Auun (Auːn)
Grand Storyteller Auun (a.k.a. Storyteller of the Queen)
Name Meaning:
Auun is a combination of the Kaatim words anat (deity) and uungal (torch). His name means somethig along the lines of "deity of the torch". The torch in Kaatin lore is associated with knowledge of the right path, passion and creativity. The torch is also associated with Amias, which is Auun's guardian spirit.Overview:
What do they want the most? Why can’t they have it?
Auun wants nothing more than to become the greatest storyteller in all of Arregeas and at some point maybe take over the Storyteller Association. It's the status, respect and recognition that come with it that he wants, just to spite his parents and prove to them that he can achieve a high status and live a good life without becoming a Spirit Wanderer. Even though the stories are great and Auun performs them excellently, the higher ups in the StA generally disapprove of Auun and the way they tell their stories, because they like to mix facts with fiction, which is against the rules, but this way of telling stories is what Auun believes in, because speculation gets the audience going and has them rethink what they believe to know and thus it's a better experience for the audience than the, in his opinion, dry and boring historical retellings.Who/what do they love most? What do they have to lose?
Autonomy to choose their own path/fate, following their passion (storytelling), research, their storybook, status and proving themself. They could lose being free to do what they want, their status, their stories, their sense of self, their drive and ambition.What is their fatal character flaw?
Auun has quite many flaws, but the greatest is probably his stubborn determination and ambition to prove to everyone that he can choose his own path in life and be even more successful than with the path life had layed out or him. If anything helps him prove himself as a storyteller, he takes the opportunity, no matter what.What are they afraid of? What is their biggest fear?
Mediocrity, failure, being controlled/trapped, being vulnerable with others, being dependent on others, losing the ability to choose their own path, being nothing more than what people percieve them as.What is the best thing that could happen to them?
Being recognised as the greatest storyteller of his time and getting his parents to finally accept the path he's chosen for himself, being able to open up to someone about his insecurities and anxieties.What are the worst things that could happen to them?
Losing his status in the StA or getting kicked out of the StA, losing his job as the queen's storyteller, being forced to persue a different career, more specifically having to do Spirit Wandering, losing his stories/storybook, failing his mission, depending on others, losing his ambition and goal, his constant need to prove himself leading him and others into trouble, losing his sense of self/identity (e.g by losing his hair).What traits symbolize this character’s soul?
Creativity, ambition, curiosity, persistanceIn Short:
What is their dark moment story?
Being stuck in an altered state of consciousness on his childhood during his apprenticeship as a spirit wanderer.What lie do they believe?
That they need to prove themself to everyone and that only external validation, especially from their parents, will make them happy.What wound did they suffer?
Being told that he could only become a Spirit Wanderer and being urged to persue that by hisparents and the entire community. Through that his agency was taken away and he was discouraged from persueing other paths, especially storytelling.What is their resulting flaw?
Absolute determination to prove themself, arrogance, being unable to be vulnerable in front of others.What is their resulting fear?
Being boxed into a narrow category, having his agency taken away, mediocrity, vulnerability.Fears:
What past traumas affect current behaviour?
Being forced to become a Spirit Wanderer, being told that's the only thing he could/should do, a terrible experience with ASC. Because of that he tries to prove himself, tries to suppress visions etc. and keeps everything to himself.What are they irrationally afraid of?
They're claustrophobic and hate confined, narrow and small spaces, also fears failure despite being successful, losing his voice (happened when he was stuck in ASC).What are they secretly afraid of?
Mediocrity, being vulnerable in front of others and having it used against him, having his agency taken away.What are they publicly afraid of?
They don't show their fears in public and always play it off as something else, but they like to make remarks about being afraid o being ordinary sometimes, although it's usually in a context that's supposed to hurt someone else, they also claim to be scared of boredom.What fears relate to the current problem?
Vulnerability, it makes him act super arrogant and aloof instead, but to get closer to Kishay that doesn't work, fear of failure and mediocrity make him go overboard anf endanger himself and others.What fears are caused by the overall plot problem?
Fear of loss? Losing his job, his home, his friends (if Drifeyer would go to war and lose that is), later on also a fear of losing or hurting Kishay.What fears draw on internal conflict?
