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 Inverted Spire 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. Through this extended effort, Rizali began qualifying for advancement faster than some of the students that had been previously their academic betters.

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 came shortly before Rizali tested for Mage-level certification.

Rizali Shadow-Stepped to the Enchantment school and cast a glamour to appear like a human Adept-Enchanter. Upon reaching the guard to the central vault, they spoke a word and wove into it the spell Convince, causing the guard to believe they had given the password. They entered the vault alone and cast Mirage Arcana woven into a phantom tripwire. When the Adept-Enchantment mages came in the following day, they were tricked into believing they had been transported to a tavern in downtown Coxarif where three trolls 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 them.

Upon becoming certified for Mage-level training in AE546, Rizali disappeared from their previous social life in Coxarif. They befriended multiple Master-level mages by discussing ancient magic practices they had found in their studies. Training for Mage- and Adept-levels was entirely freeform, and after spending three years in each level the certification test for the next could be attempted. Through their uncommon studying practices and confidence in approaching Masters, Rizali was growing in knowledge and power substantially. This wasn't entirely uncommon for elves, but notable enough to be recognised by the upper echelon of the Illusion school. They tested for and attained Adept-level in 549, gaining access to all but the most exclusive library floors.

Yotogd'zhotl

While searching through the dustier sections of the Journeyman library, Rizali came across a plain leather journal written by a Journeyman Conjurer named Cottia Rhydderch. The author was Prikothan, and occasional references to her homeland suggested the journal had to be more than 1000 years old. Rizali found themselves drawn in due to the historical magical forms as well as the discussions on Prikoth. Cottia had been mapping out the stars for an assignment as an Apprentice when she found a strange recurrence of flickering starlight. According to the journal, she studied it intently well into her Journeyman level studies before beginning to pick up patterns, eventually understanding it to be a pattern repeating every thirty minutes. One day, well over 15 years into her study, a portion of the code unravelled. She was able to read it easily and was able to use that portion of the code to decode what remained. She wrote the message in its entirety for posterity.

It was a warning about a being named Yotogd'zhotl, an ancient god of submission, torture, and trickery. This civilisation, powerful enough to send messages through starlight, was powerless in the wake of this force. Once summoned, he tore through their civilisation 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. Newly armed with this knowledge, Cottia returned to the telescope and saw that the message had changed to "Speak my name." Cottia wrote that she knew it was a mistake, but that she couldn't let the tragedy of this lost civilisation die with nothing more than starlight. Upon speaking the name of Yotogd'zhotl, the stars flashing the message died. An entire quadrant of space had gone black through her scope. This terrified her enough that she stopped writing in the journal with the story already conveyed.

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. They found themself beginning to be pulled into nightmares of an impossible city with buildings and pyramids so tall that they pierced the heavens, lit by some unseen magic weave. Ships with sails of light being hurriedly loaded with crates before fleeing into the clouds. And constantly, a discordant choir heralding the elder god's approach.

Rizali began experimenting with ancient occult rituals they had found in the historical study books, attempting to establish some sort of connection between themself and the elder one, and was rewarded with temporary reprieves from the horrifying events that had plagued them. 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 civilisations it destroyed. They learned of things that shouldn't exist, and ways of weaving spells entirely unique to the collective knowledge of the Spire, creating those weaves through newly-siphoned power.

Journey to the Endless Empire

Rizali attained Master-level in 604 and immediately began pouring through the final secrets of the Spire's library. By this point, they were a respected researcher and instructor and were left mostly to their own devices searching through the texts. In the oldest texts, they found inferences to- and passages entirely about- a seemingly endless empire to the west of Kingfisher Forest. The mages of this empire were supposed to be incredibly advanced, so far beyond the eastern mages that they were regarded as divine. Though they had mentally committed to staying at The Inverted Spire for the rest of their life, Rizali wanted to learn more.

They began putting together an expedition, first reading as much about the Forest as they could find, then hiring Lyndh as a bodyguard. Once the winter passed into the spring of AE607, the pair left Coxarif with a trade caravan bound for Ceadaichte Mòir, a small hamlet on the western edge of Ustendelle, bordering the Forest.