Rizali Corvus

Rizali Corvus

Riza without glamours.
Demographics
Controlled by:	Kyrie
Species:	High Elf
Born:	Astral Era Year 513
(94 years)
Nationality:	Elahánan
Political Affiliation:	Inverted Spire
Items and Abilities
Skills / Trades:	Illusion Magic Sleight of Hand Bluff/Diplomacy Textual Recall
Items:	Journal of Magical Findings School of Illusion Membership Adept-Illusion Mage's Wand
Magical Abilities:	Shadow Step Mass Invisibility Delude Light Weaving Long-Weave Glamours

Rizali Corvus is an illusion mage who arrived in Ceadaichte Mòir escorting the seasonal traders' cart in the spring of AE607 with Kaegan and Lyndh. They arrived prepared to journey through Kingfisher Forest and attempting to recruit any interested local villagers to their cause. While attending The Inverted Spire, they had stumbled upon ancient journals and documents that implied an eternal empire existed on the far side of the forest. Corvus's interests were in expanded knowledge of magic, as the residents of the eternal empire were said to be unparalleled in their arcane mastery.

Biography

Early Life

AE510 map of Canopy, capital of Elahána

Rizali was born in AE513 to the House of Air in the Elahána Forest, a High Elven kingdom bordering the Republic of Ustendelle to its east. By the time of their birth, the House of Air had fallen from favour and hadn't held the throne in centuries. The House of Fire had held the throne for three generations in a row, something that would have been unheard of in the early days of the kingdom, and the Anticipation of Water was rumoured to be next in line. The House of Air wouldn't be in a position to seat the throne for another five generations at least. Despite this lack of prestige, their childhood and adolescence were still privileged, as even a distant branch of the ruling family held a fair amount of money and connections.

Rizali, or "Riza", was the third child to Arlassan Corvus, himself the second son to the head of the family, Feylhen. The estate for the House of Air took up one quadrant of the Royal Quarter in the capital and contained homes and security for the main branch of the House. The Houses of Air and Water historically had the most children and, as such, Riza was constantly surrounded by family members while growing up. They were a particularly frail and sickly child and spent a lot of time in their room while growing up, reading and practising magic with a family-procured tutor. They entertained themself with light shows, bursts of different colours and sounds, and sneaking around the estate at night while blending into the shadows.

At the age of twelve, Rizali approached the head of the family to request an official recommendation to the premier magical academy in the region, The Inverted Spire, and was granted their wish.

Acceptance to The Inverted Spire

File:Coxarif.png

Map of Coxarif, AE600. The Inverted Spire is visible to the northeast of the inner city.

Rizali emigrated to Ustendelle shortly after their 13th birthday in AE526, arriving in Coxarif via private carriage with their mother Brithari. They had been accepted into The Inverted Spire at the earliest age possible and would begin entry-level mage training the same week of their arrival. Their earliest days in the Ustendellen capital aren't well-documented outside a few official documents noting a member of the Elahánan royal family had arrived in the country and would be staying indefinitely, and their enrollment documents at the magic academy.

Their apprentice training was under the Adept-Elemental Mage Caoimhin Wælisc, a human from the northwestern reaches of Ustendelle, who encouraged the young elf to explore Coxarif during their time between classes. This coaxed out of the apprentice an interest in eavesdropping and socialising that would follow them their entire life. Once they entered adulthood, Rizali could be seen in taverns across the city, sharing stories of old Elahána and its secrets, and listening intently to any stories of human culture and history. It was also during this period that Rizali learned that some humans, particularly those from the western reaches of the Republic, had never seen an elf before and were prejudiced against them. They would begin wearing a hood to hide their ears when outside the Spire beginning in approximately AE536.

During their apprenticeship, Adept-Elemental Wælisc noted Rizali's aptitude and passion for magic, and the growth they experienced once they'd settled into the academy proper. The elf was an avid reader, and spent most of their time early on in the library's apprentice section, soaking up knowledge of magical history and ancient spellcraft. In group classes, they were often disliked or resented for their ability to answer most questions even when the subject hadn't yet been covered and an incorrigible nature that desired the approval of whichever Adept-Mage was teaching that particular subject. In an academic newsletter interview after attaining Adept status themself, Rizali is quoted as saying that they were "pretty terrible with people" at that time and expressed regret for the friendships they could have but weren't able to make.

