Arcturius

This article is about a bard. For a ranger with a similar name, see Ark Thoryus.

Arcturius
Profile
Status:	Alive
Age:	32
Race:	Quarter-Elf
Gender:	Male
Class:	Bard
Nation:	Libaterra Valencia
Faction:	Fellowship of Hidefall (formerly)
Era:	Third Age Fourth Age

Arcturius is a young bard who has lived his whole life in a forest until recently. After his mother Helena the Grey went missing, he left his forest home to explore the world. He ended up participating in many adventures in various locations, some of which nearly cost him his sanity, and he gained many friends and enemies in the process. He also witnessed how ruthless his mother actually was once he was reunited with her and slowly came to learn of his family's legacy. After the Catastrophe that led to the Fourth Age, Arcturius founded the Whitehawk Academy and became the Archbard with close ties to the new Kingdom of Valencia.

Biography

Third Age

Early Years

"If you ever seek to defy me again, I want you to remember the pain you feel right now. And when it scars you, just know that what you felt this day shall be far worse if you go against my orders again!"

—Helena the Grey after scarring Arcturius

Young Arc.

Born the child of a rather sinister witch and an unknown father, Arcturius grew up in the Libaterran forests west of Etheril in the parts not populated or commonly traveled by others. His mother was, in her youth, responsible for numerous attacks on numerous villages and settlements, often slaughtering countless innocents, as well as for the destruction of various trade caravans. This earned her the name "Helena the Grey" (a name she earned due to her grey hair), and has meant she has had a substantial bounty placed on her head that still remains unclaimed to this day. Her son did not inherit a last name due to Helena not knowing her own, having forgotten it some time ago and with the family name of his father remaining a mystery to her.

However, Arcturius grew up utterly oblivious to his mother's true identity and simply knew her as "Helena" who spent her time from an early age trying to teach him all she knew. While Arcturius was able to pick up on lessons of basic Alchemy (such as the creation of basic healing poultices and potions, as well as a poison) and even some bare-bones swordplay, the world of magic wasn't something he seemed to be able to grasp. Every attempt he made to try to use it ended in failure. He was unable to conjure spells, or even manifest any magical ability which frustrated his parent to absolutely no end and often made her patience thin when dealing with her child.

Apart from Helena's frustrations in dealing with him and how she sometimes lost her temper with him, Arcturius' upbringing was rather peaceful and somewhat uneventful. One of the first restrictions placed on the boy was that he was not allowed to ever leave the forests borders for any reason and was to remain there until he was told otherwise. The second rule was that he was not to speak to another person aside from her, instilling in him that other people were simply trouble. These restrictions upset the boy a substantial amount but he decided to not disobey it.

When he was seven and out exploring his forest home, Arcturius came across a young woman singing, seeming to attract numerous parts of the wild-life. Finding himself curious about what someone was doing in his home, he tried to find a way to stay out of sight but was spotted after accidentally snapping a twig underfoot. However, the woman was friendly and introduced herself as Lilli, an elf who had come to the forest to find a rare herb. The two talked for some time, with Lilli telling Arcturius about her travels and of the outside world whilst Arcturius explained where to find the herb. The two struck a noticeable rapport and Lilli soon asked if the young Arcturius was curious about learning to sing. Finding he was, she decided to coach him in this.

This continued over the course of the following three weeks, with Arcturius having to find ways to sneak away from his mother without suspicion. During the lessons it was found that he did indeed have some magical affinity in using songs to produce magical effects after some songs he was asked to sing caused this to occur: one song seemed to be able to manipulate wind velocity and intensity, another could instill living creatures that listened with a great sense of calm and another was one that conjured up basic illusions.

Unfortunately, on the fourth week Helena was there to greet Arcturius with Lilli dead at her feet. Despite Arcturius' protests, she revealed that Lilli had in-fact been a murderer that had been tricking him into eventually lead her to Helena in order to kill her, displaying a note with orders for both their deaths and again lecturing of the dangers of the outside world. Arcturius was utterly distraught that his only true friend had been using him (or so he believed). To ensure he never forgot this 'lesson', Helena used some of her magic to burn the left side of her son's face as a means of ensuring he wouldn't defy her orders again, ordering him back to their home.

The years passed with little other incident, with Arcturius using his time alone to hone the power of his songs until one day his mother disappeared in the middle of the night. To where, he had no idea and waited a week for her to return. When she didn't, Arc entered into study to find she had been researching old magical artifacts that seemed to be linked to the old gods. Thinking something sinister had happened, Arcturius made a difficult decision: to leave the forest he had called home and go to seek his parent out.

