Ilseth Tenvar

## Appearances

The Shadow of What Was Lost
An Echo of Things to Come
The Light of All That Falls

Ilseth Tenvaris an elder from Tol Athian. Visiting from the Tol, he shows an interest in Davian and shares information of life in Andarra under the Augurs' rule.

## Description

### Appearance

Ilseth is in his mid-forties and of a thin and wiry build. He wears glasses and has a warm, scholarly look. His right forefinger is missing.

### Personality

Tenvar has a gentle and wise demeanour befitting someone of his station. He acts professionally, but is unafraid to drop the formality when in close discussion with a student, and happy to answer their questions.

When motivated by a greater or urgent cause, Tenvar demonstrates a far more stern and sharp attitude. His ambitions largely overpower his desire to be kind, and the gentle nature he publicly displays is nowhere to be found.

## History

### Early Career

Tenvar was a member of Tol Athian before the Unseen War. He maintained good relations with the other Elders despite his decision to flee the Tol for his own safety during the conflict.

It is unclear when exactly he defected to The Venerate, but he truly fled the Tol so that he could avoid capture and continue to serve them after the revolution. Upon his return, he rose through the ranks to become a prominent Athian Elder.

### Later Career

When the Northwarden discovered that his son Prince Torin Andras was actually Gifted, he consulted the Athian Council for help on discreetly sending the boy to a Gifted school. Tenvar discovered this, but did not learn of the specific location. Given that the boy would one day have the authority to compel Gifted with Oathstones and change the Tenets singlehandedly, he became a priority target for assassination. Tenvar relayed this message to his masters, who began to form a plan to kill the young heir.

A few years later, their plan was implemented in the form of escherii attacks on Gifted schools. This caused Elder Nashrel to call for a group of Elders to advance the Trial date of the school near Caladel by a few weeks with no solid explanation. Tenvar deduced that the operation must be cover for rescuing the Northwarden's heir, and volunteered himself for a role.

Tenvar relayed his findings to his masters, and received in return a summons in an ancient Darecian dialect, ordering him to meet in a private room deep below Tol Athian. He follows the instructions, and meets a shrouded figure claiming to work for Aarkein Devead. When Tenvar shows momentary doubt, the man uses kan to slowly and painfully strip the Elder of his right forefinger, silencing his doubts and forcing him into grovelling submission.

The man orders Tenvar to locate an Augur boy named Davian at the school, then send him north with a portal box Vessel to ensure Devaed's return and victory, using mental deception to avoid the boy's lie detection abilities. When Tenvar asks about his original objective, the figure tells the Elder not to change the plan, ensuring that nobody will survive to witness Davian's escape. The figure leaves Tenvar, awestruck and injured on the ground, to process the orders.

## Activities in *The Shadow of What Was Lost*

### A Call To Action

Tenvar and some other Elders arrive at the school in Caladel in order to ostensibly start their Trials slightly early. He seeks out Davian, who is in the town for an errand, and defends the boy from harassment in order to gain his trust. On the return journey to the school, he speaks to the Davian about the Unseen War and life underneath the Augurs, then informs him of the new date for the Trials.

That night, Tenvar visits Davian in his room, revealing that their earlier meeting was no coincidence. When speaking to the young Augur, Tenvar uses a mental trick to prevent Davian from detecting his lies. Claiming to have been a Prefect before the Unseen War, he tells the boy that he knows about his Augur abilities and wants to help him. He reveals that the Northern Boundary is failing, and tells Davian that he can help the sig'nari repair it by taking a bronze box Vessel to the north. Davian is skeptical, and Reads the Elder for signs of deception, but he is unable to sense anything untoward due to Tenvar's mental tricks.

When he is confident that Davian has left, he invites the escherii into the school and instructs it to kill all of the students, correctly believing Prince Torin to be among their ranks. Unbeknownst to him, Torin had already left the school as well to accompany Davian on his journey.

### Aftermath

Believing himself and his companions to be the only survivors, Tenvar convenes with the other Elders after the massacre to determine if they were successful. Searching through Torin's belongings, they realize the Prince had fled the school before the attack, and is still alive somewhere in Andarra.

