Maerar's page

Maerar is fairly typical for a Pixie from Lali Mati (see race info below for how that differs from the standard Pixie), with the exception of his hair, which is white while for most of his kin it ranges from a pale green to a pale violet.

He carries an ornate longbow on his back as well as a masterfully crafted cane which under closer scrutiny turns out to be hiding a blade. His clothing is simple and usually consists of no more than a waistcoat and a sarong. Only when in combat does he occasionally drop that glamer and show himself wearing mithral armour.

Maerar's youth was rather normal for his kin. The struggle for survival was always there, but that was standard for any of the fey growing up on Lali Mati. Where he differed though were the expectations. His kin expected much from him.

Coming from a line of leaders it was hard not to be cowed by the achievements of his ancestors. His great great great grandmother was the one who led his kin into their underground exile and saved them. Her son, his great great grandfather was one of the people that lead the settling of their now quite impressive underground city. His great grandfather was rather unimpressive, but he lived in a quiet age. His grandfather however was the first to lead the exploration mission of the surface world again while his very father brokered the peace with the kytons. To say expectations were high would be an understatement.

Maerar delivered though, in a sense. He reconnected his world to the Stair and the beyond, once more allowing the souls of the departed to actually depart. Whether this is a blessing or a curse his kin aren't sure of yet as many fear this will once again lead to the kytons hunting their kin as they run out of souls for their foul experiments.

Maerar's own fate took a rather different turn as soon after arriving on the Stair he found himself once more stranded in another world. This world, known as M'Tau to it's inhabitants, would be his home for dozens of years. There, under the guidance of Mama M'Tau, the world's de facto leader, he would learn to harness his new found abilities.

Now, many years later, Mama M'Tau considers him ready and able to handle the Stair on his own and with her blessing he left M'Tau. What will he do now? Try to find his home and see home his kin fare or explore the many worlds the Stair has to offer?

Maerar is a kind and caring soul who is nevertheless scarred by his past. Living in a very dangerous world for several hundred years made him very wary of strangers and things that seem out of the ordinary.

Despite his wariness he is a very curious person and seeks to learn as much as he can about the various worlds he explores. New people give him a chance to broaden his horizon and learn more about the many worlds around him. With this knowledge he in turn seeks to improve his home world.[/spoiler[

[spoiler=Goals]Maerar seeks to restore his world to it's former glory and his people to their old selves. To be able to do that he needs to learn how the powers of the Dwimmerlaik function and figure out a way to reverse engineer them.

In addition he seeks to find out who cut his world of from the stair and why.

No one knows what the world was originally named but now it's only known as Lali Mati. In ages past, when it still had it's old name, the world was a natural paradise. Wildlife was abundant and the only intelligent life were the fey and the occasional animal or tree that had awakened after it reached an exceptionally old age. Sure, there was death and predation but that is life.

It wasn't meant to last however as eventually the Dwimmerlaik invaded the formerly peaceful world. Initially the inhabitants resisted but those that did were either killed or captured and turned into hideous abominations that were then set loose upon the world to cause as much pain and destruction as possible. Eventually this forced the world's inhabitants into hiding and while the Dwimmerlaik initially hunted the remaining inhabitants they eventually stopped, no longer caring as long as they weren't opposed.

For hundreds if not thousands of years the original inhabitants of the world hid underground in sprawling cavern complexes, the only light and sustenance coming from strange phosphorescent fungi. There the inhabitants either changed or perished, unable to cope with the changed circumstances. The souls of the dead however remained with the living, unable to pass on for reasons they did not know. Some stayed with their living kin but others, turned mad by their passing, fled to the surface.

When after many ages the living inhabitants dared to move to the surface again they found themselves in a world that changed dramatically from what it had once been. Where there were once stood lush, green forests now stood rows upon rows of petrified trees and the vibrant swamps had turned into stagnant, polluted bogs. The few creatures that remained alive out here had become hardened, aggressive and wary, continuously searching for new food and evading predators.

They also found the Dwimmerlaik had erected several black citadels but the Dwimmerlaik themselves seemed to have vanished. What moved in instead wasn't much better though as several clans of Kytons had now taken up residence in the black spires of the citadels. There they conducted experiments on the local wild life and the maddened souls of the dead, strangely intrigued by their inability to move on to the afterlife. Curious about these strange creatures coming from within the earth the Kytons started launching raids into the cavern complexes to capture more fodder for their experiments while the fey attacked the spire to once more liberate their kin and the souls of the lost. The many casualties on both sides only caused an increase in the number of souls stuck within death and afterlife as none seemed able to pass on.

