[Dorganath]

Connor Garvill – Epic Submission
Current Level: 20 XP to next level: Approx. 520,000
Class(es): Sorcerer (14) / Fighter (6)
Original submission: http://www.layonaraonline.com/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=5688&posts=4&mid=29899l&action=search #M29899
Running Character Development thread: http://www.layonaraonline.com/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=8546&start=1
Connor received the call of the Dragon from a world far away (in before the rule change). He is half-elven and orphaned under strange circumstances at no more than one year old and raised by humans, Arthur and Elaia Garvill, in a place where elves were story-book creatures, magic was rare and often considered pure trickery, and where the strange, unusual and different was often distrusted and feared. During his childhood Connor did his best to keep three things hidden: Odd markings on his forearms in green and black, the slight points at the tops of his ears and his innate gift for magic.
The arms and ears were easy…mostly. The cool climate kept his sleeves long, and his mother kept him in hats until his hair grew long enough to cover his ears. The magic was easy too for a while, for it took years before it even emerged. Once it did though, he was both frightened and fascinated by it, too afraid to work magic anywhere except the safety of his own home. Still, despite his best efforts, rumors were whispered, people looked at and treated him differently. They thought he couldn’t hear what was said when his back was turned, but he did. This kept him at home a lot. He had few friends and there was only one who truly accepted him…or so he thought. After this person turned on him and became like the rest, Connor became emotionally closed and very cautious in who he would let get too close to him. The only ones he could truly count on were his adoptive parents.
Connor answered the call of the Dragon at an age of 21. Being half-elven he still bore many of the features of youth, giving the impression of being younger. Soon after arrival in Hlint, he discovered two things that had been missing in his life: acceptance and Lucinda. As he spent time on Layonara, his ability with magic grew, and as it did, so did his faith in Lucinda. He studied on his own, as he was used to doing back home and learned all he could of Lucinda through conversation, reading and listening…and the occasional brush with the Lady’s clergy. He also discovered a bit of a hidden talent with weapons. Though the most dangerous thing he ever handled at home was his father’s wood axe, he discovered a bit of talent, and joy, in wielding a sword, staff and crossbow. He also took up alchemy as a hobby and profession, remembering much of what he learned growing up in the woods of his home.
He made many friends and acquaintances along the way, some in particular have become very important parts of Connor’s life. He slowly became aware of the scope and efforts in the war against Blood, though most of it confused him to no end. There was so much information and it all seemed so overwhelming. He began to wonder if the dragon hadn’t made some kind of mistake in calling him here. Events around him seemed overwhelming and massive, and certainly much more than he ever thought he’d be able to sway.
At a pivotal point in his life, a couple events took place that changed Connor’s perceptions and his general outlook on many things. One, seemingly minor, was an incident involving a large, walking tomato whose existence was saved by a pecan. This made Connor realize that sometimes even small contributions can have significant results. This event also introduced Connor to a priestess of Lucinda named Serenity Teragon (now Eldárwen Hilliaraname), someone who would end up becoming far more important in his life than he would ever have guessed. The second major event that happened about the same time, and one that Connor has dealt with for most of his life on Layonara, is the issue of attacks by the Drow, not on entire cities and settlements, but upon specific people, many of whom Connor considered to be close friends. He’s worked tirelessly, though he’s unsure how effectively, to foil their ultimate goals and to rid himself and others of the poison they’ve used on so many, a poison which still marks him today.
Since that time, Connor has tried to take a more active role in events, not simply waiting for things to happen to him. Though he remains largely humble and unassuming, despite his growth in strength, influence and the circle of friends he keeps. He does not flaunt his accomplishments, though he will gladly talk someone’s ear off about them if asked.
Connor has been, and continues to be, involved in several major plot-level events and happenings on Layonara since answering the call of the dragon. In no particular order, they include the return of the Great Library (both expeditions), the release of Shadison (an event that still irritates him to this day), the failed attempt to stop a ritual during the Crimson Moon, the return of the (juvenile) metallic dragons to Layonara, the successful recovery of the pieces of the Blade of Shadows, a three-month journey into a forgotten dungeon that resulted in making contact with a race known as the Lumbral and what remains of the Ancient Counselor, locating and recovering of a lost soul that was trapped on Roldem while Blood’s invasion of Roldem was in full force, the removal of Xandrial from Layonara, the recovery of the Necklace of Souls, and several others.
--- Major Influences in Connor’s Life ---
Friends: Connor has generally always been a helpful sort, generally lending a hand to his friends when asked, when it is within his ability to do so. He’s also generally easy-going and can get along with most people, though some do just grate him the wrong way. As a result of his life before the call, he’s generally tolerant of differences in people that inspire prejudices and bigotry by most. His willingness to aid those important or special to him when asked has led him down some very interesting and life-changing paths.
