Shoal of the Nora Tribe

## Overview

### Description

Shoal is a selkie wizard from the Pearl Coast, dedicated to the school of theurgy in the tempest domain. Currently, she studies under the tutelage of Alvec Autumnhelm, as his first apprentice in decades.

### Appearance

With long, thick, brown hair and a pretty, round face, Shoal is the very image of the average selkie. Smatterings of dark spots cover her cheeks, her back, and the tops of her arms--described by some as "impossibly freckled." Her eyes are a light seafoam green, mirroring the churning waters of the Pearl Coast. At 5'4", she stands as one of the shorter members of the Silver Ruin.

### Expertise

Shoal is the Silver Ruin's unlikely expert, excelling in Arcana, History, Medicine, and Insight. In combat, Shoal strives to offer support and mitigate threats to the other members of the Silver Ruin, and more than once she has turned the tides of battle in their favor with a well-placed Fog Cloud. She is also the resident linguist, being able to speak, read, and write Common, Primordial (Aquan), Gnomish, Halfling, Sylvan, Draconic, and Abyssal.

### Titles

* of the Nora Tribe
* Scholar of the Silver Ruin
* The Mageslayer's Apprentice

## Background

Born to two selkie parents, Shoal did not grow up wanting for much. Her mother disappeared when she was relatively young, but the selkie community in which she lived stepped in to fill the gap, as selkies are wont to do. Not long after, the community uncovered a library long-abandoned, which Shoal kept returning to long after the rest of the selkies lost interest in it. She spent long days reading and making a second home out of the interior of the building, ferrying books back and forth between her home and the library when she couldn't bear not to read, but was needed in the community. So taken was she by the knowledge among the shelves that she long delayed her departure for the journey which all selkies go on to transition from childhood to adulthood. Culturally speaking, Shoal is not an adult.

At the age of 25, Shoal learned her first cantrip, Prestidigitation. The peculiar pull she had always felt toward the obelisk that loomed over her village grew suddenly in strength, and that same night she slipped out of the village to sate her ravenous curiosity. As she approached, the perpetual storm which swirled above the tower swelled. A yeti ambushed her near the entrance, and was struck down in mere seconds by a bolt of lightning from the storm clouds. Courage renewed, she stepped inside, and was met with a mysterious collective entity called the Sha'ii. They beckoned her forth, presenting her with a gift--a book, plain black save for the symbol on its front cover--and a proposition: worship us, spread the word of our existence, and we shall help you achieve the knowledge you seek. She accepted without hesitation.

She left on her journey shortly thereafter and traveled alone for several months before joining up with a caravan, headed south. She assisted the caravan in achieving their destination, serving as a short-term guardian for those wounded. At said destination, she met Brulgen Hammerforge, whose healing magic enthralled her completely. The two served on guard duty together for the night, during which they fended off a bandit attack, capturing all but one of the perpetrators.

Shoal traveled with Brulgen from thereon, and the two eventually came to rest at The RuInn, where they met the rest of the Silver Ruin (sans Wulf).

## Abilities

As a selkie and theurgy subclass wizard, Shoal has many abilities which come from sources other than the standard *Dungeons & Dragons* material, including Unearthed Arcana and homebrew.

### Selkie Abilities

* Sealskin
	+ As an action, you can pull your hood over your head, Polymorphing into a seal. While in this form, you cannot speak or cast spells, but you gain a swimming speed of 50 feet.
	+ While in this form, you can hold your breath for up to an hour.
	+ While in this form, you gain the Darkvision feature.
* Aquatic Anatomy
	+ In hot environments, you consume twice as much water, and you have disadvantage on Constitution saving throws.
	+ In cold environments, you have advantage on Constitution saving throws.

### Wizard Abilities

As a 9th-level wizard of the school of Theurgy, Shoal has access to the following abilities.

* Arcane Recovery
* Spellcasting
	+ Ritual Casting
* School of Theurgy
	+ Divine Inspiration: Tempest Domain
	+ Arcane Initiate
	+ Channel Arcana
		- Divine Arcana
		- Destructive Wrath
	+ Arcane Acolyte: Wrath of the Storm

### Wizard Spells

Shoal knows the following cantrips and has copied the following spells into the Arca Daliam, which she uses as her spellbook. As a 9th-level wizard, she can prepare 13 of these spells, plus one additional spell thanks to her attunement to the Arca Daliam, for a total of 14 prepared spells.

**Cantrips**

* Ray of Frost
* Prestidigitation
* Light
* Shape Water

**1st Circle**

* Alarm (given by Autumnhelm)
* Color Spray
* Detect Magic
* Disguise Self (given by Mimi)
* Find Familiar
* Fog Cloud
* Mage Armor
* Magic Missile
* Shield
* Sleep
* Snare
* Thunderwave
* Unseen Servant (given by Arisa)

**2nd Circle**

* Dragon's Breath
* Enlarge/Reduce
* Gust of Wind (copied from Gwibolc's spellbook)
* Hold Person
* Melf's Acid Arrow (copied from Gwibolc's spellbook)
* Scorching Ray (copied from Gwibolc's spellbook
* Shoal's Luminous Structure (made by Shoal's own hand)
* Web (given by Jacket)

**3rd Circle**

* Counterspell
* Fireball (copied from Gwibolc's spellbook)
* Fly (copied from Gwibolc's spellbook)
* Glyph of Warding (learned from Autumnhelm while at Worrecstay)
* Lightning Bolt (copied from Gwibolc's spellbook)
* Sending
* Shoal's Tidal Ward (made by Shoal's own hand)
* Speak With Dead
* Thunder Step
* Wall of Water (copied from a scroll found in Khal Far's treasury)

**4th Circle**

* Arcane Eye
* Banishment (learned from Autumnhelm at Worrecstay)
* Charm Monster (learned from Standhope at Worrecstay)
* Control Water
* Ice Storm (copied from Gwibolc's spellbook)
* Locate Creature (learned from Lady Gulga at Worrecstay)
* Mordenkainen's Faithful Hound
* Otiluke's Resilient Sphere

**5th Circle**

* Planar Binding (learned from Autumnhelm at Worrecstay)
* Scrying
* Teleportation Circle

## Quotes

* "I am the voice of the Sha'ii, and they do not whisper."
* "I just... really like the smell." (after being asked about all the incense she burned)
* "Oh, shit, I don't have any money." (in the Broken Sign)
* "I want to learn... and maybe make the world a little bit of a better place."
* "Okay, I'm having a panic. This is really bad!"
* "[crying openly] It's okay. It's fine. It wasn't what I wanted, but that's okay."

## Trivia

* Shoal's favorite book is a collection of the poetry of Aleo, an elf who traveled the world and wrote about his experiences. Her favorite story of his is about an argument he had with ogres--the topic being about whether or not he was puny. He lost, and had to concur that he was, in fact, puny.
* After a traumatic experience with snakes falling from the ceiling, Shoal developed a fear of snakes--which she calls a healthy respect, when she's lying about it.
* She has several scars from various near-death experiences. Two on her left shoulder and neck, from gargoyles and snakes, and four rune scars on the crown of her head.
* Shoal's familiar is named Juniper, and most often takes the form of a snowy owl.
* She had a childhood sweetheart named Abalone, who wanted to leave on their Tide together. Abalone put off her Tide until she was 21, at which point she left without Shoal. She returned before Shoal left.
* Shoal is the current holder of the Arca Daliam--known in Common as "The Book of All Things." The Arca Daliam was the book given to her by the Sha'ii. She uses it as her spell book, and is currently searching for its companion books to give her the ability to read more of it.