Azsire
Ice-caster Azsire Tulyátar (a.k.a. Avatar of Jäätta)
Oh, not that asshole.One might think that the levels of distrust around arcane magic would remind scholars to be restrained in the rate at which they progress their studies. One might think it unwise to make it obvious how much they know; how much power they can wield. One might also think that a person with significant arcane power and knowledge would be controlled and understanding of those with legitimate concern over said power's use. One might think that, yes. Azsire has never particularly cared for what others might think he should do. Azsire Tulyátar is, according to himself, a snow elf of the Querei tribe - and certainly dresses according to his culture's style, if the white robes and fantastical jewels are anything to go by. Despite appearing to be relatively young, Azsire has attained an awe-inspiring amount of mastery over arcane magic and thus has gained access to the accompanying knowledge his tribe keeps locked away in the Tower of Sathelis: this would perhaps be more worrying if he seemed to have any ambition to use the knowledge for more than just his own educational purposes. Recent revelations have uncovered that part of Azsire's mysticism is attached to his status as an avatar - perhaps the only example of a mortal soul merging with a pre-existing avatar. As avatar of Jäätta, it is all but certain that the elf has some connection to the Elsrei, though he has remained remarkably unclear on the specifics of his past. It is perhaps this connection to Istralar, as one of her avatars, that encouraged him to be the one to imprison the Harp of Virtue - thus being the sole individual standing in the way of a Shard of the Void's influence over the planet. It is unknown what impact this has had, if any, on the lands he protects.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Azsire by Hanhula via Heroforge
Lithe and dextrous but with only very average strength, Azsire fits the typical image of an elven mage. No scars are noticeable on any of the skin he leaves exposed, but his body temperature is notably colder; even the air he passes through becomes chilled.
His long silver-white hair falls to approximately his mid-back, largely left loose aside from the odd tightly-woven braid and is kept out of his face by a gem-encrusted silver circlet that rests against his forehead. His eyes are a piercing, inhuman blue, the pupils often white instead of black. A rough scar marks his neck, new and unfaded.
Body Features
Living up to the stereotype of snow elven features more than fantastically, Azsire's hair and skin both reject most colour in favour of sitting as close to white as possible. His skin is tinted lightly with a flush of pink, giving him almost porcelain features, whilst his hair holds more of a blue hue. His ears are long and pointed - a sign of older elven bloodlines, rarely (if ever) intermixed with humanity - and he tends to adorn them with silvery ear cuffs.
If other features of his would stand out as abnormal, they're not publicly visible.
Facial Features
You're so enamoured with the idea of looking like some 'perfect' doll. You considered acting like one as well? Silent? Lifeless?Arched eyebrows rest over lidded eyes that often glitter with ice-toned eyeshadows. Azsire's features are not quite as angular as an average elven man's; his are softer, made rounder still through his make-up artistry. A smirk tends to linger on his lips, replaced with a condescending smile of dismissal for those who don't quite meet his standards.
Special abilities
For all his bragging and condescension, Azsire is actually a surprisingly powerful spellcaster. Like many snow elven spellcasters, the ability to tap into icy power runs in his blood, and he takes full advantage of that in conjunction with his spell-tome. The limits of his powers aren't well-known, likely intentionally, but he has mentioned a number of dangerous abilities - including the creation of a full personal demiplane.
Apparel & Accessories
Enjoys wearing robes, gowns, and other flowing pieces of fashion that accentuate his natural features and match his so-called 'colour palette'. Whilst he does show a rather decent amount of skin in these outfits, he's also cautious to never break local indecent exposure rules and to keep a set of matching elbow-length gloves on. Some sets even have false nails, much to Phaiyah Asthakhan's disapproval.
He is never seen without at least three pieces of jewellery on, one of which tends to be his intricate circlet, nor can he be found without his spellbook somewhere at his side (or, as it may well be, floating in his area). Said spellbook takes the form of a silver-bound grimoire frozen shut with deep blue icicles; Azsire seems to have no trouble opening it, though others struggle.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Now, darling, you can't expect me to give everything away so easily. If you are so intrigued by me, I would be more than happy to reveal more of myself to you - perhaps in the bedroom, mm? All you need to do is ask, dears.Little is known of the snow-elf's personal history due to his excessive secrecy. He has confirmed some small facts: he was orphaned at a young age, with his mother falling victim to a terrible illness, and his father following her into the afterlife shortly after. He never reached adulthood as a mortal: whatever circumstance led to his transformation into the aberrant mixture of mortal and avatar was triggered when he was still young, though he hasn't spoken on whether this was before or after the loss of his parents. From there, he has said little of his childhood, or the events of his adult life. If he is to be believed, he has studied and lived with the Querei in the the Tower of Sathelis for many years, and yet - if this is the sole case, then how can he comment so casually on prior journeys taken, and beds slept in across the borders of continents?
