Cassian

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Cassian, the ocean warlock - official character art by Bee

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Cassian is an Elven Warlock, part of the party, played by Chase on *The Origin of the Dawnbringers* and The Rising Dawn. Currently, as with the other player characters, Cassian is Level 7.

Cassian sets off with the rest of the party from his home city of Mirrortail after denying them access to his family shop, though he won't explain why. He is deflective about his motivations for leaving and insists that he simply wants to travel.

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## **About Cassian**

#### **Appearance**

Cassian is a high elf with cool brown skin and shining golden eyes, he stands at 5ft9.

In the original Origin of the Dawnbringers series, Cassian wore a sleeveless outfit of blue and gold robes with brown trousers, knee-high boots, an armoured leather chest piece and a thick leather belt at his waist with his spell book attached. Very particular about his appearance, Cassian wears his black hair neatly swept back and decorates himself with intricate gold henna from his fingers to his elbows, and upon his forehead. His elven ears are adorned with earrings he has made himself and he used to paint a black stripe from his lip down his chin.

Currently in The Rising Dawn, he wears much of the same outfit, though now with a long sleeved under layer and deep blue shawl for warmth. Underneath all this, he is also wearing an Elven Chain shirt. He has grown some stubble and taken on a more rugged appearance from the party's adventures, though still keeps himself very well groomed.

#### **Personality**

Cassian is incredibly vain and has shown on multiple occasions that he values himself over most everything else. He can come across as arrogant and abrasive, purposefully pushing people's buttons to get a rise out of them for his own amusement.

He clearly comes from a privileged background, having talked about his parents' jewellery and tailoring business back home in Mirrortail where he also works. At the start of the series, Cassian seemingly looks down on those less fortunate than him because of his upbringing, but is forced to dwell on this when confronted with the inequality the party deals with in Shadebourne.

Despite his sense of pride and self-importance, Cassian has shown personal growth throughout the series, though still struggles to hold a conversation without insulting someone either on purpose or by accident. While not as bad as he used to be, he still has a long way to go.

#### **Equipment and** **Key Possessions**

Cassian carries a spell book that is described to be soaking wet at all times. He has attempted to commune via it a few times, getting melodic responses and affirmations from his patron. In Part 2 of The Lost City Of Velathra, it was revealed that Cassian had no idea his book appeared wet and seemed confused that the party insisted it was.

In the city of Lakeside, Vanden purchased an enchanted short sword for Cassian that he named Undertow and has been using it regularly in fights since. It is a +1 weapon and can cast Blur once per long rest.

Cassian carries various sea shells on him, leaving them in different places the party has visited or gifting them to people. He seems to be able to gather information via this method somehow. Chase has also made references to a necklace that Cassian wears under his clothing that he seems to place a hand over when speaking to his patron.

He used to use a wand that looks like driftwood with a crystal embedded in one end, but discarded this in favour of casting through his arcane henna.

## **Relationships**

#### **The Dawnbringers**

Vanden

When they first met, Cassian enjoyed purposefully antagonising Vanden while he was still disguised as Renard. Though he found the mercenary intriguing and reliable, he eventually confessed to Sariel that it was "thrilling" to provoke him.

The two would often argue, though during the party's venture through the pyramid, Cassian showed concern for Renard and began following his orders in combat, proving that they could make a good team. Later, Cassian sought Renard's advice on weaponry to purchase a sword that that he could better back the mercenary up in a fight. Renard ended up paying for the sword for Cassian in exchange for a favour, which he has yet to ask for.

Later in Lakeside, Cassian pressed Renard up against a wall and kissed him at the culmination of a heated argument, shocked that Renard then kissed him back before fleeing. The next day, he learned Renard's true identity as Prince Vanden of Mirrortail and was stunned into silence for some time. Before the party's first fight with The Weeping Eye, Vanden asked Cassian why he had kissed him and the elf admitted that he simply wanted to. Their relationship has since been rocky, but after that point they seemed to settle into each other's company a bit more, asking each other for advice or seeking private moments of discussion.

Cassian has complex feelings about Vanden that he is clearly not ready to address, but for now seems happy that they are still travelling together.

Sariel

Cassian wasn't sure what to make of Sariel at first and didn't really start bonding with her until the party reached the city of Sanskra. He showed some concern over her catatonic state when they arrived in the city, though this perhaps wasn't entirely genuine. Later, the two shared a private moment outside a tavern where they discussed the burdens of elven age and what would thrill Cassian, before Sariel allowed him to take her hand and escort her back to the bathhouse the group had been staying in.

As their friendship developed, Cassian took it upon himself to craft Sariel a set of clothes in secret to replace the cobbled together outfit she had been wearing. Cassian was touched albeit confused at Sariel's reaction when she said she'd "never had anything this nice to call [her] own." More trust forged between the two, leading Sariel to seek Cassian out after having a nightmare in Shadebourne where he awkwardly comforted her over her reluctance to go to the Ball. During their last days in Shadebourne, Sariel showed great trust in Cassian by inviting him along to her monthly ritual, which he was delighted to join her for.

Astra

Cassian didn't think much of Astra to begin with, believing him to be a kind-hearted fool, but a fool nonetheless. Early on, he also showed no remorse in using his telepathic abilities to manipulate Astra into doing as he wanted at the druid temple the party came across in the Mangrove Swamps, though he has not tried this again since.

As the two got to know each other better, Cassian was happy to bond with Astra over their mutual love of music and tried to speak to him in Infernal, which seemingly just made Astra uncomfortable. Cassian was particularly intrigued when Astra played a song he recognised from home and was confused as to how the tiefling could have learned it.

