked if he could stay. Varis was worried as he knew that these knights faced certain death constantly, but he knew that this is something Aelar wanted to do and so he gave his blessing and forged a sending stone to keep in contact with him. He knew that one day Aelar would meet him in his home village where he would welcome him with open arms.
Once Varis left the Mailed Fists he visited the last land before he returned home. The Dead Wastes and he could feel the arcane energy in the land and it felt evil. The divine abilities he learned whist amongst the Mailed Fists became especially useful as this place was crawling with undead. The way he came across a group of settlers was by rescuing them from a group of undead. They were more than happy to have Varis along.
It was shortly after joining this group that Erdan, with the encouragement of Keyleth, pulled Varis to one side and apologised. It was easy to see why it was best that Varis became the next Elder. Varis had the ability to lead and Varis had mastered everything he had been shown while Erdan had mastered none. With that Erdan started to teach Varis everything he remembered being taught by his father about tactics and over 2 years, just as everything else, Varis mastered it perfectly. During those years Varis also got to experience a lot of trade and noticed how much it helped the settlers and started to think and plan ways that he could help the village back home.
Unfortunately when they returned to the Broken Lands they received a terrible message. In their absence Theren had turned mad thinking that his children had been kidnapped by the surrounding villages and he started to prepare all the able men in the village for battle. When Varis arrived his father no longer knew who he was and could not be reasoned with. His mother ran to him, tears in her eyes, happy to see her son arrive safely but sad to see what had become of her husband and asked him for his help. It was with this that Varis asked for the help of an elf he trained with when he was young. Lionel Typhoeus. The son of Theren’s most trusted war chief and with his aid planned for a way to stop his father.
Varis knew he could not win in a one on one fight with his father so he challenged Theren for the position of Elder using Lionel as his champion. Unknown to most of the village the music that Varis played during the duel was in fact bolstering Lionel, not only with arcane energy but a mixture of arcane, divine, primal and martial. This helped tip the balance in Lionel’s favour and Lionel won. In Theren’s last moments he screamed for his son but when Varis came to his side Theren told him that one day his son Varis will come to this village to claim his true right to be the Elder and with that he died. Much mourning was had; the funeral lasted for a week. No one begrudged Varis for what he did as they knew Theren had to be stopped before he caused a war and he was accepted as the new Elder.
With his new position as elder and the experiences he gained from travelling he started setting up trade routes with neighbouring villages and, with Lionel’s help, set up a combined effort amongst the villages to better all the local guard and the fortifications of each village. 3 years later bad news came when Lionel’s father died. Varis knew death was a natural part of life and proceeded to appoint Lionel the new war chief and together they have been able to keep the peace in the local area.
The siblings still kept in contact over the years, Aelar told many tales of his adventures with the Mailed Fists and Varis told him stories of his family, until one day, 9 years after he left them to join the Mailed Fists (6 years after the death of Theren Liadon) he told them of a mission to a ruined mansion in an area called La Frasca. This was the last message Varis was to receive from Aelar. Every day Varis kept the sending stone at his side in the hope that he would one day hear his brother’s voice through it again. Unfortunately, as the days, weeks, months went past Varis, Erdan and Keyleth lost hope that their brother survived the mission.
Varis married a couple of women from the surrounding villages as a way to establish peace and to unite them under his name. From these marriages he had 1 child. The child was a boy barely a year old. He was named Theren after his grandfather. Varis has one more child one the way from the second wife however it will be several months before it is born.
8 years after the death of Theren Liadon, 2 letters arrive for Varis
The first one told Varis of a tragedy
:"Elder Liadon
:"It is my solemn duty to inform you that on the 27th August -2, Knight Librarian of the Mailed Fist Aelar Liadon was killed in the line of duty. The entire order joins me in sending our deepest sympathies and understanding at this great loss.
