Erevan Illepkhiir

Race: Elf

Class: Wizard

Backstory:

Born of a noble warrior father and a religously devout mother Erevan's earliest memories were those of his father going off to fight and leaving him with his mother who used the time to provide for Erevan one of the finest educations a young elf might hope to have.  When the young boy wasn't playing swords and dreaming of becoming the finest warrior of the land he was nose deep in some book with his mother looking on approvingly.

During those early years Eledra volunteered at the local temple and therefore had access to their libraries.  Many of the tomes she would bring home were of a religious nature, but some were of history and lore, tellings of fantastic battles and the deeds of brave young souls who, like his father, fought for the good of elven kind, risking their lives to provide for the honor and defense of the folk.

Young Erevan was a warrior by day and student by night.  In part because his warrior "training" was overseen by only the boy himself, and partially because he was obviously much stronger of mind than body, Erevan made a very good student, whereas his warrior practices didn't seem to get him anywhere.  Indeed, the boy devoured book after book, surprising his mother and father as well as those at the temple.   Before long he attracted the attention of the temple librarian who began to work with and mentor him.  He soon was spending more time at the temple in study than at home.

At about the time Erevan was making the transition from boy to man his father died in some far off campaign.  Seeing his father come home being carried on his shield, ashen faced, his armor always well maintained and cared for, now covered in dents and dirtied, made the young man look at the life of a warrior very differently.  He became angry at his father for leaving him and throwing away his life for a glory that only existed in his mind, now gone forever.  He soon realized that it wasn't the warriors whose glory was immortalized in his history books, but the work of the men who wrote them.  From that moment on he set aside his sword and redoubled his efforts in study.

Shortly thereafter the temple librarian introduced Erevan to the man who would change his life forever, the half elf wizard Loreliss Thandaar.  Loreliss immediately saw the potential in Erevan and began visiting the temple regularly for study sessions.  Before very long Erevan felt the flow of magic in his body for the first time and knew this was his calling.

The intelligent young elf proved to be a quick study.   By the time Loreliss would return with more material and instruction Erevan would mastered the previous week's material and had set out on his own for more.  The promise of magical power consumed the apprentice and drove him beyond the teachings of his mentor.

He learned of magical stones that the elves did not - would not posses, and yet the rest of the world took advantage of their power.  He read of long lost artifacts, objects of great magical ability, hidden in long forgotten ruins.  He discovered there in the past existed great and skilled mages who bowed to no lord and demanded great repect of even the Gods themselves.

Erevan took this knowledge to his mentor who cautioned the apprentice against moving too fast and going too far.  Loreliss expressed concern for Erevan's over-eagerness and pleaded with him to slow his pace, but Erevan would not listen.  Regrettably Loreliss decided to walk away, parting ways with his most gifted student, lest he become involved with some great calamity that would inevitably befall his power hungry apprentice.

Abandoned by his father and mentor, and largely by his mother who had become even more involved with her newly recommitted religious life, Erevan saw no choice but to set out on his own to seize the power of those who are brave enough to seek it out.   He made his preparations, gathered his materials, said nothing to anyone, and set out one night on his own, leaving the only home and people he had ever known.  As he crested the hill overlooking his home, he looked back and made a silent vow that one day he would return - not mangled and dead like his father, and not as some timid coward like Loreliss, but with true honor and power.  His name will be known to every lord in the land, and every soul who takes up the arcane arts...  One day.

More recently Erevan has fallen in with a gnome warlock who has helped him navigate the world outside of the elven lands.  Together they have adventured as mercenaries for profit while all along searching for magical books and relics as well as those responsible for the death of the gnome's family.  They've began a side business selling and trading books, maps, and other historical and magical oddities as Erevan amasses knowledge of the historical and magical past.