Aldor Scheppen

The Oracle of Nebelun

> *"Some say prophecy is a gift, others a curse. I just want to know who is right"*
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> - Aldor Scheppen on his visions
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Aldor Scheppen is a wizard in the mercenary group known as the Chosen. Calm, logical and bookish, Aldor attempts to temper some of the groups more chaotic tendencies.

## History

Born to Broce and Mumpena Scheppen in Gnorvangil, Aldor was the second eldest child. His parents both had jobs related to the mines, his dad a miner and his mum a scribe who helped keep track of the daily haul. This provided them with a comfortable income and Aldor and his siblings had a pleasant childhood. Aldor has three siblings, his elder sister Breena, now a politician; his younger brother Eldon would follow their father into a career as a miner and Lilli, his youngest sister, a very capable cook.  In contrast to his siblings, Aldor had trouble bonding with people and much preferred to spend his time buried in one book or another. He would always be carrying his notes, bound in a small journal and this earned him the nickname Moleskin. His parents realised that Aldor was never going to become a miner like his father. He was too small and weak, even for a Gnome, and so they helped him pursue his real dream. They found a diviner who worked in the mines and was looking for an apprentice.

This diviner, a gnome named Pog Miggledy, took on Aldor as an apprentice and they loved working together. Their days would be spent helping in the mines to find new veins and to keep mining expeditions alert to possible dangers so they had time to hide or escape. Their evenings were spent experimenting, both with magic and with little machines that never seemed to work as intended. Even once Aldor’s apprenticeship was finished they continued to work together, becoming colleagues. During one night of experimenting Pog’s eyes had glazed over. He had grabbed Aldor and in an otherworldly voice told him that he would experience a supernatural event before his 90th birthday. Pog remembered saying none of this and Aldor brushed it off as a hallucination, forgetting about it.

Thirty years later they were experimenting with some magic that had been found in some old ruins, deep within the mines. They hoped to find something that might help protect the Gnomes of Gnorvangil from the Duergar of Zhar Angrol and other threats of the Underdark. Unfortunately, however, they accidentally summoned a fey creature that turned out to be a dusk hag. Unfortunately, the hag - known as Scary Mary - managed to trick them into her service. Four years later Pog managed to trick her into releasing Aldor. In her fury at this she killed Pog, but as she did he managed to banish her back to the feywild.

Aldor found he struggled to re-engage with work after this, he felt guilt that he had survived and his former mentor had not. Because of this he did not reach out to his other colleagues, assuming that they must also blame him. On top of this, after the fey incident he had begun to experience regular and involuntary visions of the near future which always seemed to come true. It became his main focus to find an explanation that might offer him some control over when these occur/what he sees.

Years passed and Aldor grew frustrated at his lack of progress. Then, only a few months ago, Aldor began to experience vivid dreams of his brother being caught in a mining accident, years in the future. Now desperate, Aldor reached out to a retired colleague - Ulla Sympony – asking if she had heard of the phenomenon he was experiencing and if it was possible to prevent the visions from coming true. Ulla and Aldor exchanged letters and she admitted she had heard of people acquiring the gift/curse of seeing visions of the future. Unfortunately however, she did not know much about how to stop them from coming to pass, or if it were even possible. She did however know of a university & library in the world above where more information might be found. It could be found on the Northern continent in the Dragonborn capital city of Dinas Gwynt. If Aldor were lucky he might also be able to find information useful to Gnorvingal’s protection from the Duergar while he was there and fulfil his and Pog’s original goal. And so Aldor travelled to the surface with Ulla’s most recent letter in hand – intent on taking passage North and finding a way to subvert his visions.

## Personality

> *"I'm not even sure we possess it, but if we do then free will is the most important thing we own"*
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> - Aldor
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Aldor is calm and studious, prefering to read his books or learn new spells than to party into the night. A small creature with a big heart, Aldor likes to help people where he can. Though he is far from gullible or even trusting, especially since his ordeal at the hands of Scary Mary, Aldor prefers to see the best in people and believes that most are good at heart.

