Qelvin Zahran

Qelvin Zahran is a ranger who finds himself in a town called Asbravn, where he's a little out of his element.

Description
Qelvin dresses in dusty shades of tan, brown, black and occasional red, in a style unfamiliar to most. His garments are mostly cloth, loose-fitting but not baggy, and made in a utilitarian style. Of particular note is the head-veil: he wears a cloth hood/scarf combination which covers most of his head and can wrap around his face, leaving only his eyes uncovered. When veiled, grey eyes stare out from above black cloth. When uncovered, he looks as someone used to harsher elements.

Personality
Qelvin is best described as stoic: he is calm, even-tempered and slow to anger. He gives the appearance of taking but a casual interest in his surroundings. His facial expression shifts between bemused and blank, usually defaulting to serious. In battle, Qelvin turns into a machine, striking down foes from across the field ... or rushing headlong into the fray to heal his allies.

Despite the inscrutable front, he enjoys socializing, albeit without alcohol. His food taste is exotic (or, perhaps, questionable). He's also a passable card-player and will play for small sums of coin.

In idle moments, he'll twirl an arrow between his fingers or run his fingertips along his bow, unconsciously. In the rare moments he is without his bow, he comes across as slightly uncomfortable.

Family and Relationships

 * Parents: deceased
 * Siblings: deceased
 * Extended family: deceased

Religion
Qelvin is devout in his worship (explained through his history). He primarily follows the teachings of Kelemvor, God of the Dead; if he were to wear a particular divine symbol, it would be His. Like most of Faerun, though, Qelvin is polytheistic; he will also offer small prayers and donations to Tempus (Honorable Battle) and Tymora (Luck) when the mood or need comes upon him.

He prays briefly at sunrise and sunset (assuming no interruptions), and will speak holy words over those who fall in battle -- generally his own kills, sometimes for an entire battlefield. In the cases of particularly onerous foes, he will take a small trophy from their fallen bodies, as a sign of respect -- but this custom is more from Bedine practice than out of any religious obligation.

History
Qelvin's odd name and mode of dress suggest that he hails from a desert; the implication is that he might be from one of the large southern deserts. As it happens, this is as far from the mark as one can get. Generally, he is close-lipped about his point of origin (albeit polite in his refusals); but he will share information with those he can trust.

Blood In the Sand
Qelvin was born into a tribe of the Bedine, the nomadic folk who wander the Anauroch Desert. These once-proud people were among the last to hold to old traditions, for the coming of the Netherese Empire and the Shadovar left Anauroch oddly fertile and many indigenous folk without any care for the old ways. His parents were stout believers in the principles of the Bedine, however, and instructed their children in their ways.

From time to time, Qelvin's family would encounter other wandering groups -- some in smaller scouting parties, others in larger caravans. No Bedine ever built a formal settlement, and their respect for the sanctity of nature was only outweighed by the grudging respect they owed to the desert. Stories would be exchanged -- of the reeducation institutions in Landeth, of the Bedine who had forgotten the ways, and the patrols who sought to kill the last vestiges of their heritage. It was also whispered that a few of the Bedine were fighting back, though everyone agreed no success would be found in that battle.

His parents, noticing his speed, began his training as a hunter and scout for the extended family. It was with pride that he killed his first desert lizard and put food over the family fire. Despite the sandstorms and the constant movement, it was a happy time in a young boy's life.

It was at the age of seven, though, that the Shadovar patrols found and slaughtered his tribe. Qelvin was slashed brutally across the back and left for dead; the Shadar-kai showed no mercy to those who would not conform to the will of the Princes.

The Bringers of Solace
The tribe had been ambushed near the Netheril/Cormyr border, and the slaughter was discovered by a group of wandering priests of Kelemvor. These hooded figures healed the dying boy and brought him into their fold, first speaking rituals over all the bodies of the dead before sanctifying their passing with a Bedine ritual they should not have known.

For the next seven years, Qelvin traveled with these clerics, who passed sacrosanct through Netheril's cities, deserts and grasslands. They gave him a basic education -- while Qelvin was no one's idea of a good student, he grasped the fundamentals of proper language and math easily enough. And more importantly, they instilled in him the tenants of the God of Death: that death is a natural part of life, that honoring the fallen (friend or foe) is an acknowledgment of a soul's worth, of the atrocity that is undeath.

