Ardan

''"Your eyes have played a fatal trick on you, Chief Shabub. They showed you an old elf traveling alone, the perfect target, but they failed to look beneath. Had they done that you would have realized that he is the most dangerous foe you could ever face: an elf with nothing to lose." ''

Ardan to the orc bandits led by Chief Shabub  Ardan is a melancholic elf who lived a long life, most of which he spent as a servant to the nobility, a role he found honorable and satisfying. But if you live as long as elves do, History has a tendency of forcing you out of your comfort zone… With the fall of the Imperium his old way of life disappeared as well. Then one day he somehow acquired magical powers, yet he is unsure how. Soon he found himself out in the wilderness, wielding powers he never asked for, driven by strange dreams and his own shame, unsure of what is even required of him. Fate led him to meet the Avalanche and he joined the company so that he does not have to face alone what comes next...

Early life
Ardan was born more than four centuries ago, in the A.I. 14 in the city Gael Eldhil on the shore of the Azure Sea. His father was small-time merchant selling trinkets while his mother was a minor bureaucrat in the city council. Since her sister was the eldest she was groomed to take over her father's business while his brother dreamt of becoming a soldier and sought to become a squire. Ardan had no interest in either the business or the crude life of a soldier. Ever since he was little he felt drawn to places of beauty and majesty, he relished celebrations, parades, traditions and rituals. His family was most surprised when he announced that he will leave home and become a servant to the Meliamne family’s household. His siblings scoffed at him, they could not understand why their little brother would seek servitude. But to Ardan this was a prestigious duty and the chance to be part of something greater and meaningful

He spent his adolescence learning the rituals, etiquette and all aspects of the complicated rituals of elven high society. When, decades later, Lord Meliamne was offered to become the ambassador of the Azure Federation in the Imperial City, he took Ardan with him. The city was beyond Ardan’s wildest dreams, a giant wonder made from marble and stone, housing a million souls. Still, his duties required that he spent most of his time at the Azure Embassy and rarely explored the city.

Life in the Imperial City
In they A.I. 92 History upended the life of Ardan for the first time. Through clandestine machinations the Imperium sowed distrust among the leaders of the Azure Federation, which lead to several coups in south Azure and a full-scale civil war in Arpenia. Within a week the greatest rival of the Imperium disintegrated into squabbling city states, many of which quickly swore fealty to the Emperor for protection. The Azure Embassy was seized by the Legion and Ardan found himself out on the street with no money or contacts. Soon he was forced to give up his pride and he had to survive by doing menial labor for merchants and craftsmen. It was during this time that he met Livia, daughter of the jeweler Ardan was hauling coal for. After so many years it is unclear if it was love at first sight, but in about a year they were married.

Livia’s father had quite a few clients among the imperial nobility and he used his contacts to get Ardan a position at the household of one of the senators. It was a great time in Ardan’s life he steadily rose through the ranks, while Livia and he also had two daughters. But at the end he had to learn the harsh lesson of living with short-lived races. Livia died soon after her sixtieth birthday and his daughters left years before that to live their own lives. But Ardan found purpose in doing his duty and continued to serve. His perseverance was finally rewarded when he made an impression on the Imperial Court’s Cup-bearer who offered him an assignment at the Imperial Palace. This was a dream come true to Ardan, he was to serve at the house of the God-Emperor himself. And he did just that, starting from a lowly position he worked diligently for many decades until he became one of the Deputy Master of Ceremonies in the year 231. This was as high as a commoner like him could dream to get at the Palace without political backing and it was the greatest moment of his life when the God Emperor addressed him and elevated him to this rank (among with the 50 other servants who were promoted at the same event).

For nearly two centuries Ardan continued to serve, content in his role, relishing the majesty of the office he served.

The Fall of the Imperium
In the year 400 the Imperial City was busy with the centennial celebrations and Ardan (as Deputy Master of Ceremonies) was one of the main organizers of the events near the Imperial Palace. He put his heart and soul into the preparations, but, once again, History had other plans.

Ardan and his deputies were busy directing a troupe of performers and preparing them for their part in the parade that evening when the Abyssal Gate was opened. Demons poured out and within minutes the celebrant city became a place of nightmares. Soon the Palace Grounds were surrounded, there was no escape. Meanwhile the Demon Lords leading the Horde challenged the God Emperor. Ardan and the others trapped with him watched in horror as the fight slowly but surely turned against the God Emperor. Then the most remarkable thing happened: the God Emperor turned towards them and even though he was hundreds of feet away he looked right at them and said “Take my blessing, so that you may return and fight another day”. Then Ardan and the hundreds of people around him felt a surge of power rising in them, the blessing of the Living Gods. With their newfound strength they pushed through the demon horde and reached the Shadow Gate through which they escaped the city.

