Halthass Faelóriin

**Halthass Faelóriin** is a **Svelden** elf, thought to be **Domaen** for much of his young life. Born a slave in Galea, he spent much of his young life being subjected to various forms of bullying from his master's children, until the discovery of his magical abilities at the age of seven. This was never declared to the Institution, as his master refused to send an elf to be trained; instead, his abilities remained secret until his discovery by the Negotiator of 891 during the beginning of the Tower War.

Early in his life, Halthass was taken under the wing of Sigurd Demonsbane, known then as Damon Eisenbär, and trained as a blacksmith, while also unknowingly being given exercises to eventually help him master magic and learn combat.

At the start of the Tower War, he was dicovered by the Negotiator being beaten in an alleyway and freed; he would then accompany her and her group until her death a month later, after which he continued fighting against the Pretender King in her stead.

## Appearance

Halthass, while not fully grown, shows the promise of being quite, if not extremely, tall. He stands at 6' 2" (approx. 1.88 meters), and, due to his time working in the blacksmith's forge, is incredibly well built, but still remains slightly lither than most humans would in his place. His skin remains the usual pale of the Domaen, and his silvery-white hair, which he generally keeps in a braid, reaches to his mid-back. He has bangs that frame his forehead and descend down to his cheekbones, which merely compliment his oval-shaped face. He has fine features, with a nose that seems almost pointed, and he doesn't have a 'square' jaw, which makes his chin slightly angular, but still rounded. His eyes are of a gray-brown color, with 'flecks' of gold that stretch out and curve slightly, and which give his eyes a bit of the texture of a tree's bark. His mouth isn't large, nor truly small, but stands in the middle, with medium-sized lips, his lower slightly bigger than his upper. His eyebrows are relatively fine, but still noticeable, of the same color as his hair.

When he is under the influence of one of his 'outbursts', his eyes light up in a pure white color, and strange rune-like 'tattoos' appear on his arms and chest, and fade away when he returns to normal.

Halthass wears light clothing, of a color similar to coal, with pants, a tunic, and leather boots. He also has a necklace with a wolf pendant made of durable wood, given to him by his parents. The pendant is a wolf rearing up on its hind legs, snarling at an unseen enemy.

## Personality

Halthass is a generally humble person, with 'little fight in him'. He prefers to not get in anybody's way, and will usually keep to himself, both because of his 'rank' as a slave, which doesn't allow him to interact with many others on his master's grounds, and because of his outbursts, which mean that many stay away from him. He takes praise when it is given and will not ask for recognition when the latter is not, simply doing his best at the tasks that are given to him. He has a well-developed sense of responsibility, and will complete a demanded task before doing anything else.

Inwardly, however, he seethes at the way that slaves are treated, that they even exist as slaves, and the usual racism in between species. He is aware of the stereotypes surrounding the Domaen and is greatly unimpressed of the actions taken towards those that receive good ranks in places such as the army, and especially the Red Knights. His greatest wish is to someday create peace in between the Elves and Men, and that, in a way, ties in with his goal to become a Red Knight, which is his other lifelong dream. This desire appeared when he was younger, when a contingent of Knights appeared on his master's grounds to aid with raiders. He stands in the utmost awe of them, and trains with various forms of weapons in secret to increase his chances of becoming one.

## History

### Early Life

Halthass was born to two Domaen slaves at the service of Lord Arthan. Unlike many other men with the social rank of Lords, Arthan was an extremely kind man, to everyone within his territory, including the slaves he kept. Halthass was raised as any other child would, playing with others in the woods or the fields, even being taught some basic form of writing, reading and mathematics. He became a good friend of the Lord's granddaughter, and they often spent time together. He always liked making little items with branches and wood, and made a small cabin in the woods for himself and his friends with the help of his father. He still worked as a slave, helping in the kitchens and in the stables, and on occasion out on the fields, but was allowed to do anything he wished –as long as he kept to the rules- during his spare time.

#### Gyunir estate and discovery of Magic

Sadly, when he was six, a fire spread through Lord Arthan's fields, spreading over grounds and estates. Because of the cost it took to repair and rebuild, the Lord did not have enough coin to keep caring for the slaves, and he was forced to gift them to other lords. This decision was also influenced by a new wife the lord had taken, who cared little about the joy of others and more about riches and the like.

So, with little more than a few personal items, Halthass and his parents were forced to leave the world they knew so as to take service under a friend of the Lord's. Luckily for them, they were treated well, although their current lord was less lenient with them, giving them much more work than their previous one. His wife, for her part, considered slaves as inferior beings, and often mistreated all of them, passing this temperament onto their sons.

Then, when he was seven, came the first outburst. Halthass was returning home after the day of work –his family had been granted a small shack-like cottage on the outskirts of the estate/castle– when the Lord's two sons decided, in a moment of boredom, to terrorise him. Attacking him from nowhere, they rammed him into a wall and, when he fell, began beating him. Fear grew like a weed in the young elf's heart, sprouting and growing until it overtook him. Suddenly, his eyes began glowing a bright white, light seeping out under his tightly shut eyelids, and strange markings appeared on his arms, also glowing. Unfazed, the oldest boy tried to kick him again, but was blocked by an invisible barrier. But a moment later, a shockwave emanating from the elf blew the two attackers away and into the soft ground. While they were unhurt, the boys took fright and ran away, leaving the hurt elf where he lay. The glowing receded as soon as the shockwave went off, and he lay there, whimpering. Nearby, someone had seen what had happened; the lord's blacksmith. He had always been a very nice and forthcoming person, and then he aided the young elf back to his home, where he explained to his parents what had happened.

