Faeril
Lawful good Half-Elf Cleric of Aureon
Faeril isn’t a very talkative individual, but if pressed about his past, he would, after a long, contemplative pause, say this:
“I grew up acquainted with the city of Fairhaven moreso than any village or wilderness. My parents were both kind but world-weary craftspeople who wanted, more than anything else, to settle down, start a family, and dedicate their lives to harth and craft. I was their first, and, as far as I know, only child. I grew up mostly living in my own household, exploring the small library my elven mother kept. From where she got the booms I found on those shelves, she would never tell me, and as the years went by and I inquired again and again, having read them cover to cover countless times and grown my own understanding of their words, she would become cold and, sometimes, fearful, and eventually my father told me never to ask again. They barely let me out of the house when I was young, and so the books were my only gateway into a larger world. Even when I could sneak out of the house, the other children didn’t think much of me, with all of my questions and contemplation. They were interested in play, and later, they were daring and loud where I was quiet and cautious. With no people who would speak to me of the deeper things of the world, which I was so sure existed somewhere for these books to have been written at all, I began writing, putting my questions out to my future self, and before long I had a fair-sized library of my own. Finally, on my sixteenth birthday, my father came t me and asked me what I wanted, more thasn anything else in the world. I told him I wanted to know where the books came from, I wanted to find the missing pieces to the puzzle of lore left by the incomplete knowledge in the scattered library of home, and I wanted to know what was out beyond the walls of Fairhaven, a place I had never even been permitted to leave. My father nodded, and left without another word. I had no idea why he asked me at the time, but soon after that, my parents’ relationship grew cold, until one day, my mother, and her books, were gone. My father seemed to have continued to exist as he was, but I could not. After a week, I snapped, and one night, I snuck out of the house and never went back. I lived on the streets for a time, earning each evening’s meal by performing minor services, or in rare cases, actually entertaining a kindly patron with my seemingly senseless ramblings. It seemed to me, however, that the whole world - at least, my whole world, Fairhaven, had an outlook similar to the children who had shunned me so long ago, until one day I begged a priest of Aureon for a meal, and after talking with me for a while, he told me he thought I was a good candidate for the priesthood. I asked him what that was- I only knew the term from a book, and he explained to me the god Aureon and his philosophy and worship. I hungered for the knowledge contained in the libraries that I was told awaited the faithful, so I accepted his offer, and trained for four years in the clergy. I learned much more of the world, of its people and motivations, and most importantly, learned of the existence of material wealth, evil, greed, and how even the closest allies in my own church could be consumed in their quest for knowledge and power. I hadn’t forgotten my time on the streets, in which I lived on the mercy of others, and for every day of my four years, all I could think of was all of the people still starving. I learned more and more of how the world worked and how these people could be helped, but my training stopped me from taking time to help the poor of the world, so I decided one day that I didn’t need training after all. I’ve never returned to the temple either, as they simply kept knowledge. I wanted to apply it, and so I hope to soon find those who think as I do. I hope my quest to find those with both power and responsibility soon succeeds, or I may have to take that mantle upon myself.”
Faeril is young and naïve, even for a city-raised half-elf, but has immense lore and knowledge, which has exposed him to the concepts of evil, and his time spent on the streets gave him a sample of the realities of misfortune. He is afraid of seeing the consequences of dark intent applied to bring other people misfortune, as apathy left Faeril hungry and sick on more than one occasion. He knows little of the realities of depravity, but seeks to combat it to save himself from experiencing it just as much as he wishes to saveo others.
Faeril is short and thin, even for a half-elf, with dark hair and eyes framing a calm, soft expression on a delicate face. Faeril is unarmed, relying on his lore and magic to get hm where he needs to be, as he abhors violence, seeing it as the last resort among last resorts, since it always brings pain, where other paths are more difficult to predict. Faeril is quiet, inexperienced, and a bit scared of a world that is much bigger than he ever suspected, but he is also humble and noble to the point of being nearly messianic, if he can overcome his fear enough to burden himself with an equally epic duty.
