Sylmore Burnett

## Stats

**Sylmore Burnett** is a member of the Wolis City Council and author of many plays, most notably the Star Walk serial.

## Biography

### Backstory

Sylmore was born in the town of Amberhall, near Wolis. Amberhall was the ancestral home of the Burnetts, Hunters and tradesmen who owned and protected the borderlands and the people that lived there.

The forests near Amberhall housed a clan of wood elves. Azaria's family was along the hierarchs of the clan. The elves were isolationists, and observed strict boundaries in the forest, which the human population flaunted. The elves' dwindling population made it increasingly difficult to police the borders, causing friction between the two communities. The Burnett family's ability to reign in the hunters was curbed by the elven border guard, and they similarly did not want the elves indiscriminately hunting the hunters of Amberhall, and negotiations on what to do about the situation stalled.

Eventually, an agreement was reached, the communities would become joined in the union of the families- Alasor Burnett, a human lordling already under pressure from the court to find a bride, and Azaria Edelpherea of the beleaguered elves, so granting Amberhall passage to protect the elves from further human incursion.

Azaria came to live in Amberhall ahead of the marriage. Sylmore was never much of a smith, but he was a poet and bard, and he found someone who appreciated his work in Azaria. The two became closer and eventually fell in love. Though torn, Azaria eventually agreed to run away with Sylmore to Wolis, to start a life together, leaving everything else behind.

Sylmore arrived at the rendezvous, but Azaria wasn't there. Instead, Alasor waited for him. The hunter convinced Sylmore that it was in her best interests- of hers and her people, to remain in Amberhall. He offered Sylmore a deal, however. If Sylmore could best Alasor in combat, Alasor would not stand in their way. Sylmore ran, instead.

So it was that Azaria married Alasor and became Azaria Burnett, eventually moving to Wolis to represent the newly consolidated community, while Alasor remained in Amberhall as much as possible, because he hates politics to protect it

Sylmore went to Wolis alone, and found himself on the streets with nowhere to go. He made a meagre living playing on the street, but found that it wasn't sustainable. He kept getting into trouble with the thieves guild- maintaining a tenuous relationship where they would mostly ignore him, but also they wouldn't provide assistance.

Eventually he was captured by underworld slavers, broken, and sold as a servant where he was passed around Wolis nobility, eventually settling with Lord Pendrome, a sadistic man with some pretty messed up tastes. Sylmore was driven mad for a time, until the lord grew bored of him and dumped him into an alley to die (Sylmore maintains that he escaped). He's found by Azaria, who rehabilitates him over time, and then he sets off to found his theatre troupe, which is really just a cover for all the thieving.

### Campaign One?

One of his primary financial targets with the group was the Scepter of Azbaz, a jewel-encrusted scepter that was worth enough to let him retire in comfort. In hunting for this, he frequently encounter an entity known as Caius. Eventually, Merric would accidentally bring a tiefling infant into their troupe after one of these such run-ins. As she grew, she showed promise, and he began to think perhaps he would retire in a normal fashion and turn the troupe over to her. The two had a falling out, however, resulting in her fleeing the troupe.

In the years that followed, he would once again find a lead to the scepter and enact a plan to steal it. During their escape with the scepter, they ended up in the sewers of Auguste, where Renard Blackwood lurked, having set a trap for the troupe. All but one of those who had gone were killed, including Sylmore, Merric, and Grah, a beefy half-orc chieftain whose daughter had been best friends with Belxari. He and Grah were turned into vampires, and the rest of the troupe was captured. Eventually, Belxari and Sah found and captured the two, freeing the troupe and killing the vampire who had turned them. They restored the two back to life and departed once again, still not on good terms and the scepter in Belxari's hands.

Sylmore would go on to abandon the troupe, reaching a point of crisis. He returned to the Burnett estate to process, knowing that Alasor was away. He and Azaria had been having an affair over the years, an open secret amongst the family. It was during this stay that Belxari would once again make an appearance, wanting to work with Sylmore on a robbery of one of Azaria's neighbors, the Brading estate. While working on the plans, Alasor unexpectedly returned home. Using a law to their benefit, the two dueled each other for the rights to Azaria's hand. Alasor intentionally lost the duel, granting him freedom from the politics he hated and allowing Sylmore to marry Azaria at long last. The heist would go on mostly as planned, though a nuckelavee attacked during the party, summoned there by Caius. The Burnetts were not connected to the creature beyond their narrow escape.

### Campaign Two

Sylmore and Azaria would go on to have a daughter together, a tiefling whom they named Izora. Sylmore would use his newfound authority and power for the greater good. When the Thieves Guild returned to Wolis, he was able to control them, as well as using the power of red tape to force the Lord Brading out of his home and power. When Izora was targeted by the Null Solution, he would prove to still be a capable fighter, going with the group that defeated them and removed their presence from Wolis. He maintained a positive public appearance to all who mattered, and used his powers to support those less fortune through any means he had available to him.

## Notable Works

* Star Walk
* The Unchosen