Only the very closest know anything more of Azsire, and such secrets lie within...
The information written within is considered secret and precious by the character it is about. Players in the campaign should not read this section if they have not been given the privilege of knowing him well enough to receive it.
Azsire was born in the Tower of Sathelis during the bitter winter of early 5218 after a long and arduous pregnancy by his mother, in the midst of one of Iskaldhal's twisted magical storms. Shortly after he arrived, the weather ceased - his birth was considered a good omen by both tribes of his birth, and he enjoyed a kind childhood. His father was an Elsrei ranger who knew the ice-plains of Kylmävikk Desert like the back of his own hand and travelled them regularly to trade, and his mother was a Querei scholar, mage, and apothecary.
As a child, he split his time between studies and play in both Jäätta and the Tower of Sathelis. His mother would split her time between the two snow elven tribes in ten-year stuttering gaps, lending magical talents, and his father would take him out on long journeys across the desert and through the mountains as he hunted and traded. Azsire found himself close friends across all four snow elven tribes and through the other travelling groups of the desert, most notably growing close to Hrizse Diaelan and Iuvaeni Amliris of the Querei during his time there.
He flourished as a mage even from a young age, following his mother down the path of arcane knowledge and catching the notice of leaders in both his tribes. Unbeknownst to him, it was agreed that when he grew closer to hitting adulthood and had begun to prepare to walk his path, he would be offered apprenticeships by some of the most skilled mages known to the snow elves, for any drop of magical power was precious, and he seemed to have the makings of a talented spellcaster. Unfortunately, this would never come to pass.
In 5280, when he was only 62, his mother fell terribly ill. A magical ailment, likely brought to them by one of the twisted magical storms that scorned the earth; despite her own effort and that of all who knew her, there was no cure. She passed early in 5281, only a few weeks after Azsire's 63rd birthday, and he was heartbroken. His father seemed even more so. His father had always been a gentle, humorous man with an endless patience, yet he now seemed to withdraw into himself with an odd coldness towards most. Azsire was one of very few spared this worrying change in behaviour. In retrospect, it may have been the events of what was to come that was influencing his father's behaviour rather than the death of his wife, or perhaps even the influence of the Harp of Virtue; Azsire has never shared his thoughts.
At the beginning of winter in 5284, almost four years after his mother's death, Azsire's father gathered the Elsrei lingering in the Tower of Sathelis and began an urgent journey to return to Jäätta. Such things were quite unheard of; travel was done in summer, not winter, and yet neither he nor any other adult on the journey saw an issue with their departure. It was an emergency, they claimed; it was urgent. Most fell on the way - children freezing to death even clad in hopesweave, parents and guides falling to monsters, starvation, and that bitter, endless cold that drove them forward to the sound of a siren call only they could hear.
They didn't make it. Not quite. Azsire and his father, the only two survivors of their group, arrived at the gates of Jäätta to find them already sealed, to find the nation's fateful curse already fallen. Praying that they would open in the pale, brief light of the morning, Azsire's father wrapped his son in hopesweave and held him close in a small snow cave next to the city walls.
The curse would catch them there, before they could give into the bonechilling call of sleep, and it would take his father first. Trapped in arms that were swiftly turning to ice, forced to stare up at his only remaining family twisted into frozen effigy, Azsire began to succumb. The ice burned through him, a cold agony from which there was no relief, and he had not the energy to even cry out - for the curse stole even that. Terrified, he prayed. Prayed to Seren, primogenitor and goddess of the elves, prayed to every god he trusted. It wasn't enough. Death took him on the day that should have been his 67th birthday - still a child in every way.
And yet he did not die. Last of the Elsrei to live, even as a half-blood split between two tribes, Azsire was offered a choice. In what way or fashion, he has never explained, but the choice was simple enough. He would never be granted a mortal life, but he could live a half-life. Half-cursed, half-different, half-mortal and half-not. He could serve the living will of his nation; could live on as its avatar. Young, desperate, and clinging to distant hopes that would never be, he agreed.