In Shadebourne, Astra and Cassian shared a room before the Ball where Astra revealed that he didn't know what a prince was, so Cassian did his best to explain. During Velathra, Astra has been shown to be more teasing of Cassian like a sibling, which he is not a fan of.

**Previous Party Members**

Elyse

Cassian found Elyse to be a pretty interesting character, having had multiple conversations with her about magic and how it felt to cast. He was protective of her privacy while she explored the airship crash early on in the series and found her spell casting to be very handy in a fight.

Boblem

Cassian was considerate to Boblem, if a bit exasperated. He found the half-elf's questions somewhat relentless and generally avoided conversing with him outside of the group because of this. While he didn't dislike Boblem in any capacity, their personalities simply did not mesh well in Cassian's eyes.

#### **Other Characters**

Family

Cassian has mentioned that his parents are in their 500s and live in Mirrortail, where they run a joint business called Thiarin's Trinkets & Tailoring, his mother being the jeweller and his father being the tailor. He talks about having learnt both their respective crafts for his part in the family business, if but bitterly. Cassian once confessed to Vanden that he misses his father, but has implied on multiple occasions that he doesn't have the best relationship with his mother.

Madame Nostrada

Early on in *The Origin of the Dawnbringers*, Cassian mentioned an opera singer he enjoyed called Madame Nostrada, who had sadly drowned in a ship wreck some hundred years ago. He was sad he never got to see her perform live, as her death was on the way to Mirrortail for a concert.

It is later revealed that Madame Nostrada is Cassian's warlock patron, though he affectionately calls her Lia. Though it is yet to be revealed how she came to be a patron after her death or how they struck their deal, the two seems to have a friendly relationship with Lia offering him gentle affirmations as best she can when he speaks to her, or when the two danced during his waking vision of her in Shadebourne. In this vision, Lia asked him to retrieve her mortal body for burial so that they could grow in power together. She lit a star map in his henna and told him to follow it to find her.

## **History**

#### **Background**

Cassian is from the city of Mirrortail on The Glass Isle, where he works as a tailor in his parents' shop. While not much is known about his life before joining the party, Cassian has alluded to "other work" and claims to have sold information on other people in Mirrortail for fun.

#### **Pre-Series**

Cassian first met Astra, Renard, Sariel and Boblem out The Giggling Squid tavern in Farrelstadt. They took on the job of clearing a Water Elemental out of a lady's basement and spent the rest of the day together before heading on a boat back to Mirrortail.

#### **The Story So Far**

Cassian meets with Renard, Astra and Elyse the morning after the trio have released a Guard Drake from a local noble in Mirrortail. From there, they find Sariel and Boblem and sail to the mainland to start charting The Flooded Hills on a cartography contract. The party chased rumours of a fallen star that turned out to be part of crashed airship that Elyse recognised, before heading to the mythical city of Sanskra. After some misadventures and miscommunications, the party then had to flee the city by night and ended up heading northwards.

On their way to the city of Lakeside, the party encountered an ancient pyramid and traversed its dangers, growing closer as a group in the process. They were bound by the promise of "a year" to a sphinx who removed a Mummy Rot curse from Elyse and Renard, but has yet to discover what this means.

Upon reaching Lakeside, the party took part in the annual games held there as well as exploring their interpersonal relationships and seeking out information on a group called The Weeping Eye for Renard. Pursuing them with the aid of the privateer Aerenthias Van Wymarck and Vanden's Royal Guard Captain Jocelyn D'Fabron, the party caught up with a third of the infamous mercenaries and dispatched them by dawn.

Parting ways with their allies, the party then made their way to Shadebourne where they helped overthrow a corrupt governor and apprehended a family of nobles, one of whom had been hunting the poor of the city for sport. The new governor, a dwarf named Haitius Valentinian who had been an ally to the party, then announced them as heroes of the city and gave them the title of The Dawnbringers.

## **Technical Information**

#### **Known Proficiencies and Skills**

* Speaks Common, Infernal, Halfling, Elvish and Sylvan
* Jeweller's Tools, Weaver's Tools
* Light armour
* Longbow, Longsword, Short sword, Simple Weapons
* Arcana, Deception, Insight, Perception, Persuasion

#### **Warlock Abilities**

* Pact of the Tome
* Awakened Mind
* Entropic Ward
* Eldritch Invocations
	+ Agonizing Blast
	+ Mask of Many Faces
	+ Gift of The Depths
	+ Far Scribe

#### **Spells**

Cassian uses the Spell Versatility Unearthed Arcana, allowing him to switch one spell for another of the same level per long rest. As such, he has used more spells than a warlock would normally be able to.

Cantrips

* Booming Blade
* Dancing Lights
* Eldritch Blast (previously Arcane Bolt)
* Mending
* Poison Spray
* Sword Burst
* Vicious Mockery

Level 1

* Disguise Self (at will)
* Dissonant Whispers
* Armour of Agathys

Level 2

* Shadow Blade
* Shatter
* Misty Step (Fey Teleportation feat)
* Blur (Undertow)

Level 3

* Hunger of Hadar
* Intellect Fortress
* Major Image
* Remove Curse
* Spirit Shroud
* Vampiric Touch
* Water Breathing (Gift of The Depths)
* Sending (Far Scribe)

#### **Feats**

* Fey Teleportation:
	+ Misty Step once per short/long rest
	+ Can speak, read, and write Sylvan

#### **Other Abilities**

* Darkvision
* Fey Ancestry
* Trance