Vin Elkenfar

### Occupation

Highly skilled medical practitioner, Writer, Weaver, Scholar, Protectorate Captain, Stand-in Oolongian Founder and Novice Tinkerer

## Biographical information

### Place of birth

The Envie forests of an undocumented continent

## Vin Elkenfar's General Description

Vin Elkenfar is a 5'5 non-binary Beastkin with antlers that appear similar to horns in earlier stages of growth but grow and branch out indefinitely without slowing. Vin has a soft-spoken voice and a number of outwardly visible tics and habits, being notoriously bad at disguising their emotions. They canonically smells of strawberries and sea salt. Rumor has it that they concocted a special bottle of scents for that very purpose.

They weave all their clothing themselves and are missing their right pinky and ring finger as a result of Aubrey Williams, a previous lover, severing them in a moment of madness. As a punishment bestowed by Fiore Castillo, Aubrey lost their same fingers. Fiore also built a mechanical replacement for the fingers that Vin lost, carved from elderwood and rabbit bone. These prosthetics are Vin's most prized possession, and they would rather keep their mechanical fingers than regenerate new ones as offered by multiple practitioners, due to that sentimentality.

Well known by the citizens of Cape Oolong, Vin has strong ties to them all and would consider every one of them family in some sense or another.

## Species lore

   From what little Vin knows, their unnamed species have larger horns as a sign of strength, but Vin believes that the ability to regularly cut them is a better demonstration, considering that they have an oddity of regenerative nervous networks in the antlers, making removal painful but necessary. Vin refers to them as Elken, although that is not the true name, more of a personal representation. A little known fact is that the antler's regenerative factor is based on it's composition, a closely guarded secret that very few know due to it's danger to Vin and their kind, being the very reason they have only met one other.

## Personality and Occupation

Vin is a medical practitioner that works at the Cape Oolong clinic, built by Tobias Fuar, their now lover. Vin intended to make this clinic the medical hub of Kamorra but has since lost motivation due to their traumas, and the newfound lack of disease. They also are an aspiring writer and scholar, yet they prioritize the safety and well being of Cape Oolong and it's residents, understanding that being a scholar would require more traveling than they would like to admit. Vin also has great experience in weaving clothing and general attire, their culture attributing to their lack of willingness to make clothing as an occupation, as Vin's guardian taught them that making clothing for another is sacred, as you are providing the very thing they depend upon to protect themselves in a number of forms.

Vin is empathetic to the point of self-detriment, and hypocritical in the matter of telling people to rest and take time for themselves while not doing the same. They are incredibly easy to read emotionally, and feel weak in comparison to others due to this. They are increasingly traumatized from several events as listed below, each of them taking a toll on their decaying mental health and sanity constantly questioned by Kamorra's increasingly concerning events.

As time goes on, Vin pieces together the stories of those around them, intensely curious and intent on helping as many people as they can in the seemingly decreasing time they have left in this world that is hit rapidly by cataclysms. But Vin avoids their own story, the Deep, coming to terms with whether or not it is indeed real. Vin is known for being emotionally tuned, somewhat impulsive, curious, and self-sacrificing. They gravitate to scenarios that have the potential to end their life or put them in harm, yet still attempt to scrape by to continue the cycle. They ultimately want to retire at the coast, comforted by the fact that their home will be safe without them, and surrounded by those they've worked so hard to protect.

Vin grapples with insomnia, feeling that due to previous trauma, they can't help save or help people and are helpless when asleep. Their home was attacked while they slept and burned while they ran, many close people they loved have died or been hurt whilst they slept, causing Vin to blame themselves, a common habit.

## Vin's arrival to Kamorra and Old Oolong

Vin arrived to Kamorra after their home village of Elkenfar was lit on fire and pillaged by hunters while they slept, massacring all of Vin's kind for their antler's potion usage. Vin ran, knowing that they were the same hunters that killed their guardian by their sigil. Falling into a river leading out to the open ocean, Vin was unconscious in the open ocean, yet still alive. That was when Vin first encountered it. The Deep, as Vin refers to it in their writings, is an entity unimaginable, crusted by coral and shredded fins, spanning the entire ocean floor and with a million eyes. It craved knowledge of the world and it's culture, preparing for something. The entity bound something to Vin, something formed with no words, only a foreboding feeling of insanity.

Vin washed up on the docks of Kamorra, doubting their sanity as the vision they saw and confusion at their survival through what appears to be a limitless ocean. They moved on, searching for a place to start their documentation, appeasing whatever had supposedly saved them. They were directed to Cape Oolong, a place that accepted anyone regardless of nationality or background.

When Vin Elkenfar arrived at Cape Oolong, the first person they met was Fiore Castillo. Vin was immediately captivated by Oolong, and formed a bond and trust in Fiore that holds up to this day. Vin stayed in Oolong, meeting residents and eventually filling in as a field medic, healing Silvie and Jacob Meyrin, a past love interest. Vin met Aubrey Williams, Aubrey almost immediately confiding in Vin of their late brother, Edmund, and how Aubrey intended to revive him by necromancy. Aubrey requested Vin's help and emotional support in the matter. Vin was internally conflicted, made aware of necromancies reputation, but they ultimately agreed while not appearing to give it a second thought and formed a bond with Aubrey in the process. Vin became a citizen of Cape Oolong, becoming a medical practitioner and working to increase their knowledge.

