| Sszeyl of Orgolloyss | |
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| Pictured: Issues | |
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| Nicknames: Sszey, Swan Song, The Sszeyl | |
| Race: Drow | |
| Gender: Male | |
| Born: Jasta 4th, 1133 CA | |
| Home Region: Ezzebek | |
| Age: 87 | |
| Class: Monk | |
| Eye color: Green with red eyeshine | |
| Hair color: White | |
| Party Status: Inactive | |
| Affiliation: Order of Orgolloyss (exile) Mustering Cave hunting lodge Vigilant Guardians (Co-Founder) |
Overview
Sszeyl (pronounced Zzy-el) of Orgolloyss was a Drow Monk of the Orgolloyss Order. At the time of the character's appearance, he was a Terror, a student rank in the Order.
Early life
Sszeyl began his life as payment. His parents, their names lost to history, were not well off. This was in part due to his father's unwillingness to work. Also, his drinking and gambling addictions compounded their money issues. This could only end in knee-capping. And so it did. Sszeyl's father was forced to sell everything to his name, his house, his furniture, his rathe, all of it to pay off his debts.
Things became even worse when Sszeyl's father tried to sell him to finish his debt off. Sszeyl's mother, not being a complete idiot — just a profound one — finally stood up to her husband when this ploy came to light, and contacted the authorities.
The Order of Orgolloyss' home monastery in Ezzebek seized the child Sszeyl from his idiot parents, and left the couple to the mercy of the debt collectors.
It was this incident which prompted swift, widespread action against neglectful parents, and the slave trade among Drow.
The winds of Change
Sszeyl, upon becoming a Terror of the Order, began to speak out against the rule of fear which was uniformly enforced throughout Drow territory by the Orgolloyss. He argued his point valiantly, despite frequently being strong-armed by his fellow Monks, both colleagues and superiors. Eventually, he drew the ire of the Chief Monstrosity, who commissioned him to leave the Drow for the Aboveground, to find evidence of an alternative to the rule of fear, and to not return until he had such evidence, or was willing to recant his opinions. Effectively, Sszeyl was banished.
He received advice and aid from a fellow monk, Tebryn, a Terror due to be promoted to Nightmare (Apprentice) who wished to learn about the Aboveground. This aid included some equipment to help Sszeyl survive the Aboveground, and contact with Tebryn's [half-drow cousin who could help navigate the Aboveground and teach Sszeyl of it's mannerisms. It has been revealed in the backstory Safe Passage that Sszeyl is actually the reincarnation of a Red Dragon of undetermined age or identity, but that certain traits of the old life have bled over, such as the avarice, pride, and unique physical power for one so young. For a period of time, Sszeyl went quite insane due to an inability to adapt to the Short View of the shorter-lived races.
He has since recovered, and redoubled his efforts to not only learn of the surface cultures, but to serve as a psuedo-diplomat, trying to at least earn non-aggression from openly hostile governments. Presently, he hopes to set a legal precedence with the Human courts of Castleton, in the case of Coralline trying to kill him twice for no reason other than her own childish hate.
Description/Personality
At eighty-seven years of age, Sszeyl is still a teenager by Drow standards. He is shorter than a full grown Drow, five feet three inches, and only one hundred fifteen pounds. He is largely muscled now. Having improved his physical strength through magic items. His hair has started to grow back, now a few inches long in addition to his rope-like sprig of hair. Due to the changing seasons, Sszeyl has taken up some wintry gear; a heavy woolen cloak, and undercoat, with stiff canvas pants and tooled leather boots. A bulging backpack under the cloak, and his hands protected by Gauntlets of Ogre's Strength.
Personality wise, Sszeyl is rather bland. He respects the law, and order, but having been raised in a highly violent society, has no problems switching from calm and polite, to violent dismemberment; so long as he is within his rights to do so. He is numb to the suffering of others, and to himself, only taking the effort to care in unique cases, or if it meets his own ends. He can be manipulative, cruel, but more often than not, simply refrains from action or speaking because he does not care; and he has observed people find his blithe approach to violence and murder rather disturbing. He is inquisitive, and can be persuaded to care, if temporarily, for the sake of hearing a new story, learning a new song or recipe, and painting what he claims to be interesting. He is willful, and will do what he wants, how he wants, and when he wants to, with little regard to whom it affects. Whether or not this is a by-product of his upbringing, his rather unique situation, or his own relative youth is yet unknown. He has recently displayed a manipulative, if benign side to his personality. His previous tendencies toward hoarding have reversed, toward giving. Particularly toward people he likes.
Skills & Abilities
Sszeyl boasts an even distribution of his skills, having an even distribution over almost all fields required of being a monk. One of Sszeyl's most prominent abilities is his physical strength; despite his physique, Sszeyl is very nearly twice as strong as the lay man, allowing him to fell foes with a single solid hit. Like many Drow, Sszeyl has innate abilities very similar to magic, though at present his only such ability is Dancing Lights, and its use is limited to once a day; he can also make use of Darkvision, and is immune to sleeping spells. Sszeyl is also skilled with the use of zai, the plural of sai, and the use of slings; though he hasn't ever used them to their full killing potential. Recently, Sszeyl has taken to training with a Tessen he located, and with other monk weapons such as three-section-staffs, nunchuku, and butterfly swords. His retention of such a degree of independence despite the environment of Ezzebek under Order control, is in and of itself a major accomplishment, indicating possible leadership qualities, or dementia; or both. Sszeyl speaks a multitude of languages, including Common, Undercommon, Dwarven, Elven, Drow Sign Language, Auran, and Amayan.
Equipment & Loot
Sszeyl's original equipment included the standard weaponry for all Terrors; zai (the plural form of sai), three days worth of rations, a bedroll, two pounds of caltrops, two pounds of soap, seven gold coins, and a backpack. Some items, like the bedroll, soap, and caltrops were kept in the backpack, while his zai, and rations were kept in the folds of his body wrap. Tebryn arranged for Zairith to provide Sszeyl with additional equipment; a Seed of Darkness, a Firmament Stone aligned with the moon, and a pair of sun lenses. He has since obtained fifteen platinum coins, a ring of Walking on Water -that he has since passed on to an Amyayan human called Swallowtail, a pair of red-oak nunchuku, a simple staff, and his own house. After this, he has purchased a ring of protection, bracers of armor, a belt of the Stone Dragon, and one of the Sanguine Seals.
Trivia
- Sszeyl's tattoo was made with a luminescent purple pigment found in a common fungus in Ezzebek.
- Sszeyl was declared the strongest Drow in his age group fifteen consecutive times. This is a point of pride for him.
- He suffers from a mild form of agoraphobia.
- In Undercommon, the name Sszeyl means 'Silk Arrow'.
- Despite his agoraphobia, Sszeyl is infatuated with rain, and other forms of precipitation; particularly fog.