Family: Connor is half-elven, but was orphaned under unexplained circumstances and raised by two humans as their own (see Character Development thread). Though he did not grow up on Layonara, he now firmly believes he is from Layonara originally and taken away as an infant by at least one of his true parents. Connor would like, someday to seek out his true parentage or what may remain of his ancestry, but that goal has become of lesser importance due to him developing a new sort of family since his return to Layonara. A friendship with Katrien has developed into more of a sibling-like relationship, which was further cemented by the Drow Alliance quest series. As a result, Connor is the uncle to Katrien’s daughter Lissé. In addition, long-time friend Eldárwen Hilliaraname asked Connor to help in teaching her twin daughters Alassë and Silmarwen about magic and the Weave, filling in the blanks that she could not, primarily the parts that deal with the arcane. Again, in this regard, Connor is considered an uncle to these girls.
In another sense of the word, Katrien, along with Lalaith Va’lash, are now “sisters” to Connor in that they all share varying degrees of a “Gift” that originates from the T’oleflor and was given to three families of the Firstborn elves right before the T’oleflor left the world. This came about during the Drow Alliance series. Though in a literal sense the definition of “siblings” in this case can get a bit stretched, Connor does not see it any differently, meaning aiding or assisting them in a time of need is without question.
Music: Connor has an often visceral reaction to music. This type of reaction was amplified during the Drow Alliance series (See Veldrin, below). He is especially partial to Katrien’s singing and flute playing, though most music that isn’t discordant or out-of-tune holds at least some appeal.
Drow Alliance quest series: This long-running series (currently on hiatus due to scheduling issues) has made up at least half of Connor’s life on Layonara. He is poisoned with Desolation’s Spire and bears a mark of a spider on his neck as a result and reminder. This poison could be used to kill him at any time, but he still continues to do what he thinks he must to find a cure for it and end the plans of the Drow.
Together with Kobal, Katrien and various others, he has helped to gather all the necessary ingredients to the cure for this poison (except for one, which was gathered without his aid), but that cure has not yet been crafted. He has also worked with others to learn the plans of the Drow, the how’s and the why’s and to try and figure out a way to prevent them from happening. This has taken on an added tone since the birth of his niece Lissé, who is the half-drow scion that the Drow Council seeks to complete their plans.
Veldrin: Veldrin is a drow assassin (Drow Alliance series) that became Lalaith’s husband and eventually earned the trust, respect and friendship of Connor. At one point in the series, Veldrin imparted his own Gift of Sound onto Connor in thanks for everything he had done for Lalaith. This Gift allowed him to learn new songs after having heard them once, and also to learn to play instruments quickly. (This is RP only and does not impart or imply any bardic abilities). Connor grew to consider Veldrin a brother.
Veldrin was turned back to the ways of his people though a betrayal by Ramanon Vensk, who delivered a “purge” to Veldrin under the guise of a gift. Now (or once more) known as Elamshin, he has become the polar opposite of who and what he was before, seeks now to harm those for whom he once cared. Before returning to the Underdark for good after this purge, he spoke to many of the people he had known, saving Connor for last. In subsequent sessions, a link of some sort has been repeatedly discovered between Connor and Veldrin. The nature of this link is unknown and largely unexplored, though it has apparently protected Connor at least once and there have been hints that this link is causing some concern for the Drow Council, who wish Veldrin/Elamshin to be fully under their sway.
Connor has pledged to himself (and repeated to others who would know) to either restore Veldrin to who he was or to put an end to Elamshin by any means.
Faith: Connor learned of Lucinda and the Weave soon after the call. This religion made perfect sense to him, given his natural magical talents. His faith has grown greatly over the years, and he has been trying to serve Lucinda and the Weave as best he can and as often as he can without hesitation or second-thoughts. From the simple gesture of wearing blue-colored clothing to the now nearly-exclusive use of a quarterstaff as his weapon of choice (though he has also transitioned to using a longbow for ranged attacks, as he is not generally a good choice for the front line), Connor has tried to live by the teachings and dogma of the Lucindite faith. Connor has finally and recently become Affirmed in the Church of Lucinda. He has also been given a rune key to the Tower of High Arcana in Spellgard as a reward for his assistance to the Tower and Temple when he held no official allegiance to either (Events related to a recent CDQ for Eldárwen Hilliaraname).
Magic: Connor is a sorcerer, and as such he possesses an innate gift for manipulating the Weave, though he did not fully understand it for a good long time. His early days of magic use on Layonara saw a period of growth in strength and ability, which he attributes to being on Layonara rather than his former home, where the touch of the Weave was not as strong and far more distant. He became frustrated as well due to his lack of ability to survive in even the less dangerous areas of Mistone, turning briefly away from the path of growth in the Weave to learn and grow in skill with blades and other weapons. He eventually turned back to a path of magical growth, which is also when his faith in Lucinda began to grow at a faster rate.
