Andris Vallus

Andris Vallus is an elf from the Northern forests of Dargoth. He travels Sirrion in search of adventure and fame.

Early Life
Andris was born during a time of Sirrion called the Dark Storm in the great tree village of Kholasar in Veridiea (also known as Tracker’s Green). His father was Arch Druid of Kholasar, the elf in charge of seeing to the village’s growth and development. This position made him one of the most influential elves of the forest. Andris’s mother was also a druid, one who traveled the edges of the forest, tending to the trees, animals and small elven villages along the outskirts of Veridiea.

Andris was a very quick young elf. He mastered simple tricks with his hands easily and found he could quickly master any task he set his mind to, whether mental or physical. He took to swordplay early, favoring the rapier specifically, as it suited his natural quickness.

Andris had a very outgoing, flamboyant personality. He loved to show off his skills and often wove tales depicting his great heroic deeds and wondrous adventures. He would recite these tales to any willing (or sometimes unwilling) audience. Though he was often the center of attention, Andris had very few friends. At best, his peers found him to be unapproachable and superior, at worst, an annoyingly loud braggart. Thus, Andris was often a loner in Kholasar.

Andris’s father was determined that his son follows in his footsteps and become a druid. When it eventually became apparent that Andris had no true aptitude or desire for Druidism the older elf grew angry. In a fit of rage, the Arch Druid threw Andris out of his home, saying that no son of his blood could possibly be so worthless.

After leaving Kholasar, Andris traveled with his mother for a time. While with her, Andris gained an appreciation for the natural world he never learned from his father. Though not destined to be a druid, Andris realized that nature was worth protecting after all.

While traveling with his mother, Andris became very good friends with her apprentice, Clariea. The two of them would spend every free moment together, simply enjoying one another’s company. Though they both had deep feelings for one another, neither would act on them. Andris had far too few friends to risk one in a foolish attempt at romance, and Clariea could sense his hesitation. Andris felt that he could only be himself around Clariea, his only true friend.

The Dargothian Marches
After several years of traveling with his mother and Clariea, Andris decided that it was time for a change. Leaving behind the two people he held most dear, the young elf traveled to one of the great tree villages, Fearos, to train as a Sentinel of the Woods.

The Sentinels defend against all threats to Veridiea. They are guardians of the forest, defending the elves and acting as bodyguards to the druids.

Though Andris was skilled, his preference for a rapier over a bow held him back, as well as his relative young age. The fact that he often bragged about his prowess did not impress his superiors either. For this reason, Andris was a lowly squire when the Dargothians began their northward march.

The Dargothians caught the forest completely off-guard, bringing fire and death to its southern outskirts. Survivors of the first brutal attacks told horror stories of the carnage. Andris’ first thoughts were of his mother and Clariea. The last place he knew the two to be was near the southern borders of Veridiea, the same area as the first Dargoth incursions.

Along with thousands of other Sentinels, Andris was immediately sent south towards the enemy forces. As Andris had very little training with a bow, he was one of the elves who ran the tree walls erected by the druids. His duties included carrying arrows to the archers while dodging the falling arrows, pitch and spells of the Dargothian soldiers, as well as cutting ropes and pushing away siege ladders. If any Dargothan breached the wall, Andris was among the first to throw them back. Like every other Sentinel, Andris also spent time caring for the wounded.

As the fighting drug on, no word of his mother or Clariea reached Andris. The Dargothian armies pushed deeper into the forest and the elves began to feel the strain of constant fighting. The forces of Dargoth outnumbered the elves by more than ten to one. The elven population was never large, thus the cost of each death was exceedingly high. Desperate to strike the aggressors, Andris volunteered to join Sentinels tasked with striking the Dargothian supply lines. The team moved beyond the front line of fighting into occupied territory, making every effort to disrupt the enemy army. Beyond the fighting, Andris learned of the horrific treatment of any elves captured by Dargothian forces.

Many of the Dargothians strongly believed that elves had no souls and were thus viewed as less than animals. The prisoners were given treatment worse than dogs. The men were worked as slave labor until death. They were forced to cut down their beloved trees and shape them into siege weapons, catapults and other implements of war for the Dargothians to use against the rest of the elven people. The elven men were given little food or water while Dargoth slave drivers whipped and beat them constantly.

The captured elven men had an unenviable imprisonment, but it was nothing compared to the treatment of elven women who were captured. Near the elven men’s work area, the Dargothians set up tents. Inside these tents, the soldiers had their way with the elven women. Every cry and scream of the women being raped carried over to the helpless elven men.

Andris and the other Sentinels grew furious upon discovery of the Dargothian atrocities. Their anger caused an ill-advised attack on one of the main Dargoth encampments. To a man, everyone in Andris’ raiding party were either killed or captured. Andris was taken and put with the other men, expected to work until they died. To Andris’ horror, he soon learned that Clariea was one of the women kept in the tents.

Andris spent many weeks as a slave to the Dargoth armies, tortured by the screams of his best friend. One by one his fellow Sentinels would fall, either from overexertion or to the blades of the Dargoth guards set to watch them. Their numbers slowly dwindled down to only a few dozen. Andris’s captain, Evarian, concocted an escape plan using highly flammable plants gathered while the elves worked. Using these plants and some luck, Andris and the rest of the sentinels were able to escape the camp with most of the women.

Clariea was among the women rescued, but seemed a broken woman. Her eyes remained glassy and she refused to react to any of Andris’s efforts to speak with her. Eventually, after some time, Clariea did regain some ability to communicate, but this did nothing to ease Andris’s worry. She looked at him with hate in her eyes and her words to him were filled with scorn. She told him that everything was his fault. He was the reason his mother had died in the initial attacks. He was not there to protect the two of them. And when he finally did come for Clariea, he was too late. She spoke all this in a quiet voice full of anger and told him she never wanted to see him again. Andris fled from her words and did not return.

The elven generals awarded commendations to Andris and his Sentinel companions who had survived the escape. Andris received an exceedingly fine rapier for his service to the elven homeland. He was also crafted a custom set of armor made from the bones of Dargothian soldiers killed in battle. The rewards were bitter to him, with no real meaning. With the war winding down to a stalemate, neither side gaining ground, Andris chose to leave Veridiea. He gained permission from the elven leaders to leave, giving trauma from the imprisonment as his reasoning, but in reality, he was fleeing from Clariea’s words.

Travels through Northern Sirrion
Andris spent many years traveling the continents of the north. He spent time working as a mercenary for various lords and merchants. He competed in a few fending tournaments, endearing himself to the nobility of the north, but most of his time was spent in various taverns and inns, telling outrageous stories and flirting with human women. Andris became very good at hiding the pain which drove him from his homeland. He worked to build a reputation for himself as a hero, gaining the adoration of many in the north. Andris spent the better part of thirty years traveling through the northern continents. He spent time in Sarnia, Calan, Ursur, and even passed through Aragard Reach. But, he never seemed to find what he was looking for.

Exodus from the North
Andris spent many years traveling through the north, wooing women and telling stories of his heroic deeds, both true and fabrications. However, after spending the night in an exceedingly beautiful woman’s bed, Andres found himself at the wrong end of a dozen guardsmen’s swords. The woman he had been lying next to was daughter of the Lord of the city. The elf was given a choice: he could either be hung or leave the city of the very next ship leaving port. He chose the ship. Andris was thrown into the hold with about thirty other people and shipped off without more explanation than he was headed to a place called Silver City.