:"I would normally tell you that Aelar had died bravely defending his people from the horrors beyond, but he was even better than that, he had no reason to care for this place, but he gave his life protecting OUR families and OUR homes, and for that I know I shall be forever grateful. Few could match the bravery and valour Aelar showed in battle; and he was without equal in the diligence he showed to his duties as Knight Librarian.
:"Aelar was truly a noble being in every sense of the words, and I am glad to have known him, to have fought beside him, and to have called him friend for all of these years.
:"Please know that we have shared in your pain and sorrow, and we pay our final respects to one of our best knights. Aelar will certainly be missed by all of us.
"~Markus Herrero, Knight Captain of the Mailed Fist"
This news was expected but it was still sad for Varis, Erdan and Keyleth. However they were comforted by the knowledge that he died bravely in a fight against a powerful war demon and that Markus Herrero, a man who joined with the Mailed Fists at the same time he did, risked sending a runner to let him know of his brother’s demise.
The second letter told Varis of an opportunity
:"The world of Athesia is but a shattered memory of its glorious past. A thousand years of war and disaster have undone so much of what came before. But I say this ends here and it ends now. I ask that you come to the place once known as Unity Island, to the ruins of an ancient and glorious city that once stood for a vision of a civilized and united Athesia. Together we will rebuild what was lost; drive the darkness back from the world and create a Kingdom where all right thinking folk can walk free from fear and ignorance. I am Kiya, future King of the land we know as Athesia. Join me and help shine a light in the dark places."
Varis calls for Lionel and they prepare to embark. Varis made Erdan acting war chief and Keyleth acting Elder in their absence. He would make sure that nothing like what had happened to his family would have to happen again.
----
The Alliance for the sake of Athesia had been formed. The challenge against all that opposed this was obvious. And there were monsters and abominations that went out of their way to stop the alliance before it started. They however failed to the might of the heroes of Athesia.
Varis took his place in this new Alliance as a "Lord". This meant he was given lands by King Kiya and it was his job to manage and expand those lands. Some minor expansion was made however the biggest contribution by the Lords was the expanding of the settlement on Unity Island, making it a bustling City, for all of Athesia to look up to as a safe haven.
----
During the time after the first meeting of heroes, Varis' responsibilities grew. He went from a simple Lord to one of the main administrators of the Alliance. Although however his responsibilities were not as glamorous as others he was given many powers. This was first shown when Varis had to lay judgement on a fiend who attacked man whist in the walls of Unity Island. Varis however, was used to this sort of responsibility being the Elder of his village for years. He had never done it on such a scale. The judgement was banishment and within moments he was able to have wanted posters set up in all the guard towers across all of the settlements.
His responsibility only grew over time and when King Kiya took ill Varis spent much of his time taking over the Kings duties. Whilst everyone else was out saving the land, Varis stayed behind to make sure there was a land to save. When Kiya eventually got better, Varis was happy to step down and jump back out into the fray.
Varis was starting to learn that the ability to bolster his allies was not enough. If he truly wants to aid in unifying the lands, than he's going to need to pack more of a punch. During his time in Unity Island he was able to develop an Orb of Arcane Energy. using this orb he would be able to re-attune himself with the arcane energies and take a more offensive set of spells. This orb unfortunately has to stay in one place as moving it will mean it would need to re-attune itself with the surrounding arcane energies. Varis has decided to keep it in his office on Unity Island as this is where he tends to spend most of his time now.
----
A year later, together with the other paragons of Athesia, the Avatar of Pelor was finally cleansed. During this time Varis sought to start his own organisation and gathered around him a group of Vassals.
Lionel - Varis' long term friend, Flint Flagon - A well know Hero from the desert, Geltius - The greatest scholar of the Broken Lands
Together they formed the Blades Of Courage. He has started building a headquarters for his Organisation near the residuum mine and when finished it will have the ability to teleport each of the members to their desired location. Mine being my capital Liadon, Lionel's to his Garrison, Geltius to his library and Flint to his band of merry men.
Now his main goal is to start improving his current lands so none of them befall the tradegy that was suffered by poor Frekki.
Category:Characters
Category:Lords