[hider=Lywend Jeseve][B]Name:[/B] Lywend Jeseve
[B]Race:[/B] Breton
[B]Age:[/B] 33
[B]Birthsign:[/b] The Lover
[B]Family Origins:[/B] Shornhelm in High Rock

[B]Appearance:[/B] [hider=Image][img]https://i.imgur.com/IJ6H8An.jpg[/img]
Image created by [url=https://www.artstation.com/artwork/dbBLW]sun kai on Artstation[/url].[/hider]

From a distance, Lywend is nothing impressive to look at and is easily lost in a crowd. He's of normal height for a Breton, he's neither remarkably thin nor obviously overweight, his build would best be described as average, and his dark hair and beard are nothing special. His usual choice of clothing and gear somewhat mitigates his plain appearance: trousers and a long tunic of usually dark or earthy colors, well-worn boots, a blue cloak, a longsword at his left hip, a bow and quiver hanging from his back, and a staff topped by a pink crystal that is never far from his hand. However, there is one feature that clearly stands out to most who get close to Lywend: his eyes. Some would charitably describe them as the eyes of someone wise beyond their years, but the truth is that they are the eyes of a man haunted by his past.

Many people assume Lywend to be much older than he truly is, both because of his eyes and due to some of his odd mannerisms. His actions and responses tend to be just enough on the slow side to make folks think he's being overly cautious or deliberate, like an old man who is nursing so many lingering ailments of age that every movement comes only after bracing for the aches to come. Whenever he's sitting still for any length of time, Lywend more often than not closes his eyes and seems to take the opportunity for a nap, even among strangers and questionable company. He has a rather grandfatherly air about him, despite having no children at all and far too few wrinkles for the title, and more than one traveling companion has taken to calling him 'grandfather' or 'old man' even after learning his true age.

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[B]Personality:[/B] If one were to describe Lywend's general personality in a single word, 'remorseful' would be the best fit. He was once a friendly and almost gregarious man, and in his youth he was considered odd for being very open with strangers and willing to speak about damn near anything, but those who knew him a decade ago would struggle to recognize him now. Even those who have known him for mere minutes can tell that something weighs heavily on him. He isn't especially talkative nowadays, and he often falls into brooding silences, but the careful way he avoids speaking of his past in any detail is the most telling hint of all. Sometimes there's a tinge of anger amongst the sadness, but that usually only comes out when people press him on his past or he's had a bit too much to drink. That anger most often takes the form of severity and imperiousness, hard and sharp words rather than loud words or physical violence, but luckily for him the majority of people write it off as a reasonable response to nosy bastards or Lywend simply being an angry drunk.

Fortunately for those around him, Lywend is not entirely a sad and sullen fellow. When focusing on the problems of others, he comes out of that regretful shell and shows a keen interest in helping others. He's empathetic, gentle, and offers assistance and wisdom wherever he can. While his talents in Restoration magic could fetch a high price, Lywend is content to take merely whatever is offered for his services, and he heals the poor just as readily as the wealthy. Even when he's not specifically helping others, he makes an effort to have a smile and a friendly word or two for anyone who crosses his path, be they beggar or bandit. He has seemingly infinite patience for strange and terrible people, so long as they are not actively seeking to harm him and don't push certain buttons that might rouse him to anger. Lywend also tends to be willing to listen to anyone about anything, generally with his comments coming in the form of nuggets of sage wisdom or advice, and that tends to be the behavior that most often gets people calling him things like 'old man' despite his age.

Those who are highly skilled in reading people can see through the facade, to some degree at least. In both his moods of sorrow and sympathy, almost everything is tightly controlled in some way; only the general politeness and friendly greetings seem to come with the natural smoothness born of long habit. Lywend's behavior always seems to be highly calculated, and practiced enough to fool most people into thinking them to be genuine emotions. People with uncanny levels of insight might see that spite and anger burn hot at the core of these layered falsehoods, but they almost never come close enough to the surface to be glimpsed by most people who cross his path. When those emotions do surface, the imperious and commanding nature of his anger make him seem more an iron-fisted tyrant than a traveling healer until he calms down, which usually happens with the disconcerting speed of a candle being snuffed out rather than the long cooling down time most people require.

