Erik Halfgar

Name: Erik Halfgar
Birthplace: Snowshed, The Spine of the World
Age: 19
Race: Human
Gender: Male

Description
What is most apparent about Erik is not his silver hair or steely grey eyes, but the fact that he has these qualities while being so very young. He has some soft features, but it quite obviously an Illuskan from far north by his fair skin and large stature.

History
Born the eldest son, Erik was destined to inherit his father's duties and land, but from the moment the candle light flickered across his newborn face it was apparent destiny had other plans for him. With steely grey eyes that came from neither his mother's fair-haired people nor his father's dusky eyes, Eric was something of an outsider among his people, never openly shunned but never truly welcome anywhere. Whenever things went amiss it was always attributed to Erik, and indeed he was always nearby any disturbance.

As he grew, Erik's likeness to his father became stronger, setting to rest the whispered questions about his parentage. Growing up apart from the others in his village caused Erik to become more distanced and contemplative than bitter, stemming mostly from the adamant refusal of his people to vilify the boy for something no one could comprehend. It was probably due to this introspection that he developed the self control that suppressed for so long the magical outbursts so common to budding sorcerers. It was not until his fourteenth winter that Erik's powers overcame his mental barriers, proving beyond a doubt to the villagers that Erik was truly different from them.

In the wake of his revelation Erik retreated to the loneliness of the woods where he struggled against himself for days while the elders discussed what to do with him. When he returned to the village he was greeted with solemn faces and given a day to rest before he was summoned to the Smoke Lodge. Entering nervously and with no idea what to expect in this building forbidden to all but the elders Erik was seated and made to wait an eternity for the fires to be ceremonially lit and reduced to embers in preparation for the barks and leaves to be offered to it. In the haze of the thick smoke it was explained to Erik that none understood his abilities, but a vision had appeared to them the night before he returned from the wood: Seven glimmering stars of blue surrounding a red tendril of mist that stretched far to the south.

Erik was given a week's ration along with a sturdy axe and set of mail. His family gave him a pouch of gold and words of warning against the men in the south that robbed not with blade, but with words and paper. He set out with a sense of resignation, unsure if he would ever find his answers or return home, but determined to try. As he journeyed his powers grew more powerful, more uncontrollable. He was ran out of town after wounding a horse with acid and setting fire to the stable he had slept in during a nightmarish fit. Struggling to keep his rising powers from bursting forth with every exhalation of breath Erik steadily made his way south, guided by an erratic and furiously silent vision of red mist. Erik has been sleeping less as of late, terrified of what may occur when he is unable to keep watch over himself.

Since entering the Sundered Valley Erik's visions have ceased, leaving him alone to find his answers.