Daxian Byrne

Art by Nebula Robo (https://nebularobo.weebly.com/)

Daxian was a mercenary from Sajell in the Southern Isles who mostly worked in Mordehall. Axes and bows were his weapons of choice. He was contracted by Lord Keel to go on an expedition to the Isles. On that trip Daxian fought a siren, helped bring down Curek the Iron Eye, and rediscover two human enchantment rituals. After the trip he went with J’Kar Burin to try and plot a course through the Viridian Bog.

Almost a year later, Daxian traveled to Port Thresthelm as J’Kar’s bodyguard, under the alias Waxwing. The two helped organize the assassination of Lord Gavin Bellest. This took place during the Campaign One Crime at a Time, in which Daxian was an NPC.

## History

### Childhood

Born in the Southern Isles, Daxian only spent a few years of his life there before leaving. When he was still very young, his father took him and moved to Mordehall. There his father took on a job as a mercenary for various lords and other high paying members of society. He trained Daxian with the axe and bow and told him many stories about the mysteries of the Southern Isles. Eventually Daxian’s father got injured and could no longer fight. After that the two grew apart.

### Silver Mists and Bloody Tides

In Sharus of AeP 446 Daxian was hired by a noble called Lord Keel to help provide security for a trip to the Southern Isles. Daxian was a little suspicious when Lord Keel accepted a ludicrous contract. Despite this he didn’t want to pass on a chance to return home. He joined the rest of the expedition crew on the docks of Cape Red. They would be sailing South on a ship called the *Kirinda’s Jewel* captained by Melar Peterson. Shortly before the trip he went with Lord Keel, J’Kar Burin, and Sylvie to meet their guide Jack. Jack was delivered by a Roadani warship despite not being Roadani himself. Daxian went with the new guide, J’Kar and Sylvie to pick up an enchanted ballista Lord Keel had bought. Initially there was tension between him and J’Kar.

That night he sat in the meeting where the trip leaders planned their first steps. There he met Lord Professor Henrus Kline, Professor Janie Kerias, the students Palo and Genna, as well as the first mate Feerik. There Jack told similar stories about the Isles that Daxian had heard from his father. Jack and Daxian became quick friends. They worked together to help the crew with the ship. When a storm hit a few nights into the journey Daxian helped right the masts.

He was part of the group that went to the Island of Karabour. There he helped fight of the Steel Eagles. At night when they camped on the shores of the boiling lake, he had a conversation with Palo. The two talked about their shared fear of death and how Daxian got past it. This proved to be important the next day. The group fashioned a raft to go over the lake. But the lake was inhabited by a siren. Her screams were heard by all aboard despite their ear protection. The call put Palo in a trance. He was stunned and couldn’t move. She attacked the raft aiming for the student. Daxian saved him by knocking him senseless giving the boy a concussion. He then rowed desperately to get the group away from the siren. He had made it to the shadow island. Along with everyone else he descended into the crypt they found by following a true compass. They found a mural of Ghendar next to two people who had been given white wings. At the urging of J’Kar he promised not to tell anyone about the wings. On the way back across the lake they were once more attacked by the siren. He hit her with an ancient axe taken from the crypt which deterred her for a bit. When the Siren grabbed Janie, he tried to push the monster away with an oar but was successful. When they made it to the shore and escaped the siren he collapsed with everyone else. The next day they returned to the *Kirinda’s Jewel* and encountered some pirates. He helped the crew escape by manning the ballista and puncturing the pirate ship’s sails.

When they were attacked by Curek the Iron Eye’s ship, they had no choice but to flee into the mists towards the Glass Palace. In the thick silver mists near the home of Li-Shara they were stopped by jade clad soldiers of the Tide Keeper. But the soldiers didn’t attack the crew. Instead they invited Daxian and other deeper into the mists. There behind great cliffs and dense fog was a village set up on small isle. In the center was a massive spiked grey rock. This was the palace. But populating the village was Poi’Mareath. Specifically ocean Poi’Mareath who were thought to have been killed off a thousand years prior. Daxian and the others were taken into the palace. True to the stories the floors of the jagged rock fortress were made of glass. Below the dark sea raged. Li-Shara herself was even more impressive. She spoke to them of their trip and the danger of what they might find. She spoke to them of the sins of the old gods and the crimes they committed against their soldiers. This was the danger of human enchantment. Then she gave each of them a gift. To Daxian she gave the name of his people. He was from the island of Sajell and was one of the Twin Folk. The two soldiers who had escorted them here now brought them back to the Jewel. But not before Li-Shara swore them to secrecy.

The next few days at sea passed almost in a trance. By the grace of the Tide Keeper they made it safely to the pirate port of Crow’s Harbor. There he went with others to the market to find a bow. He also met several other people from Sajell there. They offered to show him around the city but he turned them down. Later he went with Sylvie and Genna to translate a scroll they found on Karabour. Although Genna was not present when they found it, they decided to tell her anyway.

