Name: Ifrari Shievran



Age: 25

Gender: Male

Race: Dark elf

Rank: 5 of Coins

Appearance: Ifrari stands at an average 5'9, is fairly lithe, and is deathly pale. He has startlingly blue eyes and long, braided black hair with an undercut. On missions, he will tie it into a tight bun to prevent it from getting grabbed or otherwise obstructing his movements. Outside of adventuring, he prefers dressing flamboyantly, a dark blue jacket with a light blue furred hoodie one of his favourite items. On missions, he will adopt a practical, comfortable, if drab attire.

Personality: Somewhat of a hedonist and a free spirit, Ifrari desires to live an enjoyable life on his own terms. He is a curious sort, especially about different races, cultures, and lands. He's the type who can easily break the ice with a general kindness and affability. Ifrari likes to have fun, and can take a joke even at his own expense. Though he's open even with strangers, he doesn't trust easily and is extremely tight-lipped about what his life before he started adventuring entailed. When in a potentially dangerous situation, however, it's almost as if he's an entirely different man, becoming focused, quieter, and more detached. As swiftly as he can establish connections in peaceful environments, adventuring with a team is honestly often stressful for him, and his frayed nerves can easily contribute to a conflict. Due to a desire to be in control, he feels compelled (and sometimes even duty-bound) to take on the leadership role, a role that reveals him to be a harsh taskmaster. On the occasions that he can feel comfortable with someone else being a leader (those occasions being when he recognizes a person as equally or more capable than himself), he will absolutely want to situate himself as an advisor of tactics and strategies. Though he has high standards, he is not a hypocrite, and will put in more than his share of effort, more than willing to offer a helping hand to those who are honestly in need or show a desire for learning and improvement.

Brief Backstory: Born in the far, far north, in a vast underground dark elven complex within the Barukstaed region, Ifrari was the first child of an average dark elf couple; a hunter father and a priestess mother. At two years old, his younger sister Rielgi was born. His sister exhibited a great magical talent in her early years, and when Ifrari learned she was to be formally tested for the full extend of her aptitude, he convinced his parents to go along and be tested as well - just in case he had some powers too. His parents allowed it, and so the siblings were taken by their mother to a temple for the aptitude test.

Ifrari was found to posses some small amount of magic, just enough to learn a few minor support spells. Though he was pleased to have a bit of what his sister had, his success was overshadowed by the frankly genius level of talent and vast amounts of mana his sister had. Ifrari was jealous and disappointed, because he'd built an expectation that he'd do everything alongside his sister. However, Rielgi was seen fit to be formally and thoroughly educated as a sorceress,and Ifrari was not. Even though they were close, Ifrari realized they would have to tread separate paths. In the end, this separation was not quite as dramatic as Ifrari had imagined; they still shared a living space, had their general education in common, and spent their free time together.

And so, during the period Rielgi spent learning how to use her inherent magical talents, Ifrari had committed himself to learning his father's skill in hunting, though when it came to wisdom and social relationships, he tended to turn to his mother. Ifrari was taught cautiousness, the layout of their underground network, the dangers that lurked both within (rivalry and duplicity) and without (the beasts they hunted - or were hunted by), and once his theoretical knowledge was satisfactory, he began learning more practical matters, such as how to make and utilize traps, how to handle a weapon, how to prepare the prey he caught et cetera. Sometime in his middle teens, Ifrari began hunting with his father's team, and not long after, he found himself a tutor he could trust to learn some magic. The spells he learned were all of a sort that could help in the pursuit and killing of beasts.

Years passed, and he became an established hunter of his own. He would have probably spent many years longer underground - perhaps till his death - if not for his sister. Rielgi completed her training, education, and apprenticeship, and became one of the youngest recognized independent masters of her craft at 18. As it so happened, she had specialized in terramancy, and encouraged Ifrari to go with her take a look at the outside world above ground, where dark elves rarely ventured. There was not strictly any need for the siblings to do so in secrecy, but such a momentous event was not something Rielgi wished to share with anyone but her brother (nor did she want to have it interrupted in any way by another). And so, they planned their expedition in secret. A fortnight later, they sneaked out.

That night...was memorable, to say the least. The lands they saw were cold and desolate, empty but for the snow. The night-sky was covered by storm-clouds, no hints of stars or the moon. It was utterly dreary and bitterly frigid. Hardly appealing. Yet, the wide, seemingly endless expanses of land were something the siblings hadn't seen beforehand. The outside was hauntingly beautiful. They were the only two living beings up there for miles and miles around. As the wind bit into their skin, the air clawed into their very being, and snow relentlessly assailed them, they stood, still and silent.

