Type
Entity
Sub-Type
Character
Hometown
Farfield
Campaign
Talinor Campaign

zab-kiel

Description

Zabkiel Portrait

Description 6/11/3692 Born

DRAFT Backstory

Birth and Early Childhood (3692 – 3702) 0-10 Two Aasimer’s moved to Farfield who carried within them a divine mission from a long-forgotten deity. They had a child, Zabkiel in 3692. Even from infancy, Zabkiel’s Aasimar traits were dimmer than most, as though something dampened the celestial spark in his blood. His parents, ever-watchful of omens, received cryptic signs that a catastrophic event—later known as _The Fall_—was fast approaching. Believing their deity wanted them to safeguard Zabkiel, they traveled in secret to Talinor when he was still only nine or ten years old, hiding him from the growing cosmic unrest in Edous.

The Moment of The Fall (3702) 10 While some families managed to flee the worst of the approaching storms, Zabkiel’s parents were not so lucky. During a ferocious arc of divine upheaval, The Fall tore through reality, ripping pantheons from the cosmos. Zabkiel watched in horror as a brilliant, searing light engulfed his mother and father—vaporizing them almost instantly. Inexplicably, Zabkiel survived, shielded by his muted Aasimar heritage; the surge of celestial power that obliterated his parents only singed him. Alone and traumatized, he stumbled into the care of those kind enough to foster him in Talinor.

Adolescence in Talinor (3702 – 3710) 10-18 From that day forward, Zabkiel felt a constant hollowness where his divine lineage should have been. He bounced from one caretaker to another—some out of compassion, others simply for coin—always feeling like an outsider. Yet his gentle demeanor, combined with an otherworldly spark in his eyes, attracted people to him. Even as a teenager, he was the one who would mend fences, help with harvests, or sit quietly with grieving neighbors—tiny acts that spoke to a deeper, heroic calling he couldn’t quite articulate.

A Brief Marriage and Heartbreak (Around 3709 – 3711) 17-19 In his late teens, Zabkiel caught the attention of a local young woman in Talinor. She was drawn to his kindness, gentle confidence, and subtle mystique. They married quickly, each believing they had found stability in an unsteady post-Fall world. But the union was short-lived. Zabkiel felt a constant tug toward the remnants of The Fall—small pockets of corruption, strange magical flares, and lost people needing a helping hand. He’d disappear for days or weeks at a time, scouring nearby towns or chasing rumors of lingering divine chaos. His wife, unable to bear his repeated absences and fearful he would someday never return, eventually packed her belongings and left. Unbeknownst to Zabkiel, she carried his child.

Full-Time Adventurer (3711 – mid-3700s) 19- Bereft of home and driven by guilt, Zabkiel threw himself wholeheartedly into the life of a roaming hero. He wandered Talinor, helping to quell the aftershocks of The Fall—defeating rogue elementals, leading refugees to safety, and piecing together minor leads about his lost heritage. Although he lacked the supernatural gifts that once defined his bloodline, Zabkiel still performed small acts of heroism, motivated by the memory of his parents’ sacrifice.

Return to Edous (Mid- to Late-3700s)
Decades after leaving Edous as a child, Zabkiel finally summoned the courage to return. He hoped to discover any clue about his parents’ divine mission or the deity that foresaw The Fall. Alas, the region of his birth had been ravaged by that cosmic cataclysm. Buildings lay in ruins, towns had been swallowed by time, and no living soul could recall his family name. With every empty temple and broken statue he visited, Zabkiel felt the sting of his own lost divinity—reminders that whatever spark once dwelled in his bloodline had been extinguished.

Wandering the Sundered Lands
Unable to find peace in Edous, Zabkiel turned his gaze to the Sundered Lands—a continent deeply scarred by The Fall’s magical storms. Rumors of planar breaches and strange phenomena drew him onward, in the hope that investigating these mysteries might bring him closer to understanding his own survival. He spent years venturing through ruins, conferring with scholars, and chronicling the land’s history. Sometimes, he found local heroes already addressing threats, and he eagerly listened to their stories—collecting and spreading word of their exploits far and wide.

Collector of Stories, Faded Aasimar
Over time, Zabkiel’s body and spirit began to age. His energy for crossing mountains and diving into lost dungeons waned, but his curiosity and compassion never dimmed. Instead of riding at the vanguard, he traveled more slowly—visiting libraries, shrines, and taverns to record the tales of others. He became a living repository of heroic deeds, whether they belonged to noble paladins or everyday farmers who simply weathered the cosmic storms. In this way, Zabkiel honored the faded legacy of his Aasimar bloodline, cherishing stories of altruism and bravery wherever they emerged.

An Elder Storyteller
Eventually, Zabkiel settled into a quieter life, journeying at a more measured pace and offering guidance to new adventurers. He set up short-term residences near crossroads or port towns, where young explorers sought out his counsel. Many found him disarmingly humble: just a silver-haired traveler with faint gold flecks in his eyes, unremarkable in power but brimming with lore from half a century of wandering. Whispers of his heritage sometimes traveled before him: “They say Zabkiel is descended from angels…or maybe gods. You’d never know—he’s as humble as they come.”

Lingering Threads
Even in his somber years, Zabkiel never truly shook the question of why he had survived The Fall and his parents had not. The answer seemed forever locked behind broken temples and ancient wards. Little does he realize there is still one piece of his story left untold.

DRAFT God of Lore

Zabkiel’s parents were aasimar of an ancient god. That god’s temples and followers fell to ruin during the Mortal Wars. However, the god was not dead.

He forsaw The Fall, sensing the fundamental forces momentum shifting. Zabkiel’s parents knew the Fall was imminent, so moved Zab. Whether they were meeting up with someone or knew it’d be safer elsewhere isn’t known.

That god, the celestials beneath him, and the assimar’s under them were all vaporized in the Fall. Zabkiel is more mortal than divine, and his fainter element prevented his annihilation. But he lost that spark with his divine bloodline and the god it flowed from being erased.

He’s now pure mortal. By this time, he was raised to rise above his surroundings and help others. He grows into a young man that naturally behaves virtuously. But he feels a deep sense of loss.

The god is one of wisdom, stories, lore, virtue. This effects the world in the form of inspiration. When particularly heroic, deft, or creative acts occur, inspiration strikes.

With the god dead, and Zab being shaped in his image from birth, Zab rises from mortal to divine in his own right. This occurs without him fully understanding this, but he is rising to be the incarnation of inspiration.

Random Old Bits of Writing

I met a sailor on my way from Andes. He had been to Iwagata and he heard no more Guardians were coming from the east after Rou left with Mumohr.

Good thing I left Farfield when I did, with the Drow coming out from their caves. Lotta deaths, lotta horror stories.

Another traveler on the ship had strange markings on their gear. They almost glowed. When I picked up their weapon to look at it and ask about them, they got really pissed off, swatted me, and said I wouldn’t understand anyways.  Never seen those markings before or since.

The blacksmith, Murf, made me my first knife. Well, he made a knife and gave it to me, anyways. I think he was wasted. He was saying I should learn to protect my body as well as my heart. Then he started rambling about a woman, an orc mercenary that passed through town. She made a name for herself afterwards then just left to live up in the mountains. He said he was going to go after her, but the next morning when I asked about it, he didn’t even remember giving me the knife.

Kenku are supposed to be pretty bad. Lotta people hate ‘em. That’s why they’re stuck on that cliffside. Well, except the ones the migrated up to some town in Andes. But that town got destroyed by, funnily enough, some sorta giant, loud bird. The Titans killed it though and rebuilt the town.