[Minecraft Username]: Coyph

[Are you at least 18 years old?]: Yes

[Have you read the rules? (Link)]: Yes

[How did you hear about Avalore?]: Its kinda hilariously specific, but I heard of it through mention in the comment section of Redlyne's second video on Forgotten Minecraft Servers talking about HollowWorld.

[Introduce yourself if you’d like, as well as any creations you want to share (e.g. art, builds, skins)]: I'm an avid Pathfinder 2nd Edition enjoyer.

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[In-Character]
Read the following prompt:

The rhythmic lull of hoofbeats are a marching drum to the small group of pioneers and variety of folk you have found yourself amongst, packed into a wobbling wagon. The rolling plains of the Southern Reach and a clear sky stretch out all around you, the buzz of excited chatter a dull wash in your ears as your mind strays to your former life and what has led you here to new lands.

“Nervous?”

You blink, returning to the present moment. A kindly older woman sat near you is smiling warmly with a crinkle to her eyes.

“I can tell it’s your first time. Still remember mine,” she flashes a grin and leans in.

“Tell me my dear, why have you come to the Reach?”

[How do you respond (in character)? (250 word minimum)]

Veskal would shift his gaze from the rolling planes to the curious older woman, his eyes harboring a partially and poorly hidden melancholy. "I travel for knowledge... Though I do not dare burden a stranger with my own struggles." He raises both his hands close to his chest while giving a weak, false smile, attempting a kind refusal.

His voice was just audible enough over the noise of the communal transport he now occupied, his posture closing off and becoming somewhat defensive. After a slow inhale that calmed his nerves, he would look towards the carriage floor. The woman, having seen many people like this, frowns slightly before reassuring him. "Oh, don't worry about me, dearie, tis not a burden at all. I have heard many a story from those who wander these lands, many of which come from a life of struggle and survival."

Veskal would look up from the floor, towards the older woman giving him a comforting smile. One all too familiar to him, a warmth shared with the grins and laughs of his kin. As he recalled their kindness, he felt obligated to speak the truth that chained his heart. "...Believe it or not, but my stature belies my nature. I bear the blood of my Greatling brethren in the mountains to the east, but lay claim to none of their strength, nor resilience."

He would lean back, his posture becoming more open, but still cautious, as his hands lay on his lap, and he looks up to the ceiling of the closed carriage. "Though it was not like this when I was a small, I soon found myself unable to keep up with them. Unable to participate in our sports, nor hunts due to my... condition. I tried to defy it many a time. Even when I trained my hardest to try and stand with them, I would always need to be caught as I fell."

He would close his eyes, recalling times where he would laugh and socialize with the others of his settlement, but soon be left as they pursued a hunt, looking on with a fading smile before seeking a task to complete or aid in. "...Even when they tried to aid me; tried to find out what was wrong, they had no answers. It... hurt. To be unable to repay the debts of kindness I owed in my heart. So much so, that... I could not bear it any longer."

He would look out the carriage once more, observing the still rolling hills as the older woman's face displayed obvious sympathy. She would lean in, intently listening to him as he continued. "If my people couldn't aid my struggles, and I only intensified theirs, I sought a solution by my own hands. I left, so that I may return to them as their equal. To repay all the kindness they had shown me, regardless of anything I had done. While I had heard scattered tellings of mystical and supernatural things, such as fables or the arcane, I only chose to leave after hearing of the great tower to the west."

Veskal would look towards his hands once more, facing his right palm upwards, and staring at it. "A monument of unknown purpose, left behind by a people who slipped through record and recall, that attracted the curious and scholarly for many years. If I am to find any information on what ails me, that seems to be the right location to begin... Though, if my journey there proves fruitless, I am willing to travel even farther; if the solution lies across the vast oceans, I will pursue it regardless."

A brief, shaky breath stops his tale, as his throat tightens while emotions bubble up, before he manages to reign them in and continue.

"...I must. I could not bear to return to them without the ability to lift them as they lifted me." Veskal said in a voice growing more shaky and hoarse, his open hand now clenched into a fist; white knuckled. The older woman would look on with a slight frown. A person shown kindness he couldn't ever properly return, how cruel indeed. She would speak, offering her own knowledge to his journey: "It is a noble quest, and I wish you the best in its pursuit. Even if you do not find what you seek at the Spire-town, I believe there are many a place that could aid you."

Veskal would look to her with a glint of hope; faded but real, as she shared her knowledge of the world, gained from old age and experience. "When I was much younger, I lived far from here; across the oceans. I had always heard tales of the neighboring lands, but none as intriguing as the fire-strewn region to the north. A place once home to a magnificent dragon, whose people are resilient and determined. Though its life came to an end before I even lived, tales of its spirit still inhabiting the land circulate even today. Perhaps you may find a solution there, if all else fails you?"

He would give a slight smile, before turning to the carriage floor once more. "Perhaps..." He would lay his back against the carriage seat, finally taking a moment to relax. "Thank you for this information. It means more than you could ever know. Truly."

A moment of silence would pass, before a realization dawned on him, and made him turn suddenly towards the woman in embarrasment. "Oh, my. Apologies, I failed to give you my name! I'm Veskal. It has been a pleasure to speak with you."

He sticks out his hand to the woman, who takes it, and places her other atop. "Please, its quite alright dear. You can call me Vivian, and it has been a pleasure to meet you as well."

