Who is Nevrek? That question will be answered here, more or less. Lord Nevrek Araknathalin of the House of Faendryl, Servant to His Lordship Luukos. Araknathalin. I'll break that down. Arak Nath Alin. Let's briefly analyze this. Arak has a distinct spidery sound. Arak Arachnid. See? Nath. Nath is very obscure in the western world. Nath is the name that Indian snake charmers take for their last names when they become snake charmers. Alin? That's a suffix to give the entire name a more elven sound. He is my attempt at a darker character who actually seeks to create a balance in the world. A very extreme one. He sees Luukos as a higher power, and his indiscriminate acquisition of souls verifies Luukos as a being who cannot be truly swayed, will connive and trick everyone equally to reach an end, kill anyone to meet that end, and consider all equally for the loss of their souls. But, there is more. Nevrek realizes there is more to Balance than any misguided servant of Lumnis would like to believe. This world we all wander in is not to be balanced. It is part of a balance. This balance is between what lies beyond the Rift and the world we all walk. This, of course, is also not all. The Unlife and the Living. Let's make a little cheap diagram of how this works. Unlife <------> Undeath <------> Death <------> Living <------> Life Right in the middle is Death. Death is the balanced state of Living and Undeath, Unlife and Life. Nothing is going on in a Dead Body except worms and such. Now, one might think this sounds a bit odd. But one forgets, no one has actually seen what Unlife is on its native plane of existance. On our plane, this force reanimates dead things. I suspect it is completely different on its home plane. When Unlife leaked into our world, many interesting and bizarre things happened to the dead. They were reborn, 'alive' again. Also, when Unlife leaked into our world, I suspect that Life leaked into the other world. No telling what it's doing there, but if Unlife is a problem in our world, I can only imagine what Life is there. I equate Unlife with Life, with Birth, not neccessarily a reproductive thing, but as the start of a living thing. I look at Unlife as the force that creates the State of Undeath. Life creates the State of Living. By his service to Luukos, he seeks to further the balancing of the forces of Unlife and Life. One day, that balance can hopefully be met. More will surely be put here later. No need to reveal all now. Oh my, what a charming accent. Nevrek's accent is one of those things that has no wholly discernable origin, but it exists none-the-less. It is not merely an accent, it is how he learned to speak the common language. One will find other people in the lands, both adventurers and not, who speak very similarly. One such fellow exists in Pinefar. One will only find Nevrek speaking his accent in the Common Language (Unless *I* the Player mess up) because he speaks the elven languages perfectly fine. They are his native languages, afterall. Those of you who know sign language will never see him offer a message in an accent. Fingers do not have accents. If you speak with an accent in the Common Language, why would you speak the same accent in another language? Bob says, "An' then Ahm gunna schmack him upsigh hims hed wit my fiss!" Bob says in elven, "Oh yahp, gunna schmack tha' damnpt foo' in him face." Doesn't that seem a little ridiculous? Originally, Nevrek Araknathalin's accent was a lot more thick. I think it was better, too, but it was not easily understandable. My accent, as neat as it was and nicely adhered to, was counterproductive to my roleplay, because it would take other people too much extra time to decipher what he was saying. For an example: Vhat vould zhou haff me do? Zhe kveshtion ish nont vhezzer I shoult stab zhou in zse fice or in zse abtomen, razzer, how much force ish rekvired to sefer zhour spine zsrough your eye socket in vun moshun... Rather difficult to translate into something readily understandable, yes? Here is it is, in modern Nevrek-speak: Vhat vould you haff me do? The question is not vhether I should stab you in the face or in the abdomen, rather, how much force is required to sefer your spine through your eye socket in one motion... Here, we understand him better, I'm sure. Let's analyze the exact changes in his speech. 1. Anything that would require a QU sound was left a QU, the KV was not readily discernable when used with other speech. 