Mordechai Achar'ith

**Mordechai Achar'ith** is an Iudeaiyan frost elven bard, notable for their travel in Hazzem and Starfyk shortly before the fall of Hazzem's barrier and having been involved in events and political changes preceding this. Outside of his involvement on Hazzem and Starfyk, Achar'ith is best known for his work as a performance violinist, composer, and conductor, with his symphonies considered to be among the defining works of the Alesirian Impressionist movement. In particular, their most widely known compositions are those in the informally titled Shattered Sea Auguries, an ongoing body of symphonies defined by their prophetic contents. He is also a Professor of Musicology and Composition at the University of Kiryael in Iudeaiya, and a Professor Emeritus of Symphonics at the Oftkim Conservatory in Sheim Shor.

## Biographical Information

### Occupation

Professor, concert violinist, composer, mercenary (while in Hazzem and Starfyk)

## History

### Early Life

Mordechai Achar'ith was born to a frost elvish family on the 8th of Zuzen, 1060 A.E.M. in Talych'ir, Daybreak Province, Iudeaiya. He is the child of author Malka Lamnviel and teacher Eitan Achar'ith. Eitan is Kesairian, having been born in Petron, Lastiron, and later emigrating to Alesir for work as an early childhood teacher. Malka is Alesirian, and a minorly famous horror author from Layt'ir, Iudeaiya. He attended the University of Qir'sha'char at the age of 174, achieving a Bachelor of Arts in Classical Composition with a minor in Elvish Musicology.

After graduation, Achar'ith began playing as a musician in a wide variety of nightclubs and dayclubs, formal events, and art galleries. They later returned to the University of Qir'sha'char to obtain an MFA in Performance Violin and a subsequent PhD in Musical Composition & Symphonic Theory. Following their PhD, they completed a postdoctoral appointment as a lecturer and resident composer at the Saint's Composium in Sheim Shor. During his postdoctoral term, he received a diagnosis of "transitory substance-related prophetism" during a required annual medical evaluation - however, since Sheim Shor is the only Alesirian nation to categorize prophetic ability as a medical condition, this diagnosis was classified as outdated upon his return to Iudeaiya.

### Overlight

After the events of Overlight, Achar'ith returned to Iudeaiya along with Xink, who currently lives with him.

### Shattered Sea Auguries

Achar'ith is most famous musically for being the composer of the *Shattered Sea Auguries*, a body of orchestral symphonies through which he conveyed his major prophetic visions. The first work of the *Shattered Sea Auguries* was a ninety-four minute symphony titled "*And If Affliction Should Deign To Spare The Dying?*", more popularly known simply as *Affliction*. *Affliction* predicted the XXXX Cold Rot Outbreak.

### Academic & Musical Career

Achar'ith's broad musical portfolio is considered to be one of several bodies of work from Alesirian Elvish composers that contain published and performed symphonies from the nascent, peak, and final stages of Alesirian Impressionism. In particular, three works are frequently cited. *And If Affliction Should Spare The Dying?* is often cited as an example of early Alesirian Impressionism; *Gaze Unto Terminare! Let Slip Nullitas!* as peak Alesirian Impressionism; and *Diffraction of Self, Precondition to Performance* as late Alesirian Impressionism. While their musical style has shifted and changed over time, they make frequent usage of dissonances and consonances, polyphonics, and the Phrygian dominant, whole tone, and Lydian mode musical scales.

He first achieved prominence in the Iudeaiyan musical scene with their work as a performance violinist, particularly as a soloist. Their musical style is often described as being visceral and emotional, often bending or entirely eschewing classical tradition in order to provoke the desired mood and atmosphere. His early performance work involved a significant degree of experimentation with incorporating Elvish telepathic and empathic ability in the form of empathic projection, being one of several artists to do so before the Alesirian Impressionist movement coalesced. The majority of the music he has written and performed has no public or archived releases, with the first musical piece published by him being *Affliction*. He currently works as a Professor of Musicology and Composition at the University of Kiryael in Kiryael, Nachot Province, Iudeaiya.

## Characteristics

### Appearance

Achar'ith is a masculine frost elf, standing at 5"5 with an average build. His hair is pale gray with loose curls, and since returning to Iudeaiya after the events of Overlight he has kept it ear-length. Their eyes are pale yellow; like many elves, they have black sclera and eyeshine created by a tapetum lucidum. Achar'ith has poor vision, and wears eyeglasses in order to correct this.

### Personality

Achar'ith is a measured and competent professor and performer, though he is known to be eccentric and markedly neurotic in private. Achar'ith is also remarkably paranoid, likely owing to pursuit by Nobody. Despite spending a great deal of time around nobility, and being both competent in aristocratic etiquette and the persuasive arts, Achar'ith possesses a disdain for social posturing and a tendency towards passive aggression and pettiness. Though it has mellowed significantly since returning from Hazzem, Achar'ith has a significant streak of self-obsession and struggled in his youth with delusions of grandeur. He responds poorly to insults, particularly those pertaining to his intelligence or musical and academic work and skill, and will resort to cynical, passive-aggressive, and detached behaviors when he feels insulted or condescended to. Achar'ith developed substance use issues while playing nightclubs and dayclubs, which eventually ended up triggering his latent prophetic ability. He doesn't consider himself a "true" prophet, but does have a tendency to over-rely on his prophetic predictions, becoming neurotic and anxious when events don't unfold as he was expecting them to. As a musician and academic figure in Iudeaiya, Achar'ith is known to be excessively reclusive.

### Abilities

As a bard, Achar'ith is capable of using music to invoke magical effects. While travelling in Hazzem, he used his violin as a focus for spellcasting. They have little tolerance for close combat or melee, but can excel in both a supportive and offensive when they are able to keep their distance. He is also quite notably proficient in rifles and long guns, and was briefly the wielder of the Pride Rifle before relinquishing it voluntarily.

## Relationships

### Xink

Following the events of Overlight, Achar'ith brought Xink with him back to Iudeaiya and helped him learn passable Elvish. Achar'ith gave a statement on Xink in a correspondence interview with Daya Tilkannon.

### Wrex

Achar'ith travelled and worked with Wrex, a gnoll barbarian, on Hazzem and Starfyk. The two became close friends, and Wrex's death had a significant impact on them - elves generally are known to deal poorly with the deaths of friends and companions of shorter-lived species such as gnolls. Wrex is the subject of the most recent symphony in the *Shattered Sea Auguries*, in a composition entitled *Blotted Auspices, or; Wrex*.