To be addedPrejudices:
What were they taught as a child to dislike/disapprove of?
Other people's hair and their maintenance of it, because in Kaatin culture badly maintained hair is a signifier of bad character and therefore makes people untrustworthy.What pushes their buttons?
People not listening to what they have to say, ignoring/disrespecting their opinions/advice, being misgendered, when they can't focus because of the visions and the pain that comes with them, confining schedules.What do they believe that’s wrong?
That only being the best at what he's doing is good enough and that status matters more than anything, thinks that being successful equals being the best and that everything else automatically means failure, also thinks that he's better than others, even though most of it is just an act.What do they believe that’s not so nice, but accurate?
That all these "important" people at e.g. the Royal Palace of Drifeyer are even more full of themselves than he is and that the reason they dislike him (or at least one of them) is because they don't like seeing themselves in Auun's overtly aloof behaviour (doesn't apply to all of them, but to most).What have they no tolerance for?
When people tell them what they're supposed to do or when they interfere with Auun's goals by saying they should do x instead, being stereotyped because of their gender.What will they fight about?
Auun is probably willing to fight about pretty much anything just for the sake of it.What are they ashamed of?
Their own vulnerability, admitting they ned help, admitting to mistakes.Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Auun often experiences severe pain in their entire body as a side effect of their prophetic dreams. When the dreams are more frequent, he's also in a bad state mentally. Besides that he suffers from a severe case of arrogance and elitism.
Body Features
Their body is slim and graceful like that of most elves. They're not muscular.
Facial Features
Has a foxlike face. Soft jaw and generally soft features, high forhead and a small nose, pointy. Has pointed ears but they're on the smaller side.
Identifying Characteristics
Silver/white hair, high forehead, flat face, small nose and soft jaw, basically looks like a fox. Very beautiful even for elvish standards.
Physical quirks
His legs have a very slight "O" shape from riding a lot. You wouldn't notice if you didn't know though.
Special abilities
Auun experiences strange dreams that warn them about certain things, they're almost like visions in a way but tend to be very murky, allegoric and symbolic. There is usually a lot of interpretation that needs to be done to understand what the dreams are trying to say. These prophetic dreams are associated with the twofold nature of their soul.
Apparel & Accessories
Auun wears a tight fitted pair of linen pants with suede reinforcements at the knees and the butt (for riding), a white linen tunic with a high collar and a deep neckline, a sheer silver silk "tunic" with wide sleeves over that and white and grey leather boots with 5 cm heels. They also wear a shitton of necklaces and bracelets.
When he's on the road he wears a thick white coat that has a high collar and slit sleeves with a silver/grey leather belt and over that a silver/grey capelet that comes down to his shoulders and has a hood.
Specialized Equipment
The most important thing in Auun's inventory is their story book, where they write all their stories in. He also carries a dagger for self defence and an array of poisonous flowers, as well as healing herbs. Additionally, they carry materials to start a fire and a light fabric that can be folded into a tiny square that extends to a makeshift tent in case they can't make it to another town and need to sleep outside.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Auun grew up in an average household together with two older sisters. From a young age he was very curious and often wandered off alone to explore new places. They would also hide under tables and listen to the adults talk and gossip. At first he only did that in his family but then he started doing it to strangers in public spaces like taverns too.
They always loved making up stories and telling them to whoever would listen. Even more so after discovering a thick old books about myths in the local library.
While his oldest sister didn't seem to be particularly fond of him, especially because of his shameless nature, his middle sister adored him to bits and they would play together a lot.
When they realised the nature of their soul being twofold, which happened quite early, Auun's parents took them to a spirit wanderer, because individuals with a Twofold Soul are said to be able to see the future, wander the spirit realm and even visit the dreams of others. Auun however, had very little interest in becoming a spirit wanderer, oracle or anything of the sort, even though they had strange dreams, they wanted to go out and see the world and tell stories, not sit in a dark room all day talking to dead people and answering others' questions about the future.
His parents, however, really tried to push that path on him because it would come with a high status, recognition and good income. They basically wanted the best for their child but Auun wasn't interested, also because the dreams and visions had mental, physical and psychological repercussions and he didn't want to experience that even more.
