Teliel

Class Path:

Psionic

Valkyrie

Priest

Bard

Gender: Female

Race: Elf

Character History:

There are times when adversity and difficulty in a person's childhood can cause a person to grow, to adapt to the challenges that person faces. The transition to adulthood, to maturity and independence, tends to occur much more rapidly, and the ability to properly deal with a person's problems ends up as a true aid of the best possible sort in life. There are also instances where a well-adjusted childhood, ironically enough, is the worst sort of help one can receive from one's elders, as one begins to practice dependence on one's family, neglecting one's own development.

Teliel Fallaner ar'Vara tel'Ilbeleg tuulo'Forenya Elen never truly knew her parents, for she was adopted in her infancy by another elven couple amidst the forests surrounding Xaventry. Though they were hardly rich and not at all of high social standing, Teliel's adopted parents raised here with utmost love and care, treating her as their precious child—for, in truth, they were incapable of siring children of their own. The young elf was taught well in both common sense and elven lore, and received a great deal of attention and affection from her parents and family as a whole. As she grew, new family came into the world, and she took great delight in teaching the younglings anything she knew, becoming truly loved and respected in family and village alike.

As time went by, Teliel grew into her maturity, and the girl-turned-lady decided to follow tradition and leave the village, seeking to live independently from her family and thus give them cause for pride in her. As sorcery was of particular interest, she chose to journey towards the city of Sigil, that she might derive some knowledge and insight from the city of Magic, as well as teaching the lore she was herself raised on to any who would care to listen. After a long night of tearful farewells to her family, Teliel left the village for the first time, journeying first to Rune, and then chartering a ship to her ultimate destination.

High spirits and a light heart were Teliel's only companions upon entering the city, as the young elf swept into the town with an exuberance and optimism that few could help but smile at. Truth be told, she wasn't quite sure where she was going, or even what she would do when she arrived, but she was absolutely convinced that, sooner or later, some kind soul would arrive and point her in the proper direction, as they always had. The hours passed as she explored the town, and though her smile did not flag, slight tremors of uncertainty began to ripple through her mind… and so it was that darkness fell upon the streets, taking townsfolk and passers-by alike with it, all except for Teliel. Puzzled, she knocked on the doors of a few houses, requesting shelter and sanctuary for the night, yet was greeted only with contemptuous laughter and slightly frightened glances, along with a few words in the nature of 'Go away—I don't have anything for beggars'. Teliel learned perhaps the hardest lesson of her life that night as she slept beneath a tree on a scenic terrace—the world was not the place she had believed it to be.

The next morning, Teliel learned two important things: one, if one is without residence, one can stay at an inn for a suitable fee; two, the small amount of money she had taken with her only provided fare for a handful of evenings. Try though she might, she was unable to find employment anywhere—she possessed no real skills aside from knowledge, nor did she possess sufficient scholarly wisdom to become an instructor in any of the academies. After two days of searching and searching, Teliel finally decided (out of naught but desperation) that perhaps a mage might guide her in some way, and went directly to the abode of Arianus—quickly being turned away at the door for lacking business.

Despairingly and with nothing to lose, she knocked again and again, each time being told to leave at once. On she pounded, fearfully enduring the commands, the pleading and, eventually, the threatening by Arianus' servants. The voices abruptly stilled, quickly replaced by the scampering of a quick retreat, and Teliel paused, curious in spite of herself, and knelt down in order to place her ear against the thick oaken door—a gateway that quickly flew open from within, with the young elf spilling forward onto cobblestones which offered far too much resistance. Teliel gingerly rose to her knees and started to climb to her feet—then froze completely as a single bare foot came into view. Her eyes slowly scaled up a form covered in robes of cerulean, a slight groan escaping her lips as she realized that a powerful, awe-inspiring and, at the moment, enraged Arianus was towering over her slight form, demanding to know the reason she had interrupted this or that important ritual.

After a terrified pause, Teliel timidly stated her desire to do anything for a place to stay, such as clean or, perhaps, become an apprentice, just as long as she had a roof to sleep under. The mage laughed spitefully, informing her that, even if he was taking apprentices, he could certainly find better than yet another discarded street urchin. At that statement, Teliel's fear fell from her like an unwanted cloak, a fierce anger burning into her strangely defiant words towards the mage who, after the briefest moment of shock, snapped back a contemptuous response. The verbal sparring between the two lasted for some time; while none save the two themselves truly know which words graced the brisk air that evening, the servants are known to gain self-important, gloating smiles if asked though, if they do know, the truth of it shall never cross their breath. Arianus would state a reason for her egress, a triumphant smirk crossing his face which quickly faded as Teliel's quick wits and clever comebacks would twist that reason, showing a side which favored her, and the process would begin anew. At long last, an amused chuckle emanating from his stomach, Arianus capitulated and agreed to take the suddenly joyous elf as an apprentice, informing her furthermore that her agility of thoughts had already decided her training as a psionic.

Teliel commenced her instruction in the arts of the mind the following morning. She advanced quickly through her studies, to the private amazement of the older mage—who thought that there might just be a reason this particular elf had come to him—and became a master of psionic spellcasting after a mere four months, a previously unheard-of feat. At the culmination of her studies, Teliel managed to finally gain employment as an instructor herself, training young Sigilians and thus managing to find residence of her own, bidding yet another tearful farewell to one she would gladly call family. Teliel was stable, however, and in a position she thoroughly enjoyed… and, above all, happy.