Also, as a result of events and needs in the Drow Alliance series, Connor spent some time actually studying magic, learning theory, sequences, Weave dynamics, etc. He had always thought such pursuits to be “wizardly” and simply held little interest for him. Out of necessity, he learned a great amount of detail about all 8 spell schools, something which was previously known to him by name, but he no real practical knowledge about any of them. The net result of this is that Connor has a pretty firm grasp on magical concepts in an analytical, scholarly sense that is in some ways more akin to wizards than sorcerers. Coupled with his more intuitive command of the Weave, this learning has since benefited him in ways he never would have imagined before, though he now can not seem to shake the “bookworm” stigma from that time.
Connor’s magic tends to lean toward Evocation in that many of his spells fall into that category, however he also has (and continues to employ) magic from the schools of Abjuration, Transmutation, Illusion and Divination. He has had little experience with Enchantment (no real need/never granted him by Lucinda), Conjuration (not yet learned, though likely in the near future) and Necromancy (he just doesn’t like how it feels). In addition, he has become exposed to the concept and effects of “twined” magics (Eldárwen’s CDQ) and he has spent some time with a blind dwarven loremaster learning about a forgotten runic alphabet, its workings and its purpose (Kobal’s ECDQ). His knowledge of either is far from complete but it illustrates a deep and growing interest in the Weave and its mysteries.
Connor has found his magical gifts and abilities tested with seemingly increasing frequency and intensity. Examples range from investigating magical auras and items to more complex feats. Two extreme examples that stand out are the linking of all eight schools of magic to form a crucible that can indefinitely support a flower called Dreamsky (an ingredient for the cure to Desolation’s Spire) once taken from its native environment, and the cloaking of a small ship using a massive implementation of Invisibility in order that the ship could pass unnoticed (occurred during Kobal’s ECDQ). The former was performed under conditions of battle and was aided by a woman named Violet, who is one of the Dreamers. The latter was a massive effort of concentration which channeled extreme amounts of magical energy through Connor to the point where his entire body was badly burned. At a point of decision, he chose to continue the effort to ensure the safety of the others on board even though he knew he would sacrifice himself in the process.
While not a “founder” as such, Connor sits on the initial Arcane Council for the Arcane Alliance (player-run guild). He agreed to be a part of the organization at the personal request of Elinmire Theldinarae. The Alliance was formed by Elinmire (replaced by Rufus Coldfinger), Tathnolu and Lia Di’Makiir, and Connor saw this as an opportunity to represent sorcerers in a group of primarily wizards, realizing also that the two could learn a great deal from each other. Connor remains in his Council post and continues to encourage membership despite growing concerns among the mage community regarding the Alliance’s current top-level leadership. He has his own reasons for doing so, some of which may be known and others which are not.
Group Membership: Connor belongs to only a few organizations, not really being one for a lot of structure, regimentation or bureaucracy. However, there are three groups to which he does belong:
<ul>[*]The Arcane Alliance (player-run guild. Position held: Arcane Council Member, Teacher of Sciences (Alchemy), requested to join by the founder Elinmire) [*]The Church of Lucinda (Affirmed Mage) [*]The Unicorn in Shadows (See Handbook, Position held: unknown (if any), Unicorn ring was given to Connor by the leader of that organization after he did her a favor. The ring is RP only and not a physical item)[/list]Other: Connor speaks Common, Drow (learned during the Drow Alliance series), Shadow (learned during the Soul of a Lost Ancient series) and has been trying to learn elvish over the last several RL months. His gradually increasing interest in learning elvish is something of a subconscious drive for him to get in touch with his past.
--- Connor’s Future ---
Connor himself has few ambitions, and those that he has are generally quite minor and very rarely do they reach far into the future. However I do see him evolving a bit into a pattern where he spends more time working toward his own desires rather than just helping everyone else achieve their goals all the time. This isn’t to say he’ll be selfish and egotistical, but hopefully more driven and goal-oriented…once he figures out what that goal might be. I also see him becoming a bit more passionate (for lack of a better word) in his actions and beliefs, which may also produce reactions more extreme reactions in him in general than his usual even-keeled demeanor.
There are really only a couple significant themes that remain either unexplored or unfulfilled that would be nice to receive some development. I’d like to see Connor earn a place within the Lucindite Church and to take on some degree of active responsibility, and something that he earns. Lucinda has grown in importance to him over time to the point where his faith is now a major part of his life and motivations, especially after his recent Affirmation. He’s very serious about his faith and will not allow harm to come to Lucinda, the Weave or the Church if it is within his ability to prevent it.
Also, the question that always hangs over his head is his true heritage. Who are his real family, where are they now and why was he brought to the world where he grew up? The only possible clues he may have to his true heritage are the markings on his forearms and his half-elven features. During the next stage of his life, Connor will need to seek out his true past to learn from where he came, so that he may know where he is going.
Pending approval and availability, I would like stormspirit to run this quest. And yes, I know there's a line.