Name: Pelingilwen ("Pell") Naurdineth
Race: High Elf
Age: 67
Gender: Female
Description/Picture: Pelingilwen is tall and slender, with the delicate features and alabaster complexion typical of her kind. She wears her strawberry-blonde hair long and free, except for the small braid on one side that denotes her status as a free citizen of Fynehil. She usually dresses in red and black, the colours of her House; that these set off her skin tone and wine-red eyes is no mere coincidence. A cabalistic tattoo on her right shoulder tells of her membership in the Order of the Fiery Dawn, a sorcerous sect that is second only to the Child of the Strider in their mastery of pyromancy.
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Personality: Pelingilwen is, on the surface, almost a stereotype of the High Elves - haughty, self-righteous, prickly, quick to anger and slow to forgive. Scratch that surface and you'll find that she is also kind, generous and an excellent judge of character. She's very clear where her boundaries lie and she will police them ruthlessly. But show her the appropriate respect and that you can stand up for yourself, and she'll be as good a friend as you could ever ask for.
As with most of the High Elves, she's functionally vegan - she considers the consumption of animal products disgusting, and she will totally judge people who do so except in extremis. She also has very firm ideas on the best way to organise society, and these fall generally in line with High Elven norms. She does understand that other peoples have cultures and traditions that make it practically impossible to follow High Elven ways, but that's just proof that their cultures and traditions are backwards and inferior.
Skills:
Spear fighting - As befits a follower of Rhistel the Spark Strider, Pell wields a spear (see below) with consummate grace and deadly effect.
Cooking - Turns out that being able to control heat with incredible precision is useful for cooking....
Singing - Part of every High Elf's upbringing, music is an integral part of their culture. Pell's voice is a beautiful sweet-smoky contralto .
Calligraphy/painting - Again, no High Elf goes through life without developing a proper hand. The Elvish script is as much picture as it is letters, and writing well essentially means being able to paint and draw as well. Pell is no slouch in this regard, with a strong, wild but elegant style. She often displays this in conjunction with her magic, for example by burning taunts into the flesh of her opponents, or incorporating text into her pyrotechnic displays.
Languages - Pell picks up languages quickly. She speaks the several dialects of Elvish more or less fluently, and is conversant in Senso and the Common tongue of Kelmont. Her accent always makes her sound like she's singing, though, as her prior experience has been with tonal and syllable-timed languages.
Backstory:
Pelingilwen, at the age of 67, is considered a youngster by the standards of the High Elves. As a scion of House Nardineth and an initiate of the Order of the Fiery Dawn, much is expected of her, a fact of which she is well aware. She intends to exceed all those expectations, as she believes strongly that the leadership of the Elven races – the High Council – is stuck in their ways, looking constantly backwards rather than to the future, and constantly reacting rather than taking action to shape their destiny.
Such a passive stance is anathema to the dynamic and ambitious Pell, and her impatience and haughtiness – impressive even among the proud High Elves – has got on the nerves of many of her elders. While they understand her potential and may even respect some of her arguments, they also have the perspective of time that she lacks, and this conditions many of their decisions.
It was thus agreed that the best thing for Pell to do would be to go on a journey all round the world, to learn the facts on the ground and gain an understanding of the less-enlightened peoples. Perhaps this would temper her ambitions, and teach her the importance of patience and restraint. Or it might simply get her out of their hair for a couple of decades.
Pell has already traveled extensively in her period of voluntary exile, visiting the Senso Archipelago, where she was suitably impressed and appalled by the practices of the natives, Tiefling and Human alike. She learned their languages and culture, made many friends and contacts, and had several adventures which may someday make their way into Senso lore.
It was soon time to continue her journey, however, and so she has made her way by trading ship to the realm of Kel, and the town of Crownfield. What she has seen so far has not impressed her, but she is trying to be fair and to keep an open mind.
Magic: Pyromancy - Beyond hurling firelances (although that is a classic application) Pelingilwen can also use subtler magicks, such as controlling the temperature of an area, selectively heating or cooling an item, casting illusions, creating will o' wisps, and performing clairvoyance and fortune-telling through viewing flames.
Inventory:
Alaco, the Fiery Whirlwind - This puissant item appears to be a child's plaything at first glance, a slender wand with a crystal tip. Certainly Pell sometimes uses it as such, tracing fiery letters and figures in the air. But when the need arises, at a flick of Pell's wrist Alaco transforms into a spear with a silver haft and a leaf-shaped blade of living obsidian.
The Blood Rose - At Pell's side hangs a token, a rose carved from a blood-red ruby. It is powered by her magic, which it stores while quiescent, and it protects her from hostile enchantments that would take away her freedom of thought and action. She can also draw power back from it when her own is exhausted, although this annuls the protection it provides and can be painfully dangerous for her.
Bracers of defence - While Pell appears to go unarmoured, she is actually well protected by these enchanted items, crafted of spidersilk and carved ironwood. They stand up to sword strikes and blunt impacts, and provide equivalent protection to a shield while leaving both hands free to wield spear and magic.