Unfortunately, this joy slowly faded over the course of a few months. Teliel wanted (if not needed) something more than teaching the jaded, self-important brats of well-to-do snobs—she wanted a place in a family, with people whom she could truly help, on a deeper level than good grades. These feelings of helplessness and pointlessness were only accentuated when she witnessed a small group of thugs ambush a traveler and attempted to come to his aid. She summoned all the energies at her disposal and began flinging them at the bandits—one of which seemed to have some grasp of wizardry, as he deftly grasped the torrent of magic, twisting them back at the helpless psionic. The sheer shock of her own energies overwhelmed Teliel's senses, and she promptly blacked out.

Teliel woke hours later, a slashing headache and a deep depression taking the place of her money pouch, and began to think of steps to ensure that she would never allow such a thing to happen again. After pondering, she began to reason that there is a necessity for a swift mind to join with a nimble body, and immediately sought training as a spear-maiden. She rose somewhat more slowly in this field, as her normally inactive body initially balked at many of the motions necessary to survive in combat, but she gradually grew more skillful in the dodge-riposte style of the valkyrie. However, as her confidence in herself grew, her joy ebbed, for while she knew she would be able to handle herself against any foe, she still lacked anything worth protecting, lacked a family to truly call her own.

While learning the ways of the spear, Teliel happened across another potentially dangerous situation--a group of black-armored men, presumably knights of some lord somewhere, harassing some farmers in the fields around Sigil. Without a care for her own safety, she began running to assist, narrowing her eyes in concentration as she slowly pulled her will in. As one of the four knights raised his sword to send a farmer to his final destination, Teliel released a small bit of force at the blade. As the stroke descended, the sword flew out of his hands, plunging into the soil at the farmer's feet, and the ebony-clad soldier lost his balance and fell clumsily on his back, struggling in futility to rise again. The other three turned, wrathful snarls distorting what could be seen of their faces, and began advancing on the elf, who calmly devoted another bit of mana to warping the optical nerves of one, rendering him blind. The lead knight composed himself, a bleak smile crossing his visage as he snapped something unintelligible to the other knight, who proceeded to charge Teliel. This time, however, the lady valkyrie was watching him carefully, observing the intricate finger movements and arcane mutterings of the same spell she fell prey to in the encounter with the bandits, and allowed her magical build-up to slowly subside, patiently awaiting her opponent to cross the short distance separating them.

As the fighter slashed low, she easily deflected his blade with a quick spin of her spear, then performed an elementary backflip over his head and thrust at a small break in the armor, her spear plunging through his back with little resistance. She withdrew her spear from the man's corpse, spinning to face the leader with a coy little smile playing across her face--an action which did little but enrage him. As the darkly-armored knight ran towards her, Teliel noticed with a small hint of dismay how comfortably the man moved in the bulky platemail and how quickly he sped towards her. She had little time to collect her thoughts, however; as the knight expertly thrust a gleaming, jet-black blade towards her midsection, instinct prevailed over thought and she leapt lithely towards him, landing nimbly on the flat of his sword. She quickly used her momentum, turning into a somersault over the man's head as she attempted to duplicate the maneuver which had cost his compatriot his life--but the knight responded much better than she anticipated, easily parrying her stroke and returning a riposte of his own.

On they fought, the intricate dance of thrust-parry-dodge-riposte consuming the concentration of both--that is, until the nameless villain slipped up, leaving himself briefly vulnerable to attack which Teliel, a sneer flickering across her delicate features, immediately lunged for. As her spear hungrily dove for the man's flesh, he let out an elated shout and turned, causing the deathstroke to bounce harmlessly off the man's armor. The knight quickly pressed his advantage, ending his turn in a backhand against Teliel's head, and the impact from the mailed gauntlet knocked her to the ground, dazed. As she sat there, the ringing in her head drowning out anything resembling a conscious thought, she dimly became both aware that the man's sword was shortly going to sever her neck from her body, and that the ground was trembling slightly.

There was a blur of motion (all she could pick out was a tall, winged man, a horse, and a lance), and the knight was abruptly nowhere to be seen. Shaking her head to clear the myriad stars swirling about her vision, Teliel first saw the body of her would-be killer lying on the ground, though whether from unconsciousness or death she couldn't tell. The next thing her eyes fell upon was a hand stretching out to her, the owner of which was a tall sidhe, a light smile crossing his face as he guided her to her feet.

As time went by, Teliel and the sidhe grew closer together, forming a bond not soon broken. Teliel returned to her training, and she and the sidhe routinely assisted those in need of help, as he pointed out things Teliel would otherwise have missed of travelers. After some time, the sidhe mentioned a family he was in, one comprised primarily of people who took joy in the same activities. Thus it was that an intrigued young valkyrie joined in the ranks of Northstar, learning that there were some out there who valued compassion and generosity above all else. The sidhe she remained stalwart friends with, and, in particular, a silver-armored dwarf took her under his wing, training her more fully in the art of combat as well as giving her a better picture of the world as a whole.

More time has passed, and Teliel has begun to grow accustomed to being part of the clan, thinking of it instead as a new sort of family. Today, she feels the sense of joy of being part of a group she is truly happy with, one that shares her ideals and love of assistance. Remembering how hard it was to get along in the world alone, she spends her time trying to find and help others in the same situation, that they themselves might never feel the rejection and despair she once felt. Above all, she will never again feel the pangs of loneliness or futility, of bitterness--for here, she truly belongs.