Janis

art by Lexus Deen

**Janis Telchine** is a founding member of The Cloaks. He was born and raised in Rurall before setting out on the adventuring life.

## Early Life

Janis was born to the human Bill Telchine and his elf wife Lyra. Lyra was an adventurer herself, but died when Janis was only 2 in an accident while chopping down a tree. Ridden with grief Bill, a simple farmer until then, began studying the occult in an attempt to learn necromantic magic to bring Lyra back to life. Upon discovering Bill's study of dark magics, villagers from Rurall arrested, tried, and eventually burned Bill at the stake. Otherwise, up to that point, Janis lived a rather typical childhood, playing with his friend Gandr Hamon, also a half-elf. After the death of Bill, Janis was removed from his father's house and placed in the general care of the villagers at Rurall, mostly staying in the Hamon household, but generally being raised by the entire village.

## Adventuring

### Leaving Rurall

Later into Janis's teenage years, he began spending more and more time away from the village at the house his parents had build, secretly studying some of Bill's books on magic. Eventually, when Janis was 22, he discovered a path leading to a hidden structure. What Janis discovered was a library, filled with much more advanced works about magic, that Bill had presumably hidden away for whatever reason. Reading through these books Janis gained some ability to perform spells. Without telling anyone, he left the area to find more mastery over this magic.

### The First Party

Janis quickly found a job as a caravan guard headed to Fairwater. Along the way he met Ehryllil Gladthorne a full elf. Upon arrival, Janis discovered the caravan was actually entering the Undercity and was selling a shipment of slaves. Shortly thereafter, they met Rhys Oakenthall, a dwarf. The three of them devised a plan to leave the city and free the shipment of slaves. In freeing the slaves, a mute halfling named Ramulus joined them in their escape. Thusly Janis's first party was created between the four of them. They met with a clan of elves and pledged to protect the southern region of the Outer people's.

But, the party wouldn't last. Shortly after their pledge, they signed on to protect a merchant caravan as part of an investigation into some bandits who'd been raiding in the region along with a bard. Upon the caravan's arrival the party split up and following a chain of events would lead to a show-down where Ehryllil and the bard were accused of attacking children and Janis accused the town's Guard Captain of inciting a riot and encouraging mob justice straining the party's relations and loyalties to one another, with Ehryllil MIA. When they returned to the village that had hired them, the mayor stiffed them on the full payment he had earlier agreed to. He lied, claiming they had agreed to completely eliminate the bandits, which is a deal Janis had tried to offer at a higher price, but the Mayor had previously turned it down. So, Janis and the bard stayed behind, while Ramulus, Rhys, and a child they had taken into custody left the building. The Janis and the bard tried to take the money that had been agreed upon, but before he could leave, the leader/owner of the caravan arrived at the mayor's office and demanded Janis return the money. When Janis left the building he could only find the bard. The bard refused to accompany Janis as he searched for his missing friends, and so ended his first party only weeks after it formed.

### The Cloaks

His party disbanded, Janis sought out Rhys, Ramulus "Rambajam," and the little girl, to no avail. He sought out the elves that the group had pledged to failing all else. After months of searching he eventually met success and was informed that this group of elves no longer wanted to make any dealings with Janis.

Alone, running short on funds, and with no other obvious goal in sight, he came across a strange elf advertising some kind of strange guild by the name of "Tasha's Will" in Yeti's Call, so he struck out. Along the way he met some other men seeking the guild out, a Cleric of Hadryon, and ranger from Howling Rise. He fast became friends with the Cleric, due to Janis's nostalgia for Rhys. Later, it became apparent that another member had been following just out of sight. These were respectively Adrian, Steven, and Malark. They soon bonded over their shared goal of investigating a mine in Yeti's Call for a dragon, discovering the rumor was true, they killed a young dragon, and brought it back to YC. Along the way, they were confronted by dire wolves, led by a Winter Wolf. Which the team euthanized and also brought back. Both creatures were made into the first Cloaks that became the team's namesake.

## Charitable Works and Businesses

Janis runs a school of Wizardry out of his tower Thilivern, intended to bring general knowledge about magic to the common people, he also offers to perform the Hallow spell for churches and villages that think they can benefit from it.

Janis also runs a small short-term jail outside of Rurall.

Thilivern acts as a refuge for those in need.

For several years after the Battle of Fates the guards of Thilivern act as scouts, mapping out and exploring new worlds.