Eventually their parents gave in and Auun went to school like everyone else instead, and were kind of popular but not in the way you'd think. Many people were fascinated by him and felt drawn to him but no one knew exactly why, because Auun kept personal information close to himself and didn't reveal much (the dreams told him to be careful). There were, however, also many who disliked them or were even afraid of them. They did have a certain mystery around them especially because of their twofold soul which is a rather rare occurrence and some believe it to be a myth.
Once he graduated his basic education, he taught himself what he was interested in through reading and talking to scholars he would meet at the library. He had no intention of attending a higher school, because ultimately, telling a good story could only be studied to some extent, experience and talent were far more important in Auun's eyes.
Thus came a time where they traveled a lot and tried to make it as a storyteller but they ended up having to take on other work to survive. He would travel and in every place he visited he'd help out the locals for money and in the evening he'd tell stories at a camp fire.
Then as they visited Drifeyer, they told such an extraordinary story at the summer festival, that the queen herself took notice of them and offered them a job at her court, temporarily at first.
It turned out that Auun was so good at spying at people, that he started doing it for the queen, trading her information and thus keeping the court in order.
He and the queen developed a close friendship over the years and she might be the only true friend he ever had because he knew that she was too powerful for him to use and manipulate. Also she was sharp and noticed all the attempts he'd made in the beginning.
Gender Identity
Demiboy in our terms, in Auun's culture the term is "twofold soul" but it's mainly used as an adjective so they talk about a person with a twofold soul. Kishay refers to it as "the goddesses chosen", when Auun tells him about it.
Auun does identify partially as male, but there is another part of him that feels neither male nor distinctively female although sometimes they do feel like the other part is feminine. Auun uses he/they pronouns and wants people to use them interchangeably but most people only use he/him. There are days when Auun feels not connected to masculinity at all and on these days being addressed as a man can be very hurtful for them. So there is some fluctuation and some fluidity to Auun's gender as it ranges from very masculine to agender to both of these at once to vaguely feminine.
Sexuality
Pansexual. Auun doesn't care about the gender of his partner. They very rarely fall in love with someone though and even claim to never have been in love. Elves tend to develop feelings slowly anyways and only fall in love a few times during their enormous life spans, but elvish love runs very deep so it's not uncommon to see elves only have one or two partners in their lives.
Education
As an ever curious storyteller he is quite educated on different cultures and history. they also speak multiple languages and have a good grasp on psychology bu he's not the academic scholar kind of person, he finds life to be a much better teacher.
Employment
Storyteller of the Queen of Drifeyer. He spends one half of the year traveling and collecting material and the other half at the court of the queen to entertain her and the rest of her court.
He is also a member of the Storyteller Association and currently holds the rank of Grand Storyteller, which is the second highest rank. He joined when he was 72 years old, 110 years ago, in 7393 AR, 232 EH. Ever since then he rose quickly through the first few ranks and is one of the only people to be granted admission for the exam to Master Storyteller, a rank no one had reached for 180 years.
He is also a member of the Storyteller Association and currently holds the rank of Grand Storyteller, which is the second highest rank. He joined when he was 72 years old, 110 years ago, in 7393 AR, 232 EH. Ever since then he rose quickly through the first few ranks and is one of the only people to be granted admission for the exam to Master Storyteller, a rank no one had reached for 180 years.
Accomplishments & Achievements
He successfully passed all the exams to reach the rank of Grand Storyteller, which is the second highest rank a storyteller of the StA can hold.
Failures & Embarrassments
Had signed up for the exam to Master Storyteller three times and was denied taking the exam twice because the higher ups didn't think him skilled enough yet.
Mental Trauma
Being stuck in ASC, his parents being unsupportive of his choices.