Finding an old short-sword in a store room, he grabbed a cloak and some basic supplies before setting out with only minimal clues to navigate a world he knew almost nothing about.

Godslayer Era

A Cry in the Dark

Older Arc.

The 12-year-old Arcturius's journey accidentally led him to Hidefall, the hidden city of the Union Workers, and the Union thieves didn't notice his arrival until he was already among them. He met and talked with various people in the city although he didn't trust any of them fully. This was the biggest group of people he had ever seen in his life because he had spent most of his time living with his mother.

One of the thieves, Raul Emmenson, felt sympathy for the boy and promised to do what he could to find any information on Helena's current whereabouts once he heard the bard's story. Arcturius also pledged to help Haruko Mizushima find her family after he and the girl had had a brief talk and he had realized that Haruko too was searching for loved ones just like he was. During this time Arc got to know several people in Raul's group like the brothers Jacob O'Harris and Jason O'Harris, the dwarven necromancer Janus Todd and the elven rogue Illyria.

When night fell, Arc found out that something unusual had happened to Haruko: she had somehow turned into a fox and was running wildly around the thief city while being pursued by hounds. Arc decided to help Haruko and teamed up with Raul, Jacob and Jason to find her and keep her safe during this unexpected turn of events. The bard's Song of Calming eventually made Haruko-fox calm down and turn back into a human while the rabid dogs were dealt with.

It was during this time that the group met with another person who had arrived to the city recently: a man who presented himself as Irvin Finian and claimed to have Haruko's interests at heart. Arc was suspicious of the man but decided not to speak his mind. Instead he helped escort the confused and scared Haruko back to her room while the Union decided to continue searching for information about the amnesiac Haruko's past and perhaps find out if she had any living relatives.

Arc fell asleep in his room but began sleepwalking sometime later. His dreamy wanderings led him straight into Haruko's bed, and he snuggled beside her much to Haruko's surprise. The girl didn't want to wake Arc up, though, and instead left the bed while reading through tomes which the Union's loremasters had acquired that might shed some light on her mysterious past.

Haruko had an unexpected visitor: the shaman Irvin who had somehow entered the room without making a sound. He confronted Haruko, not noticing Arc who was sleeping under the blankets, and shed off his illusion. He wasn't Irvin Finian but had merely posed as him; his real form was a golden-armored, scarred warrior who presented himself as Katsutoshi Kobayashi, Haruko's husband. He kept taunting Haruko, making her increasingly confused.

Arc woke up and saw Haruko being harrassed by this strange man. He tried to defend Haruko from him, annoying the warrior who threatened to gut him then and there. Their arguing attracted attention, and Raul, the O'Harrises and several Union thieves appeared in the room, trying to calm everyone down. The armored warrior had none of it, however, and promised to strike them all down if they tried to take his wench from him. A battle began during which this single man, who should've fallen, managed to beat back a superior number of people with inhuman feats.

Arc contributed to the battle with his songs of illusion, doing his best to confuse the man. Although he was successful at first, the man quickly disspelled the illusion and attacked him. Things looked dire for the group against this seemingly invincible and oddly overpowered opponent until something unexpected happened: a tall fox-man calling itself Izanagi appeared seemingly out of nowhere and stole Haruko in front of the noses of the armored man and the Union's thieves. Before anyone could stop him, Izanagi took Haruko through a portal summoned by the real Irvin Finian while taunting those left behind. The armored man fell soon after, weakened by the battle as well as the poison which Izanagi had infected him with.

Shaken by these events and annoyed by Izanagi's cryptic taunting, Raul and the others began figuring out where the fox beast had taken Haruko. Arc offered his services to the group, wanting to pay Haruko back for the kindness she had shown him and also to honour his oath to help her. Much to Arc's displeasure, Janus convinced the others to take the armored man, Katsutoshi, with them while claiming that their earlier battle had been a misunderstanding and that Katsutoshi had believed them to have stolen his wife.

This party became known as the Fellowship of Hidefall. While other party members recovered from the aftermath of the battle and began preparing for the quest to find and rescue Haruko, Arc also made preparations of his own. He created Godfire, an alchemic substance which would burn through most surfaces. The young bard planned to have some of it with him in case he'd need it during their mission.

Deceiver's Gambit

Arcturius prepared a few bombs with his alchemy in case he'd have to fight against Izanagi should they cross paths again. He accompanied a group, which included Raul, the O'Harris brothers, Fox, Illyria and the man in golden armor who called himself Katsutoshi,, in a quest to rescue Haruko from Irvin's and Izanagi's clutches. After what he'd been through, Arcturius found himself unable to trust Katsutoshi who had attacked him and the thieves last night and who was now suddenly working as their ally. He also wasn't sure what to think of Illyria and Fox, the two members of the Dwarven Triad, who were quite secretive.