It was over a decade before he left the frozen halls of Jäätta. Not yet an adult yet walking with the weight of ages, he returned again to Sathelis as the first sign of Elsrei life any had seen since his nation's fall. Though he was certainly changed, they accepted him gladly - and yet he would only remain there for the summer, at first, disappearing again into the snow at summer's end. Sometimes, he did not return for years. It wasn't until he had passed the marker for adulthood that his childhood friends demanded he stay longer, and finally, he agreed. In time, they - Iuvaeni and Hrizse - invited him into their romantic life, sharing with him their families and their child. It could never last, and he made them well aware of it.
They defied him on this. As the hundredth anniversary of Jäätta's fall approached, Iuvaeni fell deeply ill, the sickness seeming just the same as that which had taken Azsire's mother. Rather than die peacefully in Sathelis, she demanded that he and Hrizse let her rest in Jäätta so that her spirit could linger - so that Azsire would have her memory and spirit with him, for she would rather entrust him with her soul than allow it to rest with the gods. Hrizse agreed; he would join them later, when he could do so. Azsire was horrified at their requests. He ended the relationship and left them behind, forbidding them from following.
Naturally, neither would hear of it. Sped on by the powers of their friends, families, and potentially even the avatar of the Querei, Hrizse bid farewell to their child and raced a fading Iuvaeni to the gates of Jäätta. The journey was not easy and the city's lands were shrouded in a violent blizzard, and yet somehow, the two made the same trip Azsire had taken those hundred years ago. In disbelief, Azsire held them both as first Iuvaeni finally gave up her tentative hold on life, and Hrizse shortly followed.
Azsire did not return to Sathelis for many years after that - indeed, it isn't certain if he even left Jäätta. When he next appeared, there was little trace of the bright, curious child he had once been. Cruel, dark, and uncaring, he lived a half-life of false luxuries and comforts throughout Iskaldhal. Countless tales would be written of a timelessly beautiful snow elf - a perfect bed-warmer, a wonderful lover. A delightfully witty slave, a smiling torturer, a licentious library-goer, and rarely the same person from one week to the next; Azsire wore false names and different faces as though they were mere robes, and there was no telling where he would appear or when he would leave.
So passed the next centuries of his existence: drifting from one place to the next, never once caring what happened to him so long as it was vaguely interesting, or disappearing into the halls of Jäätta for years on end. In the late 5500s, he began to return to Sathelis, recognised by few but respected by many - though by now they knew to keep their distance. He would not say what he sought there, not even to the elders, and yet the curiosity ensured he was present when Syrin Elathien and his allies arrived in 5626 ahead of the Lost Ones.
Evidently knowing more of the situation than he let on, Azsire intervened for the travellers when their mage broke Sathelis law: though the mage was killed, Azsire volunteered to join the group. He travelled with them across Iskaldhal, not speaking a word of his true past but helping where he could. Syrin became reliant on Azsire's ley-magic abilities to prevent the influence of the Spiritblade, and Azsire found himself being drawn ever further into plans he could not fully see. When the champions arrived with Talindë Ae'tharis wielding the Sceptre of Aetharis, his own priorities shifted - for the Sceptre was an avatar, too, and one created by the god Azsire still held close. Despite this, he even now holds those thoughts and plans private.
The hunt for the Harp of Virtue allowed him to confront Seren's champion in a demiplane shortly before the final battle. He could see the cracks running through the champion's being, and despite his lack of care for the other's life, the Sceptre held great importance. This, he would steal if need be. Thankfully, events did not play out so badly that such actions were needed. Burdyr Donderiall, Champion of Torag, intervened to protect Talindë on multiple occasions, and in the end, the Harp was defeated. Azsire stepped in to capture the Shard, securing her in a frozen, timeless hell with the powers his blessing and curse granted him - and with the life of a mortal skald sacrificed to allow it.
Things went strange past the Harp's capture. He found himself dragged far from Iskaldhal, from Jäätta, relying on the hospitality of the Aletheian Empire's avatar to allow him to recover. Syrin's allies and the Champions both sought him out for knowledge and to access the Shard, and soon enough, he departed back to Iskaldhal with the former as the latter travelled to seek knowledge in Eckehart Mansion. This proved to be a near-deadly mistake. One night in Moonsfall Temple, without the knowledge of presiding priestess Jinne or any other kind soul, Phaiyah Asthakhan conspired to bind Azsire without magic when he was particularly drained from their other activities, and sought his murder in the hopes of stealing the Shard for herself. She very nearly succeeded: his bond with Syrin was the only thing that could have saved him then without the intervention of far more powerful entities.
