Alsius Turnoroth

Dragonborn / Artificer

Submitted character story

Alsius grew up in a clan of craftspeople. Skills in many trades were valued, but each dragonborn would typically pick one main craft and study under a mentor until they were deemed skilled enough for their own apprentice. Alsius' mentor, an older dragonborn named Heims, was a woodworker, and a close family friend. Then one day he went missing. No sign of where he was going and nothing packed. 

Alsius started her journey looking for her missing mentor. Instead, she ended up in Barovia with a deal with Count Strahd von Zarovich. She would keep an eye on the party, and he would help in her search. Obviously, he never meant to make good on that. She and the rest of the party traveled through Barovia, eventually making their own deal with Strahd, the details of which they never revealed to her. That deal eventually lead to a scavenger hunt of sorts. They were to bring back any and all relics capable of killing Strahd to be destroyed. Alsius, however, was tasked with killing the other challengers.

And when the opportunity arose in St. Markovia's abbey in Krezk, she struck, poisoning them in their sleep. She didn't want to, but it was her only way out and she would rather return home in dishonor than die in Strahd's domain to remain stuck for all eternity. When the Abbot arrived the following morning, he knew they were dead on sight, and knew who had done it. 

Instead of getting angry for killing on holy ground, he offered a loophole, a resurrection. Alsius eagerly agreed and had the Abbot bring them back to life. After all, the slip of paper in her pocket said only to take their lives. It said nothing about giving them back. 

From there, they traveled to the Amber Temple, where they went searching for the Sun Sword. They ran into one of Strahd's servants, Rahadin, who led them to the chamber in which it was found. While searching, Alsius opened one of the coffins surrounding the alter, and was gifted True Sight by the being inside, and had her eyes turned into endless starry voids. Rahadin was sacrificed in order to obtain the sword, though unintentionally. He was only trying to help, and he was turned to amber and shattered for it. In his place was the Sun Sword.
They eventually return to Castle Ravenloft to face Strahd once more, and this final encounter does not go so well. One was killed by the spear she had brought. Another had his head bashed in by the holy relic from St. Markovia's Abbey, though did not immediately die. Another still had her gift from the Amber Temple abused as she was killed and revived three times over. The remaining two, besides Alsius, were made to fight to the death. Alsius seems to have gotten off scott free. She had done what was asked of her and amused Strahd with her cleverness with the loophole. 

He kicked the Sun Sword towards her and told her to dispose of it. She glanced around, and found a large broken window behind him, and moved to toss it out and down the thousand foot fall into the river below. When she picked it up, she realized what chance she held in her hand. A chance for her and those still alive to go home. For the citizens of Barovia to live again. A chance to get back at Strahd for what he had done to her, to the party, to his citizens. And as she stepped behind him, out of view, she turned and drove the Sun Sword through his back and out the other side. 

Strahd fell, and Barovia saw sunlight once more. The party gathered at the window to watch as the rain stopped, the clouds rolled back, and the people of the village below stepped out of their houses looking towards the sky in amazement.

The moment of triumph was short lived. The very next moment, the clouds and rain came flooding back in, and Alsius was standing with Strahd's hand sticking out of her chest, and him telling her she was never going to go home anyway. The last thing she as she fell to the ground dead was Strahd standing over her with a gaping hole in his stomach, and behind him, the aaracockra that had been made to fight to the death earlier fuzzy around the edges from the invisibility spell the True Sight let her see through, holding the Sun Sword.

Alsius is a silver dragonborn. Her scales have cool, blue undertones and in the right lighting may look more blue than silver, but that's not indicative of her heritage. She stands at roughly 6'5 without her horns, and about 6'8 with them. Her eyes before the Amber Temple are ice blue.