2. One, Once, and other similar words were left alone instead of being Nevrekfied. People can sound out Vun, and remember Nevrek speaks a bit oddly, but One and Vun were not readily comparable. 3. The TH to ZZ or ZS transition was tossed out the window. I liked this one, too. Thinking of bringing that back. 4. The W to V and V to F was retained where appropriate. 5. There are other lesser changes which are pronunciation dependant (actually, everything was pronunciation dependant, not spelling as most people do this) and hence would only apply to a handful of words. Motion to Moshun, for instance. Now that I'm in what I would consider a better surroundings for roleplay, I might take Nevrek back to his roots and bring out more of his accent. How to explain this happening is more difficult than the execution. Also, the likelihood of that happening is solely up to my audience, acquaintances and friends and such. So, if you feel like casting your vote, visit the 'Tell it like it is.' page and drop me a line. So far, we have: 1 vote For, None Against ...so de-lazy yourselves and slip me a message, will you? An Araknathalin Wardrobe The Modern Nevrek You see Lord Nevrek Araknathalin the Stalker. He appears to be a Faendryl Dark Elf. He appears to be youthful and very tall. He has incisive pale grey eyes and black skin. He has well-groomed, lustrous silver hair worn in hundreds of long, slender braids. He has an angular face and sharp pointed ears. He has a dark red fang-shaped mark on his neck. He is in damn good shape. He is wearing an iron shield, a black imflass ringmail coif, some black claw-tipped gloves, a silver pentagram earring, a gleaming onyx nose ring, a web-draped deep red spidersilk cloak edged with grey silk trim, a long onyx-buttoned coat, a string of onyx meditation beads, an arcane glaes spider pendant, a team pin, a bleached white shirt, a neat red sash, an onyx-inlaid black snakeskin sheath, some genteel ash-grey pants, and a sleek pair of tall black boots that buckle at the sides. Preferences Preferred Colors: Red, Black, Silver, Grey Preferred Metals: Eahnor, Mithril, Silver, Glaes, Rolaren; Bronze when in Luukosian attire Preferred Gems: Onyx, Ruby; Emeralds, Soulstones when in Luukosian attire Preferred Woods: Bloodwood, Ebony Preferred Materials: Velvet, Silk The Faendryl colors are red and grey, making silver a good metal for jewelry. It compliments black nicely, and we all know black matches everything. Using clothing of grey and red, with black leathers (by leathers, I mean not simply armor but anything made of leather) one can create a generally nice effect. These accent Nevrek's natural silver hair and black skin, and the grey of his eyes. Now, in an Elanthian environment, no wardrobe is complete without functional yet stylish weaponry. In accordance with the noted fondnesses, Nevrek carries a crescent-shaped waraxe. This blade exhibits a haft of twisted bloodwood, which we know to be wood which resembles the color of blood. The haft connects to the convex side of the crescent shaped blade, which is made of silvery rolaren. Around the haft, rings of coal black rolaren have been placed. These not only enhance the look of the haft, but they ensure a firmer grip. Nevrek also carries a longsword wrought of silvered eahnor with an engraved urglaes hilt. Longswords are simply more elegant weapons than waraxes. Finally, no Araknathalin would be caught without some sort of spider on him. The spider is a family symbol, and to be without it would break one of many traditions. To be without a spider would be like denying being of the Araknathalin lineage. I'll put up a few portraits (text) for example, later. Eventually, other portraits (viewable) will be up in a gallery. Old Portrait: Lord Nevrek Araknathalin You see Lord Nevrek Araknathalin the Dark Elf. He appears to be in his 50's, has short, braided silver hair, grey eyes, and black skin. He has a green serpent tattoo on his forearm, a coiled serpent tattoo on his forearm, and many thin locks of braided silver hair bound with tiny black leather cords around each end. He is wearing a dark elven warshield emblazoned with shadowy runes of the house of Faendryl, a grinning skull pin, a silver spider pin, a black veniom-worked satchel, a coiled bronze serpent ring, some black claw-tipped gloves, a silver pentagram earring, some silver skull earrings, a gleaming onyx nose ring, a black leather hooded cloak, an obsidian spider cloak clasp, a tailored deep red formal jacket, an elegant ebony Luukos symbol, a