Days later, he left Syrin's group behind - with Syrin himself in tow. They did not make it far on their own before Burdyr reached out to them, seeking Azsire's presence as part of a research group. The duo became a quartet, and spent the month researching in a peace that now seemed quite unfamiliar to Azsire. As was his luck, the peace was shattered quite suddenly. The Lost Ones had unintentionally agitated something of a Shard's, and it had already gained access to Istralar's leylines - leylines it forced dark power through, seeking its brethren. Swift intervention from Burdyr and Talindë protected Azsire, but it was clear that their peace was at an end - they had to join the others and prevent this Shard, the Earth-Mother's Gift, from doing more...
Gender Identity
Usually sticks to male pronouns, but feels gender isn't something to be overly concerned about.
Sexuality
Openly fluid with sexuality; pansexual in every sense.
Intellectual Characteristics
Dangerously sharp with the charisma to back it up. Enjoys it when someone can actually match up to him, often swiftly turning things into a verbal spar - sometimes in multiple languages. Shows far less patience for those who demonstrate a clear inability to think critically or use any logical sense - often finding a means to exit the conversation or magically end it if they don't prove to be entertaining in any other manner.
Personality Characteristics
Likes & Dislikes
Greatly enjoys flirting and seductive behaviour, especially when with a partner intelligent enough to match him. Presumably has just as much fun in the bedroom, too. He genuinely seems to like discussing magical theory, history of the world, and anything in connection to extraplanar creatures amongst many other topics of interest - despite his sluttish behaviour, he is a scholar.
Also likes the snow. A lot. Finds it hilarious to throw a snowball at unsuspecting allies when they've previously stated a dislike for snow.
As for his dislikes - anyone without the ability to use their brain is a disappointment to Azsire, and unless they find some other way of being useful, a waste of his time. He finds sharp noises to be exquisitely painful (and tends to express his dislike through spears of ice), and tends to disdain warm environments. Affronts to the eyeballs are, similarly, disgusting.
Social
Religious Views
My dear, I know I'm positively divine, but I truly don't need the hassle of worshippers-- excluding in the bedroom, of course.
Social Aptitude
Often described as an asshole. Doesn't object to the description, instead amending it to "educated asshole" if asked.
Speech
Seemingly incapable of speaking without using pet names and sexual innuendo.
Relationships
History
Syrin first met Azsire in-person in the snow elf's native Querei lands, at the the Tower of Sathelis. They immediately had a somewhat antagonistic relationship that has only just begun to mellow out as Syrin finds his injuries worsening - his reliance on Azsire's powers has worn down his biting remarks towards the elf into an odd mixture of uneasy gratitude and sardonic wit. Their mutual actions of protection - Azsire keeping Syrin well-shielded from the Spiritblade, and Syrin's immediate actions to protect Azsire from Phaiyah - have somewhat secured their friendship, rocky as it is, and the time spent with Talindë Ae'tharis and Burdyr Donderiall has granted the four a quiet fondness for one another that, much as neither Syrin or Azsire would admit, they would not want to lose.
Nicknames & Petnames
Auridel (Talindë, from Azsire Astelmir (Azsire, from Talindë)
History
Hrizse and Azsire met as children in 5249, becoming fast friends after Iuvaeni deemed Azsire worthy of introducing to her closest confidante (and they happened to be in the same place for once). Their friendship did not blossom into love until many years later, when Iuvaeni and Hrizse invited Azsire into their trio; whilst it was Iuvaeni who took the step of initiating the conversation, it was Hrizse who was first to convince Azsire of their sincerity. Their relationship was effectively forced to an end in 5385, a full century after the fall of Jäätta. Both of Azsire's partners remain in Jäätta to this day as remnants of what they once were.
Nicknames & Petnames
Ilumírë (Hrizse to Azsire)
History
Iuvaeni and Azsire met as children in 5241 - first as rivals, then as incredibly close friends. Iuvaeni lead their relationship into love when she and Hrizse were already together much later on, far closer to adulthood, having realised their friend had come to mean more to them both. Their relationship was effectively forced to an end in 5385, a full century after the fall of Jäätta. Both of Azsire's partners remain in Jäätta to this day as remnants of what they once were.
Nicknames & Petnames
Ilumírë (Iuvaeni to Azsire)
Vëa (Azsire to Iuvaeni)
Divine Classification
Alignment
Chaotic Neutral
Current Location
Species
Ethnicity
Realm
Spouses
Siblings
Children
Pronouns
he/she/they
Gender
Yes
Presentation
Androgynous
Eyes
Icy blue.
Hair
Cool-toned white.
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Extremely pale, pink-hued.
Height
6'3
Azsire's icicle dagger by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
Azsire's fan by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
Azsire's spellbook by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
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