The group teleported to the countryside near Trinity Gask, the capital of the Crimson Coalition. Raul led them to a hidden Union hideout near the city and, after the group had one more member in the form of the necromancer Razravkar Dominus, they began planning what to do once they were inside the city.

They knew Trinity Gask was one of several potential locations where Haruko might've been taken, but even if the girl wasn't in the city, they might hopefully learn where Irvin could've taken her from the Sinlarine who were showing up there to participate in the Tsèni Tournaments. They reasoned that if anyone knew about a Sinlarine shaman like Irvin, it would be his fellow Sinlarine.

They entered the city in the guise of actors and then split up into smaller groups to gather intel and locate the Sinlarine. Arcturius ended up doing his own investigations in the Witch Elves tavern inn once he learned that some people had spotted a man fitting Irvin's looks there. Arcturius asked around despite knowing that he was in enemy territory, but his gamble paid off as his investigations led him to the tavern's back alley where he met with the Weird Sisters, a trio of witches who gave him, Fox and Katsutoshi a few cryptic clues how to rescue Haruko and where to start looking for her.

The party members had been successful in gathering intel as they regrouped. They began putting the pieces of the puzzle together, finally discovering that Haruko had last been seen visiting a trio of witches known as the Weird Sisters. The party enlisted the aid of a Sinlarine teen named Beira who led them to the witches.

They were also joined by a few members of the mysterious Grey Guards as well as a few members of Grace's Mullencamp unit, and the smug elf Lirado Qavennurrie who seemed to have a history with Illyria. Arcturius also took note of Thorn's presence in the city despite having last seen him in Hidefall, and expressed concern about Thorn to Grace once the dwarf was out of earshot, but the Mullencamp captain chose to ignore his warnings.

While on their way to the alley where the witches were, the party saw how the golden-armored warrior Katsutoshi was fighting against a man named Rahovart whom Arcturius saw as a victim. Despite aiding in subduing Rahovart who turned out to be a demon, he also made sure to use his illusions to confuse Katsutoshi so that he wouldn't kill him. Leaving the demon in Coalition custody, Arcturius followed after the rest of the party to meet the witches.

The witches told the group that they could help them access a portal to the place where Haruko was being held but only if each group member gave the witches their most prized possessions, whether rocks, coins or other valued objects. After the entry fee had been paid, the group entered Malperdy, a labyrinth beneath Trinity Gask. Arcturius eventually surrendered one of the only things of value he had, his home, before entering the labyrinth where Haruko's kidnappers--the rogue shaman Irvin and the strange fox beast Izanagi--were residing.

While traversing the labyrinth, the group faced the monstrous guardians of Malperdy: the Unseen. It was thanks to the quick thinking of several party members and Fox sacrificing himself to lure the Unseen to the Land of the Dead through a necromantic portal that the party survived. Gazing into the vale to see both Grim Reaper and the land of the dead froze Arcturius with fear. The sights he saw left their mark upon the boy and shook him to his core, despite attempts by some of the group to comfort him, namely Beira.

However, the party was confronted by Izanagi immediately afterwards. The beast mocked their efforts to save Haruko but also surprisingly asked them what the real reason for them entering Malperdy was. Some party members tried to buy some time to keep Izanagi distracted so they humoured him with answers. Arcturius, however, chose to answer honestly his motivation for why he was there: to save Haruko and fulfill his promise to aid and protect her. The armored warrior Katsutoshi, however, wasn't amused and tried to attack Izanagi while the beast was focusing on other people's answers, only ending up triggering Izanagi's trap which made the party fall to its seeming doom.

Believing that he had finally met his end, and failing to grasp ahold of Razravkar as the elven necromancer summoned forth his shades to carry him to safety, Arcturius resigned himself to falling to his death. However, after seeing Raul and some of the others still try to find a way to save themselves, he became inspired and chose to keep trying as well.

Utilizing his song of wind, the bard tried to slow everyone's fall, but found that his own voice wasn't enough. With the aid of Beira and an ghostly voice the descent was slowed, causing the ground to reform beneath them and reveal that the fall had been a test of faith, to see if the party could work together even in extreme duress and prevail against the odds.