Moments later, they returned, covering their tracks as they did so. The sibling headed to sleep, each with their own thoughts, and did not discuss the mater until the following night. Then, Rielgi told him, "I want to go south," and "We should be living up there! Just imagine!" some time later. Ifrari wasn't so resolute, but he did indeed want to see above-ground lands that were actually inhabited, lands they'd only been told or had read about, lands that were consistently described as always vibrant and full of life. There might have been warnings of potential treachery in those stories too, but then again, didn't that danger exist everywhere?

In any case, the siblings were struck by wander-lust. However, they needed time to prepare and lay the ground for their departure. A year passed before they set out again. This time, they travelled underground, using established pathways whenever they could, creating their own or going above ground whenever they couldn't. As they travelled southwards, they saw many new things, and meeting eye to eye with the first non-elves and their way of life was quite the culture shock. Nonetheless, they adapted, and explored various villages, towns, and cities, not staying in any one place too long.

Eventually, they arrived in Estival. Ifrari learned of the Adventurer's Guild, and thought this was right up his alley - they had scouting and hunting missions his skill-set fit rather well. There was also the promise of a stable income, the chance to settle but also travel and adventure regularly. Rielgi, on the other hand, had her sights set on studying magic and see how her skills measured up to the best of the best. Once again, the siblings' paths deviated, and though Ifrari still got the occasional visit from his sister, their days of practically being attached at the hip were finally over. When he had been a child, the prospect of independence from his one trusted companion had terrified him, but now, as an adult, he could accept that he and his sister had each their own passions, desires, and purposes in life. Since the time Ifrari had registered at the Guild at 22, he had gradually moved through the ranks, and continues his days as a professional adventurer to this day.

Equipment: His armour is comprised of leather, cloth, and silk, which allows for easy and near-silent maneuverability. Even with some additional enhancements, the protection it offers is relatively minor. Ifrari carries with him a spear, a dagger, a hunting knife, several throwing needles, and a spool of wire. His spear is the most expensive and best crafted piece of equipment, as it is his primary weapon. The spear is sturdy, well-balanced, and can either be used in melee or thrown at an enemy. The blade of the spear has been enchanted to hold five charges of a paralyzing spell, which the caster can activate any time with a key-phrase. The spear's shaft is carefully insulated so the user is protected from being shocked alongside the enemy. When the charges run out, Ifrari can replenish them himself (which he typically does outside of a mission). He carries the spear in his hand, though if the situation requires it, he can always tie a piece of rope on it and sling it across his shoulder.

The scabbards of his knife and dagger are enchanted so as to allow for soundless sheathing and unsheathing. His boots have a good grip, comfortable for climbing and running. Hanging on his belt are several easy to access support items: two smoke bombs, one small-scale explosive bomb, and a bag of poison-laced caltrops. For longer, dangerous solo missions, he may buy a vial or two of regeneration/invigoration potion.

Ifrari also carries some general travelling supplies packed compactly in an easy-to-carry travelling bag (which contains food, water, a spool of rope, bandages, herbal poultices, a pot, a piece of flint, a bedroll). A definite constant among his equipment is also his person a journal (and writing implements), which he uses to sketch explored locations and encountered beings, as well as to make various notes.

Skills: Stealth and observation are practically a habit of Ifrari's, since he has been rigorously trained that noticing details and blending in or remaining unobserved are keys to his survival. The dark elf is extremely meticulous on missions, taking scouting to a t, researching all there is to know about a location and the enemies within. He can make functional, detailed maps of locations and sketches of enemies, which is quite the worthwhile skill for the guild. One of his drawbacks is that his activities take a lot of time and planning. Ifrari doesn't even consider that cautiousness, just a matter of course, though some others might even go so far as to term it paranoia.

Ifrari is a trained hunter, and has successfully utilized his skill for adventuring. He is exceptional at locating specific things or beings, detecting and making use of their various characteristics. He takes exploring and research to an almost obsessive degree, noting any shortcuts, nooks, and crannies of a location. Given some time, Ifrari can discover any and all weaknesses of an enemy that can be exploited - and exploit them he does. Combat-wise, Ifrari specializes in removing single targets or, at most, small groups. He is also a good treasure hunter, as he can remove objects from dangerous locations while minimalizing danger to himself. He is most familiar with underground cavernous terrain, though he's learned how to survive off the land (by hunting, sometimes gathering) above ground as well.

