Joakim

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## General Character Traits

* Race: Brass Dragonborn
* Class: Warlock
* Subclass: Pact of the Tome
* Full Name: Joakim Tebow

## Backstory

Joakim is a brass dragonborn that has always yearned to be a great wizard. Even from a young age he displayed much greater talent with his innate magical abilities than most in his family. His parents, wanting a better life for him than the difficult life they had led in the wilds with their remote dragonborn clan, sought to find a place of learning for their son. Joakim was too young to understand or remember what happened, but his parents made some sort of bargain that gained him entrance into an apprenticeship in the great city of Dragonfell. It was the largest place of learning for magic in the Storm Coast, with formal colleges established for each area of magic.

He excelled in his studies in the city's novice program, but before Joakim learned and grew enough to be admitted to any one college he was presented with a rare opportunity. One of his tutors told him that his talents had raised his name to the top of a list of apprentice candidates for a powerful noble wizard from the city of Ironbay, the Lady Silverhand. She had many dealings with the mages of Dragonfell, and was always looking for gifted students to take on. The chance to learn from a master wizard directly was enticing, as in the colleges of Dragonfell he would have many teachers and likely not the one on one instruction and attention he craved. And thus, as only a teen he accepted and made the journey by ship to the largest city in the province, Ironbay.

Joakim lived and studied with Lady Silverhand for almost two decades, as one of her many apprentices. Over the years he saw apprentices come and go, most not up to the level of excellence that she required. Not Joakim, he continued to impress the lady and was granted more autonomy to study as he grew. He believed that all knowledge was important, and understanding all areas of magic was the only way to obtain true mastery, and the lady mostly shared this opinion. She did not frown upon the study of life and death magic, with necromancy being one of the more advanced areas she provided instruction - something Dragonfell did not value as highly.

## Campaign Hook

However, the lady also drew a line at certain dark and forbidden topics, with the summoning of demonic entities chief among them. The cost of the beings from the lower planes was often not worth the benefits they offered, or so she taught. The lady kept a magically protected vault in her mansion that held the most powerful and dangerous magical artifacts she collected, and her overall collection was enormous. With Joakim being one of her most advanced students, he was given access to the vault to study these artifacts, for that knowledge could help protect him. A little over a year ago during the events of the rise of the Cult of the Dragon, she added two dark artifacts to her collection - a sentient greatsword named Hazirawn, and a Book of Shadows from a dead warlock named Rhogar.

When Joakim first laid eyes upon the black tome he was instantly drawn to the forbidden knowledge it kept. He resisted the temptation for many months, but in his dreams it was as if the book spoke to him, telling of the promise of great power and the chance to break free of his master - to be the great wizard he was always destined to be. The urge to open its pages grew upon him, and then the city was invaded by the dragonborn empire from across the Sea of Storms. It all happened so fast, with the city being blockaded by the sea and the now High Lady Silverhand making a flurry of preparations for the worst of circumstances. When the enemy breached the city and began flooding the streets killing soldiers and capturing important individuals, Joakim’s conflict drew to a tipping point.

High Lady Silverhand was evacuating her estate and her apprentices through a *portal* when the enemy soldiers invaded her estate, cutting down her guards with relative ease. The Champion General Rachen was there and held off the largest group of the enemy at the entrance to her mansion as the High Lady beckoned her apprentices and staff to evacuate with the most precious treasures of her collection. During the chaos, Joakim could not let the secrets the dark tome held fall into enemy hands, and so he entered the vault and finally took the book. But when he left and closed the vault behind him, he found most of the staff gone and the general captured. Joakim used his magic to conceal himself and sneak out of the rear of the mansion, fleeing south away from the invaders.

Not knowing what to do, and just trying to get away he found himself in the shantytown outside the south gate of the city, where a final haphazard caravan was preparing to evacuate. Joakim joined the group that fled that hour, as the city fell into enemy hands. Over the next few weeks of caravan travel south Joakim poured over the tome of shadows, taking in the first of its secrets and learning powerful spells he was shocked had been withheld from his studies. When they reached the port city of Black Landing, Joakim attempted to use his skills to help ‘obtain’ food for himself and some of the near starving children of the caravan. He had grown fond of them during their travels, and there was no work to be found in the overflowing city. After succeeding the first few times he was emboldened, then reckless, and then was caught by the Red Sun guard. He was tossed into the city stockades beneath the streets into a special cell of spellcasters, until another powerful wizard came to visit.