Adept-Elemental Wælisc also noted Rizali's interest in specialising in Illusion magic and encouraged the elf to grow into the role. In 537, Rizali was allowed to take the placement test for the Illusory Specialisation track and was accepted as a Journeyman into the program.

Illusion Magic Training

Upon entering Journeyman-level training, Rizali was moved to the Illusion school within the Spire and given their room. They spent most of their time in the library, reading books previously restricted to them and finding themselves even more drawn to ancient magic forms and alternate styles. Journeyman-level mages were allowed access to studies on magic practised by other cultures, including the elves, and the histories of those alternate options. Though they enjoyed private tutoring while in the House of Air, most of the lessons granted in that space were on modern elven magic and almost nothing of the history of the race's arcane practices.

Rizali flourished under the new curriculum, more focused on classroom and private study with the option of meeting one-on-one with the Adept-level professors. It was during this time that Rizali first met a Master-level mage, Landry Carglowyn, who greeted them upon their arrival and oversaw the department. Though he was cycled out of the Illusion department three weeks after Rizali began their studies, Master Carglowyn's presence left an impression upon the elf, as well as a desire to advance. Though they had been a dutiful student up to this point, entry into the specialisation track marked a turning point in the effort they put into their schoolwork. Weekly trips to the taverns of Coxarif were exchanged for intimate gatherings with a small group of equally-focused students, where they would share spell techniques and theories.

Over the centuries since the specialisation track had been introduced, Inverted Spire professors and other students had been raising complaints of pranks and jokes committed by Illusion students. Within the culture of the Illusion school, these activities and forays were often written off as out-of-class practice, and more likely to be complimented than punished. Seeing some of their peers recognised for such events, Rizali began formulating their own raids. Between 538 and 545, there are at least eight recorded instances of pranks committed by the elf. Nearly every expedition centred around Rizali's early mastery of the spell Shadow Step, a spell they'd picked up much faster than the average mage. One of the more notable events included shadow stepping to the Evocation School and casting a latent Major Image trap upon a target used for ranged fire spells so that when struck by a fireball, it would appear to burst into black flames, spewing smoke through the practice hall until dispelled by a professor. The elf conjured a legion of flying shadow pigs to encircle the school before invading the Adept-Transmutation apartments and disappearing into their fridges. But the prank that Illusion students still remember to this day came shortly before Rizali tested for Mage-level certification.

After using shadow-step to travel to the Enchantment School, Rizali cast Disguise Self to change their appearance. They came out of the spell looking like a middle-aged human man with long black hair and brown eyes. Their clothes changed from Journeyman-Illusion robes to Adept-Enchantment, complete with a cobalt badge with silver trim denoting their office. The attention to detail was so thorough that even upon coming across an actual Adept-Enchantment mage, Rizali was able to pass unnoticed. Upon reaching the central vault, the disguised elf approached the human guard who asked for a password. Though they were unaware of what the password should be, Rizali spoke a word and wove into it the spell Convince, making the guard believe the word they had said was the correct password. They were able to enter the vault alone and began casting a ritual spell of Mirage Arcana concealed within a phantom tripwire. When the Adept-Enchantment mages came in to gather the materials needed for that day's classes, they were tricked into believing they had been transported to a tavern in downtown Coxarif, except a series of trolls had broken through the walls and were charging at them. Once they'd dispelled the illusion, the mages found that all of their materials had been transported unnoticed to the Master-level overseer's office with a small Illusion-school banner flag on top of the pile.

Yotogd'zhotl

“	All I did was speak the name I read in the stars. I never expected him to find me.	”
—Cottia Rhydderch, UE199

While searching through the dustier sections of the Journeyman library, Rizali came across a plain leather journal. It was written by a Journeyman-Conjuration mage named Cottia Rhydderch and didn't contain a date. The author was Prikothan, a culture that had lost its home a millennium ago and had been scattered to the wind. Because of the occasional references to her homeland, it was assumed the journal had to be more than 1000 years old. Though the early portions of the journal were on magic stances and forms at the time, she also spoke of what she'd learned in Prikoth before moving to The Inverted Spire, of her parents and grandparents, how she came from a line of mages but was the first to be accepted to this school. This cultural difference is what spurred Rizali on in reading it.

