Amber Blackstone

**Amber Blackstone** is a dwarven woman from Tesska. She is married to Reynold Blackstone, a scientist who once worked for the S.O.U.L. Foundation, and is the mother of Isaac Blackstone. The circumstances surrounding the death of her son and the catastrophe at the S.O.U.L. Foundation's laboratory have left a dark impact on Amber's life, but she and Reynold have persevered despite all odds. They were eventually reunited with their son and now live on the island of Penmark, beneath the floating campus of Annovius College.

## Biography

Little is known about Amber's life before the destruction of the S.O.U.L. Foundation laboratory. She married Reynold Blackstone while they both worked at Omnisscientia College and gave birth to Isaac Blackstone, their first and only son. For several years the Blackstone family lived happily on their farm in Arbington while Reynold worked at the S.O.U.L. Foundation, but tragedy changed everything overnight. Isaac was kicked in the head by one of the farm animals and left with a fatal injury. The cleric of Arbington's local church was intoxicated at the time and was unable to heal her son.

Desperate for help, Reynold took his son to the S.O.U.L. Foundation and begged his superior — Prandalt — to save him. It was the last time Amber saw her son alive, and in the aftermath she was told that Isaac had died of his injuries.

Several years followed and Amber managed to recreate a somewhat normal life for herself and Reynold. Her husband spent more and more time at the foundation and refused to speak of what his work entailed, which Amber discovered was the result of a magical contract he was placed under. Reynold could not speak or communicate about the details of the S.O.U.L. Foundation without inflicting pain on himself and potentially on others around him. As a result, the Blackstone couple lived beneath a dark shadow cast by the S.O.U.L. Foundation for many years.

Then, one day, there was an explosion at the S.O.U.L. Foundation's headquarters. Reynold survived — just barely — and suffered a devastating injury to his leg. Yet he refused to see a cleric after the events of his son's death, and instead developed a pronounced limp as he recovered. The destruction of the S.O.U.L. Foundation left Reynold jobless and depressed, and it fell to Amber to maintain the household in the years that followed.

Eventually, after forcing herself to move on from her past, Amber heard a knock on her door. She opened it, only to discover a group of ragtag adventurers — the Victims of Circumstance and a man calling himself Mully — carrying the unconscious body of a Soulforged construct. She learned that this Soulforged possessed the soul of her son Isaac, and that he had mysteriously collapsed after his magic had become unstable.

Reynold managed to communicate that the S.O.U.L. Foundation had placed Isaac's soul in the construct's body on the day of his injury. He had been forbidden from telling Amber about the ordeal, and when the Foundation had been destroyed he had assumed Isaac had been as well. It was a miracle he was still alive, and after the Victims of Circumstance and Mully managed to retrieve a new phylactery from the ruins of the S.O.U.L. Foundation, he was brought back to consciousness with his memories of his past life restored.

Amber and Isaac were then reunited, and the Blackstone family was moved to the island of Penmark to escape the wrath of Prandalt. Thanks to the protection of Annovius' headmaster Erolkovith, the Blackstone family was promised safety and Isaac was given admission to the college's wizarding program.

## Description

### Appearance

Amber is an older dwarf, with graying hair and soft eyes. She and Reynold are both well into their second centuries, and although they are not elderly by any means they both have visible signs of age. Despite the tragedies in her life she smiles often, and has a very gentle and trustworthy presence.

### Personality

Amber is kind and motherly to anyone she meets. She is a loyal wife to Reynold and has supported him throughout his work with the S.O.U.L. Foundation, the death of their son, and the aftermath of his injury. Sometimes she's prone to hiding her pain and suffering in silence, but she does so in order to better care for those around her.