The Riven Lands

A tall, slender, almost skeletal male Shadar-kai with deep bruised violet skin appearing black in dim light, covered in intricate luminescent patterns resembling ancient tree veins glowing faint sickly green. Limbs like gnarled branches, impossibly long delicate fingers perpetually interlaced. Head crowned with sparse crystalline growth mimicking petrified moss shimmering with moonlight. Deep-set pupil-less eyes contain swirling galaxies of faint sorrowful blue light. Perpetual faint mist clings to his form, dissolving and reforming as he moves.

Eldrin embodies enduring sorrow and detached pragmatism, defined by profound melancholy bordering on despair, tempered by unwavering duty to his people and preservation of knowledge. Emotionally distant from superficial concerns, he finds petty squabbles pointless distractions from inevitable doom. Possesses unrivalled intellect and encyclopedic knowledge of the Riven Lands' twisted history, seeing decay and corruption patterns others cannot. Uncompromising in dedication to Sylvanspire's vigil, willing to make morally ambiguous choices for preservation. Accepts his race's fading with quiet, aching acceptance but fights coldly and ferociously to protect archives and inhabitants. No joy, only heavy wisdom and endless lament for lost and never-to-be.

Eldrin is one of the few Shadar-kai who retains fragmented memories from before The Sundering, witnessing the horrific shattering of their world and its fusion into the Riven Lands. For centuries, he has served as the chief archivist of Sylvanspire, internalizing the echoes of countless lost civilizations and blighted histories. His ascension to leadership came through shared sorrow when the previous leader succumbed to despair. Eldrin's profound lament became a focal point for the kingdom, allowing him to bear the collective anguish without breaking and channel it into grim resolve. He carries the spiritual scars of every ancient secret and lost soul within Sylvanspire's archives, having absorbed much of the cursed resources to protect others, leaving him weary but uniquely attuned to decay and corruption.