A long scar remains on Qelvin's back, from where a serrated longsword nearly paralyzed him. As his time with the clerics ended, it was the only part of him that was damaged. While he held to the Bedine's traditional principles, he had no consuming vengeance in his heart. --however, he would still find a way to bloody the nose of the Princes, would the Gods will it.

Qelvin fled the Bringers of Solace after quite some time, realizing they intended to turn him into a proper cleric. While he held to their teachings, he knew that life was not for him. His life was the desert and the hunt ... and he heard growing legends of new game.

The Sand Kings
Not all of the Bedine had accepted Shadovar rule. While the desert remained -- and through Shadow magic, a little more disappeared every day -- the Sand Kings fought to disrupt Netherese supply lines and kill those who controlled the cities on the ground. Rumor held that they'd even slaughtered groups of Shadar-kai and monsters beyond comprehension.

Qelvin found them quickly in the city of Landeth; his sharp eyes picked out a hand signal meant for someone else. He trailed along behind, only to be ambushed by a hidden sentry. When these Bedine realized the nature of the boy before them, they put him to work immediately, under the command of Quambara El Ruhul himself.

The young man's first jobs were scouting and spying. When he proved himself proficient at surviving the city's challenges, he became an outrunner: one of the Bedine sent through the desert to the borders of Netheril, where messages and supplies from diverse countries (Cormyrian, Mistledhavian, Luruarn, even the occasional Sembian or Eltugardt) would wait. Qelvin became very well-traveled within the boundaries of Netheril.

His first kill came at the age of 16, during a raid on a Shadovar supply caravan moving between cities. He put an arrow through the throat of a guard. The horror of the act gnawed at him until after the battle, when he performed a small Ritual of Passing over the fallen guard. The Bedine watched him, solemnly, as he closed the eyes of the guard.

While he had no intention of becoming a holy man, he soon found himself regarded as a clerical savant in the camp.

A Message
Years passed in this fashion, and Qelvin may have lived and died in the sands -- were it not for chance.

He was summoned by Quambara El Ruhul; he entered a makeshift tent, no fancier than any other in the evening's camp, and found one of the Bringers of Solace standing next to a seated Quambara. "A mission," they told him, "for all our sakes. You are the best of our Outrunners, the best of our scouts; you can move quickly and defend yourself.  Most of all, you have the heart for what's ahead."

"This letter," Quambara continued, handing over an envelope sealed with wax, "is written in Elven and magically coded for its recipient. You will take this to the southwest and hand it off.  After that, your mission is complete, and our plight will be known by those who can truly help us."

"The world beyond Netheril is a soft, wet place," the Bringer noted, "full of fat outlanders who soil water with their bodies and perfume themselves with unnatural scents. You've read of these things, in the books we've shown you.  Do not for a second underestimate them, though, for there are those among them who are your adventuring equal, if not your better.  Take nothing for granted.  Be wary of Sembians, for they work for the Shadow.  And do not fail in your quest."

"And after the mission?"

"Use your best instincts," Quambara said shrewdly. "Come back to us when you can, but follow your heart in more immediate matters."

"I understand. And where will I meet my quarry?"

"--a small farming town in the shadow of the Sunset Mountains ..."

Current Whereabouts / Activities

 * see also: The Kiss of Janus

Qelvin arrived in the town of Asbravn shortly before the Spring Equinox of 1479 DR, covered in an obscene amount of dirt, dust and sand. Despite his conspicuous clothing, the people accepted him as another adventurer. He settled into some lodgings, prepared for an extended stay. To his surprise, though, a goblin / dragon attack on the town led to his falling in with an odd, if amiable, group of skilled adventurers.

He is currently staying at Granny Smith's, cleaning up pockets of monsters following an attack. Ladrithor's journal troubles him greatly; there is obviously more at stake here than he had thought.

Statistics
Qelvin Zahran is an Active Character starting in 1479 DR. He does not exist anywhere in the 3E continuity; as he is a new character, use of him as an NPC is forbidden until his time as an Active has concluded.

Inventory
Other Inventory Items:
 * 2 sun rods
 * Adventurer's Kit
 * Climber's Kit
 * One riding horse, Karsus
 * Silk rope

Plot Inventory Items:
 * Flyer for a sale at The Dwarven Anvil
 * Flaming Longsword +1 (on loan to Alkrivmereshkar)
 * Flaming Longsword +1 (on loan to Alkrivmereshkar)