As they consider their next move, they are interrupted by a panicked Asha, the school's only survivor. He dismisses his companions, and speaks with the girl in private to ascertain if she knows why Davian and Torin have fled. She knows nothing of value, so Tenvar contemplates killing her, but concedes that if the escherii spare her, his master must want her alive for some purpose. However, because she knows that Davian and Torin are not dead, he incapacitates her and wipes her recent memory by turning her into a Shadow. With the girl incapacitated, he creates a blast of Essence and intentionally burns his arm in order to support a fabricated story for her transformation, sharing it with the other Elders upon their return.

Tenvar sends a quick message to Elder Nashrel to inform the Athian Council of the massacre before heading back to the Tol. The Elders bring Asha with them, because she serves as proof for the attack. In front of the Council, Tenvar deceives Asha by telling her she went insane after seeing the aftermath and begged Ilseth to make her a Shadow, attacking him and threatening to kill herself if he did not comply. Asha is not fully convinced, but accepts his explanation, lacking any memories to prove him wrong. Tenvar is lightly reprimanded for his actions, but suffers no real consequences.

After the meeting, he visits her to apologize for her situation and encourage her to lay low until more information about the attack is uncovered. He reveals that her records have been falsified to hide her true identity, and emphatically tells her to stay far away from Administration, who will likely accuse her of being a conspirator. At the Council's request Tenvar takes responsibility for the young Shadow, and gives her a position working inside the library among the other Shadows in the Tol, allowing him to keep an eye on her in case the reason for her survival becomes apparent.

### Exposure

Tenvar returns to his duties and his covert work for the Venerate from within the Tol. Asha, having regained her memories of the attack with the help of Erran, barges into his room and accuses him of being complicit in the massacre. She threatens him with torture using the Shadow transformation disc, and as he realizes she is serious, he returns by threatening to hand her to the Venerate. His threats escalate, but he is interrupted as he is subdued by Nashrel, who has been hiding in the room with a veil the entire time.

Nashrel shares his disgust at his trusted colleague's actions, and apprehends Tenvar once he has been subdued with the black disc. He shares the specific knowledge of Tenvar's betrayal only with a select group of elders he trusts, and places the man into one of the Tol's cells while his punishment is decided. Word of Tenvar's fall from grace spreads quickly throughout the Tol, and he receives no visitors in his imprisonment.

### Imprisonment

When Caeden is later put inside a neighbouring cell, Tenvar recognizes him immediately due to the wolf's mark on his arm — the symbol of Aarkein Devaed. Excitedly asking in Darecian about the success of his plan, he is confused to see that his quest-giver from earlier does not seem to recognize him. Caeden has nothing substantial to say, and Tenvar retreats to the recesses of his cells, shocked and confused.

Upon Davian's return to the palace, the Athian Council grants him permission to Read Tenvar and discover what plot he may be involved in. Tenvar lounges comfortably in his cell, taunting Davian when he enters, and celebrating the Blind invasion as proof of his imminent rescue. Tenvar's defences are strong, and he effectively blocks the Augur from accessing his memories, but he is taken by surprise when Davian stabs him in the leg and successfully opens up his mental lockbox. The Augur gains Tenvar's memory of being visited by Aarkein Devaed's servant and receiving his orders.

The process of forcing open his memories has the unintended effect of completely breaking Tenvar's mind. Once the transfer is complete, the former Elder appears to be completely brain-dead, still breathing but no longer responding to any sort of stimulus. Elder Nashrel is unhappy with Davian's rash actions, but eventually concedes it may have been prudent given the invasion, and the Athian Council continue housing him in the cells indefinitely — merely feeding him to ensure he stays alive.

## Activities in *An Echo of Things to Come*

**This section rewrite is in progress.**

Tenvar remains in the Tol Athian cells, in the care of its staff. He shows no signs of recovery or consciousness.

### A New Purpose

Over a year passes while Tenvar is in this state, demonstrating that he has no chance of returning to normal. When Caeden works to free Asha from the Tributary, he is challenged by the lack of a willing substitute for the girl. Eventually he realizes that Tenvar, no longer able to think for himself or feel pain, would be a perfect fit.

He gathers the former Elder from Tol Athian's cells, and transports him to the island of Shadows. Placing a torc Vessel on the brain-dead man, he then places Tenvar into the Tributary to replace Asha, allowing her to power it with her Essence by using Tenvar's body as a conduit.

Tenvar remains there until the Boundary eventually falls, and Caeden returns, with Davian and Asha, to reclaim the transferring Vessel for another purpose. They leave Tenvar in the care of the Shadows, as he'll be no worse off with them than he was at the Tol.