Pelan Val'Sarghress

*Appeared in chapters*                                                  48\*  50 51 52  54
*Appeared in side stories*  Babytastic Interlude

## Family

* Quain'tana - Grandmother
* Mel'arnach - Mother
* Kel'noz - Uncle
* Laele'aell - Aunt
* Syphile - Adoptive Sister
* Koil'dorath - Adoptive Sister
* Ariel - Sister
* Kalki - Sister
* Vene - Brother
* Octarya - Sister

Pelan (formerly known as "Pup") is a son of Mel'arnach under the care of the Sarghress, and youngest brother to Ariel.

## Appearance & Personality

Pelan is a young boy with short white hair, dressing in a plain red tunic. He has blue and purple eyes, showing Sullisin'rune heritage. He is a cheerfully rambunctious child; playful and prone to mischief. In essence, he is a typical young boy. Owing to his young age, he still struggles at times with pronunciation.

## Biography

One of the children that Quain'tana forces Mel'arnach to bear in exchange for her freedom, Pelan first appears alongside his older brother and sister during the aftermath of the Puppeteer Incident. Under the protection of Jiv'kyn, the trio are greeted by Ariel and Faen for the first time. Vene introduces himself and his younger brother, and the pair begin their "defense" of their toy fort by throwing a stale loaf of bread at Ariel, drawing her immediate ire. Faen briefly attempts to mediate for the young boys, taking interest in Pelan's eyes as a sign of shared blood. However, she too loses her temper when Vene accuses her butt of being "too big" to fit in the fort.

Though the pair lose a roughhousing match with Faen in short order, they are quick to laugh as Ariel's attempts at holding their younger sister ends with a foul-smelling mess. As Quain'tana arrives on the scene, he shares his brother's enthusiasm in her sagas. After Quain'tana leaves, Ariel and Faen continue to spend time with the young children.

### Sarghress Civil War

Vene, Pup and their baby sister fell victim to the schism which split the Val'Sarghress clan. After failing to dampen Quain'tana's pain during her healing session, Faen left the healing chamber to find comfort with the children. Upon arrival at the children's quarters, however, she found a Sarghress Assault trooper holding Vene, whose throat he had just cut. The sight shocked Faen, who reacted with her empathic abilities, summoning Jiv'kyn for assistance as she moved to defend the remaining children. Vene did not survive his wounds; his body was left behind as Faen escaped with Pup and the unnamed baby sister.

Quain'tana attempted to defend Faen and the children from the rest of the Sarghress troops, who attempted to subdue the Ill'haress by force. As she attempted one last charge at Suu'be, Rayata and Sakrag Sarghress took advantage of the rest of the clan's focus on the battling leadership to smuggle Faen and the children away from the confrontation.

Pup rode Rayata's wolf, accompanying Ariel and her escort contingent to Machike, where they would wait for the fervor of the clan politics to die down. As they arrived, Pup noticed the falling snow with wonder, speaking for the first time since witnessing his brother's murder and asking what the snow was.

### Finding a Name

In the days following their arrival at Machike, Pup remained unusually quiet. Attempting to vent her feelings of grief and anger, Ariel hiked to a mountain-top that she and her previous companions had traversed during her first trip to the overworld, screaming out to the valley at the top of her lungs. Afterwards, she noticed that Pup had followed her; picking him up, she convinced him to try it for himself, and the two screamed again at the open air. They began to play in the snow, when Ariel startled young Kenro, who had been carrying a rabbit he had hunted for his family's dinner, by throwing a snowball at his head. Mistaking him for his mother Vaelia, Ariel picked up the Emberi boy and hugged him. The surprised boy kicked Ariel in the face, freeing himself and ran for home, calling her a crazy darkling. Pup appeared amused; when Faen joined them and asked what happened, Pup exclaimed that Ariel and the unknown boy "fought, and Ariel lost!"

Pup accompanied his guardians as they followed the Emberi boy's tracks, hoping to return his catch to him. They were greeted by Vaelia, who had a warm reunion with Ariel. When introduced to her family as Pup and Octobear, Vaelia expressed surprise, asking why the two children didn't have proper names yet. After several failed attempts to pick a name, Vaelia asked Pup what he wanted for his name. Pup was initially surprised at being allowed to choose his own name, but took it in stride, and finally settled on the name Pelan.

## Biography - Arc III

### The Hermionne Invasion

Octarya and Pelan remained under the guardianship of Ariel and Faen, growing up under their care in Machike. They stayed behind in the colony's fortress, as they were too young to participate in the fighting.

### The Bombardment of Machike

After the invaders had been defeated, Octarya and Pelan were seen running through the halls of the fortress, eagerly chasing what they thought was a "mist whale". The unidentified figure ended up being not a whale but an airship - the same airship that Ariel and her companions had chased to Felde.

The airship docked at Machike, and Kyo'nne Val'Illhar'dro came ashore in order to negotiate with the Machike residents. When her attempt to sway the colonists failed, the airship was forced to leave by the Machike defenders, who aimed their artillery cannons at the aircraft. Making as if to leave, the Nidraa'chal airship flew into the mists long enough to turn around. As they did so, they unleashed a volley of mana cannon-fire upon the colony, decimating its defenses and forcing the residents to flee.

Octarya and Pelan were caught amidst the collapsing hallways in the fortress and were about to fall to their deaths, but were saved in the nick of time by the combined efforts of Ischa and Thera, who took them to safety until they could be reunited with their caretakers.

### Escaping To The Underworld

Realizing that the airship was likely to return, the colonists and defenders retreated deeper into Machike'shikumo, returning to the underworld. There, they took shelter in Fustin'darun after setting traps in their wake. Their rest was short-lived, however, as the airship showed up in the underground, this time dropping a massive bombardment of giant boulders and stones onto the city below.

Octarya and Pelan took shelter with Faen and Ariel again, and their guardians quickly realized that the airship would continue to attack unless someone drew their fire. After eaving the children with some of the remaining defenders, Ariel and Faen took a contingent of the remaining defenders and led the airship away from the civilian population.

### The Sarghress Take To The Skies

Octarya was one of the first to spot the return of the airship, crying out in alarm that the "bad whale" had come back. Fearing that they were under attack again, Pelan and Octarya ran to Thera, who prepared to defend them. The remaining soldiers and Emberi defenders rallied, only to realize that the ship was now flying under the Sarghress banner.

The small family was whole once more, with Octarya and Pelan happily reuniting with Ariel and Faen.

## Notable Quotes

"*Mad bear is not taking my eyes!*" -After drawing the ire of Faen.

"*I can choose my own name? Pup...Pul...Pell...Pulaaah! What about Pelan? Yes!*" - To Ariel, Faen and Vaelia while choosing his own name.