glass amulet, a bronze medallion, an arcane glaes spider pendant, some deep black mithril alloy brigandine, a coal black glaes spider, a tiny black glaes spider, a sash composed of tattered burial wrappings covered in twisted serpentine sigils, an elegant black silk pouch studded with multifaceted black soulstones, an onyx-inlaid black leather thigh-sheath, some elegant black velvet breeches, and some padded black leather boots. That's what Nevrek looks like, in his general outfit, which has actually been trimmed down a little. I don't have the update of that up because I don't feel like undressing him and sorting everything out just to peer in the boutique mirror. Portrait: Lord Nevrek Araknathalin of the House of Faendryl You see Lord Nevrek Araknathalin the Dark Elf. He appears to be in his 50's, has short, braided silver hair, grey eyes, and black skin. He has many thin locks of braided silver hair bound with tiny black leather cords around each end, a coiled serpent tattoo on his forearm, and a green serpent tattoo on his forearm. He is wearing a black veniom-worked satchel, some black claw-tipped gloves, a pair of tiny spider earrings, a gleaming onyx nose ring, a translucent grey longcoat, a tailored deep red formal jacket, a bronze medallion, an arcane glaes spider pendant, a glass amulet, some plain black armor, a coal black glaes spider, a neat red sash, an elegant black silk pouch studded with multifaceted black soulstones, an onyx-inlaid black leather scabbard, an onyx-inlaid black leather thigh-sheath, some genteel ash-grey pants, and some plain black leather boots. Portrait: One With the Shadows, The Spider You see Lord Nevrek Araknathalin the Dark Elf. He appears to be in his 50's, has short, braided silver hair, grey eyes, and black skin. He has many thin locks of braided silver hair bound with tiny black leather cords around each end, a green serpent tattoo on his forearm, and a coiled serpent tattoo on his forearm. He is wearing a black veniom-worked satchel, some black claw-tipped gloves, a silver pentagram earring, a pair of silver hoop earrings, a gleaming onyx nose ring, a black leather hooded cloak, an elegant ebony Luukos symbol, an arcane glaes spider pendant, a glass amulet, some deep black mithril alloy brigandine, a sturdy black leather toolbelt, a matte black kelyn lockpick case, an onyx-inlaid black leather scabbard, an onyx-inlaid black leather thigh-sheath, some reinforced black leather pants, and some padded black leather boots. Portrait: Servant to His Lordship Luukos This will be where I put the Luukosian ceremonial outfit, later. Will be a while, since the armor used in this outfit is being tempered for enchant. Then, no telling when the enchant will happen. But... ...for giggles, let's see what he looked like three years ago! Portrait: Prior to the Development of a Sense of Fashion You see Nevrek Araknathalin the Dark Elf. He appears to be in his 30's, has short, braided silver hair, grey eyes, and black skin. He has a soaring red dragon tattoo on his arm, and a skeleton key tattoo on his forearm. He is wearing a spider crested double leather, some elegant black velvet breeches, a dark red cloak stitched with fine gold filigree about the hem and neckline, a silver spider pin, a dreamstone spider pin, a mithril juggernaut pin, a tiny black glaes spider, a coal black glaes spider, a glossy obsidian nose ring, a gleaming onyx nose ring, an enruned serpent ring, a gold ring, a shadowy black alloy lockpick case, a blackened laje lockpick case, a black gold-buttoned pack, a ruby inlaid cobra skin sheath, some black claw-tipped gloves, some silver skeleton earrings, a silver pentagram earring, a tiny sickle earcuff, some padded black leather boots, a mithril ruby-eyed skull buckle, a ruby and silver belt buckle, a string of silver beads, a simple gold bandana, a midnight black bandana, a black leather silver studded belt, a silver alloy buckler, a silver ruby-eyed skull clasp, a pair of shiny white horns, a ghostly lich mask, a gold filigree anklet, an emerald Luukos symbol, a silver monocle, and a black spidersilk vest. If you didn't notice, the last 'portrait' was before I thought to dress head to toe. And, by head to toe, I mean putting things on in an order that would start with the head and end with feet. I, personally, go Back, Hands, then Head to Toe. I don't like seeing gloves and rings at around waist level. Also, the last portrait is Hideous, and a lesson to not wear every neat thing you find.