Selsaer Welwulf

[Vizar R'varsheart]

Basic Info

Name: Selsaer Welwulf
Age: 213
Gender: Male
Race: Imperial Elf
Occupation: Freelancer

General

Appearance: Selsaer stands at a height of approximately five feet and eleven inches. He sports the iconic pointed ears of the elves, but other than that, his appearance would not even come close to fitting with the stereotypical ideas people have about his race. The first thing most people notice is Selsaer’s face – more specifically the dull red scar that winds its way down through his right eye down to his left jawbone. The second thing is the colorless magical eye that now replaces his original right one. Selsaer’s hair is short and raven black, and he keeps most of it obscured by tying strips of dull red cloth around his head as a makeshift bandanna. His one remaining eye is a golden yellow, akin to burnished gold.

Selsaer is garbed in a simple, sleeveless leather jerkin and black trousers. The soft black leather boots he wears allows him to move with little to no sound, and his L’Ordine cloak is red instead of the usual navy blue, marking him as the leader of the organization. On his right arm Selsaer sports a steel pauldron, a gothic-style steel gauntlet, and a steel chainmail arm casing. His left arm has been replaced with an amalgamation of metal wire, leather strips, and an orichalcon casing and gauntlet.

Personality: Selsear is possessive of a dry wit, tempered through the years during his travels. He is urbane and charismatic, a natural leader in any circumstance. Despite his polite, deflective exterior, he is a gregarious individual, amiable in any social function. However, Selsaer is slow to trust and even slower to forgive. On the flip side, he is also very slow to anger, but, like many people with this trait, is all the more volatile when enraged. Selsaer is also a tad sensitive about his prosthetic arm, and tends to answer snide remarks about it with his still functioning right fist.

Flaws: Selsaer’s biggest disadvantage is what cost him his left arm in the first place: arrogance. Despite learning this lesson the extremely hard way, Selsaer still struggles to curb the wide streak of hubris inside him. Furthermore, his left arm and right eye are almost always disabled, meaning that he has two body parts generally unavailable for use, since the magical energies required take their toll on his body. In addition, Selsaer is very much a lone wolf, often refusing outright to work in groups or working alone when in a group.

Religion: Selsaer follows Aluwenlieth, Laogh, and Farum.

Interesting Facts: Selsaer’s left arm and right eye are magical body parts created by L’Artefice. When active, they function like any arm or eye should, no more, no less. However, using them demands a copious amount of energy from Selsaer; he consequently uses them only in battle or other life-threatening situations. In day to day matters or during light combat, he relies on his one functioning eye and arm.

Portrait: N/A

Character Annals

Homeland: Eromus
History:

Selsaer was born as Selaer dei Trescindiori, the heir of a modestly wealthy noble family in Eromus. His early infant years were uneventful, and the same could be said of the rest of his childhood; at least, in Selsaer’s own eyes. But to the average observer, Selsaer’s life as a child was everything but uneventful. He had an unending thirst for knowledge; learning to read at an early age was but a hint of things to come.

Though he spent most of his time firmly ensconced in the family library, his parents did manage to drag him out of it long enough for him to learn all the proprieties of a noble’s education. The social niceties, the finer points of dueling, all this and more Selsaer absorbed like a dry sponge. Nothing, it seemed could curb his desire to know.

He quickly developed, however, an attraction to one other subject: dueling. Selsaer approached the sport like he approached knowledge – with an absolute obsession. Not a day would pass by where Selsaer’s parents wouldn’t receive a complaint from one of the other noble families stating that Selsaer had soundly thrashed their children (usually five to ten years his senior) in a duel. Eventually, Selsaer’s parents curbed his enthusiasm for the sport, limiting his opponents to his teachers and masters of the discipline.

And so Selsaer’s pre-adulthood years passed in such a fashion. Yet, despite his education and natural charisma, he surprised his friends and acquaintances by opting to enlist in the Eromosian military instead. It was not long before he climbed the ranks of his own rapid volition (he had politely but firmly declined all offers of a commission befitting a noble) to become a captain of his own infantry cohort after serving with distinction in several missions across Eromus. However, it would not be long before Selsaer learned his own flaws and limitations.

One of his first missions involved the apprehension of a large group of rogue mercenaries that defected from the Blades of Partha after violating several of their tenets. Selsaer and his men had engaged in several hit and run conflicts with the defectors, each resulting in the enemy retreating before his army into the Eromian countryside. This went on for almost a week as the mercenaries baited Selsaer towards a ravine. Despite the obvious warning signs, Selsaer was led on, drunk on the prospect of more victory and success. Confident that his trained men could withstand any attack, he ordered the men to camp in the ravine to regroup and rest. It was his first tactical blunder as a military officer as well as his very last.

They came from over the cliff and straight through the ravine, howling for blood and hurling flaming torches from where they came rappelling down. While Selsaer managed to escape, his men were all killed.

So it was that Selsaer learned to beware his deadly flaw: hubris. He wandered the countryside for days, dazed and broken. At last he regained his senses in the alleyway of a nameless Eromian town. But that did not change the fact that he had failed in his duty. His duty to protect Eromus, and his duty to safeguard the lives of his men. By blinding himself with pride, he had killed his men. There was no excusing what he had done, and the horror of it shamed him. It was then that he cast aside his family name, and became Selsaer Welwulf, Welwulf meaning ‘Wolf of Slaughter’ in the ancient language of Eromus.

