Physical Description
The long-term effects of prolonged exposure to magebane are unknown, but Alford is underweight and has lost a great deal of muscle mass, and struggles to gain both.
Although regular physiotherapy has greatly improved his condition, he tires easily for a yutaaq and struggles with joint pain; both issues which become more pronounced the more magic he uses. Magebane poisoning causes discolouration where the bone nears the skin. Although this effect faded as he gained weight, it remains evident on his extremities, and Alford's hands and wrists, elbows, feet and ankles, and tail are indelibly coloured dark grey.
Alford's prosthetic leg has allowed him to regain musch of his mobility and independence, but he still uses a crutch and wheelchair when the need arises and carries a cane for when he needs extra support.
Like all magen, Alford has horns and atypical eyes for his species; like the majority of magen, he has a tail.
Alford's horns and tail are like those of an auroch. His horns are ivory coloured at the base and black at the tip, and measure fifteen centimetres directy from base to tip, curving up and forward.
His tail is about a metre long and covered in fine hair, with a tuft of soft dark hair at the tip. His eyes are black from edge to edge, with a star pattern that reflected the current stars over the Bjerian capital, Tuuha.
At home on Kono'i, Alford wears brighly coloured, calf-length lavalava and goes barefoot and shirtless whenever practical - an arrangement that exposes his poor physique but is based on medical advice that sunlight would be good for his recovery. Although selfconscious about his body, Alford trusts his community not to pass comment.
In colder climes, he wears as many layers as he can get away with to keep warm, with a strong preference towards wool, fur, and other natural insulators. It is notable to his associates that, away from home, his fashion sense tends towards neutral and dark colours. Even in heated and indoor environments, he wears full sleeves and gloves; he claims to feel the cold no matter how well heated the room might be but, in truth, he wants to avoid drawing attention to himself and his illness.
Mental characteristics
Little is known of Alford's early life.
His personal history begins in 917, with the then-unnamed Alford being found, caught in a mantrap north of the Bjeria-Sroia border, by Sigegifu and Beaduric of Raugar. Alford was malnourished and suffering the effects of both chronic magebane poisoning and exposure. Lost and disorientated, he believes he had spent a day and night in the trap before being rescued. Unfortunately, a combination of hypothermia, the design of the trap, and his efforts to free himself had rendered Alfords's leg unsalvageable, and it had to be amputated it in order to save his life. Sigegifu and Beaduric brought Alford to their home and tended to his wound and his illness. He claimed to be unable to recall his original identity, so they named him Alford after the river crossing near which he was found.
When he had recovered enough to travel, Alford left for Utberg, where he met his future husband, Erdhardt "Ginger" Steiner. They took the 'night ferry' (an unauthorised immigration route) across to Ewura and travelled overland to Flavik, and from there to Kono'i, putting several thousand miles between Alford and the brutal Faewas winters. Taken in as refugees, the Steiners were placed with a host family to embed them within Kono'iwae society. Four months after they were settled, they learned about the cursed Bjerian embassy and volunteered to renovate it, restoring it to habitability and moving into the building in 5.921.
On 17th Mæmwað 5.923, Alford was unexpectedly widowed. He continues to run Steiner & Steiner, the arcane consultancy the pair co-founded, executing the debts and duties he inherited from Erdhardt.
Exclusively attracted to men
Alford is proudest of returning 17 Embassy Row to a baseline habitability. Although not entirely without risk, the approach, administrative areas, staff quarters, and roof are safe, ghost-free, and structurally sound. The basement, upper floors, loft space, and garden and outbuildings, however, are still very much a work in progress, and the cause of the haunting remains unknown.
Prior to his rescue, Alford is known to have participated in the Mage War, on the side of the Alliance in some capacity, and spent a period of time in captivity before surviving in the Faewas Marches - the borderlands between the opposing sides. These experiences have led him to develop anxiety around food and food preparation, and disordered sleep.
He is particular about flavours and textures, preferring to go hungry rather than eat something he believes is has been tampered with. Although aware that such beliefs are likely irrational, he still find himself physically unable to force himself to eat anything too sweet or gritty. His sleep is light and fitful, and Alford prefers to nap throughout the day rather than commit to a single rest period.
Ever-curious and inquisative to a fault, Alford is magical dilletante, picking up new skills and techniques for the sheer love of the arcane.
He has broad but superficial understanding of fibrecraft, houshold mechanics, architecture, chemistry, horticulture, and many other things besides, and combines magical practices from these disparate disciplines in unusual and often unpredicatable ways. Fortunately, he delights in learning and takes as much joy from failures as successes.
He can and will talk at great length on arcane theory, though sustaining such a flow of information requires prompting and ocassional reassurance, as he is accustomed to those around him regarding him as a bore.
Personality Characteristics
- Nothing is more important than acquiring knowledge
- Nothing is more important than loyalty
- Nothing is more important than doing your duty
- Nothing is more important than community
Alford is nagged by guilt over his role, or lack thereof, in the Mage War and habours a deep-seated desire to prevent the world ever experiencing such a thing again. For reasons he either cannot or will not explain, he believes he is partially responsible for the war and the lives lost, and - as his recovery progresses - finds himself increasingly drawn to trying to make up for whatever he feels was his responsibility.