Cottia had been mapping out the stars for an assignment as an Apprentice when she stumbled upon a strange recurrence of flickering starlight. According to the journal, Cottia studied it intently well into her Journeyman level studies before beginning to pick up patterns. She was eventually able to come to the conclusion that it was a message being repeated on thirty-minute increments. According to her notes, Cottia knew to decode this without a cypher was a doomed endeavour, but a strange and unplaceable compulsion pushed her forward. In her words, it demanded that she must finish her task. One day, a portion of the code unravelled. She could read it as if it were a children's book from her home country, and was able to use that portion of the code to decode what remained. She wrote the message in its entirety for posterity.

The story told in the code was a warning. Yotogd'zhotl was an ancient god of submission, torture, and trickery. Though this civilisation consisted of an alliance of multiple races working together for millennia and was so technologically advanced that they could send messages through the stars, they were powerless in the wake of this force. Once he had been summoned, he tore through their civilisation city by city, world by world, until nothing remained. The stars had been set to send their story by the last research station, a laboratory floating in orbit around the farthest-reaching planet. They could hear his choir approaching even as they wrote the message. Newly armed with this knowledge, Cottia returned to the telescope and saw that the message had changed. "Speak my name."

Cottia wrote that she knew it was a mistake, but that her heart wouldn't allow her to let the tragedy of this lost civilisation die with nothing more than starlight. She spoke the name while looking through the lens. Upon speaking the name of Yotogd'zhotl, the stars flashing the message died. An entire quadrant of space had gone black through her scope. Terrified, she stopped writing in the journal with the story already conveyed. If she could help it, nobody would speak the name of this ancient god ever again.

Rizali attempted to follow up by finding more information on the subject, but there was very little to see. Contemporary accounts of Cottia Rhydderch noted how this strange conjurer had spent half her life studying the stars, only to one day put down her telescope and never again speak of what she had found. She had thrown her journal into the pit surrounding the Spire. Her power grew exponentially as she renewed effort into her studies, with every professor noting that her stargazing must have revealed something to supercharge her abilities, but it couldn't last, as she disappeared from the Spire approximately one lunar cycle after discarding her journal. Searches were sent out across the city, and the Masters came down to track her magical signature, but she had simply disappeared. It was another dead-end after they'd already hit a dead-end in Cottia's journal. With no more options available to them, Rizali spoke the forbidden name and listened to the wind.

Rizali did their best to continue life as normal, but strange events began happening around them. They documented everything that began happening to them, first in the libraries, where they began seeing messages spread among the titles of different books. When walking around Coxarif, the homeless and mentally ill would calm, silently staring at them. When engaged in conversation by Rizali, they would speak of a world of darkness, broken up by unknowable and impossible cities through which they had walked in their dreams, and a creature so terrifying that they couldn't stop seeing it even in the day.

The mage's quarters in the Spire grew to no longer feel safe. Even when sleeping, they found themselves beginning to be pulled into nightmares of an impossible city with buildings and pyramids so tall that they pierced the heavens, lit by some weave of magic even Rizali couldn't see. Docks were suspended in the air next to these buildings, ships with sails of light being hurriedly loaded with crates before fleeing into the clouds. And at all moments across these nightmares, Rizali could hear the choir Cottia had written about, a cacophony of discordant voices singing in the distance, heralding the arrival of Yotogd'zhotl.

Rizali used the opportunity to continue studying. Their notes expanded into books of their experiences. They experimented with ancient occult rituals they had found in the historical study books, attempting to establish some sort of communicative connection between themself and the elder one, rewarding them with temporary relief from the fear. Eventually, armed with another journal by a pre-Spire occult mage, they attempted a protection ritual, unique in that it required a sacrifice to blind the caster's existence to any target of their choosing, even gods. Rizali has never spoken on the sacrifice they used but experienced no signs of being hunted after that point.

After escaping the notice of Yotogd'zhotl, Rizali began experimenting with the connection they'd established. Through lucid dreaming techniques, they were able to walk the streets of The Impossible City, as well as find "tomes" of imparted knowledge from the realm of the elder one and the lost starfaring civilisation it destroyed. They learned of things that shouldn't exist, and ways of weaving spells entirely unique to the collective knowledge of the Spire. Through the knowledge they gained and the siphon they'd planted upon the elder one, their arcane ability began growing significantly, especially abilities that complimented their nature and specialisation.