Ivan

## Background

Ivan concept art by @MontyGlu

*"Ginter is no longer here" ~ Message found in Ginter's Folly*

Ivan was an Aasimar belonging to the clergy of Ginter, originally from Chelstonia. He was tasked with establishing and maintaining farmland to produce crops during the settling of Alivast.

However, as the story is told, Ivan found fault with the ways of Ginter and resisted against the demands of his God and the clergy. Ivan desired to explore and adventure through the continent of Alivast, not to be tethered to farmland and grow crops.

Ivan was in contact with a forest fey being known as Fleur de Mort and planned on planting their seeds near Alivast.

The exact events that followed are subject to debate, but the end result was the manifestation of Ginter's Folly, a 50 acre stretch of farmland left cursed and barren.

## Personality

Little is known of Ivan as a person, but his journal shows that he was more at home among plants and other aasimar, thinking of the average farmer and townsperson in Alivast as either immensely frustrating or beneath his notice.

He had an instense wanderlust that was only improved upon seeing Alivast for the first time, and yearned to see it all.

## Relationships

### Brorc Bronze-Fang

According to Welch, Brorc Bronze-Fang was sent to deal with Ivan when the Aasimar began to go rogue. Whatever occurred, the end result appears to have been Ivan's death.

### Taylor

Ivan was Taylor's brother, and news of his death effected Taylor greatly. The specifics of their relationship was unknown, but Taylor seemed to live in their brother's shadow; they refer to Ivan as "Special" and see their own "druidic shit" as a failure.

### Fleur de Mort

For reasons unknown, Ivan once entered Fleur de Mort's forest on the western outskirts of Alivast. The forest spirit has a fondness for farmers, and as such, encountering an aasimar of Ginter intrigued them. Seeing a kindred spirit in Ivan and sensing an opportunity, Fleur entrusted Ivan with multiple barrels of their seeds to plant near Alivast so that Fleur could spread their reach. Fortunately, the seeds never saw use, and sit rotting in a house inside Ginter's Folly.

## Ivan's Journal

A hand-written journal of Ivan's is kept in an evidence vault in the middle district's Avan guardhouse, where Stendin and his squad are stationed. The Unexpectables learned about the journal from Taylor who asked them to either steal it or at least investigate it to see if it had any information relating to how or why Ivan died. The following text is the journal as presented to the party. Other than minor formatting it appears as it did in the document presented to the players during the game.

* 50 McIntosh Apple Tree Saplings
* 24 Golden Delicious Apple Tree Saplings
* 24 Honey crisp Apple Tree Saplings
* 34 Rainer Cherry Saplings
* 16 Bing Cherry Saplings

*Included is a detailed map of specific planting points*
Charting this land has at least been a bit fun. Rolling fields of fertile lands and pitiful monotony. Gunther at least seems enthused. Shaking hands with the farm folk and taking a seat in the council on my behalf. What a bunch of moots. What do I care about another large city's evolution in the world... I only know where to plant the plants that need planting, nothing else. I certainly don't need more people to lock me behind stone grey walls, with political talk and mind games.

Log 214

* 350 Danver Carrot Seeds
* 600 Imperator Carrot Seeds
* 750 Kennebec Potato Seeds
* 1000 Russet Potato Seeds
* 300 Ratte Potato Seeds

*Included is a detailed map of specific planting points*
People just don't seem to listen. We've warned the Ylovel family SO MANY TIMES that the bank side of their farmland isn't suitable for good harvest, and yet they've tilled the land THERE instead of where the brush is thick. So impatient, we've lent them a herd of 30 goats to clear the area but they think the flat lands are the place to start their Orchards. Even with Gandasa's guidance people won't listen to me, why am I even here?

Log 215

* 20 McIntosh Apple Tree Saplings
* 20 Golden Delicious Apple Tree Saplings
* 20 Pink Lady Apple Tree Saplings
* 20 Ambrosia Apple Tree Saplings
* 20 Cortland Apple Tree Saplings
* 20 Paula Red Apple Tree Saplings

*Included is an even more detailed plotting map with certain parts X'd out and various other notes*
 Good weather finally rolling in. Proper planting has started. The animals are really starting to settle in the new environment. We've started the growing of fresh animal feed, and begun the orchards. The Winery's have come seeking my guidance for grape planting. Between the 26 families, them, and the Avan Clergy asking for a plot for horse feed, I feel like my brain is melting. Thank Ginter that Gunther is taking the bulk of the council's nonsense. At least Aila, Balfor, Brorc and Hammergnar are pleasant, but the rest really make me want to bury myself in a sapling's hole.

