#ruarrk

Ruarrk (his full name is much longer, but also unpronounceable to anyone without a beak, so he has condescended to shorten it for your convenience) is the spoiled youngest child of six, if you count both the sisters and the cousins. It was mostly a formality that saw Ruarrk and his three older sisters adopted by his childless aunt, the head of their aristocratic family. Their mother was their aunt’s only sister, and while their aunt had two children, one a peahen, they were both melanistic--dedicated to the worship of Syranita, and therefore dispossessed, for a priest’s mind must be always on their duties to the heavens, not to their house. Therefore, Ruarrk’s sisters became her heirs, and Ruarrk came along mostly as an afterthought. He and his sisters and cousins were raised together by his aunt, his mother, and his father.

The youngest of all of them, Ruarrk was indulged and spoiled--for when a peahen has a wealth of daughters, adopted or otherwise, there is no need for the son to be overly educated. His sisters would be able to take care of him, between them, even if he could never land a wife. Therefore, while the expectations of most peacocks of his youth and social rank was that they display polished martial and hunting skill, as well as superlative dance and performance abilities and impeccable manners, in order to win a peahen (or else be consigned to a monk’s orders and life a life of contemplative chastity), Ruarrk was allowed to explore whatever he liked. And Ruarrk... was, left to his own devices, not the martial sort at all. He liked reading. About magic, and history, and other such things--knowledge for the sake of knowledge. And so, aside from basic tutoring in dance (which he enjoyed) and proper manners (which he would need regardless of his life’s path), he was left to himself and allowed to read.

Of Ruarrk’s two cousins, the peahen was delighted with her priestly destiny, and had dreams of becoming a paladin; she threw herself into her studies with abandon. But the peacock was not so pleased with his ordained destiny, though he was assured he had the talent to become a cleric. When he saw Ruarrk laden with almost no expectations at all, it left him fuming--a resentment that would fester into hatred and rivalry, as Ruarrk slowly became aware of his cousin’s dislike. Ruarrk, a meek creature at the best of times, did his best to appease his cousin by helping with his training and sharing his interests, which only earned him further ire. Eventually it was decided that they should be separated; one could not, of course, send away a future priest, and so it was Ruarrk must go. Fortunately there were always attendants needed in the Tower-Tree of the Learned, where the collected records of the aarakocra were kept....

Ruarrk did well there, learning quickly, drinking in the library at an astonishing pace, going from place to place with his beak buried in a book. However, along with being his tribe’s library, the Tower-Tree was also the abode of its wizards, and Ruarrk quickly developed a new fascination. He begged one after another to take him on, until he finally was taken under the wing of a cuckoo aarakocra who was considered the premier mistress of illusions within the tower, and taught the fundamentals of magic and the early arts of illusion. It was a more arduous apprenticeship than Ruarrk had imagined from a master whose art was primarily deception, involving long landbound treks to places of ancient magical potential and knowledge; one such trek left him with a foul underground illness that lingered for months, and, even after it was banished, left him frail and particularly susceptible to ill health ever afterwards. But he was learning, and that was all that Ruarrk desired.

...At least, until he returned to his family for a visit, and was taken with them to a grand meeting of the tribes. There, sitting alone on the outskirts of a celebration and reading a book, he was found by a peahen who asked what he was reading and was delighted to learn of the subject. She was a historian herself--but she was also her mother’s heir, and thus wasn’t free, as Ruarrk was, to study whatever she liked or to bury herself in a library. He, for his part, was eager to share what he knew, overcoming his original stammering shyness in his excitement over the knowledge he was getting to share. Ruark and Auilree spent many hours together during the grand meeting, deep in discussion, and slowly Ruarrk began to learn that there was something else in the world that made him feel as wonderful as magic, and that he desired just as much as he did knowledge.

