Sylvie

Sylvie was a student of wizardry who accompanied Lord Keel's expedition to the Southern Isles to further her studies. It being the first time she left Mordehall, the Southern Isles were a drastic change from what she was used to. On the trip she fought monsters of the old gods including a siren, met the god Li-Shara, and developed a friendship with the professor Janie Kerias, and Leucy. During Iron Eye's Final Stand Sylvie pushed what should be done with godstones and as a result a toll was taken on her body and mind. As part of the group that found rituals of human enchantment she was recruited into Lord Keel's organization by Janie to begin implementation.

Sylvie later joined the group from the Mordish Birding Society that went after Dan Irem. He was an assistant to Janie who stole several notes from her. Sylvie helped track him through the Procession of Peace to Miirshire. In Miirshire she saved Osprey from being executed by the Woman in the Suit. Sylvie used a sea stone to summon geysers from the town well, which destroyed the town square. She later revealed to her allies the notes were of human enchantment and she could give one of them power. However they all turned her down. Sylvie was then involved in the uprising of the Miirshire miners where she helped kill the Woman in the Suit.

Sylvie was one of the few people to ever see the inside of the Glass Palace. Additionally, despite her Arcane Exhaustion, she was one of the most powerful magicians in Mordehall.

Silver Mists and Bloody Tides
Sylvie was born in Mordehall. She applied for the College of Cape Red and was accepted into the magic program. In AeP 423 she agreed to go on an archaeology trip to the Southern Isles in order to find a noble patron for her studies. It was the first time she left Mordehall. She was one of five academics. The others were Lord Professor Henrus Kline, Professor Janie Kerias, and their students Palo and Genna. One day before the start of the expedition she met several other members of the group, Daxian Byrne a mercenary, J’Kar the illegitimate son of the noble financing this project, and a man who went by Lord Keel. He was the quiet voice of the lord and the main organizer of the trip. The four met at the docks where they awaited their guide.

He was Jack, a sailor from the Isles. When the group was gathered Lord Keel sent Sylvie and the others off to pick up an enchanted ballista for further protection This took them to a warehouse some distance from the docks. Sylvie inspected it to make sure it was actually enchanted. She found nothing wrong with it and got out of the way well the others negotiated. She was nervous all the way back to the docks where the ship Kirinda’s Jewel wiated. She met Captain Melar Peterson and the first mate Feerik, then quickly hurried to the room she was sharing with Palo and Genna. That evening she went to a meeting with the rest of the important members of the crew. Sylvie mostly remained silent. Come morning, they set sail for the island of Karabour. The academics had a meeting where they hypothesized what might be found on Karabour. They all agreed that the scientific study of the items was more important than whatever the nobility wanted to do with them. At night there was a VIP dinner. Sylvie kept quiet again. She passed the days studying and looking for ocean stones with no luck. On the third night there was a storm. Sylvie went with the other non-sailors to weather it in the mess hall. She helped batten down the hatches. At the height of the storm a blast of lighting knocked open a window right next to Henrus Kline. Moving fast Sylive grabbed the professor as he was about to fall out. But J’Kar also moved for him and in doing so knocked Sylvie out the window and into the sea. Sylvie was a strong swimmer and managed to tread water until she was rescued.

Sylvie was in the group that went onto Karabour. They were rowed to shore by Ferrik who found an ocean stone and handed it to Sylvie. When some of the islanders stopped them, Sylvie joined Daxian in a fighting position. She had brought her spear along. Fortunately that ended peacefully. But a short time later the group was assaulted by some of the monsters that lived on Karabour. The Steel Eagles of Ghendar. The dove at the group from the trees above. In the skirmish Sylvie killed one. After the fight she tried her best to patch everyone up though she had little medical training. She could do nothing for Genna however. The other student had been struck so bad on the arm she had to return to the Jewel. That night they made camp on the shore of the boiling lake. And they heard a horrible screech come from it’s waters. It was the call of a Siren.