Log 216

* 100 Kabocha Seeds
* 250 Butternut Squash Seeds
* 500 Field Pumpkin Seeds
* 1000 Zucchini Seeds
* 750 Yellow Zucchini Seeds
* 500 Eggplant Seeds
* 1000 Water Melon Seeds

*Included is a detail order form marked with red inks, and jumbled handwriting. Something about a wrong order is listed on this sheet tucked into the book*
Someone sent us all the fall crop seed earlier than planned, and now we're struggling to find somewhere to store it all. I've negotiated some space from the Rozewell family, so we'll be storing half of the Gourd seeds in their spare room.

Log 217

Most of this season's produce has been planted properly. A lot of land here is fertile and vast. No wonder I was brought in. I hope Gandasa hasn't led me wrong with this place. There's a rush, a magic to it, un-tapped. Like the earth is part magic within itself. I've asked a lot of questions to the Nerasmun representatives of the council, but they're rather dismissive.

Log 218

Issues with the Ylovel family AGAIN.

Log 219

Heard rumors of an excursion to the north. I'm curious about what lies beyond the forests of the green. I'm trying to think of a good excuse to go. I must think of some reason why Gandasa would have me travel there, but I'm not as creative as my sister at this stuff. Perhaps a potential expansion? If they think of raising new towns and homesteads, farms would be required. I'll make a formal letter of appeal for this.

Log 220

Sent my family in Chelstonia a letter. I've been approved for the trip!!

Log 221

Strange creatures abound and magic flowing from the great earth! What a wonderful place this is! Rocks that move and talk, creatures that drink magic, lights in the dark that speak in whispers, Gryphons that flock in the wind's embrace. I want to see it all! So many wondrous things beyond the walls of man! Un-touched, and un-seen! What a rush to discover it all!

Log 222

Seems as though some settlers in Alivast have made some semblance of a township north of the city. It's quaint, with very little to it. Just a gathering of hunters really. A proper hall and town-lord will probably turn the place into a proper destination. Of course the fields around this settlement are fertile, but it is an untapped wild plane un-touched by working hands and well-loved by grass and beast. I almost feel repulsed destroying this un-touched land to plant corn crops... but Alas, any back-stepping now and I won't be allowed on one of these wonderful trips again.

Log 223

Corn is such a boring crop. I hate it.

Log 224

We've started our venture back to Alivast. I dread returning. The summer rises high and the melons need to be planted in the grace of the hot sun. The trees are so inviting with their gentle shade, and the wild grass is a lush cushion of peace. The wonders of the unknown call me like a Siren. It's agony, this wanderlust that consumes me.

Log 225

I had a thought tonight. Who's to stop me if I undertake my own small adventure? I'm skilled enough to protect myself from the hidden dangers of the Wild. I've been working for a year and a half on the crops of Alivast and their farmers! Wasn't it said that Alivast was a place of opportunities!? Of new chances, new lives and new horizons!? Is the horizon to be denied to me because I simply was born the way I was? Other lands can plant their crops just fine without someone to tell them where to plant what, and how much to water. Why should that all be dropped in my hands as if it is MY burden to bear? I've made up my mind! After the summer crops I'm packing my things and going to explore this wonderful place! On my own, with only the unknown to guide my path!

Log 226

* 400 Yellow Peach Tree Saplings
* 500 Nectarine Tree Saplings
* 400 Apricot Tree Saplings

*Another plotting map is tucked in this page. Compared to the others it seems more rushed,. messy written and scribbled*
Home at last. Just a few weeks of crops before I pack my things and take my journey! I feel so restless thinking about it.

Log 227

Ginter smite me!! I feel so sly! Sitting next to this crackling campfire, with it's embers dancing around me! I convinced Gunther that I was checking in on the Gourd Seeds at the Rozewell homestead, but I very quickly made my way beyond Alivast's reach in the deep western wood. I've seen the wonders of the north, and I know many townships already exist to the south, so the west region seemed like the best idea. I've packed lightly, I have enough good-berries to last me as long as I need. I can barely contain myself, what will I find past this canopy of trees!?

Log 228

I've had to stay low in my travels. It seems a flock of Harpies make their nests in the trees to the west. My spells have been keeping me out of their notice. More over, the first wonder I've encountered was a great rock-shelf next to a valley of wind! The wind gusts from this valley like the mountain's very breath! It was so wonderful to soar in, I have never felt so free! Perhaps it is a natural wonder, or maybe it has some ties to the plane of air! Definitely something to come back to an explore on my way home!

