Cian Breatnach

Cian Breatnach is a wood elf rogue and a Vindicated warrior. Growing up in the wooded town of Woodall, Cian witnessed over time the deforestation of his home and the misplacement of his kin. After becoming the pupil of a bard, he became a small-time criminal that would steal from the rich and the oblivious. After foreign powers took over Woodall and renamed it to Wydalia, Cian became a rebel against the kingship.
He spent years as a member of the rebellion, fighting in raids and committing acts of treason against the empire. After a successful rebellion attack left their leader dead, Cian planned to blow up the gates to the city in an effort to relive the glory days of the rebellion. While it worked, it caused enemy forces to pour in and execute the royal family within. Cian and his group were congratulated and arrested for their act of rebellion, being dubbed "roosters" as a simultaneous insult and compliment. Cian was taken to the kingdom of Seleut, mocked and oppressed as a slave of the royal family.
After a century of servitude, the wood elf had caught wind of a Vindicated pilgrimage to the High World, and decided to sneak aboard the vessel pretending to be one. He had hoped to find opportunity for a clean slate, forgoing his past as a traitor and slave to become a hero of legend.
== History (Before the High World) ==
=== Living in Woodall ===
Cian grew up in a small town in the land of Tarrion known as Woodall, surrounded by the forest and filled with wood elf residents. He was raised with caring parents and a loving brother, who sought peace from the ongoing social conflicts between the different elven societies. The young elf was told stories of the High World, and how all elves lived together in the elven capital of Elnoran. The tales of the fabled elven utopia made reality even bleaker for Cian, for the prosperity of the wood elves seemed threatened by the High Elves' attempts to make their magic-focused, prestigious way the status quo of all elven society. 
Despite this, Cian's childhood consisted of him roaming the forests and enjoying the love and company of his family. He would play fight with other kids as well, for the young wood elf was always yearning for action and adventure. Later on in his childhood, a massive gold reserve was found near the local caverns, and a wave of outsiders began to come to Woodall in search of fortune. They were predominantly human visitors, but the High Elves managed to involve themselves in the wood elves' land once more. As each day passed, various human and elven politicians wormed their way into Woodall's government and gained power through promises of commerce and a grand city. Even if the wood elves said no, the foreigners would still tear down the forest and enact their will through intimidation. 
Soon, the paths and routes that Cian would travel through every day would disappear as more and more trees were destroyed each day. Cian's morning runs were cut from an hour to barely a minute after only a week of deforestation, and soon all he grew up with over the last twelve years was ravaged and torn apart in favor of industrialism. The human politicians used their influence to slowly drive out the High Elves, for they saw that the humans were getting more of what they wanted out of the Woodall takeover than themselves. Cian's parents would come to terms with it, realizing how powerless they were to stop the tide of change. But Cian never came to terms with it, within him residing a burning desire to fight back against what he knew was unjust and wrong. But the young elf was too powerless to do anything about it.
=== Way of the Bard and the Thief ===
To ease the mind of their rebellious, angsty teenage son, Cian's parents sent him off to be the pupil of a bard their family knew known as Quirrell. They hoped it would distract the boy and he would pick up a hobby to make a career off of. Cian would live with Quirrell for three years, learning how to master different instruments and become a skilled performer. But being a musician was not the extent of the bard's teaching, for he taught Cian how to act and what it meant to be a performer. From his time with Quirrell, Cian knew how to interact with others and use his charisma to not only forge great friendships, but to get what he wanted out of certain social situations. He would also become fascinated with a creature brought in by human tourists known as roosters, for their colors and dominating personality would appeal to what Cian was hoping to be under Quirrell's teaching. At the end of his training, Cian performed at a local tavern alongside his teacher and had a night full of acclaim, drinking, and celebration. The morning after, Cian began the trip back home, never forgetting what the bard taught him. 
Cian returned home to see Woodall was now a sprawling city filled with predominantly human residents, and the sight of such a large, modern city made him remember all the resentment and distaste he had when leaving for his training. For the next few years, leading into his mid-20s, Cian would reunite with old friends to partake in a small-time crimes and thievery. He had a liking for the hustle, for his bard skills lent well to worming his way through different situations and making out unscathed. He and his friends would often target noblemen and politicians, as well as dumb city folk who wouldn't know they were pickpocketed even if told right to their face. Cian stole a variety of trinkets and jewelry during his time as a thief, and was financially stable enough to support his family's home. The rebellious elf was eventually arrested, but he was charged for petty pickpocketing and was never linked to any of the other, far worse crimes he had committed. He was let out after two days in the county jail.
=== The Fire of Rebellion ===
One day, Tarrion's capital was attacked by their long standing rival kingdom known as the Seleut Empire, and the entire nation was sent into a paranoid frenzy. As such, the king and his most loyal council took refuge in Woodall and constructed a massive wall around the city to keep themselves safe. The king believed Woodall was a weak and outdated name, renaming it to the much more anglicized and traditional Wydalia. The name change irritated the young Cian, but instead of fearing war with the Seleut Empire, he saw an opportunity with taking down the corrupt powers now that they were all in one place. And the opportunity came in the form of the Woodall Liberators, a rebellion group led predominantly by misplaced wood elves that wanted to tear down Wydalia's rule and restore it to it's rightful owners. Cian saw this as his chance to finally have the power to take down Wydalia. 
