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Argaine De'Ishnushaw
Profession: Woodsman
You see Argaine De'Ishnushaw the Sylvankind Woodsman. He appears to be in his 50's, has long, straight sandy blond hair, grey eyes, and fair skin.
Argaine prefers dressing in natural colors. He's always dressed this way and does not feel the need to change it. His choice of greens, browns, and blacks also help him move unseen in the natural environments. Argaine has a single tattoo on his right arm. The twining ivy tattoo is symbolic of his brief service as a scout in Yuriqen.
Argaine was raised by his parents in a small town just outside of Yuriqen. Argaine's parents' primary employment was protection of the Sylvan forest. This led to many jobs, but the one they were best at was scout and guard. They would cover vast areas of forest watching for invaders and any other kind of trouble. His parents were loving, but strict when it came to his studies. They fully intended for him to follow in their footsteps. He did so for a short while.
Argaine's short service as a scout in Yuriqen was void of significant events. Small troops of goblins, orcs, and various other creatures were the bulk of encounters he faced during his duty. When Argaine began to tire of his duties as a scout, he began, with permission from his commander, to explore further out of the forest. This continued until he decided to leave service and Yuriqen for more exploration.
Argaine started by heading west and followed a river silently through the Human Empire, avoiding contact with anyone. He lived off the land and spent the nights in trees. He continued traveling until he reached Wehnimer's Landing. He choose to stay near there, choosing a small community in the
Lysierian Hills near by to live in. He did not frequent town except to buy supplies or sell pelts and gems.
Argaine spent several years in the Landing. During his stay he hunted and explored most of the surrounding areas. He traveled north to Ice Mule Trace to explore and get the lay of the northern lands. He also
traveled south, to Vornavis and Solhaven.
One day, while exploring the surrounding areas of the landing, Argaine tripped upon a monastery outside of the gates, not far from the graveyard. He explored the surroundings and talked to some people staying there. It is then that he first learned about Voln. Argaine had never encountered undead before, nor even heard of such a thing but in legends of the past.
Argaine was offered a membership in this society. He continued to explore while he considered the offer. His exploration lead him on to the graveyard. He found the gate a bit of a problem. It was locked, but not with any kind of lock he'd ever seen before. After a brief examination of the gate he decided it would not be a problem to get over it... He climbed to the top and jumped gracefully to the ground on the other side. It was then that he realized something strange about the gate... This gate was designed to keep people, or something, in. He would not be climbing over it to get out...
This is when Argaine had his first encounter with undead. A ghost materialized in front of him. He rubbed his eyes several times to be sure he wasn't just seeing things. He shuddered a bit and continued to explore deeper. He found a trail, a bit north of the gate, he followed it for a bit and ran into a group of Hobgoblins. He had managed to arrive unnoticed by then and skirted around them, wishing to explore, not fight. He traveled west a bit, before finding a path leading into a bog. He heard strange...what? Singing? He slipped into hiding and started toward the sound. There he found a quite gruesome beast. It was obvious that it was not living, and had been dead quite some time actually. It sang with an eerie wail.
He had seen enough. These undead creatures were an abomination of nature. He quickly returned to the gate and got lucky. A tall muscular man was charging it and broke whatever held it close with his strong charge. Argaine slipped through the gate and traveled back to the monastery. Hence he joined the society and began a life long dedication to releasing any undead he runs into.
After a while longer, Argaine began to tire of his surroundings again. He packed up his gear for travel and stored some of his belongings in a locker in the town hall. He set out again, and not long there after, heard tell of a new path being discovered to a Dwarven mine and beyond, to elven cities. He set out immediately. He traveled across a large glacier and into a small elven village. While there he toped off his supplies for what he assumed would be a long journey.
He continued traveling east, crossing the river he once followed from his ome so many years ago... He became curious and decided he would detour
his trip south a bit and pass through Yuriqen. He could not. Most of the trails he had once followed or found were blocked. Those trails he could
follow a ways revealed a grim view. The forest was living still, but it was not well. Something was wrong. He continued to try and find a way in,
but could not. All ways he knew of or could find were blocked by what seemed like some sort of magic. Saddened he decided to continue his
journey east and try to discover anything or anyone that might lend a hint to what was transpiring in the forest of his home.
He traveled for many days before he reached the next settlement. Khazar's Hold was it's name. It's a small trading community on the western most
mountain in the Dragon Spine Mountains. He sold a few pelts he had picked up along the way and heard tell that he was not far from an underground
Dwarven city. This was Zul Logoth. He did not like being underground particularly, so he decided to spend the night just outside of Khazar's
Hold and travel again in the morning.
He rose early the next morning and went to seek out this city. He found a mining shaft with a Dwarven Guard. He was offered a ride into the city by
mining cart. Argaine did not like the idea, but in this time of year, there was no chance of crossing the mountains any other way. He paid the
guard and carefully climbed into one of the mining carts. With a loud clank, it began to move. The ride was not fun, and Argaine began to wonder
how he would get out of this city... He passed quickly through town, deciding not to explore the surroundings much. Caves were not his
thing. He arrived at the eastern end of town and dreaded what he saw... Another mining shaft and a guard waiting for payment... He sighed
and passed over the coins for another unpleasant trip.
At the end of the cart ride he emerged and found that what he thought was day, was night. He'd lost all sense of time in the caverns. He saw that
the rides had not quite taken him across the mountains yet, and that he still had some climbing to do. He waited until the next morning, when the
temperatures at these high altitudes would be slightly warmer.
The next morning he passed through Zhindel's Post, not stopping to do much and continued on east. He found himself in a pass, the only direction to
travel was north. He moved north, and east slightly. Making the long trip and encountering beasts he'd never seen before. Four days later, he
arrived at Ta'Illistim. He entered town and quickly left it again. The town was much too large and crowded for his tastes. Though he did take the
opportunity to acquire a few more supplies and sell some more pelts.
Argaine left Ta'Illistim and moved east and south, opposite the pass that had lead him here. He explored the area a bit, finding it quite dangerous
he decided to stick to the main road. Just off the main road he found a small Sylvan settlement named Sylvarraend. He was elated and immediately
headed towards the town square... There were not many people around, as he expected. But it was here, in the town tavern he heard tale of what was
happening in Yuriqen. He did not hear much of the story, and the teller wasn't being very forthcoming. But he discovered that the entire forest
was being besieged by some kind of dark magics. This explained why even
when he found an open trail, he could not proceed far.
Argaine stayed in town for several days, hopping to pick up a bit more about what was going on. He heard nothing new and continued the trip he
started several weeks ago. Not far south of Sylvarraend he ran into a boat dock, with a ferry near by. He boarded to see where it might take
him. Traveling across lake fear was a long trip. When he reached the other side he choose to explore a bit, but heeded the boat captain's
warnings about the Bog.
He entered the town of Ta'Vaalor and looked around a bit. He liked what he saw. The town was large, but the people were generally friendly and he
could understand the military society. He chose here to stay for a while.
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