These days an unstable truce exists between the fey and the kytons where both decided to stick to their own areas in the world. While both occasionally send parties into the wilds of the world's surface to find lost souls the truce holds, at least for now.

M'Tau is a world with a fairly stable, warm climate that consists of vast oceans dotted by hundreds if of isles ranging from tiny atolls to immense islands large enough to be considered small continents. Living on these isles are at least as many tribes of all kinds of different humanoids, from dragon ruled kobolds to an empire of couatl worshipping humans and elves. War is one of the few constants in the ever changing world and peace treaties never last longer than a few generations.

The one exception to this all is an isle called the Centre of the World. This massive island was formed untold ages ago as a long dead volcano rose above the sea. Now the only truly peaceful and quiet place on the world is covered by a dense forest though many paths lead from the coast to the interior of the isle. There, in the middle of the caldera lives the oldest inhabitant of M'Tau, known to it's inhabitants only as Mama M'Tau. This mountain of a woman descends from a group of humanoids that lived on M'Tau ages ago but have long gone extinct, with the sole exception of Mama herself. None know how old she is but all respect her, even the haughty dragons bow down in her presence even though she herself does not mind. All are welcome to listen to her as long as they keep the peace and they do. If at all possible warlords come to her at the onset of large scale battles or wars, hoping to glance information from her cryptic visions and prophecies.

As leader of the Custodians of the Lost Maerar often accompanied the forays onto the surface where they'd gather up the lost souls for protection while capturing malevolent souls for safekeeping.

It was on one such foray that the group travelled further from their home than ever before, deep into the heart of one of the world's petrified forests. What they found there was more, and worse, than they could ever dream. In the centre of an open space within the forest stood the what should be the ancient tree they had only heard stories about. In ages past this tree was considered a sage and a font of great knowledge, having awakened many eons before the arrival of the Dwimmerlaik. Now however there stood something vastly different as the tree hadn't petrified but instead had turned to crystal. Within it's bough swirled an enormous mass of trapped, restless spirits.

Initially Maerar figured this was yet another tool used by the Kyton but then the tree spoke to them, eager to add their little souls to it's vast collection. What followed was an intense battle and several of the Custodians perished from either being slammed by crystalline branches or impaled on launched shards. Eventually Maerar managed to find an opening in it's defences and by instantly unleashes all the lost they had gathered in that foray towards the tree he managed to overpower it, splitting the transparent trunk in half an instantly releasing all the captured souls into the world.

This sudden, intense pressure of sheer soul stuff forced a connection between Lali Mati and the rest of the worlds. This sudden restoration manifested itself as a crack in the sky followed by an immense vortex of souls moving through it at tremendous speed, dragging Maerar along with it.

When Maerar came to he found himself in a place he had never seen before, had never even heard of. All around him stairs extended in all directions and at seemingly impossible angles. All along the stairs were doors, one of them directly behind him. Through this open door he could see the field where he was only moments ago, his fellows looking for him among the shards of the crystal tree.

Just as he tried to fly back home a hand grabbed him by the shoulders and a voice spoke behind him, "You have much to learn before you can return there, young Lord. Come, let me show you."

Laerar Maerar's father, named according to the odd naming convention among the Pixies Laerar was the son of Kaerar who was the son of Jaerar. Part of the council of Elders that rule the Fey on Lali Mati and the fey responsible for brokering the peace with the Kytons.

Terekh Zar Kyton demagogue and the one responsible for brokering the peace on their end. Heavily scarred by acid spores from one of the fungi guarding the underground passages. Firm believer that the kytons are the descendants of the Dwimmerlaik.

Custodians of the Lost A Lali Mati bound organisation that worked to safeguard the lost souls of that world, protecting them from the Kytons. Not quite sure what their position is now their world has been reconnected to the planes once more and souls can pass on.

Mama M'Tau Prophetic giantess of unknown kind. Unknown to all but herself she is a former Gossamer lord who gave up her power over the Grand Stair in order to safeguard her world from the Dwimmerlaik.

The Pixies of Lali Mati differ from their typical kin due to exposure to the Dwimmerlaik's degenerative magic. They are smaller than most Pixies, they are paler and, most obvious, their butterfly wings now more closely resemble the wings of grasshoppers and mantises.
Their personality also changed as they are less upbeat and cheery than their typical kin.