The moment of peace didn't last long as they soon found themselves reunited with the dwarf Thorn, whose sudden arrival to a seemingly secluded location like Malperdy surprised Arcturius and only made him grow even more suspicious. The dwarf had disappeared in Hidefall, disappeared again in Trinity Gask and was only now showing himself again?

Although Thorn gave the party a believable story of how he had managed to follow them to Malperdy before falling into a trap like they had, Arcturius felt uneasy around him. He chose not to dwell on it as the party ventured forward again, however, as there were more pressing matters to attend to than a drunk dwarf with good timing. The trek was cut short by trolls, who the group engaged. Arcturius once again employed his song of calming but, due to his previous efforts with slowing their fall, he had to enlist the aid of Illyria and Beira to make his song have any impact upon the trolls.

After dispatching the trolls with a clever use of enchanted songs, sedative arrows and sneak attacks, the group discovered Haruko under attack by more trolls in what appeared to be a vast treasure chamber. Some party members rushed to fend off the attacking trolls whilst some instead chose to rush to Haruko's side, with Arc among them who immediately asked about her wellbeing. It was only upon reaching Haruko that he noticed the presence of both Fox and Razravkar, curious about the survival of Fox from the Land of the Dead as well why Razravkar hadn't rejoined the party if he had survived the trap earlier. However, the boy was soon shocked by misunderstanding Haruko's words by believing her to say he wasn't trust-worthy.

Fox then revealed much to everyone's shock that he was not in fact Fox, one of the Triad's leaders, but instead he was Janus Todd, a mere apprentice of the real Fox who was none other than Thorn, the group's supposed ally. It was then that the party found out that the armored man Katsutoshi was working for Janus after the two had made a deal in the aftermath of the assault in Hidefall, and Katsutoshi attacked Thorn with results which surprised the party members. Thorn transformed in front of their eyes due to the pain of the wound which the armored man had inflicted with his enchanted sword and turned into none other than the dreaded Izanagi, the very same fox beast who had stolen Haruko from Hidefall and left the group to its doom in the chasm earlier.

It turned out that Thorn was in fact not only Izanagi and Fox but also a Races#Kitsune kitsune and the true Katsutoshi and thus Haruko's husband who had been using the party for his own ends. The fake, golden-armored Katsutoshi, however, was actually Gilgamesh, a human warrior from both the real Katsutoshi's and Haruko's past who had partially caused Haruko's imprisonment millennia ago.

Whirling from the revelations, Arcturius found his composure beginning to slip. In the last moment of clarity, Arcturius tried to defend Haruko from Razravkar's Sundering spell by slicing his hand off, only to be stopped by Raul who tried to reason with his necromancer friend. But, the assault had been exactly what Laverna, whose spirit had been trapped in Haruko's body, had been waiting for, and she absorbed Razravkar's spell to finally take over Haruko's body and transform her into Izanami, revealing Haruko as the same kind of kitsune as the real Katsutoshi was. After thanking Razravkar for enabling her plan to succeed, the Laverna-possessed Haruko then leaped on a nearby pile of gold to give birth to not one child but twins.

The revelation of Haruko's true form was the final straw. The sights he had seen combined with the revelation of the quest as well as his sacrifice of his home being in vain, caused Arcturius's bottled up emotions to burst through with him suffering a mental breakdown. He called out the entire group on their actions along with Haruko and Izanagi but was detained by Sara, who immobilised the bard in an attempt to stop him from hurting himself or anyone else.

Arcturius struggled but it was not for long as he was soon lulled to sleep by an all to familiar song which was his own song of calming, sung by none other then Beira before he succumbed to unconsciousness. Sara took the last flask of Godfire from Arc, the bard remaining unconscious until the next day. Because he had fallen unconscious, Arcturius didn't witness the end of the Battle of Malperdy although he would learn the specifics of what had happened after he'd woken up.

Once the battle had ended with Janus and Gilgamesh taking Haruko's newborn twins as well as a few other people through a portal, the group was left to perish in the crumbling Malperdy. It was thanks to actions from Grace's subordinates in the Mullencamp that the remaining party members were saved and brought to the surface although they were immediately imprisoned for having caused this mess and letting Laverna flee from their grasp. The party, along with several other people who had been found in Malperdy, would remain in the Coalition's custody until the Coalition's leadership would decide their fates.

Heart of Darkness

The fellowship were brought before the Coalition's leaders, including Hannibal Losstarot and Endoran L'Sarius. After some intense dinner table discussions, Hannibal decided as the acting leader of the Coalition to spare the fellowship despite the damage they had caused to Trinity Gask. However, their survival would come with a price: each of the party members now owed the Coalition a favour, and the Coalition could force them to carry out whatever mission they had in mind when the right time came. With no other choice but to comply, the fellowship submitted under the Coalition's yoke and were let go.