Over the next few decades, Cian would work for the Woodall Liberators on simple jobs such as stealing from tax collectors and corrupt charities. The jobs were easy for Cian due to his past time as a thief, and the kingdom was too worried about the Seleuts to focus all of their time and energy into the possibility of a rebellion. However, the authorities eventually found out that the theft and seemingly separate acts of thievery were all connected, and so they doubled the amount of patrol out on the streets in order to crack down on the rebellion. Soon, guards were beginning to find some of these thieves and mercilessly beat them in the street, throwing them in custody only to brutally torture them for information on the rebellion. As tensions rose, so too did their measures over the years. 
Cian would go from thief to soldier, stealthily executing guards at night and launching terrorist attacks on guarded convoys full of important materials. The wood elf became an adept rogue, his kills unseen and his efficiency unparalled by his peers. His ideas were often shot down by his peers due to how extreme they were, but in Cian's eyes extremist measures were the only way to bring upon the change they were fighting for. The leader of the rebellion, known as Lorian, appreciated the fervor and tenacity of the rogue, and eventually promoted him to being a high ranking general of the Woodall Liberators as the years went by. He would even create an outfit of orange and green, reminiscent of the roosters he would see with Quirrell, dubbing himself the Rooster of Woodall; for his cry would mark the beginning of a new dawn. During his years fighting the Wydalian forces all over Tarrion, he would rarely see his family in order to keep them safe, but his loneliness persisted despite his comradery with the rebellion. 
One night, the Liberators launched an assault on the Wydalian capital after word broke out of the king's most important generals being stationed there. The Woodall Liberators launched a surprise attack on the generals and their soldiers, resulting in a bloodbath that gave the Woodall Liberators a massive advantage in the playing field. But despite killing some of the king's most powerful generals, they lost a few of their own, including Lorian. Soon after the mission, the Woodall Liberators lacked the strength to go on and the strong leadership to keep them afloat. The rebellion disbanded, and as such Cian decided to finally return home.
=== The Fall of Wydalia ===
A few years had passed, and Cian was living a comfortable life with his family in the city. Cian noticed Wydalia's leadership and authority weaken since their last mission, and everything seemed to be heading towards a brighter future. But Cian's normal life felt unnatural to him, and he missed the thrill of adventure and fighting for what he believed in. He may have been a successful bard, and would spend his nights drinking joyously with others while being a charming and irresistible romantic, but these fun nights would all blur together and leave him feeling unsatisfied with where he was at in the morning. It even lead to friction amongst his family, for he wanted to get out and fight for Woodall's liberation despite their discretion. 
Eventually, the 47 year old wood elf got in contact with some of his old colleagues and planned an attack that would deal a massive blow to the Wydalian kingdom; setting off bombs at the main gate. His colleagues deemed him crazy for planning such an extreme act of rebellion, but Cian eventually convinced them that this would help them even the playing field enough to where they can finish what they started all those years ago. So one fateful night, Cian and his group set the bombs at the gate and detonated them, successfully blasting apart the main gate and sending the king into a panic. 
But unbeknownst to Cian, there was a mole in his team that advised the Seleut Empire of the plan, and they sent forth a powerful militia of immortal warriors to wait until the gates were destroyed to make their move. So as the gates were destroyed, the unstoppable militia marched into Wydalia moments later and laid the entire city to flames. Cian watched in horror as he realized this was all his doing, and that his determination and ambition led to the deaths of his family and everyone else he once knew. He could only sit and watch it all unfold in a glorious, horrifying blaze of fire. 
After the king and his royal guard were executed in the town square, the militia fled the city. But on their way out, the general of said militia, a towering armored man with a horned helmet, thanked Cian for helping him and mockingly called him the Rooster of Wydalia; for even if he signaled a new day, there was no telling what disruption and chaos would come from his cry.
=== Servitude to the Seleut Empire ===
Shortly after, Cian and the Woodall Liberators were captured by the Seleut Empire as they came to the ashen ruins of Wydalia. Cian and his allies were brought to the capital of Seleut and had to recount their part in the fall of Wydalia, which saved them from being executed by their barbaric captors. They were grateful for Cian's act of defiance, labeling him and his team as heroes to the Seleut Empire. But their generosity turned bitter once Cian clarified he never did it for the Seleuts, and instead of releasing them they kept them as slaves. 
Cian was kept for the next 100 years as a slave of the Seleut Empire, stuck with people who hated him on all fronts. He would often be forced to play for crowds at large dinners and events, mocked for his skill and for his time as the Rooster of Woodall. The title was no longer a symbol of freedom and liberation, but was now known as a symbol of foolishness and idiocy. Cian was left to regret his actions for the next century, wallowing in his grief and shame. But despite it all, he believed that he had the purest of intentions and everything he did was out of love. He tried his best to justify his foolishness and why he thought it would work, but he knew deep down that it was his extremism and ambition that undid him. The wood elf outlived the rest of his slave companions, and was freed simply because the Seleuts didn't see the point in keeping around a pathetic, regretful captive long after their imprisonment. The elf walked free once more.
== History in the High World ==
=== Formation of the High World Guardians ===
Cian visited the ruins of Wydalia, specifically to visit what remained of his family's home. He even visited Quirrell's home only to find that he long passed as well. With nothing left, Cian wandered in search of a new beginning and purpose. He caught wind of a Vindicated pilgrimmage heading to the High World, and the stories he grew up hearing sprung to mind once more. Cian sneaked into the ship, pretending to be entertainment for the passengers. He didn't know what laid before him, but all he hoped was that he would be able to forget his past and find some semblance of redemption. If anything, he would want to be the hero he always yearned to be for his people.
=== The Cycle Continues ===
=== Reclamation of Merdia ===
=== The Rivelle Regime ===