While the others exited the Plane of Shadows at the nearest city to regroup, Ardan did not. He had just one though on his mind: “Away from here, as far as possible”. He ran for days until the blessing wore off and he collapsed. He awoke in the city Mistport on the south-eastern part of the continent. After a few days he managed to orient himself and learned that the God Emperor has been devoured by the Demon Lords, the entire Imperium is in disarray and demons are pouring out of the remnants of the Imperial City. He felt that duty demanded that he take up arms and return to the city, but the thought of facing the demon hordes there paralyzed him. So instead he kept his head down and started everything again, from the very bottom. He took menial jobs, trying to work his way up into one of the noble households, to do the one thing he knew how to do: to serve. Meanwhile the Succession War raged all over the continent and every day he felt the calling to join the fight, but his heart was paralyzed by fear. So he did nothing.

In the coming years Ardan learned what happened to the others blessed by the God Emperor. They all felt the same calling and they formed the Blessed Company and joined the campaign of General (later Queen) Calarel Leowynn. The Blessed soon became famous for their prowess on the battlefield and their fearless charges against the demon horde. The story of the Blessed ended when they joined the elven forces to break the siege of Aracilia, the bloodiest battle of the Succession War. None survived and on that day the calling Ardan had been hearing fell silent.

Shame and Chance at Redemption
Although Ardan managed to begin anew in Mistport and gain employment in a noble household (it wasn’t hard, having a high elf servant is considered a status symbol among humans). But he no longer enjoyed his duties, as he was haunted by the shame of his cowardice. His employers did not notice as he carried on stone-faced, and they just assumed that elves are like that.

Every year Ardan sank deeper and deeper into depression and self-pity, only finding brief glimpses of happiness at the bottom of the glass. Then one night he had a strange dream, or maybe a vision, that showed him a series of places he has never visited, and a voice calling him. He did not think much of it when he awoke as he had a lot to drink the night before. But later he started noticing things: first his hands were no longer shaking and he no longer craved alcohol. Then he noticed that he could “feel” magic and a few days later he realized that he could actually cast spells, even though he never had any training.. In the coming weeks Ardan’s magical power kept growing and he started training in his free time. Meanwhile the dream kept returning, becoming more and more insistent. Not much later Ardan quit his job and devoted all his time to mastering his new powers and learning what the dreams could mean.

After months of research Ardan learned that his powers are similar of a warlock whose powers are granted by powerful beings in exchange for service. But he did not enter into any contract and had no dealings with such beings… except the God Emperor. Maybe it was no coincidence that he chose a coward like Ardan. Maybe he had a plan all along. Maybe Ardan can still find redemption… Or maybe he is being manipulated by malevolent forces?

Nevertheless, he decided to seek out the places shown to him in the vision, first of which was in a vast jungle, perhaps there will be answers there...

The Jungle of Daggers
Ardan's visions led him to the Airwood Valley of the Jungle of Daggers, but they provided no clear objective. There Ardan met the Avalanche and joined forces with them to investigate what happened to the missing settlers of the NGTC outpost. Later they met Andromeda who told Ardan about her quest to restore the Old Imperium, the first step of which is to find the former imperial Archmage Travenus (now an abominable lich) who has been hiding in this region for centuries. After this exchange Ardan became convinced that the vision meant him to aid Andromeda in her quest: "clearly the God-Emperor wishes his rightful ancestors to reclaim the throne".

Finding Purpose

After the events at the Bay of Lightning Ardan received new visions that led him to the far side of Aegeron, to the Godhammer Crater. There he encountered the half-elf wizard Avys, another survivor of the fall of the Imperial City, who was pursued by demons for some unknown reason. Realizing that this meeting was clearly the purpose of his vision, Ardan and Avys came to the conclusion that the only way to find out the identity of the power is behind Ardan's magical abilities and the reason the demons pursue Avys is to face their fears and return to the demon infested ruins of the Imperial City.

Relationship with the Factions of Aegeron

 * Ardan believes he was given powers for a purpose. In the Jungle of Dagger he convinced himself that that purpose is to aid Andromeda and the Magnusson Restoration.
 * He is strongly against Thorin Ironfist, who was a rebel leader in hiding before the fall of the Imperium. Ardan, as a palace servant at that time, shared the view that he is a power-hungry troublemaker. The fact that Ironfist crowned himself Emperor only fuels Ardan's disdain towards this "pretender, who dares to claim to be an equal of the Great Ones that came before him"
 * He spent most of his life serving "his betters", so, naturally, he is no supporter of the Reaton Reds. Nevertheless he does not believe them to be evil (like he thinks Ironfist is), instead he thinks they are misguided or just ignorant.
 * Ardan considers the Status Quo to be a sad state of affairs, he thinks in the old days everything was better: "there was peace, people knew their place and the God-Emperor watched over us all". Still, he definitely prefers the status quo to Ironfist or the Reatons gaining power.
 * He never gave much thought to the Dragon Princes, he thinks they are the relics of a savage past and they should just leave for the Western Continent, where "there are a lot less people and a lot more beasts, so they would feel right at home".
 * Ardan (like most people) has a very dim views of the Devils and tries to avoid dealing with them if possible. Still, he saw first hand the death and destruction brought by the ravenous demon hordes, so he understands the necessity of the Brass Concordat. He also thinks that it is an extremely unfair deal, but (at the time) the devils were holding all the cards. He hopes that with his new powers he can do something about this...