Alastar Swiftbrook

=• Appearance •= Alastar has white/light grey skin, short and messy auburn hair and deep viridian green eyes. His hair is most often concealed beneath a meticulously well-looked after short-brimmed black cowboy hat with holes carefully cut into it to accommodate his ears. The remainder of his outfit changes frequently, the hat however, is mostly always present. At the moment he is wearing a short charcoal jacket with red flashes and black trousers with the trademark double holsters of the spellslinger around his waist. He has no scars and is a few inches shorter than the average male Aurin, making him significantly shorter than the average female Aurin. He has a slim and athletic frame.

Aesthetics:
He keeps his hair short, unlike most male Aurin. If not wearing his hat, he sweeps it to the side to keep it away from his eyes, to prevent impeded aim during combat. Otherwise his hair is scruffy, stuffed under his hat. He is often considered a snappy dresser, and takes pride in his appearance. The brimmed hat is a permanent fixture in his wardrobe for vanity reasons (he likes to look the part); he tends to dress in darker colours, deep browns, blacks and greys (also unlike most other Aurin who prefer brighter colours, Alastar wears darker colours to show his mourning of the losses sustained on Arboria), usually punctuated with flashes of red.

=• Personality Details •=

To a stranger; Alastar puts forward a confident and happy persona. Below the surface however, the trauma of the ravaging of Arboria has left him shaken and scarred. The feeling of the trees dying en-masse and the worry over the fates of those left behind consumes him from the inside.

Alastar forms emotional attachments much slower than in his youth. Although a courageous young Aurin, Alastar is haunted by feelings of cowardice due to his (unintentional) abandonment of a friend in the Dominion attacks on Arboria, and is therefore concerned that any allies and friends he may make cannot rely upon him in a tough situation.

He has an insatiable desire to learn, and will listen intently to anything others say if he feels it may be important, or simply interesting. When questioned he will openly discuss his past with others, withholding only the most intimate of details. His hatred for the Dominion and the damage they inflicted is worn on his sleeve, and he will discuss his desire for vengeance with fervor.

The aforementioned desire to learn has spurred him to join the Exile Academy of Science (XAS), and he has spent a lot of time studying the archives of the academy, bettering his knowledge of the galaxy, and filling his appetite for information.

Despite the issues underlined above, he tries to stay optimistic; trying to convince himself that Arboria can be restored one day, that his lost friends still fight, still survive, and that one day he’ll be re-united with them. False hope? Perhaps; but it stymies the guilt and the pain caused by his evacuation.

If he opens up to a stranger, welcoming them as a friend, they will find him fiercely loyal and a capable fighter. Although often prone to streaks of cocky behaviour and moments of recklessness, he is capable enough to hold his own when in over his head. Experienced enough in combat to know that retreat may be necessary, he will delay a retreat until he knows his friends are safe and accounted for.

Despite being slow to welcome others as friends, he prefers company to going-it alone. Although slow to anger, he is a force to be reckoned with when pushed into a rage. In the presence of Dominion forces, he can become so consumed with his desire for vengeance that he loses his better senses, particularly when faced with the Chua, creators of the awful machines that lay waste to Arboria to this day.

=• History •=

Pre-Exile Contact
Alastar was born an only child into a monogamous family on the jungle planet of Arboria. His father was a Watcher, and was therefore often away for long periods of time, leaving Alastar to be raised by his mother. When his father did return, he would share stories of his time in the forests, and Alastar came to love the tales of his father’s adventures. His mother took care of the home and actually raising their son.

In the absence of his father, Alastar’s mother discovered his great curiosity and hunger for knowledge and encouraged it. Purchasing a steady stream of books and other learning materials, she allowed him to fill his mind with primitive science and studies. He spent his youth researching the forests, the flora and fauna of his beloved homeplanet. He could often be found high in the branches of the trees around the village, studiously working his way through the newest volume, and comparing his knowledge with his own observations.

His father had wanted to bring Alastar into the fold as a Watcher, and took him out on a few journeys. Although Alastar learned a lot from the experience, and greatly enjoyed the time spent with his father, the Matria intervened, stating that she didn’t feel Alastar was ready for the tasks of a Watcher, and asked that until stated otherwise, he not be taken out again. Alastar felt he thrived in the wild; he loved the comforting feeling of the forests embrace, and began to wander further from the village to pursue practical learning experiences. His childhood research pushed him to see the world, he’d read so much, he wanted to see it all! He would often collect samples of the rarer herbs and stones that he’d found, trading them around the village for anything he felt was useful.