While he might hold on in a one-on-one confrontation (at least long enough to manage to escape somehow), direct fights are definitely not his forte. Though Ifrari has proven to be a capable back-up to front-line fighters, he is very picky when it comes to team-mates, as he absolutely despises recklessness. Unfortunately, some missions are simply too enticing to leave alone and also require a team, so as needs must...

Ifrari has an inherent well of mana just large enough to allow him to cast a limited amount of relatively simple spells. He has a rather wide variety of spells considering he is not primarily a caster. However, he doesn't have a large enough mana pool to use more than two or three spells consecutively, after which he will need some time to recover.

The Ingvarr were concieved from my want to make a "viking" and Vita's long-held desire to include a "horned race" in the setting, so both ideas got pooled together into a race of horned not-vikings from the grim frostbitten north.

Due to the two of us using the Draphs from Granblue Fantasy as initial visual standins, the race tends to have large, impressive horns and notable sexual dimorphism: the males tend to be tall and buff, whilst the females are short (although not as short as Draphs themselves, averaging at about 5'2") and possess a lot of insulating fat to cope with the cold (ie. they're pretty curvaceous). Horns are considered a mark of strength and virality amongst Ingvarr, and a pair of large impressive horns are deemed very attractive amongst them. They tend to be exceptionally strong and hardy, although this is largely due to their environment forcing them to be if they don't want to die.

Their culture has a large emphasis on honour and martial prowess, although unlike the Hundi who are more based on chivalric romance, the Ingvarr take more from sword and sorcery; this emphasis exists because it is required for them to actually survive the harsh conditions and constant threat of sabercats, mammoths, dark elves, frost giants and worse. Notably, they don't really get along very well with dark elves, considering them to be "without honour", although since the dark elves mostly live underground the two races have never been at outright war with each other thus far. Ingvarr are carnivorous, subsisting on a diet of mostly meat, and tend to be expert trackers, hunters and survivalists. Whilst a Hundi will propose marriage to someone who defeats them in single combat, an Ingvarr will propose vengeance until they are able to assert their martial superiority in a rematch; whilst Hundi and Ingvarr don't have much contact with each other, this specific cultural difference has caused some confusion between members of both races in the past.

The Ingvarr are roughly split into three different cultural groups: firstly, honourable "not-varangians" who often work as mercenaries, although they're still a rare sight down south; Signy is a member of this group. Secondly, there are your typical raiders and piratical types who sail south every winter for plunder; the "not-vikings" of the type who'd raid Lindisfarne. Finally, there are the "not-Chaos Warriors", brutal barbarian warlords whose concept of "honour" does not extend beyond their own people and whose culture promotes both racial superiority and their inalienable right to plunder, rape and slaughter anyone other than their own kind. Naturally, this third group is shunned even by other Ingvarr.

The Ingvarr worship a pantheon of gods, and although Reon and Mayon are less important to them than to southerners they still worship them in a form as "Sun Queen and Moon Queen". Their most notable three gods are loosely based on Odin, Thor and Loki (naturally, as they are not-Norse and all). The Wolf Father is the god of wisdom, lore and war, the Thunder Lord is the god of thunder, courage and strength, and the Fire Princess is the goddess of fire, trickery and chaos.

The Fire Princess holds a rather strange place in the pantheon, as whilst her ways can be seen as dishonourable they also promote the kind of pragmatism necessary for surviving the harsh lands of Barukstaed. One notable legend about her explains that in the past the sun and moon were never seen in the sky together, but one day she introduced Sun Queen to Moon Queen. The two were so taken by each other that they made love for a full week, and this is the tale of the first eclipse... However, whilst the two were distracted, Fire Princess snuck into Sun Queen's palace and stole some of her sacred fire for the Ingvarr. When she found out, Sun Queen was so angry at both the theft and the fact that she was going to give the Ingvarr fire anyway and felt so embarrassed by Fire Princess gifting it to them first that she swore never to show her face in Barukstaed again. Thankfully Moon Queen was able to talk her down, but even then Sun Queen still rarely shows herself out of shame. This is the tale passed down by Ingvarr explaining the origins of the eclipse, the gift of fire, and the reason why the sun shuns Barukstaed so much.