Aldor has strong ideals, particularly concerning fairness and truth. He considers himself a gnome of his word and will do his best to keep his promises, even at personal cost. His experiences of servitude under the hag Scary Mary, and further at the mercy of fate itself have given rise to even stronger ideals surrounding free will and its protection. Aldor sees enchantment magic such as the spells charm person and dominate person which inflict the casters will on their victim as the vilest of magic. Moreover, even in the midst of combat Aldor will attempt to ask his friends permission before augmenting their abilities with magic, as long as the opportunity to do so safely is there.

In combat Aldor is creative, looking for new ways to use his spells and interact with the environment to shift the advantage in his favour. That said, Aldor is not adverse to throwing fireballs at his problems, and if the best solution is the simple one then he will still take it.

## Relationships

Aldor is not the most sociable of gnomes, but you shouldn't mistake this for coldness. He cares deeply for his family, and for his friends - both back in Gnorvangil and on the world above. Most notably are the friends he's made among the Chosen, particularly Dante of Alikandri who was among the first people Aldor met on the surface.

### Family

Aldor had a close relationship with his parents, Broce and Mumpena Scheppen, who were both always supportive of Aldor's dreams, despite him not following in his father's footsteps. He saw little of his elder sister Breena while he was growing up as she was already deep in the world of politics but grew fond and protective of his younger siblings Eldon and Lilli. These relationships unfortunately grew distant while Aldor was under a hag's servitude and following his escape Aldor struggled with his survivors guilt and did not fully rebuild the relationships here. He still feels protective of them however and has travelled to the surface to protect his brother from a future he has foreseen - if that is even possible. He hasn't told his family of these visions, hoping to spare them from the pain of knowing and being unable to do anything.

### The Chosen

On arriving at the surface Aldor made aquaintances of two other individuals who were headed North to Rhondil; the wood elf Marcie and the changeling Mirror. The three were shortly introduced to Dante of Alikandri who claimed to have been brought from the blood war to the surface by the god Erogas, and charged with protecting them. Later in Sartosa the group grew to include the changeling Ser Jules, the loxodon Taldos of Biashara and later Doblin of the Dobleshken. Aldor grew close to every member of this group, and considers them his found family on the world above. He is as protective of them as he is his own family, and it is among the Chosen's ranks where Aldor feels the most safe.

## Equipment and Abilities

> *"If you're nothing without the sword then you shouldn't have it" - Aldor*
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### Equipment

On his adventures in the world above, Aldor has aquired several magic items which he uses to augment his powers. And while Aldor is always keeping an eye out for such items, he is of the firm belief that magic items should always be an extension of oneself and that dependency should be avoided.

#### Arcane Grimoire

Whilst Aldor continues to use his spellshard to record his spells, this spellbook that Aldor aquired in Teach Solais is a potent focus for Aldor's spellcasting and he uses it to enhance and empower his spells whenever he is casting in combat.

#### Spell Storing Ring

Aquired in Barrenmoor, Aldor treats his ring of spell storing like an emergency button and fills it with the spells he may need in a pinch but doesn't have time to prepare each day.

#### Cloak of Protection

Aldor has had this cloak since the early days of his adventuring career in Sartosa. Despite its minor enchantments the cloak helps keep Aldor safe and feeling safe, both in body and mind.

### Abilities

Having trained as a wizard Aldor's main talents lie in spellcasting and manipulating magic. He has also developed powers of prophecy and can use his magic and these powers in tandem to great effect.

#### Spellcasting

Aldor knows many spells already and is always on the lookout for more. Out of combat Aldor is a powerful diviner, able to glean information unavailable to most others. In combat Aldor wields a variety of spells, looking for creative ways to tip the combat in his sides favour.

#### Oracle

Aldor has developed powers that let him see glimpses of the future, and these powers seem to have earned him the attention of the gods. Aldor is still undecided whether these powers are a gift or a curse.

#### Expert Divination

Aldor has developed spells to help him augment his oracle powers through the use of divination. Perhaps more impressive still, Aldor has figured out how to recycle the power used for such spells into other spells so that he can make vey efficient use of this school of magic.