It was at this time, as he became more independent, that he began making friends amongst the other Aurin his age. They wanted to journey with him, to experience the world as he saw it. He found himself enjoying the company. He was often playfully mocked for being the shortest in the group, and grew to resent his achievements being undermined due to his height.

They began to explore further from home, and each journey he would return home with a wealth of new knowledge, and a store of dried herbs for trading. The group would explore mountains - standing on the very peaks of the world looking down on the lands far below. They would delve into deep cave networks and spend days wandering in the very bowels of the earth. These are often considered by Alastar to be his happiest days, and a growing rivalry with another Aurin male motivated him to try and exceed his limitations.

During his adolescence; his father didn’t return from a long journey, and no trace of him was ever found. Alastar took the news poorly; despite his father’s frequent absence in his youth, his sudden disappearance left a hole that Alastar couldn’t fill. He sunk into depression. His friends would attempt to coax him from his sadness with promises of adventure, but he had lost his urge, he felt only self pity and no desire to leave his own comforts. His forays into the wilderness ended.

In this time of dark depression, Alastar turned to his mother for comfort. She would pass their time sharing stories of his father’s achievements, and although he’d heard many of the stories before, he sank into his memories to wait out the storm of pain he was sailing through.

Post Exile Fleet Landing
It was at this time, that the Exile fleet unwittingly stumbled upon Arboria and the Aurin; a time of great excitement. Alastar, so obsessed with seeing new things, exploring new places, was overwhelmed with the idea of space travel. The many possibilities held by other worlds far from his own fascinated him. He took to learning as much about the Exiles as possible. He learned of the Mordesh, and their self-inflicted misfortune, and hearing that the Mordesh Alchemists were offering rewards for different herb samples for use in their alchemy, he went on a swift pilgrimage through the forests collecting the common and rare herbs he had catalogued in his youth.

Returning with the herbs and samples, he negotiated with a Mordesh Alchemist for a Datachron containing XAS archives and a Scanbot. The sheer wealth of knowledge contained in the Datachron was overwhelming, and he spent several days buried in study. He allowed his Scanbot to roam the village scanning and learning, and added the new information to his new Datachron.

Whilst out scanning with his Bot, he encountered a Human and Granok sparring on the outskirts of the village. He watched alongside many other young Aurin as a Granok Warrior sparred against a Human Spellslinger. Although the Granok Warrior was extremely skilled and watching the fight was thrilling, Alastar couldn’t take his eyes from the Spellslinger. The stylish brimmed hat, large coat and the awesome freedom of easy teleportation was extremely appealing to Alastar, and although the Human lost the battle, Alastar had fallen in love with his style of combat. He spent several days following the Spellslinger, trying to watch from a distance while searching the XAS archives on his Datachron for information. He was eventually caught in his observations as the Slinger teleported nearby and confronted him. He enthusiastically explained his admiration for the style of combat, and the Slinger took a small shining to him.

He spent a day talking with the Slinger, sharing stories and listening to the thrilling past of the Human exile. He only then learned of the Dominion, and the conflict between both factions in a series of colourful and likely exaggerated stories. When he returned home he spent much time studying the archives for Dominion forces and information, and lost several days to his studies. When he emerged from his home, he found the Exiles preparing to leave, with many already gone. He tried to find his new friend, only to discover he had already left. When he questioned the villagers about the departure, he was given a note and a gift wrapped box.

The Human had left him a gift after being unable to find him to say goodbye. He opened the box enthusiastically, inside he found two older pistols, a new brimmed hat with accommodating ear holes, and a note.

''Alastar, I reckon yer could be a bang-up Spellslinger; Even though yer still between the hay 'n' grass. I went 'n' acquired m'self some new hardware. My old pistols should serve yer well. The hat is just so you can try 'n' look as good as I do. We’ve had to skedaddle to keep the Dominion off yer doorstep. I left a datafile of Spellslinger lessons on yer Scanbot. Now I ain't no teacher, but it'll get ye started. G’bye n good luck.''

Although saddened his encounter had been cut short, and the fleet was now gone. He couldn't return to the simple life he’d had before. He’d learned too much, he’d studied a lot of information from the Datachron, but hadn't even scratched the surface. He’d studied the information left behind by the Spellslinger, and one day decided to try training. He took to wearing the hat everywhere; he wore the pistols at his waist. He quickly found other like minded Aurin, some of them childhood friends, who had also had their worlds turned upside down by the Exiles too. Each of them had experiences similar to his own; one of them had even started learning the paths of the Esper.