Arc had grown increasingly paranoid after he had witnessed Razravkar's dark actions and had learned how Haruko hadn't been the innocent damsel he had believed she had been. Because of this, he grew hostile towards her, calling her with derogatory names because he was hurt by her betrayal. He decided to no longer associate with any of the fellowship members and left the city but was joined by the Grey Guards who planned to return him to his mother.

Arc ended up meeting Raul, Sara and Razravkar along the way, and they were all brought to a hidden Grey Cult camp in the outskirts of Trinity Gask. The bard learned that the guards were led by Helena, his mother. The reunion of Arc and Helena was tense, and Arc seemed to have resigned to his fate to stay by her side and return to the quiet life in the forest.

However, when Helena went to tend to other business, Arc managed to overhear her acting as one of the people she'd warned him of. Realizing that his mother's ruthlessness had reached a new level and that she was as bad as the people he had dealt with in Malperdy, Arc panicked. He sneaked out of his tent, grabbed his gear, and ran away. He managed to evade Raul, Razravkar and Sara along the way, no longer trusting any of them as he saw them all as guilty for the Malperdy incident as everyone else had been

As Arc ran along the road, some days later he came across Axikasha Keiran while she was speaking with Hephaestus. He couldn't hear or see the God of the Forge, and so he was trepidatious, but he was able to get her attention. They had a bit of conversation, and Arc realized that Ax was genuinely nice. Being reminded of his budding friendship with Beira, Arc began seeing Ax as someone he might be able to trust because he had nowhere else to go to anymore after he had learned how ruthless and uncaring his mother really was.

The young bard offered to come with Ax and accompany her on her journey, and Ax reluctantly agreed because she couldn't leave him alone in the wilderness although she warned him that he might get in danger if he followed her. Arc also helped prepare an alchemical medicine to awaken the unconscious Corwin although he couldn't help but wonder about another unconscious person, an elfess, who was lying next to the man.

Shortly afterward, a paladin came by while riding down the road. He introduced himself as Osmond Cordae Locke and offered them help, and found a place to water the animals and fill the water skins. He offered to water Ax's donkey, but she decided to do so herself. Before Ax left, Osmond asked both her and Arc if they could help him with a prophecy that he wanted interpreted.

Arc and Ax both did what little they could to help the paladin interpret the cryptic words of the prophecy, but one of the last lines aroused Arc's suspicion, and he decided to keep an eye on the paladin. Arc also didn't trust Corwin after finding out he was the brother of Irvin Finian, the shaman who had caused trouble during the adventures in Hidefall and Malperdy.

The group was ambushed first by a trio of nymphs who tried to grab the men in the group. The nymphs were quickly subdued, however, but the encounter left Arc shaky as this had been his first time encountering such humanoid yet not human creatures. Before they could fully recover from this surprising attack, they were targeted by murderous mountain goats. Arc and the others worked in unison to repel the ferocious beasts, and Arc used one of his bardic songs to summon an image of the Grim Reaper like the one he had seen in Malperdy to keep the goats at bay. Osmond helped fend the rest of the goats off while Arc, Ax and Corwin made their escape. The group decided to take the now unsconscious nymphs with them, not wanting to let them perish in the jaws of the beasts.

After they had gotten safely out of the woods, Osmond rejoined the group, having survived the encounter. As it was getting dark and they were all rather tired from their journey and the recent battle, they decided to stop by in the city of Lawfin, ruled by the Dark Elves who worked for the Crimson Coalition. In order to arouse as little suspicion as possible and to keep their journey relatively straightforward, it was decided that Corwin and Ax would pose as a married merchant couple, Arc would be their son, and Osmond would act as their bodyguard.

They managed to enter Lawfin thanks to Corwin's convincing tale of a fabricated journey as well as Ax's overacting. Despite all of this, Arc still remained wary of both Corwin and Osmond, as he still remembered the treachery of newly arrived party members back in Malperdy. They decided to go to a nearby inn to get something to eat, although Arc wasn't full comfortable eating around so many people, so he kept to himself.

Arc was placed in an inn room with one of the nymphs, Kleodora, as well as the unconscious elfess. He woke up late at night when one of the nymphs stirred and acted confused. Arc was frightened by the nymph's act until Corwin appeared and helped subdue her. The bard and the shaman had a brief exchange, but Arc remained suspicious of Corwin.