After his self re-naming, he wandered the countryside for months, lending his blade to the cause of justice, defending villagers from brigands and marauders. At one point, he happened to work alongside some members of a mercenary band, who were intrigued by his swordsmanship. They introduced themselves as members of the Schwarz Wolf, or Black Wolf, mercenary band. They professed their interest in his skills, and extended an invitation to him. Selsaer did not particularly consider the implications of joining such an ominous sounding band of mercenaries. After all, what did he have to lose? At least, that was his reasoning. He accepted their invitation and began one of the most eventful periods of his life.

The next few years of Selsaer’s life passed by in blurs of blood and death. After his acceptance, he and his new companions made for their home base, to introduce the new recruit to their leader, Bartuc the Axe-Flame and to his lieutenant, the Lady Adelinde. Selsaer recognized immediately from simply looking at Bartuc that he had chosen the wrong group, but he shrugged off the thought. He had no honor left to care for, no family to worry about. As far as he knew, his family believed him to be long dead. So, casting such thoughts of morality aside, he fell under the command of Adelinde, though his skill propelled him into a spot by Bartuc’s side as his second lieutenant. It was during his stint as a Schwarz Wolf lieutenant that he found his 'soul mate': the sword Silvestra.

The mercenary band was hired to be the spearhead of a squabble between two obscure lords in the country. As the Wolves engaged the opposing noble’s private soldiers, Selsaer himself engaged the commander in single combat. During the fierce melee, the commander gashed Selsaer’s face from his right eye down to his left cheekbone. But even though he was half-blinded by his own blood, Selsaer still managed to strike true, finding the commander’s neck with his blade. No one that survived that day would ever forget Selsaer tearing Silvestra from the commander’s dead grasp and thrusting it triumphantly into the cloudy sky. Its expert quality entranced him, and awakened feelings he thought had long been lost. The sword seemed to reach out and touch the very core of his being. It rekindled his embattled soul, calling him to the noble cause of justice and perfection once more.

With his sense of purpose re-tempered, Selsaer resolved to leave the Schwarz Wolf behind. But as with all such things, it wasn’t that easy. Bartuc made it very clear to each member that leaving meant death. But Selsaer had an advantage. Adelinde had become his confidante and companion in the years they had spent together, and she alone had been privy to his secrets and his failures. They resolved to flee together, for Adelinde had found a new commander in Selsaer. In the dead of night they left, and they were almost gone for good when Bartuc caught up with them.

Again Selsaer felt the sting of his hubris. He challenged Bartuc to single combat, believing that he was more than a match for the enraged leader of the band. It was a challenge he would never forget.

So they clashed, Axe-Flame and Wolf of Slaughter. The duel lasted until the first red-orange rays of sunlight began to break over the horizon on the outskirts of the camp. Both were winded and had sustained superficial injuries. It was then that Selsaer once again prey again to his arrogance. He called out mockingly for Bartuc to yield, mocking his inability to kill the elf. In an enraged flash, Bartuc propelled himself forward at Selsaer, who was leaning on Silvestra. There was a brief splatter of blood, and then Selsaer’s left arm spun into the dirt.

Then several things happened at once. As Selsaer began his unconscious topple, an enraged Adelinde smashed her own battle axe into Bartuc’s skull before beginning to drag the heavily wounded elf away from the area before they were discovered.

After his long recuperation, Selsaer contemplated his next path. With his own sense of honor regained, he longed to do something that would leave his mark on Eromus. It was from this thought that he spent several months penning what would eventually be the L’Ordine Manuscripts. But it wasn’t enough for him. There had to be a vehicle, an organization. And so it was that the L’Ordine dei Maestri was formed. Thus Adelinde and Selsaer went their separate ways for a while, to recruit members for their newly created guild.

Pat present, Selsaer heads the L’Ordine dei Maestri. He has managed to place his complicated past firmly behind him, although he never fails to be vigilant for the specter of hubris that continuously haunts his back.


Abilities

Special Abilities: Selsaer can activate his magical eye and arm, gaining the use of both as functioning body parts.

Weapons:
Silvestra

"I am the mirror, the blade my soul. Silvestra. Reflect."

Taken in battle, Silvestra is Selsaer’s finest possession. Forged from mithril, the blade itself is double-fullered and 1.13 meters in length. A serpent design is etched along the length of the blade, twisting and coiling along both sides of the double-edged sword. It sports a cruciform guard with a handle wrapped in soft red leather, with a schiavona basket hilt attached to protect the wielder’s hands. It is a masterpiece in design, and deadly in combat. Its length allows excellent reach, but still allows Selsaer to fight indoors. Its relatively weightless blade allows him to use it using one hand or two.

Other: Selsaer leads the L’Ordine dei Maestri. He is also fluent in the ancient language of Eromus.

Companions: Selsaer frequently travels alone, though he will welcome companions when he gets them.

Closest To: His thirteen lieutenants, especially Adelinde

Role-Player Silhouette

And I’m still Vizar folks.