Astrael Agaraen

Elf / Sorcerer

Submitted character story

You're the kind of hero who plays The Quiet Strategist, who measures the board before committing to the gambit. What brought you back wasn't the memory of those apprentices, but what their fate taught you about power unclaimed. You carry the weight of knowing that survival sometimes demands you abandon the fight, that competence includes choosing which losses to accept. Every spell you master is another way to ensure you never have to run again.

Defining moment: I was following a lead I'd found in several different books. I'd brought a few people from the local magic academy to help verify my findings. In one particular spot in the Underdark, there was said to be a powerful relic from a wizard from centuries ago. Something that, if mastered, would grant enormous ability in the psionic arts.

We arrived.... And found that something else had already taken up residence in that spot. A colony of Mind Flayers.
5 of them turned their heads at us simultaneously. Immediately, we began fighting them... I was strong enough to hold back the ones after me... The others... weren't. They were swiftly defeated, and taken to some chamber below.

I.... I acted on instinct. I cast Darkness, and then Invisibility. I ran. 
As well educated as I am... There is no question what happened to those apprentices.
And occasionally... when I'm in trance... I see that place again. And two Mindflayers in particular stare at me. With hatred burning darker than even normal Mindflayers are capable of.

Came to prove something