Karn - Elven Bard

[kenty191]

Name: Karn Age:131 Class: Bard Race: Elf Sub-race: None Alignment: CG Deity: Xeen
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman" /> Appearance
A young blond elven man approaches you; his eyes seem full of life, ever optimistic and watch you intently. A small almost sly grin appears on his lips as he watches you and then walks closer.
He is attractive, even for an elf. His hair falls limply around his face and rustles gently in the wind. His bare arms look muscular but by no means bulky and are adorned with swirling tattoos and a singular word tattooed around his wrist, ‘Euryalus’. You get the impression this man is more likely to avoid battle than to revel in it. He looks confident and walks with a determined yet relaxed manner.
Around his neck you notice a small silver symbol of Xeen, though he does not appear to be a priest. At his waist a small flute rests in a leather pouch on his belt, perhaps he is a musician? Though his muscled arms seem to show this elf is no stranger to hard labour.
As he comes near, you notice he watches everyone who passes, paying particular attention to the other men who walk by. Quickly his gaze returns once more to you and greets you warmly. He speaks in a relaxed fashion and has a distinctive ‘sailor-like’ accent to his voice, you get the impression this elf has spent a great deal of time at sea. As you speak with him, you find yourself drawn to his eyes which seem to pierce into you. You aren’t sure what exactly to make of him, and you feel he would bend the truth at any moment, though he seems good natured.
Personality<font face="Times New Roman">
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman">Cunning and seductive, Karn often uses his handsome features and roguish wit to befriend those around him and gain their trust. This is not due to any ill intent but more due to the fact that it is the only way to socialise this young Karn knows. Having lived much of his life until now on the open seas and given his devotion to Xeen and the pleasures of life, Karn can be seen as somewhat strange in some social settings. He values attractiveness and humour highly and prefers to associate with those who show these qualities in abundance.
Karn can be very persuasive and such many are wary of him. None more so than those men who catch his eye. His unconventional displays of affection and his often roguish wit leave many confused but often equally charmed. Karn does not wish to cause any distress in those he chooses to associate with, rather he has be taught by his mother to respect the lady of pleasure Xeen, and to spread pleasure and joy to as many as possible. Karn encourages those around him to leave their conventional behaviour and societal constraints behind in favour of pleasurable experiences.
The reaction of most on land often surprises the young Karn, who had always been a well liked and sociable member of the crew. His humour and suggestion were always seen in the good manner that they were intended aboard his ‘social bubble’ yet life on land is teaching him not all share the teachings of Xeen or the pleasures of life.
Due to his nature Karn more frequently holds women as close friends rather than men, yet he secretly wishes for more male friends on land who do not keep him at arms length.
Karn is quite adept at illusionary magic and often uses magical charms to influence, confuse or beguile his enemies. In battle Karn would rather use words or magic to avoid confrontation, but will use his rapier where needed. If anything, a life as a sea faring bard has taught Karn, not all conflict can be resolved without a pointy object.
Karn is often very excitable and enjoys pranks and jokes, he is never seen with a glum expression yet this does not mean he does not have moments of sadness. Karn misses his old life on the waves, more than he will ever discuss. But more so than this he still mourns the loss of his first love Erion. The carefree nature of life off land is a memory now, and he must progress in the lawful main land.
This young elf also enjoys music and performing. He can often be heard whistling sea shanties or playing a small wooden flute he carries at all times. Often Karn can be found sitting at Leilon docks looking out to sea, playing his flute into the open air and dreaming of his days aboard the Euryalus.
Due to his upbringing, Karn has little knowledge of land based lore, however he can often be heard retelling tales of monsters at sea, and of the sea elves, who he speaks fondly of.
Having mostly associated with elven men during his time aboard the Euryalus, other races Karn has only experienced through the few crew non-elven crew members he has met in his life, who often lived and died aboard the ship. He had until recently never seen a drow, and as such is quite facinated with them.
Karn has a strong dislike for societies rules and laws, coming from a small ship, where the captain’s rule was final, yet the crew were ultimately free from the laws of the land, he know is trying to come to terms with concepts of government and other constructs.
He is also wary of those who worship Xeen’s enemies, seeing them as social judges who want to constrain freedom on land. Karn is very likely to mock any he knows to be a staunch traditionalist.