They were presented with two dilemmas. The compass they followed pointed them to an island at the center of the boiling lake. But they had no way to cross and no way to fend off a siren. As Jack noted this was the most dangerous creature in the Isles. To address the first issue the group made a raft. Sylvie solved the second problem. Using an ocean stone she conjured a current in the water that would push in all directions away from the raft. Though it would not stop the Siren, it would slow it down enough to give the others time to react. Sylvie put the sap that Jack found to stop hearing damage into her ears, and got to work. About halfway across they heard the Siren’s cry again. This time it was louder and more horrible. The Sren’Kana rushed towards the raft. Sylvie concentrated and pushed the tides forward, slowing the Siren. It leaped over the raft striking J’Kar and landed behind them. Sylvie pushed it away. Twice more the Siren attacked the raft and twice more Sylvie slowed its approach. One time the Siren came from below. Sylvie realized at the last moment. By her magic, the group made it to the shore of the island. Once more Sylvie took a look at everyones wounds and did what she could. After recovering they followed the compass to its end, a small rusted metal hatch in the ground. They entered the ancient tunnel and followed it to a storage room full of old weapons, a sky stone, a map to the island of Piyla, and a perfectly preserved mural of the first sky god. He was flanked by two priests with large white wings. Sylvie realized from the mural and marks on the compass that this map might lead them to information on human enchantment. Hearing this J’Kar tried to convince them to not tell Lord Keel. Which lead to the question of what to do with the information when they found it. Sylvie and Janie agreed that it couldn’t be destroyed. The people in the room agreed to talk about this again but all promised not to speak of it. Janie pulled Sylvie aside. The professor asked the student if she was comfortable with this and promised to look after her. They gathered what they could and left the reliquary. Using another ocean stone, Sylvie cast the same spell she had done last time. However this time the Siren called to the raft placing Janie in a daze. The professor dove down into the water not able to control herself. Sylvie couldn’t push the tides away until Jack rescued Janie. When he finally did Sylvie used all her control to push the Siren far away in the water. She lost the spell but put enough distance to row away. But the siren streaked back at them. Using the storm stone she found in the reliquary, Sylvie called down a blast of lighting just on the beast. It didn’t kill the Sren’Kana but it was enough to deter it.

When they returned to the ship, Lord Keel asked for Sylvie’s help mending the others. She acted as his assistant while he performed surgery on Jack and J’Kar. In the morning the ship set sail for Piyla. The VIPs gathered again to discuss their next steps. Notably absent was Janie. The professor was sick. Sylvie went to her room. Jack recognized that she had the White Pox. The cure was beyond him but could be bought in Crow’s Harbor, the pirate city on Piyla. In the meantime Sylvie tried to use magic to help. Using an ocean stone and the resilient nature of Li-Shara, she fortified Janie’s body. It would be enough to get her to port. Janie woke up briefly and told Sylvie and Genna how impressed she was with them. A few days later the Jewel ran into trouble. They were navigating through the thick mists close to the Glass Palace when they were stopped by the ship of Curek the Iron Eye. The group was unable to fight and unwilling to run into the Palace. That was until Jack and Sylvie felt a pull beckoning them into Li-Shara’s domain. They followed the call of the Tide Keeper. The Jewel was then stopped near some cliffs by warriors in jade armor. They called for a group of the crew to follow them. Sylvie was among the group. When they ascended the cliffs they found the warriors to be Ocean Poi’Mareath. They were then taken to meet Li-Shara herself. Li-Shara gave them warnings about what they might find and to each a gift. Sylvie received a special godstone. The Tide Keeper also swore the group to secrecy about what they saw in the Palace and then let them go.

Three days after speaking with Li-Shara the Jewel arrived in Crow's Harbor. Sylvie was with the group that went to ask Nyshia Furrel for safe docking. When the pirates started to tease her, Jack shut them down. Sylvie then went to the markets and stole the cure for White Pox while J'Kar distracted the merchant. After this Sylvie worked with Daxian and Genna to find someone who could translate a scroll they found in the reliquary on Karabour. To do this they went to Temple Island and spoke with Enva Carriel. As a Cleric of Constant Light she was sworn to be neutral. Still they gave her as little information as possible. Sylvie also filled Genna in on what they found in the Reliquary. They returned to the ship with the translation.

It was not a restful night. At three in the morning Sylvie was woken up by Lord Keel. Palo, Kline, and the two crewmen they were with never returned to the ship. Sylvie, J'Kar, Daxian, Jack, and Feerik were to go find them. In the dead of night they made their way through the empty pirate city to the one place still lively. The Whirlpool. They asked around and found that Iron Eye's men had picked a fight with the crewmen. The crewmen were no longer here. Sylvie and the others went to search The Exchange. They found a trail indicating a struggle leading to the northwest. But soon the trail was lost and morning was coming. Fortunately they found a mark on the wall. An arrow pointing the way. Sylvie was able to tell it was the kind of ink Palo used. The trail was refound and it lead them to a pirate safehouse. One man was outside standing guard. Using incantry from a day stone Sylvie and J'Kar lured him out. Thanks to magic all he could focus on was J'Kar's purse. It seemed to glow. He was lured into the alley where he was subdued. After that the others secured the house but found no crew. Jack who had previously left returned with Leucy. Sylvie and the other girl met. The group failed to interrogate the pirate, so Sylvie, Daxian, and Feerik tried another plan. They pretended to rescue the pirate and claimed they were new recruits. He led them to the place where the hostages were being kept. Sylvie helped secure it by throwing in a stone bound with day magic which then exploded in light. As before she didn't otherwise join the fight. Curek's men were defeated and the hostages rescued.