As the tribes prepared to part ways, Ruarrk went to his aunt, begging a formal introduction. She resisted, citing ancient family greviances against the other house, but eventually gave in. However, Auilree’s parents rebuffed him after only a short meeting between the families. She had many suitors, all fine young peacocks, all with admirable martial accolades and far more social polish. What would Ruarrk bring to their house that those peacocks could not? A bit of magic, a few illusions? And it was clear to all but Ruarrk himself that Auilree’s mother and his aunt were personal rivals, and that the idea of uniting their families filled them both with horror. No, they wouldn’t consider his suit. Not unless he could come back with something more impressive: a great foe defeated, a great artifact found, a demonstrable accomplishment to show their house and tribe.

...Well. Ruarrk was a wizard, wasn’t he? Wizards went adventuring all the time. And so, to the distress of his family, Ruarrk set out, determined to do something great that would win him Auilree’s hand.

Race: Aarakocra

Ability Score Increase: Dexterity +2, Wisdom +1

Age: Aarakocra mature at three and don’t live much past thirty. Ruarrk is five years old.

Alignment: True Neutral

Size: Medium. 5′5″ (the neck and crest make him Taller than average) and about 85 pounds (he may be Tall but he is thin and frail)

Speed: 25 ft. walking, 50 ft. flying (cannot be wearing medium or heavy armor)

Talons: You are proficient with your unarmed strikes, which deal 1d4 slashing damage on a hit. 

Languages: Common, Aarakocran, Auran

Class: Wizard (School of Illusion)

Armor proficiency: none

Weapon proficiencies: daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs, light crossbows

Saving throw proficiencies: Intelligence, Wisdom

Skill proficiencies: Arcana, Investigation

Arcane Recovery: Once per day, after short rest, can recover spell slots equal to half your wizard level

Starting equipment: dagger, component pouch, scholar’s pack, spellbook

Spellbook: A long scroll of pale yellow-gold vellum, with the ends made of polished teak.

Ambition: To not only do a great deed, but in doing so to show that illusion magic is more than simply a pretty show.

Eccentricity: When startled, you flare and rattle your tailfeathers, making a deafening racket. You are... very easily startled.

Background: Noble

Skill proficiencies: History, Persuasion (unless the DM would let me swap it for Intimidation because PLEASE he does not talk good but he can SHAKE THE TAIL)

Tool proficiencies: calligrapher’s supplies (swapped for gaming set, equally useless)

Languages: Celestial (you pick up some things when your cousins are training as priests)

Equipment: a set of fine clothes (a beautiful gold-embroidered silk robe), a signet ring, a scroll of pedigree, and a purse containing 25 gp

Variant Feature: Retainers: Three loyal family retainers, in this case two personal attendants and a personal librarian, all small and unnotable aarakocra breeds (finches or swallows or whatnot).

Personality Traits:

I take great pains to always look my best and follow the latest fashions.

I don’t like to get my hands dirty, and I won’t be caught dead in unsuitable accommodations.

I’ve spent so long in the temple library that I have little practical experience dealing with people in the outside world. (from Acolyte)

I’ll settle for nothing less than perfection. (from Entertainer)

I often get lost in my own thoughts and contemplation, becoming oblivious to my surroundings. (from Hermit)

Ideals:

Respect: Respect is due to me because of my position, but all people regardless of station deserve to be treated with dignity.

Family: Blood runs thicker than water.

Knowledge: The path to power and self-improvement is through knowledge. (from Sage)

Beauty: What is beautiful points us beyond itself toward what is true. (from Sage)

Bonds:

I am in love with the heir of a family that my family despises.

Nothing is more important than the other members of my family.

I will face any challenge to win the approval of my family.

Flaws:

I secretly believe that everyone is beneath me.

In fact, the world does revolve around me.

I’d risk too much to uncover a lost bit of knowledge. (from Hermit)

I am easily distracted by the promise of information. (from Sage)

I overlook obvious solutions in favor of complicated ones. (from Sage)