As the conversation faded and he returned to his own thoughts, he could not help but look forward to the hills with a waning smile. She reminded him so much of those back home, he could not help but begin reminiscing on times long past, when he played with the other children, unimpeded by anything but his own skill.

"I will return. Thank you for everything." He thought to himself, as the cart continued its journey to unexplored horizons.

—

[Character Name]: Veskal Mosinith

[Character Race]: Greatling

[Character Age]: 27

[Brief Physical Description]: An unnaturally short, almost monochromatic Greatling. Due to an unknown affliction, most of his brown hair has been outnumbered by white strands, while the gleam of his emerald eyes have weathered down to a flat greyish-green hue.

Hello, I'm Moony and I'll be handling your application. Things are looking pretty good so far in the written portion. I just want to ask what you're envisioning the "unnaturally short" portion of your character's appearance to be at. 

My apologies for taking so long to respond, sent this out before heading to work. Since the typical height for a Greatling is around 6'7 to 8', I was imagining him within the range of 6'3 due to the affliction mentioned prior, give or take an inch. I feel that difference would be enough to enforce the idea that others don't think of a proper Greatling when seeing him, likely mistaking him for having mixed-lineage or completely being of a different ancestry (I imagine with his skin tone/hair/silhouette, he may be compared a Half-Greatling or possibly an Arsa Sidhe)

Would you be able to explain the condition your character has? And don't worry about timeliness of response!

Of course! In fact, I was hoping to get in contact with someone about that. Essentially, I have an Idea for how I'd like it to function for the course of my character's story, but since I don't know the finer details of how the systems/lore handle things, I'm perfectly fine with changing it if needed.

The idea behind the affliction/curse/condition, and the reason why I was vague with it, was simply to have a driving force that requires Veskal to change and grow as it (possibly) worsens. It directly challenges his resolve, forces him to take paths he wouldn't otherwise take, and potentially tempts him with a selfish solution at the cost of those around him. Its a force that could warp his good intentions into a horrid fate for both himself and others, or be refined into a tale of resilience, determination, and selflessness; an attempt to prevent others from experiencing the pain he went through.

Not speaking in strictly mechanical terms, how I believe this condition would function is more similar to a curse, possibly involving the magic system of Avalore. This would reinforce the idea that his community (since Stonerunners don't involve themselves much with Fables and the Arcane compared to other cultures.) didn't have the means to help him, thus forcing him onto a journey to find some form of cure or mitigating factor. Ideally, I would have it be a complicated interweaving of magic that couldn't easily be solved by mundane or low-magical means. I didn't want to think of a source for his condition immediately, since I wanted to consult in a post like this about the possibilities/viability of it, and see what the expectations for this kind of thing would be. I do have a vague idea of how it'd to function, but it isn't concrete, as I'm happy to share/refine/remake it to fit the lore. I'll list the general concept below:

Veskal's 'condition' I imagine would be a curse fuelled by magic, possibly made of two different magic types (Thematically, I think a hybrid magical effect involving Cursemithy/Tellurgy would fit best, since Greatlings are associated with stone/mountains/etc). My idea was that this would be enough of a puzzle to involve multiple mitigation/cure solutions. Perhaps the magical interweaving interferes with his biology in some way, due to some kind of inherent magical phenomena.
I wasn't able to find much lore for how magic actually functions in Avalore, since most information I could find was mechanical, but I'll detail what my thought process was for this: I began by operating off the assumption that magic exists as a pervasive force in the world (since one can gain innate access to magic with the Arcane Bloodline feat), manipulated and harnessed by the caster. I imagine magic is either an outside force that becomes part of a being once learnt/manipulated/refined, or is a direct refinement of existing magic within the individual, both supporting what the Arcane Bloodline feat implies: 'refined' magic can be passed down, manifesting into a general or possibly patron cantrip. From this, I wondered 'what would powerful and/or abundant raw/unrefined magic do to a person?' If magic doesn't take a school/tradition till refined by the caster, how would the body handle a particular excess of it? Magic can already cause potential injury/damage to the caster due to mechanics like overcasting/the particularly unstable nature of Ether, so what if that could also cause a lasting, almost poisonous effect? I then extrapolated that to the 'enfeeblement' and developmental issues that Veskal suffers from, due to a particularly high amount of raw, unrefined magic that saps his body's energy/matter in some way to keep itself stable.

Addendum:

Depending on if the aforementioned idea on how the condition/curse would function, I also saw some very fun story opportunities that could be gleaned from it. Perhaps when his body can no longer fuel the magic within, the magic detonates in a way similar to stars reaching the end of their lives (which also ties well into the Astrology/Stargazing nature of the culture he came from). Perhaps the magic within him can be used by others to further their understanding, or present itself like an 'anomaly' to be studied, causing conflict for him as he's treated like an experiment. Perhaps he learns to harness this power to offset the physical consequences/weakness by utilizing Force magic? I thought it was all very interesting to think about, since the magic system seems more 'Story over Substance', and up to interpretation, similar to 5e.

Just letting you know that I have submitted your ideas to my fellow Lore Team members to discuss what you've asked about in regards to the possibility of a curse, just so you're aware of it. You can DM me through the Discord if you have any questions or wish for more timely updates. 

Copy that, tysm! If you guys ever need to contact me through discord, my username is ExaltedTEA.

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