Women were also scarce aboard the Euryalus, only two elven women remained for any length of time, one of whom was his mother, the other women aboard were often human spent a few years there before leaving to bare children on land.
Often guilty of acting without wisdom, Karn has learned to trust his instincts for the good of himself and those around him. This can make him seem a little rash to others given a more relaxed pace of life in his new home of Hlint, where danger is not always right around the corner, though Karn will soon learn a life on land is not as dull as it may appear.
Background
Living aboard a ship since birth can give you a slightly skewed view on things, especially when you are suddenly left ‘cast-away’ on land for the first time. This is the experience of a young Karn who had until recently never spent more than one night on land. Since his birth, Karn’s family had been his crew-mates together with his elven mother, Lilaa. The crew had been together for much of their lives and many of the ship’s crew were elven, despite the tolerance of other races, they rarely if ever chose to spend the whole of their lives on the ocean waves.
Karn grew up on the Euryalus and spent almost all of his time there. He was a valued crew member who by day would work hard above deck, doing whatever was needed of him, despite his meager strength. By night however, Karn’s job was to entertain the crew, and that he did.
As a child Karn’s mother gave him a flute and taught him well how to play it, yet he would soon surpass her playing abilities. During his childhood and on into his adulthood Karn became well known aboard the Euryalus as the ship's entertainer, a role he reveled in given that most of the crew were Xeenite, and highly regarded those who could bring others pleasure.
The nights of revelry and drinking continued for many years, and over time Karn caught the attention of the ships captain, a strong and well-traveled elf by the name of Erion. One evening Karn played in the ships galley, where the crew would gather after their evening meal. Before a crowd of drunken sailors, Karn played the small flute his mother had given him as a child. Within moments the crew stood in awe of the melodious sounds of the flute Karn stood playing. Most enthralled of all, Erion the ships captain later met with Karn after his performance.
Thus began a long relationship between the ships chief entertainer and its captain, the pair were often seen together, and while the crew thought it unusual, the crew’s motto of ‘live and let live’ ensured the pair were able to solidify the special bond they enjoyed for many years.
While the captain saw a great enthusiasm for life and love in Karn, the young bard also saw the emotional strength and courage within the captain. The pair were almost direct opposites in every way, Karn being so naïve to the world outside the ship, and Erion, being all too wise to its horrors. While Karn was intrigued by his captain’s experience and tales of battle, the captain was almost envious of the simplicity of the sheltered life Karn had led. As the pair grew older, their relationship developed and the pair became well known as partners among the crew.
Erion would tell Karn tales of his battles and the creatures he had fought before he became captain of the Euryalus, and Karn would sit for hours listening to his lover enthralled by tales of far off lands and deep underground caverns.
Yet Karn’s life was set to change. Their relationship lasted fifteen long years, merely a blink of an eye for an elf, but the pair were to be separated under the most unusual of circumstances.
As Karn slept in Erion’s arms early one morning, outside a storm was brewing in the seas near Leilon. As many of the crew slept the waves came rushing at the hull of the Euryalus, and the ship began to rock violently in the wake of the storm. Far worse than any of the crew had ever weathered, all crew members were called upon to steer the Euryalus safely.
This was to be the final night Karn would spend in his beloved home. The waves encroached harder and more frequently, the sky darker than ever before, the morning had not come and a dark mist covered the sun. Erion gave his lover one brief last kiss before he left to take the helm. This was the last time Karn ever saw him, moments after he left the room the whole ship shook. Hardened sailors with years of experience screamed out as the ship crashed into a group of rocks near the port town of Leilon.
Much of what happened after the crash Karn can no longer remember, and it has been four months now since the darkness and the storm came and the Euryalus was destroyed. A vague recollection of being washed up on Leilon docks still haunts him, yet anything more, or the survival of any other crew members remains a mystery to him.
Today Karn still mourns the loss of his partner, and will do so for the rest of his life. Yet adapting to a life on land, which Karn has never been exposed to, is by far his greatest challenge for the moment. Lost, alone and in a strange new society outside of the friends he has known all his life, Karn wonders his way to the small town of Hlint…

[minerva]

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