Ax later visited Arc in the room, wanting to continue a conversation she had begun with him before Corwin and Osmond had interrupted her. Arc explained to her what he had witnessed in Malperdy, although Ax had trouble understanding the bard's stuttering words, and she wasn't sure if the bard's fear of Corwin was warranted or just paranoia. To make matters weirder, the elfess suddenly seemed to wake up and uttered cryptic words in a chilly tone as if she was under a spell. It took a while until she calmed down and fell into a deep slumber again, but the act had surprised both Arc and Ax nevertheless.

Some time after Ax had left the room, Arc woke up when something manifested next to the sleeping elfess. It appeared to be a man with golden hair who quickly introduced himself as a muse named Julian. The muse explained what he was and how he was related to the elfess whose name turned out to be Bella Sirius. Julian asked Arc, who was a bard like Bella, to find a means to cure her of her ailment, although he could offer no other assistance to him due to his weakened state. The muse then vanished into thin air, and Arc grew even more suspicious of Corwin, now believing that the shaman may have had something to do with Bella having fallen into a deep slumber.

Arc woke up in the early hours of the morning and went to talk to Osmond who suggested that he could help the bard defend himself. The paladin and the bard sparred for a while with Osmond offering him advice on how to fight better to protect those he held dear. Arc kept Osmond's advice in mind in case he needed to wield a sword in the future.

By noon, Arc and the rest of the group were ready to leave Lawfin behind and not a moment too soon as the Dark Elves were growing suspicious of them. Once they had loaded the nymphs and Bella to the carriage while keeping them secret from the elves, they left the city and continued their journey to their new destination: Trinity Gask.

Arc was troubled by Julian's words as well as his desire to accompany Ax who had shown kindness to him. He worried about Bella's safety but couldn't discuss it with Ax as long as Osmond and Corwin were within hearing distance. The bard decided to bide his time and wait for a better moment should such a time come.

Despair's Wake

Arcturius promised to meet Osmond in front of the Witch Elves' inn for more lessons in the sword before the paladin left. After he wandered around for a while, he was given a taste of a rare treat called 'cotton candy' at the ongoing Sinlarine festival shortly before being reunited with Beira. Beira tried to calm Arc's nerves and get him to open up to her, but suddenly, for whatever reason, Kleodora came to him, saying he needed to come with her. When Beira began to argue against the nymph, she hit the girl with Dreamshade petals, downing the white-haired girl near-instantly.

In a rage at Beira's seeming 'death' at the hands of a nymph, he attacked her, but Kleodora stayed out of range.

Arc ran to Survivor's Woods, chasing her down with the intent to murder her in vengeance. Unfortunately, he lost her. Shortly afterwards, he was reunited with Osmond, though the paladin had two new acquaintances: A blacksmith by the name of Erikur, though his alias was 'Devin Gale,' and a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes that he called 'Rose.'

The group followed a split in the path and saved a traveling cook by the name of Ghaddar Wekufe and her donkey, Shitale. He ended up saving Osmond from Rose's strange tantrum and rage after he slapped her.

Garden of Fear

More info later.

The Gathering Storm

Ratted out Corwin Finian, awoke Cailleach 'Beira' Bheur and Bella Sirius, sang an amplified Song of Awakening that affected the whole of Trinity Gask, freed Jezebeth and most of the creatures of the Chamber of Secrets with Ghaddar Wekufe's help, escaped the Crimson Coalition, and shot Haruko in revenge. There are more specifics, but that's the gist.

Chaos Descends

Arc and Bella allowed the party they were with to contact a sect of thieves based near Trinity Gask known as 'The Union Workers' for aid in losing any pursuit. They chose to aid the group, and so Arc traveled with Osmond, Erai, Shiel, Bella, Illyria, and two escorts from the Union to Ridgefort. He met up with his mother along the way, and parted with her on cordial terms.

Near the town, a stranger rode out from the gate and tackled Osmond off his horse. Not understanding the sarcasm that Shiel's question, 'Is that a normal gesture of affection?' was answered with, he begged Bella and Illyria not to do that to him while Erai was tackled off the saddle.

After eating dinner at Osmond's home, Arcturius spoke with Illyria for a bit, then went to sleep. He awoke in the morning to find Illyria gone. He had breakfast with Osmond, Erai, and Bella, and then departed Ridgefort, heading towards Reign.

After a couple miscellaneous adventures, a meeting with a strange Sarquil man, and traversing the tunnels of a smuggler, he succeeded in returning Bella Sirius to the Crafty Crow.

After a night, Arc decided he wanted to be smuggled to Etheril. So he was. In a crate.