He began practising with the pistols in the forests and caves he used to explore in his youth, and found comfort in his growing proficiency and he spent his time honing his skill with the dual pistols. Despite reading over the Datachron files on Spellslinger he was unable to figure out how to successfully utilise the void for teleportation magic at this time. Unperturbed by this, he pushed on with his pistol techniques, assuming it would become evident as he became stronger.

He formed a rivalry with another Aurin male, the tallest of his childhood group, the Aurin who had taunted his height in his youth, Rinalis. Rinalis had discovered he had a powerful mind during the Exile landing, and had received instruction on the way of the Esper, they often honed their abilities against one another, each pushing hard to surpass the other. Alastar’s inability to use void magic gave Rinalis a definite advantage in duels; but defeat did not weaken Alastar’s resolve. Their rivalry, however, was cut short by the Dominion Attacks on Arboria.

Each of his friends had honed their abilities, trained alongside him in the forests and the caves, and in their ignorance, they overestimated their own abilities. Overhearing plans by Rebelling Aurin adults led by Arwick Redleaf, the young group rushed to assist in the attack. They found the Rebel group in open combat with Dominion forces. Behind them enemy lines, the despicable planet reapers towered high above, already grinding through the local trees like a swarm of hungry locusts.

He could see Aurin falling in battle, he could feel the terrible death of the trees in the forest as they raged in agony through his mind, and he shuddered, deep and sickened. Anger consumed him from the inside; he clenched his fists, cold fury washing over him with each passing second. He watched the rebels fighting below, frozen in place by sheer rage.

From their vantage point the youths could see a flanking force of Dominion forces circling around to catch the Rebels unawares from behind. Alastar and his friends launched their own offensive, though quickly found they were overwhelmed and outclassed by the superior Dominion force. He was able to distract the enemy force and prevent the flanking attack, but in doing so had severely underestimated their enemies. His friends were struggling, though their training allowed them to survive long enough to retreat into a nearby cave network.

As they had often trained in the caves, the young Aurin were able to scatter into the caves and lose the Dominion Forces, losing touch with Alastar at the same time. In an attempt to secure their escape, and give them the time to make distance from the caves Alastar and Rinalis staged what they considered to be a ‘famous last stand’ in the central chamber of the caves. The Dominion agents entered the chamber to find a storm of psionic energy and swift unrelenting suppressing fire. Rinalis and Alastar held out against the enemy force for approximately ten minutes, ten minutes that dragged into eternity. And then, disaster! Exhaustion began to take hold; Rinalis’ furious telekinetic assault began to wane, unused to such constant high pressure. The Dominion saw its chance, and swiftly launched its own counter offensive, the cave resistance fell and was swarmed within seconds.

The two stood at the centre of a circle of furious Dominion troops. Rinalis offered a single nod to acknowledge their success in protecting their friends. They both closed their eyes to accept their fate. Closing his eyes, Alastar prayed for escape, prayed to live, wished for just another chance. His life flashing before his eyes.

It was at this exact time that the magic of the void tore him away to the other dimension. He opened his eyes, seconds passed, confusion! Where had he gone? He wandered the strange but beautiful golden landscape, thoroughly confused. Was this death? Where was he? He couldn’t recall the pain of death? Was this the end?

As swiftly as he had been taken away, he returned to his own dimension, his wandering had taken him out of the caves, back into the forests, and seemingly, at least for now, there were no Dominion on his heels.

Shamed to have abandoned his friend so unexpectedly, he ran. And when the Exiles came to assist in evacuation, he escaped into the sky with many other Aurin, hoping his friends had survived, hoping his mother had escaped and consumed with guilt at the abandonment of his world, his friends, and his cowardice for running away; Rinalis’ death still haunting his conscience.

=• Talents and Weaknesses •=

Alastar is determined to become a great marksman, though he still has a lot to learn. As an Aurin he is extremely agile, and has a decent understanding of the Void magic needed for teleportation, he finds it fairly easy to stay at distance from normal enemies. He still feels guilty when using Void abilities, pulled back to the memory of abandoning his childhood friend. He is fiercely loyal to friends, and where he himself would retreat from a hopeless battle, he will stand his ground in defence of his allies.

He can be very reckless in the pursuit of knowledge, and while travelling with his scan bot, has learned through necessity the need for care and a quick trigger finger when exploring in the wild.

=• Relationships with others •= Work in progress