Robin Adlehyde
The Once & Future Architect
Backstory
Robin was born to the Adlehyde family, a minor noble house in the lands of Falinor. In accordance with his heritage and upbringing, Robin, along with his 3 older brothers, was educated by the finest Elven instructors, learning the history of the land as well as the ways of magic. While his brothers all achieved outstanding proficiency as wizards, Robin's magic manifested less traditionally.
With no likely path to inheriting his father's title as Lord of the Orchard Lands, Robin spent most of his time on the manor grounds listening to the exciting tales of his halfling servants, dreaming and painting scenes of beautiful new lands and wild exploration. Robin would spend his evenings weaving his dreams into art, and as his skill with magic grew, he learned ways to bring those dreams ever closer to reality, re-shaping the world around him through the strokes of his brush.
When he came of age, and it came time to take a profession, Robin joined the Cartographer's Guild, eager to see new lands and explore the world, like in the stories of his halfling friends. As a parting token from his father, Lord Adlehyde gifted Robin a uniquely crafted shield: emblazoned with the crest of the Adlehyde family (a flourishing persimmon tree in front of an arcane rune), on the inside panel is fashioned a wooden easel, and space for his paints.
Before leaving home, Robin took his childhood slingshot, and refurbished an old quarterstaff to become a large paintbrush. Naming this brush 'Softstroke,' he slung it across his back, able it use it quickly for casting magic on the road.
Tools in hand, Robin set off towards the Last Rest Tavern.
Early Adventures in Last Rest
Robin came to Last Rest as one if its first adventurers at the call of the Cartographer's Guild, quickly pairing up with fellow newcomers, the Bugbear, Grunk, and a Forge Cleric named Roland Bucklebraut. Robin's first outing was disasterous: getting pickpocketed by a local thief, Boris Clovenhoof, the three novice heroes chased the bandit into a field of undead. Grunk and Roland were killed by zombies, as Robin ran for cover within Boris' hideout. Finding a scroll of turn undead, Robin was able to repell the monsters, but could only bring one of his two companions home to be revived. He chose Grunk, and swore vengeance against Boris Clovenhoof.The Shattered Mountain
In Boris' stash, Robin also uncovered a treasure map to an ancient treasure. Excited to pursue this (and with Grunk still on the mend), he teamed up with a wizard boy near his age, Elfriede Simbledon, and ranger Bronwen Fox to track down the mysterious cache. Their trail led them deep into a nearby mountain cave, where they discovered strange artifacts, including a material called Arcanotech that had been created by a civilization named "The Architects" but generally had been lost to time.Finally finding the treasure they came for, they were stopped in place by a dark figure, humanoid in appearance. When Bronwen attempted to protect her companions, the dark figure severed her arm, and then revealed itself as an Ancient Black Dragon. The trio of novice adventurers had, unknowingly, released this Ancient Dragon from its prison, and the beat began to consume radioactive sludge so that it could ascend in power and wreak havoc upon the Reach. Robin found an escape pod for his companions, but was unable to make it to the pod himself. Seeing few alternatives, Robin took out his trusty bag of holding, threw himself inside, and lit the radioactive sludge ablaze, causing the entire mountain-side to explode, his companions to be rocketed to safety, and Robin to be cast adrift somewhere in the Astral Sea.
Lost in the Stars
Robin, along with the few belongings he had on his person, were sent adrift on the Astral Sea. Time passed differently there, and while Robin did not age, or even need to breathe, it felt like a century to him during the time he was there. His saving grace, however, was the Arcanotech that he had pilfered from under the mountain. With nothing but time on his hands, he studied the material, tested it, and after decades, became a master of it. Robin, at long last, discovered how to construct a basic spelljammer, on which he could sail the Astral Sea thousands of times faster than he'd be able to otherwise. His Astral skiff (along with some help from Elfriede and Bronwen) got him back to the material plane, but left Robin with a warped mind, and the belief that, with his newfound technology, he was the true savior of the world against the threat of chromatic dragons.The Black Dragon Book Club
When Robin, Elfriede, and Bronwen returned home, they founded a powerful guild within Last Rest called the Black Dragon Book Club. This guildhall served as a place where any could study magic, with Elfriede quickly ascending to a leadership position as "Sage" of the Reach, and Robin using it as a headquarters for Arcanotech. Scholars, even from Falinor, flocked to Last Rest to study the novel innovations here and amongst notable mages.The Many Battles of Last Rest
Robin's Arcanotechnology proved a potent solution to many of the problems facing Last Rest. He was able to construct magical defenses, small scale musical homunculi, and rebuild his Astral Skiff into a travel and combat vehicle that gave him and his allies massive battlefield advantages. However, these improvements drew attention to the settlement, and among many other events fated to occur, Robin found himself amongst a corporate hostile takeover from Hepahaestus Arms, a time-warping saga around an uncovered Arcanotech relic called the Nexus, a brutal assault from Abyssal demons, and many spicy town council meetings where he served as a board member.Ultimately, the combined threats from these sources proved too much for Last Rest to withstand. It's leadership fell after repeated assaults, and Robin was killed, but mysteriously resurrected the Arcanotech Nexus that he possessed. Revived and possessed by a dark magic, Robin unknowingly destroyed the guildhall, killing the many scholars inside. As the town turned on Robin, he took his studies to a private tower, contsructed purely of Arcanotech.
The Chronogates
Alone, Robin began working on his most powerful masterpiece works yet. Combining his original talents for Arcane Painting with Arcanotech, he created 6 canvas paintings that had the ability to take a person back in time to major historical events. His first venture into his creations took him back furthest in time, back to a time before the Weave existed; Robin visited the Architects, living amongst their civilization for 13 years as he attempted to truly become an ultimate master his craft. Unfortunately, Robin's creations were too experimental, and too powerful. His lack of understanding of how magic worked before the weave ended up causing a magical cataclysm, destroying the entire Architects civilization. Robin emerged from his Chronogates at 31 years old, shocked and horrified that he, once again unknowingly, betrayed and destroyed those closest and most dear to him.The Endgame
After some trepidation, Robin reunited with his friend Elfriede. The two joined forces again to take down another Abyssal threat, this time encroaching upon the remnants of Last Rest from east in the Greenskin Plains. Robin arrived first on the scene to assist Riven and Eliana Quilaren against Eliana's mother, the commander of the abyssal forces. However, Eliana succombed to the Void, and Robin called in Elfriede to come to their aid. An epic battle ensued, in which Robin was shown the future of him becoming The Dark Lord, master of Arcanotech, but also responsible for the destruction and death of many. With some "assistance" from a powerful Robin realized that as long as Arcanotech was in the world, it would continue to inspire evil forces, and would lead him down a path he couldn't recover from. So, he destroyed his Arcanotech Tower, and committed his life to bringing an end to Arcanotech wherever it still existed.
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