Emery Auldridge

Emery Auldridge is a young tiefling warmage drop out, hoping to find his place within the Golden Guard, the storied adventurer's guild of Isarith.

Biography

Emery grew up as the youngest of two brothers, born into the noble house of Auldridge, in the small country of Westwister. To his parent's surprise (and his father's great disgust) Emery was born as a tiefling, to his very human parents. His father saw this affront as an utter embarrassment to the family name, an upset that nearly drove his parent's apart. Not only was he born of demonblood, but Emery was born frail and small, two traits his militaristic father couldn't stand in a son. All but abandoning him, Emery was left in the care of his loving mother, an airheaded and slightly demented woman in desperate desire of a daughter.

Seeing her opportunity, she took to raising Emery as that daughter she always wanted, dressing him in fine noblewoman's attire, spending hours styling his hair, and teaching him how to act the part of a proper lady. She doted on him, like a little girl with a favorite doll, but to Emery, scorned by his father and older brother, it was attention he longed for.

When he had spare time between his etiquette, posture, and art lessons, he retreated to his room to read, and learn what he could about the world around him, that he was allowed only brief opportunities to venture into. Eager to appease his appetite for knowledge, and in an attempt to win his father's approval, he would often sneak into his father's study to swipe from his collection of books - hoping that maybe they held the key to understanding him. Being the militaristic man he was, his father's collection was rife with military history and battle tactics, topics that despite what his mother had taught him, he found fascinating.

One fateful day, he was caught with a book of his fathers, and in his unbridled rage, dragged Emery from his room down in the foundation of the estate, where he threw him into the family crypt, locking him in. Terrified and alone, Emery wandered the old halls of the ancient ancestors, before stumbling upon a crypt he didn't recall from his former brief visits. A faint light seemed to emit from cracks of the stone coffin, and overcome with curiosity, he pushed it open. Inside was an ancient looking tattered leather-bound tome, as well as an old dusty wooden staff, housing a small glass orb, emitting the light, but no remains. Taking the tome and the staff for light, he settled down to examine it closer, and to his great surprise found it appeared to have once been a spellbook, though he found that most of the pages seemed to be stuck fast together. Between the ancient scrawlings across the yellowed pages, he made out an incantation, and calling upon his limited knowledge, focused his hardest, closed his eyes, and spoke it.

Hesitantly opening them after, he was surprised to find a small winged sable ferret standing before him on the rim of the coffin. The ferret spoke, in common, and very formally introduced himself as Sir Cornelius Ferrington III, and upon learning of the family tree from Emery, graciously informed him that he was his great great great grandfather. From that day on, Emery would keep Cornelius a secret, but would learn from him in the evenings, locked away in his room, of magic, lore and the world.

Years passed, and Emery's older brother followed in his father's footsteps and went off to study for war at the esteemed Aelfort Military Academy. Wanting to prove himself to his father, and with his mother beginning to fall ill, he signed himself up for academy as well, in hopes to study as a warmage. Emery's only year at the academy was rough, having his brother, now against him, team up with his snobby rival from his magic courses, Ashford Copperlegion to make his life miserable. Despite this, and the general avoidance from the other students because of his blood, Emery made the best of it, and passed his first round of courses well enough. When the holiday came, his eagerness to return home and see his mother were crushed as he arrived, to find her dead. The illness finally claiming her life.

Blaming her death on him, his father disowned Emery and cast him out. Forced to fend for himself, Emery wandered for roughly a month on the money he had managed to take, spending nights under trees, and being turned away from town after town, again because of his tiefling blood. As things seemed their bleakest, he came across a flier for the Golden Guard, a branch of the famous adventuring guild starting up on an island not far from the coast, and seeking fresh blood. With a little encouragement from Cornelius, as well as hoping to put his talents to use, and to find a place he could belong, he set off eagerly for the sea.

Personality

Emery is a kind and well mannered soul, though a bit shy due to his rough upbringing and the prejudice he has faced. Despite the adversity he has faced in his life, he remains a peaceful sort, preferring to handle disputes with words, as opposed to violence, as well as serving as a beacon of encouragement for his friends. Should push come to shove, Emery is reluctant to battle, but has quite the acute mind and sharp eye, which serve him well in a fight.

Skills and Abilities

Emery's strongest quality is his tactical mind, able to devise cunning strategies using the tools at his disposal on the fly and in the heat of combat. His most iconic spell is his telekinetic projectile, where he lifts a ball bearing from the bag at his waist, or other loose small object, and fires it through the air, with deadly precision.

Appearance

Standing around 5 1/2 feet and weighing under 150lb, Emery isn't much of an imposing figure. Having grown up in a scenario where his birth was very taboo, and disappointing to his family, he does what he can to hide his demon blood. As such, he is often clad in a large light blue wraparound cloak with golden weave and wide pauldrons, a floppy wide brimmed pointed cap with a crescent moon hanging from the tip, a darker muffler scarf, thick leather gloves and ankle boots. He can hide his tail under his cloak, but his magic can't hide his horns, which poke through the brim of his hat. Emery often smells strongly of perfume, using it copiously to mask his natural brimstone scent. He carries a fine wooden staff, with a misty old orb centered on the tip of it, and his familiar, Cornelius Ferrington is never often far.