Morality & Philosophy
MBTI Type:
ENTP-A (E = 71%, N = 86%, T =56%, P = 53%, A = 76%)Enneagram Type:
Type 4 (with both w3 and w5 tendencies)Archetype:
Mix between creator and explorer, goals of realizing his vision and freedom, fears of mediocrity and entrapment.Chief feature:
Arrogance with the fear of Vulnerability.Morality:
He tends to be morally grey because for him the ends often justify the means, even though they also have their limits they wouldn't cross.Taboos
Don't ever try to get him to do Spirit Wandering for you. Don't use gendered honorifics, using "he/him" pronouns is fine on most days but things like "Master", "Sir" or "Mr." are off the table.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
General:
Auun wants to prove that he can reach acclaim and status and a comfortable lifestyle with his stories. Their parents tried to push the traditional twofold soul path of becoming a spirit wanderer or oracle on them so much and forced them into it until Auun could convince them not to, that they now need to prove to their parents thart they can reach everything they "gave up on" without reducing themselves to their gender identity. Auun has the aspiration to become the best and most famous storyteller so other storytellers would tell stories and sing songs about him, but mainly to spite his parents. They also want to find new and good stories to tell. He loves stories that have that sense of realism, even if they're completely made up, therefore he goes through life researching and listening to people, observing them to a degree where it gets creepy sometimes.In the Story:
Their goal is to find Kishay and convince him to fight for Drifeyer in order to get the stolen relic back. He's obviously not just doing that to help the Queen and Drifeyer but also out of self interest. From a storytellers perspective Kishay's story is a beloved one and one that still lacks closure. Also, no one knows exactly what happened and there are a few different versions of the story out there, so getting the chance to ask the protagonist of that story would not only give their story more credibility but also a higher level of detail and quality, which in turn would attract a bigger audience and more money they're not in it for the money though, more for the "fame" and status as a great, if not the greatest, storyteller). Furthermore, knowing Kishay personally and getting to interview him would give him material for new stories about the disgraced elven prince, as everything after his banishment is uncharted territory and most stories end with Kishay's banishment or they claim that he died alone in the woods somewhere. Auun basically made Kishay his project. He treats Kishay's story as the cold story he needs to uncover in ordeer to become an even higher ranked storyteller in the StA.Likes & Dislikes
Likes:
-White, light grey and silver. The white is like a blank canvas for his inspiration, the light grey is like the mist surrounding a myth or rumour and the silver is like a mirror for self reflection or to show others their true face.-Spicy food. They can't eat heavy or greasy food though.
-The book he writes all his stories in, it's quite massive and heavy but he takes it with him wherever he goes.
-Auun's favourite weapon is the dagger. They're not really one for physical violence, so a dagger for self defence is the only weapon they carry, beside a small array of deadly flowers they can slip their opponents in their tea.
-Fox (and crow)
Dislikes:
-People not paying attention to him and his stories-Being misgendered on non-masculine days
-The prophetic dreams as they tend to take a toll on their mental and physical well being. When they have prophetic dreams they often wake up sore, exhausted and with a severe headache as well as weird sounds ringing in their ears for the rest of the day, thus rendering them unable to focus on anything.
-Being reduced to their gender identity and the so-called perks that come with it, which they don't want anything to do with.
-Not being taken seriously or being looked down upon, which happens quite often in the queen's court because he's "just" a storyteller and a foreigner at that.
-Hot and dry weather
-Mud
-Pickeld fish and dried tuna (which unfortunately are both served quite often during winter in the royal palace)
Virtues & Personality perks
Creative, confident, smart, ambitious, driven, charming, curios, determined, good listener, attentive, reads the room well, charismatic, bold, patient, persistent, social butterfly.
"Convincing" people to tell him their deepest darkest secrets, researching basically any topic, tracking down people or objects (stories always hold some truth after all), he can be quite charming. They can read the room the moment they enter it and know how to act accordingly to elicit their desired reaction. Contrary to popular belief, he's a great listener who knows what the other person needs. They can be sensitive if they want to. They value every life form in their own weird way, because if they can get a story out of something, it has value for them.
"Convincing" people to tell him their deepest darkest secrets, researching basically any topic, tracking down people or objects (stories always hold some truth after all), he can be quite charming. They can read the room the moment they enter it and know how to act accordingly to elicit their desired reaction. Contrary to popular belief, he's a great listener who knows what the other person needs. They can be sensitive if they want to. They value every life form in their own weird way, because if they can get a story out of something, it has value for them.
Vices & Personality flaws
Lost in his own world/thoughts, arrogant, condescending, ruthless, competitive, deceptive, secretive, manipulative, nosy, rude, inconsiderate, cunning, uses others, cocky, overdramatic, talks too much, intolerant of people criticising his ideas.