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[B]History:[/B] Lywend Jeseve learned magic in his younger years from some of the brilliant mages of High Rock, but he was not content to stay put. At twenty years old, he set out with a group of eager young men and women from his city of birth to find glory and wealth as adventurers, with his job mainly being to keep the others alive with his Restoration magic. They called themselves the Shornhelm Soldiers, and they earned a mildly favorable reputation in the western region of Cyrodiil for their successfully fulfilled contracts to take care of beasts and bandits plaguing the area. That was enough to get them a job from a wealthy Nord merchant in Bruma: rescue his daughter from Daedric cultists who had spirited her away in the night.

That job went very poorly, but in the end it was a pyrrhic victory. Lywend and the single other survivor of the original nine Shornhelm Soldiers carried the merchant's daughter, Birie, safely back to Bruma. While Lywend stayed and nursed her back to health, his remaining companion called it quits on the adventurer's life and went home. Over time, the healer and merchant's daughter developed a relationship, and after the better part of a year spent together while Birie recovered from both physical and mental wounds the pair ran off together in the night to avoid the displeasure of her father.

They only had two years together after leaving Bruma. Birie had some skill with a bow, and so Lywend continued his adventuring life with her at his side, sometimes just the two of them and sometimes joining up with other adventurers when it suited them. That happy life of excitement came to a screeching halt in an unremarkable cave in eastern Hammerfell. The pair had dealt with some ornery beasts, but in the end Birie was left lifeless and bloody in Lywends arms with wounds far beyond his ability to mend.

In the seven years since her death, Lywend has journeyed across Tamriel seeking any magic or miracle that might bring Birie back to life, doing whatever it takes to survive and gain knowledge that might aid him in his quest.

[B]Biggest Regret:[/B] Lywend blames himself for Birie's death. If only he'd been better prepared, if only he'd been a better student of the magical arts, she would still be with him. That failure haunts his every moment, both waking and asleep.

[B]Lywend's Goal:[/B] Lywend's sole purpose in life now is to find some way to bring Birie back. Not as some mindless corpse, which would be fairly easy, but as a living and breathing woman.

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[B][u]Skills[/u]:[/B]
[b]Expert:[/b] Conjuration - Lywend learned much of Conjuration magic from the mages of High Rock, but practical applications and further study have hone his skills considerably.
[b]Adept:[/b] Restoration - As with Conjuration, a mix of education, practical use, and independent study.
One-Handed - Taught by his former companions of the Shornhelm Soldiers and used regularly in his adventuring life.
Speech - A natural talent improved by frequent use.
[b]Novice:[/b] Alchemy - Learned mainly from books and a little practice, used to supplement his Restoration skills.
Sneak - A simple necessity for an adventurer, learned by trial and error more than anything else.
Archery - Taught to him by Birie, kept in practice more for sentimental reasons than practical reasons.

[b]Spells:[/b]
[list][*]Dread Zombie (Expert) - Reanimate a corpse into a powerful undead servant.
[*]Conjure Storm Atronach (Expert) - Summon a Storm Atronach.
[*]Soul Trap (Apprentice) - Capture a soul to be stored in a soul gem.
[*]Bound Sword (Novice) - Conjure a magic sword.
[*]Heal Other (Adept) - Heal other people.
[*]Close Wounds (Adept) - Heal oneself.
[*]Greater Ward (Adept) - Surround oneself with a protective shield.[/list]

[B]Equipment:[/B]
[list][*]Staff of Firebolts, looted from a bandit in his early adventuring days.
[*]Hunting bow and quiver with 16 arrows
[*]Longsword
[*]Dagger
[*]Enchanted amulet (magicka regen), received as a reward from Birie's father for rescuing her.
[*]2 potions of Cure Disease (made by Lywend)
[*]1 potion of Invisibility (~10 seconds) that also damages magicka (made by Lywend)[/list]

[B]Misc. Possessions:[/B]
[list][*]Standard traveler's gear: a large pack, some clothes, bedroll, waterskin, rations, fire starting kit, and some rope.
[*]Four soul gems, one filled with a common soul and three empty.
[*]Mortar and pestle.
[*]Three books, two filled with writing and one about halfway full.
[*]A few quills and two bottles of ink.
[*]Birie's skull and a black soul gem containing Birie's soul, both kept in a cloth bundle tied off with string and securely kept at the bottom of his bag.
[*]Coin pouch with 28 septims.[/list][/hider]