The magical abilities remained locked away for a time, and the next time they appeared was when Halthass caught a guard raping one of the Domaen slaves of the lord, when he was nine. The elf became filled with a searing rage and, as the guard noticed him and walked towards him, preparing to threaten him, he sent an immense icicle through the guards chest, freezing him into a block of ice. The guard fell and shattered into pieces.

Such was Halthass's life for a few years, and after every outburst the blacksmith seemed to find him. When he was ten, however, he was witness to a contingent of Red Knights coming to the estate to aid in defeating a group of raiders, leaving him in awe of them. That moment was when the spark of hope, of becoming a Red knight, appeared in him.

#### Apprenticeship with Damon

At the age of fourteen, the blacksmith requested to his lord to take the elf under his wing, as his apprentice. Although hesitant, the lord granted his wish, and so the blacksmith took Halthass under his wing, teaching him first how to shape metal, then how to repair weapons and armor. Surprisingly, the elf was extremely good at these things, and surprised his master by making a small statuette in the shape of a falcon, extremely well detailed, which he then gave to his teacher.

At the age of sixteen he forged his first sword. "Perfect", as said the blacksmith. After that moment, the elf set to work, with the help of the blacksmith in gaining materials, to make a sword for himself. His teacher, aware of his wish to become one of the Red Knights, aided him in his task, but did not help him form the sword or its components, simply giving him tips on how to shape the metal. And so, on his seventeenth birthday, the elf finished the sword, and impressed the blacksmith greatly with it.

He had begun training with various weapons in the forge, with some help from his teacher as to how to handle them, but never managed to find a way to truly train, as it wasn't usual for a slave to receive such knowledge. Shortly before what would become the beginning of the Tower War, known officially as the Galean Civil War, he traveled to Lastlight, sent out by his mentor to shop for various supplies, along with a few others (the one leading the expedition and a few guards), with his purpose being mostly to carry some of the heavier items. He managed to sneak his sword into his equipment, and carried him with it the whole way to the city.

Once there, Halthass was sent out to purchase some of the supplies he knew Damon would need that the others were not privy to and, not worried about his escape, he went without an escort, thinking only to strap his sword underneath his packs. After a few minutes of walking, he was accosted in an alleyway by a gang of young ruffians and beaten; in trying to defend himself he unsheathed his sword, which drew the attention of the Negotiator. She scared away the thugs and brought Halthass with her; feeling faintly inspired by his actions, she purchased his freedom and took him under her wing as her new apprentice.

## Abilities

Halthass, due to a desire of joining the Red Knights, began training with various kinds of swords and knives, as well as daggers, starting in his early teens. He known very basics, such as how to swing a sword to hit something with the sharp edge, but is far from skilled. He barely has enough knowledge to hold his own in a fight if he's fighting someone with ability close to his. After some training with Savien De l'Etraz, his skills did get marginally better.

Halthass's true talent lies in his hands. Due to his time spent working in his master's Blacksmith's forge, he is a talented and experienced blacksmith, and an extremely gifted metalworker. He is also worthwhile when working with wood, leather, and many other materials, able of making artwork (statues, statuettes), jewels, and various forms of weapons and armor, as well as repairing armor of all sorts, be it leather, metal, or a mix of both.

Under the Negotiator's tutelage and after reading a large number of books, it was discovered that Halthass wasn't limited to using magic during such outbursts and was, in fact, a rather capable, and very powerful, mage in his own right; he'd simply never been given the training to be able to use his potential. When using magic, his eyes glow white and glowing rune-like glyphs dance over his body in repeating patterns, and he is capable of using all but the most powerful spells (or spells which absolutely must have an incantation) without any form of incantation; they also activate almost instantly.

When under duress or when feeling extreme emotions, particularly when feeling danger or fear, Halthass will enter a trance-like state; his eyes will glow and the glyphs will appear, and his body will begin to use magic in an instinctive and extremely aggressive fashion, attacking any sources of true or perceived danger and initiating many defenses. This ability was enough to, briefly, overpower the Fire Mage during the elf's first encounter with him. When either the state deactivates or Halthass' magical reserves are exhausted, he currently falls unconscious for a brief period of time.

## Weaponry

Halthass doesn't have much in the way of weapons. Originally, he only had one sword, the one he forged himself under the supervision of his mentor: It is is a large blade, 3 feet in length and 4 inches in width. Its handle is covered in criss-crossing strips of black leather, beneath which a dark red material can be seen. The hand-guard resembles two wolf heads pointing out away from the sharp of the blade, mouths closed, and there is another wolf's head, albeit smaller and with an open, snarling mouth, for the pommel. The blade itself is entirely straight other than the point, and on the first five inches lengthwise starting from the handle, where the shape of the blade curves in towards the center on either side. The blade itself is of a broad fuller type, the fuller running along its length, until it ends with an inward curve about a quarter of the way into the curve at the beginning of the blade. Along the center of the flat of the blade, up to the beginning of the fuller, are markings, the name of his family. He plans to, one day, give the sword a name, but it does not have one yet.

When travelling with Savien de l'Etraz and his men towards the North of Galea, he was also given a Katana by the Knight of Crows.