His curiosity knows no boundaries and neither does he. He'd go to great lengths to find a good story, no matter how morally or ethically questionable it is. Their methods aren't always the nicest, as they're not afraid to deviate from their usual charming technique and downright manipulate, threaten, blackmail or provoke people to spill their secrets and deep personal stories to them. He's honestly kind of an asshole and has an aloof behaviour, like he knows something you don't (which is probably true).
His curiosity knows no boundaries and neither does he. He'd go to great lengths to find a good story, no matter how morally or ethically questionable it is. Their methods aren't always the nicest, as they're not afraid to deviate from their usual charming technique and downright manipulate, threaten, blackmail or provoke people to spill their secrets and deep personal stories to them. He's honestly kind of an asshole and has an aloof behaviour, like he knows something you don't (which is probably true).
Personality Quirks
His eyes often dart around, checking his surroundings and looking for interesting happenings he could include in a story. Might seem unfocused and distracted a lot, often play with their hair, moving beads up and down to focus. Even though he's often very attentive he can also appear to be lost in thought and almost lost in his own world at other times.
Hygiene
Auun is very meticulous when it comes to hygiene and appearance. As storyteller of the Queen he not only needs to sell his audience a certain aesthetic but also he needs to smell pleasant and his very white clothes need to be spotless. When they're on the road however, it's not as important to them to look impeccable if simply because when riding on a horse through every weather wearing white, makes it impossible to stay clean. Also the more ragged look often helps him fit in with the locals and gives off the vibe of someone who travels a lot and has therefore seen a lot which in turn reflects on his storytelling.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Auun has a vast network of contacts all across the continent. Pretty much anywhere they go they know someone. He knows a lot of fellow storytellers, innkeepers and tavern owners but he also has contacts to rangers and frequent travellers, scholars, sailors, bakers, hunters and dressmakers, basically anyone who can give him an interesting story to tell.
Family Ties
They have a very good relationship with one of their sisters. He doesn't have regular contact with the rest of his family though, he doesn't get along too well with both his parents and his oldest sister and irregular family gatherings tend to be tense.
To them Auun is a disappointment because he didn't take up the role of a spirit wanderer, as is intended for kaatin twofold soul people.
To them Auun is a disappointment because he didn't take up the role of a spirit wanderer, as is intended for kaatin twofold soul people.
Religious Views
He's a spirit worshipper, but he's not that religious, they don't pray or visit religious places or conduct rituals to honour the spirits, except for a few special occasions. He does wear a spirit talisman of Amias though and believes in its protection.
Because of their (unwanted) prophetic dreams, they have a closer relationship with the spirits and religion than they'd like, which is another factor why they're not that religious. There was a time where Auun thought that a closer relationship to the spirits and the religion might ease his prophetic dreams, or at least the physical symptoms, and he lived in Anyr for some time, but it only made the dreams more frequent and the symptoms worse.
Because of their (unwanted) prophetic dreams, they have a closer relationship with the spirits and religion than they'd like, which is another factor why they're not that religious. There was a time where Auun thought that a closer relationship to the spirits and the religion might ease his prophetic dreams, or at least the physical symptoms, and he lived in Anyr for some time, but it only made the dreams more frequent and the symptoms worse.
Social Aptitude
As a storyteller with overwhelming charisma they're pretty much a social butterfly. They thrive off of social interactions, especially gossip and hearsay rumours. He knows how to charm and convince people to give him what he wants and his ability to read the room and his audience are outstanding. In social situations Auun is like a fish in water.
Self-Consciousness is a foreign concept to them, they're very sure of themself and their ego is quite big as well, they do come across as arrogant, which to a certain degree they are, but part of it is also just facade. He can be sensitive if he wants to be and feels safe to do so (or if it benefits him in any way) and he is a good listener.
Even though he knows the code of etiquette and manners, not only of the drifeyan royal court, but of many different cultures actually, he likes to disregard it for the sake of shocking people.
Self-Consciousness is a foreign concept to them, they're very sure of themself and their ego is quite big as well, they do come across as arrogant, which to a certain degree they are, but part of it is also just facade. He can be sensitive if he wants to be and feels safe to do so (or if it benefits him in any way) and he is a good listener.