Log 229

Wild horses, Wild horses as far as I can see. I've only ever seen them in padlocks and pens. The majesty to see them roaming free. I feel an ache within myself. These horses are no different than me. In the city they are nothing but a prisoner, a means-to-an-end, a slave. But out here, where society has no touch, they are as free as they are beautiful.

Log 230

I've found a haunted place, a field of dead and decay. There was a war here I'm sure. There are destroyed towers and dead trees. I'm giving this place a wide breath. I don't want to see this horror.

Log 231

The rain is cold and unrelenting. I've been trapped under a make-shift shelter for a few days. I can't lose my way this far into the unknown. I want to push on, I need to truly see something wondrous for this all to be worth it.

Log 232

I have found something truly wonderful.

Log 233

I have found a magnificent living wood. A wood that cannot be burned, that cannot be poisoned. It is a wonder beyond my imagining, but even more enthralling is the being at the heart of it. They are known as the Flower of Rot or Fleur de Mort. I've taken to calling them Fleur. I spoke with them initially using my speak with plant spell. They seemed curious with me, intrigued even. I feel more curious and even more intrigued! A living forest, with the capacity of humanity! Someone who knows the pain of seeking out fertile lands, and knows the struggles of a proper seeding. They've allowed me to venture where I please in their wood. There is so much here to see, groves of plants I cannot comprehend. Each time I talk to the plants here my voice always reaches Fleur. It is not the ceaseless chatter of thousands of apple trees, or the crowded calls of gourds, it is just one. One being in one place.

Log 234

Fleur has taught me much in return for my own knowledge. They have lived here longer than anything has, slowly growing with a patience grace. Fleur didn't know of the city or of the people there. I told them about Gunther, about the rest of the Aasimar and their prison-like lives. He felt sorry for me. A legitimate pity from such a great being. For once someone who understood. Fleur was once a prisoner too, they were a slave to a Summer Fae Queen, who forced them to make woods and forests to their liking, and when she did not like them, she would cull them, hurting Fleur in the process. This was his torture for thousands of years. I couldn't imagine the suffering. To create something and see it destroyed over and over... well... maybe I can. Besides the apple trees, the rest of the crops would be ripped and made anew. But, that is different.

Log 235

Fleur has made such a wonderful collection of groves. They've made pockets of forest that once weren't him, and has kept them like a noble would keep exotic animals. Lovingly tended to and beautiful. They've shown me glens once belonging to the Winter Fae King, a section of frost and frozen grasses like the crowns of winter. There was also one grove with an ornate white marble doorway, flanked with flowers of gentle yellow and ivory. Another he showed me was a small pond, a water nymph once lived there. The water has such miraculous healing properties! I've collected a few vials for my own interests.

Log 236

Fleur seems surprised that I am more interested in them than the groves they've collected. I am quite interested though. They have grown to such an immense size, endured dragons, giant hordes, attacks from the Fae Wilds and Orcish assaults from eons long past. Their experiences and stories enrapture me, my heart is a-wonder with their perseverance. I truly have come to like this wonder. More than any human I have ever met in my life.

Log 237

I've come to learn that Fleur see's with a sort of Blind sense. I've learned that they can see me through a few notable ways:
- Heartbeat and Breath
- Emotional Shifts and Sweat
- Ruffling certain branches that act similar to the trigger in a venus fly trap's mouth
- Magical Aura's
All this time I thought Fleur could see me, but they had no eyes. Instead they utilize this fascinating blind sense that goes beyond vibrations, that detects even the small shift of emotions that all living things experience. Fleur knows when I am amazed by their wonders, they know when I am cold in the raining wood, they know when I am lost among their branches, and know when I am most lonely always appearing when they sense this. A true friend who knows how I feel.

Log 238

It's been months now. I am beginning to realize what I may have forgotten. My family hasn't heard from me in months. I want to stay with Fleur, my time with them has been wonderful. Truly I feel as if I'm in love with this place, and in turn with them. But... My Parents, my sister. They must be awfully worried. Fleur finds my need to return confusing, but is willing to let me go as long as I take some of their seeds with me. If I plant them somewhere nearby I can still be connected with them. I've taken a small pouch with me. I hope I can remember my way back.
*The rest is blank*

## Trivia

* "Ivan pulled at the chains of his God, and the God pulled back. A chain can be pulled from both sides."
* Even though he was asked to be on the council because he was an aasimar, Ivan refused. A paladin of Ginter served in his stead to speak on his behalf.
* Ivan seemed to have a "Sixth Sense" in where the best locations for planting could occur.
* Ivan thought Corn was a boring crop, and hated having to cultivate it.