Clearly the product of a sheltered upbringing, Alford's education appears to have had some glaring omissions and he arrived in Kono'i unable to perform many basic houshold maintenance tasks. He approached his remedial education with a quiet fury at this learned helplessness, supported by a loving husband and patient host family who guided him though the long process to independence, stoically correcting his mistakes and consuming a staggering quantity of burnt, undercooked, and badly seasoned food in the process.
After Ginger's death, he has regressed somewhat, uncertain and insecure without someone to correct him, and unwilling to make mistakes without someone to help fix them.
After his experiences with magebane, Alford cannot stand sweet food. He forces himself to eat fruit because Ginger insisted for his health, but sugary and gritty foods makes him feel physically nauseous.
Since moving to Kono'i he has developed an appreciation for swimming, sailing and paddleboarding, though he is not terribly proficient at the latter two, and his daily physical therapy walk has evolved into a love of hiking.
Loyal to a fault, Alford cares deeply about the wellbeing of the people around him, and goes out of his way to help people in need. He thinks nothing of offering his assistance to strangers.
He reads widely and expresses affection through sharing what he's learned (sometimes whether the recipient wants to hear it or not), and freely gives away spells and cantrips he has spent months or years developing if he thinks someone else needs them. In Kono'i, he has found a community that supports and encourages this mindset and they, in turn, have found a devoted and generous member.
Alford's greatest weakness is his love of magic - he's easily distracted by the promise of new knowledge, gets lost down research rabbitholes, and over-excited by new theories and applications. His default solution is usually magic-related, especially when he has a new theory, and he has a tendency to infodump when nervous or excited.
In his interpersonal relations, Alford trusts readily and deeply and this occasionally leads him to being taken advantage of or failing to see warning signs before its too late. Although he attempts to resolve this issue by keeping others at a distance, these efforts are frequently at odds with his desire to help people. He is sensitive to rejection, wants to be liked, and is prone to overthinking his mistakes.
Social
Alford maintains a regular correspondance with Ginger's surviving brother and mother, but does not acknowledge any other family outside of Kono'i.
His host family - Keawe Paahao and 'Iolani Hekekia - are a regular presence in his life, moreso since Ginger's death. Alford admits to coming from a large family and enjoys the company of others and the busyness of a family home.
Alford is familiar with, but no longer practices, Bjerian ancestor worship, and participates in Kono'iwae religious festivals, making offerings to Kono'i and Her mountain and forest spirits.
Although broadly respectful of the gods, he does not worship them and privately believes that the preisthood puts unnecessary barriers between believers and religion.
husband (Vital)
Towards Erdhardt "Ginger" Steiner
History
Before meeting Ginger, Alford was a magical prodigy who focused intently on magic to the exclusion of almost everything else. He was expected and encouraged to excel, but this led to him becoming anxious about failing and to react poorly when overshadowed.
Ginger saw magic as a way to stand out among his peers, and his route to a better life. His education was punctuated by incredibly competitive exams in which he had to earn his place but, when he was recruited to Hollywell, he found himself among people who had never had to work as hard as him to prove they belonged. His intensity clashed with Alford's hyperfixation after the two were introduced by a mutual friend, and they spent several months trying to outdo and upstage each other, designing increasingly intricate and elegant spells, before independently realising that their rivalry had become a romantic interest.
After some faffing about, they started dating and were engaged within three months, in defiance of their difference in class. After the war, Ginger tracked Alford using a lock of his hair and they were reunited, married, and fled to start a new life in Kono'i
Nicknames & Petnames
- Alford: Lehlir
- Erhardt: Ginger
Relationship Reasoning
Ginger struggled for acceptance and support in his magical endeavours, becoming frustrated at the rules put in place to ensure the lower classes could not advance their station no matter how they excelled. In Alford, Ginger finally met someone who acknowledged they were there, that they were arbitrary and ridiculous, and enabled him to circumvent, bend and break them. When he was with Alford, Ginger could relax, be less self-conscious, and take a break from his stressful intensely and single-mindedness.
Left to his own devices, Alford can get hidebound, constrained by the ways things 'should' be done - wherther by convention or propriety - and Ginger's pick-and-mix approach to respect and tradition and strategically deployed informality encouraged Alford to experiment and combine techniques, and let him break rules he had always tought were inviolable.
Their relationship was defeined by joy and laughter, of mutual discovery and a heady disregard for rules and conventions. The two men brought out the best in each other, enouraging and enabling the other's endeavours wholeheartedly, prompting and provoking him to new heights, and consoling him when he hit setbacks.
Commonalities & Shared Interests
Ginger and Alford were both fascinated with magic and bonded over their common interest. After the war, both were secretly afraid that their conflict-romance couldn't survive peacetime, they took on large projects together: learning the language and culture of their new home, renovating the embassy and building a home together, combined with Aflord's recovery, gave them a common focus.
Despite their fears, they also enjoyed reading together in the evenings, walking in the foothills as Alford's health improved, and learning to sail.
Shared Secrets
Alford's original identity and reason for leaving Ewas
Shared Acquaintances
- Host family (Keawe Paahao and 'Iolani Hekekia)
- Ginger's mother and brother
Legal Status
Dissolved (one party deceased)
Comments