At midnight the expedition crew left the Jewel. The left the city and camped in the jungle. Leucy woke up Sylvie for her watch. As Sylvie was settling into the black jungle she heard Leucy crying. The two talked and Leucy said that she had never killed anyone before. Sylvie tried to comfort the other girl. Leucy made Sylvie promise not to tell anyone about this. It took two days after that to reach the mark. They found a passage underground leading to a door. But the passage was flooded. Using an ocean stone, Sylvie moved the water from the stairs and to the jungle outside. Inside was a massive cavern with a rotating platform on it that could be moved to the entrance or one of three rooms. But when they tried to turn the platform one of the ancient gears got stuck. No one knew much about mechanics but Sylvie was their best hope. They tied her to a rope and lowered her to look. She realized the gear had to be replaced. Jack was also lowered to help. Sylvie then used the last of her day stone to conjure a replacement gear. But it was too heavy and immediately pulled her down. Fortunately the people up top anchored her. Jack and Sylvie replaced the gear and the platforms turned. The group cleared the first two rooms retrieving the keys they needed. They got to the last chamber labeled “Soul” Inside where six runes of all the Old Gods but Nezeril. Without a mind stone, the group figured they needed a strong emotional moment to activate the rune. To do this they locked Jack and Leucy in the room. But when their conversation was going nowhere, Sylvie entered the room. She broke her promise and told Jack what Leucy had said to her. With her moderating, Jack and Luecy made their amends and the rune activated. Down in the treasure room they found two living enchantment rituals. Exactly what they had been looking for. J’Kar demanded to hold onto them but Janie insisted she keep them. Sylvie backed Janie and the professor held onto the texts. Sylvie and the others then went to the shore where Feerik was waiting to pick them up. The Jewel was anchored close by and he rowed them there fast. When the boarded they raised anchor quickly. Behind the Jewel was the fleet of Curek Iron Eye.

Lord Keel told them to meet back on the deck in an hour. The Jewel began to flee. Sylvie went below deck to reflect on what she had to do. She knew she couldn’t let the pirates get these rituals. That would be worse than any noble having them. But she was tired. Knowing there would be consequences later she used an ocean stone to fortify herself remove her fatigue. Or at least put it aside. She then went above decks. There Janie pulled her and Genna aside. She explained after this trip she would go work with Keel and offered both students a job. Sylvie didn’t trust the lord but she did trust Janie. She accepted. Lord Keel then revealed his plan. Before them were the fleets of Commodore March and Nyshia Furrel. They would fight the fleet of Iron Eye. Sylvie grabbed some of the godstones from the treasure room and headed to the crow’s nest. For the duration of the battle she stayed there casting down lighting bolts and erupting geysers from the sea to assault the pirates attacking the Jewel. When Daxian ended up in a duel with the First Mate of the ship they were in combat with she used an earthstone to conjure an island in the sea for him to stand on. Jack, Leucy and J’Kar took the other ship which was full of Alchemist's powder, and were going to ram it into Iron Eye’s unsinkable vessel. But Sylvie noticed that they were approaching at the wrong angle. Iron Eye would hit their side shattering the ship. Sylvie knew it was time to use her special stone. With the godstone given to her by Li-Shara she reached into the ocean and summoned an iceberg. It thrust into the air from the sea beaching Iron Eye’s ship. That combined with the explosion of the powder knocked the unsinkable ship into the sea. But it wasn’t quite enough. Iron Eye was able to board the Kirinda’s Jewel and challenge Jack to a duel. Jack accepted. He threw the vial of poison given to him by Keel, at Curek’s good eye. Sylvie used a godstone to correct its path. Finally flowing with the power of the special stone she was able to enchant Iron Eye’s sword. A feat thought impossible. His blade melted and Jack killed the pirate lord. But the effort she had exerted here came back. The spell with the ocean stone could no longer hold. Sylvie collapsed exhausted. The effort permanently changed her. Her hair grayed, her body aged, and from then on she had trouble speaking. === A Thief Among Traitors ===

