3. A kind of mage

A kind of mage


  • Public knowledge:

    Maynard Willow woke up one night in the Boarshead Inn, dressed in rags and having a pack with some stuff he didn't know anything about, and a few gold coins. He stumbles to the tavern, feeling light-headed. The barmaid knew his name, so just thought he'd been drinking hard. But there was no hungover, and the air smelled different. As he stepped outside, he was greeted by a cold climate, unfamiliar to him. Blinking a few times, he looked around, only to notice a strange demony creature looking at him. He tried to run away, but the demon kept following him. Finally Maynard yelled it to go away, and to his amazement, flames burst from his hands, and the reddish demon creature disappeared within the flames.

    The next day if found out that he was no longer in Luskan, but actually in a town called Norwick, far away from the Sword Coast. He also found out that he could in fact cast spells, and that his kind was called "sorcerers". Apparently the demon creature didn't want to hurt him, but Maynard still finds it creepy and prefers it to stay away. He's now a long way from home, and no idea how to get back, or how he got to Narfell in the first place.

    Other background, and events not known to even Maynard himself (if you are a player, stop reading here) :

    There has been other sorcerers in the Willow bloodline, but the power has skipped many a generation. It might have never manifested itself in Maynard, had not a malevolent spirit possessed Maynard.

    Maynard is from a noble family, his uncle Theodore Willow is a very important magistrate in Luskan, and his whole family is an influential one. Maynard's father, Dennier Willow was a rather succesful merchant, and all his life Maynard had just been helping his father, and learning enough so one day he could take over his father's work. Maynard did this, and did it well. He was always rather smart, nothing spectacular, but a tad above average anyway. But he was bored. So he and his rich friends used their families wealth to have big parties and do stuff to keep them from being bored. And one time they thought up summoning spirits.

    The evening began with a dinner and some fine wine. Then they went to the summoning room, and started the chanting. Not one of them had any real knowledge of these things. The spirit they summoned wasn't the one they were going for. This one was called Grez'lek, and he decided to use the foolish humans. Grez had been trapped between planes for too long, but now its chance came and he possessed Maynard's body. He grabbed the nearest weapon, which happened to be a club, and smashed it against Maynard's best friends skull. The skull cracked with a loud, nasty splash, and all Maynard could do was watch.

    Chaos ensued. Candles were tipped, a fire spread. With the demon powers Maynard easily overcame his friends, and beat them to death, one by one. The fire burned everywhere, and the flames burned Maynard's body. The fire made the spirit lose it's grip for one instant, and reminded Maynard this was really happening to him, and in screaming terror he started to fight the demon in this body and mind. The only way out was the portal from which the spirit had came, and they went through.

    Somewhere out of this world Maynard and the spirit fought. Some long forgotten courage deep inside Maynard's heart gave him the strenght to at least hold the powerful spirit back a little. Finally he shot flames from his hands, because he remembered the spirit hated fire, and made it recoil in pain. This made the spirit loose it's hold on Maynard, and he slipped out of the plane. He appeared in the portal near Norwicks south gate, and stumbled forth. He was only wearing the ripped and burned remains of the mock summoning gown they'd all worn for the ceremony. He was lost and absolutely stunned about everything that had happaned. The shock of it all made his mind fuzzy, and memories started to erode. He stumbled to town and checked into the Inn and fell on the bed, passing out immediately.

    His sorcerer potential now tapped, his subconscious mind reached far into the realms, and he summoned a fire mephit to protect him from the Grez'lek spirit.

    Now Maynard is ridden with guilt, because deep inside he knows what happened. His mind is badly messed up, and he suffers from a form of split-personality, one part playing the part of the Grez'lek spirit. He still drops in and out of his rational self sometimes, and starts having discussions with himself. Afterwards he refuses to remember them.

    These things aside, stumbling into Narfell is the best thing that's ever happened to him. He has always wanted to travel, to adventure and brave dangers. And to be a sorceror is his childhood dream come true. He's slowly starting to accept that the mephit is there to help him, even if it's sometimes having a laugh at Maynard's expense. At the moment, his sanity is hanging from a thread, and it all depends on how people will recieve him in Narfell.

    Character: Maynard Willow
    Player: Raastin


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