Ellys Anceyn
Description
Just another traveller through the Swordbelt. This one seems rushed and quick to bluster. A young woman in her late teenage years, she is of Chondathan ethnicity with green eyes, fair freckled skin, and long red hair. She seems healthy and fit, as someone who eats well and keeps active. However, her small size means that she is isn't stronger than would be considered average and she is often seen struggling with a heavy bag of camping supplies and adventuring equipment.
Nearly always dressed in a decorated fur cloak and, when appropriate, a turban, these mark her as having an Amnian upbringing. In addition to this, the few silks that she affords are metal threaded which, alongside the jewellery that she wears, are always silver. In Amn, this tradition would mark her as a rising merchant or as an individual with much potential. To those familiar with Amnian customs, it also suggests that she - or at least her family - are above the working class.
Unusual for both a Chondathan and for someone who grew up in Amn, she is a travelling hedge wizard. Those familiar with their tools and methods of working could recognise her practice at a glance and this, with the distrust afforded her kind in these troubled times, could explain her tendency to work alone or in a small group.
History and Background
Ellys was born and raised in her family's holdings on the outskirts of Esmeltaran. Her parents, Andalren and Circerria Anceyn, were former adventurers who in their retirement invested into vineyard and winery. For a time, they lived in luxury. However, much to their chagrin, Ellys never managed to learn the social customs and mastery of guile that a young merchant would need to continue their family's new way of life.
Throughout her young life and education, Ellys floundered in social situations. No matter the training and rehearsal, she always struggled to hold lasting conversations or to even maintain eye contact with other people. Never managing to focus on her primary education as a prospective merchant, the focus that Amnian culture had on wealth and the acquisition of social standing did not stimulate or engage Ellys at all. Instead, Ellys was held by a deep fascination of magic and the arcane truths of the realms. Unlike most people that she knew, Ellys felt no deep connection to The Lady of Gold and The Lady of Love, managing only lip service despite her best efforts.
Her mother Circerria, a sorceress and traveller in her own youth, was very conflicted by Ellys' fascinations - often trying to quell young Ellys' interests and guide her into safer and more socially accepted avenues. It was her mother's wish that the dangers of adventuring the realms were spared for Ellys. Those who Ellys could call friend were few and temporary, owing to her anti-social nature. Her father, Andalren, overlooked Ellys' eccentricities - loving her all the same - but always hoped she could grow to embrace their way of life.
One of the few people that Ellys was able to form a personal connection to was the elf Sythraen Cinnanath. Affectionately named Cinnamon by Ellys, Sythraen was a student of sorcery to Circerria Anceyn, with a connection towards her mother's past adventuring career that Ellys was never truly told about in any real detail. Despite Ellys' young envy for the attention and arcane lessons afforded to Sythraen, they soon became close. Eventually, Sythraen even took on a caretaker's role for the younger Ellys when they were out and about in Emseltaran, as she struggled with day-to-day social affairs.
Unfortunately, the peace of her younger years did not last. With the Time of Troubles and the Longest Year, the Anceyn estate grew steadily more troubled and unsafe. First, trade abroad was disrupted. Then, when the Weave failed, the magical items from the Anceyn's past adventures and the sorcery that Circerria wielded both faded to nothing. Ellys' father Andalren, despite being a notable warrior at a younger age, had lost an arm at the end of their dungeoneering career. Without his enchanted accoutrements, he could no longer guarantee their protection from the growing dangers in Amn. Soon the estate was patrolled by guardsmen at all hours, the strange faces ever intimidating and anxiety inducing for Ellys.
When magic faded from the world, Ellys fell into a deep despair, which eventually manifested into a single minded obsession. Rather than letting the family's treasures collect dust, she fell into an ever more difficult isolation and used all of her allowance to acquire now useless texts on magic from abroad - a secret confided in her only friend, Sythraen. Soon after the close of The Longest Year, Ellys had a great secret indeed. At a prodigiously young age, she had developed the components for a spell, when all around her still seemed numb to the arcane.
Growing up with this secret, developing it further without her family knowing, became young Ellys' life. Outwardly, to her family she seemed to have turned a corner. A lack of focus and an inability to interact with people had been replaced by a dogged determinism. They knew her, could see her doing her best to disguise her troubles and camouflage her lack of understanding of people, yet attributed it to a need for validation in her teenage years. With Ellys encountering people more frequently, her parents allowed her hours of isolation each day for as a reward her hard work in studies. All of this time was spent cultivating her magic.
Years passed. Then came the sacking of Amn by the Ogre-King Sythillis and Balura Ironprow's pirate fleet, culminating in the collapse and conquering of Athkatla. With Esmeltaran's rise as the new capital, nearly all traces of civility and luxury in their family home was gone. The swell of mercenaries and displaced refugees saturated the region. For the first time in her life, Ellys felt under threat, under heel of the monstrous and barbarous reaches from the mountains and the seas. It steeled her resolve.
Months of quiet planning came to fruition. Unbeknownst to her family, Ellys' had prepared to venture abroad. When the day finally came, she surprised her parents with a sudden announcement.
There could be no more waiting, no more delay, no more hiding, Ellys claimed. Bewildering and surprising her parents with a sudden display of wizardry, Ellys announced that magic had to be restored to the realms. Only then could they hope to possess the strength and the power to fight back the dark forces of the world and render the land safe again.
With only her old friend Sythraen by her side, Ellys ventured south, following the news of disaster and threat - naïve and filled with the belief that she can find a way to restore peace to the land.
Notable Deeds
Associates
Sythraen Cinnanath
Sythraen Cinnanath
