Archmage Ereanel Owlbeak is believed to be one of the best magi to ever walk the world. His unending curiosity and talent turned him into a master willing and able to do more than a trio of average magi. Despite his curiosity, he still prefers being a practitioner of combat magic rather than secluding himself in a library to study the magical arts.

Fact sheet and appearance

• Species: Elf
• Age: ca. 2200 years
• Affiliation: Order of Eternal Defenders
• Home: Gloomspire
• Family status: married, no children
• Physical skills: none
• Magical skills: masterful combat mage, can craft simpler magical gizmos and amulets, skilled in magical theory
• Related characters: Ralisha (wife), Kraasian Darkwood (friend), Tyr’eshal Darkwood (student/friend), Grand Magus Raelis (friend), Calyssa, Aldrian, Lan’dael (students/friends)

Ereanel is easily spotted by his purple eyes, an unnatural trait that shows the depth of his connection to magic. He’s easily able to blend in the crowd due to his skinny body, average height, and short brown hair, as long as he manages to keep the attention away from his unusual eye color.

Ancestry: the founding of Gloomspire

A few decades after the Order of Eternal Defenders was created, a group of trolls moved towards the heart of elven lands and settled there. That, by itself, would not be a problem. The problem was that they were using a lot of dark magic, to the point that they terrified animals in quite some distance and even villagers living nearby.

Attempts at a peaceful solution failed. Eventually, it came to blows and the trolls were killed to a single one in a fierce battle. Among those who took part was a mage named Laen’kyr Owlbeak and he was one of those who made the difference. To prevent the trolls from resettling, several elves were chosen to settle in the area and watch over it. They even offered to name the village ‘Owl’s watch’ in appreciation of the mage’s efforts but Laen’kyr declined as he felt the name would remind him constantly of the trait that gave his family the name, the beak-like nose. Eventually, the village was named ‘Gloomspire’.

Fortunately, as time passed, the trait was not preserved and Ereanel suffers no significant impact on his visage.

Origins

Ereanel, like his ancestors, was born in Gloomspire. He was considered a talented student very early even though it took him some time to realize how to develop his skills and talents the best. In his early years, he often traveled across the elven kingdom if it gave him a decent chance to progress his skills.

Battlefields and friends

Ereanel soon realized that his talents will be well used when it came to combat magic and was frequently taking parts defending the Fourth Gate. It was there where he met his best friends: Kraasian Darkwood and Kraasian’s friend Vigellus.

Ereanel hoped he could learn from his mentor on the battlefields but he was not given much time. His mentor, already quite old, retired from fighting just a few years later, spending several decades training more magi before retiring completely. Ereanel thus learned much through improvisation and trial-and-error, trying different spells and seeing what worked for him.

Every few years, Ereanel spent some time traveling to observe how other magi fight or help with problems that were magical in nature, hoping that it would mean he would understand a bit more. During these travels, he met another skilled mage: Raelis, who eventually became the Grand Magus (the formal leader of magi and the advisor to the King in magical matters) and thus having contacts among the high-ranked magi in the Royal Palace, something he’d use in case he needed to delve into theoretical research. His skills eventually led to several medals and the title of Archmage.

Among those he met were several magi of the Order, of which he befriended three: Calyssa, Lan’dael, and Aldrian. Ereanel helped them to find where their magical talent lies and how they could expand on their skills.

When he was in his sixteenth century, Ereanel married Ralisha, a gentle and caring woman from his hometown. Together, they moved to the village’s edge, living in a small and cozy house by the forest that gives Ereanel the peace he needs for his never-resting mind.

Escalation

Ereanel was present for most of the trouble that happened in the last two centuries, including the death of Kraasian’s father and the changes in military structure that followed. In those times, he spent much of the time researching what he saw in those battles, including the magic used to empower demons or the structures of their magical wards, sometimes giving it so much time that Ralisha was becoming frustrated.

His curiosity is the main reason he still does not have a child, despite the fact that most elves have their firstborn child around 2000 years of age. When Kraasian became a father, he said that he’s now not going to become a father for the next few years at least, unwilling to have both his and Kraasian’s attention divided between their duty and their family.

Ereanel and the three mentioned magi will have their roles to play in the Eternal Defenders trilogy. Their different talents and approaches to magic as well as their ability to improvise and cooperate will have an impact on the war they fight. Ereanel and Ralisha will also show some bits about how it is when a common villager lives with a dangerously brilliant mage who is more interested in saving the world than making sure he has a descendant to continue his legacy.