Vertonis

Early in the age of Compromise, elves of the Til-Gathien forest faced a dilemma. With the fall of their capital Ashteril to the north, would they stay and act as a shield to protect the retreating royalty? Or would they pull back to safer harbor, bolstering their kin to the south? Vertonis, child of Lesedira, chose neither.
He'd grown up in a house without standing. Even living far from the capital, escaping its oppressive hierarchy had seemed impossible. Then came the war and Ashteril's fall. A new age of power had drawn attention away from his nothing of a family. So he simply walked off.
This choice initially brought Vertonis freedom. But as he wandered the world and his deeds became famous, this first act of defiance slowly revealed itself to be an illusion. Yes, Vertonis had achieved a form of greatness that was only possible because he followed his own path. But In the end, the elf from Til-Gathien discovered he'd traded tradition for duty, and both carry a heavy burden.
A record of Vertonis' rise and fall is found in the Zephyr Tales adventure saga. Often criticized as apocryphal, these stories place Vertonis at historical events throughout the early age of Compromise. Despite becoming champion of La'Vie "The Mother", Vertonis is described as increasingly disillusioned and regretful in his later years.
Vertonis ended his life as it began, with the illusion of defiance. The last book of the Zephyr Tales, Farewell to Old Friends, describes him abandoning La'Vie for the Mistress of Midnight when he is unable to save his friend Jorinn Vaccel in their battle with Tir. Lost to the darkness, no further record of Vertonis exists.