After Vin became a citizen, the screeching started. Sources of water became painful to be near for Vin as the Deep pushed for Vin to cut ties and move on, continuing to learn more. Vin drank to ignore the pain, tuning it out eventually but despising the Deep in the process, hoping that they were never saved in the first place. One night, Vin had gone out of the gates and hoped to die by the hordes of zombies in the night. Yukki saved them from themselves, gifting Vin a bow that they own to this day.

Cape Oolong was battered constantly with attacks from Vulpius, motivated by their hatred of the poppy and belief that Oolong was worshiping it. Oolong eventually had to move, as many of its members were tortured or harmed by Vulpius and others, leading to the Creation of New Oolong and Libertas Regnum.

## New Oolong's beginnings and the start of the Plague

After Libertas Regnum was established, a Nation formed between Loer'evar, Hercualaeum and Cape Oolong, they set up camp in the Savanah. Vin was still assisting Aubrey in the revival of Edmund, but was having doubts at the fact that they agreed to sacrifice everything and run away with them if Oolong did not accept Edmund's revival. Vin was attached to Cape Oolong, and was uncertain of why they were willing to sacrifice so much. Aubrey had learned that Jacob had helped in Edmund's death, leading them to the spot of their sacrifice. Jacob explained that he was manipulated, and Vin interjected themselves into the conflict. Vin realized that they had feelings for the both of them, and chose to be with Aubrey, only further complicating things. This became one of Vin's biggest regrets to this day. Aubrey decided to stop trying to revive Edmund and move on.

Vin met Dwight Rosenthal, the mayor of Loer'evar, becoming one of Vin's most trusted confidants, Jestik, one of Vin's closest friends before dying by blood had warned of future events transpiring, bringing upon the end of Kamorra. This only further set Vin into researching the Deep, their anxiety increasing for an unimaginable threat and losing the chance to grieve Jestik's death. Vin only further experienced this cycle of self-neglect as the Great Plague transpired, being one of the major medical practitioners of Oolong at the time as Kazimir, somewhat of a father figure to Vin, taught them of medicine and brewing.

After Jestik died, Aubrey left in an attempt to learn more of Edmund's death. Vin was stricken by grief, but moved on, hurt by Aubrey's departure. More people died as the Plague spread rapidly, some ending their own lives as Vin had hoped to do and occasionally does to this day. Family, friends, people Vin cared about that lost themselves, and each and every one Vin took to heart. Vin felt abandoned, and pushed people away.

When Aubrey got back, Vin cut off their relationship. Aubrey cut off Vin's fingers.

Aubrey promised to cut off Vin's horns before they ran, the protectors of Oolong hunting him down. Aubrey had dealt with their own voices, Edmund talking to them in his head. Vin had the Deep, something pulling at them to leave and learn as much as they could before they died. They were incredibly similar. That thought plagued Vin for the rest of their life.

Aubrey was able to get help and work through their voices and traumas, after a number of events that led to an uneasy aquaintance between the two again.

## Ending the Plague and Isolation

As the great plague drew to a close, Vin started to isolate themselves, believing that they were no longer needed, yet they still barely slept and aimed to stay alert in the case of disaster. They built a home for themselves on the coast, despite it causing them pain, aiming to find a way to stop the constant, torrid screeching closer to shore. Vin would regularly travel on raft out into the ocean, even throughout rain, to try to communicate with the Deep, further understand it.

One night, the effort paid off. Vin read to the Deep in a storm, one of Tobias Fuar's works. It was a story of creation and compassion, but to Vin it represented much personally, reminding them of a story they heard in their village. The screeching subsided for a time, letting Vin peacefully sleep for the first time in months.

When Vin awoke, they were stranded on their raft in an open ocean, yet still calm. They spent days rowing back, and after about three days, the screeching returned as Vin realized they did not know which way they were going. The sense of being so adrift left them senseless, going through a crucible of acceptance towards the entity that plagued them. They inevitably trapped the source of the screeching, a fragment of the Deep, and returned home, to Cape Oolong.

## Idle returns

Vin washed up on the banks of Cape Oolong, a mess of cuts and kelp, dazed from the journey, yet with a new appreciation and outlook on life. They were intent on a fresh start, not constantly stricken and controlled by grief. As they only just started to adjust and sort out their feelings, Vin learned of Aubrey's death.

This shattered Vin, hitting harder than many of the previous deaths despite their history. They pushed those who they cared about away, restricting their inner circle due to anxiety regarding potential blood mages. Aubrey had been there since the beginning, and Vin was still alive between the two of them. The one who was supposed to be murdered by hunters for their horns, to drown in the ocean's ravenous current multiple times over, yet they didn't. The one without a partner, a son, a house to call their own. And so Vin poured themselves into their work, their heart and soul into as many things as they could muster, hoping that some of it amounted to something more than themselves. Vin joined the Protectorate of Cape Oolong, intending to lay down everything they had for it until there was nothing left. Because, more than anything, Vin loved Cape Oolong. Their family.

## The Hypocrite

After Vin's return to Oolong, things quieted down for them in a sense. They had adapted to the incessant conflict that Kamorra tended to hold, instead searching for meaning within the little things to keep themselves together. They did less noteworthy things in the eyes of the general public, instead prioritizing being there for the people they loved most, working as a protector and a writer to prevent the shadow collective from resurging after the supposed death of Benjamin Carter. They were beginning to heal, to take things for the better.

Yet there was something burning in their mind, whispering to them like tendrils of doubt or maybe something else. It told them they had shattered. They were so broken that they couldn't take another trauma, another death of one of the people they loved dearly, before they were shredded beyond recognition. And so they feared the inevitable, pulling what they could back together as to handle whatever came next.