Aust Nailo

*Character art by Kelsey Dutton [1]*

## Product of His Environment

Born to his Drow mother, **Velcora Nailo**, his father was a Human man named **Porval Hornwood**. Conceived in a tryst between them when his mother was trapped on the surface after a failed raid, Porval nursed her back to health and they fell in love. Porval had no idea he had a son, and died long before he could meet him. He was raised by Velcora in the Dark Catacombs, just outside the Drow city. Failing the raid and having a tryst with a Human, Velcora was an outcast. However, being born a noble, Velcora was wealthy and was able to make a decent home just outside the city.

A small community of servants and loyal followers formed a makeshift village for Aust to be raised in. He frequented the city, being exposed to Drow culture, but he was never welcomed there so he was kind of an outcast. Being of both the Drow and the Human world, he really only felt at home with his family, which was just his mother for quite some time.

## War Refugee

Because of their physical distance from the city as well as their social pariah status, they were often left out when there were political squabbles in the city. However, a particularly serious rivalry got quite violent and even some outside military forces were allied with and armies marched on the city. Unfortunately, the village Aust lived in was right in their path. Everyone was slaughtered, and **Velcora** did her best to fend them off so that Aust could escape. He left before he could see her get overwhelmed and destroyed.

On the run and having nowhere to belong, he decided to reach out to the one other person he could possibly belong with: his father. He reached the surface and found, unlike his full blooded Drow bretheren, he could survive in direct sunlight without problems. He tracked down the farm where his father used to live in hopes of finding him. Unfortunately, he was already dead.

## Finding His Place

Aust did, however, meet his uncle, Gorstag Hornwood. He was the younger brother of **Porval** and had taken over running the farm when **Porval** died. He believed Aust's story about his origins and took him in, putting him to work on the farm but making him a part of the family. He didn't have much problem with his extended family as he proved himself a good and loyal member of the family, but he did have a lot of resistance from the locals and nearby villagers. Still, he found some peace on the farm.

It was then that an army from the nation Quilven, retreating from a failed attack of the nation of Rylbin, passed west through the area of the farm. As yet another army was about to pass through where Aust lived and destroy everything and everyone he had, Aust desperately called out for the ability to save this farm. Someone, some thing, heard him, and granted him powers to fight off the army and save the farm. Aust had made a deal with **The First** and had become a Warlock. He kept the deal he made a secret, but used his new magic powers to help with the farm.

Everything was fine again until a fateful encounter on the road with some Verydian Elves...

## During the Campaign

### The Invasion of the Veryd Forest

During their travels as a party, Aust sneaks off to kill a man at the behest of **The First**. Upon the clearing of their name, Belkar returned the Wagon to Aust in return for standing up for him a few days earlier.

Aust also does some research while in the city of Dulin. He discovers that the eyes of a magically charmed person are different colors depending the source of the magic.

Aust has a helmet delivered to him by one of his compatriots in the **Cult of the First**. He is then instructed to deliver it to a cave, containing some teleportation device to transport the helmet, guarded and maintained by Avar Pelegrin. After Avar freaks him out, Aust leaves.

Later, Aust is knocked out and taken hostage by Avar, who force feeds Aust the **Sacred Elixir**. He sees visions of the past and future. When he awakes, he has been rescued by a paladin who disappears after freeing him.(x)

### The Battle at the Eastern Gate

Aust is visited by two members of the **Cult of the First**, **Quill** and **Blade**. They assure him that Avar Pelegrin was acting against their orders and they have no intention of harming him. They ask him to deliver a book to a Ballard Seamus, who is not happy to be receiving the book.

Aust receives the **Order of Rondat** title for a reward for saving the city of Leshon.(x)

### On the Hunt

Aust and Wrax are both told to retrieve the Gauntlets of Control from Kurn the Red. This leads to a direct confrontation and they are both knocked out by the rest of the party. When they awake, they are interrogated and told that the rest of the party destroyed the gauntlets.

After fighting some bandits in the plains of Felneroth, they recover and domesticate two Pteranodons.(x)

### Tomb of Relics

When leaving the Tomb, he is visited first by Avar Pelegrin who apologizes for his behavior and gives hima free sample of the **Sacred Elixir**. Almost immediately after he receives a visits from Theadrus Norstone, who tells him of his position in the Righteous Vanguard as well as his suspicion that the **Cult of the First** has expressed an interest in Aust, so he will follow him, too, to figure it out.

After going to bed for the night in Nenda, Aust and Wrax finally confess to each other that they are working for patrons against their will and they agree from now on to tell each other when they receive orders.(x)

### Pride of Olum

Aust encounters Quaril Lemora, who is enslaved in the underground area of Valya. He tells Aust that his mother may still be alive.

Avar Pelegrin visits both Aust and Wrax, telling them about the **Armor of the First** and that the Gauntlets of Control were never destroyed, but hidden.(x)

### Wills and Detriments

Aust takes the **Sacred Elixir** he was given by Avar Pelegrin and has a vision. He sees variouspossible futures, including Aust and Wrax leading opposing armies at a massive fort.(x)

### Into the Desert

Aust finds his mother is a slave fighting in the gladiator arena for Talis Hightower. The meet briefly, but she is magically chained by a collar and can't escape with him. He flees, vowing to find her again.(x)

### Hiding in Plain Sight

Aust has a vision of the future without any **Sacred Elixir**. He is brought back by Arkais, somehow, but keeps it to himself.

Later, in the palace in Wethril, he finds out that Theadrus Norstone has been captured by Emperor Jandar Feng while following Aust. He asks for him to be set free, which seemingly the Emperor agrees to.(x)