That night Daxian and others were woken up by Lord Keel. Palo, Kline, and two crewmen had gone missing. Daxian helped search for them. They found out that the four missing people had been taken by Curek Iron Eye’s men. Daxian helped track them down, finding a key clue to their location. When they found a stronghold of Curek, Daxian helped secure it. He killed one of the guards with a well placed arrow. Later he pretended to rescue the other guard who had not seen his face. That pirate led Daxian and the others to the place where Palo was being kept. Daxian helped the fight there too. He took out several more pirates.

Daxian also played a key role in the exploration of the crypt on Piyla. He traversed an obstacle course over a

The four player characters after Iron Eye's Final Battle. (from Left ot right: Sylvie, Jack, J'Kar, Daxian) Art by Nebula Robo https://nebularobo.weebly.com/

seemingly bottomless pit to retrieve one of the three necessary keys. There the group rediscovered several scrolls detailing human enchantment. He once again swore to secrecy. Right after they left the crypt they were attacked by Iron Eye’s fleet in what came to be known as Iron Eye's Final Battle. The *Kirinda’s Jewel* took on *Ocean’s Teeth* as the fleets of Commodore March and Nyshia Furrel took on the rest of Curek’s ships. Daxian killed many pirates and executed a plan with J’Kar to retrieve alchemists powder from the other ship. Daxian then had a duel with the first mate of *Ocean’s Teeth*. Daxian won when he crippled the arm of the other man and left him to drown. Later Daxian watched the duel between Jack and Iron Eye. At the end of the duel when Jack won, Daxian shot down the lone pirate who wanted to challenge Jack.

### One Crime at a Time

After the trip to the Isles he went off with J’Kar to the Viridian Bog to try and plot a course. Although he didn’t formally join J’Kar in the Mordish Birding Society, he did sign yet another large contract. The trip through the Bog was a failure but still it helped them earn the trust of Keel, now going by Emilio Kent. Kent sent Daxian and J’Kar to Port Thresthelm to organize the assassination of Lord Gavin Bellest. Daxian took on the alias Waxwing. He spent several days scouting out the city. The rest of the time he acted as J’Kar’s bodyguard. J’Kar hired four people to help with the assassination. Waxwing met them all, taking a liking to Jorso, Alekiai, and Willa. During the actual assassination he took a spot on building behind Bellest, with Jorso and Ricard. The three attacked Bellest and his militia with arrows. After Bellest was killed, Waxwing took a white feather and covered it in Gavin’s blood. Then he took the feather and went to meet J’Kar.

## Appearance

Daxian stood at about six foot two, with a scraggly beard that seemed to never fade. His skin was a nice tan, more from his genetics rather than time out in the battlefield. Daxian was closer to a clean cut of muscle than his father's bulky frame, choosing to stay lean in favor of agility. The leather armor he usually wore showed several spots patched up over time. He chose to repair his armor himself rather than spending regents to have it professionally done.  In fact, most things the mercenary wore seemed patched up over and over, from the self-sharpened axes to the patched up pants.

## Relations

Daxian had a tepid relationship with his father. His father was the one who taught him to fight, but as he grew older and became wounded, Daxian began to find him useless. Eventually they grew completely separate. Daxian’s trip back to the Southern Isles began to repair their relationship somewhat. He saw that the stories his father told of the islands were more based in reality than he previously thought.

Both Lord Keel and J’Kar drew suspicion from Daxian. He didn’t trust their perceived high ranks in society or their goals. Regardless of that he signed high paying contracts with both of them. Though he wasn’t officially a member of their organization, he worked as J’Kar’s bodyguard in Port Thresthelm. By then the two had developed a healthy working relationship.

Daxian also had a soft spot for Palo.

## Powers

Daxian was an expert with axes and bows. He favored lighter axes since he could throw them. His aim with both was impeccable. When he used a bow his favored spot to shoot was the eyes of his enemies. Daxian was also very resilient and could tough out most environments, hot ones in particular.

## Trivia

Along with J’Kar, Daxian was the first player character to return as an NPC.  In this session Daxian and Jorso became the first pair of characters created by the same player to interact.

## List of Appearances

**Campaigns**

1. Silver Mists and Bloody Tides Session 1: Blood Tide
2. Silver Mists and Bloody Tides Session 2: A Dead God Walks These Jungles
3. Silver Mists and Bloody Tides Session 3: Echoes of the Ancients
4. Silver Mists and Bloody Tides Session 4: Under the Knife
5. Silver Mists and Bloody Tides Session 5: As the Crow Flies
6. Silver Mists and Bloody Tides Session 6: An Eye For An Eye
7. Silver Mists and Bloody Tides Session 7: Strength, Justice, and Soul
8. Silver Mists and Bloody Tides Session 8: The Fury of the Isles
9. One Crime at a Time Session 1: A Storm is Coming (As NPC)
10. One Crime at a Time Session 2: Revelations (As NPC)
11. One Crime at a Time Session 3: Honor Among Thieves (As NPC)
12. One Crime at a Time Session 4: Rat in the Trap (As NPC)

**Supplemental**

1. SMBT Auxiliary: Before the Hall (Mentioned Only)
2. SMBT Auxiliary: Catalog
3. SMBT Auxiliary: Daxian’s Thoughts
4. SMBT Auxiliary: J’Kar’s Reflections