Ryaltar Zoloryn

### Backstory

Ryaltar was born into a poor house that had aligned itself with a far more powerful one: the Helviiryn house. They had made a promise that they would provide the Helviiryn house with a female heir or face Lolth’s wrath. Ryaltar was immediately hated by his parents as he was their fourth boy in 50 years, and his parents were aging rapidly — losing time to make good on their promise. Ryaltar and each of his brothers had been met with extreme suspicion while they remained the youngest child, due to a prophecy that their parents believed would bring about the end of the Zoloryn house:

“For what you have done to me, the youngest child of your daughter’s daughter’s daughter shall become a cursed name, a symbol of failure, one who consorts with driders, one who brings ruin to their own house.”

Ryaltar spent his early years essentially ignored, food scraps thrown to him every few days to make sure he was still strong enough to do the house work. His brothers all eventually left, swearing themselves to houses that could protect them as it became more and more clear that their parents were unable to have any more children.

But Drow are proud. And as his parents realized their time was up and they could not come up with a female heir, they did the only thing they could do to protect the Zoloryn bloodline: they sent Ryaltar running for the surface just days before they were killed and fed to the spiders. It took him weeks to even come close to the outskirts of the Underdark, dodging assassins, giant spiders, and starvation. At some point, he collapsed into a heap in a hollowed out stalagmite that he believed to be empty. When he looked up the large figure of the drider, Kor was standing over him.

It was Kor who discovered the drop of divine blood that would one day make Ryaltar a powerful sorcerer. It was Kor who told him about his natural talent for magic, though he wasn’t in a position to teach Ryaltar how to use it. It was Kor who taught Ryaltar what he knows today about how to fight, how to hide, how to use his words to protect himself when his body couldn’t. As time passed, Ryaltar grew stronger, more so mentally than physically, and began to teach himself what little he could learn on his own about magic. He spent his days haunted by thoughts of the origin of his magic — he never really had trust in any god. But one had chosen him, and he couldn’t know what for. He even began to pray, to no one in particular, desperate for answers. But the assassins kept coming for him, and Kor and Ryaltar moved hideouts almost daily. It was time for him to escape to the surface.

Ryaltar bid goodbye to his mentor with a short, tense embrace and a promise to return when he was strong enough to prove to the Zoloryn house that they were no better than he was. Just before he left, Kor made a face like there was something that he had been debating whether to tell him. So Ryaltar waited. And as if he had finally decided, Kor whispered to Ryaltar, “When you reach the surface, seek out The Redeemed.” Ryaltars confusion was cut short by another assassins arrival, almost like clockwork. Kor bought him some time as he ran.

When he reached the surface, Ryaltar took his mentors advice to heart, no matter how suspicious he felt, and sought out the surface elves he was raised to despise, fully expecting them to try and kill him on sight. After a days journey of hiding in the shadows, trying to avoid the sun burning his skin, he came across a small gathering of elves in the woods. He made his way quietly to the edge of their circle, truthfully terrified to announce his presence. An elf noticed him. And then another. And then another. And one by one, something like half the circle bowed to him, another quarter stepped back in deference, and the final quarter welcomed him with open arms.

The following years were the most peaceful of Ryaltars life. He was a Blessed of Corellon. It was why the Zoloryns hated him so much, kept him hidden. It was why The Redeemed welcomed him as one of their own, despite his heritage. They taught him what they knew of magic and sorcery, they showed him the beauty of an ever changing physical form, they brought a quiet joy to his life as he grew up in their presence.

But the assassins still came, and Ryaltar still could never quite let his guard down. About halfway through his time with the surface elves, their settlement was raided and one of his closer friends, Ashryn, was captured and dragged to the Underdark before anyone even awoke. Ryaltar struggled after that. He closed himself off from the rest of the elves, started teaching himself instead of allowing them to teach him, began fending for himself again. And eventually, he left, convinced of the fact that if he stayed he would ruin the lives of the people he cared about more than anything. All he left was a note: “I’ll return, with Ashryn, when they are all dead.”

And so began a solitary life for Ryaltar, plotting his revenge, avoiding distractions, or closeness with anyone. When he needed to *feel* something, he disguised himself and sought out a one night stand, leaving before his partner awoke in the morning. He is determined to repay his debts to those that took him in, and to ruin those that destroyed him and those he cares for.