After the battle Sylvie went to Tasserich with Janie to try and help the Mordish rebellion use living enchantment to overthrow the Kaiser. When Dan Irem stole some of the project's notes, she helped go after him. Originally she was not going to be involved because of her physical condition. However after The Professor learned that the Thief had escaped the city and was aided by people from Pellisberg, she sent Sylvie along. Sylvie travelled with The Curator, K.R., Skua, Vella, and Osprey to the Procession of Peace. She explored the procession with K.R. and Vella before getting tired and returning to the stagecoach. Later she went with The Curator and Skua as they followed their prisoner Terrance to where he said his captain was. It turned out to be an ambush. Sylvie fought with the other members of the Birding Society. She used magic to make the drawstring of an enemy's crossbow wet and unusable. She also fought off several soldiers with her staff. The fight tired her but nevertheless she helped patch up K.R.'s, Vella's, and Skua's injuries after the scrap. The six Society members then left the procession and rode to Miirshire.

At Miirshire they found out that both the Thief and a Woman tracking him had beaten them there. The Woman had gone to speak with the town's lord. Dan Irem went to a farm to the East. Sylvie and the others went to track him down. She mostly let The Curator and Skua take charge in this investigation. However she did knock out one of the farm owners with her staff. When they returned to the town just before morning, she listened as The Curator spoke to Petro Calvi’s butler. She then went with Vella and prisoner to the earth temple to wait for Osprey. He never made the rendezvous. Sylvie and the others found out what happened to Osprey later. While they were in Calvi’s manor, they heard a ringing come from the town square. Outside was the Woman in the Suit that Osprey had tried to follow. She had a regiment of Mordish soldiers and a bloody Osprey. The Woman ordered his execution in public. Sylvie was determined to stop her. Using a sea stone she called the water from the towns well out. It burst from the square in geysers knocking everyone over. That was enough to disrupt the execution and let Osprey start crawling away.

In the resulting fight, Sylvie stayed inside the manor. She patched up Lord Calvi’s butler when he was struck with an arrow. When K.R. and Vella returned with Osprey they retreated to the secret tunnel in the basement. Osprey had her open the box he carried. Inside were thirteen sky stones, a vial of Soldier’s Respite, and a note from Lord Keel saying “take flight” After finding a safe place, Sylvie explained the box to her allies. She also explained that the notes were for human enchantment rituals and given the right conditions she could perform the winged ritual on one of them. However the prospect sacred her allies and they all turned her down. The group then climbed the mines to find a group of miners. They were worried about the Kaiser’s men. Together the Society and the miners made a stand against the Woman in the Suit and her troops. In the fight Sylvie helped as a medic and with her spear. After the fight, she returned with K.R. to Pruzer to give the notes back to Janie.

Appearance
Prior to the battle with Iron Eye lords she stood at 5 '3'', had green eyes, and long light brown hair. She was surprisingly well fit for her size and profession however one could not tell as she wore long flowing robes. After the battle one could mistake her for someone much older. She developed streaks of grey in her hair, her previously green eyes had lost much of their color, and lost much of her energy and physical ability.

Relationships
Sylvie became friends with two of the other academics on the trip. Genna was another student about her age and the mentee of Janie Kerias. The professor also took Sylvie under her advisement. The three had an effective working relationship built on trust and mutual respect.

Leucy and Sylvie also became quick friends. After Sylvie found Leucy crying, the two bonded over their shared dislike of violence. Later Sylvie broke her promise to Sylvie and told Jack. This ended up restoring Jack and Leucy’s relationship. The two felt indebted to Sylvie afterwards.

Sylvie was very wary of Lord Keel. However she agreed to join the Mordish Birding Society after being convinced by Janie Kerias.

Osprey and Sylvie bonded over their mutual distrust of Skua’s goat. She risked exposure of the group to save his life. Other than that she mostly kept to herself around the Society group.

Powers
Sylvie was a well trained and powerful wizard. She attended the College of Cape Red, the best magic school in Var’Tareen. There she studied ocean magic. On the trip to the Southern Isles she put her skills to use. She used an ocean stone to create a current to deter a siren and was able to sustain the spell through focus. Using a special godstone given to her by Li-Shara, she summoned an iceberg to capsize Curek’s ship. Sylvie also learned Incantry in the isles, was a skilled with a spear, and a proficient alchemist.

By Mortus of AeP 446, Sylvie was an incredibly strong magician. Through practice in her studies, analysis of the ancient enchantment rituals, and a large amount of experience in a short time, she was one of the most powerful mages in Mordehall.

Trivia
Sylviehas appeared in more sessions as a player character than any one else. Though fellowe SMBT charcaters Daxian and J'Kar have appeared in one more session, they appeared in four of them as NPCs. She is also the second player character to be reused and the first player character to appear in two campaigns.