He explored Whitehawk Manor, seeing shades of his mother's past as he did. He found the door-lock that his key fit, and made to unlock the door when he was suddenly confronted by two Totenkopfs. He fought with one, but though he was a better swordsman than before, his sword was of inferior make, and broke after a prolonged fight. He was stabbed and thrown into the Hydra's chamber to keep the beast pacified while the Totens waited for reinforcements to subdue and capture it.

However, Shakkan intervened, keeping Arc alive, freeing the Hydra, and transporting Arc as near to his old home as he could. He hadn't healed the boy, however. The following Erikur and the nymph healer Angitia saw to it that Arc survived his stab wound. Arc directed his blacksmith acquaintance to his hut home for knowledge on a Stormborn artifact that he'd acquired, and told him to burn the rest to the ground.

He would eventually find his way back to Ridgefort.

Fourth Age

Interim Years

Arcturius returned to Ridgefort after his confrontation with the Hydra and his family history. He was among those asked to give testimony and evidence about the conspiracies he had encountered by a group of paladins. His testimony was among those used as evidence and justification for the creation of the Holy Inquisition of Cardia.

During the formation of Valencia, Arcturius decided to use what he had learned from the tomes and his own experiences to found a school for those interested in learning both Bardic Lore and Songs of Power, creating the Whitehawk Bardic Academy. The academy attracted many aspiring bards, along with a few trained bards that offered to help as teachers, leading to a resurgence of the bardic craft. For his position as leader of the Academy, Arcturius earned the title "Archbard".

After turning 20, Arcturius secluded himself away in the depths of Whitehawk Academy, shutting himself off from the outside world and allowing only a scant few into his chambers to see him in person. The only explanation given for his absence was that he was recording and studying bardic knowledge that had been uncovered.

Aliases and Nicknames

Arc

What he's called.

Archbard

The title given to him as Headmaster of Whitehawk Academy.

Brat

A derogatory name used by people who are annoyed by Arcturius.

Son of the North Star

A title given to Arcturius by Faerfolc although some other creatures seem to know it as well.

Tamer of the Wild

A title given to Arcturius based on how he's used his songs of power to tame creatures.

Appearance

Being slightly shorter than most boys his age at 4'4", Arcturius's skin is rather pale from his secluded lifestyle and his time spent indoors. He is rather thin, not having much muscle to him at all. His eyes are colored a pale green, although if one looks closely they can spot a slight glowing tinge to it. On the left side of his face under his left eye, primarily running down his left cheek and partly across his nose and chin to mid-way down his neck is an old rather sinister looking burn scar. It looks to be rather old, being a faded dark brown color

His hair is reasonably long, settling mid-way down his neck although it remains slightly matted and messy. It is primarily dark brown, but there are numerous greying strands and streaks that run through it due to having inherited his mother's premature greying.

His attire consists of a faded grey tunic and a pair of dark brown slacks and boots. He wears a black cloak over the top of this that also has a hood. Around his waist is a belt with a few various satchels that contain trinkets and some ingredients for rituals, while the majority of his items go in his backpack. Also sheathed at his right side is a shortsword, while on his back is a small backpack with a few basic books and alchemical provisions.

With the revelation of who his father is, Arcturius was also thereby revealed as a quarter-elf. Due to his round ears, it is safe to assume he takes more after his human side.

Personality and Traits

Having spent his entire life until recently isolated from the outside world, Arcturius has incredibly limited knowledge of social norms and cultural aspects of the world around him. One example is that he believes sharing and stealing are the same thing, plus his belief that the world outside of his forest is incredibly dangerous. He compensates for this with rather good alchemical and some literary knowledge as well as his incredible aptitude for singing. He is rather shy around other people, often having difficulty voicing his opinions. This has resulted in him developing a stutter. He tends to view most people cautiously, but is usually rather respectful and kind despite his shyness.

Despite his cultural and social stunting, as well as often expecting the worst of others, he is not one to ever leave another in harms way unless they have wronged him. Being of a surprisingly peaceful disposition he doesn't like leaving people to suffer and will normally help them out of harms way.

If he finds the person reprehensible or has been seriously wronged, he will display a more sinister side and can be utterly ruthless if he's angered enough. Chillingly, he will often drop his previously shy and stuttering self to become more cold and emotionless, speaking little and always in a manner that expresses what he wants in as few words as possible. When acting like this he truly becomes "his mother's son" and also becomes rather brutal if forced to fight. Outside of these moments he rarely enjoys partaking in combat and usually abhors violence, but if he feels he has to he will do so begrudgingly.