Even though he knows the code of etiquette and manners, not only of the drifeyan royal court, but of many different cultures actually, he likes to disregard it for the sake of shocking people.
Mannerisms
Smiles to conceal anger, but it's a cold, kind of strained smile that never reaches his eyes and honestly looks quite scary, play with their hair when nervous or intrigued. He gestures a lot while speaking, which gives a certain drama to his character.
Hobbies & Pets
He doesn't have a pet but he owns a horse, a mare named Eizarel (named after the colour of her red-brown fur).
Reading, gossiping, baking, enjoying music, listening to and critiquing other storytellers' stories.
Reading, gossiping, baking, enjoying music, listening to and critiquing other storytellers' stories.
Speech
Auun's voice is smooth and mellow and has a comfortable pitch, it's kind of in the middle, not too high and not too deep. Although Drifeyir isn't his native language, he speaks it perfectly and accent free, his Common Arregean, however, has a slight Kaatim accent. They speak the royal dialect of Drifeyir, which is the standard dialect that foreigners learn. In their native language, Kaatim, they speak a more rural dialect spoken in the northern part of their home country.
Auun loves to draw out his sentences and put emphasis on certain words by slowing down his speech a little bit or making the word extra mellow/smooth. Through that he can pretty much charm or threaten anyone and sometimes it's not entirely clear whether he's doing the former or the latter. They also love to charm people by complimenting them but later turning it into an insult, if the conversation isn't going according to their taste.
Auun loves to draw out his sentences and put emphasis on certain words by slowing down his speech a little bit or making the word extra mellow/smooth. Through that he can pretty much charm or threaten anyone and sometimes it's not entirely clear whether he's doing the former or the latter. They also love to charm people by complimenting them but later turning it into an insult, if the conversation isn't going according to their taste.
Relationships
Shared Acquaintances
The rest of their family, so Mother, Father and another sister, as well as extended family and the people they grew up with in the village.
Shared Secrets
The rest of their family, so, Mother, Father and a sister, as well as their extended family and the people they grew up with in the village.
History
Fehnym and Auun met when Auun started working for the Queen and they bonded over their twofold souls. Auun felt like he could trust Fehnym and dropped his arrogant act quickly, which made Fehnym realise that Auun isn't as bad as he seemed. They started helping Auun with his problems and Auun in turn listened to Fehnym talk about what was bothering them.
Shared Acquaintances
Ebyerel, Vyanor and the rest of the royal court.
History
Auun and Irtrus joined the StA in the same year and were both young prospects destined to set the storyteller world alight but for very different reasons. Auun quickly regarded Irtrus as a threat and his biggest rival, but Irtrus has always had a rather nonchalant attitude towards Auun, which infuriated him even more than the mere presence of Irtrus. They were both in a race of rising through the ranks, Auun bitterly wanting to reach the next higher status first, which he largely achieved, except for the most important one: Master Storyteller. In the end Irtrus got there first, which Auun hates.
Relationship Reasoning
They both joined the StA at around the same time so they were often grouped together for assignments.
In the beginning Auun had something like a crush on Irtrus, but Irtrus wasn't interested.
Commonalities & Shared Interests
They both love storytelling and both want to achieve the level of master storyteller. Both of them want to one day take over the StA
Shared Acquaintances
Quite a lot of people from the StA
Wealth & Financial state
As the Queen's official preferred storyteller they make quite some money. His days of barely scraping by are definitely over and he can live comfortably.
Species
Conditions
Ethnicity
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Storyteller of the Royal Court of Drifeyer, The Queen's Chosen One (derogatory), Grand Storyteller
Date of Birth
26th of Ghostlight 7321 AR
Year of Birth
7286614
182 Years old
Circumstances of Birth
Born on a Wolfday, during a solar eclipse (new moon)
Family
Spouses
Children
Current Residence
Pronouns
he/they
Gender
Male
Eyes
Silver, narrow like a fox
Hair
Long, silky, silver white, worn with many small braids that have beads and feathers in them, top section is pulled into a loose ponytail
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Light, with cold undertones
Height
186 cm
Weight
About 70 kg
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
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