Of final note is two things: Firstly, Arcturius absolutely adores books and shall scoop up any he has found in order to read it despite genre. And secondly, he is incredibly sensitive about his prematurely greying hair and can become easily flustered and withdrawn if people call attention to it.

Powers and Abilities

Uses his songs and swords as weapons, more skilled at the former than the latter, though he plans to change that. He is also skilled in basic alchemy.

Relationships

Axikasha Keiran

Arc and Ax ended up meeting by chance when they saw each other in the forest. After a bit of hesitation, Arc eventually opened up to her and helped her treat the injured Corwin Finian. The two had lengthy discussions during which Arc began bonding with Ax. He eventually asked to accompany her because she seemed trustworthy and he had nowhere else to go. Ax felt sympathy for Arc and decided to keep him around for the time being although she did warn him of the dangers he might end up facing. After the adventure in Survivor's Woods, Ax has distanced herself from Arcturius in hopes of keeping him safe from the people who are after her, leaving him to seek the company of other people.

Bella Sirius

When Arcturius first met Bella, she was under a sleeping spell. He resolved to aid her and eventually did, waking her up. Since then, the two have become friends, and Arcturius is genuinely happy that he finally succeeded in helping someone without it backfiring horribly. Bella feels sorry for Arcturius for having witnessed so many bad things and hopes to ease his burden at least a little bit. The two also have a connection as bards with Bella being impressed that someone so young as Arcturius already knows so many magic songs.

Cailleach Bheur

Arc and Cailleach, who calls herself Beira, met in Trinity Gask. Although initially unsure of what to think of her, Arc eventually warmed up to the girl despite her association with witches. He seems to trust her more than most people and views her as a curious figure. When Beira fell into a deathslike sleep due to being affected by Dreamshade, Arc faced many challenges to bring her a cure, but succeeded in awakening her with a kiss. This act has led things to being somewhat awkward between them as Arc does seem to be somewhat infatuated with her, and Beira likewise is grateful to Arc for saving her but is confused by his show of affection.

Corwin Finian

Arcturius became suspicious of Corwin from the moment they met. His suspicions grew over time, and he even attempted to kill him once. Corwin was both baffled and angered by Arcturius having double-crossed him and was shocked to see the boy attempt a killing strike. Arc's unrelenting anger and suspicion caused him to rat out the shaman to Hannibal Losstarot. He was happy at Corwin's imprisonment.

Erai Dalfar

Arcturius and Erai have gotten along during their brief adventures together. It was due to his words that he recovered from his second mental breakdown. What Erai learned but Arcturius is still unaware of is that Erai is actually his long-lost father. Erai has not directly told Arcturius of his parentage, but he did subtly imply it with the parting gift of the Dalfar signet ring.

Haruko Mizushima

Arc and Haruko met in Hidefall where they quickly connected as both had bardic knowledge. When Haruko seemed lost and helpless, Arc decided to help her. When Haruko was kidnapped, Arc was one of the people who volunteered to rescue her. He realized that she wasn't what she seemed once the Fellowship found her in Malperdy. Terrified of Haruko's true kitsune form and the fact that she had deceived him and others, he lost his trust in her and began calling her derogatory names, hurt by her betrayal.

Helena the Grey

Helena treated Arcturius harshly, wanting to keep him isolated so that he'd meet no other people than her. She scarred him when he disobeyed her orders and psychologically manipulated him to become distrustful of outsiders. After the betrayal in Malperdy, when he saw just how ruthless she was, Arc lost all trust in Helena, as well. Another adventure and a couple of successful goals later, Arcturius finally had the confidence he needed to face his mother down, which earned him her respect, though not her affection.

Illyria

Although Arcturius didn't know what to make of Illyria at first, he eventually grew fond of her when she showed kindness to him. He helped her escape from imprisonment, and she likewise was affected by his trust in her, helping her come off as less aloof.

Lilli

Lilli was the first friend Arcturius ever had, and she taught him bardic craft, most notably songs of power. Her death at the hands of Helena hurt Arc deeply, though his memories of her remain positive.

Osmond Cordae Locke

Though the two had a rough start, Arcturius has come to see Osmond as one of a very few honest and good people in a dark world, and Osmond has offered him a home in Ridgefort if he ever needs one, even providing him with a sword he can defend himself with when his current one becomes too short or breaks.

See also

• Axikasha Keiran
• Bella Sirius
• Corwin Finian
• Erai Dalfar
• Fellowship of Hidefall
• Haruko Mizushima
• Helena the Grey
• Illyria
• Lilli
• Osmond Cordae Locke